When you are at your wits end, dont be at your faiths end.

Earthquakes can be disastrous, and they are even more lethal when combined with tsunamis. Earthquakes bring down buildings. To escape, you must run out. But with tsunamis, the flood confronts those who manage to run out of collapsing buildings.

Earthquakes take place in earthquake zones. There are some parts of the world that are sitting on what is called a fault. It is like sitting on a crack. The crack can expand or enlarge at any time, leading to earthquakes.

Here in Nigeria, we are sitting on a fault. There is a fault between Nigeria and Cameroon. That is why there is a high incidence of land erosion in eastern Nigeria. In short, earthquakes and tsunamis can easily take place in Nigeria.

Victoria Island, Lagos and the whole Lekki/Ajah axis is reclaimed land. It is practically below sea level. That is why the beaches often wash ashore. You just wake up one morning and find water all over. So, if you have a tsunami in Lagos, parts of Lagos might disappear.

By the grace of God, all that happens is that we merely read about earthquakes and tsunamis in the newspapers. They hardly happen in Nigeria.

Whatever happens, we must never lose sight of the mercy of God in Nigeria. Remember this, if we continue in His word, Gods mercy in our lives endures forever. That is the covenant of the sure mercies of David.

Merciful God

David came back to Ziklag and discovered that the Amalekites had burnt the city to the ground. They had taken everything take-able and carried away captive all the wives, sons, and daughters of the people. So, what happened to the sure mercies of David?

The people wept until they had no more power to weep. They blamed David for their adversity and some even wanted to stone him. But David encouraged himself in the Lord. He remembered that God is merciful.

Have you ever been discouraged? Encourage yourself in the Lord. His mercy endures forever. It does not matter if Lazarus is dead. It does not matter if he has been dead for four days. It does not matter if he smells already. Gods mercy endures forever, even in death.

God brings light out of darkness. He brings peace out of trouble. He brings good out of evil. He works all things together for good for those who love him and for those who are called according to His purpose. Therefore, when you are at your wits end, dont be at your faiths end.

The mercy of God had not departed from David, for His mercy endures forever. The mercy of God never departs, no matter the situation or circumstance. God told David to pursue the enemy and assured him that he would overtake and recover all.

But David had only 600 men. By the time he got to the Brook Besor, 200 of them said they were too tired to continue and he had to leave them behind. But nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few. (1 Samuel 14:6). Then they found an Egyptian in the field. The man was sick and dying. He had not eaten for three days and three nights.

He who has received mercy has mercy to give. David had mercy on the man. He gave him bread to eat and water to drink. He also gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And that was the man who God used to reveal to David the location of the Amalekite raiders. For His mercy endures forever.

David launched a surprise attack on the Amalekites and routed them. And he recovered all that they looted from Ziklag. Moreover, David led captivity captive and received gifts. Remember the same thing happened to Abraham when his nephew, Lot, was taken captive. Abraham chased the enemy, routed them, and came back with spoils.

This was repeated with David, and it was repeated with Jesus. They led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. It will be repeated with you. You are the seed of Abraham, of the House of David, and are predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Plenteous Redemption

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Thus says the LORD: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children. I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 49:25-26).

Although the Amalekites burnt everything in Ziklag to the ground, God made sure they killed no one. David himself had attacked the Amalekites (1 Samuel 27) and killed everyone he found. Yet God ensured that the Amalekites did not kill any of Davids people. For His mercy endures forever.

This means everything that will happen to you will be for your correction and not your destruction. For Gods mercy endures forever.

The Amalekites were nomadic people. They did not live in one place. They moved around, living wherever they found themselves at any given time. That means even when they go to war, they carry along their jewelry and their television sets. They bring along with them everything they have, including their cattle, their sheep, and their goats.

So, by the time that David pursued and overtook them, he got back far more than he lost. He got all the property the Amalekites carried around with them. He got all their flock and herds. When he came back to Ziklag, the people who had spoken of stoning him now started hailing him, saying: This is Davids spoil. But it came from Gods sure mercies of David.

Gift of God

Some of Davids men insisted that the 200 who stayed behind should not be included in the division of the spoils. They felt it would be unfair to include them, after all, they did not fight. But an extreme concern for fairness is often a camouflage for greed.

David understood that a man can receive nothing unless God gives it to him. He understood that it is not of him that wills or runs but of God that shows mercy. Therefore, he knew that it was not because some fought that they got the booty. It was because God fought for them. It was because the Lord was on their side.

Therefore, whether they fought or not, David included everyone in the division of the spoils. He even sent some to friends in Israel who had nothing to do with the matter, saying this is a present from the Lord.

David made this protocol into a statute and an ordinance in Israel. In the kingdom, you must be ready and willing to share with others.

And so, God says: Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (Isaiah 55:3).

Faribisala@yahoo.com; www.femiaribisala.com
WASHINGTON - For President Joe Biden and his circle, a low point in America's global standing under President Donald Trump came when he blew up a meeting of U.S. allies in 2018, accusing close partners of "robbing" the United States and hurling insults at his Canadian host.

So it was no accident that Biden's push to reclaim American leadership in recent days has pointedly included a starring role for Canada, as the new administration seeks to woo an array of allies with a message that "America is back."

But it's increasingly clear that Biden cannot simply sweep up the broken diplomatic china and restore the world order that reigned when he was vice president.There is one simple reason: Allies know Trumpism could always come back, either in a 2024 bid by Trump himself or from another presidential hopeful offering a similar pitch.

That has left friends and foes alike with doubts about the value of any new American commitments, given the country's deep political divide and the possibility that the pendulum could swing back in four years. Allies have begun hedging their bets, musing about a Europe-only security force and exploring wider trade with China.

That's even true for America's closest allies, like Great Britain. "The Bidenites say with good reason that they recognize that 'not politics as usual' was the theme of the election in the past few years," Karen Pierce, Britain's ambassador to the United States, said. "It is a theme that they know they're going to have to contend with."

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said "there's no doubt" that foreign leaders now wonder about America's reliability, given the country's divisions and the persistence of support for Trump.

Biden directly addresses those doubts in his conversations with his foreign counterparts, Sullivan said in an interview, reminding allies of a history of bipartisan support for institutions such as NATO.

"The president has laid out a strong case about why that is not isolated to one party or one president, that the last four years were an aberration and not some kind of new normal," Sullivan said.

Biden has spoken to roughly a dozen heads of state since taking office. In addition to recommitting to NATO, the United Nations and global climate efforts, Sullivan said, Biden starts nearly all the calls by recognizing any global agenda for the United States is tied to addressing not only the pandemic at home, but the country's internal divisions.

"That work at home is vital to our credibility internationally," Sullivan said, summarizing Biden's message.

The challenge is clear. Biden has brought the United States back to the Paris climate agreement; rejoined the World Health Organization; returned to the U.N. Human Rights Council; and made moves toward resuming the nuclear deal with Iran. Yet the next president could instantly reverse all those decisions.

Biden is working to persuade U.S. allies that it is unlikely.

"The United States is determined - determined - to reengage with Europe, to consult with you, to earn back our position of trusted leadership," Biden said this month, during his first foreign policy address as president.

Days later, Biden hosted a delighted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - the leader Trump dismissed in 2018 as "very dishonest & weak" - for a video visit at the White House, making him the first foreign leader to be so honored.

Biden has also recommitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization tenet that an attack on one member is an attack on all, a principle Trump had questioned. And Biden has reassured major U.S. allies in Asia that the United States won't abandon them or abruptly yank American troops.

The outreach has been greeted with relief by allies bruised by Trump's isolationism and insults. Trudeau thanked Biden for the shift in style and substance, noting that American officials helping draft a statement about the meeting actually added references to climate change rather than deleting them.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom Trump considered a fellow rabble-rouser, also lashed himself to Biden with a play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.

"I believe that Europe increasingly recognizes the necessity of joining our American friends to rediscover that farsighted leadership and the spirit of adventure and transatlantic unity that made our two continents great in the first place," Johnson said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have cheered Biden's commitment to consulting with Europe and defending it under the NATO alliance, while saying some of the European independence forced by Trump should remain.

Pierce, the British ambassador, said that even in the changed landscape, the U.S. posture is critical to the way other countries position themselves. "It's very striking how American leadership tends to define everything that happens, and without it everything tends to grind to a bit of a halt," she said.

Any foreign leader tempted to anticipate a return to normalcy under Biden was probably jolted by the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol, which dented U.S. credibility as a powerful voice for democratic principles, Sullivan said when asked about the insurrection on the Capitol.

"On the question . . . of whether the United States has its own house in order, has a strong foundation to be able to effectively engage the world, the president's answer is, 'We absolutely have the capacity to pull this country together - but we have work to do,' " Sullivan said.

Foreign leaders were further dismayed that American politics seemed unchanged after the jarring spectacle of insurrectionists swarming the Capitol, said Ian Bremmer, president of the risk analysis company Eurasia Group.

"Most allies around the world are very happy to see anyone but Trump as president - and Biden is anyone but Trump," Bremmer said. But, he added, "the realities of the last four years" have persuaded the global community that Trump was not a one-off.

Notably, several potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates were among those who voted to overturn the 2020 vote. Other GOP hopefuls attended the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, where the agenda included events that perpetuated the falsehood of a stolen election. Trump is set to speak at the conference Sunday in his first major appearance since leaving office last month.

Meanwhile, Biden's plans for restoring American leadership fall a distant second to his top priority of spurring U.S. recovery from the pandemic and the economic devastation it wrought. The administration is now consumed with pushing a massive economic stimulus package through a divided Congress, making up ground on an unusually slow hiring and confirmation process, and speeding up the national vaccination effort.

The pandemic, for now, rules out in-person diplomacy. Even with vaccines and billions in federal investment, it will probably be months before the U.S. economy turns the corner, and months before Biden or Secretary of State Antony Blinken can begin making or hosting foreign visits.

Robert Zoellick, former president of the World Bank and a senior State Department official under President George W. Bush, said Biden is rightly focused inward for now.

"His primary focus needs to be on the pandemic and economic recovery," Zoellick said. "As former chief of staff James Baker said to President Reagan in 1981: 'Mr. President, you have three priorities: economic recovery, economic recovery and economic recovery.' "

Sullivan said the administration sees a global component to many of its domestic challenges, including covid-19. "Not only do we have to vaccinate very American, but we need to build a public health system globally that detects and prevents the next pandemic," he said.

While some foreign policy problems demand urgency - like the push to reconstitute the Iran nuclear deal - diplomats said allies will give Biden some room to maneuver.

"Of course we know this," a senior European diplomat said of Biden's domestic imperatives. "You are not elected by your friends around the world. You are elected by your own citizens."

Biden's global outreach is complicated in other ways. For one thing, he is not in a hurry to reverse all of Trump's policies.

Biden has not lifted Trump's punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, for example, planning to use them as leverage in an overhaul of U.S. relations with China.

And for now, Biden has left in place steel and aluminum tariffs that European military allies found offensive because of Trump's implication that those nations posed a security threat to the United States. Biden is expected to move to lift the protectionist measures only after his choice to be the U.S. trade envoy is on the job.

Biden has also disappointed Canada, America's largest trading partner, with a "Buy American" order meant to keep faith with U.S. workers struggling during the current economic downturn. Canadian firms fear that will shut them out of U.S. government contracts.

Biden canceled a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline project, fulfilling a campaign pledge that Canada claims will cost it jobs.

An evidently relieved Trudeau did not bring up any of that during the brief portion of their meeting seen by reporters. Neither leader mentioned Trump either, or the Group of Seven summit in Quebec that produced one of the defining moments of Trump's hostility toward traditional U.S. allies.

An image from a closed-door session at the time appeared to show a confrontation between Merkel and a defiant Trump. The candid picture was posted to Merkel's government social media accounts while the tense meeting was underway, suggesting someone wanted it seen.

"We're like the piggy bank that everybody's robbing, and that ends," Trump declared later, during a combative solo appearance. He refused to sign onto a joint statement after the summit.

At the time, Biden had left the vice presidency just 18 months earlier and had not yet announced his intent to challenge Trump in 2020. When he did declare his candidacy, he stressed domestic flash points like the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, rather than the U.S. position abroad.

But when he won in November, Biden tied the two together. He told cheering supporters he wanted "to make America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home."

It's the high-fashion agency that signed Kate Moss in the 1990s and takes pride in its selection of edgy and ethereal supermodels.

But now Storm Management seems to be fighting a desperate campaign to stop Lottie Moss, the younger sister of their most famous signing, from ruining her career.

Lottie has changed from being a starlet with a promise of a successful fashion career to a Love Island lookalike who sells raunchy photos of herself on a sleazy website called Glow, where erotic photos of influencers sell for as little as 3, as this column revealed two weeks ago.

Model behaviour: Storm Management seems to be fighting a desperate campaign to stop Lottie Moss, the younger sister of their most famous signing, from ruining her career

And now, sources tell me, Storm is working frantically to protect Lottie and 'save her from herself'  though some family members fear the 23-year-old could have already sabotaged her future.

My source says: 'These photos and the path she's on will affect her future as a model, but also as a woman. What if one day she wants a normal job? Storm can't let Lottie become another victim of this crazy influencer-meets-celebrity, image-obsessed culture. Her mental health needs to be protected.'

Another source close to the agency said: 'Storm feels very protective of the lovely Lottie. They are hoping this phase will pass.'

Sisters: Over lockdown, Kate, who has been sober for more than a year, brought her sister in for a spell at her secluded Cotswold home, taking her away from her wild circle of friends

Racy: Lottie has changed from being a starlet with a promise of a successful fashion career to a Love Island lookalike who sells raunchy photos of herself on a sleazy website called Glow

In years gone by, an agency like Storm, which takes pride in its high-end reputation, would not have kept Lottie on the books after she started selling photos on Glow that are cheap in every sense.

But thankfully, these are more responsible times and agencies no longer throw their clients to the wolves the moment they are 'over'.

My source adds: 'Lottie is still pretty and is far from finished, but she needs to stop messing with her appearance and underselling herself. Not so long ago she... was modelling for Chanel and appearing in Vogue. She showed a lot of promise and now she has lost her way.'

Over lockdown, Kate, who has been sober for more than a year, brought her sister in for a spell at her secluded Cotswold home, taking her away from her wild circle of reality TV friends.

Lottie has complained her modelling work has declined and even blamed her figure, though it would be the envy of most women.

'So many designers and other clothing brands only use skinny tall models to model their clothes,' she has said. 'There are so many beautiful incredible women who aren't a size zero.'

Lottie has vociferously defended her choices, saying: 'Why should I be made to feel [ashamed] because I'm doing something I enjoy?

'Everyone always says 'be yourself and do what you love' until it's something that isn't considered 'reputable' or to their standard of what is considered OK.'

A spokesman for Storm said 'we're incredibly fond of Lottie', but declined to comment further.

When Jemima Khan asked 'What's Love?' in an Instagram post, I wonder who she expected to answer?

When Jemima Khan asked 'What's Love?' in an Instagram post, I wonder who she expected to answer?

Perhaps not Peter Morgan, writer of The Crown, who seemed to forget what love was when he swapped his four-year romance with Gillian Anderson for a few weeks with Jemima  only to change his mind again.

Morgan is now back in the arms of Ms Anderson after his dalliance last year, while Jemima has focused on her new film What's Love Got To Do With It?, which finished filming last week.

Jemima said she'd navigated 'choppy waters' to get to the end of production. Whatever did she mean?

Has British actress Bonnie Wright let LA life get to her head? The Harry Potter star has been dishing out hefty portions of word salad alongside the homemade guava jam she sells at a new 'rustic' vegan cafe in a hipster enclave.

These days 30-year-old Bonnie  who played Ginny Weasley in the Potter saga, describes herself as a director, humanitarian and 'sustainability advocate' as well as a cafe owner.

When I asked her publicist to elaborate, I received this response: 'Bonnie's mission is to promote a sustainable lifestyle that can be obtainable and fun.

Has British actress Bonnie Wright let LA life get to her head? The Harry Potter star has been dishing out hefty portions of word salad alongside the homemade guava jam she sells at a new 'rustic' vegan cafe in a hipster enclave

'She is committed to using her platform to further her own education around climate and humanitarian issues and communicate her findings in an engaging way with her followers.'

Someone call Meghan Markle, I need a translator!

Which American celebrity rented a property on the famous estate of a vastly wealthy man, then tried to rip out the genuine Roman mosaic from its floor?

The owner was horrified and accused her of trying to turn the property into a copycat of Soho Farmhouse  the exclusive hideaway in Oxfordshire so beloved by celebs. But in the end it didn't matter, as after the row she left the country. Phew.
16:34 | Lima, Feb. 27.

The tests will be distributed among the Regional Health Directorates (Diresa) in Loreto, San Martin, and Tumbes regions and the Regional Health Management Offices (Geresa) in Lambayeque region.





These areas have been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.









"Often, there is a lack of laboratory infrastructure to detect the virus (...) Therefore, Germany supports its partner countries with SEEG experts, PCR test reagents, laboratory equipment, and training for laboratory personnel," he expressed.





Thanks to the increase of testing capabilities, the virus can be detected early. Thus, the infected people can be isolated and avoid infecting others.





In June 2020, the German Epidemic Preparedness Team (SEEG) provided training to laboratory staff in Loreto, San Martin, Tumbes, and Lambayeque regions in order to improve their diagnosis capabilities.









On that occasion, the initial 100,000 PCR reagents were delivered to the Peruvian State.





(END) NDP/SRE/MVB

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The COVID-19 death toll in Peru surged on Monday at a rate much faster than expected, following an official government review.The government nearly tripled its official number of deaths from the day before, which now makes Peru the country with the highest death rate per capita in the world.Officials say the updated tally has jumped dramatically because, until now, a lack of testing has made it difficult to confirm whether a person has died from the virus.Perus top data official, Marushka Chocobar, announced at a press conference on Monday that over 180,000 people have died from COVID-19, up from just under 70,000 reported deaths the day before."With this figure, we can see that according to the application of official criteria and the proposed data series that is being carried out through this working group, we can from now on have a daily figure that reflects the reality closest to what is happening with the pandemic in our country."Peru had already been among the hardest hit Latin American countries, with its hospitals overcrowded with patients and oxygen low in supply.Experts had long warned that the true death toll was undercounted in official statistics.Brazil still has the highest total deaths in Latin America, but based on population and the updated tally, Perus per capital death toll more than doubles that of Brazil.

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UK in early stage of third variant of COVID-19 warns scientist

Need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking: Centre tells states

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 28: Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba chaired a high-level review meeting with Chief Secretaries of Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir, states which have been reporting a high active caseload in the last week.

The Centre has urged the states and union territories for effective testing and comprehensive tracking.

The Centre has told the States to follow effective surveillance strategies in respect of potential super spreading events. Need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation of positive cases and quick quarantine of close contacts were also strongly emphasised.

"Centre has deputed high-level multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, TN, WB, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, MP, Gujarat and J&K to ascertain reasons for the surge in cases & coordinate with the State Health Departments in COVID-19 control and containment measures," a statement from health ministry said.

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Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 12:52 [IST]
After Ghulam Nabi Azad and several party leaders who were a part of the 'G23' travelled to Jammu and called for internal elections in the Congress, Haryana Minister Anil Vij has taken a dig at the party and Rahul Gandhi, by referring to the saffron turbans worn by Azad and the others.

On Saturday, Jammu witnessed the Congress party's internal discord as a 'G23' group led by veteran leader Azad assembled to show their strength to the high command of the party, wearing saffron turbans.

Vij said, "G23 leaders of the Congress took off the Gandhi cap and wore saffron turbans. Rahul Gandhi tried to find pearls for the poor by leaping into the sea, yet they are not satisfied with it. What do they want from Rahul Gandhi?", referring to Rahul Gandhi jumping with the fishermen into the sea while campaigning in Kerala.

'G23' leaders unite, head to Jammu

Senior Congress leaders have been demanding a revamp of the party and have shown their dissent over the functioning of the party for a long time now. Last year on August, 23 Congress leaders jointly wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding an organizational election within the Congress and seeking new leadership. After this, these issues were discussed in the meeting of the Congress Working Committee on January 22, but till now the issue has not been resolved. Along with Ghulam Nabi Azad, the following leaders visited Jammu:

Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Former CM Haryana

Kapil Sibal, MP, Rajya Sabha

Anand Sharma, MP, Rajya Sabha

Manish Tiwari, MP, Lok Sabha

Akhilesh Prasad Singh, MP, Rajya Sabha

Vivek Tankha, MP, Rajya Sabha

In the rally in Jammu, Anand Sharma said, "Congress has weakened in the last decade. Our voice is for the betterment of the party. It should be strengthened everywhere once again. The new generation should connect (to the party). We've seen good days of Congress. We don't want to see it weakening as we become older."

Kapil Sibal said, "The truth is that we see Congress party getting weak. That is why we have gathered here. We had gathered together earlier too and we have to strengthen the party together."

With a purported June 2021 deadline for polls, most Congress leaders have rallied around Rahul Gandhi, but the 'G23', which refers to the letter's 23 signatories, has demanded a 'transparent election'. Most of these leaders have been sidelined in the party by the Gandhi-Vadra family followers and this can be seen as none of them are involved in preparing for Assembly elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Puducherry and Assam.

READ | Ghulam Nabi Azad Takes 'G23' Congress Delegation To Jammu; Making Point To Sonia Gandhi?

READ | Rahul Gandhi Says 'Congress Must Win 2/3rd Majority' In Polls To Avoid BJP's Govt Toppling

Azad quashes all rumours of him joining BJP

Meanwhile, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wept on Azad's retirement from the Parliament whilst narrating a tale of tragedy and loss when they were respectively the Chief Ministers of Gujarat and the erstwhile state of J&K, there was speculation that Azad might join BJP. While addressing PCC, DCC functionaries, former legislators, and ministers at a function organized at party headquarters in Jammu, he brushed aside all the rumours, however. He clarified that he had not retired from politics and he would have joined the BJP during former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees tenure had he wanted to do so.

READ | West Bengal Polls: Left-Congress-ISF Alliance To Kick Off Campaign With Mega Kolkata Rally

READ | Ghulam Nabi Azad Says 'don't Sideline Us' As 'G23' Leaders Do Not Wish To See Cong Weak
The latest figures from the Ministry of Health show that 122 new cases of coronavirus were discovered yesterday.

One more death from COVID-19 was reported today, meaning the total death toll in the Grand Duchy has risen to 638.

8,337 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate was 1.46%.

There are 73 patients in standard hospital care, up six from yesterday, while the number in intensive care increased by one to 20.

As a reminder, on weekends the government only releases data on the number of tests, cases, deaths and hospitalisations.

According to Friday's update, there were 2,986 active infections in Luxembourg, while 51,487 patients had recovered from the virus.

The R rate decreased slightly, to 1.05

26,089 people have received their first vaccine dose in Luxembourg, while 9,982 have received a second dose.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus both in Luxembourg and abroad, see our live ticker.

The vaccines will be given at 91 hospitals and health centres in the state, both government-run and private ones. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: The third phase of Covid-19 vaccination, for those older than 60 years, and those between 45 and 59 years, but with an identified comorbidity, will begin in Telangana along with the rest of the country on Monday morning.

The vaccines will be given at 91 hospitals and health centres in the state, both government-run and private ones.

Online registration for receiving the first dose by beneficiaries in these two ages and comorbidities related cohorts will begin at 9 am on Monday. Those wishing to receive the vaccine can log in at cowin.gov.in after 9 am Monday, pick a time slot and a hospital of their choice and arrive there a few minutes ahead of their scheduled slot.

Those in the comorbidities cohort will also need to upload a certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner with an MBBS degree that they suffer from one of the 20 listed health conditions.

All the doctors registered with the Indian Medical Association have been informed about the certificate. Or people can download it, take a printout and consult their doctor on getting the vaccine, get it signed and upload it while registering for a slot, Director of Health Services, Dr G. Srinivasa Rao told the media here on Sunday.

The Phase III vaccination will be a soft launch in selected locations, he said.

As days go by, we will be adding more and more centres. We will also be putting in place a system to help those with comorbidities so that they get the required certificate. They need to take with them their medical records and show those to a doctor at the vaccination centre, who will then be able to give appropriate advice to such individuals, he said.

Director of Medical Education Dr K. Ramesh Reddy said the protocols for the Phase III vaccination will be the same as that for healthcare and frontline workers.

There will be arrangements for people to wait for half an hour as part of the post-vaccination observation. Arrangements will also be made for the elderly who may turn up for vaccination by providing them with wheelchairs. There will be a doctor on duty at every centre to keep a watch on the beneficiaries, answer their questions and provide them with advice, Dr Ramesh Reddy said.

According to Dr Srinivasa Rao, once a person receives his or her first vaccine dose, an appointment will be given at the vaccination centre for the second dose. Ideally, the second dose should be taken 28 days after the first dose. Our recommendation is that people should take it as per the schedule given to them, he said.

The beneficiaries will not have a choice to pick which vaccine to take from the two Covishield developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech. We send the vaccines to the hospitals as we receive them. Both are effective and protect the recipients from Covid. Once both doses are taken, the beneficiary will be able to download a vaccination certificate from the Cowin website, he said.
A human rights lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, has advised a self-styled Yoruba warlord, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, to seek court protection from being arrested and detained by security operatives.

Mr Ozekhome gave the advice in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES Sunday to condemn the attempted arrest of Mr Igboho.

This newspaper reported how security operatives attached to Operation Burst, a joint police-military outfit, in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday, attempted to arrest Mr Igboho.

He was accosted on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway while on his way to meet an elder statesman, Ayo Adebanjo.

While the state police spokesperson, Olugbenga Fadeyi, refused to speak on what played out in Ibadan on Friday, the spokesperson of the State Security Service (SSS) Peter Afunanya, said its officers were not part of the operation.

Mr Igboho, who confirmed the incident, said authorities should go after Boko Haram leader, Ibrahim Shekau, and Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, who has been holding meetings with bandits before coming for him.

In his statement, Mr Ozekhome said the attempt to arrest the acclaimed warrior is an act of terrorism, advising that authorities ought to have sent him an invitation if they felt he had committed an offence.

If the security agents felt there were any internal security issues or breach of the law, they should have invited him to the DSS or police office, he said.

It became, therefore, totally absurd that a whole security armada like soldiers, the police and the DSS will waylay an innocent Nigerian citizen in a commando-like manner and attempt to abduct him. At least, Nigerians have not been told he has committed an offence, or what offence, if any.

What if Sunday Igboho and his handlers had felt they were being kidnapped and responded with a shootout? There would have been unnecessary mayhem and loss of lives because of the indecent and incongruous manner and way the attempted arrest was carried out.

What the government does not still seem to understand is that because it has failed to give security and welfare to the Nigerian people as provided for in Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution, ethnic nationalism is fast rising in a way that ethnic groups and the various nationalities in the Nigerian contraption have begun to feel that they need to go the extra mile to protect themselves from ravaging insecurity.

Someone needs to drum it to the ears of this government that the young man with a tattooed face that proudly displays his tribal marks is no longer an ordinary small boy representing himself alone. He has become a metaphor for the Yoruba struggle for self-determination.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, however, asked Mr Igboho to approach a court of law under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement (Procedure) Rules and seek protection from being killed or arrested.

Sunday Igboho can approach a court of law under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement (Procedure) Rules and seek protection from being killed, arrested, being waylaid, being detained and having his humanity degraded.

He can go to court to seek his fundamental rights that he is entitled to freedom of movement, freedom of association and the right to move about and across Nigeria to any part that he wishes, without let or hindrance. See sections 32, 33, 35, 40 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.

A court of law will readily grant him that protection because it has not been shown that he has committed any offence; and none is alleged against him. If any has been alleged against him, then they could invite him over to make a statement. We are operating a constitutional democracy where things are done by the rule of law; not rule of the thumb, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Igboho issued an eviction notice to Fulani herders in South-west Nigeria, over reported cases of kidnappings and killings.

He alleged that the herdsmen are perpetrators of all forms of criminality. His action is against Nigeria law which frowns at the eviction of citizens from any place of their choice.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 28) - President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday said that he is considering placing Metro Manila under a more relaxed modified general community quarantine now that the country has received its first batch of vaccines.

Duterte noted that he may allow more businesses to open once the country secured at least 2 million doses of anti-coronavirus vaccine.

Ako, kapag nagumpisa na yung rollout and other vaccines will come in and be distributed to the provinces...magkaroon na tayo ng stock na two million, bitawan ko na, I will open the economy, he said.

[Translation: For me, once the rollout starts and other vaccines will come in and be distributed to the provinces...then we already have a stock of two million, I will let it loose, I will open the economy.]

The national government has received 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine courtesy of the Chinese government.

Duterte recently rejected the proposal to place the whole country under MGCQ until COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out.

The President said many Filipinos will only suffer if some businesses will remain close during the pandemic.

Our economy is really down, as in down. So, the earlier na mabilisan itong vaccine, the better, he said.

People have to eat, people have to work, people have to pay for their upkeep and the only way to do it is to open the economy and for businesses to regrow, added Duterte.

READ: Business groups optimistic on economic recovery following vaccines' arrival

Metro Manila as well as Baguio City, Apayao, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Batangas, Tacloban City, Iligan City, Davao City and Lanao del Sur will remain under GCQ throughout March. While the rest of country will be under MGCQ.

Although the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will begin on March 1, Duterte said that Filipinos may have to wait until 2023 before everything returns to normal.

In about, maybe early year [20]23, not the [20]22. Ito hanggang katapusan ng buwan, paspasan tayo (Starting now until the end of the month, we will rush things), he said. Maybe the first or second quarter of year 2023.
A PROTEST against Covid-19 controls being organised online for Cork next week has prompted demands for authorities to intervene amid fears of a repeat of the shocking violence that marred a Dublin demonstration.

The calls came as Garda Commissioner Drew Harris admitted he was taken aback by the level of vitriol and violence to which Gardai were subjected during the Dublin city centre protest.

Commissioner Harris also said he expects further such demonstrations to be attempted over the weeks ahead.

Fireworks and glass bottles were used as weapons against Gardai attending the mass demonstration in Dublin.

Read More

Three Gardai were injured and a total of 13 people were subsequently charged with public order offences.

Those charged range from 19 years to 59 years.

Now, a Government TD has demanded that a Cork protest - being organised by online groups - be immediately banned to avoid any threat of a repeat of similar scenes.

Details of the protest remain unclear but it is understood it was being planned for Cork city centre next Saturday. Cork authorities are attempting to clarify details of the proposed demonstration with the only details being circulated via social media.

The city has already witnessed a number of small demonstrations against Covid-19 controls and the use of vaccines.

A number of leaflet drops have also taken place by conspiracy groups pursuing bizarre theories about the pandemic.

Dublin Rathdown TD Neale Richmond said the authorities need to act immediately to ensure there is no repeat of the disgraceful scenes in Dublin city centre.

Yesterday was a dark day in our capital as violent thugs brought shame to the streets of Dublin attacking our Gardai physically and verbally," he said.

Dangerous conspiracy theorists preyed on the genuine frustrations of many to recklessly bring hundreds of people out in protest against necessary public health measures aimed to fuel the spread of a killer virus.

It is clear that subversive elements used the opportunity presented by this protest to spread their far-right propaganda, dangerous anti-science rhetoric and ultimately attack our Gardai.

Those who may be frustrated by the ongoing restrictions and considering attending protests must be aware of who the nefarious groups behind them actually are.

The consequences for attending protests can be damaging not just because they are super spreader events but because they can quickly descend into illegal chaos.

With 23 people arrested and a number of gardai in hospital, it is crucial that any other protests like this are not allowed to happen.

Already we can see online that another dangerous group has planned a protest for Cork next week.

Quite simply this protest must be stopped and the organisers held to account for such reckless measures, he said.
New Delhi [India], February 28 (ANI): Party General Secretary Vadra is set to launch a poll campaign in Assam from March 1, for the upcoming state Assembly polls.

She will tour the state for two days from March 1 onwards. The party has planned various interaction programs on the first day of Priyanka Gandhi's visit. Thereafter, she will address a rally on March 2 in Tezpur town in Assam.

Prior to that, leader Rahul Gandhi had visited Assam and addressed a rally in which the party gave a message that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be highlighted as the main agenda from Congress party's side.

Gandhi had even worn a scarf depicting his anti-CAA stand symbolically in which he had said, "Hum ne yeh gamchha pehna hai. Ispe likha hai CAA. Ispe humne cross laga rakha hai, matlab chahe kuchh bhi ho jaye, CAA nahi hoga. 'Hum do, hamare do' achhi tarah sun lo, CAA nahi hoga, kabhi nahi hoga." (translated as I have worn this gamcha today. We have written CAA on it and have put a cross on it. Meaning that whatever happens, CAA will not happen. Our two and ours two, listen carefully. CAA will never happen. )

Rahul Gandhi had spoken on Assam Accords as well. He will be in Tamil Nadu on Monday. Vadra will be campaigning in Assam.

Besides Assam, other poll-bound state's Pradesh Congress Committee's want to campaign in their state too. Kerala state unit has already sent a proposal to the General Secretary in-charge of the state mentioning the campaign dates of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

On Friday, the Election Commission of India announced that Assam will go to Assembly elections in three phases beginning March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said: "In Assam, elections shall be held in three phases. The first phase of notification is March 2 and 47 seats in 12 districts will go to the polls. The last date of nomination March 9 and the date of poll is March 27. In the second phase, 39 constituencies in 13 districts will go to the polls on April 1. Forty Assembly constituencies in 12 districts to go on polls on April 6. Votes will be counted on May 2."

Currently, the BJP government is ruling in the state and is confident of winning polls while Congress is in alliance with All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in the state.

(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 Scotland Yard chief embroiled in the VIP paedophile scandal could be criminally prosecuted after evidence he allegedly sought to undermine a bullying probe was handed to the Crown Prosecution Service, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Matt Horne, who is the Metropolitan Polices head of professional standards, is being investigated over claims that he illegally accessed confidential information in connection with an investigation that he bullied a fellow officer.

A dossier has been passed to prosecutors following an almost three year investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The CPS had yet to decide whether to bring charges.

Mr Horne recently emerged as a key figure in the row over the Mets mishandling of the Operation Midland child sex abuse investigation which led to a string of high-profile figures being wrongly accused of sex crimes on the word of serial fantasist Carl Beech.

Matt Horne, who is the Metropolitan Polices head of professional standards, is being investigated over claims that he illegally accessed confidential information in connection with an investigation that he bullied a fellow officer

Tasked with overseeing what information from a coruscating review into Operation Midland by retired judge Sir Richard Henriques should be released to the public, he exchanged emails with Met Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House in October 2019 discussing how to insulate their boss Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick from criticism.

Scotland Yard and the IOPC are facing questions over why Horne continued to oversee disciplinary procedures more than a year after the police watchdog began investigating his conduct.

The IOPC probe examined claims that Mr Horne, 51, accessed confidential information as part of a disciplinary case into his bullying of fellow officers in 2015 and 2016. He was alleged to have behaved inappropriately while Assistant Chief Constable at Essex Police and was found guilty of three counts of misconduct at an internal tribunal in 2018.

It recently emerged he was a key figure in the row over the Mets mishandling of the Operation Midland child sex abuse investigation which led to a string of high-profile figures being wrongly accused of sex crimes on the word of serial fantasist Carl Beech (pictured)

After that ruling, fresh allegations were made that he had illegally accessed private information with the help of another officer. Mr Horne is understood to have been placed on restricted duties some time after October 2019.

An IOPC spokesman last night confirmed: We have referred a file of evidence to the CPS to consider potential criminal charges over allegations that two senior officers wrongly accessed and shared confidential information.

In a statement, Mr Horne said: Police officers are rightly accountable for their actions and I have co-operated fully with the IOPC investigation and will continue to do so.

He exchanged emails with Met Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House (pictured) in October 2019 discussing how to insulate their boss Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick from criticism over the scandal

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: DAC Horne remains in his post but his duties are restricted in a way that is appropriate to the allegations made.

The bungled VIP paedophile ring inquiry has become one of the Mets biggest scandals, yet Scotland has resisted calls for the senior officers involved to face disciplinary action.

Dame Cressida, who oversaw the officer who infamously described Beechs false allegations as credible and true, has herself been referred to the IOPC over Operation Midland. Beech is serving an 18-year prison term for perverting the course of justice, fraud and child sex offences.

Viscount Stormont has found a chatelaine for his Scottish pile, Scone Palace, I can report  and his American fiancee already knows the secret of its pronunciation.

For north of the border, if you want to be truly refined, you pronounce it 'Scoon', something Connecticut-born Charlotte Clune, 31, will have discovered after meeting the Viscount at Oxford.

But 32-year-old Lord Stormont, known as William Murray confessed to me that he didn't present her with a ring.

Viscount Stormont has found a chatelaine for his Scottish pile in Connecticut-born Charlotte Clune

William Murray's Scone Palace - pronounced 'Scoon' by those truly refined north of the border

He says: 'I blamed lockdown  it was too hard to choose one. It took me a while to get down on one knee but now I have, we don't want to wait.

'We're getting married in the autumn. We'll only be able to have 50 guests, but I like the idea of a small do anyway.'

No wonder Phoebe Waller-Bridge chose Emerald Fennell to write the second series of her hit show Killing Eve  she's been writing 'horrifically violent' scenes since she was a child!

Emerald's flair for horror started at Marlborough College, the school she attended with the Duchess of Cambridge.

'I've always written... ever since I was small, and always horrifically violent,' says Emerald, 35, who plays Camilla Parker Bowles in The Crown.

'There was lots of my parents being called into offices asking if I was OK.' Scary!

What is the point in being a duke with your own stately home if you can't call in favours from your celebrity friends when you need them?

The Duke of Beaufort  aka Bunter Worcester  auditioned for a small part in Lily James' new BBC series The Pursuit Of Love, but didn't get past the first round  despite filming for the Nancy Mitford tale taking place at his home, Badminton House.

The rejection was doubly humiliating, since not only is series writer and director Emily Mortimer a pal of his wife Georgia, but the audition, to play a waiter, was at a dinner for the whole cast, including Dominic West.

The Duke of Beaufort  aka Bunter Worcester  auditioned for a small part in Lily James' new BBC series The Pursuit Of Love, but didn't get past the first round  despite filming for the Nancy Mitford tale taking place at his home, Badminton House

'Fortunately, even someone of Emily's generous and inclusive nature could not quite accommodate his acting talent,' Georgia says diplomatically.

At least he has got his music career to fall back on: Bunter sings with a prog rock band called The Listening Device.


Contributed / Getty Images

ROXBURY  State Police are investigating a fire they said was intentionally set at the Roxbury fire department Saturday evening.

State police spokesman Trooper First Class Pedro Muniz said the agencys Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit was requested by the towns fire marshal to assist the investigation into the blaze.
Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for a coronial inquiry into the death of a woman who claimed to have been raped in 1988 by a man who is now a federal cabinet minister.

Turnbull has also revealed the woman wrote to him in 2019 with details of the allegations and he had since passed that correspondence to the South Australian police.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Labor senator Penny Wong, and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young received a letter on Friday alleging the sexual assault took place against a woman who has since died.

That letter is in the hands of the Australian Federal Police.

Speaking at a Writers Week event in Adelaide on Sunday, Turnbull revealed the woman had written to him and his wife Lucy in December 2019 seeking their advice.

She described a pretty horrific rape that she said had occurred at the hands of this person, a person she said is now in the cabinet, Turnbull said.

One of the things she noted, I might say, is that shed kept extensive diaries.

She mentioned that she had a lawyer and was talking to the NSW police.

Turnbull wrote back expressing sympathy and concern for her and told her she was doing the right thing in going to police.

The former PM said after learning of the womans death in South Australia in the middle of last year it struck him there would likely be an inquest.

I got in touch with the police commissioner here and I sent him the correspondence she sent us and our reply, Turnbull said.

I dont know whether there will be an inquest or not. Frankly, there should be.

The allegation is incredibly serious.

In the circumstances, a woman who has got a complaint ongoing about a senior public figure, taking her own life.

There clearly needs to be some form of inquest.

Also on Sunday, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said it was up to the PM to consider what to do with the cabinet minister at the centre of the allegations.

Albanese said the allegations needed to be investigated appropriately and not politically managed.

The prime minister must confirm to himself that it remains the case that the minister, who is the subject of these allegations, that its appropriate for him to stay in his current position, he told the ABCs Insiders program.

He must assure himself that it is appropriate, that the current position and make-up of the cabinet can continue.

But Government Leader in the Senate Simon Birmingham earlier pushed back against suggestions the minister alleged to be involved should step aside and that the police should be allowed to get on with their job.

We have to respect that we have justice systems in Australia, that everyone is entitled to natural justice and that in this case allegations have been made  and we have to back the appropriate authorities, Senator Birmingham said on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Senator Wong issued a statement revealing the complainant, who died in June 2020, had made the allegations to her face-to-face in November 2019.

The complainant made an allegation that she had been raped many years earlier by a person who is now a senior member of the federal government. She indicated she intended to report the matter to NSW Police, Senator Wong said.

This development comes after a parliamentary sitting fortnight that was dominated by an alleged sexual assault on a former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins by a male colleague.

Other women have also come forward accusing the same man of attacks on them.

Four inquiries are underway, including a multi-party investigation aimed at ensuring parliament is a safe working environment.

If you or a loved one needs assistance, call Australian hotlines Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636

By Tim Dornin and Colin Brinsden
A Gypsy Jokers bikie abducted, bashed, and tortured a woman before shaving her head and promising to 'make her ugly'.

Chad Daniel Hogg, 31, made two horrific attacks on the woman, who can't be named, in western Sydney in 2018.

The court heard the first assault took place at a caravan park in Jamisontown near Penrith in July 2018, where the young woman was grabbed by the throat and choked multiple times, according to agreed facts.

Chad Daniel Hogg was sentenced to a minimum four years jail on Friday. He's pictured during his arrest at a bikie clubhouse in Horsley Park in September 2018

The woman, who can't be named for legal reasons, was also slapped in the face.

She was later taken to Nepean Hospital with a fractured eye socket and suspected fractured nose suffered in the violent attack, Penrith Press reported

Just two months later, Hogg abducted the same woman during an argument over jewellery and drove her 25km to the Gypsy Joker clubhouse in Horsley Park, where she was tied to a pole with duct tape.

He choked and slapped her before shaving off chunks of the woman's hair with clippers while taunting her that 'I'm going to make you look ugly', the court heard.

Then he drove the kidnapped woman to a chicken takeaway outlet in Penrith, where she was released.

Chad Daniel Hogg (pictured during his September 2018 arrest) was due to stand trial but changed his plea at the 11th hour to plead to guilty to a string of charges

Hogg was arrested later that day after a dramatic two-hour stand-off with police at the Gypsy Jokers clubhouse in Sydney's south west.

He was due to stand trial in November, but the trial was called six days before it was due to start after Hogg entered 11th hour guilty pleas.

His charges included choking with recklessness, assault causing bodily harm and detaining a person while causing bodily harm.

Hogg apologised for his 'foolish and cowardly' behaviour in a letter to the court during his sentencing on Friday.

Police attended the Gypsy Joker clubhouse in Horsley Park in 2018 after a young woman was abducted, bashed and choked before her hair was shaved off with clippers

Chad Daniel Hogg (pictured during his 2018 arrest) described his actions as 'foolish and cowardly' in a letter to the court before being sentenced to a minimum four years jail

But the crown prosecutor argued Hogg demonstrated a lack of insight.

'His regret and remorse is derived only from being caught for his offending,' they told the court.

'"Foolish" and "cowardly" are words that do not describe the gravity of his offending.

'The detention was extensive, the actual bodily harm occasioned was significant and the offender shaving (the victim's) head to make her look ugly was just designed to humiliate her.'

Hogg was jailed for a minimum four years in Penrith District Court on Friday.

Having been in custody since his arrest, Hogg will be eligible for parole in November 2022.
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Prior to the pandemic, Laurie LeClear would chat the night away over dinner with a group of friends. Conversation filled the time as much as food and drink would fill the belly, typically at a downtown Kalamazoo restaurant.

Nowadays, the 74-year-old Richland woman meets with her dinner group over Zoom, and right now, the No. 1 topic of conversation is the COVID-19 vaccine, LeClear said.

Im not saying thats the only thing we talk about, she said. But, its always at some point mentioned.

About 100 miles east, Rob Granville sits in his apartment near Ann Arbor. Hes waiting for the call to start serving drinks again at one of Main Streets bars or restaurants, but hed like to get the vaccine before that happens.

Its absolute, complete and utter nonsense that people are being asked to come back before theyre able to access the vaccine, he said. You might us well just f---ing slap us in the face ... because we dont have a choice if we want to keep our jobs.

Whether its anticipation of safely seeing friends again or no longer fearing a return to work, the COVID-19 vaccine is top of mind for many Michiganders.

Rob Granville stands for a portrait downtown Ann Arbor on Thursday Feb. 18, 2020. Granville has worked at a number of restaurants in downtown Ann Arbor and has not been able to receive the vaccine. Nicole Hester/Mlive.com

Meeting of the minds on Mondays

Some of LeClears dinner group, which consists mostly of women 65 and up, have yet to receive the vaccine. She received her second vaccine shot on Friday, Feb. 12, about a month after it became available to people 65 and over.

The friends joke they should drive to the Pfizer plant just a few miles down the road in Portage and grab vials directly from the production line.

Here we are, right in the city where Pfizers (vaccine) is made, and we cant get it, LeClear said, relaying some of her friends views.

Related: Portage beaming with pride in anticipation of Bidens Pfizer visit

They understand Michigan has a vaccine prioritization and scheduling process that doesnt take into account proximity to the Pfizer plant, said 79-year-old Connie Ferguson of Kalamazoo. They jest, but theres underlying frustration in this reality, she said.

(Its) probably five miles from where Im sitting right now, Ferguson said. So we kind of chuckle when we say Heres Pfizer down the road. But did we get the vaccine first? No.

The dinner group shares advice on how to get signed up, including websites to visit or phone numbers to call, Ferguson said.

She and her husband both received shots, something she credits to some Kalamazoo Gazette headlines.

Weve gotten both. We were very lucky, she said. I tend to look at the headlines a couple times a day, and I checked in and I saw a thing that was date stamped a half hour before that said Bronson (Methodist Hospital) opened their list. So I went and signed up.

Both Ferguson and LeClear found it difficult to track down sign-up information in the initial weeks of eligibility. In the absence of a clear answer, LeClear signed up on multiple vaccine sites.

I was signed up at Kalamazoo (County Health & Community Services Department), at Meijers pharmacy and through Bronson on MyChart, she said. I had been waiting and waiting and waiting and hadnt heard anything.

She finally had her breakthrough at the Family Health Center, a federally qualified health center. Michigan receives a select amount of vaccines through federal programs that contract vaccine delivery directly with these health centers, as well as nursing homes and pharmacies.

Related: Gov. Whitmer urges President Biden to coordinate federal COVID-19 vaccination distribution with state

Everyone in the dinner group is comfortable on a computer, Ferguson said, but a frequent topic of conversation is the privilege of wireless internet connection.

Weve got WiFi at home, and weve got computers, she said. What about all the people who are at least in as much need of the shots as we are, who dont have that access? I think it just took them awhile to make things available via phone.

At the state level, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has a 211 hotline to connect people with vaccine providers, said spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin. There is also a hotline for general COVID-19 information at 888-535-6136.

While both LeClear and Ferguson are fully vaccinated now, they dont expect the dinner group to meet in-person for awhile.

Just because were vaccinated doesnt mean we need to be out there and flaunting it, she said. We dont know exactly whats going to happen... lets err on the side of caution.

Fear of the public fuels need for vaccine

Not all restaurant-goers are as health conscious as LeClear or Ferguson, said Granville, the restaurant worker in Ann Arbor.

The people that are willing to come out are mostly the ones who dont give a s--- about any of it, or dont believe in it or thinks its a hoax or whatever, said Granville, who has worked at downtown establishments such as Knights, Alley Bar, Conor ONeils, Live and Chapala over the last decade.

Granville and restaurant workers are in the next vaccine priority group in Michigan. The third group of Phase 1B in the state includes food and agriculture workers as part of other essential frontline workers.

He frequently messages with fellow service workers in an an Ann Arbor area Facebook group, though those conversations give him pause sometimes.

In the greater service community, theres a lot of distrust and people that dont want to take it, he said. Theres a lot of anti-vaccine sentiment in ... our world, which is surprising to me to see. I generally think of (Ann Arbor) as a very educated bubble, thats one of the most educated places in America.

Granvilles father helped develop some of the equipment used on the production line at the Pfizer plant in Portage. He tries to use that connection, plus as much scientific knowledge as he can convey, to allay anti-vax fears.

Theres been so much misinformation spread ... so they dont know what to believe, he said. Pfizer was literally in my hometown, my dad worked on those machines and I can explain to you exactly how they and the vaccine work.

The need for connection

Ferguson said the dinner group has met for 30 years, forming naturally over time through community interactions at church or in their neighborhoods. At the start of the pandemic, it quickly became a support network, she said.

There was a little text network where we were all saying, OK, we learned this, we learned that. Somebody said early on that they have a source of masks, she said. There was that kind of neighborhood support.

The Kalamazoo group has been able to stay connected. Granville, on the other hand, is an example of the potential isolation of the pandemic.

He joined the industry to fulfill his emotional need to socialize. As a bartender or nighttime D.J. at a club, he loves being around people.

Thats why were good at what we do, because were very outgoing and personable people, he said. To have that all be gone, with no end in sight ...

At one point, the isolation brought him to a dark place.

There was a point at which I was sitting on my porch, in the rain, holding a knife to my wrist to see how it felt, he said. Jesus ... Im a social person (and) you dont have to separate me from all of that. It nearly did me in.

Granville recently lost two friends in the restaurant industry, including one by suicide. He worries about the toll such isolation has taken on folks, particularly those who thrive in social settings.

Hes recently started getting regular COVID-19 tests so that he can more safely see some of his loved ones. But he knows a vaccination is the first real step towards returning to normal.

When will normal happen for him?

Theres no way of telling.

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Its nearly two months since turbulence erupted around China Huarong Asset Management Co.At the end of March, its 4% perpetual dollar bond was trading at 102 cents on the dollar as investors figured the January execution of former chairman Lai Xiaomin for bribery put a line under past wayward behavior. But the failure of the company to release 2020 results by a March 31 deadline, and a subsequent report by mainland media Caixin that the firm will restructure, sparked weeks of turmoil. The same bond is now at 57 cents.The heart of the matter is whether the central government will rescue a state-owned company thats integral to the smooth running of the financial system. While there are signs Beijing wants to ensure China Huarong can repay its debts on time, uncertainty prevails.Heres a look at the key events for China Huarong:May 28The company has wired funds to repay $978 million of notes maturing within the following week, according to Bloomberg News, the biggest bond payment since the 2020 results delay.May 27Liang Qiang, who currently heads another bad-debt manager, is on track to become president of China Huarong, reports Bloomberg News.May 24China Huarong dollar bonds climb after the managing editor of Caixin Media wrote in an opinion piece that the asset manager is nowhere near defaulting on its more than $20 billion of offshore notes.May 21Some of China Huarongs thinly traded onshore bonds slump after having held up better than the companys dollar-denominated notes, signaling broadening concern about the firms financial health.May 18China Huarong has transferred funds to repay a $300 million note maturing May 20, Bloomberg News reports, the first dollar bond to come due since the delayed 2020 results. Prices for the firms dollar bonds slump earlier in the day after the New York Times reports China is planning an overhaul that would inflict significant losses on both domestic and foreign China Huarong bondholders.May 17The company has reached funding agreements with state-owned banks to ensure it can repay debt through at least the end of August, by which time China Huarong aims to have completed its 2020 financial statements, according to a Bloomberg News report. That as at least two of its onshore bonds see big price declines in recent days, worrying some investors.May 13The firm says its prepared to make future bond payments and has seen no change in the level of government support, seeking to ease investor concerns after a local media report that regulators balked at China Hurarongs restructuring plan.May 6The company says it transferred funds to pay five offshore bond coupons due the following day, its latest move to meet debt obligations amid persistent doubts about its financial health.April 30China Huarong breaks its silence, with an executive telling media it is prepared to make its bond payments and state backing remains intact. The official also says the weeks rating downgrades have no factual basis and are too pessimistic.April 29Moodys Investor Service downgrades China Huarong by one notch to Baa1, adding the firm remains on watch for further downgrade. The cut reflects the companys weakened funding ability due to market volatility and increased uncertainty over its future, according to the statement.April 27China Huarong units repay bonds maturing that day. The S$600 million ($450 million) bond was repaid with funds provided by Chinas biggest state-owned bank, according to a Bloomberg News report.April 26Fitch Ratings downgrades China Huarong by three notches to BBB while dropping the companys perpetual bonds into junk territory. The lack of transparency over government support for the firm may hamper its ability to refinance debt in offshore markets, Fitch said.April 25China Huarong says it wont meet an April 30 deadline to file its 2020 report with Hong Kongs stock exchange because auditors needed more time to finalize a transaction the company first flagged on April 1. Securities and asset-management units said in the days before that they wouldnt release 2020 results by months end.April 22The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asks lenders to extend China Huarongs upcoming loans by at least six months, according to REDD, citing two bankers from large Chinese commercial lenders.April 21China is considering a plan that would see its central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) of China Huarong assets to help clean up the firms balance sheet, according to a Bloomberg News report. Peer China Cinda Asset Management Co. was said to be planning the sale of perpetual bonds in the second quarter.April 20China Huarongs key offshore financing unit says it returned to profitability in the first quarter and laid a solid foundation for transformation. Reorg Research reports that regulators are considering options including a debt restructuring of the unit, China Huarong International Holdings Ltd.April 19Huarong Securities Co. says it wired funds to repay a 2.5 billion yuan local note.April 16The CBIRC says China Huarongs operations are normal and that the firm has ample liquidity. These are the first official comments about the companys troubles. Reuters reports Chinese banks have been asked not to withhold loans to Huarong.April 13Fitch and Moodys both put the company on watch for downgrade. The finance ministry, which owns a majority of Huarong, is considering the transfer of its stake to a unit of the countrys sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg News reports. Chinese officials signal they want failing local government financing vehicles to restructure or go bust if debts cant be repaid.April 9China Huarong says it has been making debt payments on time and its operations are normal. Bloomberg News reports the company intends to keep Huarong International as part of a potential overhaul that would avoid the need of a debt restructuring or government recapitalization. S&P Global Ratings puts China Huarongs credit ratings on watch for possible downgrade.April 8China Huarong is preparing to offload non-core and loss-making units as part of a broad plan to revive profitability that would avoid the need for a debt restructuring or government recapitalization, Bloomberg News reports.April 6Selling gains steam in China Huarongs dollar bonds, following a holiday in China. Huarong Securities says there has been no major change to its operations, in response to a price plunge for its 3 billion yuan local bond.April 1China Huarong announces a delay in releasing 2020 results, saying its auditor is unable to finalize a transaction. Stock trading is suspended and spreads jump on the firms dollar bonds while China Huarong tells investors its business is running as usual. Caixin reports the company submitted restructuring and other major reform plans to government officials and shareholders.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Gettyimagesbank



Seoul set to ease ownership rules on local private equity firms



By Park Jae-hyuk



MBK Partners, Hahn & Company, IMM Private Equity and other Korean private equity firms (PEFs) will be able to compete fairly with their foreign peers in the local capital market.



If the National Assembly abolishes discriminatory regulations against domestic PEFs, they are expected to engage in shareholder activism and invest in domestic unicorns with high growth potential.



According to the National Policy Committee, Sunday, its members agreed last week on a revision of the Capital Markets Act, which includes the abolishment of the so-called "10 percent rule" that forces PEFs meddling with the management of companies to acquire more than 10 percent of voting shares or a board seat in companies in which they invest.



The revision bill is highly likely to be passed in a provisional session in March because the ruling and opposition parties are in rare agreement on it. If the Assembly passes the bill, it will be enforced in September at the earliest after the government's pronouncement.



It was initially expected to be passed during the 20th National Assembly, but the plan hit a snag following a series of fund fiascos that caused massive losses for local investors. The previous bill expired automatically with the end of the 20th National Assembly last year.





Yeouido financial district in Seoul / Gettyimagesbank
Egyptian veteran actor Youssef Shaaban, 90, succumbed to coronavirus and died in a hospital in Giza on Sunday, according to local reports.

Born in Cairo on July 16, 1931, Shaaban graduated from the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts, where he studied acting.

He began his career on the stages of theatre before attracting the attention of directors of films and television series, who cast him in important roles starting the 1960s. Meanwhile, he also worked in numerous radio programmes and series.

Though he was more present in theatre at the beginning of his career, Shaaban kept returning to stages throughout the decades, starring in plays such as The Bride is Getting Mad (1980) by Samir El-Asfory, One Hundred Good Evenings (1989) by El-Said Radi, Conquest Gate (2014) by Fahmi El-Kholi, etc.

His major breakthrough in film came with There is a Man in Our House (1961), a classic film directed by Henry Barakat and starring the best known actors at the time: Omar Sharif, Rushdy Abaza, Zahret El-Ola, Hussein Riad, Zubaida Tharwat, and Hassan Youssef.

The following years and decades were marked by a collection of roles, as he was cast in numerous well known films, working with renowned Egyptian directors and sharing the screen with prominent stars.

His roles in the 1960s included films such as The Miracle (1962), Cairo (1963), Mother of the Bride (1963), For Men Only (1964), The Three Love Her (1965), My Wife, the Director General (1966), The Second Groom (1967), The Idol of the People (1967) starring Abdel-Halim Hafez and Shadia.

In the 1970s, Shaaban joined many other renowned actors on the screen in films such as An Incident of Honour (1971), starring Zubaida Tharwat and Shoukry Sarhan; and Guys in Storm with Nelly and Nour El-Sherif.

In the 1970s, he acted in Moments of Fear (1972), starring Farid Shawqi and Mervat Amin, as well as in other well-known films such as Sun and Fog (1973), A Woman With a Bad Reputation (1973) with Shams El-Baroudi and Mahmoud Yacine, Malatily Bathhouse (1973), The Bullet is Still in My Pocket (1974), to name but a few.

Shaaban started being more present in television series in the early 1970s, appearing in Wadha and Ibn Aglan (1975), Al-Zeer Salem (1977), Antara (1978), The Doughry Family (1980), Raafat Al-Haggan (1988), among numerous others.

It was in the 1990s and 2000s that his appearances increased in TV series, as he acted in Ahwal Shakhsiya (1992), Al-Hilali Biography (1997), A Woman from the Time of Love (1998), The Night They Killed the Mayor (2000), Al-Hakika w Al-Sarab (2003), Asmahan (2008), Heaven and Hell (2009)

His most recent roles include films Al-Haram Al-Rabea (2016) and Bard Al-Shatta (2015), both written and directed by Peter Mimi; and TV series, such as Illegitimate Child (2012), Mulberry Leaves (2015), etc.

In 2017, Shaaban announced his retirement.

Earlier this month the actor contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalised. Last week he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Al-Agouza hospital, however, his condition was deteriorating. He passed away on Sunday at the age of 89.

The artistic community expressed their great sorrow for losing one of the big icons of Egyptian theatre, cinema, and art in general.

Ashraf Zaki, the head of the actors syndicate and president of the Arts Academy wrote on his Instagram account: Farewell my teacher, my friend, and my beloved.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

Short link:


New Delhi, Feb 28 : Fresh Covid-19 cases are showing a worrying upward trend over the past one week, with the country reporting single-day rise of 16,752 cases in the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 1,10,96,731 on Sunday, Union Health Ministry said.

The rise is the highest in this month.

The positivity rate has been rising gradually, which is now at 1.48 per cent. As per the Ministry's data, there are 1,64,511 active cases at present after 11,718 patients were discharged in a day.

Meanwhile, 113 more deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the overall toll to 1,57,051, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

The experts have expressed a number of possibilities which could be owed to the stride ranging from lax attitude of people towards following Covid protocols to likeability of "mutations and new strains" causing the surge, as has been studied by the laboratories involved in Covid detection across the country.

Last week, officials said that the average daily new infections for the last 15 days were oscillating between 9,000 to 12,000 while the deaths were between 78 to 120.

On February 9, India had reported 9,110 new cases, the lowest this year so far. Last year, the lowest 9,633 cases were recorded on June 3.

Till now, 1,07,75,169 persons have been discharged so far. The recovery rate has reduced to 97.10 per cent, a change of 0.4 per cent in the last two days. Meanwhile, the fatality rate remains 1.42 per cent.

On Friday, around 90 per cent of the new cases came from six states -- Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Karnataka and Gujarat, while six states accounted for 84.62 per cent of the new deaths included Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

The Ministry also informed that 7,95,723 samples were tested on Saturday. The cumulative tests done by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) so far stands at 21,62,31,106.

So far, 1,43,01,266 doses of corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for 'Covishield' and 'Covaxin'.

As per the Union Health Ministry, India has become the fastest nation in terms of the vaccine doses administered, even though many countries had launched their vaccination campaigns much earlier.

The third phase of vaccination against Covid-19 pandemic will begin from March 1 and will cover 27 crore of people above 60 and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities at 10,000 government and over 20,000 private vaccination centres. While people will be vaccinated free of cost at government hospitals, those taking the shots at private hospitals will have to pay.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A 19-year-old man who was stabbed to death in central London has been named as Ahmed Beker.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to Paddington Green at 9.13pm following reports of a stabbing, where they found the teenage victim.

Despite the efforts of police and paramedics, he was later pronounced dead at the scene.

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The force said on Saturday that the victim was Mr Beker, who lived in the area, and his next of kin had been informed.

A post-mortem examination is due to take place at Westminster Mortuary on Sunday, it added.

No arrests have been made and detectives are keen to hear from anyone who has images or video of the incident or who saw the events leading up to it.

A Section 60 order granting police additional stop and search powers has been enacted in the area until 2pm on Sunday.

Anyone with information is urged to call 101 or tweet @MetCC with the reference CAD7919/26FEB.

Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 20:32:13|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Which key players stand behind China's anti-poverty drive? New China Research, the think tank of Xinhua News Agency, released a research paper on Sunday to shed light on the rationale for China's anti-poverty drive, explaining the performance of the following five key "players":

CAPABLE GOVERNMENT: RESTLESS HAND OR ENABLING HAND?

How has China achieved an effective interaction between the state and its citizens to eradicate absolute poverty? The key to China's success lies in the effective interaction and coordination between a top-down government leadership and bottom-up grassroots innovation.

Four areas of improvement are needed to boost the state's anti-poverty efforts, namely in leadership, innovation, mobilization, and implementation.

In addition, multi-faceted supervision, anti-graft efforts, improvement in official governing style as well as public participation have all contributed to China realizing the goal of building an all-round well-off society while leaving no one behind.

PRO-POOR MARKET: DISTORTION OR REINVENTION?

The building of a pro-poor market is a major innovation in China's poverty alleviation practice.

China has played the leading role of the dominant public ownership economy over the non-public ownership economy and mobilized various economic entities. While promoting the flow of resources to areas of high technological content and high input-output efficiency, China has continued to advance without stifling the development of poor areas and the employment and entrepreneurship of the poor.

In this process, China has made up for the shortcomings in infrastructure and public services in impoverished areas, and optimized the allocation of labor and means of production to unleash potential productivity. It has guided, organized and supported leading enterprises and entrepreneurs to establish various forms of linkages with poverty-stricken households in order to build an inclusive market for the benefit of the poor.

CARING SOCIETY: A SILENT MAJORITY?

The involvement of the wider public is essential for successful poverty alleviation. Various players are indispensable in the supply of public goods for poverty alleviation.

China's poverty alleviation is based on a public consensus to eliminate unbalanced and inadequate development and improve the degree of social balance. Guided by the value of "giving everyone the opportunity to develop and contribute to society," it aims to rouse the silent majority to participate in poverty alleviation.

From the initiatives Project Hope and the Project for Poor Mothers in the early years to the "10,000 Enterprises Helping 10,000 Villages" program, which was launched in October 2015, as well as countless non- governmental poverty alleviation and charity actions, all reflect the mighty power of a caring society.

DEVOTED "FERRYMAN": REDUNDANT OR NECESSARY?

How can a country effectively grasp the real needs of the poor? How can a country effectively motivate every impoverished individual to do the right thing? What kind of means can be used to accurately channel resources to end deprivation? In the midst of social transformation, many poverty-stricken villages across China have suffered from a "brain drain," complicating efforts to carry out poverty alleviation work. This is why village-based poverty alleviators are particularly critical in the fight against penury.

Unlike many countries that rely heavily on non-governmental organizations and international assistance to help the poor, China relies on its administrative personnel at various levels to fight poverty.

Since 2012, a total of 255,000 teams have been dispatched to offer on-the-ground support and over 3 million people have been sent to the countryside as special commissioners for poverty relief, working together at the front line with nearly 2 million township-level cadres and millions of village-level cadres.

These personnel serve as a link between "national governance" and "rural self-governance." These "ferrymen" utilize policies and resources to build "boats" to "ferry" impoverished communities and individuals to common prosperity.

SELF-SUPPORTING "FISHERMEN": GIVING FISH OR TEACHING FISHING?

To achieve effective and sustainable poverty alleviation, the key is to "invest in people." The poor are not merely recipients of poverty alleviation, but also serve as agents of poverty elimination and prosperity. Looking back at China's fight against absolute poverty, the key is to recognize the "duality" of the subject and the object of the poor, and utilize external forces to stimulate inner motivation.

To help the poor enter the market, the Chinese government has adopted a comprehensive approach involving education and training, employment opportunities, incentives, and organizational innovation to precisely drip-feed the poor to fully tap their development potential, and help them become self-reliable "fishermen."

These fishermen can be independent entrepreneurs, migrant workers, shareholders of farmers' cooperatives, community public service providers, or "guardians" of the ecological environment. Enditem
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 13:46:18|Editor: huaxia

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CHANGCHUN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed due to inhaling toxic gases after an accident occurred at a chemical fiber plant in the city of Jilin, northeast China's Jilin Province late Saturday, local authorities said Sunday.

Eight others were injured and are in stable condition at the hospital, according to the city's emergency management department.

The accident occurred at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when the high-voltage cable was short-circuited during production, leading to a power off and causing some exhaust equipment to stop running.

The power supply restored at around 11:10 p.m. and the workers inhaled toxic gases while preparing to resume production. They were immediately rushed to the hospital and five were later confirmed dead.

Investigation into the cause of the accident continues. Enditem
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Prince William has encouraged people to continue having the coronavirus vaccine to make younger generations feel its really important for them to have it.

The Duke of Cambridge also spoke of the dangers of rumours and misinformation on social media about the vaccination.

Prince William and Kate spoke to two clinically vulnerable women who have been shielding for almost a year via video call on Tuesday.

Fiona Doyle, who has severe asthma, and Shivali Modha, who has type 2 diabetes, fall into vaccine priority group six, members of which have now started to receive vaccine invites.

The two women were preparing to have the inoculation when they spoke to the royal couple.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were told how Ms Modha had been worried about the vaccine after reading things on social media.

However, her family members, who have had the jab, have since offered her reassurance, as has charity Diabetes UK.

William told her: Catherine and I are not medical experts by any means but if its any consolation, we can wholeheartedly support having vaccinations. Its really, really important.

Weve spoken to a lot of people about it and the uptake has been amazing so far. Weve got to keep it going so the younger generations also feel that its really important for them to have it.

So its great that Shivali youre taking the time to work it out and come to the conclusion that I need to do this because social media is awash sometimes with lots of rumours and misinformation, so we have to be a bit careful who we believe and where we get our information from.

Especially for those who are clinically vulnerable as well, its so important that those vaccinations are done, so good luck.

The royal family has been supporting the vaccination programme, visiting vaccine centres and announcing when members of the family, including the Queen and Philip, have had the jab.

A group of charities which work with those who have health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus, including Diabetes UK and Asthma UK, has been working together to promote the jab among people with underlying conditions.

Ms Modha, 39, told the royal couple: I guess its just the unknown and I think thats the case for most people. Its just something that is unknown right now. And by the time youve had it, it will be A-OK.

Kate replied: I hope it comes as a huge relief in the end. I know theres maybe the anxiety and the worry leading up to it, but I hope for all of you it will add a bit of normality back to your lives and confidence as well as we go forward into the spring, that would be great.

Fiona Doyle, 37, told William and Kate she cant wait to have the jab.

Asked by the couple how she felt about getting the vaccine, she said: I cant wait! Im priority group six, so any day now Im really hoping to get called up.

She added: I think Im trying to not see it as a magic cure. Im not going to go out licking lampposts or anything straight away!

Did you used to do that before? laughed the Duke Of Cambridge.

Im probably going to do what I do normally, said Ms Doyle. Ill still wear my mask, Ill still keep my hand gel, still social distance.

But its nice to know that mentally you have that layer of protection and that if you do end up being unfortunate enough to catch it, it wont be as severe as it might have been without having been vaccinated.

The Syrian government claims to have shot down Israeli missiles over the capital of Damascus - just days after President Biden launched his first military action targeting Iran-backed militias in the country.

Syrian air defences were activated in the capital, as well as its southern suburbs, on Sunday night to repel an Israeli missile attack, according to state media.

There was no word on casualties.

State TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that most of the Israeli missiles were shot down before reaching their targets near Damascus.

The Syrian government claims to have shot down Israeli missiles over the capital of Damascus (map pictured) - just days after President Biden launched his first military action targeting Iran-backed militias in the country

'At 10.16 this evening the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan on some targets in the Damascus area,' Syrian state news agency SANA reported a military source as saying.

'Our air defence confronted the missiles and downed most of them,' the source added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the strike hit the area of Sayyida Zeinab, south of Damascus, where Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Lebanese Hezbollah are present.

An Israeli military spokesman declined comment when asked about the report.

Israeli state broadcaster Kan had reported that leaders of Israel's security establishment met on Sunday evening to discuss an alleged Iranian attack on an Israeli-owned vessel in the Gulf of Oman this week.

In a briefing to supporters of his party on Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Israel was taking action 'almost weekly' to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria.

Regional intelligence sources say Iran's Quds Force and militias it backs whose presence has spread in Syria in recent years have a strong presence in a string of underground bases in the southern outskirts of Damascus.

The attack comes after the United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday as it dropped seven 500-pound JDAMs (stock image) on seven targets

The airstrike, which reportedly killed 22 Iran-backed fighters, was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

But the Jewish state's army has said it hit about 50 targets in the war-torn country in 2020, without providing details.

It has consistently vowed to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from gaining a foothold in Syria.

Israel views Iranian entrenchment on its northern frontier as a red line and it has repeatedly struck Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group.

Earlier this month, Israeli missile strikes against arms depots near Syria's capital killed at least nine pro-regime militia fighters, the Observatory reported.

The attack comes after the United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday which targeted facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militias in Al Bukamal.

The attack comes after the United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday (aftermath pictured) which targeted facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militias in Al Bukamal

America dropped seven 500-pound JDAMs on seven targets on a crossing used by the militia groups to move weapons across the border.

The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops.

The airstrike, which reportedly killed 22 Iran-backed fighters, was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration.

Locations identified that could pose low risk of COVID-19

A number of locations have been identified which could pose a low risk of contracting COVID-19 for people who visited at specific times.



It follows todays announcement of two currently unexplained cases of COVID-19.



The locations and times are as follows:



Wednesday 17 February 2021

 Shoprite, Victoria Road, Douglas from 2:00m to 3:00pm



Friday 19 February 2021

 Bus Vannin service 21B (Pulrose to Lord Street) from 11:07am to 11:19am

 Superdrug, Strand Street, Douglas from 11:25am to 11:30am

 Boots, Strand Street, Douglas from 11:30am to 11:35am

 Coop, Duke Street, Douglas from 11:45am to 11:50am

 Bus Vannin service 21B (Lord Street to Pulrose) from 12:05pm to 12:12pm

 EVF Brown Bobby Filling Station, Peel Road, Douglas from 4:00pm to 4:10pm



Sunday 21 February 2021

 Bus Vannin service 5 (Quarterbridge to the Wildlife Park) from 9:12am to 10:17am

 Mangrove Cafe, The Wildlife Park, Ballaugh from 12 noon to 12:30pm

 EVF Brown Bobby Filling Station, Peel Road, Douglas from 12:30pm to 12:40pm

 Bus Vannin service 5 (The Wildlife Park to Quarterbridge) from 3:18pm to 4:18pm



Monday 22 February 2021

 Bus Vannin service 21B (Pulrose to Lord Street) from 2:37pm to 2:49pm

 Bus Vannin service 22H (Lord Street to St Ninians Lower School (Bemahague)) from 3:00pm to 3:20pm

 CeX, Duke Street, Douglas from 3:00pm to 3:30pm

 Game, Strand Shopping Centre, Strand Street, Douglas from 3:30pm to 3:45pm

 Dealz, Strand Street, Douglas from 4:00pm to 4:15pm

 Boots, Strand Street, Douglas from 4:15pm to 4:20pm

 Card Factory, Strand Street, Douglas from 4:20pm to 4:25pm

 Coop, Duke Street, Douglas from 4:30pm to 4:40pm

 Bus Vannin service 12 (St Ninians Lower School (Bemahague) to the NSC, Groves Road, Douglas) from 7:00pm to 7:35pm



Wednesday 24 February 2021

 Bus Vannin service 21B (Pulrose to Lord Street) from 2:37pm to 2:49pm

 Bus Vannin service 22H (Lord Street to St Ninians Lower School (Bemahague)) from 3:00pm to 3:20pm

 Bus Vannin service 12 (St Ninians Lower School (Bemahague) to the NSC, Groves Road, Douglas) from 7:00pm to 7:35pm



It is important to stress that the risk to the general public is low. If, however, anyone who has visited or was working in any of the locations during the relevant time period goes on to develop symptoms of COVID-19, they are encouraged to self-isolate and contact the COVID-111 service immediately. The service is open from 8am to 8pm each day. People who have been at the venues but have no symptoms are not being asked to contact COVID-111 at the present time.



Dr Henrietta Ewart, Director of Public Health, said: The risk to members of the public who were at these venues at the relevant times is small, but as a community we must be vigilant. If you visited the locations specified and feel as though you may have COVID symptoms, please self-isolate and call the COVID-111 service.



Symptoms of COVID-19 include:

 a temperature of more than 37.8C (100F)

 OR, a new and persistent cough  this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (for people who usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

 OR, anosmia  this is the loss of or a change in someones normal sense of smell, which can also affect sense of taste as the two are closely linked

 OR, shortness of breath.



Dr Ewart continued: I would encourage the whole community to remember and practise the basics of good hand and respiratory hygiene. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If you cough or sneeze, do it into a handkerchief, tissue or the crook of your elbow, then wash your hands or use hand sanitiser.


Globe Newswire

Sanofi provides update on venglustat clinical program PARIS  JUNE 1, 2021  A pivotal Phase 2/3 study of venglustat in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) did not meet futility criteria, and the company has halted the clinical program in ADPKD. The safety profile of venglustat remains consistent with previously reported results with more than 500 patients treated to date over a period of up to four years across all clinical programs. Biomarker data from the study confirmed venglustat effectively inhibits the glycosphingolipid (GSL) pathway by demonstrating a reduction in GL-1, a lipid that accumulates in certain cells. The STAGED-PKD study was stopped for futility following an independent analysis of the annualized rate of change in total kidney volume (TKV) in patients receiving venglustat compared to placebo. Trends from the analysis showed venglustat did not provide a meaningful reduction in TKV growth rate, the primary endpoint of stage 1 of the Phase 2/3 study. This interim analysis suggests the reduction of GSLs may not play a significant role in the prevention of kidney cyst growth, and as such, may not be a primary pathway associated with the progression of ADPKD. The investigational research of venglustat in ADPKD was an attempt to explore a novel biological role for GSLs beyond the established role of these lipids in lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). The venglustat development program started with our confidence in the promise of a potential breakthrough treatment to address the unmet needs of people living with lysosomal storage disorders, said John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head of Research and Development at Sanofi. In parallel, we set out to evaluate venglustat in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, a leading cause of kidney transplant. This outcome is not what we hoped for, especially for these patients. However, our research has furthered the scientific understanding of ADPKD by demonstrating that modulating the GSL pathway is insufficient to restore kidney function in adults affected by this disease. Sanofi has both completed and active studies evaluating venglustat in Gaucher disease type 3, Fabry disease and GM2 Gangliosidosis. These diseases are LSDs caused by inherited genetic abnormalities. The abnormal accumulation of GSLs is central to certain LSDs and therapeutics promoting the clearing of these accumulated lipids have been validated in Fabry disease and Gaucher disease through clinical research. In this context, venglustat operates as a Substrate Reduction Therapy (SRT), which is a concept that has also been previously validated for certain LSDs. About venglustat GSLs are cellular building blocks whose abnormal accumulation is implicated in several rare diseases, responsible for both cell dysfunction and disease progression. Venglustat is a novel, oral investigational therapy that has the potential to slow the progression of certain diseases by inhibiting abnormal GSL accumulation. Venglustat is currently under clinical investigation and its safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by any regulatory authority. About Sanofi Sanofi is dedicated to supporting people through their health challenges. We are a global biopharmaceutical company focused on human health. We prevent illness with vaccines, provide innovative treatments to fight pain and ease suffering. We stand by the few who suffer from rare diseases and the millions with long-term chronic conditions. With more than 100,000 people in 100 countries, Sanofi is transforming scientific innovation into healthcare solutions around the globe. Sanofi, Empowering Life Sanofi Media Relations Contact Ashleigh KossTel.: +1 (908) 205-2572Ashleigh.Koss@sanofi.com Sally Bain Tel.: +1 (781) 264-1091Sally.Bain@sanofi.com Sanofi Forward-Looking Statements Sanofi Investor Relations Contacts ParisEva Schaefer-JansenArnaud DelepineNathalie Pham Sanofi Investor Relations Contacts North AmericaFelix LauscherFara BerkowitzSuzanne Greco Sanofi IR main line:Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 77 45 45investor.relations@sanofi.comhttps://www.sanofi.com/en/investors/contact This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations, services, product development and potential, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, plans and similar expressions. Although Sanofis management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device or biological application that may be filed for any such product candidates as well as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such product candidates, the fact that product candidates if approved may not be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success of therapeutic alternatives, Sanofis ability to benefit from external growth opportunities, to complete related transactions and/or obtain regulatory clearances, risks associated with intellectual property and any related pending or future litigation and the ultimate outcome of such litigation, trends in exchange rates and prevailing interest rates, volatile economic and market conditions, cost containment initiatives and subsequent changes thereto, and the impact that COVID-19 will have on us, our customers, suppliers, vendors, and other business partners, and the financial condition of any one of them, as well as on our employees and on the global economy as a whole. Any material effect of COVID-19 on any of the foregoing could also adversely impact us. This situation is changing rapidly and additional impacts may arise of which we are not currently aware and may exacerbate other previously identified risks. The risks and uncertainties also include the uncertainties discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by Sanofi, including those listed under Risk Factors and Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in Sanofis annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019. Other than as required by applicable law, Sanofi does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements. Attachment Press Release

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will use multiple communication channels to reach people for the COVID-19 vaccination exercise, expected to commence from Tuesday, March 2, 2021.



Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Presidential Advisor on Health, in a media interview on Saturday, said the GHS would rely on the mass media, Information vans, online App, assembly members, unit committee members and community health nurses to inform the population about places or centres to go for the vaccination.



Some of the designated centres for the vaccination include; public and private health facilities, churches and schools while health workers would visit homes to administer the vaccines.

Dr Nsiah-Asare said the country had decentralised its immunisation system and over the years, provided over 95 per cent coverage to children thus, administering 13 different vaccines.



Dr Nsiah-Asare said it had segmented the population geographically and that people in COVID-19 hotspots areas, including; the Greater Accra Metropolitan area, Awutu Senya East and West, Greater Kumasi Metropolitan area and Obuasi Municipal areas would be the first to be vaccinated.



Additionally, people with underlying health conditions, 60 years and above persons, frontline healthcare workers, frontline security personnel, members of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary would be the first to receive shots of the vaccines.



Also, children under 16 years and pregnant women are excluded from the vaccination until safety data on the vaccines are established.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to take the first jab publicly on Tuesday, March 2, to demonstrate the safety of the vaccines and foster public trust and confidence.



The government on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 received 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of India under the Global Access Facility (COVAX Facility).



The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has, so far, approved Coveshield AstraZeneca vaccines produced by Serum Institute of India and Sputnik-V vaccines from Russia for mass immunisation in Ghana, starting from March to October, this year'.



The vaccines would be administered in three phases, with each person expected to take two doses to help create head immunity for the population.



It is estimated that 20 million Ghanaians would be vaccinated across the 260 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.



The GHS has trained over 12,500 vaccinators, 2,000 supervisors and 37,413 volunteers.

Ghana will receive 12.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX Facility, free of charge.



However, government is expected to spend about $38 million to procure vaccines through bilateral and multilateral agencies.

Source: GNA









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Featured Video

Det Insp Rory Corcoran who has been appointed to a top role at Interpol

A senior garda with a background in counter-terrorism and fraud investigation has been appointed to one of the top law enforcement positions in the world.

Detective Inspector Rory Corcoran has been announced as Assistant Director of Interpols Organised and Emerging Crime directorate (OEC), at its headquarters in Lyon, France, where he has been seconded from An Garda Siochana for the past two and a half years.

The Irishman secured the role after a global recruitment competition, beating off candidates from several of Interpols 194 member states, which is seen as a major endorsement of An Garda Siochana as a prominent player in global law enforcement.

Det Insp Corcoran, who was the acting assistant director for the past year, will have responsibility for Interpols world-wide fight against Covid-related crime such as the counterfeiting of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals, and the illegal trafficking of wildlife which has been a contributory factor in the evolution of the killer virus.

The brief also includes cyber-enabled fraud by organised criminal groups targeting State agencies involved in the roll-out of vaccines and the supply of PPE equipment since the start of the pandemic.

Invoice re-direct or Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud - one of the fastest growing criminal threats to companies and individuals globally  involves the interception of email traffic between suppliers and national health authorities with the intention of diverting funds to bogus bank accounts.

Last year the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) played a central role in an Interpol-coordinated investigation that exposed a sophisticated criminal operation using compromised emails and a network of bank accounts to target State agencies and companies supplying them with face masks and other Covid-related equipment.

As part of the multi-national enquiry involving police in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Nigeria, gardai seized 1.5m which had been transferred to a Dublin bank as part of the global scam.

Last December Interpol issued an orange notice global alert to its 194 member countries, warning them to prepare for organised crime networks targeting the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines both physically and online.

Det Insp Corcoran previously held the role of Interpols Senior Global Operations Coordinator which involved the investigation of global organised crime groups such as South American drug cartels and the Italian Mafia.

According to senior security sources, Det Insp Corcorans influential position will greatly boost the Gardas international operations as he will be working closely with law enforcement in jurisdictions outside the EU where Irish criminals are domiciled.

He was previously a key member of the Counter Terrorism Investigations Unit (CTIU) attached to the Special Detective Unit (SDU) in Dublin where he was involved in several high-profile investigations including the Northern Bank robbery by the Provisional IRA and the prosecution of RIRA leader Michael McKevitt following a joint operation with the FBI.




The Queen has been sitting on the royal throne since 1952  that's the longest reign of any monarch in British history.

Operation London Bridge is the code name given to the plan in place for the days and weeks after Queen Elizabeth II's passing.

Queen Elizabeth's funeral will be one of the biggest funerals of the century, and will bring the U.K to a standstill.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Following is a transcript of the video.

Operation London Bridge. That's the code name given to the plan in place for the days and weeks after Queen Elizabeth II's passing. The Queen has been sitting on the royal throne since 1952. That's the longest reign of any monarch in British history. And during that time, she has seen over a dozen UK prime ministers, nearly 20 Summer Olympics, and over half a dozen popes. The Queen is the cornerstone to the Commonwealth, the patron to almost 600 organizations and charities, and plays a pivotal role in the UK's alliance with many countries. So her passing will bring about a lot of change. Not just for the United Kingdom but potentially the world.

Her private secretary, The Right Honorable Edward Young, will immediately pass a message on to the acting prime minister at the time. That message will likely read "London Bridge is down." The prime minister will then set Operation London Bridge into action. Within minutes, the 15 governments outside of the UK where the Queen is head of state will be informed over a secure line. And that will be followed by the other 36 Commonwealth nations and leaders around the world. The gates of Buckingham Palace will then dawn a black-edged notice of the news. At the same time, a newsflash will alert media around the world. Every media outlet is prepared for the news. Every radio station has a network of lights that will flash to indicate a national catastrophe such as this. All BBC shows will stop and proceed to run a feed dedicated to the news. Newsreaders will change into the black suits and clothing that is on hand at all times in the news studio, and the traditional red BBC News branding will turn black. Newspapers, TV channels, and radio stations have days of coverage ready to go.

Story continues

On the same day as the death, the Queen's eldest son, Charles, will immediately become king. And it's reported that the stock exchange, businesses, and shops across the UK will likely close for the day out of respect. The day after the Queen's death, on a livestream, Charles will make his first official speech as King. And the government will swear its allegiance to the sound of a 41-gun salute in Hyde Park, London. After that, King Charles, if this is the name he so chooses, will set off on a UK tour, visiting the leaders of government in the capitals of each country, Edinburgh, Belfast, and Cardiff, before returning to London. During this period, TV channels will play the many documentaries already made in the Queen's honor. And the BBC will refrain from playing comedy shows as a sign of respect until after the funeral.

Four days after her death, the Queen's coffin will be led on a military procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Here she will lie in state over the next four days and after which King Charles, family, and dignitaries will pay their respects. Then, the doors will open to likely hundreds of thousands of people queued up outside.

The funeral is estimated to take place 10 to 12 days after the Queen's passing. But one thing is certain: The day of the funeral will be an official bank holiday for the whole of the United Kingdom. The stock exchange will close for a second time in under two weeks, and many businesses will follow suit. At 11 a.m. sharp, the bells of Big Ben will chime, the country will fall silent, and the coffin will be brought inside Westminster Abbey, where 2,000 specially invited guests will bow their heads in prayer. After the service, the coffin will be taken to Windsor Castle and then finally to St. George's Chapel, where Queen Elizabeth II will likely be laid to rest next to her father, King George VI.

Likely within a year after the funeral, an official coronation for King Charles will take place on yet another bank holiday. All in all, accounting for the multiple bank holidays, funeral expenses, and coronation celebrations, the Queen's passing is estimated to cost the UK economy billions of pounds. In addition, hundreds of changes will happen across the UK in the months to come. New British currency will be printed with the King's portrait, and the Queen's currency will slowly be removed from use. The same will happen for stamps, passports, and police and military uniforms. And the national anthem will be changed to "God Save the King."

Not to mention, how the world and Commonwealth will react to the new King could alter the British royal family forever. For example, there is growing support in Australia for the country to become a republic. And the Queen's death could heighten that support. This could lead other countries to follow suit, which would almost certainly weaken the British monarchy.

This scenario will one day be upon us.

Operation London Bridge will be triggered, and arguably the biggest funeral of our lifetime will be witnessed around the world.

This will be the end of an era.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video was originally published in November 2019.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Ben Mikek

mikekben@grinnell.edu

Grinnell College has registered to become a vaccine distribution site, meaning that once COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available they may be administered at the College.

The decision over whether to administer vaccines at the College would be made by public health authorities if they find it necessary, said Heather Cox, the Colleges director of emergency management, in an email to The S&B. At the moment, College facilities arent needed because there arent enough doses available to necessitate a larger space for vaccine administration.

Cox wrote that the College registered with the Iowa Department of Public Health to be a Vaccine Provider Organization. The county and hospital are aware of our status as an approved organization, so the wheels can turn very quickly if they need to partner [with us] in the future.

So far, supplies of vaccines in Poweshiek County have been limited enough that extra space at the College isnt required. According to Iowa Department of Public Health data, as of Feb. 25, 2,154 Poweshiek County residents, about 12 percent, have received their first dose, with 650 of those having received a second dose as well. That means the county has administered about 1,155 vaccine doses in the last three weeks. Poweshiek County and Iowa are still behind the national vaccination rate of nearly 14 percent.

But as the FDA mulls approving the single-dose vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson, vaccine supplies may increase rapidly. In addition to offering up large College-owned facilities, Cox said that Poweshiek County Public Health could ask for assistance from SHAW nurses in administering vaccines, should the number require it.

The College also has freezers capable of maintaining the low temperatures required to store the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, something that Grinnell Regional Medical Center, the only other site where vaccines are currently being stored, cant currently do.

We do have the capability to store both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, Cox wrote. Freezer space has been designated for use by the county if needed, or for our use if direct procurement becomes available.

By press time, Public Health and GRMC had not responded to The S&Bs questions about when College facilities might be used for vaccine distribution. So far, all vaccinations have been carried out at GRMC with the Moderna vaccine, which doesnt need the same cold storage requirements as the Pfizer-BioNTech inoculation.

A small number of doses were also allocated for distribution by HyVee pharmacy on Feb. 19, according to a statement from Public Health. As of Feb. 26, all of those doses have been administered, according to the HyVee appointment scheduling website.

For now, though, Poweshiek County Public Health is pushing forward with a rough schedule of two vaccination clinics each week, the most recent being held on Feb. 22 and Feb. 24. Residents who are eligible to be vaccinated under Iowas Phase 1B, including those 65 or over and some essential workers, can make an appointment for vaccination by calling Poweshiek County Public Health at (641) 269-9200.

The next clinics will be held on March 2 and March 4; Public Health provides regular updates about the availability of appointments on its Facebook page.
The 40m plane was in operation until 2012 before it was transported to Cotswold Airport to be salvaged but was bought by Pytch's founder

It began its journey from Cotswold Airport at 9am before arriving at the headquarters of event technology company Pytch in Bristol

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Motorists were stunned to see an old Boeing 727 being driven along a motorway on Saturday.

The decommissioned jet crawled across the M5, M4 and M32 at a steady 20mph, accompanied by a police escort.

It began its journey from Cotswold Airport at 9am before arriving at the headquarters of event technology company Pytch in Bristol.

The 40m plane was in operation until 2012 before it was transported to Cotswold Airport to be salvaged.

Motorists were stunned to see an old Boeing 727 being driven along the a motorway on Saturday

The decommissioned jet crawled across the M5, M4 and M32 at a steady 20mph, accompanied by a police escort

Originally sold for 50million when swapping from Japan Airlines to private ownership in the 1970s, Palmer was able to buy the aircraft for under 100,000 due to its lack of engine and wings.

Get to know the Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 was a jet airliner made by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Designed to fly short distances, the plane could also take off from short runways at smaller airports. The planes could carry between 149 and 189 passengers and could fly for 2,400 to 2,700 nautical miles (4,400 to 5,000km). It was the only Boeing plane to have three engines, made by Pratt & Whitney JT8D. One was located in the back and the other two on the sides. The plane was capable of maximum speeds around Mach .9 or higher. The 727 was launched in December, 1960, with 40 orders each from United Airlines and Eastern Air Lines. A 727 first flew on February 9, 1963 and entered service with Eastern the following year. A very noisy aircraft, some had to be fitted with 'hush kits' to make them quieter. The final plane was made in 1984 and last passenger flight by a Boeing 727 was in January 2019. Advertisement

Built in 1968 the jet - dubbed 'Pytch Air' - is set to be used as unique office space for the event technology company.

Pytch has used the transportation of the aircraft to help raise funds for Somerset-based charity Great Western Air Ambulance, which receives no day-to-day funding from the Government or National Lottery.

The air ambulance charity needs 4million annually in order to stay operational.

Palmer said: 'Our virtual events studios have been getting busy since Covid and we need more space at Pytch.

'So rather than do resource and carbon intensive construction, we decided to re-purpose the icon of unsustainable hyper-consumption - the airliner private jet. And also have a lot of fun along the way.

'Pytch have chosen to support GWAAC because of the critical service they provide to the community.

'While we are moving a Boeing 727 down a motorway and having interesting and curious conversations about aviation, GWAAC are using flight to save lives - and that is something we really want to get behind and support.'

The sale comes as Boeing's reputation has been blighted by a series of incidents involving its aircraft.

But in 2018, Pytch founder Johnny Palmer applied to acquire the disused aircraft before securing consent from Bristol City Council last October.

On Monday, the UK banned all Boeing 777s with the same engine as a plane which caught fire in the US from entering UK airspace.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps acted after Boeing recommended that airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after take-off from Denver International Airport last Saturday, scattering engine debris over the city.

In January, a Boeing 737-500 crashed into the Java Sea of Indonesia, killing all 62 people onboard.

The Indonesian crash came as Boeing was already struggling to repair the damage to its brand caused by two crashes involving its 737 MAX model.

The first, a Lion Air flight in October 2018, killed 189, and another, just five months later, killed 157 on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

Coronation Street star Johnny Briggs who played Mike Baldwin for 30 years on the soap has died aged 85.

The soap legend passed away at his home this morning after a long illness, his family said, though it is unclear what the illness was.

A family statement said: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our father, Johnny Briggs.

'He passed away peacefully this morning after a long illness, with family by his side. He was 85. We politely ask for privacy at this time, so that we can quietly grieve as a family and remember the wonderful times we had with him. Thank you.'

Briggs split his time between a home in Portishead, North Somerset, UK, and a house in Florida though it is unclear where he was staying at time of his death.

He played underwear factory boss Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street from 1976 to 2006 and received an MBE in 2007.

He appeared in 2,349 episodes, including a 2012 special as a ghost, and is best remembered for his famous feud with Ken Barlow, played by Bill Roache, after he had an affair with his wife Deirdre, played by the late Anne Kirkbride.

Johnny Briggs, after collecting an MBE in 2007. The actor who played Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street, died on Sunday aged 85 after a long illness, his family said

Briggs played Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street from 1976 to 2006 and received an MBE in 2007

The love triangle between the three was hugely popular with viewers and carried on for years.

In the 1980s the storyline helped to pull in 21 million viewers at its height.

His character, Mike, had been suffering with Alzheimer's for months and collapsed in the street after a heart attack, dying in the arms of Ken.

Coronation Street stars took to Twitter to pay tribute after news of his death broke.

Antony Cotton said: 'Johnny Briggs was a complex character, on and off screen, and we all adored him.

'Feel lucky that I got the chance to work with him in the factory. I am, and will always be, a Baldwin's Casual.

'Night night Mr Baldwin, I've left you a bottle of Scotch in the filing cabinet...'

Coronation Street star Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt, said: 'I am very sorry to hear the sad news.

'I have many happy memories of working together with Johnny. He was one of the street's most memorable characters.'

Samia Longchambon tweeted 'Rest in peace Johnny Briggs. Really sorry to hear the sad news.

'I have fond memories of working with Johnny, he was such a lovely man.'

Corrie colleague Sally Dynevor tweeted: 'RIP Johnny Briggs. What a wonderful actor he was. Lots of happy memories.'

Character Mike had been suffering with Alzheimer's for months and collapsed in the street after a heart attack to end Briggs' stint on the show

Johnny Briggs made his Corrie debut as Mike in 1976 and remained on the cobbles until 2006

Piers Morgan was among others to pay tribute to the soap legend.

'RIP Johnny Briggs, 85,' he tweeted. 'Coronation Street legend who played rogueish Mike Baldwin for 30yrs. Great character on & off screen.'

John Whiston, managing director of continuing drama and head of ITV in the north, paid tribute.

'The whole Coronation Street family is deeply saddened by the death of Johnny Briggs,' he said in a statement.

'For years Johnny was right at the centre of the show, playing the part of Mike Baldwin and bringing to the role huge energy, dynamism, professionalism and credibility.

'When Mike Baldwin was in a scene it was very hard to look at anyone else.

'And it was that charisma which made him irresistible to the women of Coronation Street, and to viewers.

Englebert Humperdinck with Johnny Briggs (left) on the set of Coronation Street in 2001

Johnny Briggs (right) and Ricky Tomlinson during the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA) at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane in 2004

'He truly was one of the most iconic characters the Street has ever known. We wish Johnny's family all our condolences.'

Emmerdale actor John Bowe tweeted: 'RIP Johnny Briggs. Never forgotten introducing you to Guacamole!'

Conservative MP for Bournemouth West, Conor Burns, tweeted: 'Sad to hear Johnny Briggs has died.

'A great actor who brought pleasure to millions through his character Mike Baldwin.

'Will always be remembered for some of @itvcorrie most dramatic, funny and moving scenes. The passing of an era on the cobbles. RIP.'

Former Corrie writer Phil Ford tweeted: 'Very very sad to hear that actor Johnny Briggs has died.

'Knew him during my time on Corrie. Many a lunchtime chat. Lots of smiles.'

The London-born actor also appeared on stage and in films, alongside the likes of Norman Wisdom, Dirk Bogarde and Tommy Steele.

A father of six, Johnny was married twice, first to Caroline Sinclair from 1961 to 1975 and then to Christine Allsop from 1977 to 2006.

He disowned his heroin addict daughter and granddaughter after they were jailed for several offences.

Karen Briggs, 51, was jailed in for nine months in 2016 after breaching a criminal behaviour order and stealing a bicycle from Cobham Rail Station in Surrey on June 21 and July 18.

Karen Briggs, 51, was jailed in for nine months in 2016 after breaching a criminal behaviour order and stealing a bicycle from Cobham Rail Station in Surrey on June 21 and July 18. Her daughter Emma Beach admitted the same offences

Briggs disowned his heroin addict daughter and granddaughter after they were jailed for several offences

Her daughter Emma Beach admitted the same offences, as well as stealing a bike from a separate station earlier. She was jailed for 15 months.

The mother and daughter, from Cobham, Surrey, who both have a history of shoplifting and drug abuse, were sentenced at Guildford Crown Court.

Their father and grandfather, Johnny Briggs, who played Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street from 1976 to 2012 and received an MBE in 2007, has since disowned them.

They are said to have carried out 100 thefts between them to fund their heroin addiction, which Beach took up aged just 14 after being influenced by her mother.

Briggs was born on September 5, 1935 in Battersea, London. In 1947, at the age of 12, he won a scholarship to the Italia Conti Stage Academy. That year he made his first professional appearance as a boy soprano with the Italian Opera Company in London.

The following year he appeared in the hit film Quartet and made several stage appearances before becoming a stage hand at the Windmill Theatre.

He did his National Service in Germany with the Royal Tank Regiment. Afterwards, he joined the High Wycombe Repertory Company.

He appeared in 2,349 episodes, including a 2012 special as a ghost, and is best remembered for his famous feud with Ken Barlow, played by Bill Roache, after he had an affair with his wife Deirdre, played by the late Anne Kirkbride

His character, Mike, had been suffering with Alzheimer's for months and collapsed in the street after a heart attack, dying in the arms of Ken

Briggs led the tributes to Anne Kirkbride, who played Deirdre Barlow (centre) in the show for four decades, following her death in 2015, saying she was 'worth an Oscar'

By 1960 he had become a TV and stage regular, with parts in The Avengers, The Planemakers and Dangerman.

He also appeared, during this period, as a lorry driver in Coronation Street and as a taxi boss in Crossroads.

He made his Coronation Street debut as Mike Baldwin in 1976 and remained until 2006 in the role which defined his professional career.

But after leaving, he made appearances in Miss Marple and Holby City as well as in pantomime at Manchester.

Briggs won the British Soap Award for Lifetime Achievement in May 2006 and was made an MBE in the Queen's New Year Honours in December 2006. He was an avid golfer.

Briggs was one of six of the longest-serving cast members who gathered together to celebrate Coronation Street's 50th anniversary in 2010.

He said at the time that despite the long service of many actors, it was Weatherfield pub the Rovers Return which was the show's biggest name.

Briggs said: 'The true strength of the Street is that there isn't a star. The star of the show is the Rovers. People come and go and the show still carries on.'

He also returned to the show for a one-off appearance in 2012 for the 'Text Santa' charity appeal set up by ITV and BBC One to support UK-based charities during the Christmas period.

Briggs led the tributes to Anne Kirkbride, who played Deirdre Barlow in the show for four decades, following her death in 2015, saying she was 'worth an Oscar'.

He insisted that for the funeral of his former on-screen lover 'the streets of Manchester should be closed to traffic and she should get a standing ovation'.
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Ninety people got vaccinated on February 27 alone.

Since the launch of a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Ukraine four days ago, 3,141 people have received their first shot of the Covishield vaccine.

Ninety people got vaccinated against COVID-19 in Ukraine on Saturday, February 27 alone, the Ukrainian Health Ministry reported on Telegram on February 28.

Read alsoFirst AstraZeneca jab administered in Ukraine (Photo)

On February 27, vaccine shots were given to 50 people in Ukrainian-controlled districts of Donetsk region, 20 people in Ukrainian-controlled districts in Luhansk region, and 20 people in Kherson region.

The largest number of vaccine shots as of now has been administered in Cherkasy region (270 people).

Vaccination in Ukraine

On February 24, Ukraine launched a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign. An emergency room doctor in Cherkasy region was the first who got vaccinated.

Ukraine uses the Covishield vaccine, which was developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca. It is produced in India under a licensing agreement.

Ukraine has received 500,000 doses of the vaccine so far.

The vaccination campaign in Ukraine was originally expected to start with the use of a vaccine produced by Pfizer/ BioNTech, which Ukraine was supposed to receive during the first wave of distribution under the global COVAX Facility. The supply of 117,000 doses of that vaccine to Ukraine has been booked.

Reporting by UNIAN

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She is rumoured to have already called it quits with her on-screen 'husband' Brett Helling.

But on Saturday, Booka Nile silenced divorce rumours as she stepped out wearing a ring on her wedding finger in Perth on Saturday night.

The 31-year-old Make Them Suffer singer looked almost unrecognisable during an outing with close friends at Perth hotspot Si Paradiso.

Girls' night out! Married At First Sight brides Booka Nile (left) and Beth Moore (right) appeared in good spirits at a Perth hotspot on Saturday night

Booka appeared to be sporting much shorter hair, compared to her appearance on the Channel 9 dating show which was filmed late last year.

The busty bride turned heads as she showed off her sensational physique in a figure-hugging red dress which featured a plunging neckline.

She was all glammed up for the occasion and appeared to be wearing a full face of makeup.

She's taken! Booka, 31, silenced divorce rumours as she stepped out wearing a ring on her wedding finger

Stylish: The busty bride turned heads as she showed off her sensational physique in a figure-hugging red dress which featured a plunging neckline

The blonde beauty was joined by fellow bride, Beth Moore, who is set to tie the knot in Sunday night's episode.

Beth, 40, looked as if she's walked right out of a photo shoot, styled in a long sleeve leopard print shirt, which she paired with black pants.

She wore her blonde tresses out which were partly tied up in a high ponytail.

Company: The blonde beauty was joined by fellow bride, Beth Moore, who is set to tie the knot in Sunday night's episode

Fashionable: Beth, 40, looked as if she's walked right out of a photo shoot, styled in a long sleeve leopard print shirt, which she paired with black pants

Famous: Upon entering the popular venue, Booka was seen taking selfies with fans

The sighting comes just days after Booka tied the knot with her on-screen 'husband' Brett Helling on Tuesday's episode of MAFS, which was filmed prior to her outing in December.

Booka and Brett hinted that they had split this week during an interview on Today Extra - when they did a live cross from two different cities.

Booka appeared on the show from Perth, while Brett was in Melbourne.

Something to tell us? Booka and her TV husband Brett hinted that they had split this week during an interview on Today Extra - when they did a live cross from two different cities

Hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell immediately noticed that the two weren't in the same city together.

'You're both in different cities, oh oh,' David said at the start of the interview.

Belinda added: 'Come on, guys, what is going on? Is there trouble in paradise?'

Electrician Brett, 31, insisted that the pair just live in two separate cities and that moving interstate is a big thing.
The great signs of the coronavirus vaccine starting to reduce transmission is giving healthcare staff a second wind, the boss of the HSE has said.

Paul Reid said that while the country is winning in its battle in reducing the spread of the virus, he warned it is not over yet.

The number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 has been reducing in recent weeks but health experts are concerned that infection rates are not dropping at a faster rate.

Ireland is facing its ninth week of Level 5 restrictions.

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Mr Reid tweeted on Saturday: Continued improvement today in those hospitalised, 550, and in ICU, 135, with Covid-19.

Our healthcare teams are exhausted.

But getting their vaccination and the great signs of it reducing transmission is giving us all a second wind.

We are winning, its just not over yet.

On Friday night, the Government added 13 more countries to its list in which travellers arriving from the locations have to undergo mandatory isolation for 14 days.

The countries have all been flagged to be at high risk of Covid-19 infection.

They include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The Government is to introduce mandatory quarantine at designated facilities in the coming weeks.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly brought legislation to the Dail earlier this week to bring in mandatory quarantine.

Once the Bill has passed through all stages in the Oireachtas, it will be referred to the President for his consideration, Mr Donnelly added.

Subject to the Bill becoming law, it is the Governments intention to commence the operation of mandatory quarantine facilities as soon as possible.

A National Oversight Group for Variants of Concern (VOCS) has been set up to monitor and advise about the challenges posed by VOCs.

On Friday, a further 29 people who had tested positive for coronavirus died. Another 776 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were also announced.

As of February 23, 373,280 doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been administered in Ireland.

This includes 238,841 first doses and 134,439 second doses.
Traders' body on Sunday said it would launch a nation-wide agitation against issues related to the and alleged malpractices of foreign e-commerce firms.

The day-long 'Bharat Vyapar Bandh', called by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on February 26, had evoked a lukewarm response.

"The campaign will begin from March 5 and continue till April 5 against the GST amendments and malpractices of foreign e-commerce companies," said.

The trader's body said both these issues are directly related to the eight crore traders of the country and till the logical resolution of these two issues is achieved, the movement will continue throughout the country.

"At present, traders across the country are badly plagued by the provisions of GST and the constant arbitrariness of foreign companies in e-commerce and now, the traders are either forced to resolve these issues or shut their business," stated.

(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 nice opportunity to meet the filmmakers and producers behind this years Spanish projects-in-focus at Berlinale. Featuring Matria, Alvaro Gagos awaited feature film debut after his succesful short of the same name that won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and got a Goya nomination for Best Fiction Short in 2019. This years Spanish Berlinale Co-Pro Market contender is also presented by producers Maria Zamora (Avalon P.C.) and Daniel Froiz (Matriuska Producciones). After a great debut with Fragil Equilibrio (2016), which premiered at IDFA and won the Goya for Best Documentary, Guillermo Garcia Lopez re-visits Berlinale with Ciudad sin Sueno joined by his producer Lina Badenes (Turanga Films), together they will be presenting the first out of two Spanish entries in the 2021 Talent Project Market. The second one, Los Tortuga, is also a second feature by Belen Funes following on her debut film The Thiefs Daughter, San Sebastian International Competition 2019 selection. After winning the Best New Director Goya Award last year, Belen presents her new film-to-be together with Alba Bosch (Oberon Media). This 60-minute-session will be moderated by Rotterdams programmer and Industry Expert, Mercedes Martinez Abarca.
Artist Yun Suk-nam poses in her art installation "Red Room" at Hakgojae Gallery in Seoul, Feb. 25. Yun presents a series of Korea's female independence activists at the gallery. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



By Kwon Mee-yoo



"When you aren't sure what our homeland is, think of the people who died for it. Then you'll know what our homeland means," independence activist Jeong Jeong-hwa (1900-91) wrote in her memoir "Chang Jiang Diary."



Many women fought for independence during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, but only a few are known. Artist Yun Suk-nam revives the unsung heroes through a series of portraits with piercing eyes.



Yun's solo exhibition "Women of Resistance, Becoming Historic  Portraits of 14 Female Independence Activists Who Quaked History" is on view at Hakgojae Gallery in central Seoul through April 3.



"There are many women who fought against Japanese colonial rule. At first, I couldn't understand them. Back then, women were treated as second-class citizens, just a little bit better than slaves. How could they give their lives for a country that ignored them? And then I imagined that women who began to discover their identity around the time and their desire to find themselves was expressed unconsciously in the way of fighting back to retake their country, realizing a sense of ownership for the country," Yun said in an interview with The Korea Times at the gallery, Thursday.



Yun, 82, is a living witness to Korea's turbulent modern history. Born in 1939 in Manchuria, she started her artistic career around age 40. She hadn't had an art education and most of her adult life was as a housewife. She then headed to New York to study at the Pratt Graphic Art Center and the Art Students League of New York.



"Even though I started painting professionally in my 40s, I was always had art in my mind. When I thought of what I wanted to paint, or what I tried to communicate through art, I wanted to talk about myself  a woman. At first, I was not confident about myself, so I started with the woman I respect the most, my mother," Yun recalled.





"Portrait of Jeong Jeong-hwa" (2020) by Yun Suk-nam / Courtesy of the artist and Hakgojae Gallery



Since then, Yun painted various imagery of her mother as well as maternal instincts and women and created the installation art Room series.



Yun painted in oil and acrylic in the past, but shifted to "chaesaekhwa," or traditional Korean chromatic painting, in 2011, after seeing the self-portrait of Joseon era scholar and painter Yun Du-seo at the National Museum of Korea.



She was in her 70s, but Yun was not afraid of changing her painting technique.



"By my nature, I didn't think about it very long. I felt the bright colors of chaesaekhwa were right for me, so I started to learn the basics of Korean colored painting. I didn't ponder over much about whether it would be successful or not. I just had to," she said.



Despite the change of style, Yun stuck to her theme exploring the internal power of woman. She finally mustered the bravery to paint her self-portrait and then moved onto painting portraits of her friends.



"I studied a collection of chaesaekhwa portraits from Joseon era and there were only a few women in the books. And they were nameless. I felt a surge of anger and decided to continue painting women," Yun said.



"There is not much left about these women who fought for the independence of Korea. I read a lot about them, but only a few left photos or other visual references. So I added my imagination to the lives of these female independence activists."



The artist first sketches the faces with pencil and then paints on a larger canvas made of "hanji," or Korean mulberry paper, using bunchae pigment.



"I read about them more than 100 times and imagined their lives. Then I paint the moment that left the strongest emotion for me," Yun said.



Yun's portrait of Jeong Jeong-hwa, the first she created for this series, depicts her in a blue robe holding a bundle, with a suitcase full of independence funds under her chair.



"Jeong Jeong-hwa married at the age of 11 and her husband and father-in-law defected to Shanghai secretly. Jeong later defected to Shanghai single-handedly. It must have been very difficult for a woman to travel alone, crossing the border. I couldn't have done it. She is that brave and daring," the artist said.



"When she arrived in Shanghai, she realized that the provisional government was in financial difficulties and volunteered to go between Shanghai and Seoul to source funding. She went back and forth four times, saying that she would be less suspicious since she was a woman. She hid letters by twisting them into a string and using the string to pack a bundle. That's the scene I imagined and painted."





"Portrait of Nam Ja-hyeon" (2020) by Yun Suk-nam / Courtesy of the artist and Hakgojae Gallery



Nam Ja-hyeon, best known for being the real-life inspiration for Jun Ji-hyun's character in the 2015 film "Assassination," cut three fingers to write in blood.



"Was the pledge written in blood delivered properly? Would that letter have proven any significance? Whether the letter made its way successfully or not, Nam writing the letter in blood was impressed on my memory," Yun said.



Yun's portraiture is known for fierce eyes looking straight forward and large, coarse hands.



"I like painting keeping eye contact with the object. When I paint the eyes, it feels like a person, not just a piece of paper. It could be megalomania, but I think artists need some delusion of grandeur to be absorbed in art," she said.



Yun also continues her iconic Room installation art series in intense red color this time.



"In the Red Room, the background is the blood female independence activists shed and the painted wooden figures represent their spirit. I made designs for paper collage and my daughter cut sheets of colored paper for me," she said.



Eight more portraits are on view at the gallery's online exhibition space Hakgojae OROOM, and Yun hopes to continue the series, painting 100 female independence fighters of Korea.



"I feel the responsibility on my shoulders. If I can find enough materials and live long enough, I really want to finish this series," Yun said.




A university professor embroiled in an anti-Semitism row is the sole shareholder of a Corbynite campaign group bankrolling far-left figures accused of harassing Jewish people, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Professor David Miller is facing calls to quit his academic role after accusing Jewish students at Bristol University of 'being used as political pawns' by Israel which he described as 'a violent, racist foreign regime engaged in ethnic cleansing.'

He said members of Bristol's Jewish Society were part of an orchestrated campaign to attack him after he said it was 'fundamental to Zionism to encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism'.

Now it has emerged Mr Miller is also the sole director of the 'Chris Williamson Campaign Group' which is backing a raft of far-left figures accused of anti-Semitism or who have been kicked out the Labour Party.

Professor David Miller is facing calls to quit his academic role after accusing Jewish students at Bristol University of 'being used as political pawns' by Israel which he described as 'a violent, racist foreign regime engaged in ethnic cleansing'

Chris Williamson, a former Corbynite Labour MP, is using his 'Left Legal Fighting Fund' to help bankroll legal challenges by former London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Pam Bromley.

Livingstone was found to have 'unlawfully harassed' Jewish people by the Equality and Human Rights Commission when he claimed criticism of an MP's alleged anti-Semitic comment was 'part of a smear campaign by "the Israel lobby"'.

Meanwhile Ms Bromley was accused of posting anti-Semitic comments on Facebook in a Labour anti-Semitism report.

Both are now seeking to challenge the EHRC's October report with the fighting fund raising almost 20,000 towards their legal costs.

The fund has also backed Sameh Habeeb, a Labour member who was suspended from the party on suspicion of anti-Semitism.

Now it has emerged Mr Miller is also the sole director of the 'Chris Williamson Campaign Group' which is backing a raft of far-left figures accused of anti-Semitism or who have been kicked out the Labour Party

Williamson's group boasts on its website of assisting Black Lives Matter protesters in their legal cases.

Dave Rich, director of the Community Security Trust which campaigns against anti-Semitism, said: 'David Millers involvement in this campaign, defending people who have been expelled from the Labour Party due to antisemitism, shows that his academic ideas do not remain in the classroom but have a wider impact.

'Indeed, Miller himself left the Labour Party under the shadow of an allegation of antisemitism.

'It is time Bristol University recognised the damaging impact he is having and took action.'

Mr Miller is also a member of an academic working group on Syria that has disputed western claims that President Assad used chemical weapons on his own people.

Chris Williamson, a former Corbynite Labour MP, is using his 'Left Legal Fighting Fund' to help bankroll legal challenges by former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who was found to have 'unlawfully harassed' Jewish people by the Equality and Human Rights Commission

He is also a director of the Organisation for Propaganda Studies, along with Dr Piers Robinson. Last year the organisation tweeted a YouTube interview headlined 'Is Coronavirus the New 9/11?', in which Robinson said it was 'now obvious' that the official story of the attacks on the US was incorrect.

Almost 200 academics and media figures, many from the far-left, last week signed a letter backing Mr Miller and that bending to calls to dismiss him would 'crush academic freedom'.

Mr Miller was approached for comment.

In a statement the Left Legal Fighting Fund said it is proud of its many successes in providing legal assistance to whistleblowers, protesters and journalists who have been targeted by far-right, pro-Israel groups.

Mr Williamson has promoted a joint letter to Bristol's Vice-Chancellor Hugh Brady calling for an end to 'harassment and victimisation' of Mr Miller

Our wide-ranging work has included the defence of Labour Party members who have been unjustly suspended or expelled as a result of hitlists passed to the Party by pro-Israel activists.

No foreign government, or its lobbyists, should have a veto on who is a member of a UK political party. Our efforts help to protect British democracy.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-01 00:28:20|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Another 6,035 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,176,554, according to official figures released Sunday.

The country also reported another 144 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 122,849. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

The latest figures were revealed as more than 20 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the latest development in the country's vaccine rollout as a "magnificent achievement".

"I want to thank every single person who has come forward to get the jab because we know with increasing confidence that the jab protects you, it protects your community and it also is the route out of this for all of us," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

"There's a long way still to go but we're making big strides," he added.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

On Feb. 22, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown.

Schools in England will reopen from March 8 as first part of the four-step plan, which Johnson said was designed to be "cautious but irreversible".

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
After more than three months of listening to hours of testimony, poring over thousands of documents and debating for hundreds of hours, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Monday approved sweeping rule changes governing the states natural resources industry.
Airlines in Southeast Asia will need 4,400 new airplanes valued at $700 billion to support expanding demand for air travel over the next 20 years with passenger traffic growth set for 5.7% annual growth, said Boeing in a new report.



Airlines in Southeast Asia will need 4,400 new airplanes valued at $700 billion to support expanding demand for air travel over the next 20 years, said Boeing in a new report.



The intra-Southeast Asian market will become the fifth largest in the world by 2039, and the vast domestic and regional air-travel network across the region positions it well for a post-pandemic recovery, according to Boeings 2020 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO).



With low-cost carriers providing affordable service and added capacity, the CMO projects passenger traffic growth in Southeast Asia to grow by 5.7% annually throughout the forecast period. Through the period, Southeast Asia will become the second largest aviation market in the Asia-Pacific region after China.



Boeing projects the regions commercial airplane fleet will grow 5.3% annually over the next 20 years. In addition, demand for aftermarket commercial services  valued at $790 billion  will help maintain the fleet over the same period.



Southeast Asias fundamental growth drivers remain robust. With an expanding middle-class and growth in private consumption, the regions economy has grown by nearly 70% over the last decade, which increases propensity to travel, said Darren Hulst, Boeing vice president of Commercial Marketing. In addition, governments in the region continue to recognize the travel and tourism sectors as important drivers of economic growth.



While near-term airplane deliveries are impacted as a result of the pandemics effects, Boeing estimates operators will need more than 3,500 new single-aisle airplanes in the region by 2039. Single-aisle airplanes like the 737 family will continue to drive capacity growth in Southeast Asia, where low-cost-carriers have the highest market penetration globally.



Twin-aisle airplanes such as the 777X and 787 Dreamliner will remain foundational to Southeast Asias air travel industry. Over the next 20 years, nearly one in four twin-aisle airplanes delivered to the broader Asia-Pacific region will go to a carrier operating in Southeast Asia.



Overall, Boeing forecasts regional demand for 760 new widebodies by 2039, enabling efficient replacement and versatile network growth for Southeast Asias airlines. While long-haul market recovery is expected to take longer, Southeast Asias twin-aisle fleet is slated to grow by 55%  to 780 widebodies  by 2039.



The regions commercial aviation services growth remains promising in the long term. Southeast Asia commercial services are valued at $790 billion over the next 20 years, a slight increase from last years projection, driven largely by growth in freighter conversions and digital solutions and analytics. The region is expected to require 183,000 more commercial pilots, cabin crew members and aviation technicians over the forecast period.



Globally, Boeing projects the need for 43,110 new commercial airplanes and the demand for aftermarket services to be equivalent to $9 trillion over the next two decades. World air cargo traffic is projected to grow 4% annually due to solid industrial production and world trade. Freighters will remain the backbone of the cargo industry with the need for 930 new and 1,500 converted freighters during the same span.  TradeArabia News Service
DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's sovereignty is a red line, Saudi columnists said on Sunday, ramping up rhetoric in defence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Prince Mohammed, de facto ruler of the U.S.-allied Gulf powerhouse, has denied any involvement in the 2018 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The U.S. administration on Friday imposed sanctions on some of those involved, but spared the prince. Washington released an intelligence report saying the crown prince had approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi.

"America does not have the right to bully a strategic regional ally and it is not in its interest to let domestic differences harm its regional interests and those of its partners," Khaled al-Malik wrote in local Al Jazirah newspaper.

President Joe Biden's decision to publish the report withheld by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who enjoyed strong ties with Prince Mohammed, brings with it a refocusing of Washington's stance on dealing with the kingdom, on its human rights record, and on its lucrative arms purchases.

Malik said Saudi Arabia, which has relied on the United States for its defence including during the first Gulf War and after 2019 attacks on its massive oil infrastructure, could look to China and Russia for weapons.

"But the kingdom prefers America due to their historic and strategic ties and common goals," he said, referring to Iran.

Biden, who has ordered a review of Saudi arms sales, said his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Abdullah al-Otaibi, writing in London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper which is Saudi-owned, said the kingdom, Washington's oldest Arab ally, was "not a banana republic to be shaken by threats".

The Saudi government has repeated previous statements that Khashoggi's killing was a heinous crime by a rogue group, for which a Saudi court jailed eight people last year.

Story continues

"We want to strengthen deep-rooted ties (with the U.S.) but not at the expense of our sovereignty. Our judiciary and our decisions are a red line," Fahim al-Hamid wrote in Okaz newspaper.

Since the U.S. report was released, many Saudis have flooded Twitter with the hashtag "We are all Mohammed bin Salman".

Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority issued a statement on Sunday rejecting the report as "false and unacceptable". The head of the kingdom's morality police tweeted that it was a duty under Islam to defend the kingdom and its leaders.

(Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Federal regulators granted an emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnsons single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Saturday afternoon. The approval opens up a third vaccine in the fight against a disease, one that can be kept at refrigerator temperatures, potentially simplifying distribution to remote areas.

The approval came after a key panel of medical advisors for the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously Friday to recommend the emergency use authorization. The agencys approval swiftly followed late Saturday evening, The Washington Post reported.

In anticipation of the vaccines approval, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday the state can expect to receive 30,000 doses of Johnson & Johnsons product next week.

Because the vaccine requires only a single shot, compared to the two doses spaced several weeks apart for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines already in use, those additional shots could mean tens of thousands more residents could soon be fully innoculated depending on how quickly the shots are distributed.

In clinical trials, Johnson & Johnsons vaccine was shown to be 85 percent effective overall at preventing severe disease and death in recipients 28 days after they received the shot, and 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19. Those numbers, while still far above the 50 percent effectiveness required by the FDA, have led some to express concern the shot is a second-tier vaccine.

But Andrew Heinrich, a lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health, urged people to get whatever vaccine is available to them after consulting with their doctor.

In the brilliant words of a colleague, nobodys at 100 percent efficacy, and no one ever will, Heinrich said in a phone interview Saturday afternoon.

For those who are already at a low risk, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine puts them at an infinitesimally lower risk, he said. Those who are high risk, meanwhile  an elderly person with pre-existing conditions for example  would see their risk from the virus reduced by a substantial amount, he argued.

But the greater benefit comes when a larger number of people get the vaccine, meaning the people you are likely to interact with on a daily basis are more likely to have antibodies against the virus.

Pretend a vaccine was only 50 percent efficacious Heinrich said. If every individual you encountered over the course of your day is 50 percent less likely to be infected, and every person they interacted with was 50 percent less likely to be infected, then the statistical odds that you will get infected are dramatically lower, even if the vaccine does not work on you, he pointed out.

While Johnson & Johnson submitted its application for emergency use with one shot of the vaccine, the company is also conducting trials using two doses.

For Heinrich the answer is simple: if your doctor tells you you can get any of the three vaccines, take whichever one is available to you, and encourage those around you to get the shot as well.

That advice comes as Connecticut is set to dramatically open up who is eligible to receive the vaccines on Monday, with those 55 and up as well as educators and child care professionals becoming eligible to register for an appointment.

Johnson & Johnson has said it expects to be able to deliver 20 million doses of the vaccine by the end of March and 100 million by the end of June, the Associated Press reported.

Unlike the two vaccines already in use, Johnson & Johnsons vaccine uses a modified adenovirus to deliver the genetic code from the coronavirus spike protein, the spiky outcroppings that help it attach to and infect cells in a persons body.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines meanwhile deliver messenger RNA into the recipients cells genetic instructions which tell the cells to pump out copies of the spike protein. The persons immune system then creates antibodies against that spike protein.

Johnson & Johnsons approach is more tried and true. The same platform was used to develop vaccines against Ebola, for example.

Heinrich sees hope that the easier storage requirements for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could make it easier to distribute to remote regions of the world, where distributing vaccines with cold storage requirements becomes more difficult. Remote regions of the United States such as the Navajo Nation or Alaska, could also benefit.

In Connecticut, where distribution of the vaccine is proceeding quickly, Heinrich said people could possibly decide which vaccine to take. That doesnt mean they should, outside of medical advice from a doctor.

The best thing we can do is just get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Andrew Heinrichs title at the Yale School of Public Health. He is a lecturer, not a professor.
Shirley celebrating her 55th birthday with daughter Olivia, Rochelles younger sister

Rochelle Bugg was 25 when she gave up her job and freedom to nurse her dying mother. She explains how it was the most rewarding  and heartbreaking  experience of her life

The silence in the car was deafening as we pulled away from Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. What is there to say when youve just found out your mum has an incurable brain tumour, with a 25 per cent chance of survival past two years? Anaplastic astrocytoma.

Id never heard the words before, but now they were all I could hear. Sadness engulfed me as I turned my head to stare out of the window. Instinctively I reached my hand across to my younger sisters, Hannah, 20, and Olivia, 16, seeking reassurance that they were still there, checking whether I was in a bad dream, about to wake up.

A wave of tears began to rise inside me. Somehow, I managed to swallow them back down, but before I knew it there was another wave of heartbreak that I couldnt hold back, tears silently falling and rolling down my cheeks.

Three months earlier, my mum Shirley had what the doctors thought was a transient ischaemic attack, a mini-stroke. But something wasnt quite right, despite the doctors saying Mum was making good progress. She was tired all the time, struggling to use her right side, and, weirdly, couldnt stop hiccupping.

I had handed in my notice at my new job, cancelled the flat I had rented in London and moved back home to look after her.

I was determined to get a second opinion. One private appointment, 30 minutes and 250 later, Mum was admitted for more tests. It turned out the consultant shared my concerns and less than 24 hours later, the verdict was in: Mums symptoms had been misdiagnosed. She had cancer.

I dont know how long I pleaded manically with the consultant  there had to be something or someone or somewhere we could go  but when I finally stopped, all he did was shake his head. I turned to look at Mum. A lone tear was falling down her face, the sight causing me to break down into sobs.

This couldnt be happening  not again. My dad had cancer then died. Now my mum had cancer, too.

   

Mum and my dad James were true sweethearts. The ultimate team. They did everything together  from running several businesses, to bringing up us three girls in a home filled with love and laughter. Mum had always dreamt of a fairytale wedding on an exotic beach, but three kids, the businesses and tight finances meant it got pushed to the back-burner year after year. Eventually, she and Dad were in a position where they had the time and money to start planning.

But it wasnt to be. When I was 14, and Dad just 47, he fell ill, losing a lot of weight very suddenly and suffering from excruciating abdominal pain. When he finally got the right diagnosis, it was too late: he had stage four cancer of the pancreas.

Instead of a sun-filled ceremony, Mum and Dad got married in a dingy hospital chapel on an autumn afternoon. He was just about strong enough to make it out of his bed for a few hours, saying I do from a wheelchair. Just six weeks after finding out he had cancer, he was gone for ever.

Rochelle by her Mums bedside at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, shortly after she had come out of surgery

We never got over losing Dad, but it did bind us together more tightly. We shared a bond that allowed us to speak without words  which is how I knew that Mum needed me.

   

From the moment of her diagnosis, normal life ceased to exist. Mum became my one and only focus. Overnight, I went from a carefree young professional in my mid-20s to my mums carer and substitute parent for my two sisters.

It was relentless. My life was controlled by the ruthless routine of treatment and endless red tape and admin. The deeper I was pulled into my role of carer, the more my personality slipped away from me.

Knowing Mum was going to die placed an invisible, yet very loud, ticking clock above her head, never letting us forget that we were on an unwelcome countdown to the inevitable. Each tick of that clock made every photo, every conversation, take on a greater meaning. Knowing time was running out made me think about what I really wanted to say and how I really felt. Scribbling a quick love Rochelle x at the bottom of

Mums birthday card was no longer enough when I realised it might be the last one I ever wrote to her.

In total I spent 17 months caring for Mum, during which time things got progressively more difficult and challenging. We went from having to cook for her, to having to feed her, to having to drip water in her mouth when she couldnt sip. One day, she fell while going to the toilet. After the paramedics had left, I tucked her into bed and caught her staring intently at me, two tears dribbling down her face. Will everything be OK, Ro? she asked.

My heart wasnt ready to hear Mum say those words. In fact, I dont think I would ever be ready to hear them. But there they were. My mum, asking me for reassurance.

Of course it will, my mummy, dont you worry, I told her.

Giving a satisfied nod, Mum brushed the tears away with her good hand. Thats all I need sometimes, she said. I just need someone to tell me everything will be OK. In that moment, my soul started silently sobbing for my mum and, to this day, it has never stopped. Its straightforward enough to explain why the practical side of being a carer is hard, but nobody prepares you for moments like that.

   

Losing Mum to a brain tumour felt like losing her twice. First, I had to watch as the woman Id known all my life emotionally slipped away, like grains of sand through an egg timer. Then, before I had a chance to get to know the woman who was left, I lost her too. Every now and then wed get a brief glimpse of the fun-loving, dynamic woman who was still somewhere inside her. But in a way, that hurt more. It served as a reminder of just how much of my mum  the wonderful, compassionate, loving, vibrant, sharp, humorous force of brilliance that she was  had already gone.

I was determined not to let the fact we couldnt do everything stop us from doing anything. There were the grand gestures, such as our final holiday to Sorrento, a place Mum had always wanted to visit, and the surprise party where Mums friends came together from all over the country.

Then there were the smaller, more intimate things, like Triple T duty  where one of us would take Mums tablets, tea and toast up to her on a tray each morning. This was the job none of us minded as we snuggled up next to Mum in bed in the hushed quiet of the early morning.

Rochelles parents Shirley and James on their wedding day. James died of pancreatic cancer just weeks later

   

A year or so after the diagnosis, Mum was sleeping more and her ability to communicate with us slowly slipped away. People started using phrases like quality time: I understood the direction in which they were pointing us, but I didnt know how long it was going to be until we arrived at our destination. I did the only thing I could  opened up my laptop and googled: Final stages of a brain tumour.

I scrolled down the page and clicked on a link titled Symptom Timeline, my stomach already churning as the page began to load. I worked my way along the arrow comparing Mums symptoms to the different stages. I found a description that seemed spot on. Cross-referencing the stage with its colour-coordinated counterpart in the explanatory table below, I began to read. At this stage patients typically have six to 12 weeks.

Six weeks school summer holidays had once felt endless, but I was no longer a child. I knew how quickly that time would pass.

   

St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich suggested we get a Marie Curie nurse to sit with Mum overnight. When she arrived for her first shift, she looked at the notes, looked at Mum and then at me. I think its likely it will be tonight or tomorrow morning, she said, gently. Mum might die tonight.

Hannah, Olivia and I sat round her bedside, each of the girls holding one of Mums hands while I rubbed her arm. Surely it was impossible for her to go anywhere while we were holding on to her so tightly? It was three against one.

She couldnt leave while she had her babies trying their best to keep her here. If she could still hear us, I didnt want her to listen to crying. I didnt want Mum to be scared. I didnt want her to think that we couldnt cope, and I didnt want her to feel any guilt. Youre safe, Mumma, just relax. We all love you. Were all here by your side. Go and give Dad lots of cuddles from us, I said. But it was the last thing that I really wanted. I wanted her to stay with us for ever.

I felt as if I was being physically torn in two. I was willing her to go so she didnt have to fight any more, but at the same time every fibre of my being was aching for a miracle.

I breathed in deeply, desperately trying to make sure Id remember what she smelled like and gripped her hand extra-tightly so that I could remember what it felt like to have her fingers intertwined with mine.

Shirley with Rochelle as a baby

Blue eyes still sparkling, Mum suddenly winked. Three times. One for each of us girls. Then she was gone. Just 17 months after first falling ill.

Tears were streaming down my face as I carried a bowl of warm water, a flannel and a small hand towel to Mums bed. We took off her nightie and between us began washing her. Being able to do this one last thing for Mum was the biggest privilege we would ever receive, washing every last trace of the illness away from her. It was somehow beautiful, a true labour of love.

Being Mums carer was by far the hardest thing Id ever done, but it was equally the most important and most rewarding. It was my chance to return the love and care that Mum had spent her life giving to me and my sisters, and an opportunity to keep the promise Id made to my dad the day before he died, when he told me: Look after your mum for me.

How to care with compassion

Rochelle shares her life lessons for those looking after a loved one

Trust Your Gut

It turned out that I was right to question the doctors and right to stay looking after Mum instead of going back to work. Not because I have psychic powers, but because I knew my mum. And that was my first lesson as a carer. If I could rewind time, Id approach things very differently. I would trust my instinct from the get-go and refuse to let it be silenced.

Moments Make Memories

I once saw a quote which lodged in my brain: We didnt realise we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun. During Mums illness, that became my motto. We knew from losing Dad that looking back on the small stuff was often just as special as the big stuff. It is fun, not finesse, that turns a trivial moment into a treasured memory. No matter how long you do  or dont  have left, you should always make space for the timeless moments that will never fade.

As Shirleys tumour progressed, she needed help with everyday tasks

Giving up isnt the same as giving in

Giving up is stopping when the going gets tough, even if you know youve got it in you to keep fighting. Giving in, on the other hand, is surrendering to destiny and accepting that some things in life are out of your control. It is making the conscious decision to start swimming with the tide after struggling for so long to swim against it. When a loved one has a terminal illness, never give up but dont be afraid to give in.

You cant do it all yourself  And you dont have to

Over time I learned to reframe asking for (and accepting) help as a strength. Having to lean on people isnt a failure. Its human nature. I learned to reach out to the right people, tailoring my requests for help so that I asked people for assistance in areas they were skilled in.

Youve got to feel it to heal it

Theres no new starter induction when you become a carer. I thought I was supposed to be upbeat and supportive. I actively avoided my emotions because I was worried they would be too much. In fact, I found the opposite to be true. Now when those big feelings bubble to the surface, I let them flood through me, giving myself permission to cry and scream. Because I know they always stop. Without fail. At some point, the switch flips back, I wipe my tears and carry on with life.

It will pass

What was happening with Mum and what had happened with Dad was too much. The only way I could keep going was to stop about 100 times a day and remind myself of one universal truth: however long it may take, everything passes eventually. Even now, when Im in my darkest moments, I remember that it will pass and wait for the light. You may never heal completely, you may never be whole again, but you will make it through.

Handle with Care by Rochelle Bugg will be published on 4 March by John Blake, 8.99. To order a copy for 7.91 until 7 March, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3308 9193. Free UK delivery on orders over 20.

Images courtesy of Rochelle Bugg. Follow her @RochelleBugg, rochellebugg.com. March is Brain Cancer Awareness Month: find out more at braintumourresearch.org
Pastor of Belarus church evicted in police raid: 'We are praying for great revival' amid persecution

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About a week after police evicted his congregation from its church building, the pastor of New Life Church in the capital of Belarus says his church is praying for a great revival in the eastern European country where violations of religious freedom have increased since last years presidential election.

We would have expected this kind of situations in the Soviet Union times, when churches were persecuted, Senior Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko told Evangelical Focus in an interview. It might be the first case in the history of modern Belarus that we face this kind of injustice, a situation in which they entered forcefully in a church and evicted us.

His church in Minsk was evicted and shut down on Feb. 17 by police officers and other authorities who claimed that the church was an unpurposeful use of the building. About 30 bailiffs, police and Housing Repairs and Utilities Association officials arrived. The bailiffs used an angle grinder to cut the door lock to gain entry, according to Forum 18.

Authorities had made earlier attempts to close the church down, but the members each time managed to defend the building by standing in a chain.

This time it was different, the pastor said. They threatened us with arrest and fines and we were powerless to defend ourselves. So, when they entered and cut the entrance with a circular saw, we were shocked. I was staying there and thought, Is this truly happening?

During the eviction, about 60 to 70 church members were praying inside the building. The officers then turned off the sound system, went on the stage and ordered everyone to exit the building, Goncharenko said.

As our church members were exiting, I saw some crying, he recalled. He said that he stood outside the building at the time because the officers did not allow him to enter.

It was a very sad situation. We were witnessing how we were losing the building we have used for 19 years, he added.

The building stands on an old cowshed that the church purchased about two decades ago. The pastor claims that authorities neither allowed church leaders to register the building as a place of worship nor did they provide an alternative place where they could gather.

All our efforts in this time to make this building registered for religious purpose were rejected, he was quoted as saying. By not giving us the permission, they were punishing us.

The pastor remembers that when the church used a cultural space in the city to hold services before acquiring the building, they were thrown out.

Since last August, Belarus has been witnessing protests against the regime of President Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenko, who describes himself as an Orthodox atheist and was re-elected for his sixth term on Aug. 9 amid allegations of widespread electoral fraud.

Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State under President Donald Trump, also warned that the election was not free and fair. Violations of religious freedom and other freedoms and targeting of human rights defenders have increased since then, according to Forum 18, a Norwegian human rights organization.

The organization reports that the regime had used Administrative Code Article 23.34 to crack down on those taking part in public prayer events.

For example, Catholics organising and participating in prayer events in the street in Minsk, Grodno, Lida, and other towns have been and continue to be accused and fined under Article 23.34, Forum 18 reported last October. As the Human Rights Centre Viasna (Spring) has documented, the same charges are also brought against people organising and participating in peaceful political protests against the regime. Many Protestants participate in such protests.

Evangelical Focus previously reported that New Life Church suspects that the final eviction happened after members recorded a video calling for democracy and denouncing the Lukashenko regime's actions against protesters last year. The outlet also noted that three Protestant entities signed a joint statement on Feb. 18 expressing solidarity with the church.

Pastor Goncharenko said that he and his church members feel they are standing in this moment right before a revival.

We are praying for this nation, that we have a great revival," he told Evangelical Focus.

We see that our nation does no longer want to deal with this evidence of evil, lies, the pastor added. We as a population are ready to resist this. People want to separate themselves from this evil and have a desire to become pure. And this is not only that people want to get rid of the government, but many, including non-Christians, are striving for kindness and fairness.

The pastor requested Christians everywhere to pray for our country.

May God bless these beginnings. Pray that hearts of people turn to God, and find their only hope in Him, and have a supernatural encounter with Him," he said.

Doctors and health workers of a Covid-19 vaccination team walk in the isolated village of Gumuslu in the district of Sivas, central Turkey (Emrah Gurel/AP)

Vaccination teams in Turkey have been travelling across roads covered with ice and snow to reach residents in the countrys isolated mountain villages.

They are seeking to overcome the challenging terrain as the government bids to inoculate 60% of the countrys people against coronavirus over the next three months.

After much effort, medical workers arrived to vaccinate older villagers in Gumuslu, a small settlement of 350 in the central province of Sivas that lies 140 miles from the provincial capital.

Expand Close Doctors and health workers from a Covid-19 vaccination team walk in the isolated village of Gumuslu (Emrah Gurel/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Doctors and health workers from a Covid-19 vaccination team walk in the isolated village of Gumuslu (Emrah Gurel/AP)

Its a difficult challenge to come here, said Dr Rustem Hasbek, head of Sivas Health Services.

The geography is tough, the climate is tough, as you can see.

Turkey rolled out the Chinese Sinovac vaccine on January 14 and has so far given out 8.2 million doses.

The vaccine is given in two doses 28 days apart.

Expand Close The mountainous area of Koyulhisar in the district of Sivas, central Turkey (Emrah Gurel/AP) / Facebook

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Ankara has also ordered 4.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Health minister Fahrettin Koca said that Turkey aims to vaccinate 52.5 million people by the end of May.

To date, around 10% of Turkeys 83 million population has received at least the first dose.

Healthcare workers, older people and people with serious medical conditions were among the first to receive the jab.

I cant go to the hospital. I have a heart condition and I get motion sickness in cars, said Gumuslu resident Zeynep Yigit, 70.

Expand Close Zeynep Yigit is given a vaccine by health worker Yusuf Duran at her house in Gumuslu (Emrah Gurel/AP) / Facebook

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The doctors came and vaccinated us.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to announce the easing of coronavirus restrictions on Monday.

He previously said the government would evaluate the situation on a province-by-province basis before allowing restaurants, cafes and other shuttered businesses to reopen.

Weekend and evening curfews could also be relaxed.

Still, infections have spiked in recent days, with Turkey recording more than 9,000 daily cases, the highest level since mid-January.

Overall, the country has seen more than 2.6 million cases since March last year and nearly 28,500 confirmed Covid-19-related deaths.

Experts say all confirmed numbers worldwide are undercounts due to missed cases and limited testing.
At the event (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

Washington D.C - The US will bolster support for countries in the Mekong subregion through the Mekong-US partnership, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Atul Keshap said at a recent online seminar to reveal results of a report on transboundary rivers and addressing challenges in Mekong River.

He said the support will focus on the management of transboundary water resources, regional economic connection, human resources development and response to non-traditional security challenges, including those in the health sector.

The report was based on outcomes of a virtual Indo-Pacific conference on enhancing management of transboundary rivers hosted by the East-West Centre last October.

Speakers at the event said that the Mekong subregion is facing challenges in security, development and climate change.

Keshap expressed the USs concerns over impacts of hydropower dams in the Mekong Rivers upper reaches on food security, economic development and environmental conditions of countries in lower reaches.

The US highly appreciates Vietnams efforts in pushing ASEANs cooperation to help the Mekong subregion cope with such challenges, he said.

Congressman Ted Lieu also affirmed that the US Congress wants the US government to further boost cooperation with the Mekong sub-region via the US-Mekong partnership. Since the launch of the Lower Mekong Initiative in 2009, the US has earmarked 3.5 billion USD for countries in Mekong Rivers lower reaches.

At the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc underscored the significance of water security, especially transboundary water resources, to peace and prosperity in the region.

Countries in the Mekong subregion share responsibilities for the use and management of Mekong Rivers water resources in a sustainable manner in a bid to offset impacts on development and the environment, he added.

The diplomat affirmed that Vietnam is always a responsible member in joint efforts to cope with challenges in environmental issues, climate change, economic development and security in the Mekong subregion.

He proposed that countries work together to build regulations and legally binding frameworks to manage transboundary rivers.

He also called on the US and other partners to invest in the region in the spheres of energy, infrastructure, climate change adaptation and sustainable development.
A remnant of the Jersey Shores roadside architectural history thats already fading may disappear completely, with an application now pending before Point Pleasant officials to replace a cluster of mid-20th Century tourist cabins with a high-density condominium complex.

Under a proposal before the boroughs zoning board, Wenkes Motel & Cabins on Route 88 would be demolished to make way for a 3-story building with 24 condominium apartments, including five affordable units, on a .9-acre lot.

The condo project, known as Whalers Point, is opposed by many local residents, though not because theyre eager to preserve the 18 wooden cabins built in 1960, nor the small motel building with five efficiency rooms, the long-dry concrete swimming pool, or the kitschy neon Wenkes sign that once beckoned to motoring vacationers from the beachbound side of the narrow state highway. More than one social media post branded Wenkes an eyesore.

Rather, the main criticism of Whalers Point was that it would be too dense for the location, on an already busy section of Route 88, adding to traffic and overall congestion, not to mention local school enrolment, with the accompanying demands for more teachers and classroom space that can result in higher property taxes.

I, like many of you, find this use too intensive for the lot, former Point Pleasant Borough Councilman Michael Thulen Jr. posted on the Point Pleasant Beach, Boro & Bay Head Community Group Facebook Page. Way too many units for the lot size and it will require too much demand on some of our aging infrastructure like the water systems in the (borough).

A zoning board hearing on the project has stretched over five in-person board meetings, including the last one on Wednesday night, when once again no action was taken. The hearing is scheduled to continue on April 14, with presentations from the projects planner and architect.

Wenkes Motel and Cottages will be demolished if a proposed 24 unit condo complex is approved, in Point Pleasant Boro, N.J. February, 24, 2021Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The man behind the condo plan is Ryan Sansone, president of Brick-based Coastal General Contracting, who set up a company called R2 T2 LLC to develop Whalers Point. Sansone is also the owner of the Wenkes property, which was purchased for $1,125,000 in October 2019, a year after having been put on the market with an asking price of $1.85 million, according to online listings for the property.

Through an employee, Sansone declined to be interviewed about the project.

Sansones lawyer for the Whalers Point application, Matthew Ceres, told NJ Advance Media that the project would generate less traffic than a restaurant or other business permitted by the sites commercial zoning. Ceres also said the five affordable housing units would be a benefit to the community that justified the variance, noting that the borough was well short of meeting its court-brokered affordable housing obligation.

My client put this project forward to be a benefit to the town, Ceres said. Not only to help the town meet their affordable housing requirement, but also help develop and beautify a portion of the Route 88 corridor.

Consistent with the car dealerships, gas stations, fast food joints and bars along that stretch of Route 88, the Wenkes lot is zoned for commercial use. But the site is covered by an affordable housing overlay, a kind of secondary zoning that also allows for residential development if a portion of the units are set aside for people with low or moderate incomes.

Whalers Point still requires a variance for its density, however, since the number of proposed units is triple the eight units per acre allowed by the overlay.

Under the proscribed formula, the 24 proposed apartments will include five affordable units: two 2-bedroom units for people with moderate-incomes compared to the surrounding region; another two units for low-income earners; and one very low-income unit.

A rendering of Whaler's Point, a 24-unit condominium project proposed in Point Pleasant. It would include 5 affordable units.Studio 200 Architecture

The five units would count toward satisfying the boroughs affordable housing obligation to create 779 affordable units by the end of 2025, a figure contained in a settlement agreement between the borough and the Fair Share Housing Center, a non-profit law firm that uses the courts to promote creation of housing for sanitation workers, school bus drivers and other essential but lower-paid members of society. Point Pleasant has created a total of two affordable units under the obligation, said Anthony Campisi, a Fair Share spokesman.

But the pressure on Point Pleasants zoning board chairman, Cortland Coleman, and other borough officials to foster development of affordable housing is often of less concern to residents than the potential impact of the high-density projects that typically are the means of realizing affordable units.

We want a nice town and this overbuilding should all be stopped at the application stage, resident Michael McCarthy posted on the Point Pleasant community Facebook page in response to a question posted by NJ Advance Media. We should not have to be fighting with developers that dont care about this town, and we surely should not have to defend our town against OUR planning and zoning boards.

The boards attorney, Sean Gertner, declined to comment, citing the ongoing hearing on the application.

Pool area. Wenkes Motel and Cottages will be demolished if a proposed 24 unit condo complex is approved, in Point Pleasant Boro, N.J. February, 24, 2021Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Some Facebook comments have been in support of the condo project.

Still looks better than the eyesore that is already there, Christopher Wilson posted on the Point Pleasant community page.

Whats already there  the cabins and other Wenkes elements  are vestiges of a transitional period in 20th Century roadside architecture and tourism, when campgrounds that had been common along highways in the early part of the century were gradually being replaced by cabins that were more attractive to motoring families because of the privacy and relative comfort they provided, according to various histories.

The ideal was to create a camp that offered the comforts of a modern hotel with the carefree camaraderie of the tourist camps, stated a 1992 report by the East Orange office of consultant Louis Berger & Associates on similar cabins in Delaware.

A 2014 study of similar roadside cabins along Route 1 in Maryland by Meredith Gorres of the Cultural Landscape Foundation called them, an important part of the story of Americas growing dependence on the automobile, which is evidenced by suburban development, as well as landscape and architectural design.

No one returned calls to the Point Pleasant Historic Commission or the Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission, and the county historical society said no one was qualified to comment on the Point Pleasant cabins.

The cabins have lost their allure for at least some of the locals exposed to them on a day-to-day basis. Theyve been closed at least since 2019, and before then locals complained of drug use and other illicit activity in and around the cabins.

Cecilia White has lived next door to the Wenkes cabins for 19 years, at the Ocean Pines Apartments on Austin Avenue.

My experience with them has not been pleasant, said White, who nonetheless opposes the Whalers Point proposal, mainly for density reasons.

I think when they first started, they were probably nice for people that used to vacation in them, White said, harkening back six decades. There was a rumor that the person was going to restore them. If they wanted to make it a motel and it was kept up and it was nice, I would have no problem with that.

WenkeOs Motel and Cottages will be demolished if a proposed 24 unit condo complex is approved, in Point Pleasant Boro, N.J. February, 24, 2021Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com.
HANOI -- Vietnam's coffee exports in the first two months of the year likely fell 18.5% from a year earlier to 271,000 tonnes, while rice exports likely declined 31.4% for the period, government data on Sunday showed.

Coffee

The expected drop in Vietnam's coffee exports for the first two months equals 4.5 million 60-kg bags, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.

Coffee export revenue for Vietnam, the world's biggest producer of the robusta bean, was likely down 15.8% to $473 million for the two-month period.

Coffee shipments in February are estimated at 110,000 tonnes, valued at $193 million.

Rice

January-February rice exports are forecast to drop 31.4% from a year earlier to 638,000 tonnes. Revenue from rice exports in the period is expected to decrease 18.3% to $352 million.

February rice exports from Vietnam likely totalled 290,000 tonnes, worth $160 million.

Energy

Vietnam's January-February crude oil exports were seen down 27.1% from the same period last year to 519,000 tonnes. Crude oil export revenue in the period is expected to dive 45.7% from a year earlier to $204 million.

Oil product imports in the two months were estimated at 1.7 million tonnes, down 20.8% from the same period last year, while the value of product imports decreased 35.3% to $705 million.

The GSO trade data is subject to revision next month.
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On a dark and rainy night in October 2011, Samuel Pauly was shot to death through the window of his rural New Mexico home by one of three State Police officers investigating an earlier road rage incident. This is the first line of a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision describing the night that my son was shot dead by the State Police, forever changing the lives of our family.

I have long been an advocate for law enforcement, am a proud gun owner and deeply believe in the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. When my son, Sam Pauly, was taken from us by a police bullet nearly 10 years ago I learned that our rights are not protected like I believed.

Before my son was killed, I believed that one of those constitutional rights was that when police used excessive force and killed a person, there would be accountability. I believed the legal system would not unfairly protect officers who took a life without justification. I thought at the very least we would get a trial and my fellow citizens could decide on what justice was due. This turned out to be untrue. Our case never even got a jury trial.

My legal odyssey ultimately ended with the U.S. Supreme Court stating the police officer who shot my son could not be held accountable because no case had found that this particular conduct  shooting a person standing in their home under the facts of this case  was unlawful. The Supreme Courts decision was not that the officer had the right to kill my son, it was that the officer was not reasonably notified that they did not have the right to kill my son. Qualified immunity protected the officer.

Qualified immunity was a foreign concept to me when my son was killed. But during our legal struggle, it became a symbol of a culture designed to protect police officers at all cost. I firmly believe that the abuses at the hands of police officers that have been seen around our country are, in part, due to the legal shield of qualified immunity that gave officers a free pass to avoid accountability. It shields officers and tells them they can shoot first and think later.

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................................................................

The New Mexico Civil Rights Act, which recently passed the New Mexico House of Representatives, will eliminate the shield of qualified immunity and create accountability for police officers who violate rights. Personal experience is powerful when it shows how blind support of law enforcement can lead to abuses, cost individuals their lives and destroy families.

New Mexicans deserve justice when abuse by police and other government actors destroys their lives. They deserve a trial where members of the community can hold bad actors to account. Accountability will make the public safe and the police less likely to use excessive force. And it will provide a fair outcome when police overreach. The time has come in New Mexico to end the abuses that have been promulgated by qualified immunity.

I did not seek the role of being an advocate to end qualified immunity and for justice for victims of police violence, but the role fell on my shoulders when my son, Sam Pauly, was killed by police violence. I do not want what happened to my son on that rainy night in October to happen to anyone elses child. With the passage of House Bill 4 comes safety and a judicial system that protects New Mexicans who have been wrongly harmed by police violence. This is why I support the New Mexico Civil Rights Act.
Dr. Liesl Obrecht is a well-known recurring character on General Hospital. She is known for being an antagonist who happens to have a strong German accent.

Obrecht has made an impression on a lot of viewers, and some fans might be curious to know about the characters actor, Kathleen Gati. For example, what nationality is Gati and where is she from?

Kathleen Gati | Fred Hayes/WireImage for Sundance Film Festival

Who is Liesl Obrecht on General Hospital?

Obrecht first appeared on General Hospital in 2012. At the time, she was a doctor at the Swiss clinic where Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough) was being kept against her will.

She later showed up at Port Charles and proceeded to make enemies with several citizens. Obrecht has a track record of doing shady things, including poisoning enemies, kidnapping kids, and taking people hostage.

However, Obrecht is also a complicated character. Despite her evil side, she has been known to be a loving person towards her family membersmost notably, her daughter Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud).

What nationality is Kathleen Gati?

RELATED: General Hospital Star Sofia Mattsson Is From Sweden  Find Out Her Trick for Adopting a Perfect American Accent

Her character is Swiss German, but Gati has Hungarian ancestry. She was born and raised in Canada, and her parents came from Hungary.

Gati has acted in a number of Hungarian films in the 1990s. She once commented on her experience in an interview with Soap Opera Spy, saying, Hungarian cinema has such a rich legacy and sadly, due to the political and economic changes since communism officially ended, the country is simply unable to produce the same quantity and quality as before. My six years in Hungary were some of my professionally richest and most profound moments of my career.

Some fans might also be curious about what Gati sounds like in real life. She does not actually speak with Obrechts distinctive accent.

Kathleen Gati used to be a ballet dancer

RELATED: General Hospital: Eden McCoy Reveals the Actor Who Makes Her Laugh the Most on Set

Gati is known for being an actor now, but used to train seriously as a ballet dancer when she was a child.

Growing up, my sister and I were sent to the theatre, and we saw a lot of plays, and saw a lot of ballets, and heard a lot of music, Gati said in an interview with Michelle Sandlin. The ballet was actually what touched me.

She explained, Basically for the next 16 years thats all I wanted to eat, sleep and drink. I just wanted to dance and express myself, because I never felt I could properly express myself with words, but through the music and through dance, I felt that I could express all my emotions.

Unfortunately, Gati sustained an injury that eventually made her stop dancing. Gati struggled to cope with it for a while.

I thought my life was over. But it was a grateful injury, she said. At the time youre in the middle of a crisis, but it isnt until later that you look back and go, Oh thats why that happened. You look back and everything has a reason why it happens, but in the middle of it you dont know, and I was devastated.

The injury led her to pursue acting. She moved to New York and performed in theater plays, which eventually got her gigs on television shows.
Sunday, February 28, 2021

Leander D'avy is a witness that James DiEugenio believes helps establish that Clay Shaw was Clay Bertrand. Here is an excerpt from his book, Destiny Betrayed: (page 387)

As DiEugenio says, D'avy's interview (of November 29, 1967) was "utterly fascinating." We will get to that interview in a minute.

Leander D'avy was the doorman at the Court of Two Sisters, a bar/restaurant in New Orleans. He first contacted Jim Garrison's office on August 14, 1967. Gene Davis was a gay bar owner whom Dean Andrews once said was Clay Bertrand (Davis denied it).

D'avy believes he saw Lee Harvey Oswald at the Court of Two Sisters. It's interesting that while he saw Clay Shaw several times at the Court, he does not associate Shaw with Clay Bertrand.

The next Garrison memo on Leander D'avy is dated November 29, 1967:

Garrison's notation on the bottom is intended for Lou Ivon and it reads: "Lou: Further information needed: 1. Photo of Louis Karno. 2. B/I Check (+ photo) of Mike Newman. 3. Last name of Gracie and Jose. (Let me know results of these check + add them to the indicated files)."

D'avy has now embellished his story and brings in Dean Andrews. And, he now has Gene Davis telling him [in regards to Oswald] that "the kid has been behind the Iron Curtain."

D'avy was again interviewed on December 2, 1967. Here is the memo:

Now D'avy is certain that it was Lee Harvey Oswald at the Court of Two Sisters. Other people are now appearing at the Court - Sergio Arcacha Smith was there; Al Beauboeuf was there; David Ferrie looks familiar; Lawrence Howard was behind the bar at La Casa de Los Marinas; Novel looked familiar, Thornley looked familiar; Loren Hall looks familiar; and Guy Banister was in the Court talking to Gene Davis.

Needless to say, Jim Garrison did not use Leander D'avy as a witness in the Clay Shaw trial.

In April, 1977, Leander D'avy contacted military intelligence. He wanted to tell them his story.

The FBI interviewed D'avy at military intelligence at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Here is their report:

The FBI transcribed the tape that D'avy gave them. Here is the transcription:

He says in the tape that his lie detector test came out "negative." But, given D'avy's mental state, I cannot tell if he means he passed or failed the test.

The FBI then searched their files for information on D'avy. And, they found an interesting tidbit:

Leander D'avy was interviewed by Belford Lawson and Jack Moriarty of the HSCA on June 23, 1977 in Washington. It appears that D'avy just showed up:

I have the full 33-page transcript, but I'll be only be posting excerpts here.

D'avy recounts his meeting of Oswald in 1962 - of course, we know this is impossible because Oswald is living in Dallas. He had earlier told Garrison 1963. But, he then starts to tell the story of going into the Court two weeks before the assassination:

And, lo and behold, he now sees Lee Harvey Oswald with David Ferrie!

As D'avy says above, there were five people in the little apartment - Lee Harvey Oswald, David Ferrie, and three others. Well, who were they? They were the 3 tramps!

Might Gene Davis know the names of the three people?

And, when asked for some details on Oswald, D'avy had another bombshell - he had been slapped by Jack Ruby!

The HSCA interviewers then tried to firm up exactly when D'avy saw the men in the apartment. A fairly important question since Oswald was only in New Orleans for five months in 1963.

Well, perhaps it was 1963, no?

Just like that! 1963!

Oh, and D'avy said Oswald went to another bar that night as well:

And, why did D'avy wait so long to come forward with his story?

Of course, he called Garrison in 1967, not 1968. It seems like he's off a year in everything.

And the tramps?

D'avy then reveals that he took a lie detector test for Jim Garrison:

D'avy describes being questioned by Jim Garrison:

Towards the end of the interview, they asked a very interesting question:

Interestingly enough, when searching for information on Leander D'avy, I found this from the Opelousa Daily World of July 3, 1945:

On July 8, 1977 Belford Lawson wrote a report about Leander D'avy to Robert Tanenbaum, Deputy Chief Counsel.

Here is their evaluation of D'avy's credibility and their recommendations:

Despite the fact that D'avy's stories were ridiculous - and they could clearly see that - they still recommended further investigation.

And so on December 16, 1977 HSCA investigators Bob Buras and L. J. Delsa met with Leander D'avy at the Greyhound bus station in New Orleans. Here is the entire memo:

D'acy now says it was only the first and second tramp that he saw. And, Fred Crisman enters the scene. The report says D'avy "identifies the photo of Fred Lee Crisman as a man that came around almost every week during 1963 and Gene Davis used to introduce him as "my daddy" in a joking manner. Crisman said he was from Baton Rouge." Of course, Crisman lived in the pacific northwest. Oh, and D'acy says he also saw Thomas Beckham at the restaurant.

On May 18, 1978, the HSCA interviewed Gene Davis, and he actually said he wasn't working at the Court in 1963.

As I said at the beginning of this blog post, James DiEugenio found D'avy's November 29th, 1967 statement to Garrison, "utterly fascinating." Joan Mellen also uses D'avy as a witness to tie Shaw to Oswald. She believes that Betty Parrott, an FBI informant, corroborates D'avy's statements. She writes in her book, And Justice For All, that "that "FBI informant Betty Parrott knew Davis had been fired as night manager at the Court of Two Sisters for bringing Oswald upstairs." (page 123).

Here is the report from Betty Parrott - note the last paragraph on the first page and the continuation on the second page:

The timing of this memo is interesting. D'avy had already talked to Garrison's office three times. Rather than being corroborating proof, this is perhaps evidence that there was an 'echo chamber' or a 'feedback loop' within the people in and around the D.A.'s office. We know that New Orleans was a cauldron of innuendo, rumors, and gossip, and Betty Parrott was one of the many people who were both speaking to Garrison and the FBI.

The rumors even reached Shaw's lawyers. Here is a memo from Edward Wegmann from July 1967:

This was right before D'avy called Garrison, and the rumor here is that there was a relationship between Davis and Oswald. Might that have been D'avy on the phone?

Link
Riot police advance towards a barricade during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 27, 2021. EPA-Yonhap



Opponents of military rule in Myanmar planned protests on Sunday a day after the security forces launched their biggest crackdown, arresting hundreds of people and shooting and wounding at least one.



State television announced that Myanmar's U.N. envoy had been fired for betraying the country, after he urged the United Nations to use "any means necessary" to reverse the Feb. 1 coup that ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.



He vowed to fight on.



"I decided to fight back as long as I can," Kyaw Moe Tun told Reuters in New York.



Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power and detained Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.



The coup, which stalled Myanmar's progress toward democracy, has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets and drawn condemnation from Western countries, with some imposing limited sanctions.



People scoured hardware shops on Saturday for helmets and items they could use for masks and shields, posts on social media showed, with the Burmese-language tag #iwillbeonthestreet.





People react as riot police fire tear gas at demonstrators during a protest against the military coup at Sanchaung township in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 27, 2021. EPA-Yonhap



Saturday saw turmoil in towns and cities across the country as police moved forcefully to stamp out the protests, firing tear gas, setting off stun grenades and shooting guns into the air.



Uniformed police and plain-clothes security men set upon some people with clubs, witnesses said.









State-run MRTV television said more than 470 people had been arrested in all. It said police had given warnings before using stun grenades to disperse people.



Several journalists were among those detained, their media organisations and colleagues said.



"People are protesting peacefully but they're threatening us with weapons," youth activist Shar Yamone told Reuters.



"We're fighting to end this military bullying which has been going on for generation after generation."



Betrayed Country



One woman was shot and wounded in the central town of Monwya, 7Day News and an emergency worker said. 7Day and two other media organisations had earlier reported that she was killed.





Buddhist monks lead an anti-coup protest march in Mandalay, Myanmar, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. "CRPH" in the placards stands for "Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw," where Pyidaungsu Hluttaw means the country's legislature, or, the Assembly of the Union. AP-Yonhap
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Mann ki baat live: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the nation through his monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday, February 28. This is PM Modi's 74th edition of his monthly programme broadcasted on last Sunday of every month. The prime minister, earlier this month, had invited people of the country to share inspiring stories in the field of art, culture, tourism. He also shared a toll-free number for people to record their messages in either English or Hindi. In the last Mann Ki Baat address in January, PM Modi had urged the countrymen to write about freedom fighters as well as stories of their struggle in order to mark the nation's 75th Independence Day this year. The prime minister also talked about India's vaccination drive, farmers' protest, and other issues. 'Mann Ki Baat' is PM Modi's monthly radio programme to the country and is broadcasted on the last Sunday of every month.

Catch PM Modi 'Mann Ki Baat' live Updates on BusinessToday.In:

11.32 am: Mann ki Baat address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he regrets not learning Tamil, which is the world's oldest language. I feel - it is a regret of sorts that I could not learn the world's oldest language Tamil. Tamil literature is beautiful," said PM Modi.

11.29 am: Aatmanirbhar national spirit of India: PM Modi

Lauding the work by temples of Assam towards environmental conservation, PM Modi said, "Many people from across the country are contributing to 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. Like, Pramodji, from Bettiah, who was working in a LED bulb factory in Delhi, understood the process of bulb production and started a small LED bulb manufacturing unit at this native place."

Meet Nayak Sir from Odisha.



He is doing something unique. #MannKiBaatpic.twitter.com/KsY7iT5hXC a PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 28, 2021

11.24 am: PM Modi at 74th address of Man Ki Baat

The prime minister said, "we need to take science forward with the mantra of 'Lab to Land'," adding that the contribution of science is huge in Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Giving an example, PM Modi said that Ladakh's Urgain Phuntsog is working with innovation techniques to organically grow 20 different crops in cyclic pattern.

11.19: PM Modi pitches for Aatmanirbhar Bharat, says immense contribution of science in Aatmanirbhar Bharat

Self-reliance invokes patriotism, said PM Modi. He added that Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan is not just a government policy, it's a national spirit.

11.16 am: Pm Modi Mann Ki Baat

The prime minister said that during this month of 'magh', Haridwar is hosting Kumbh mela this year. He added that World Water Day will be celebrated on March 22.

11.13 am: PM Modi conveys greetings on National Science Day

He recalled the works of Dr. CV Raman saying, "Let us make science more popular across India."

11.10 am: PM Modi remembers Sant Ravidas on his Jayanti

Remembering Sant Ravidas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Sant Ravidas Ji taught us- keep working, do not expect anything...when this is done there will be satisfaction. He taught people to go beyond conventional thinking. Sant Ravidas Ji spoke directly and honestly about various issues."

11.05 am: Mann ki Baat live

PM Modi says water has been critical for the development of humankind for centuries. . "This is the best time to think about water conservation in the summer months ahead," says PM Modi.

11.00 am: PM Modi begins his address to the nation

This is his second address of 2021.

10.55 am: PM Modi 'Mann Ki Baat'

In the last Mann Ki Baat address in January, PM Modi had urged the countrymen to write about freedom fighters as well as stories of their struggle in order to mark the nation's 75th Independence Day this year.
Letters to the Editor View(s):

The National Council of Elders should step in to see that elders are prioritized for vaccination

It is the internationally accepted principle that senior citizens be given priority when administering the COVID-19 jabs. But according to media reports, it appears that our Health authorities have ignored this procedure.

Under the protection of the Right of the Elders Act No. 9 of 2000, as amended by the Act No. 5 of 2011, elders were issued with Elders Identity cards in order to facilitate the receipt of the benefits and concessions available to elders in both public and private sector services. There it is stipulated that Elders cardholders should be given priority in health services too.

As such the National Council of Elders established under Section 2 of the Act, as amended should take appropriate action to enlighten the authorities concerned regarding this burning issue, so that they could rectify it early.

A. B. Gamage Via email

Sharing my experience to help others with repatriation

After being held up in the USA for nearly a year in what was originally meant to be a 10-week holiday, I had the good fortune to return to Sri Lanka earlier this month. Undergoing my mandatory quarantine in a paid facility in Sigiriya, I wanted to share my story mainly to counter some of the adverse speculation and lack of information relating to repatriation of Sri Lankans.

When I learned of a cousins return from Melbourne sometime in late September 2020, I decided that its time for me to check whether I would stand a chance of getting back. Initial feedback was not very encouraging. I was advised to have approximately Rs. 500,000 to begin with. Step No. 1 was to register myself in the closest Sri Lankan mission overseas which was Washington DC in my case. The registration process was efficient and was carried out on email with me filling up two separate forms sent by the embassy. Submitting an undertaking to bear the cost of my air ticket, paid quarantine and cost of PCR tests was part of the arrangement.

While things looked promising up to that point, unexpectedly the second wave of COVID-19 hit Sri Lanka hard, with air traffic to Colombo being suspended again. And so I had to watch the situation and wait again. The Embassy in DC informed me that all repatriation flights had been suspended until further notice. Then in early December I heard of a friend of mine who was stranded in an East Asian capital receiving approval to return, not on a repatriation flight but on a commercial flight. That was the news I was waiting for. The possibility of returning on a commercial flight was available right along at decent prices, but the stumbling block was that I needed prior approval from the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry and the Civil Aviation authorities for me to return.

I did some exhaustive research and found that seeking direct approval from the Foreign Ministry would be the way forward. I was told that I may have to write multiple times as the Foreign Ministry was inundated with similar requests from Sri Lankans stranded in all corners of the world. I forwarded my case to the Foreign Ministry just after Christmas 2020. There was no response. Since it was the festive holiday period, I wasnt discouraged. I tried for a second time on the 31st of December and a miracle happened. Within less than 12 hours I received an email granting me approval to return to Colombo and the rest is history.

The next part was the dreaded quarantine that all returnees have to undergo. After reading quite a few horror stories of experiences faced by some of the returnees, my family in Lanka and I braced for the unknown. Mercifully, I ended up in a salubrious old hotel in Sigiriya where we have been well cared for.

After listening to my home coming story there were many who encouraged me to go public with it to offset the common belief of the fear of the unknown that awaits the returnees and also to highlight some key individuals who work hard in this effort. I would like to name two who were involved in the process I went through in a highly efficient way. The Second Secretary of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington DC handling the repatriation operation Niranga Palipana is one. If you send him any email inquiry you are assured of a response generally within the day if not within minutes. Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the person responsible for sifting through thousands of emails on a daily basis and granting approval based on the strength of each case. My utmost respect to the two gentlemen. (Note that this relates to the process in place as at December 2020 which may have changed by now).

In conclusion, I observe that the process of repatriation of Sri Lankans has evolved to a much better level by now, despite the rocky start. There are on-going debates on the issue of the length of quarantine period and on the effectiveness of carrying out a PCR test on the day a person arrives in Sri Lanka which is not in-line with what most of the other countries with a greater level of success in controlling the COVID pandemic in their countries follow. Such information is readily available in cyberspace for anyone to learn from.

My parting prayer is that the respective authorities would take the initiative to improve this process further, making the return less of a financial burden for individuals and a meaningful activity based on what is already known in effectively controlling the pandemic in a country.

Under Quarantine Via email

The whole point of the vaccine is primarily to save lives

I was amazed to read in the newspapers that the Health authorities had decided that immune-suppressed persons are not entitled to get the vaccine.

This is not correct  they have to get the vaccine.

They fall into a very vulnerable group and they, I repeat, have to be given the Covid-19 vaccine on a priority basis.

The vaccine is primarily meant to save lives.

Please take remedial action.

Nihal Jayamanne, PC Colombo 8
Burning Crosses Across the Berkshires: KKK Thrived Locally 100 Years Ago

PITTSFIELD , Mass.  Over a thousand men, most of them hooded, gathered around a burning cross. Some 200 were new recruits, there to be inducted into the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan. The year was 1927.

The place was a farm 15 miles from Pittsfield.

The first arc of the Ku Klux Klan following the Civil War seems to have permeated very little into New England, in terms of formal organization. The requisite attitudes were certainly present in the Berkshires by then; the same month that Berkshire volunteers were mustering with the 27th Infantry to fight in that conflict, at least eight innocent men of color were arrested following the September 1861 slaying of Emily Jones and her children in Otis. Several narrowly escaped lynching by angry mobs, before James Callender confessed to the triple homicide.

There were plenty of heinous incidents and individual acts, but it wasn't until a couple decades later that systemic hatreds in the Berkshires began to cluster into vigilante groups  first as White Caps, and later as klansmen.

In the late 19th century, "white capping" was a new movement of white kl. White caps saw themselves as enforcers of moral and ethnic purity, spread out from Indiana to rural areas around the country beginning in 1887. Members wore white hats or masks and carried out ambushes on immigrants, racially mixed couples, "licentious" women, adulterers, alcoholics, or anyone else they deemed undesirable to their community's moral order. Their favored method of punishment was flogging with a whip. Their predominant targets were people of color and recent immigrants.

Gangs of white caps were already established in half a dozen Berkshire towns by the beginning of 1889, when a dozen of them were brought to trial for the attempted murder of two French men in Housatonic. After hearing about the fracas in South County, a few nights later a dozen young men covered their faces in white masks and prowled Pittsfield's West Side neighborhood, roughing up a 9-year-old walking home. Another band of white caps threatened (and were shot at by) Schuyler Hulse in Lenox, when they accosted him for visiting a widow there one evening in 1893. Hulse was cleared of any wrongdoing (for shooting one of them in the buttocks) by the courts. A gang of white caps was again reported roaming the West Side neighborhood of Pittsfield on Halloween in 1901, mentioned in such casual fashion as to suggest this had become common occurrence.

Sporadic incidents of violence continued over the next few years, and public opinion began to increasingly turn against them as their nocturnal activities began to threaten commerce and investment in many communities. Nationally, the movement had become associated with a growing number of lynching murders against Black men and men of color. By 1910, activities under the "white cap" brand had tapered off  but many white cappers would simply re-enlist a few years later, when the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was re-formed in 1915.

The klan had a significant presence in the Berkshires by the early 1920s, at least. At first, locals traveled to meetings in nearby areas of Connecticut and New Jersey, but soon began holding meetings locally with hundreds of attendees, and large regular induction ceremonies. In 1923, about 200 people were receiving KKK mailings in North Adams and Williamstown. A year later, KKK organizers in Pittsfield reported they had about 600 new applicants for membership. Multiple local klan chapters were organized, by town. Pittsfield's was Berkshire Klan No. 9.

In October 1924, many traveled to the Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds for what would become the largest klan rally in New England, with over 15,000 attending. Hooded hate was spreading rapidly.

Over the next few years, crosses burned at large outdoor ceremonies from Pittsfield to Pownal, Vt. In 1926, 250 local klansmen burned a 30-foot cross on a hill behind the Red Bat Cave speak-easy in New Ashford, in plain view of passersby on nearby Route 7. Three weeks later they gathered again in North County, at Whitcomb Summit, for another fiery initiation with 100 more new prospective members attending. In a rare attempt to photograph the proceedings, a North Adams Transcript photographer had his camera confiscated until the meeting concluded.

A faction in nearby Chatham, N.Y., fared more poorly in their cross-burning attempt, when a roaming bull (possibly set loose by a nearby farmer) reportedly charged into their midst in the dark, shattering the cross and nearly goring some members.

By 1927, KKK rallies with over a thousand attendees were being held on farms near Pittsfield and North Adams. Sporadic incidents of threats against community members, like Hinsdale dentist Dr. Boudreau, were largely dismissed with only mild reproach by local leaders. By that point, the local klan chapters had proven large enough to influence the course of town elections, as was seen in the race for town clerk in Hancock that year. In February of '27, The Berkshire Eagle reported the defeat of seven-year incumbent August McSorley came from local klansmen through their support to challenger Harry K. Hinds. The same day, a 10-foot tall cross was set ablaze at White Oaks (a predominantly Black neighborhood of Williamstown, at that time) moments after polls closed in that town election.

Local klansmen were growing emboldened, and more willing to be identified. In the Congressional Record from September 1927 can be found a letter from the Pittsfield branch of the KKK to Alabama Sen. J. Thomas Heflin, praising him for recent statements demonizing Catholics and the Knights of Columbus. "May your stirring remarks take their place with those of other patriots whose words have outlived them. May they be preserved for future generations to read," wrote Secretary J.C. Kilmer, on behalf of Berkshire Klan 9.

The endorsement did not go unreciprocated; Heflin would travel to address some of his northern KKK supporters at a rally in Pownal the following summer.

Another visiting speaker was Charles W. Lewis, editor of the Springfield Herald. Lewis made repeated trips to Pittsfield in the 1920s organizing for the KKK, until his newspaper folded in 1929 amidst criminal libel charges. In one vivid incident, Lewis set himself up distributing klan literature in front of the General Electric plant the same day that Boston Mayor James Curley was in town on his gubernatorial election tour scheduled to give a noontime speech condemning them.

"Hundreds of klan members have existed in the rural sections of the Berkshires ready to flock to the meeting place at the signal from the kleagle," the Eagle recounted in the spring 1928, while declaring the organization was now on the decline locally. "Huge fiery crosses have blazed forth at all hours of the night to proclaim to Berkshire and her visitors that the hooded order had extending into the back woods of the western Massachusetts hills."

Now, it said, two major leaders had left the area, and "unless some new guiding lights shine forth to steer the organization, it is doomed."

They were clearly still active locally six months later, though; at least 150 members gathered for a meeting that November in the Town Hall at Otis.

Growing pushback in communities drove KKK activity deeper underground by the very end of the decade, and overall the organization everywhere saw a steep decline in active numbers. Where formal, dues-paying members nationwide had been estimated close to 9 million people in 1925, by 1930 it was down to just over 300,000 (they grossed an estimated $90 million during that time).

Though klan activity saw a limited resurgence in the late '30s, in large-scale gatherings around Buckland and Shelburne Falls, that particular outlet had lost much of its popularity, and never again reached quite the fever peak of the '20s.

While local chapters of the Ku Klux Klan may have expired, however, sympathies toward the organization never vanished entirely. In 1982, for instance, there were men from Western Mass and Connecticut carpooling up to a large klan rally in nearby Wilmington, Vt. More recently  according to Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn, in a 2017 article in The Berkshire Eagle  back in 1998, a photo shop employee turned over photos of a klan rally in New York State. License plates were visible in some of the shots, and a good number of them proved local.

We've continued to applaud ourselves for our progress, especially here in the Berkshires, where burning crosses on local hillsides seem almost unthinkable ... and yet images of burning hay bales are freshly seared into memory. And it's probably true that ideologies have moved some with the passage of time. That, as Dr. Martin Luther King reminded us, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

It's also true that actual klan-style chapters have dwindled to only 25 recognized groups in 2020, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, numbering scarcely 3,000 members nationally.

But when it comes to hate ... they have apps for that, now. Few would risk employment-killing association with a branded entity like the KKK when white supremacist dialogue and social organization is available with just a few clicks. More than 10 million Americans flocked to Parler and other hate-speech-safe social networking apps in recent months. Known hate groups active in the U.S. declined from 940 to 838 in 2020, according to SPLC's data , which also warned that activity grew by other metrics, such as "flyering" of racist or violent print content (tripled from 2019 to 2020).

There are six active white supremacy groups in Massachusetts currently being tracked by the SPLC, not including NSC-131, a new neo-Nazi faction led by a 22-year-old from Dorchester, who confirmed they attended November's Capitol riots to ensure "white safety."

We still have a ton of work to do in building our future ... and in acknowledging our past.

Sources:

Berkshire Evening Eagle April 30, 1904; May 22, 1922, July 12, 1924; Sept. 18, 1925; May 5, 1926; July 27, 1928; Nov. 16, 1928; Sep 24, 1931; Berkshire Eagle: Nov. 29, 2017; Boston Globe, Nov. 10, 1893; Pittsfield Sun: Sept. 18, 1862; Jan. 24, 1889; March 14, 1889; Nov. 16, 1893
Columbia, MO (65201)

Today

More clouds than sun. Slight chance of a rain shower. High near 75F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies in the evening, then becoming cloudy overnight. Slight chance of a shower late. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 10:33:49|Editor: huaxia

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JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Four men aged between 30 to 64 were shot dead and another was injured Saturday at Mitchells Plain near Cape Town, said South African police.

"The victims were shot and killed at close range while a 37-year-old male victim escaped the attack with a gunshot wound," said Western Cape police spokesman Andre Traut.

"It is alleged that unknown suspects opened fire at the group of five and fled the scene on foot. The suspects are yet to be arrested and police are making an appeal to the community to approach us with information," he said.

The cause of the shooting was not clear at this stage. Enditem


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There was a time when pals of Royalty would never wish to fall out with their famous friends for fear of being excluded from the inner sanctum.

But after Prince Harry exiled himself, socialite friends don't feel the need to hide their private views any more.

Take Lady Alice Manners and Sabine Getty two Royal pals who weighed in on the treatment of the Queen by Harry and Meghan by telling Meghan: 'Girl. Take a seat.'

Lady Alice Manners and Sabine Getty (left)  two Royal pals who weighed in on the treatment of the Queen by Harry and Meghan by telling Meghan (right): 'Girl. Take a seat'

That's American slang for stand down, shut up and  in this instance  leave our Queenie alone!

It was Sabine, who attended Princess Eugenie's wedding, who got the ball rolling. She shared Meghan and Harry's churlish statement  'We can all live a life of service. Service is universal'  issued after Buckingham Palace announced the couple had been stripped of their Royal patronages.

Sabine was gobsmacked by Meghan's riposte and felt defensive of the Monarch. 'Am I actually reading this?!' she rebuked.

'Saying this to the Queen who is 94 years old and has been in public service her entire life?' Sabine also seemed to blame Meghan as the brains behind the statement, adding: 'Girl. Take a seat.'

Then Alice put Sabine's post on her own Instagram page along with an emoji of two raised hands in the 'preach' position. Ouch!

Like most girls on the society circuit, I was thrilled by the news we might be able to party hard again from June 21.

But I draw the line at supermodel Edie Campbell's attitude: she told her 128,000 Instagram followers she would be an 'easy s**g' when the date comes!

Single Edie, 30, shared a picture of a carpet with a joke reference about how wild she plans to go.

Edie Campbell told her 128,000 Instagram followers she would be an 'easy s**g' when restrictions are lifted on June 21

Others have more modest ambitions  Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood's teetotal son Jesse, 44, declared: 'I'm going on a three-day coffee bender.'

And actress Jaime Winstone, 35, isn't too old to have her party plans scotched by her hardman screen star dad Ray.

After she publicly vowed to go to a massive rave, he responded: 'Nope, you're not going no arguments!' Spoilsport.

What is with the Delevingne family's penchant for bending the rules? Charles Delevingne  father of model sisters Poppy and Cara  has just enjoyed a three-week trip to Barbados but confused friends by posting a picture of Hyde Park soon after he returned.

Charles assured me his jaunt was strictly necessary, saying: 'I have never felt better... I have been in Barbados on company business.'

Only two months ago Charles raised eyebrows when he hired the 28-bedroom Palladian mansion Aynhoe Park in Oxfordshire for a Christmas party despite Boris announcing a 'stay at home' order on December 19.

And daughter Poppy's visit to Rita Ora's 30-person birthday bash at a London restaurant in November ruffled a few feathers, too.

Charles declined to comment on whether he had breached quarantine rules. I am sure the photo of the park was an old one
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 12:15:11|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- with a sword in his hand, Kynan Dencio performed to the music, jumping, turning and slashing, attracting applause from hundreds of audiences.

He was one of the performers at the Lantern Festival celebration on Saturday evening by Lake Burley Griffin in Australian capital Canberra.

The celebration, hosted by the Australia China Friendship Society (ACFS) Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Branch Inc, was believed to be one of the biggest outdoor events in the city ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Carol Keil, president of the ACFS ACT Branch, there were well above 500 audiences. "We have not just Chinese people here. Most of the audiences are non-Chinese," she told Xinhua. "It gives them good opportunity to celebrate the Chinese culture."

Programs included Chinese classical music performance, traditional dances, Tai Chi and martial arts. Local people picnicked with their families on the grass, or filmed the performances with their phones.

Chinese student He Huimeng especially put on a yellow embroidered traditional Chinese dress which she borrowed from a friend.

"I can feel the festive atmosphere here," she said. Due to the pandemic, the Australian National University student who arrived in Canberra a year ago was unable to go back home this year. "But I will share the video and photos that I take here with my parents, and tell them I am good."

Alicia Beaumont went to watch the performances with her husband, mom and two daughters. It was their first time to join in a Lantern Festival celebration.

Talking about the reason why she decided to come, she said: "have a look at different culture, and for our children to learn a different culture as well". Her daughters were six and three.

Admitting that they might not be able to understand details of the Chinese culture, the 38-year-old woman said they did enjoy the performances, especially the dances.

Martial arts performer Dencio said he had been learning Kung Fu for about 20 years. His wife was from Chinese background and they celebrated Chinese festivals.

"It is always good to see such a diverse range of people come out to the Lantern Festival, not only from the Chinese community, but also people who are interested in all the performances that are happening," he said. "We always get a very good feedback from everybody."

Yang Zhi, minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese Embassy in Australia, was also present at the celebration.

"This is a platform set up by the ACFS ACT Branch, on which Chinese communities here in Canberra could show the positive spirit of the Chinese people, promote the Chinese culture, and at the same time contribute to the multiculturalism of local society," he said.

Ms. Keil noted that such Lantern Festival celebration has been held for more than 25 years, during which period it grew from small-scale gathering to an increasingly important event.

"It is such a lovely event to...make the Chinese culture better known to the Canberra community," she said. "So that Canberrans can understand Chinese better." Enditem
Hasbro creates 'modern families' Potato Head with 2 moms, 2 dads

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Toy manufacturer Hasbro stirred controversy immediately after it announced the launch of a "modern version of its iconic Mr. Potato Head toy line that will drop the honorific Mr., to be more inclusive and to let kids create their own type of potato families, including two moms or two dads.

Hasbro is making sure all feel welcome in the Potato Head world by officially dropping the Mr. from the Mr. Potato Head brand name and logo to promote gender equality and inclusion, the company said in an announcement Thursday about the new line that will be released this fall.

Soon thereafter, in response to numerous responses on Twitter against the name-change and "inclusion," the toy giant updated the announcement: Hasbro is officially renaming the Mr. Potato Head brand to Potato Head to better reflect the full line. But rest assured, the iconic Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters arent going anywhere and will remain Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.

In a promotional video for the new line, Hasbro said it's offering a "modern look for modern families."

The new version will come with two non-gendered adult potatoes, one baby potato and 42 removable parts like eyeglasses, a mustache, nose and mouth, Bloomberg quoted a Hasbro spokeswoman as saying. That will let kids decide the parents gender, rather than being told they are Mr. and Mrs.

They are looking to broaden the franchise, The Associated Press quoted Robert Passikoff, founder of marketing consultancy Brand Keys, as saying. You take the focus of what is essentially one character and now allow it to be a platform for many characters.

The removal of Mr. from the name of the toy line is likely to encourage other companies to not assign genders to their toys, Ali Mierzejewski, editor in chief at toy-review site the Toy Insider, was quoted as saying.

Its a potato. But kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with, Mierzejewski added.

A prominent gay rights organization, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, welcomed the move.

Hasbro is helping kids to simply see toys as toys, which encourages them to be their authentic selves outside of the pressures of traditional gender norms, Rich Ferraro, the groups chief communications officer, said in a statement.

Mr. Potato Head was launched in 1952.

In 2019, GLAAD started pushing for 20% of all television characters to be LGBT by 2025.

In a report called Where We Are on TV, GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis noted that less than one-quarter of Americans have a close friend or family member who is transgender, meaning that many Americans learn about trans people from what they see in television, movies, and news.
A stunning and rare picture of a gold stream running through the Amazon rainforest, shared by Nasa for the first time, has exposed the dark side of illegal mining of gold in Peru.

The picture that appears to be of rivers of gold running through the Amazon rainforest in Perus Madre de Dios state is in fact numerous gold prospecting pits, likely dug by unlicensed miners, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.

The picture was taken by the space agencys astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS) in December.

The pits are usually hidden from view of the astronauts in the space station due to cloud cover but were illuminated in the rare shot due to the reflected sunlight.

In this very wet climate, the prospecting pits appear as hundreds of tightly packed water-filled basins, NASA's Earth Observatory said. Likely dug by garimperos (independent miners), each pit is surrounded by de-vegetated areas of muddy spoil.

The images have highlighted the extent of mining in the region which is the major cause of deforestation and destructive mercury pollution due to gold-extraction process.

Peru is one of the leading producers of gold in the world and tens of thousands of people in Madre de Dios are dependent on unregistered gold mining for their living.

Despite dependency of its people on mining, the unregulated industry has led to extensive deforestation of the biodiversity hotspot and damage to its habitats.

The images also showed the Southern Interoceanic Highway, inaugurated in 2011, to connect Brazil and Peru to stimulate trade and tourism. The highway has caused expansion of gold prospecting in the region.

Due to the great expansion of surface prospecting, deforestation may be the larger result of the highway, Nasa added.

Madre de Dios is a part of Amazon which is home to thriving monkeys, jaguars and butterflies. Certain parts are protected from mining, such as the Tambopata National Reserve, Nasa explained, as some areas have been turned to treeless wasteland.
The 78th Golden Globes will air on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT live on NBC

With millions due to tune into this year's Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, the question as to whether the show - which is famed for its political barbs - will address the sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo remains to be seen.

Tina Fey, 50, will once again be teaming up with fellow Saturday Night Live alum, Amy Poehler, 49, to present this years 78th annual Globes, which will be broadcast live from both Los Angeles and New York City.

The 30 Rock creator is scheduled to host the Big Apple leg of the show from the Rockefeller Centers Rainbow Room, while Parks and Recreation star Poehler will be broadcasting from the Beverly Hilton in California.

Earlier this week, Fey said she and Poehler would be seeking to make this year's Globes a far tamer affair than it has been in recent years - a seeming reference to former host Ricky Gervais' evisceration of Tinseltown's elite in January 2020.

We just want to make it a fun hangout for people at home  kind of a stress reliever, so I dont think you can expect much politics at all, she told Jill Rappaport in a recent episode of the Rappaport to the Rescue podcast. 'It doesn't seem like a venue for political jokes'.

But considering Fey was a fierce champion of the MeToo Movement, and that Poehler has a history of criticizing Andrew Cuomo, the sexual harassment scandal involving the New York Governor may not be entirely off limits tonight.

This year's 78th annual Golden Globes Awards will be hosted by SNL alum Tina Fey (left) and Amy Poehler (right) and promises to be a largely politics-free event

Cuomo, who won a Daytime Emmy for his daily coronavirus briefings late last year, was accused by two former aide of sexual harassment in recent days

On Saturday, Cuomo, 63, was accused of sexual harassment by his 25-year-old former executive assistance, Charlotte Bennett, who claims he asked her questions about her sex life, whether she had monogamous relationships and if she ever had sex with older men during the height of the pandemic last spring.

The accusations followed closely on the heels of similar claims made by another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, who alleged in a Medium essay last week that Cuomo tired to kiss her on the lips inside his office in Albany in 2018, and once asked her to play strip poker during a flight on his plane the year prior.

For both Fey and Poehler, the women's accusations will likely strike an accord with their fierce support of the MeToo movement, which gathered momentum in late 2017 and saw powerful men in Hollywood, tech and politics face consequences for their past behavior, including sexual assault and harassment.

In 2018, Fey told the Hollywood Reporter that the Broadway adaptation of her 2004 movie Mean Girls complemented the heightened sense of female empowerment inspired by cultural movements like MeToo and TimesUp at the time.

The following year, Poehler spoke out about how the MeToo movement forced her to confront her own 'deep institutionalized misogyny.'

'Our generation of women, Gen Xer women, we desexualized ourselves. And that stuff gets really ingrained,' she said. 'I grew up in a time where trying to sympathize or empathize with the male experience was how I was able to be included in the experience.'

Additionally, Poehler has a history of publicly criticizing Gov. Cuomo. In 2019, she and a handful of other stars called on him to raise the minimum wage made by tip waitresses in New York to combat the sexual harassment they face.

And in a 2020 reprisal of her role on SNL's Weekend Update, Fey, meanwhile, made a number of jokes at the expense of Cuomo, including references to rumors the governor has pierced nipples.

As two alums of SNL, a show that, until recently, had become synonymous with sharp political commentary, it was widely presumed Fey and Poehler would lean heavily on topical humor during Sundays Globes.

But just as SNL has largely shied away from political skits since Trump left the White House in January, Fey's pledge to make the award show as politics-free as possible leaves a prime-time skewering of Cuomo unlikely on Sunday evening.

Charlotte Bennett (left), 25, accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in his Albany office, including quizzing her about dating older men. Lindsey Boylan (right) accused him of attempting to kiss her on the mouth in 2018

Considering the sharp political commentary that SNL had, until recently, become known for, there were assumptions that the two comedians would lean heavily on topical humor during Sundays proceedings

The hosts pledge to make this years event a stress reliever comes as a dramatic departure from the approach that the last host of the Globes, Ricky Gervais, took in 2020.

During his nine-minute monologue last January, Gervais lamented the Globes themselves, before singling out various nominees for their dating habits, political beliefs, production company choices, while also speaking about racism within the industry.

Lets go out with a bang, Gervais, who had hosted four times previously, told the sea of anxious on-looking A-listers. Let's have a laugh at your expense. Remember, they're just jokes. We're all gonna die soon and there's no sequel, so remember that.

Gervais, 59, then took aim at the Hollywood executives gathered in the room, quipping that though they all come from different corners of the world, they all have one thing in common.

Theyre all terrified of Ronan Farrow. Hes coming for you. Hes coming for you. Look, talking to all you perverts, it was a big year for pedophile movies, he continued, before the documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, Leaving Neverland, and the Anthony Hopkins-led Catholic Church-centered drama, The Two Popes.

Gervais also unleashed scathing remarks of what he characterized as the general hypocrisy of Hollywood.

Speaking about Apple TVs series, The Morning Show, Gervais remarked that show was a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing  made by a company that runs sweatshops in China.

You say youre woke, but the companies you work for, I mean, unbelievable: Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service, youd call your agent, wouldnt you?

The Office creator then warned those who were set to win an award to not use it a platform to make a political speech.'

'Youre in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world,' he said. 'Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your God and f*** off.

The hosts pledge to make this years event a stress reliever comes as a dramatic departure to the approach the last Globes host, Ricky Gervais, took in 2020

Gervais also make references to Jeffrey Epstein when plugging his Netflix series, After Life, which he described as a show about a man who wants to kill himself because his wife dies of cancer  and its still more fun than this.

Spoiler alert, Season 2 is on the way, so in the end, he obviously didnt kill himself  just like Jeffrey Epstein. Shut up! I know hes your friend, but I dont care. You had to make your own way here on your own plane, didnt you? he said.

Also on the receiving end of Gervais evisceration was Leonardo DiCaprio and his apparent penchant for dating younger women, the disastrous live-action remake of the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical Cats, and the Globes voting body, the Hollywood Foreign Press, who Gervais called really, really racist.

However, Feys pledge to avoid politics and ridicule means that this years event will likely be starved of such gasp-inducing, viral moments of comedic jousting.

As for the comedic material Fey and Poehler do plan to tap into, that remains to be seen.

However, Poehler recently revealed in an interview with the Associated Press: Well, I keep joking that I want to keep making jokes that Tina knows whos going to win because shes on the East Coast, but were technically doing it at the same time.

Yeah, shes going to, Tina is going to be in the new in New York, Im going to be in California. And were going to take full advantage of how fun it is to do award shows on your computer.

Both Poehler and Fey have been working on their comedic material up until the last minute, an event organizer said

Fey is scheduled to host the Big Apple leg of the show from the Rockefeller Centers Rainbow Room (above)

Co-host Amy Poehler, meanwhile, will be broadcasting from the Beverly Hilton in LA

Politics may prove to be a difficult subject to avoid all together, however, as a number of films with a political theme or parallels are among those tipped for gong glory.

David Finchers Mank, a dramatization of screenwriter Herman Mankiewiczs writing of Citizen Kane, leads the field, with six nominations, including best director; best motion picture, drama; and best actor, drama for Gary Oldman, who plays Mankiewicz.

A smear campaign against socialist writer and then-California gubernatorial candidate Upton Sinclair figures heavily into its plot, and its depiction of media baron William Randolph Hearst, who launched a vendetta against Citizen Kane over suspicions it was based on him, has drawn comparisons to former Trump.

Sacha Baron Cohens Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is also named among the films with the most nominations, which include best comedy or musical and best actor.

The film achieved widespread notoriety for a scene in which Trumps former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, accompanies Borats teenage daughter into a hotel room and places his hand near the waistband of his trousers.

Aaron Sorkins The Trial of the Chicago 7, meanwhile, scored five nominations, including best motion picture in the drama category.

The film dramatizes the Nixon administrations prosecution of seven activists who participated in the demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

British actor Daniel Kaluuya has also scored a nomination for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Chicago Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, in Judas and the Black Messiah, who was assassinated by police in 1969.

Nominees in the TV categories of the awards also feature multiple politically-themed enteries, including The Crown, The Comey rule and Mrs. America.

Sacha Baron Cohens Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is nominated for an award this year

The film achieved widespread notoriety for a scene in which Trumps former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, accompanies Borats teenage daughter into a hotel room and places his hand near the waistband of his trousers

British actor Daniel Kaluuya has also scored a nomination for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Chicago Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah

The Golden Globes is traditionally held in early January but was delayed until February 28 this year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Usually a star-packed, laid-back party that draws Tinseltown's biggest names to a Beverly Hills hotel ballroom, this pandemic edition will be broadcast from two scaled-down venues in California and New York, with frontline and essential workers among the few in attendance.

A handful of presenters will, however, appear at either location in person, and all nominees will attend virtually from home.

Soon after nominations were announced on February 3, camera kits were sent out to nominees all over the world.

According to Deadline, the Hollywood Foreign Press is seeking to make this years event more global and intimate than ever before.

Like it has for many years, the Globes will be seen in about 200 territories on Sunday. It was also make its debut on NBCs streaming platform Peacock on March 1.

More than 150 A-listers are scheduled to attend, with some further last-minute presenter additions and high-profile cameos set to be unveiled still.

Past winners Sarah Paulson and Sandra Oh, as well as Feys old 30 Rock co-star Tracy Morgan, will be among those unveiling winners on Sunday night, Deadline reported.

The trio will join the likes of previously announced presenters, including Joaquin Phoenix, Salma Hayek, Anthony Anderson, and Angela Bassett.

Rumors have been circulating that Joe Biden was set to make a cameo of sorts, however those claims have since been denied by the events organizers.

Aaron Sorkins The Trial of the Chicago 7 has scored five nominations, including best motion picture in the drama category

Actor Eugene Levy and his wife Deborah Divine arive at the Luxe hotel where they pick up their gift bags at the drive-through gifting event organized by DPA Group president Nathalie Dubois-Sissoko ahead of the Golden Globe ceremony on February 25

Actress Catherine O'Hara and her husband Bo Welch also stopped in for the drive-thru event, as did actress Adina Porter

While cutaways to the celebrities chatting together at their tables or backstage wont be possible this year, Executive Producer Barry Adelman said the Globes will be seeking to re-create that experience through technology instead.

What were doing is were going to get candid shots of the people at home and as theyre getting ready for their category, Adelman told Deadline. And we found a way, without giving away too much, where they can kind of talk to each other if theyre in the same category and communicate with each other.

So, it gives them a sense of camaraderie and it gives the audience a chance to see these wonderful actors and actresses communicating with each other like they wouldve done in the ballroom.

Adelman added that both Poehler and Fey have been working on their comedic material up until the last minute, in true SNL vein.

I can tell you that Im looking at the first act and in the first act alone you have a monologue and then you have a Golden Globes winner presenting one of the biggest awards of the night, Adelman continued to the outlet.

And then followed by another Golden Globes winner presenting another huge award, followed by another Golden Globes winner who is introducing one of the nominated films.

Thats just the way the Golden Globes has always been, he continued. And even though our winners and our nominees are going to be at home, we are going to continue that pace.

The 78th Golden Globes will air on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT live on NBC.
HONOLULU (AP)  James Jean-Marie had 20 points and 12 rebounds as Hawaii narrowly beat Long Beach State 79-76 on Saturday.

Justin Webster had 14 points and eight rebounds for Hawaii (10-8, 8-8 Big West Conference). Junior Madut added 13 points and six rebounds. Casdon Jardine had 10 points.

Michael Carter III had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Beach (5-9, 4-6). Joe Hampton added 13 points. Jadon Jones had 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Rainbow Warriors improve to 2-0 against the Beach this season. Hawaii defeated Long Beach State 78-76 on Friday.

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For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Posted Sunday, February 28, 2021 8:39 am

Washington is expected to surpass 5,000 COVID-19 deaths this week  almost exactly a year after the first was announced in the United States.

But while the state absorbs that painful milestone, health officials are hopeful that a recent, consistent decline in deaths, combined with a ramp-up of vaccine distribution and continued masking and social distancing, mean better days are ahead.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that we're going to continue the trend that's decreasing  and if we can stay ahead of the variants with vaccines and good measures, we'll continue to improve," said Peter Rabinowitz, a University of Washington professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and director of the UW Center for One Health Research.

The state reported 1,166 new cases and 14 more deaths Friday, which brought Washington to 338,822 infections and 4,956 deaths  a death rate of about 64.7 deaths per 100,000 residents. The state also reported 19,275 people have been hospitalized.

In King County, the state's most populous, state health officials have confirmed 83,801 COVID-19 diagnoses and 1,394 deaths as of Friday.

Following predictions of an increase in infections during the winter, the state hit the highest daily number of deaths during the pandemic on Dec. 21 and Jan. 4, with 43 each day. Near the end of January, the seven-day rolling average had dropped from about 38 deaths per day to about 15 per day, according to the state Department of Health (DOH).

Despite the encouraging trend, Rabinowitz said, challenges remain. For example, he said, health and public officials here and nationally still haven't figured out how to keep the virus from disproportionately infecting certain groups, especially communities of color.

In Washington, confirmed or probable case rates for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latino populations are about four times higher than for white and Asian populations, according to a DOH report published this month.

In addition, the death rates from COVID-19 among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities are nearly six times higher than for the white population, the DOH report said.

And even though vaccination efforts have slowed infection, hospitalization and death rates, recent state data shows shots have so far gone disproportionately to white Washington residents.

A DOH spokesperson told The Seattle Times this month officials are still analyzing the race data, and haven't come to any conclusions about inequities.

People 80 and older have accounted for about half of the state's virus deaths. The next most impacted age group includes those ages 60 and 79 years old, who represent about 40% of deaths, followed by those in their 40s and 50s, who make up about 9% of deaths.

The first coronavirus death in Washington  and the U.S.  was announced Feb. 29, 2020. The King County man was in his 50s and had an underlying health condition. He was a patient at EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland.

The same day, two more cases were identified at Life Care Center of Kirkland, prompting Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency. The next day, March 1, officials confirmed a second virus death  a patient in his 70s at EvergreenHealth  and two additional cases, bringing the total number of cases in King County to six.

The death toll grew to 294 by the end of March, marking the first wave of the pandemic last spring. By the end of April, 840 people were dead. Within another month, 1,000.

(As information is reviewed, DOH officials retroactively adjust daily death counts, meaning numbers on the state's data dashboard can change.)

The initial spring surge was much more driven by outbreaks in long-term care facilities, but as the pandemic has progressed, the state watched demographics shift, said Katie Hutchinson, a health statistics manager for DOH. The most recent surge in cases, for example, was driven by younger people, she said.

Mortality rates temporarily slowed, but started rising again during a summer surge.

The state surpassed 2,000 deaths by mid-September. And a few weeks after the new year began, we exceeded 4,000.

"People were getting tired of social distancing measures," Rabinowitz said. "A couple holidays in a row had an effect. And respiratory illnesses are almost always worse in the winter."

Since then, the daily count has been steadily decreasing, averaging about 15 per day, according to the state.

Washington, a state of 7.6 million residents, has reported fewer deaths than the majority of the country, with 29 states confirming more deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. California, the state that's recorded the most virus-related deaths, last week hit 50,000 deaths, and New York and Texas have both reported more than 40,000.

Meanwhile, the death count in states with population sizes similar to Washington spans a fairly wide range. Arizona has reported roughly 15,000 deaths, while Virginia has counted about 8,000.

But while things seem to be looking up, with greater vaccine distribution and slowing infection rates, health officials are concerned about the new virus variants that have popped up in the U.S. and what they mean for our state.

The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) recently predicted that, in a worst-case scenario, the country  which this month saw deaths reach 500,000  could see up to 654,000 deaths by the beginning of May and a resurgence of the virus in some states by the spring, rather than a continued decline.

"What we're seeing is sobering, and will require us to continue taking this pandemic very seriously," IHME director Christopher Murray said in a January statement. "Getting vaccines out quickly is essential, and masks are still one of the best tools we have to keep transmission low and avoid the worst possible outcome. People will need to continue taking precautions even once they are vaccinated, because of the potential for more contagious variants to spread."

Still, health experts said there are positive take-aways from the past year of living through a pandemic.

"We've learned so much from COVID," Rabinowitz said. "We've learned how to use disease models like we've never used before to help predict what's going on, we've created a vaccine faster than we've ever created one before, we know what the general public is capable of doing in an emergency. ... And we can't forget these lessons."

Juliana Grant, a DOH surveillance section manager, shared similar sentiments.

"When you look at the pattern of cases versus deaths versus hospitalizations, we saw an enormous number of deaths last spring," she said. "And a lot of that was because the virus got into a community of very vulnerable individuals and we didn't know how to treat it. And we're now a year later and the mortality rate is going down because we've learned a lot."

Grant added that while we could be nearing the end of the pandemic, we still need to continue to mask up, distance ourselves from others and remain vigilant.

"There's a lot of reason for optimism right now," she said. "We're not there yet though. ... We need to stay the course for a bit longer."

Information from The Seattle Times archives was included in this report.

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IT has been well established that the countrys most effective mobilisation system is the election machinery based on political affiliation.

With this in mind, the current crisis in the country regarding the frightening spread of the coronavirus calls for a different kind of intervention. It is past time for the declaration of a political truce. We call on the countrys two major political machines, PNM and UNC, and all other existing political parties and groups, to come together in the national interest.

By Rami Ayyub

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel approved plans on Sunday to offer COVID-19 vaccines to Palestinians with Israeli work permits, a step a rights group said did not go far enough to safeguard Palestinians in occupied territory.

The Palestinians have received relatively few doses to date and lag far behind Israel, which has vaccinated over one third of its population in one of the world's fastest roll-outs.

After facing criticism for not extending its campaign to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Israel agreed this month to give Palestinian health officials 5,000 Moderna Inc doses. It has since handed over 2,000 of them.

In a much larger commitment, COGAT, a branch of Israel's defence ministry, said on Sunday it would offer Moderna vaccines to the roughly 130,000 Palestinians who work in Israel or its West Bank settlements.

The program will begin within days, COGAT said.

Thousands of Palestinians who work in the Israeli service and industrial sectors had already been vaccinated privately by their employers inside Israel, said Shaher Saad, secretary-general of the Palestinian Workers' Union.

He said that under the new Israeli programme, Palestinian medical teams would administer shots at West Bank military checkpoints.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek the territories for a future state.

Israel counts East Jerusalem Palestinians as part of its population and has offered them vaccines. But it argues that under the Oslo peace accords, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is responsible for vaccination in Gaza and parts of the West Bank where it has limited self-rule.

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, said that Israel was bound by international law to vaccinate Palestinians living under its effective control.

"Vaccinating only those Palestinians who come in contact with Israelis reinforces that, to Israeli authorities, Palestinian life only matters to the extent it affects Jewish life," Shakir said.

Story continues

COGAT said the vaccinations were being offered "as part of the efforts (to) fight the spread of COVID-19" and "in order to maintain public health and the functioning of the economy".

Speaking to reporters last week before the plan was announced, Israeli coronavirus czar Nachman Ash said that "from a medical perspective, we think vaccinating the Palestinian workers is very much the correct thing to do."

The West Bank and Gaza, home to a combined 5.2 million Palestinians, have received around 32,000 vaccines doses to date - comprising small donations from Israel, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. They expect more doses from Russia and drugmaker AstraZeneca within weeks.

The PA shut down most schools in the West Bank on Sunday to try to stop a sharp rise in coronavirus variant infections. Intensive care units for COVID-19 patients have reached 95% occupancy in the territory, officials said.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Susan Fenton and Philippa Fletcher)
(Newser)  Saturday Night Live has once again skewered Marjorie Taylor Greene. In last night's 'Weekend Update' sketch, host Colin Jost invited the controversial Georgia congresswoman, played by series regular Cecily Strong, to the desk to defend the recent viral video in which she posts a sign on her office proclaiming there are just two genders. "They're calling me Congress's new 'It' girl," Strong's Greene says, before cracking "Like the evil clown that preys on children." Greene posted the sign in response to a trans rights flag hung by fellow freshman Rep. Marie Newman of Illinois, who supports protections for trans individuals and whose daughter identifies as trans. Greene's sign also proclaimed "TRUST THE SCIENCE," which Strong also took a swipe at.

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"Im a science person. I love science," she told Jost. "Im always talking science, unless that science is about climate change, coronavirus, space lasers, evolution, the metric system living on Mars, Jesus skin color or Santas skin color, by the way, which is white." SNL and Strong have taken on the QAnon-supporting Georgia congresswoman before. After her old social media posts appeared to reveal her support of some outlandish conspiracy theories, Strong played Greene on the show's first cold open of 2021 in which she made an appearance on a fictional talk show that asked the question "What Still Works?" in American government. (Hint: the answer wasn't the US Congress.)
Noumea, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Feb, 2021 ) :A 57-year-old man has died after a shark attack off an island in New Caledonia on Sunday, officials said.

The amateur yachtsman was swimming near his moored boat off Maitre islet in the French Pacific territory when the incident happened, according to an initial inquiry.

"According to witnesses the man was bitten on the leg by a four-metre-long shark" and died before the arrival of a rescue helicopter, a civil official told AFP.

The man is believed to have died from a heart attack after the incident, according to the newspaper Les Nouvelles-Caledoniennes.

Maitre, a roughly 20 minute trip from the main island, is popular with tourists and was busy the weekend of the attack.

The incident took place only metres from a beach, which was evacuated by firefighters shortly afterwards.

Authorities also banned swimming and other water-based activities along the islet's coastline until Monday.

Other beaches will not be closed, but authorities have called on swimmers to be especially vigilant.

In 2019 a fisherman was killed by a bull shark in New Caledonia, days after a boy had his leg bitten off in another shark attack.
A new Supreme Court case may determine if police have the power to enter a persons home without a warrant. Years of American law precedent and the US Constitution are quite clear in the restraints put on government agents. However, that isnt stopping the police, government, and activist judges from doing what they can to continue to chip away at those basic protections.

We know the First Amendment and Second Amendment are under attack. Now the Fourth Amendment is taking another volley.

Turn down the volume, folks, or you may have to face the Supreme Court

Lange vs. California is a case that centers around a traffic stop in California. California Highway Patrol followed Arthur Lange, and only a few seconds elapsed between when the officer turned on his blue lights and when Lange made the turn into his driveway, then his garage.

Langes crime? Playing his radio too loud and occasionally beeping his horn. After the officer entered Langes garage, he began to suspect Lange had been drinking. Now the case is before the Supreme Court of the United States.

It might not seem like much, but this case could have far-reaching repercussions for the Fourth Amendment and Constitutionally protected rights. How?

The Justices are tasked with essentially what amounts to national guidance regarding when police in pursuit of a suspect can enter someones home without a warrant.

The US Constitution requires a warrant, unless

The Constitution states:

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.

Some courts have said the 4th amendment does not apply if the person consents or if the officer faces exigent circumstances that require immediate action. One of those exigent circumstances, according to the Supreme Court, is when an officer is in hot pursuit of a fleeing felon who is attempting to evade the police.

Note: The Constitution does NOT allow for no-warrant entry in the case of chasing a felon (thats an overreach by the courts).

Besides, in this case, Lange wasnt even suspected of a felony

Lange had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, according to court documents. He lost his license and pleaded no contest to DUI. However, he appealed that what Officer Weikert learned in the garage should not have been allowed into evidence. Of course, a California court sided with police and said there was no difference between pursuing someone suspected of a felony and someone suspected of a misdemeanor.

But Jeffrey L. Fisher, Stanford University law professor representing Lange, said that extending this hot pursuit exception to include misdemeanors would increase the power of police to enter someones home or property, which, he says, the Constitution holds sacrosanct. He is right.

The Constitution requires a warrant.

Fisher agreed with Justice Stephen G. Breyer when Breyer admitted how difficult it could be because of different state laws to classify behavior as a felony or misdemeanor. But, Fisher argued, the court didnt need to come up with a hard rule.

He argued that the court should instead make these kinds of decisions on a case-by-case basis. He said officers deserve substantial discretion to analyze the situation, as the courts have always said, but do require a showing of actual exigent circumstances.

When does a hot pursuit actually become a hot pursuit?

But on the US Supreme Court, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said that a video of the encounter made him doubt that Lange even knew he was being pursued. The officer only turned his lights on 100 feet from Langes driveway.

Alito asked an important question, If we hold that hot pursuit requires a hot pursuit, wont we go a long way toward preventing warrantless arrests for minor infractions?

Justice John G. Roberts lamented about hamstringing the police. He worried that an officer could be put in danger when a suspect retreats to his home, where he could destroy evidence or arm himself. He argued that maybe the police should be even more worried when a suspect flees over a minor infraction.

It seems to me that thats the situation where youd be most concerned, the chief justice explained. I mean, hes got something to hide. Roberts, of course, was unable to cite the clause in the Constitution that stated, Officer safety is paramount.

California took the middle ground and said case-by-case is best

Interestingly enough, California seems to believe that its courts were wrong and is declining to defend the courts. State Deputy Solicitor General Samuel T. Harbourt said the state believes that the hot pursuit leeway should be applied on a case-by-case basis when misdemeanors are involved.

Debating over whether police can enter homes without a warrant over misdemeanors or felonies is missing the point. There are situations where this might be applicable, such as a violent crime being committed inside a home or domestic violence. However, the US Constitution is clear that police cannot suspect a person of drunk driving or any other illegal activity and subsequently enter their homes without a warrant.

At a time with the US Congress seems determined to earmark approximately half the population of the country as domestic terrorists, we need every ounce of constitutional protection we can get.

Do you hear that?

What we are witnessing is the legal chipping away at two hundred years worth of protected rights. However, instead of gunshots, it is the click of fingers on a keyboard and the latches of lawyers briefcases snapping shut.

What are your thoughts on the case in front of the Supreme Court? Do you feel the police officer was justified in entering the mans home? Lets talk about it in the comments.

About Robert

Robert Wheeler has been quietly researching world events for two decades. After witnessing the global network of NGOs and several Revolutions they engineered in a number of different countries, Wheeler began analyzing current events through these lenses.

(Newser)  The breakout star at the Conservative Political Action Conference taking place in Orlando is from Mexico. A gold, 200-pound statue of former President Trump has drawn a selfie-taking crowd since it arrived in a hotel lobby Thursday evening, CNN reports. As popular as it is, there's been a backlash even to inanimate Trump. For one thing, there's some awkwardness to a statue suggesting Trump brings manufacturing jobs back to the UShe's holding a magic wand, a reference to a quote from former President Obamabeing an import. And there's a religious argument to be made about the sculpture that's showing up online. Tommy Zegan, an American who lives in Mexico, per the Hill, explained his symbolism. "The coat and tie is the fact that he's a professional, he's a businessman," the artist said. "The red tie symbolizes he's a Republican. The red, white, and blue is that he's a patriot. The fact that he's wearing thongs and shorts is that he's at the age where he should be retired. He should be at the beach right now."

story continues below

Online art and political critics cited the false idol teaching of the Old Testamant, in which Moses destroys a golden calf being worshipped by Israelites in his absence. God's wrath upon the Israelites followed. Some said Republicans are worshipping a false idol through their loyalty to Trump, who falsely claims to have been reelected, per MarketWatch. "If only there were some sacred text, one most people at CPAC claimed allegiance to, that very explicitly warns against making golden idols," one tweet said. "I know the biblical definition of an idol," Zegan answered, per Mediaite. "This is not an idol. This is a sculpture." The likeness displayed at CPAC's hotel is just the fiberglass mold of the statue, Zegan said, and it's for sale for $100,000. He's got the real stainless steel sculpture in a warehouse in Tampa. The statue took him and helpers six months to make and cost his life savings of $50,000. "It is museum-quality, and that's the one I'm eventually hoping to get in the Trump library," Zegan said. (Read more CPAC stories.)
The government could be forced to waive hefty fines issued to teens who broke coronavirus restrictions under a raft of demands the Greens have issued to secure their support for an extension to Victorias state of emergency powers.

Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said fines handed to young people were among the key concerns she had raised as part of her negotiations and the government had responded positively to her requests to waive or reduce the infringements.

Greens leader Samantha Ratnam says she has not decided whether to grant the government a nine-month extension to the state of emergency powers. Credit:Darrian Traynor

Legislation to extend the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (State of Emergency Extension) Bill  which allows for coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns to be enforced  has already passed through the Labor-controlled lower house.

However, the government must this week reach a deal with the upper house on the powers, which are set to expire on March 15.
Main benefits are set to increase by 3.1 per cent on April 1.

Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni says the increase is in line with the rise in the average wage.

The Government announced changes to the annual adjustment of main benefits in Budget 2019, indexing main benefit increases to the average wage, rather than the Consumer Price Index.

This is the Governments second annual adjustment based on increases in the average wage, making it fairer on low income families and helping reduce poverty amongst our most vulnerable, says Sepuloni.

Around 385,000 families and individuals will be better off getting more than double the annual increase theyd have received using the old Consumer Price Index measure. For example, a couple with children could get $13.24 more Jobseeker Support a week from April 1, in line with the average wage increase.

Under the previous system indexed to the CPI increase of 1.15 per cent, they would receive only $4.95. The changes aligned main benefit adjustments more closely with Superannuation which has been linked to average wage increases for decades."

The 830,000 New Zealanders receiving Superannuation will also receive the same 3.1 per cent increase on April 1.

Combined with this Governments 1 April changes to income abatement thresholds, helping incentivise those who are working to remain in work, underlines our promise to help low income New Zealanders," says Sepuloni.

This is another step towards lifting wages and making our welfare system fairer so that people and families on benefits dont fall further and further behind other New Zealanders."
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Philip Smyth left a major portion of his 23m estate to be distributed among a group of employees and associates who helped to make his enterprises such a major success.

In an extraordinary clause in his will, the late founder of the West Wood Gyms, Sachs Hotel and other business ventures, specified 35pc of his company Leisure Management Corp Ltd was to be given to "a consortium of employees, service providers, contractors, or sub-contractors" who worked directly or indirectly for him for more than 10 years.

The publicity-shy entrepreneur also made it clear in the will, dated November 2018, a year before his death, that "for the avoidance of doubt" his executors and trustees had "absolute discretion" in deciding who will benefit, and by how much.

"In exercising their absolute discretion, my executors and trustees will recognise that this provision in my will is intended to act as an acknowledgement to those who have been loyal to me and my business for a prolonged period of time," he stated.

He also left 25pc of Leisure Management to his long-time associate and executor/trustee Brenda Flood of Foxrock, Dublin, 20pc to executor/trustee Karla Fox "with whom I co-habit" of Fairview, Dublin and a further 20pc to his substitute executor/trustee, Karen Polly.

According to the latest financial returns, which he signed weeks before his death, Leisure Management has total assets "less current liabilities" of 22.2m, including 4m in fixed assets, meaning buildings and equipment.

Mr Smyth, who was born in Dublin Street, Longford, where his family ran a small public house, came to Dublin as a young man and made his fortune from discos in Leopardstown Racecourse and Sachs Hotel, before becoming an early investor in the leisure industry with the opening of the West Wood gyms. Mr Smyth also left a third of his pension entitlements to his daughter Sally McGann, another third to his son Michael Leavey and the remaining third to be divided 50/50 between his other son Ronan Smyth and his children when they reach the age of 23.

He also bequeathed the proceeds of insurance policies in his name to redeem mortgages, "firstly" the house in Fairview "where I co-habit with Karla", with the balance and residue to be used to redeem the mortgages of two of his children and a nephew if there were sufficient funds.

The hard-working businessman died on October 31, 2019 at the age of 74 and his will specified that he was to be cremated "and that my funeral be performed without any religious ceremony".

Although company documents list his address as Foxrock, according to his will Mr Smyth had homes in Clyde Lane, Ballsbridge, Dublin; Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow; the French ski resort of Les Arcs; and New Jersey, USA.

He left the proceeds of these properties and furnishings, when sold, to be distributed in various shares and denominations to Brenda Flood, Mary Sweeney, Karla Fox, Patricia O'Brien, Karen Polley, Anne Stack, Carmel McNamara, Aogan and Ailbha Keyes, Ann Byrne and the grandchildren of his aunts Lonnis McSherra, Rose King and Kathleen Galligan.

He also left 250,000 each to his nephews Alan and David Smyth, sons of his brother Paul, with further bequests to his grandchildren and godchildren.

He also left his German dining table and 14 chairs, and his French silver cutlery service, to Ms O'Brien and any five paintings she wished to pick from his collection.

The final clause of the will directs that if a beneficiary seeks to challenge the will their bequest "shall become forfeited at the discretion of my executors and trustees".
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
Taxi licences are selling for as little as $3000 as the value of the once-coveted asset falls off a cliff following intense pressure from ride-sharing companies and the coronavirus pandemic.

Standard Brisbane taxi licences were selling for an average of more than $500,000 in 2014, but in 2020, they were worth just $41,107 on average.

The value of taxi licences has plummeted since the introduction of Uber in Brisbane in 2014.

But the situation in other regions is even worse.

In Ipswich, three standard cab licences sold for the dismal price of $3000 in December 2020. The average sale price there in 2014 was $336,667.
The Oneida Police Department is looking to identify a thief that stole a landscaping trailer on Main St. in Oneida. According to police the thief stole the trailer on Friday at around 5PM.

The trailer is described as a 6 by 8-foot landscaping trailer that has a flip-up rear gate and a broken rear taillight.

If you have any information on where the trailer is and who took it, you're asked to call the Oneida Police Department at 315-363-2323. All calls will be kept confidential.
Iran-backed rebel faction Houthi on Saturday claimed the responsibility for the attack against Yemeni government forces in the northern stronghold of Marib and threatened more attacks, as tensions between the Saudi-led military coalition and Iran-backed forces escalated.

Intensifying the operation against the Kingdom in retaliation to the air raids conducted by the Saudi-led coalition troops in the north of Yemen, Iran-allied Houthis launched a ballistic missile and at least three booby-trapped drones, targeting the province of Jizan. One other drone attacked was aimed at the southwestern city as loud explosions resonated in the Saudi capital, followed by interception of a missile by Yemeni armed forces minutes later, according to the state television footage that emerged from the scene.

"A ballistic missile fired by our forces hit King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait city. It hit the target accurately," said Yahya Sarea," Yahya Sarea, spokesperson of the Houthi military, in a statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah television.

The UK condemns the latest Houthi missile and drone attacks targeted at Saudi Arabia and Marib. These put innocent lives at risk, and show that those responsible are not serious about peace, let alone protecting the Yemeni people  Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) February 28, 2021

Ahead of the deadly explosions that rocked Marib, Iran's allied forces attacked an Israeli vessel in the strategic Gulf of Oman flaring the middle east conflict, as Iran pushed for total war in the region via proxies and allied group support. Saudis state-owned Al-Ekhbariya TV broadcast footage showed the kingdoms civilians shrieking as loud explosions shuddered across the sky which appears to be emanating from US Patriot missile batteries intercepting the ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Shortly afterwards, bomb-laden drones were launched in a series of air assaults towards Riyadh as the Houthi rebel faction intensified the operation. Houthi spokesman Yahya al-Saree told rebels' Al-Masirah TV channel that the rebellion group deployed a ballistic missile and at least 15 drones to target Saudi-led coalition bases in the capital of Riyadh. He said in a live televised address, that the offensive will continue for as long as the aggression and siege on Yemen continued.

[US Air Force, a soldier with the U.S. Air Force's 378th Air Expeditionary Wing trains members of the Royal Saudi Air Force Police Wing how to use equipment to counter-drone attacks at Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh. Credit: AP]

Read: Heavy Clashes Rage In Central Yemen; Dozens Killed

Read: UN Welcomes US Revocation Of Yemen's Houthis As Terrorists

6 bomb-laden drones launched

In a statement to states press, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Col. Turki al-Maliki said that the forces intercepted at least 6 bomb-laden drones in the southern cities of Khamis Mushait and a vessel departed for Dammam was forced to turn around after deadly explosions were heard in the Gulf of Oman. Israels Channel 13 later aired the visuals, confirming that the Iranian Navy fired missiles at the MV Helios Ray. The incident followed pro-Iran Shi militias Hashd al-Shaabis condemnation of the US airstrikes in Syria against Iran-backed targets. Houthis were trying in a systematic and deliberate way to target civilians, Col. Maliki said in a televised address. This comes just days after Huthis struck a passenger plane at Saudi Arabias southwestern Abha airport with a bomb-laden drone that set the flight ablaze.

[US airstrike map chart in Syria against Iran-backed rebel factions. Credit: AP]

Read: Red Cross Concerned Over Rebel Offensive In Central Yemen

Read: UN Says No Progress In Yemen Talks Over Prisoner Swap

(Image Credit: Twitter/@marhaba_saudi)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Police in Omaha say a man has died after the motorcycle he was driving crashed as he tried to exit Interstate 80 at 60th Street.Police say the crash happened around 3:30 p.m. Sunday on an interstate offramp, killing 37-year-old Travis McQueen, of Omaha.Investigators say Mc
A Belfast man who got "way in over his head" when he conspired with a gangland murder victim to import 180,000 of cocaine into Belfast has been handed a 26-month sentence.

Liam Dewar's co-accused Warren Crossan was gunned down in broad daylight in west Belfast in June last year after being linked in gangland circles to the murder of Dublin hitman Robbie Lawlor in Belfast several weeks earlier.

Ordering Belfast man Dewar to spend half his sentence in jail and half on supervised licence conditions, Craigavon Crown Court Judge Patrick Lynch QC told the 26-year-old that a lengthy jail sentence was inevitable because he was "responsible for the importation of a substantial quantity of drugs."

At an earlier hearing, Dewar, of no fixed abode, entered guilty pleas to conspiring with Crossan to import cocaine and to possessing the drug with intent to supply in November 2019.

Opening the facts of the case on Friday, prosecuting lawyer Joseph Murphy outlined how Dewar was arrested when cops stopped a van he was driving on the A1 close to Hillsborough.

An initial search found nothing and the van was locked into a garage for the weekend while Dewar was freed on police bail.

Cops did not find the drugs hidden inside the van and were about to hand it back when a gang tried unsuccessfully to bust it out. Suspicious detectives had another look and uncovered three kilos of cocaine, said to be worth 180,000, under the floor behind the driver's seat in the Citroen Berlingo.

Mr Murphy said Dewar's phone was seized and when examined by police it showed numerous text exchanges between him and Warren Crossan, along with a photograph of 15,000 in cash.

During interview, Dewar claimed he had travelled to Dublin to hand over money for the payment of damages to a vehicle, but he denied having any knowledge of the drugs.

He claimed he had taken the picture of the cash because he had never seen that amount of money before and had given it to an unknown man in the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre.

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Crossan (28) was also arrested and charged and had been on bail accused of involvement in the importation, but he was gunned down close to his home on Rodney Parade in west Belfast on June 25. To date, no one has been charged with his murder.

In court on Friday, defence counsel Peter Coiley said Dewar had been working for Crossan, delivering and collecting vehicles, so an element of trust was being built up.

But when he went to Dublin and saw the cocaine being stashed in the van, "he was way in over his head".

"He said it was an exciting time in his life," said the lawyer. "He was mixed up in a very sinister world."

Mr Coiley submitted that Dewar "made a very foolish decision to acquiesce in the plan... and that decision in a car in Dublin will now haunt him".

Jailing Dewar, Judge Lynch said while elements of the case suggested that Crossan had "groomed" him to become involved, he was responsible for the importation of a large quantity of drugs.
The government could be forced to waive hefty fines issued to teens who broke coronavirus restrictions under a raft of demands the Greens have issued to secure their support for an extension to Victorias state of emergency powers.

Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said fines handed to young people were among the key concerns she had raised as part of her negotiations and the government had responded positively to her requests to waive or reduce the infringements.

Greens leader Samantha Ratnam says she has not decided whether to grant the government a nine-month extension to the state of emergency powers. Credit:Darrian Traynor

Legislation to extend the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (State of Emergency Extension) Bill  which allows for coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns to be enforced  has already passed through the Labor-controlled lower house.

However, the government must this week reach a deal with the upper house on the powers, which are set to expire on March 15.
Something unprecedented happened in Michigans last election.

Local election clerks received millions in private funding to help pay for it.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, through their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative charitable foundation and by way of a Chicago-based nonprofit named the Center for Technology and Civic Life, contributed $400 million nationwide for election operations in 2020 with the stated goal of promoting safe and reliable voting.

The receipt of nonprofit grant money by local clerks to spend on elections is uncharted territory in Michigan.

I think thats why the courts are looking at this, said Genesee County Clerk and Register of Deeds John J. Gleason, whose office didnt apply for the grant he described as mysterious, haphazard and lacking oversight. This could turn into (something) like the Asian carp.

You let a few things slide and pretty soon, youve got a problem you cant control.

Exactly how much money came to Michigan is unclear, since the Center for Tech and Civic Life hasnt released a full accounting of the grants provided to local Michigan governments and state-level officials dont track or supervise the awards.

The private funding of local elections has given way to conspiracy theories and lawsuits, including a federal case still pending in Michigan and another in the state Court of Claims.

The lawsuits allege the private grants disproportionately benefitted high-population, left-leaning communities in violation of federal or state election law. Similar lawsuits have been dismissed in Michigan and other states, including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Legal attempts to block funding prior to the election failed across the board, but U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach did acknowledge as he dismissed one lawsuit that receipt of private funds for public elections may give an appearance of impropriety and may merit a legislative response.

While many local and county clerks praised the grant money for helping them conduct safe, accurate and accessible elections during a pandemic with record levels of absentee voting, some question whether private funding of such a democratically sacred function taints the process.

It may be left to Michigan courts to decide.

MLive reached out to numerous state representatives and senators by phone and email to ask about whether private money in election operations is an issue being discussed in Lansing, including Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, Republican Speaker of the House Rep. Jason Wentworth, Senate Elections Committee Chair and former Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, all Senate Elections Committee members and the most recent House Elections and Ethics Committee chair.

None responded.

In response to the contentious 2020 presidential election that sparked numerous fabricated or unproven allegations of voter fraud, legislators in several states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, New Hampshire, Missouri, Mississippi and Georgia, are considering tighter election rules, many related to absentee ballot access.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is calling the election the most successful and secure in history and doubling down on her decision to issue absentee ballot applications to every registered voter each election cycle. Shed like that to become the norm.

What few election overseers are discussing is the millions of dollars in corporate-linked private money that helped facilitate the administration of elections nationwide.

The money

Elections are regularly influenced by private capital via campaign fundraising or political action committees. Its the general norm; but the injection of cash into the administration of local elections is entirely new and has received little scrutiny from state officials.

While the total amount of the private grants is unknown, it was significant. Based on information provided by clerks who confirmed grant amounts with MLive and figures verified in public records, Detroit received $3.5 million; Wayne County, 432,620; Pontiac $405,000; Flint, $475,625; Lansing, $488,000; Ann Arbor, $417,000; Muskegon, $435,000, and the list goes on.

The amount distributed among 19 municipalities where grant amounts were confirmed totaled $7.6 million.

Several clerks said they received so much money, they havent yet found ways to spend it all. Pontiac, for instance, received a grant that more than doubled its prior election budget. The city has $164,000 left over and is now requesting permission to use the funds for upcoming election costs this year, Interim Clerk Garland Doyle said.

Michigan received 474 Tech and Civic Life grants, far more than any other state in the nation, according to the recipient list on the nonprofits website. The state with the next highest number of awardees was Massachusetts with 266. Nearly 2,500 grants were issued nationwide, which means nearly 20% of all grants made their way to Michigan.

The awards ranged from a minimum of $5,000 to amounts frequently in the hundreds of thousands, and even millions for Detroit.

The Center for Tech and Civic Life didnt respond to requests for a full list of Michigan award amounts.

In most states, elections are run at the county level, the Center for Tech and Civic Life press office told MLive in response to questions about why the proportion of grants to Michigan was so large. States like Michigan, on the other hand, administer most election duties at the city and township levels, increasing the number of election jurisdictions.

Michigan has more than 1,700 cities, townships and villages. The nonprofit decided to issue the grants directly to local election offices, rather than the agencies that oversee them, such as the Secretary of States (SOS) Office and Bureau of Elections in Michigan.

The money paid for apolitical needs: safety equipment, ballot drop boxes, surveillance cameras to watch drop boxes, high-speed absentee ballot tabulators, absentee ballot prepaid postage and mailing costs and voter outreach, but mostly for temporary staff, poll workers, recruiting, training and hazard pay, according to election clerks who spoke with MLive.

Among those who accepted grants and responded to questions, all but one clerk said they had no reservations about accepting the money, because of the stated intent, the deep need, the flexible guidelines and because they were encouraged to apply by the state Bureau of Elections.

I just didnt feel good about it, said Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown, whos a Democrat and the only exception. There was a lawsuit going on about it in Michigan and I knew there were lawsuits in other states. I thought, Why would we dip our toe in that pool?

But Oakland County did dip its toe in, after all, with support from other local officials. Board of Commissioners Chair David Woodward oversaw the application for a grant on the day of the deadline, earning the county a $160,000 award. He said he didnt want to leave any money on the table.

The grant applications contained few questions and allowed municipalities to spend the money as they wished on a wide variety of election-related needs.

Processing was quick and haggle free, clerks said. Nearly every clerk MLive spoke to said they received the entirety of the funds they requested. One exception occurred in Grand Traverse County, where Chief Deputy Clerk Samuel Gedman said his office requested $15,000 and only received $10,600.

Romulus Clerk Ellen Bragg, on the other hand, was surprised to see her grant was about $11,000 more than the $5,000 she requested.

The spending choices varied greatly.

Hamtramck bought sneeze guards for $1,298; Muskegon spent $20,000 on a trailer to deliver absentee ballots to neighborhoods and $50,000 on a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaign; Pontiac spent $100,000 on hazard pay, poll workers and temporary staff for the office to extend its hours; Oakland County spent over $120,000 on a marketing campaign with mailers, digital billboards, online and radio spots focused on educating voters and recruiting poll workers; Flint spent $100,000 on a high-speed absentee ballot counting machine; and Lansing spent $53,000 on ballot dropboxes and surveillance cameras.

I think in the theoretical sense, if you took money that had a lot of preconditions on spending, if you were told where to place drop boxes, to do certain things or mobilize certain people it could be problematic, said Gedman.

In this case, there was nothing like that. Theyre a real civic-minded organization.

The Facebook connection

Gleason, the Genesee County Clerk, has a different philosophy.

A penny in politics is not nonpartisan, he said. Theres a cost. Theres a reason why governments run elections, and theres a reason now why we have these insurgents on our hands.

No matter how apolitical nonprofit donations seem, Gleason said there is always going to be a partisan observer who feels otherwise.

Thats why you have those Republican operatives chasing Flint right now, he said, referencing a federal lawsuit filed by a conservative-leaning group, the Election Integrity Fund, against Flint and Lansing, challenging the legality of their Tech and Civic Life grants.

We have privatized our elections with big tech, and big tech turned out the vote in Democrat areas, former Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline, a Republican who headed an investigation into the Tech and Civic Life election donations, said in December.

Kline, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, was one of the most vocal critics of the Tech and Civic Life grants. His investigation by an effort named the Amistad Project, commissioned by the conservative Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm, participated in numerous post-election lawsuits based on unfounded or since-disproven allegations of voter fraud.

Kline coined the word Zucker-box, a snide reference to ballot dropboxes that clerks across the state began purchasing in part with grant funds originating from Zuckerberg and Chan.

He argued there was an effort to make voting more accessible, but only in places where Democrats were plentiful.

The grants were distributed across the state, in both Republican and Democrat-leaning communities, but its impossible to perform a full analysis to determine the validity of Klines claim, since the Center for Tech and Civic Life is only releasing limited data.

Your election office will be eligible to apply for a grant amount based on a formula that considers the citizen voting age, population and other demographic data of your jurisdiction, the Center for Tech and Civic Life website said. The formula is not public knowledge.

The Center for Tech and Civic Life in August originally announced a plan to provide grants to rural communities, but expanded its reach to urban areas with an influx of funds from Zuckerberg and Chan.

Kline and other opponents are correct in their claims that a significant portion of grant spending went toward absentee ballot dropboxes, but it wasnt the largest expenditure.

We used a pretty big chunk (of the Tech and Civic Life grant) for ballot dropboxes, including having monitoring cameras installed at several locations, Lansing Clerk Chris Swope said.

Lansing bought 12 dropboxes with private grant funds; Pontiac, 7; Ann Arbor, 5; Flint, 2; and Muskegon, 2.

In a list of 11 election costs communities told the Center for Tech and Civic Life they planned to spend the money on, dropboxes landed seventh. The largest expected expenditures were mailing costs, absentee ballot processing equipment and temporary workers.

As part of an unresolved, election-related lawsuit in Antrim County, Michigan Circuit Judge Kevin A. Elsenheimer recently ordered Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to turn over spending records related to her offices purchase of dropboxes, as well as communications with Tech and Civic Life, Facebook and other tech giants, including Apple, Amazon, and Google. Whether there have been communications between the SOS and Facebook and other companies remains unclear.

Ryan Jarvi, a spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessels office, said the records were being submitted, but it is not the practice of the Attorney Generals Office to disclose discovery materials in pending litigation.

MLive filed a Freedom of Information Act request for public records related to case.

Mark Zuckerberg is providing nearly as much money to this years election administration as the federal government, Kline said in October after his and other organizations began filing unsuccessful lawsuits to bar the grant money. The American people have a right to know what has driven him to take this extraordinary action, and where all the money is going.

While Zuckerberg hasnt publicly disclosed a political affiliation and the Center for Tech and Civic Life identifies as nonpartisan, Klines Amistad Project has drawn its own conclusions.

Though they profess to be nonpartisan in their management of Center for Tech and Civic Life and the Zuckerberg funds, Center for Tech and Civic Lifes three leaders  Tiana Epps-Johnson, Whitney May, and Donny Bridges  all worked for a stridently progressive organization, the New Organizing Institute, before joining Center for Tech and Civic Life, read an Oct. 28 press release issued by the group.

Gleason said, true or not, such accusations are to be expected when private money is involved. He also referenced widespread perceptions that political bias led to Facebook and other social media platforms freezing former President Donald Trumps accounts and blocking certain content deemed to be false or unsubstantiated.

Im a Democrat, Gleason said. And if (conservative media mogul Rupert) Murdoch tried to give that money out to counties, can you imagine the uproar?

Can you imagine what Flint, Michigan would say if Murdoch -- if the boys at Fox News and the Wall Street Journal wrote million-dollar checks to Kent County, Macomb County and said run elections?

More on MLive:

Michigan ordered to turn over communications with big tech

AG claims wins in election fraud cases

Software isnt good at detecting human error

Election recount, legal challenges unlikely to overturn Bidens win in Michigan

Republicans pushed election lies and armed protests, but say their rhetoric didnt spur U.S. Capitol chaos

Michigan Democrats support Trumps removal as House moves to start impeachment

Domestic terrorism represents growing threat to United States
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply concerned by a series of messages of distress it has been receiving from a group of 10 asylumseekers currently in a detention facility in Mutukula, in northwestern Tanzania. The asylum-seekers have expressed fears for their safety upon being deported from Tanzania.

UNHCR consistently advocates that refugees and asylum-seekers, including those who claim to be in need of international protection, cannot be returned to their countries of origin until their claims have been properly assessed by the competent authorities, in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement. Non-refoulement is an international principle that prevents states from expelling or returning persons to a territory where their life or freedom would be threatened.

UNHCR is appealing to the Government of Tanzania for immediate access to the detained asylum-seekers in order to assist with the assessments of their individual claims. UNHCR is hopeful that the responsible authorities in Tanzania will work with us to resolve this situation in accordance with their obligations under international law.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
ANALYSIS: There is already an open work permit option specifically tailored for Hongkongers, and more immigration initiatives are on the way.

Canada opening more immigration pathways to Hong Kong residents ANALYSIS: There is already an open work permit option specifically tailored for Hongkongers, and more immigration initiatives are on the way.

Canada opening more immigration pathways to Hong Kong residents ANALYSIS: There is already an open work permit option specifically tailored for Hongkongers, and more immigration initiatives are on the way.

Canada opening more immigration pathways to Hong Kong residents ANALYSIS: There is already an open work permit option specifically tailored for Hongkongers, and more immigration initiatives are on the way. Michael Schwartz Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Canada has announced the creation of several immigration pathways designed specifically for Hongkongers, in response to the serious immigration shortfall that COVID-19 caused in 2020.

Hong Kong residents are often fluent in English and highly-educated. These factors make them well-suited to qualify for immigration to Canada.

As of February 8, Canada launched an open work permit, which allows Hong Kong youth to work for any employer in Canada. This program allows eligible Hongkongers to remain in Canada for an extensive period of time while earning a living and gaining Canadian work experience, which will boost participants chances of receiving invitations for permanent residence to Canada.

For the sake of brevity, here are the two main eligibility criteria for the new work permit:

they need a passport that is valid and issued by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) or the United Kingdom to a British National Overseas (BNO); and

they must have graduated within the last five years with a university degree or a diploma from a two-year program.

Contact the Campbell Cohen Law firm to Move to Canada from Hong Kong

Hongkongers who are currently physically present in Canada can now apply online for the open work permit. They do not have to leave Canada to apply. Those who are outside Canada can also apply, but their arrival may be delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 related-restrictions.

Canada has also announced a program to grant permanent residency to qualifying Hongkongers. The coming months should see Canada release further detailed requirements for education, language, and work experience.

As you may know, Canada and her provinces already have many immigration pathways for people who want to come to Canada as international students. The federal government has recently made clear its intent to establish a special immigration pathway for Hongkongers who graduate from a post-secondary institution in Canada.

In addition to these exciting new programs, Canada has also announced it will allocate resources to speed up processing of applications for permanent residence for Hongkongers. Moreover, the federal government is also temporarily waiving processing fees for Hongkongers who want to extend their stay in the country. Canada has also committed to take measures to attract and retain post-secondary students from Hong Kong.

Canada and Hong Kong have deep-rooted historical ties. There are several hundred thousand Canadians who were born in Hong Kong, and hundreds of thousands more who have roots there. There are particularly strong communities in the Greater Vancouver and Toronto Metropolitan areas.

One famous Hong Kong-Canadian was Adrienne Clarkson who came to Canada as a child refugee during World War II. She had a prominent journalism career before assuming the prestigious role as Canadas 26th Governor General, which is the representative of the Queen in Canada.

With these new programs, Canada is showing the world how to effectively adapt immigration policy to rapidly changing situations. Canadas policy of attracting and retaining Hong Kong talent is both compassionate and smart.

Contact the Campbell Cohen Law Firm to Move to Canada from Hong Kong

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
A?key Vatican official in Baghdad has tested positive for the coronavirus less than a week before Pope Francis is set to depart on an historic visit to the country, according to media reports.



Mitja Leskovar, the apostolic nuncio to Iraq, is in quarantine, according to the Adnkronos news agency, which cited Vatican sources.





Pope Francis / AFP-Yonhap
Reports/News indicate the USA administration seeks to intensify its hybrid/proxy war against Syria. In the context of such escalation, the US-NATO-Israel-allied coalition war against Syria will likely eventually transition to a broader regional war format due to the structure of alliance architecture (conflict against the axis of resistance [Iran-Lebanon/Hezbollah-Yemen-Gaza-Iraq militia coalition])

If this occurs, it will have significant implications to Western coalition forces in Syria (and the broader region) that are acting in accordance with the definition of aggression. It is worth noting in addition to ongoing aggression against Syria, Israel is preparing for war against Iran, Lebanon (Hezbollah) and Palestinian groups (multi-front)

The proxies of Iran and Hezbollah have stated their active policy of expelling illegally occupying US-coalition forces from the region. The current situation is therefore likely a relative calm before a more profound level of conflict.

The capabilities of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas-PIJ, with logistical and other support from Russia and China, etc. indicate the outcome is unlikely to be at all favorable to the US-NATO-Israel-allied coalition. The fact is, that it will hasten the downfall of the Western Empire

Americas weak & fat underbelly is not recognizing when enough is enough!

Up to now America has been totally carefree, and therefore totally careless in its actions around the world. The one factor that has traditionally enabled it to continue on that path has been relative stability at home. While wars have always been the most unifying force within the American psyche (as it is not in most countries in the world), the divide among the peasants this time is so great and so deep that even a war will not suffice in bridging the fault line. Add to this, the pandemic and the sudden realization that so far as China is concerned about the USA, it is simply the horse (US) has already bolted from the barn and even jumped the fence. This has now created the condition for the perfect storm

Right now, America is still on the boundaries of that storm, albeit very close. A good and experienced skipper & crew would be changing tack by now, accepting that hell have to reach the destination some other time, using some other route. Judging by Americas actions in the last few weeks, compounded upon years and years of such actions, we are heading straight for the eye of the storm

~~ And as always no one is in charge and I wonder will the captain go down with the ship? ~~

WtR
mfanukhona@times.co.sz

NTONDOZI - Where is the original letter which carries His Majestys royal command?

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of an original letter from the Kings Office issuing His Majestys command to Tibiyo Taka Ngwane and government to procure four farms for landless people of Eluzintini, Ntondozi.

The letter, addressed to Tibiyo Taka Ngwanes Managing Director Absalom Themba Dlamini is dated July 28, 2003. It was purportedly written by Paul Shabangu, who was an acting Chief Officer at the Kings Office at that time.

It is stated in the letter that the community of Ntondozi area under Chief Masuku II petitioned His Majesty the King for financial assistance to purchase four farms from a company known as Overdale Limited. Overdale Limited was represented by Graham Wright.

Reads the letter seen by the Times SUNDAY: In response to the communitys request, the King commanded me to request the minister of natural resources and energy to dispatch a government valuator to go and evaluate the four properties.

Shabangu, who was also a substantive Private Secretary to His Majesty the King before he retired from the public service, then issued the Head of States purported command: His Majesty has now instructed me to forward the valuators report to you and to ask you to arrange the necessary funds to purchase the four properties for the Ntondozi community.

the royal letter

In the royal letter, Shabangu allegedly said His Majesty the King enjoined that Tibiyo Taka Ngwane should purchase the properties in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture on a 50-50 basis. Shabangu was also an outstanding interpreter for the King.

The current interpreter, Sihle Dlamini, succeeded him. He disclosed in the letter that the market value for the four farms had been given as E2 091 000. The farms numbers are 240, 242, 243 and remainder of farm 97 in the Manzini region.

An impeccable source said the smallest of the four farms measured about 100 hectares.

By copy of this letter, the Honourable Stella Lukhele, Minister for Agriculture and Co-operatives (now Ministry of Agriculture), is kindly requested to liaise with you on the logistics of raising funds necessary to jointly purchase the four farms on a 50-50 basis, Shabangu, the messenger, said on behalf of the King.

Four months after the letter had been written, Dlamini, who is popularly known as AT, was appointed as prime minister. He was the prime minister until September 2008.

However, it has been established that the farm dwellers have found a copy of the letter. One of the elders of Ntondozi umphakatsi had kept it in his trunk. The copy of the letter was found in January 2021. This came about after officers at Tibiyo Taka Ngwane had failed to locate the original one from the files.

Umphakatsis record keeping

Shodi Mabuza, the Governor of the area, said, until it was produced last month, he was not aware that there was a letter legitimising the Kings command.

He said he assumed the Kings order was verbal. We were negotiating with the owner of the farm to be tolerant of the peoples occupation of the farm until we were told that the Kings command was in writing, he said.

He said they went to Tibiyo Taka Ngwane at Lomawa House, Lozitha, to enquire about it. It was nowhere to be seen until one of them produced the copy.

He said: I want to thank our umphakatsi for record safekeeping. This is really commendable. Who had thought a copy of a letter written 17 years ago was still in our files? We are emaSwati, and we are sure we will resolve the matter amicably. We have to thank His Majesty for his generosity  bayethe wena waphakathi.

The farm dwellers are said to have taken it with them to Lomawa House where the officer entrusted to handle the matter was reportedly indisposed.

Due to the COVID-19 partial lockdowns, they have not been able to return to Lozitha to conclude the talks with Tibiyo Taka Ngwane. What is now a cause for concern is that they say a certain man came to the farm to tell them that he has bought a portion of it. They said the man told them that he wanted to build a clinic and high school.

He is also said to have ordered them to vacate the place or a bulldozer would demolish their houses, something which they said they would resist by all possible means.

In an interview, Dlamini, who is popularly known as AT, said it was the first time he heard of this matter, especially the revelation that there was a letter commanding him to secure funds necessary to procure the farms.

He recalled that Tibiyo Taka Ngwane purchased some farms at Ntondozi, but did not have information at hand if he was actually referring to the properties in question.

It must be said that the MDs office received the letter on Thursday, and Dlamini was yet to go through it and form an impression about its contents. When Dlamini was told that the market value at E2 million in 2003 was cheap or rather affordable, he said that was a lot of money during those times.

He was told that it was possible the market value had gone up. We need to peruse files to see if we have such correspondence, but I doubt because you cannot act fast on what the King says we must do. You cannot defy the King, you cant. Thats why Im persuaded to say we dont have such correspondence,

The representative of the company that owned the farms, Wright, said the letter was for his attention, and pleaded that the issue be not publicised because it would upset the negotiation process. He was not in a position to explain why the letter was kept at Ntondozi and who took it there.







BIG SPRINGS, Calif.  A Humboldt County man who owns property in Siskiyou County is a suspect who is on the loose, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office.

36-year-old Jesse Charles Askey is 5 08 tall and weighs approximately 140 pounds. The Sheriffs Office in Siskiyou County says if you see Askey you should use extreme caution as they do not know his mental state at this time. They said he may also be armed.

On Thursday night at approximately 7:15 p.m. the Sheriffs Office responded to a shots fired call in the Big Springs area of Siskiyou County.

According to deputies, victims informed them that a man named Jesse Charles Askew of Humboldt County was responsible for firing multiple rounds.

Responding deputies said they heard more rounds being fired in the area. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) joined the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office to search for their suspect.

A deputy and a CHP officer said they discovered Askew nearby. They said he surrendered a 9mm handgun, but then resisted arrest. Askey made an attempt to take the CHP officers duty rifle, according to a law enforcement report.

Officers said Askey, who owns property in the Big Springs area, ran away from them, and was not found in a subsequent search that was assisted with the CHPs Air Operations H-14 helicopter.

As of Saturday afternoon, officers said Askew was still at large.

If you see him, you are warned to be extremely cautious and notify the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office at (530) 841-2900.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 13:41:53|Editor: huaxia

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LA PAZ, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Bolivian government on Saturday said Gonzalo Rodriguez, vice minister in charge of fighting smuggling, has died from the novel coronavirus.

According to officials, Rodriguez was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago after contracting the disease. His situation eventually worsened and he passed away on Friday night.

Bolivian President Luis Arce expressed his regret over the vice minister's death and sent his condolences to his family.

"His spirit of solidarity and commitment to the people will be a light of inspiration along the way. Our condolences to his family. We are with them in their pain," he tweeted.

Rodriguez was a career soldier and became vice minister in 2018 as part of the government of then President Evo Morales. He resumed the position in November 2020 to lead the fight against the illegal entry of goods into the country.

The novel coronavirus is spreading to different parts of the country, which has registered 245,719 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 11,547 deaths from the disease. Enditem

Selling Santee Cooper, advocates keep repeating as if it were a self-evident truth, is the only way to eliminate the $4 billion debt from the boondoggle that was the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion.

But its not a self-evident truth. Its not even logical. The only way it makes sense is with a liberal sprinkling of pixie dust, if then.

Oh, its true that the state agency called Santee Cooper would no longer be saddled with the debt, since it would no longer exist. Its even possible that the new owner wouldnt issue new debt to cover the purchase price. But that wouldnt make any meaningful difference to ratepayers, as the Legislature discovered when it spent $20 million to select the best bid to purchase Santee Cooper.

The winner, Florida-based NextEra, said it would happily assume the debt  and then charge ratepayers every penny and more, with rates from day one that would be higher than Santee Coopers.

Just like Dominion Energy is charging us every penny of SCE&G's V.C. Summer debt  and then some.

Just like any investor-owned utility would. Because, as Dominions CEO told me after he announced his bid for SCE&G, investor-owned utilities arent charities.

Fortunately, legislators arent buying what the pixie-dust peddlers are selling. The bill the S.C. House passed in January to authorize a sale is, in fact, primarily about reforming Santee Cooper in case a sale doesnt go down.

So on Tuesday, the heads of the S.C. Club for Growth, Palmetto Promise Institute and the S.C. Association of Taxpayers gathered their cheerleaders at the Statehouse to trot out their new platform: 'Reforming' Santee Cooper = FAKE reform.

Yep, seriously. An equal sign, alongside the pre-pubescent fake, which conjures images of 11-year-old boys huddled in their treehouse, yelling cooties whenever a girl comes too close. Still, the message is worth examining, because it highlights a discouraging truth about the debate over Santee Cooper.

The self-appointed spokesmen of conservative voting constituents make six arguments:

 "Reform is not possible.

 "Reform wont make the debt go away.

 "Reform wont create transparency and accountability in the state agency.

 "Reform wont bring Santee Cooper into the 21st century.

 "Reform wont help Santee Cooper stay afloat.

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 "Reform wont get South Carolina out of the electric utility business."

Most of the claims are conjecture, and ignore the fact that whether reform is possible, whether it drags Santee Cooper into the 21st century and whether it improves transparency and accountability depends on what the Legislature requires of Santee Cooper.

If the absence of transparency and accountability were reasons to sell government agencies, there wouldnt be many left, because our Legislature hasnt seen fit to pass laws that require serious transparency, and it still cant consistently stomach the idea of making executive branch agencies report to the states chief executive. And just as a sale won't make the debt go away, it won't create transparency or accountability; it'll just reduce the Legislatures ability to require transparency and accountability, by moving the utility into the private sector, where there's no such thing as a Freedom of Information Act request and where a regulated monopoly is just as insulated as a state agency from the threat of customers jumping ship.

Stay afloat? Santee Cooper averted sinking when it settled a class-action lawsuit that threatened to strip its ability to charge ratepayers for the V.C. Summer debt. Its no coincidence that legislators lost interest in the NextEra bid once that suit was settled; the potential to moot the lawsuit was about the only thing attractive about its bid, which promised to raise rates, eliminate jobs and saddle the state with Santee Cooper obligations it wasn't willing to assume.

But the Santee Cooper critics are absolutely right on one point: Reform will not get South Carolina out of the electric utility business.

And including that on their list confirms my fear from the start that this debate would be driven by ideology rather than data: Santee Cooper apologists determined not to entertain a sale, or serious reforms, regardless of the facts; and the ideologues who worship at the altar of the free market determined not to accept reform, because their fight has nothing to do with rates or reliability or the environment.

To make sure no one missed the point, Palmetto Promise Institutes Oran Smith proudly proclaimed that, Ive been calling for the sale of Santee Cooper since 1995  well before it hooked up with SCE&G to build the nuclear reactors they abandoned in 2017.

As a government-owned utility, he said, Santee Cooper and its management could never go above a C or C-plus. Its just not possible as a government agency.

Hmmm. I guess we never would have had that whole V.C. Summer debacle if Santee Cooper had been owned by a business. Like, say, SCE&G ... the majority partner ... whose mismanagement flushed $9 billion down the drain.

My point isnt that Santee Cooper is wonderful. It absolutely is not, although as long as it's a state agency our Legislature at least has the power to reshape it into something better. My point  as SCE&Gs customers learned, and kept learning after SCE&G became Dominion, and as NextEra would be happy to teach Santee Coopers customers  is that an investor-owned utility is not inherently superior to a state-owned utility.

My point is that whether to sell Santee Cooper must depend on whether a sale means better rates and better reliability and cleaner energy, now and in the long term.

And as a bonus point, theres this: Even if you're willing to stick it to Santee Cooper customers in order to score on ideology, you ought to keep that to yourself, lest would-be purchasers smell a fire sale, and make offers like  well, like the dog of a bid NextEra made.
DEAR ABBY: I recently moved from the U.S. to Germany. It has been a big change, and I honestly don't know how to handle it. A lot of the kids at school make fun of me and call me names.

My family plans to stay here another two years. My parents say that when/if we move back to the United States, we won't return to our hometown. I find this very hard to accept because it was the only home I've ever known. I tried asking them if I could live with a friend there, but they always brush me off.

I don't want my family to worry about me since my mom is working hard going back to college, but keeping my feelings bottled up inside seems like the wrong choice. Should I tell them honestly how I feel or keep crying into my pillow every night? -- LOST AND DEPRESSED

DEAR LOST: Crying in your pillow every night isn't productive. You should ABSOLUTELY tell your parents everything you are experiencing -- that you are being bullied at school and made to feel you don't fit in, and that you miss your old hometown terribly. They might want to consult with the school administrator about it.

Geographical distance does not mean you must lose relationships forever. While moving back to the town you left may not be practical, you can keep in touch with your friends online and may eventually be able to visit them.

DEAR ABBY: A beautiful flower arrangement was delivered to me at my home today. While on the phone, I told my friend about the thoughtful gift and mentioned that my two cats wouldn't leave it alone. She said, "I hope there aren't any lilies in it!" There were, Abby -- white oriental lilies. I Googled it and discovered they are very poisonous to cats, although not to other animals. When I called the florist, they claimed not to know. Thought your readers should! -- LOVES MY FELINES

DEAR LOVES: I agree. And thank you for sharing that information. I learned from my own Google search that lilies are not the only flowers that are poisonous for pets. Azaleas, daffodils, amaryllis, chrysanthemums, tulips, oleander, hyacinth, English ivy, sago palm, cyclamen, autumn crocus, widow's thrill, hydrangea, aloe vera, caladium, pothos, philodendron, lily of the valley, castor bean, poinsettia, asparagus fern, peace lily and corn plants can be lethal as well. Kitty lovers, be warned!

DEAR ABBY: Is it possible for a single woman (me) to continue a neighborhood friendship with a widower who is now dating a woman? He shared homemade soup with me weekly, leaving it at my door, and occasionally we would have tea together on our decks. I feel awkward; he does not. Should I go with my gut? -- STUMPED IN MASSACHUSETTS

DEAR STUMPED: It would be a shame to lose a good friend. Talk to him about the awkwardness you are feeling. Perhaps it can be resolved. However, if it can't, then follow your instincts and step back.

Man takes umbrage at women who are stingy with thanks

DEAR ABBY: I am a male reader with a complaint. Have you noticed that women hardly ever compliment men? On ANYTHING! They expect men to compliment them but never reciprocate.

If you move furniture, take them out for a nice dinner, buy tickets to their favorite show, buy them a gift, they don't have enough manners or couth to say thank you or express appreciation. Getting a compliment is like pulling teeth from a great white shark while he's feeding.

Don't women ever think, "Maybe I should say something to HIM instead of expecting him to say it to me"? Where do they learn this behavior? Are they taught this growing up? Or do they just not care or even realize? -- SHAKING MY HEAD IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR SHAKING: My late mother, God rest her soul, once commented to me that people with "class" never use that word. In this case, I will make an exception and tell you that individuals of both sexes who have class were taught from early childhood the magic words "please" and "thank you," and to express gratitude.

I don't know what kind of women you are involved with, but I'm suggesting it is time to upgrade the quality. Do not spoil anyone who isn't willing to spoil you right back.

DEAR ABBY: I've been going to the same poke joint for more than five years now. Several of the employees have worked there for years. I feel at this point, I should know their names, but they don't wear name tags, and I'm embarrassed to ask what their names are after so many years. They don't know mine either, but they know enough about me to ask how my son is doing or how my work is going.

I like calling people by their names, but I'm a little shy and awkward and don't know how to ask.

Should I just keep our weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) exchanges at surface-level chitchat without worrying about what their names are? -- FRIENDLY IN THE WEST

DEAR FRIENDLY: You can certainly do that. It has worked for you so far. However, if you would like to know the employees' names, just say that you are "terrible with names, and embarrassed to even have to ask after all this time, but ... what is your name? My name is (insert name)."

DEAR ABBY: I'm getting married next month, and I'm so nervous. What can I do to not be scared? -- COLD FEET IN FLORIDA

DEAR COLD FEET: I wish you had been more forthcoming about what you are worried about. Is it the wedding ceremony and your wedding day? If that's the case, have faith that you and your fiance will make it through together because you WILL. Is it your wedding night? A talk with your doctor should allay your fears.

Is it that you are unsure about the person you are marrying? If that's the case, postpone the wedding and schedule premarital counseling for you and your intended. In some religions, the clergy recommend this type of counseling so issues like money and child-rearing can be discussed and not cause serious problems later.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With the House voting to approve a $1.9 trillion coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic relief bill early Saturday, all eyes now turn to the Senate, whose approval of the bill would bring a third stimulus check to the majority of Americans.

The bill, if approved, would provide $1,400 to individuals earning up to $75,000 and $2,800 to married filers earning up to $150,000, in addition to $1,400 for each eligible dependent.

The Senate is expected to vote on the relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, during the first week of March.

However, one item included in the bill could delay the approval process.

Although the bill passed by the House includes raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15, that portion of the bill is not likely to pass in the Senate. On Thursday, the Senate said the minimum wage hike would not be in line with budget rules needed to pass bills under the reconciliation process.

If this comes to fruition, that means the House will have voted on a version of the relief bill that includes the minimum wage hike, while the Senates bill will have that omitted.

As a result, the House would need to vote on the bill again after the Senate passes it, Heights Security analyst Hunter Hammond told CBS News.

The Senate could vote on the package as early as late next week. The House would then call a final vote over the weekend of March 6 or during the week of March 8, Hammond told CBS.

Lawmakers are hoping to pass the bill before March 14, which is when the expanded unemployment benefit of $300 per week expires, as the bill also includes a provision to increase the extra weekly unemployment benefit from $300 to $400 per week until August 29.

ABOUT THE BILL

The bill calls for getting government money into the pockets of individuals, businesses, states and cities devastated by COVID-19. The bill passed the House on a near party-line -- 219 to 212 vote on Saturday.

The relief package now goes for a vote in the Senate before becoming law.

In addition to the stimulus checks and increased unemployment benefits, the massive relief package includes funding for state and local governments, a national vaccine program, school reopening plans and expanded child tax credits, among other things.

The legislation, if passed, would provide $20 billion for a national vaccination program, $350 billion for state and local aid and $170 billion for school reopening plans.

The bill would also expand the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child, and $3,600 for children under age six-years-old. This allows U.S. families to claim up to 50% of child care expenses on their taxes.

PREVIOUS STIMULUS PAYMENTS

The first round of stimulus under President Donald Trump sent checks in the amount of $1,200 to individuals who filed a tax return with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000. Payments were reduced for singles earning up to $99,000 -- it dropped $5 for every $100 in income above $75,000. Individuals who earned more than $99,000 did not receive a check.

Married couples who filed a joint tax return in 2018 got $2,400, as long as the combined adjusted gross income was up to $150,000  those earning up to $198,000 received a partial payment.

Eligible dependents aged 17 and under got $500.

After much negotiations, the second stimulus check sent $600 to all eligible Americans and dependents.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK***

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FFP2 respirators will be obligatory, some schools will close again.

Our paywall policy: The Slovak Spectator has decided to make all the articles on the special measures, statistics and basic information about the coronavirus available to everyone. If you appreciate our work and would like to support good journalism, please buy our subscription. We believe this is an issue where accurate and fact-based information is important for people to cope.

After several days of negotiations between PM Igor Matovic and scientists and epidemiologists, who were invited to discuss ways to improve the deteriorating situation surrounding the pandemic in Slovakia, new measures have been introduced. They were approved by the government on Sunday evening.

The aim of the new anti-epidemic rules should be to lower mobility, decrease the spread of the infection and prevent the import of new mutations and slow the increase of the number of hospitalisations in the upcoming three weeks.

If the new measures fail to achieve that aim by March 21, the country will prepare for the implementation of a strict limitation of movement, suspension of production and the closure of the country.

The new measures are the following:

From March 8, it will be compulsory to wear FFP2 masks in shops and on public transport.

From March 15, FFP2 respirators will be compulsory indoors . This measure does not apply to children who wear masks.

it will be . This measure does not apply to children who wear masks. Kindergartens and the first four years of primary schools will be open only for children of employees who have to go to work physically . Employees and pupils will be tested twice a week on their own with self-tests .

. Employees and pupils will be . People who test positive with Covid-19 will not be able to leave home unless they are visiting a doctor or going to the pharmacy. Until now, they could go shopping for essentials if they did not have someone who could shop for them.

visiting a doctor or going to the pharmacy. Until now, they could go shopping for essentials if they did not have someone who could shop for them. The government wants to require a 72-hour negative Covid test for entrance to Slovakia from cross-border commuters from neighbouring countries and keep in place the other conditions of the border regime.

Travelling between districts for the purpose of outings in nature is prohibited.

Inhabitants of Bratislava can travel within the Bratislava Region.

Inhabitants of Kosice can also go to the Kosice-okolie district.

Inhabitants of Bratislava can travel within the Bratislava Region. Inhabitants of Kosice can also go to the Kosice-okolie district. As of Wednesday, March 3: Between 5:00 and 20:00, inhabitants can go out for essential reasons. The new rules and exceptions will apply until at least March 19, 2021.

The new rules and exceptions will apply until at least March 19, 2021. The curfew applies between 20:00 and 1:00, but those travelling to work (if necessary) and the doctors are exempt. So are people going out into nature and walking pets.

So are people and All members of a household in Covid quarantine will be entitled to the Covid benefit. This should motivate people to strictly observe quarantine rules. The care of a family member (OCR) benefit and incapacity for work (PN) benefit should also increase.

This should motivate people to strictly observe quarantine rules. The care of a family member (OCR) benefit and incapacity for work (PN) benefit should also increase. The vaccination strategy should be updated based on available data from clinical trials. The Covid automat warning system should also be renewed in accordance with the accepted strategy of testing and other measures.

based on available data from clinical trials. The Covid automat warning system should also be renewed in accordance with the accepted strategy of testing and other measures. Weekly sequencing of at least 500 randomly selected positive Covid-19 samples should be initiated promptly. Once every two weeks, all positive samples should be tested for the presence of the British and South Africa variants.

The government will provide more information on the new measures on March 1. The Slovak Spectator will bring more details then.

Exceptions from curfew starting March 3, 2021 Between 5:00 and 20:00 without test going to essential stores, like grocery stores, pharmacies, chemists, pet shops and the petrol station;

going to the doctors and medical facilities;

going to testing;

going out into nature, except for the black tier (Warning level 4): only within one's district (the inhabitants of the city of Bratislava can travel throughout the entire Bratislava Region; the inhabitants of the city of Kosice can also go to the Kosice-okolie district);

going to funeral, wedding ceremony and christening;

taking care of a relative or close person;

walking pets within 1km diameter from the place of living, taking care of farm animals;

taking children to parents (if they are separated) based on the courts decision;

taking people to nursing homes;

medical walks with older people within 1km diameter from the place of living;

going to an appointment at a law enforcement body or to court. Between 5:00 and 20:00 with a negative test school employees: negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days required; or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you were vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested;

accompanying children to school: negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days required; or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you were vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested;

going to work if you cannot work from home or going to a job interview: confirmation from your employer with the time and place of work; negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days for dark red- and black-tier districts; negative PCR or antigen test no older than 14 days in red-tier districts; negative PCR or antigen test result no older than 21 days in light red-tier districts; or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you were vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested;

going out into nature in the black-tier districts (Warning level 4): negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days required (only people aged 15-65 years); or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you have been vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested;

going to dry cleaners, newsstands, opticians, banks, insurance companies, libraries, bicycle services and car repair shops, facilities providing the technical and emission control of vehicles, delivery points and issue points of online shops, garden shops, shoe repair shops, telecom shops, and scrapyards: negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days required; or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you were vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested;

going to mass events approved by the Public Health Authority (UVZ): negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days required; or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you were vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested;

taking someone abroad: negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days required; or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you were vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested.

Between 20:00 and 1:00 going to and from work: confirmation from your employer with the time and place of work, and: negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days for dark red- and black-tier districts; negative PCR or antigen test no older than 14 days in red-tier districts; negative PCR or antigen test result no older than 21 days in light red-tier districts; or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you were vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested;

necessary medical treatment;

taking care of a relative or close person;

walking pets within 1km diameter from the place of living, taking care of farm animals;

going out into nature; in the black-tier districts (Warning level 4) under following condition: negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days required (only people aged 15-65 years); or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you have been vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested;

taking someone abroad: negative PCR or antigen test no older than 7 days required; or confirmation you have recovered from Covid-19 no older than 3 months; or confirmation you were vaccinated with the second shot at least 14 days ago; or confirmation that you could not be tested.



Read more about coronavirus in Slovakia:

28. Feb 2021 at 21:31 (modified at 4. Mar 2021 at 12:54) | Compiled by Spectator staff
Irish tech stars John Collison and Des Traynor share more than just setting up two massive companies  they also share a passion for educating the next generation.

Two years ago, Collison, who helped co-found online payment company Stripe with his brother Patrick, attended a dinner with Intercom co-founder Traynor and Stephen Kinsella, associate professor of economics at the University of Limerick. The three of them struck up a conversation about educating the next generation of technology students.

We were talking about how you could do a better job of software engineering, said Collison. The core idea we discussed there was the idea behind this course. Its software engineering  you have to learn the fundamentals, but fundamentally its something you learn by doing.

He added: Imagine if you went to get surgery and the new surgeon rocked up, theyve read lots of textbooks, and they think they have this idea down, but this is actually their first time cutting into someone. It would make you a bit nervous. Thats kind of what we have with computer science education today  its very theoretical and not focused on the practical stuff.

Last week, the University of Limerick (UL) announced it will launch a new innovative course that could play a role in addressing industry concerns over educating the next generation entering Irelands flourishing tech sector. It had engaged extensively with industry across the State while designing the course, including both Collison and Traynor.

The Immersive Software Engineering (ISE) programme will seek to meet increased global demand for developer talent, with the internet economy rapidly growing. It will see students spend around half of their time on paid work placements at partner companies.

UL announced the new integrated undergraduate and Masters degree in partnership with over a dozen leading tech companies from Ireland and around the world  including Analog Devices, Stripe, Zalando, Intercom, Shopify, Manna Aero and Facebook.

The course will bring the concept of residencies, which are more common to medical degrees, and use them as a critical feature for the first time in computer science education. Just as trainee doctors apply skills that they have studied in a classroom to the real world, so will ISE students, and theyll be doing it inside some of the worlds most exciting tech companies.

During the four years, students will complete five paid residencies, each between three and six months long. The first cohort of students to undertake the new programme starts in September 2022.

Theyre going to have a much more intensive experience, and theyll be more valuable to companies when they walk out the door, said Kinsella. As they chain the residency experiences together and go and work in Stripe, then Manna Aero, then Personio, then Shopify, by the time they come out of their fourth residency and do a fifth in Facebook  they are so much more experienced and valuable.

Unless they want to set up their own company in the middle of this, it would be far better that they keep on [the course], he added, stating UL also has VC fund Frontline Ventures and Enterprise Ireland as supporters of the course. Their presence could act to boost those that seek to go out on their own two feet.

Currently, Ireland is a global technology hub, with 16 of the top 20 global technology firms, nine of the top 10 US ICT companies and four of the top 5 IT services companies having strategic operations in Ireland.

Despite Irelands status as a tech hub  or perhaps because of it  it is not immune to the shortage of software engineering talent. The problem is a global one.

Indeed, the rapid growth in demand for skills in the sector led the European Commission to previously estimate that Europe could face an 800,000-person ICT skills shortage by 2020.

In Ireland, over three-quarters of tech companies have reported that the shortage of tech skills is losing them money.

The Government has also got involved to help address skills in the sector. In its Technology Skills 2022 action plan, it set a target to increase the numbers of learners graduating with high-level ICT skills by over 65pc by the end of 2022. This represents an additional 5,000 graduates, apprentices and trainees.

Shortages of skilled software engineers hasnt stopped tech companies from queuing up to build or bolster their presence in Ireland, however. Already this year, US tech giants such as Strava have announced plans to build new operations here, while others are ready to add more to what they already have.

We get it done, we have more than 100 software engineers in Ireland, and we are hiring lots and lots more, but at the same time, it is hard to find the right people, and it is hard to find the right students who have got the right training, said Collison on the challenges of hiring in Ireland for Stripe.

Part of the reason we are so excited about this [the UL course] is because we do lots of hiring of new graduates at Stripe, and we want to make sure that they are well set up to start doing the job.

Compounding the difficulty in locating enough tech talent could be declining interest. Despite roles such as software engineers and computer scientists commanding high salaries straight from university, and the increasing demand for more, CAO trends from last March revealed that technology courses had experienced a 5pc year-on-year decline in applications.

With the technology industry in Ireland employing over 37,000 people and generating 35bn in exports annually, the need to address the issues around the amount of available skilled people is paramount.

Traynor said addressing the access to software engineering talent here remained crucial, particularly when it comes to developing the next big Irish tech success stories.

Ultimately, I think we dont have a hope unless we have a large amount of great product engineering talent, he said. That will be the thing that makes a start-up ecosystem succeed in Ireland.

He added: If we are all fishing in a very small pond, then it's going to be extra hard for someone who has just scraped together their first million of funding to try and hire.

Genuinely, we will be a long-time producing software engineers in Ireland before we are at any risk of one of them not getting a great job.

Traynor is hoping to start a new hunt for software engineers in Ireland.

Intercom aims to hire at least 100 people this year into several roles in Dublin, including product design and engineering. Traynor admitted some of these roles wont be filled by people currently living here.

Obviously, we would naturally have to lean on hiring from Europe as well, he said. Thats obviously tougher in a world where people cant come to Dublin and can't meet you. A lot of the normal tactics are off the table.

Tech companies here are not just looking to Europe for talent. Last year, 4,700 work permits were issued to the IT sector, the second-highest industry behind healthcare.

While the multinational behemoths of tech battle it out with each other for talent, the indigenous Irish tech scene is also doing its utmost to attract the right people.

According to Enterprise Ireland, Irish digital technology companies had combined annual sales of more than 6.5bn and exports of 3.6bn in 2018  paling in comparison to their international counterparts also operating on these shores.

For Patricia Scanlon, the chief executive of SoapBox Labs and a partner of the UL course, fighting it out with the multinationals for software engineers is a challenge  and it has forced her to consider other options for hiring.

The problem is now it is so scarce on the ground for software engineers  particularly good ones with experience, she said. It is very hard for us to grow if we cant hire.

We have spent an inordinate amount of time and cost on hiring. We would love to be able to do more. We are looking at more remote working policies and that will mean we will accept people abroad who will come visit the company.

That is not our goal. Its an Irish company. Id rather have everybody here. We allow people to work remotely, and we will in the future, but we also want people to be able to pop into the office.

For us, it is critical, she added. We want the best people. We have always attracted the best people. Its a struggle because multinationals have such deep pockets; they are just throwing more and more money at it.

Scanlon backed the UL project believing it would offer indigenous companies access to the talent they sorely need. But that wasnt the only reason the entrepreneur felt passionate about the course.

Diversity in the tech sector has long been identified as an issue. According to TechIrelands latest Female Founder Review figures for 2019, female-founded tech companies represent 427 out of a total of 2,619 and 63m of funding raised out of a total of 707m.

Scanlon said she hoped the new UL course would help to attract more women into tech.

When youve got a really bright female student looking at where she is going, and she looks at this very male industry, some people will jump and do it anyway. Some will be turned off it.

She added: If you dont try and fix the problem, it is just going to continue. It cant just be lip-service. This [course] is saying to girls across the country, if you have an interest in this and can demonstrate resourcefulness and creativity, then you stand as good a chance as anybody else.

Despite the concerns regarding the availability of software engineers, the founders all shared a positive view of the Irish tech sectors future.

I am super bullish, said Intercoms Traynor. I think we have seen and will continue to see the emergence of really strong Irish start-ups. From an Intercom point of view, I hope that we see future spinouts from our own company and the same for all the other start-ups here.

I would be very long on Irish tech, he added. There are things to fix along the way for sure, but if I wasnt long Irish tech, then I wouldnt be spending my time with the folks from Stripe and UL on this degree.

This is a necessary ingredient for a bright future, but I really believe in the bright future.

UL-Analog link-up

While the Immersive Software Engineering (ISE) programme at the University of Limerick is set to help Irelands tech companies access more of the talent they need, it is also set to help companies based here bolster different areas of interest.

Analog Devices, a US semiconductor company with a significant presence across Ireland, played a significant role in designing the course.

Martin Cotter, senior vice president of worldwide sales and digital marketing at Analog Devices, said the companys world is becoming more digital. It is keen to extract insights from its products data to enhance their end-uses. We need different skill sets to include being able to help customers in a digital world, he said.

[The world] is becoming more and more [about] software. The world of analogue is becoming scarcer. We need to represent our technology in a different way. It is a much bigger opportunity, but we need new skillsets.

Cotter said Analog Devices would be hiring to develop its digital platform, adding that Limerick will be one of the main places to benefit.
Actress Abigail Breslin has said that her father Michael has died from coronavirus.

The Little Miss Sunshine star shared the news on her Instagram account on Saturday morning, along with a collection of picture of her father.

She said that coronavirus had cut her sweet daddys life too short.

She added: Im in shock and devastation.

At 6.32pm EST [eastern standard time], my sweet, perfect, amazing, heroic, wonderful dada passed away after my family and I said goodbye.

It was Covid-19 that cut my sweet daddys life too short.

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In a previous Instagram post on February 10, Breslin said her father had tested positive for coronavirus and had been placed on a ventilator.

In her post on Saturday, Breslin said she wanted to remember her father for who he was and that he loved life, his family and the simple things.

She added: My dad was a hilarious, boisterous, tenacious, rebellious, intelligent, sweet, incredible human being. He loved life. He loved his family. He loved the simple things

He loved a cup of coffee(black, heated up for 66 seconds). He Loved a good Knish (but only in the winter). He loved BBQing (and while we loved brown mustard he only wanted Frenchs Yellow).

He loved Bryeyers ice cream (strawberry, vanilla and chocolate NEO style). He loved doowop songs, specifically, I Wonder Why by Dion & The Belmonts and Under The Boardwalk by The Drifters.

He loved dogs and cats and all animals and he especially loved hearing funny stories about my pets in particular. Hes [sic] always say, abba dabba youve got that animal lover in you just like me.

He loved taking pictures and flying planes and good dinners and music from the 50s and 60s and good couches and Kenyan mountain coffee and funny YouTube videos and email threads and weird poems and politics and he loved me and he loved my brothers and he loved my mom.

And we loved him. And we always will. I miss you daddy. I cant wait to see you again. I wont ever, ever, ever forget you.

To the moon and back dada Love, yours forever, Abs.
The State has issued work permits to more than 200 people travelling from countries considered "high risk" due to Covid-19 variants since January.

The permits were issued to 134 workers travelling from Brazil, 56 from South Africa, and 21 from Nigeria - all countries associated with more transmissible mutant strains of the virus.

The permits were issued by the Department of Enterprise and Employment even as the Department of Health prepared mandatory quarantine legislation to stop the introduction of worrying new variants from overseas.

Three of these variants have been detected in Ireland in recent weeks, including three cases of the highly transmissible Brazilian P1 variant and 15 cases of the South African variant, B1351.

A third new variant of Covid-19 was detected last Thursday, the B1525 strain, which has been associated with travel from sub-Saharan Africa. All three strains here have been connected to travel from overseas.

The concern for health officials is that vaccines may be less effective against the new variants and potentially jeopardise the national inoculation programme just as plans for its mass roll-out from April are ramping up.

The Dail passed mandatory quarantine legislation last week that forces arriving passengers from designated "high risk" countries to isolate in hotels or face fines or imprisonment.

Under the new regime, air passengers must quarantine for two weeks at their own expense if they arrive from Category 2 countries.

The Government is negotiating with hotels to provide a door-to-door service to include transporting arrivals to quarantine centres, providing meals and security. Passengers could be required to pay up to 2,000 for the service.

The legislation will be voted on by the Seanad this week and is expected to be become law in the coming weeks.

The Government's failure to introduce mandatory quarantine before now has been repeatedly criticised by opposition parties and by campaigners for a "zero Covid-19" policy, who have pushed for the rules to apply to all international travellers.

In the meantime, the Government introduced a new law on February 4 requiring travellers from high-risk countries to quarantine at home for 14 days or face a 2,500 fine or six months in prison.

Detectives have been conducting house calls to follow up on people who entered the State without the required PCR tests.

However, policing of that mandatory quarantine provision has been impossible until this weekend as gardai were unable to get the names of those who were supposed to be quarantining. The names are contained in passenger locator forms which all international arrivals are obliged by law to complete. The forms are held by the Department of Health. Because of GDPR issues, gardai have been unable to access them.

The issues were finally resolved on Friday. Three weeks after the mandatory quarantine provision was introduced, gardai will be launching their first house checks this weekend.

While gardai can make house calls, sources say, they cannot go inside to investigate compliance with quarantine law unless they are invited as they have no powers of entry.

Public health doctors also have concerns about how the new legislation on mandatory quarantine will affect their work investigating and managing outbreaks of the virus in large facilities and across communities.

The legislation specifies public health doctors as "medical officers of health" must assess incoming arrivals who test positive for Covid, in cases where exceptions to the strict rules may be required.

Dr Ina Kelly, chair of the Irish Medical Organisation's public health committee, said this weekend that public health doctors are concerned about the demands the legislation will place on a part of the health service that is already severely overburdened and under-resourced.

Concerns were raised in the Dail last week that meat-processing plants are not putting public health quarantine restrictions in place for workers being flown into Ireland to address staff shortages.

More than 2,000 people arrived in Ireland from Brazil over a 28-day period in January and February.

Greg Ennis, Siptu organiser for the sector, said many of the 2,000 arrivals from Brazil were meat-plant workers returning from their annual visits home over Christmas.

According to Siptu, up to 70pc of all meat-plant workers are migrants, and Brazilian workers account for a large proportion of those.

Mr Ennis said he is concerned whether their quarantine arrangements were fully complied with, as to do so would leave workers significantly out of pocket.

Siptu has been campaigning for occupational sick pay and other supports for meat-plant workers in a sector that has been repeatedly hit by Covid-19 outbreaks during the pandemic.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly added another 13 states to the list of 20 'category 2' countries last Friday.
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COLUMBIA  In 2018, voters soundly rejected the idea of letting South Carolina's governor choose the state schools superintendent.

But that was before the pandemic.

GOP leaders want to try again, thinking voters' frustrations over remote learning will flip the result.

Legislation sponsored by House Speaker Jay Lucas would ask voters in November 2022 whether they want to continue electing the state's K-12 public schools chief or let the governor pick. The Legislature must put the question on the ballot since changing the state constitution requires voters' approval.

A 3-2 vote Feb. 25, along party lines, advanced Lucas' bill to the full House Judiciary Committee. The vote, a foregone conclusion, followed testimony from a single opponent. The legislators didn't bother debating it themselves.

Patrick Kelly, representing the state's largest teacher advocacy association, questioned why it was even coming back up.

"The people have already spoken conclusively on this," said the high school history teacher and lobbyist for the Palmetto State Teachers Association. "We should trust the people of this state."

He noted it wasn't even close in November 2018, when 60 percent of voters said "no" to the proposed constitutional amendment, representing a gap of nearly 332,000 votes.

It was a stunning defeat for an idea GOP governors have fought for since Mark Sanford took office in 2003. Advocates were so confident it would pass, they didn't even organize to campaign for it until a week before the election.

Asked why he wants to try again so soon, Lucas told The Post and Courier it's never a bad idea to "ask the voters of South Carolina to weigh in on a decision as critical as who will lead public education in the state. It's their education system."

But he acknowledged the pandemic is also a factor.

"I also believe that COVID-19 has revealed significant flaws in public education and that the response to those flaws has been lacking," Lucas said. "I think the pandemic has taught us that a singular focus is needed."

The pandemic has certainly highlighted the governor's lack of authority over how South Carolina's schools operate, even with his emergency powers. Gov. Henry McMaster has repeatedly said if he could mandate that all K-12 public schools offer a full week of in-person learning, he would. But he can't.

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Instead, he's been calling on every district to do so since last July, when he asked Superintendent Molly Spearman, a fellow Republican, to back him up in enforcing it. But locally elected, autonomous school boards statewide promptly ignored him, citing a summer spike in COVID-19 cases, and Spearman approved reopening plans without the option.

At the time, she's said, she didn't know whether it would be safe to open.

But research, both in South Carolina and elsewhere, has since convinced her schools can safely reopen even with widespread COVID-19 cases. Her home of Saluda County is among the school districts that have operated with full-week schedules since the school year began.

And she's had some success over the last couple of months in pushing resistant school boards to move toward offering five days in the classroom. As of Feb. 26, just one of the state's 79 traditional school districts was operating online-only.

Kelly contends the pandemic shows why the state schools chief should remain an elected position, rather than the opposite.

If voters had said "yes" in 2018, "theres a chance our Department of Education could have faced this crisis with a leadership vacuum  a situation that would have amplified the negative effects of this pandemic on our students," he said, noting the state's public health agency lacked a permanent director for the last nine months.

Unlike the proposal that would make the state superintendent directly answerable to the governor, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control is not a Cabinet agency. But the governor does appoint all of its board members.

"Our schools have benefited from the leadership of a superintendent with a lifetime of experience in education," including as a music teacher in Saluda County, Kelly said. "Voters are well equipped to choose individuals for the office of state superintendent who have the requisite qualifications and background to thrive in that position."

As for Spearman, she not only supported the ballot referendum in 2018 but was among the few who actively campaigned for it. She won't put that effort into it again.

She "respects the will of the voters who overwhelmingly rejected the appointment of her position," said her spokesman, Ryan Brown.

The House will almost certainly pass the legislation. After all, it is the speaker's bill. And the House had passed it multiple times before senators, who had previously blocked efforts, reversed course and approved in May 2018 putting it on the ballot.

That gave McMaster a win that eluded his predecessors  at least, in letting voters decide. But close doesn't count.

Whether it could even pass the Senate this time is unknown.
The Chief Clinical Officer for the HSE, says handshaking might become a thing of the past in life after the Covid-19 pandemic.

When asked about his view of life after Covid, Dr Colm Henry told RTE Radio 1's This Week, he doesn't expect anyone believes life will go back to "exactly where it was" before the pandemic began.

"Whatever about the handshake, which may be beyond resuscitation as a social exercise," Dr Henry said.

"I think hugging will certainly come back, but I think at this stage there's much more hope than despair looking at the real-world evidence of vaccines."

Dr Henry said that countries, where the vaccines have been rolled out, are already seeing huge drops in hospitalisation, serious illness and death in the "most vulnerable groups".

He said this justifies the Irish decision to priorities these groups for vaccination first.

He said: "At this point in time we're seeing real benefits for health care workers, real benefits for frontline workers in hospitals, real benefits for residents in residential care settings, which translates right through to safer hospitals, safer health care settings and reduced illness, hospitalisation and death in older people."

Easing of restrictions

A senior member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) says he expects there to be an easing of Covid-19 restrictions from April or May.

A continuation of Level 5 restrictions will last until at least April 5, while any further easing of restrictions will need a further three to four week period to allow for assessment of the impact of changes.

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group and Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health. Professor Nolan says he expects widespread vaccination will be underway in the summer months.

Professor Philip Nolan, who chairs NPHET's modelling group, says he expects widespread vaccination will be underway in the summer months.

As of Wednesday, 254,948 first doses have been administered while 136,407 second doses have been given.

Professor Nolan told Newstalk restrictions can be relaxed once more people are vaccinated against the virus.

He said: "I anticipate there be some progressive easing of restrictions over time from April, May onwards.

"There'll probably be a point at which we have quite wide-spread vaccinations that many of the restrictions can fall away very quickly, particularly if vaccination is highly effective, as we hope it might be, in interrupting transmission."

New Covid variants

New laws proposing mandatory hotel quarantine for people arriving from high-risk countries won't come into effect for another week or two.

Meanwhile, a public health expert says new variants of Covid-19 will come to our country very swiftly unless we take action to prevent it.

It comes as 738 new cases of the virus have been recorded here and 13 more people have died.

There are 551 Covid patients in hospital this morning and 132 in ICU.

New laws proposing mandatory hotel quarantine for people arriving from high-risk countries won't come into effect for another week or two.

Professor Anthony Staines of Dublin City University (DCU) told Newstalk the Government's response is too slow.

"The Government is bringing in mandatory hotel quarantining but at a very leisurely pace, and from a very restricted number of countries," Prof Staines said.

"We see these new variants of concern are being found everywhere, so for example there was a new variant of concern identified last week and it was found on the same day in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

"We don't know where it came from."

This weekend marks a year since the first case of Covid-19 in the Republic and the deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, says the country is now in a much better place.

Dr Glynn says the trends are heading in the right direction and is urging people to keep up their efforts to suppress the virus.

"I'm very hopeful that if we can continue to suppress the case numbers down through March that we will be able to give people much greater levels of certainty about the spring and summer ahead by the end of March.

"But it is all contingent on us managing to keep things under control over the coming weeks in particular."
HOT young Irish designer Helen O'Keefe will never forget the moment she was handed a dream assignment on a Kim Kardashian photo shoot.

Talented Helen, who comes from Dublin's Kilternan, was already counting her blessings to be working in New York with the ultra-cool LaQuan Smith fashion brand favoured by stars such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce.

The 24-year-old rising star had just emigrated to America after an internship with home-grown fashion icon Paul Costelloe on his Dunnes Stores range.

"One day my boss at LaQuan said, 'Helen can you come outside for a second?' My mind started racing and I was thinking, 'Am I going to get fired? What have I done?'" Helen tells the Sunday World.

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"I was told, 'Look, I'm really sorry, but you're going to have to fly to LA tomorrow because we need you to drop off these pieces for a shoot with Kim Kardashian.' Inside my head I was about to explode with excitement, but I played it cool and said, 'Yeah, no problem, that's fine.'

"A few seconds later I'm texting my mum going, 'Oh my God! Oh my God! You're not going to believe this!' Back home in Dublin I had grown up watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and then here I am being told I have to go and meet one of them!"

Helen arrived into LA at 11pm, and the call time for the Kardashian photo shoot was 6am the next morning, so it was a sleepless night.

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"Even though I'm very good at concealing it, I was actually very nervous," she admits.

"It's kind of scary in those situations because at the end of the day I'm a 24-year-old girl still navigating the industry. It's all so far removed from what I was used to back home, so I had to learn very quickly how to navigate that kind of world and how to behave in those situations.

"I had been flown over to LA to represent my team at a shoot with 25 other people that I've never met before. It was such a terrifying experience where I needed to pretend that I knew exactly what I was doing. Confidence is key in those situations.

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"But I would say that ninety per cent of the things I've done in this brand have made me go, 'Oh God, it's so scary!' because I'm a novice who's learning the ropes. But you just have to pretend that you're fine. And because I have an Irish accent I also have to explain my back story a lot more over here."

Although Helen did get to rub shoulders with Kim Kardashian at that day's shoot, there was no scope for a chin-wag with the superstar.

"Kim said 'Hi', but she was very much surrounded by her team at all times. To be in that situation, though, was a huge pinch yourself moment for me," she says.

Helen's first taste of life in the world of fashion and design with the Paul Costelloe team in Dunnes Stores came shortly after she graduated from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin.

"I was on a team of 12 and Paul, who is based in England, would come in every two weeks and go through the designs. He's such an iconic name in Irish fashion, so I was excited to be working with him.

"I worked on print design for anything from their cushions and duvets to tableware. That was where I really learned my main skills. College sets you up for it, but it's the internships where you pick up the skills.

"I did a year with Dunnes, and then in May 2019 I moved to New York with a couple of girls from college. We moved over with nowhere to live and no jobs. I lived off pot noodles for the first couple of months.

"I reached out to literally 50 or 60 brands, but LaQuan was the one I really, really wanted to work for. I had followed LaQuan Smith throughout his career. I couldn't believe it then when it was LaQuan who gave me the interview and internship.

"His whole thing is designing for women to empower women. It's amazing the amount of female celebrities who wear him, everyone from Beyonce to Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Lizzo, Mariah Carey, Kylie Jenner and, of course, Kim Kardashian.

"In my second or third week LaQuan asked me to design belts. I started working with him in June or July 2019, and that September those belts were on the runway at New York Fashion Week. It was surreal.

"In some brands you don't meet or work with the designer, but LaQuan is sitting side by side with us. He's a big name with a small team and I am learning so much.

"When I started with the team there was no print designer and no graphic designer.

"I pushed myself and my designs towards that, and I did all the prints for our last collection.

"I saw a gap in the company and I've carved out a role for myself."
A picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain engraved atop the panel of a co-passenger satellite

Subject to weather conditions, the blastoff is scheduled at 10.24 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, where the countdown for the mission commenced at 8.54 am on Saturday. (Representational Photo: PTI)

Nellore: All remained set for a rocket launch with a big difference from the Sriharikota spaceport on Sunday. The first-time launch of a Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1, this being the first launch of ISRO in 2021, will also see the sacred Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita, being carried to the Space in secured digital (SD) card format.

This apart, a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain engraved atop the panel of a co-passenger satellite. There will also be some 25,000 names onboard SD SAT, all sent in by people on request from Space officials for placement in Space.

Subject to weather conditions, the blastoff is scheduled at 10.24 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, where the countdown for the mission commenced at 8.54 am on Saturday.

The PSLV-C51 rocket, which is the 53rd mission of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, will launch Amazonia-1 of Brazil as the primary satellite and 18 co-passenger payloads from the first launch pad of the Sriharikota spaceport in Nellore district.

These co-passenger satellites include the Satish Dhawan Sat (SD SAT) from Chennai-based Space Kidz India (SKI). The picture of PM has been engraved atop the panel of this spacecraft.

The 18 co-passenger satellites include four from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe). Among the four, three are UNITYsats from a consortium of three Indian academic institutes and one of the Satish Dhawan Sat from Space Kidz India, and 14 from NSIL.

Among the 14 satellites, 12 USA satellites are christened as SpaceBEEs meant for 2-way satellite communications and data relay.

The Space Centre is fortified in view of the launch. CISF and police teams were deployed as additional forces to tighten the security at the spaceport.

ISRO officials including its chairman Dr K. Sivan were camping at Shar to oversee the launch. Sivan offered prayers at the holy shrine in Tirumala as well as at the Changala Parameswari temple in Sullurpeta for the success of the first mission in 2021.
Bennett, who began working for the state last March and has since left, said Cuomo never touched her. But, she told the Times, I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me ... And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.
A golden statue of former President Donald Trump has turned into the talk of the Conservative Political Action Conference taking place in Orlando, Florida. CNN, for example, calls the more-than-6-foot-tall statue the indisputable star of the conference. The statue has Trump wearing a suit jacket with white shirt and red tie plus American flag shorts. Trump is also wearing sandals and is holding a magic wand, a reference to how former President Barack Obama once said Trump didnt have a magic wand to bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States.

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Hes wearing a business suit because hes a business man. The red tie represents the Republican party, the red white and blue shorts represent the fact that hes a patriot, the artist, Tommy Zegan, told the New York Post. The sandals are the way Zegan chose to represent that Trump was in his golden years and could be on the beach if he wanted to be.

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Zegan told Politico that the fiberglass statue was made in Mexico over a period of six months in the resort town of Rosarito. He then took it to Tampa, Florida, where it was painted in chrome, and then got a U-Haul to transport it to CPAC. If someone offered me $100,000 Id take it, Zegan said.

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The statue that is turning heads at CPAC is really just an appetizer for the real thing, though. Its the fiberglass mold of the stainless steel sculpture that Zegan has stored in Tampa. Making that statue cost him his life savings of $50,000. He apparently wants to sell that one for more than $1 million, but if he cant sell it, he wants it to go in the Trump Presidential Library. It is museum-quality, and thats the one Im eventually hoping to get in the Trump library, Zegan told CNN. It is literally priceless.

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Live image from CPAC. pic.twitter.com/o1K4bsSk1G  Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 26, 2021

Many on Twitter were quick to recall the Old Testament story of the golden calf that angered Moses. Idol worship isnt conservative. #RestoreOurGOP, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote in favor of impeaching Trump, wrote on Twitter. Zegan pushed back against the comparison. Its not an idol, Zegan said. I know the biblical definition of an idol. This is not an idol. This is a sculpture.

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Ah, the Golden Calf. Cue Moses. https://t.co/uG2yPbMS14  Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) February 26, 2021

Trump will be speaking at CPAC on Sunday, but he has already been the talk of the conservative conference, making clear the former president remains a powerful force. Let me tell you something: Donald Trump aint going anywhere, Sen. Ted Cruz said.
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Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
It seems tensions between and the US over the South Sea will continue under the new US administration as the Chinese military recently conducted a live-fire drill to test its response to repeated missile attacks in a "far sea" and Washington also has been stepping up reconnaissance activities in the area.

According to South Morning Post, there are fresh signs that from the Chinese and the American armed forces that tensions over the will continue.

The Chinese military's Southern Theatre Command conducted a live-fire drill to test its response to repeated missile attacks in a "far sea", state broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday without saying when or where the exercise took place.

The drill involved the guided-missile destroyer Yinchuan, guided-missile frigate Hengyang, the amphibious dock landing ship Wuzhishan, and the support ship Chagan Hu, according to the report. The Southern Theatre Command is responsible for overseeing the vast waters claimed by China in the

At the same time, the US has been stepping up reconnaissance activities in the area.

The US also sent a reconnaissance aircraft to fly over the off the coast of Taiwan on Saturday, the think tank said in another post.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, something which is contested heavily by several countries in the region.

China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and its efforts to advance into the Indian Ocean are seen to have challenged the established rules-based system.

China has been increasing its maritime activities in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea over the past few months, partly in response to Beijing's concerns over the increasing US military presence in the region because of escalating Sino-US tensions.

(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.)

GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP, MI -- A 7-year-old girl struck by a car Thursday in Jenison has died, Jenison Schools leaders said.

Ruby Rissley was in the first grade at Bursley Elementary.

Ottawa County sheriffs deputies said she was with her brother as they tried to cross 12th Avenue, south of Chicago Drive, when she was struck by a vehicle about 3:50 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25.

Northbound traffic was backed up in the area because of a nearby train. Police said the children cut through the line of stopped vehicles and Ruby was struck by a southbound vehicle.

Her 10-year-old brother was not injured.

Ruby was taken to DeVos Childrens Hospital with severe brain trauma and other injuries. She died early Saturday, Feb. 27, hospital officials confirmed.

Jenison Public Schools issued a statement from Bursley Elementary School Principal Holly McGoran on Saturday.

Ruby was a little girl who often had a smile on her face, was a friend to many, and was loved by all. She will be greatly missed by her classmates, teachers, and all those who had the opportunity to know her. Our hearts go out to the Rissley family, according to the statement.

The children were trying to cross 12th Avenue to reach their house, which is on the opposite side of the road. They were crossing just north of Blair Street and not far from Bursley Elementary.

A GoFundMe page was created to help the family with expenses.

Caleb Befus, a next door neighbor to the Rissley family and a Jenison pastor, said Ruby had three brothers.

They have described her as the glue or the magnet that would bring them together. Its going to be a real tough road ahead, he said.

Ruby did everything her brothers did without slowing down and, in that sense, was tough.

She was full of life and very active, Befus said.

He said the Rissley family has always been friendly and welcoming and were know to others in the Jenison community. Befus estimated about 200 people showed up for a candlelight vigil Friday evening at the familys house.

This really is just devastating to all of us, Befus said. Its just tragic.

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A stolen 4-month-old Maltese puppy named Scruggs was returned to his owners on Saturday after a Richmond resident realized they had recently purchased the stolen puppy in San Franciscos Tenderloin, police said.

Scruggs reunion with his human family comes five days after a 23-year-old Los Gatos resident said he parked his Subaru on the 200 block of Sutter Street in San Francisco, leaving the puppy inside the SUV for about 30 minutes. Upon his return, the puppy was gone, police said.
Kristi Burton Brown is a constitutional attorney and the Vice Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party. Reverend Heather Haginduff, an ordained clergy person in the United Church of Christ, is using 20 years of local church ministry experience to create innovative ministry to the wider community.
Australian shoppers can now get personalised cans of Coca Cola at specialised vending machines - which means people with unique names no longer have to miss out on having their very own can.

The pop-up vending machines are causing a frenzy after popping up in shopping centres across New South Wales and Queensland - and offering soft-drink lovers two min cans absolutely free.

All shoppers need to do is type in their preferred moniker and wait as the new machine personalises each can on the spot.

Australian shoppers can now get personalised cans of Coca Cola at specialised vending machines - which means people with unique names no longer have to miss out on having their very own can

The pop-up vending machines are causing a frenzy after popping up in shopping centres across New South Wales and Queensland

Photos of the 'shout-out' vending machines shared on social media reveal their could be a wait for the service as excited shoppers line up to have their own chance to choose a name to be scrawled onto their own can.

'You just scan the QR code to get the free cans, mine were done in a minute,' one woman said, sharing a picture of the machine.

'I wish these were in Tasmania,' one woman said.

'Are the coming to Melbourne?' another asked.

She said the machine at Liverpool Westfield was giving away two 250ml personalised cans for free.

According the the Coca Cola website the vending machines are available in Liverpool, Parramatta and Miranda in Sydney and Broadbeach on the Gold Coast.

Custom drink cans and bottles can also be made at the Coke Truck pop ups across Sydney and south-east Queensland.

Not only does the machine allow for more unusual names but shoppers can also have their nicknames or pet names scrawled onto the side of each can.

The pop-ups have been available in January - so shoppers need to hurry to avoid missing out.

Shoppers from other states can still have a personalised label by need to get them online.

According the the Coca Cola website the vending machines are available in Liverpool, Parramatta and Miranda in Sydney and Broadbeach on the Gold Coast

'We bought some online and they came on glass bottles which we shared on Valentine's Day,' one woman said.

'That's mad, I am coming down to get some,' said one man.

This isn't the first time vending machines have caused a stir in recent weeks, a pop-up cupcake vending machine - which offers six different desserts at the push of a button.

The 'cupcake ATM' has been set up by The Mason Baker in Brisbane, and has caused a stir online.

'Hopping in my car from Toowoomba right now,' one woman wrote when she saw a picture of the bright pink vending machine on Instagram.

Scroll down for video

Australians can now get their sweet fix from a pop-up cupcake ATM - which offers six different desserts at the push of a button

The ATM was set up last Friday in the Fortitude Valley, and has a flashy display which shows off the variety of cupcakes served inside.

One video shows a lineup outside the ATM as people patiently wait for their turn to use the novel machine.

'Oh my goodness, this is fabulous,' one woman wrote.

The ATM is stocked every Friday and Saturday from 5pm, according to the baker - but will only be there until the end of February.

'This is such a cool concept. Would drive to one if you had it in Victoria,' another cake fan said.

'I'll be testing this out for our kid free weekend away,' another person said.

The ATM is stocked every Friday and Saturday from 5pm, according to the baker - but will only be there until the end of February

The ATM was set up last Friday in the Fortitude Valley, and has a flashy display which shows off the variety of cupcakes served inside.

Another person simply said 'shut up and take my money'.

The Mason Baker rose to fame in 2018 after owner James Willis secured a $100,000 investment on hit show 'Shark Tank'.

The now 28-year-old former Coles worker shocked the show's judges when he presented his idea for the company.

Instead of sending flowers, the concept sees an overnight delivery of assorted cupcakes in secured mason jars, ensuring the delicacy arrives in prime condition.

The company still does gift boxes - posting the glass jars around Australia.


 Flash

Turkey's total number of COVID-19 cases is nearing 2.7 million after over 9,000 new cases were registered Saturday. Meanwhile, over 62,000 nurses have been infected with the virus in Iran.

Turkey on Saturday reported 9,193 new COVID-19 cases, including 621 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 2,693,164, according to its health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 71 to 28,503, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,565,723 after 8,938 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.

The country started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine. More than 6,865,000 people have been vaccinated so far.

In Iran, more than 62,000 nurses have contracted COVID-19 and about 100 of them have lost their lives due to the disease, an Iranian official was quoted by news agency IRNA as saying.

"The sacrifices made by nurses in the past year have alleviated some of the problems of the people during the epidemic, and we should appreciate their efforts," Deputy Health Minister Mariam Hazrati said in a public tribute in Tehran.

Reports on the coronavirus-caused deaths of around 100 nurses are being analyzed under the supervision of the Ministry and the Foundation of Martyrs, and some of the deceased have already been approved to be recognized as "martyrs of service."

At her daily briefing, spokeswoman for Iranian Ministry of Health Sima Sadat Lari said 81 new deaths related to the coronavirus were registered in Iran in the past 24 hours, and 7,975 new cases of COVID-19 were detected between Friday and Saturday.

The new figures make for a death toll of 59,980, and an overall count of 1,623,159 infections in Iran. Sadat Lari said 1,386,534 patients have recovered.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 3,543 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 692,241.

It also reported in a statement 18 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,383, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 2,820 to 632,998.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 3,290 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally in the country to 773,261.

The death toll from the COVID-19 in Israel reached 5,726 after 32 new fatalities were added, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 738 to 760, out of 1,236 hospitalized patients.

The total recoveries in Israel rose to 727,779, with 3,947 newly recovered cases, while the active cases decreased to 39,756.

The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel surpassed 4.68 million, or 50.3 percent of its total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec. 20, 2020.

Lebanon registered 3,100 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 372,775 in the country. Meanwhile, the number of deaths from the virus went up by 42 to 4,652.

Lebanon received on Saturday the third batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

Abdul Rahman Bizri, member of the Lebanese National Infectious Diseases Committee, said on Saturday that Lebanon continues to vaccinate staff in the health sector and the elderly above 75.

The Qatari health ministry announced 460 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 163,197,.

Meanwhile, 412 more people recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 153,219, while the fatalities remained 257 for the sixth day running.

Kuwait reported 844 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 189,890.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced six more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,078. The tally of recoveries in Kuwait rose by 1,064 to 178,197, while 10,615 coronavirus-related patients were receiving treatment.

Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 483,410 on Saturday as 416 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours. The death toll mounted to 8,615 as seven COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 468,807 after 420 new ones were added.

Meanwhile, 3,435,997 people have been vaccinated so far against COVID-19 in the country. The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines.

Algeria reported 155 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the North African country to 112,960.

The death toll from the virus rose to 2,979 after two new fatalities were added. Meanwhile, 134 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 78,036.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 16:18:10|Editor: huaxia

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A staff member unloads vaccines donated by China at a Philippine Air Force base in Manila, the Philippines on Feb. 28, 2021. A batch of Sinovac vaccine CoronaVac donated by China arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, the first COVID-19 vaccine to reach the Southeast Asian country. The delivery of the vaccines allows the Philippines to start mass vaccinations soon, marking a new phase in the country's fight against the COVID-19 that infected 576,352 and killed 12,318. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

MANILA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A batch of Sinovac vaccine CoronaVac donated by China arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, the first COVID-19 vaccine to reach the Southeast Asian country.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte attended the handover ceremony of the vaccines at a Philippine Air Force base in the capital city of Manila.

The delivery of the vaccines allows the Philippines to start mass vaccinations soon, marking a new phase in the country's fight against the COVID-19 that infected 576,352 and killed 12,318. Enditem
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A 20-year-old Bedford man was found dead early Thursday in a wooded area at the end of a dead-end street on the citys East Side, Cleveland police say.

Police found Jaylen David Hatcher dead about 2 a.m. near the intersection of Booth and Broadway avenues.

The officers responded to a report of a possibly stolen vehicle, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. When the officers arrived, they founded the car unoccupied at the end of Booth Avenue, a no-outlet street.

Police determined the vehicle wasnt reported stolen. They continued investigating and found blood inside the vehicle, and drag marks and blood leading away from it. The officers followed the trail and found a man, later identified as Hatcher, with a gunshot wound to his head, Ciaccia said.

Cleveland police have not identified any suspects in Hatchers shooting, Ciaccia said. The investigation continues.

Anyone with information about the shooting can contact Cleveland homicide detectives at 216-623-5464. Anonymous tips can be called into 216-25-CRIME.

Read more crime news on cleveland.com:

Man shot to death after breaking into ex-girlfriends home in Clevelands Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood

FBI seeking help to find man accused of robbing Macedonia bank

Cleveland police arrest suspect in shooting on Case Western Reserve University campus, school says
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Michelle Dockery cut a chic figure as she continued to film gritty scenes for new Netflix series of Anatomy Of A Scandal at the Old Bailey in London on Sunday

The Downton Abbey actress, 38, is set to take on the role of high-flying prosecutor Kate in the political drama based on the Sarah Vaughan novel of the same name.

Anatomy Of A Scandal sees shamed minister James Whitehouse [Rupert Friend] who is accused of sexually assaulting a young political aide, with the series focusing on the trial and his attempts to prove his innocence.

Transformation: Michelle Dockery cut a chic figure as she continued to film gritty scenes for new Netflix series of Anatomy Of A Scandal at the Old Bailey in London on Sunday

Michelle got into character in a black shift dress, navy coat and leather brogues as she wheeled a suitcase along.

She sported spectacles and wore her auburn bob in a side-parting.

Michelle was later seen sporting a blue face mask as she took precautions amid the COVID-19 UK lockdown.

Michelle looked focused as she filmed scenes in the street outside the historic building.

Showtime: Michelle got into character in a black shift dress, navy coat and leather brogues as she wheeled a suitcase along

Anatomy Of A Scandal is based on the acclaimed 2018 bestseller by former political journalist Vaughan.

The serious plot of the drama revolves around Friend's character  junior Government Minister Whitehouse  being accused of raping a political aide with whom he had been having an affair, with Sienna Miller playing his wife Sophie.

The role of the aide, called Olivia, is thought to be played by Charlie Angels actress Naomi Scott, according to Recapped, but her role has not been officially confirmed.

The cast of the six-part series is described as 'an insightful and suspenseful series about sexual consent and privilege.

Sophie (Sienna) is convinced that he is innocent and will do whatever it takes to protect her family in the wake of the scandal.

Meanwhile, criminal barrister Kate (Michelle) is equally convinced that James is guilty and is determined to see he pays for his crimes.

It is being directed by SJ Clarkson, with David E. Kelley, the man behind the new Sky drama The Undoing starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, acting as writer, showrunner, and executive producer.

It's thought the series could focus on a different political scandal each season in an anthology style, similar to BBC's A Very English Scandal according to Deadline.

Michelle was most recently seen in the AppleTV+ series Defending Jacob alongside Chris Evans, where she played a mother dealing with an accusation that her 14-year-old son is a murderer.

Sienna starred in drama film Wander Darkly this year while she also appeared as Roger Ailes' wife Beth in the miniseries The Loudest Voice released last year.

Rupert was last seen in the CBS All Access series Strange Angel, which was axed in November 2019, and also starred in Showtime's Homeland until 2018.
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As the threat of the coronavirus came into focus a year ago, the Air Force scrambled to figure out how to continue basic training in San Antonio.

The stakes were high.

The virus threatened to sicken large numbers of recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and even halt the services ability to bring in new airmen.

The plan the Air Education and Training Command put in place in mid-March walled off new arrivals from others on the base. They waited two weeks to start regular training, and those who tested positive or became ill with the virus were shunted into quarantine, along with others identified by contact tracing.

The result: In just under 11 months, the Air Force graduated 27,486 recruits. That was down from 37,000 in the 2019 fiscal year. But there were no hospitalizations or deaths among the fraction who turned up positive for the virus  1,604 recruits from March 15, 2020, through Feb. 8 of this year.

In rare cases, entire flights containing dozens of recruits were pulled aside and isolated. But the individual cases of COVID-19 never turned into outbreaks. The on-time graduation rate now rests at 96 percent.

Its incredibly important, and yes, I am really proud of that because  at the beginning, when there were unknowns, we had some risks and we knew how important graduating and producing the next generation of airmen  was, Maj. Gen. John DeGoes, commander of the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland, said of the graduation rate.

And so, yes, I am incredibly proud.

There have been hiccups, a couple of them potentially serious.

Just a day before a basic training graduation ceremony early in February, two flights were placed into isolation because of potential exposure to the virus. They had completed training but had to stay in isolation for 14 days, finally graduating Feb. 18.

A third flight had to be quarantined immediately after graduation. The newly minted airmen will move on to technical training when they get out.

Putting new flights into restriction of movement on arrival, repeatedly screening recruits beforehand with questionnaires and a culture of safety to identify early mild symptoms has worked, DeGoes said, but is not perfect.

Air Force basic training has survived  something that was by no means certain when the pandemic hit.

A major coronavirus outbreak at Lackland, long the home of Air Force basic training, could have crimped the flow of graduates or even closed the pipeline of recruits coming to the base, a fate that briefly befell basic training for the Navy and Marines in early April.

It could have jeopardized the Air Forces ability to fill critical career fields, raising the specter of drastic actions such as stop-loss, a highly unpopular personnel tool that prevents veteran troops from leaving the services.

On ExpressNews.com: Air Force training command turns corner on the coronavirus in San Antonio

The Air Force hedged its bets, opening a second basic training facility at Keesler AFB, Miss., which graduated around 1,000 airmen over six months by the time it closed Nov. 6.

By then, officials knew Lacklands protocols were working.

Everything starts with tests, masks and social distancing. Recruits in every stage of basic training wear the masks  black for those free of the virus, and white for those whove tested positive or are sick.

Before the virus, recruits arriving at San Antonio International Airport boarded buses and began Zero Week, a time reserved for ritual haircuts, shots and issuing uniforms. They still get the haircuts but have already taken coronavirus tests at Military Entrance Processing Stations nationwide, where they are inducted into service.

Theyre screened at the airport by medical technicians and again when mustering at Lacklands Pfingston Reception Center. Theyre told to immediately report if theyre feeling ill, which is a big shift in attitude. Fearing they would not graduate with their class, a dreaded fate often called being washed back or recycled, recruits in the past often would power through basic training even if they were sick.

We realized early on that the readiness of the Air Force depends on keeping the recruiting and training pipelines open and running safely, Lt. Gen. Brad Webb said, crediting resourceful airmen with sustaining recruiting, training and education. Leaders at every level looked at how to continue fighting through but do it safely for our people and the communities where we serve.

Perhaps the two biggest changes in basic training were the introduction of the restriction-of-movement flights, dubbed ROM, and a shorter instructional period  7 weeks instead of 8.

ROM flights havent been a cure-all. Occasionally, DeGoes said, some cases have occurred post-ROM.

Contact tracing nonetheless has made it possible to pinpoint individuals with the virus who got past initial screenings and tests. They are isolated at the Gateway Inn or Gateway Villas, dorms converted from hotels on the sprawling base.

Case No. 1, a recruit from Kentucky, developed symptoms March 22 after flying to San Antonio with a fellow trainee who boarded the plane in Chicago.

Six days later, the young man who boarded in Chicago fell ill. Called Case No. 4, he had been in quarantine in a private room all week and hadnt exposed anybody else.

Yet if not for contact tracing, others could have caused a chain reaction, infecting many rather than a few.

If we hadnt done the quarantine right, if we hadnt had public health go and see, who did No. 1 come in contact with, we could be having an outbreak with literally dozens, up to 100 even, DeGoes said in a prior interview.

On ExpressNews.com: Tracking coronavirus recruits, Air Force slowed outbreak at San Antonio training hub

The flights themselves are a little smaller than those of the past, no more than 40 recruits who sleep head to toe, 12 feet apart. Recruits wash their hands at least five times a day and carry sanitizer wherever they go.

The number of people showering, shaving and brushing their teeth at one time has been reduced as well, and training instructors are no longer allowed in the dorm while trainees are cleaning up.

Classes are usually held in the dorm, in places such as day rooms where the recruits can spread out. They used to march from their dorms to religious services on Sundays, but no more. Chaplains appear in the day room on video monitors, with 11 recruits allowed to attend at one time.

They eat meals, undergo limited physical training and learn basic drill procedures in the dorm, except for when theyre sent to the nearby Medina Annex for days-long field exercises late in their training cycle.

In formation on a drill pad under the second floor of the dorm, they maintain a distance of 6 feet

I was just coming in when they started to implement all of these measures, said Tech. Sgt. Mikesha Jones, a military training instructor with the 433rd Training Squadron. It was very intense and it was somewhat difficult trying to ensure that all the protocols were put in place, and they were training all the instructors to ensure we knew exactly what we needed to do in order to keep ourselves safe as well as the trainees safe.

On ExpressNews.com: Enough coronavirus-positive recruits in San Antonio could stop training, AF undersecretary says

DeGoes began thinking of how to craft a coronavirus response in January, when reports of outbreaks in China were followed by Americans returning from that country, including cruise ship passengers, being quarantined at Lackland under a U.S. Health and Human Services Department mission advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Honestly, we began thinking about it when we had the Diamond Princess, the Grand Princess and even before that the Wuhan, China, American citizens who were quarantined on the base over at the Gateway Villas, he said. And so we saw that up close and personal, and the use of quarantine and what they were doing, and began incorporating the emerging, and what Id call evolving, brand-new infection that we didnt know very much about.

DeGoes, an internal medicine specialist who had studied the Ebola and Zika viruses and influenza pandemic planning while assigned to a previous command, met with Webb and others March 13 to discuss a COVID-19 game plan.

He said he offered medical recommendations about how we could do this and do it safely, and would watch it close enough that we would have a plan that if we crossed a red line we would recommend slowing or potentially even stopping training.

By March 15, the plan was in place, along with the first ROM flight. There have been 30 cohorts of recruits since, ranging from 400 to 450 graduates early in the pandemic, roughly half the size of pre-COVID basic training classes, to more than 700 graduating at a time in more recent weeks.

sigc@express-news.net
Already struggling to pay bills, Yomaiera White fell $2,000 behind on rent for her Scranton apartment after a pandemic-related closure of day care centers left her jobless from March to August.

A nearly yearlong ban on evictions imposed by state and federal authorities helped protect White, now back at work, and others from losing housing.

She was one of the fortunate.

More than 800 renters in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties lost their housing or face imminent threat of eviction within the next month.

The eviction moratoriums did help significantly reduce the number of eviction cases filed last year compared to 2019, in Dunmore and Scranton in Lackawanna County, and in Kingston, Nanticoke and Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County.

But magisterial district judges and housing officials say many people lost their chance to stave off eviction because they did not follow the procedure required to enact the safety net. In other cases, the tenants violated lease conditions, freeing landlords to take action against them.

Rulings favor landlords

A Sunday Times review of court cases in Lackawanna County found the four magistrates who cover Dunmore and Scranton held hearings in 513 cases from Sept. 1 to Jan. 31, with rulings issued in 424 of them. Sept. 1 is the day after the expiration of Gov. Tom Wolfs initial moratorium, which began in March.

In 418 of those cases, magistrates ruled for the landlords, awarding just over $1 million in back rent. The amounts ranged from as little as $11, to as much as $15,400, with the most common amount being $1,200. The other 89 cases either settled, were dismissed or withdrawn, or are pending.

The situation is similar in Luzerne County. Of the 377 landlord-tenant cases magistrates handled in Kingston, Nanticoke and Wilkes-Barre, the judges ruled in favor of landlords 215 times for a total of $443,766 in overdue rent. Of the remaining cases, 102 are still active and the rest were either decided in favor of the tenant, settled, dismissed or withdrawn.

Rent relief on horizon

A rent relief program in Lackawanna County, which expects to begin accepting online applications within the next few weeks, promises to provide much-needed assistance. The county received $6.2 million to help tenants, who lost their jobs or incomes because of the coronavirus pandemic, pay back rent and utilities.

For White, the program will be a tremendous help if she qualifies. She and her three children live in the Bangor Heights subsidized housing complex. Shes been able to make partial rent payments and feels fortunate the complex has not sought to evict her.

White said she first ran into trouble in March, when day care centers closed. She has no relatives or friends to watch her three children, ages 3, 5 and 9, so she said she had no choice but to stop working.

She initially managed because she qualified for the additional $600 a week in pandemic unemployment benefits. That expired in July, leaving them to live on just $188 a week in unemployment benefits.

I tried to pay little by little, she said. I have a car payment, car insurance. On top of that, I have three kids. I dont get welfare or child support. Everything comes out of my pocket.

If she doesnt qualify for the rent relief program, she likely will have to use a big chunk of her tax refund for back rent  money earmarked for her other bills.

Concerns rise over evictions

Housing officials worry about the number of cases with pending eviction orders for back rent, which can be enforced as soon as the latest eviction moratorium ends next month.

Besides Wolfs moratorium, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention enacted a ban Sept. 4, which was extended to Dec. 31, then Jan. 31. President Joe Biden extended it until March 31.

The moratoriums helped reduce the number of eviction cases filed with eight magistrate judges in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. The Lackawanna County judges are: Joanne Corbett, South Scranton; Alyce Hailstone Farrell, Central City and East Scranton; Terrence Gallagher, West Scranton; and Paul Ware, Dunmore and North Scranton/Green Ridge. In Luzerne County, they are: James J. Haggerty, Kingston; Rick Cronauer and Thomas F. Malloy Sr., both Wilkes-Barre; and Donald L. Whittaker, Nanticoke.

In the two counties, 890 cases were filed from Sept. 1 to Jan. 31, down from 1,029 cases filed in the same time frame from 2019 to 2020.

Hundreds of people still face the threat of imminent eviction once the moratorium ends because the judges continued to hear cases and enter judgments against tenants during the moratorium for two main reasons:

The CDC moratorium halts evictions for nonpayment of rent, but does not protect tenants whose leases expired or if they violated their lease for other reasons, such as damaging the property or having unauthorized people live there.

The moratorium had several other conditions attached, including requiring the tenant sign an affidavit attesting they could not pay rent because of financial hardship caused by the pandemic and that they would make a good faith effort to pay something. Even then, landlords could still file to recoup past due rent and/or money to cover damages to their property.

The CDC order stops evictions, it does not necessarily stop a hearing, said Lori Molloy, executive director of the nonprofit North Penn Legal Services. You still have people on the verge of eviction.

Confusion abounds

The issue, some officials say, is that many tenants did not know about or misunderstood what was required of them under the CDC moratorium. They did not provide their landlord the affidavit or, in many cases, did not show up for the hearing.

I have people calling my office saying, You cant evict me because of COVID, Ware said. They think there is a blanket moratorium. That is not the case.  Its only for people who take an affirmative step and inform the landlord they were adversely affected by COVID. If you did not sign the affidavit the case proceeded as normal.

Lackawanna County judges varied on whether they would advise tenants about the CDC moratorium if they did not know.

Corbett said she did not because she believes that would equate to giving legal advice.

We are a neutral party, Corbett said. We do have information in the front area of the court tenants can access for free legal aid.

Ware said he does advise tenants of the affidavit because he views the situation as providing guidance on a procedural matter, not as legal advice. Farrell also said she notifies tenants.

Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough said magistrates there should inform tenants about the moratorium and provide the declaration for them to sign.

Thats part of our criteria. When a landlord-tenant (case) is filed, if the tenant appears you give him the form and say, Heres what you have to do, he said. At that point, its up to the magistrate to make a decision regarding going forward with the case.

Whittaker said that he stopped accepting new landlord-tenant filings because of the moratorium.

Its fruitless, because I cant even serve the landlord-tenant with the notice to quit, Whittaker said. Its not going to get them out any quicker, and theyre not going to receive any money.  Quite frankly, the landlords are taking a beating.

Still time

Still, the vast majority of cases ended with landlords being granted possession of the properties.

In Lackawanna County, Ware, Corbett, Gallagher and Farrell granted landlords possession in 322 of the 424 cases in which they issued rulings and ordered possession be granted if the judgment was not paid in 90 days in another 70 cases.

In Luzerne County, Cronauer, Haggerty, Malloy and Whittaker granted landlords possession in 124 of the 377 cases and ordered possession be granted if the judgment was not satisfied in another 90 cases.

Ware stressed that does not mean all those people lost their housing. Those being evicted for nonpayment could still stay the process at any time if they submitted the CDC affidavit, even after a judgment, he said.

Ware said he had multiple cases in which constables went to evict people, only to leave because the tenants showed they had presented the affidavit.

Molloy said the cases illustrate the importance for tenants to seek legal advice before a hearing. North Penn Legal Services provides attorneys free of charge to people who meet income guidelines.

The biggest mistake tenants make is not showing for the hearing, which results in a default judgment against them, Molloy said. Tenants often see the situation as hopeless and just give up, she said.

People realize they have a terrible problem, she said. They know they are behind in rent.  They see it as, I cant afford my rent. What can I do? They get scared and dont know what to do.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen riding in a truck opened fire with rifles on Saturday to kill 11 people in Mexico's western state of Jalisco, causing injuries to a woman and a youth as well, authorities said.

Jalisco, where a former governor was shot dead in December, is one of the epicenters of Mexico's drug-related warfare, and home to the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The state prosecutor's office said 10 men with gunshot wounds were found dead outside a home in Tonala, a municipality in the Guadalajara area, with another male body discovered inside.

The injured woman and young man, who appeared to be a minor, were treated, the office said in a statement, but other details were not immediately known.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in late 2018 pledging to reduce entrenched violence, but he continues to grapple with mass killings and tens of thousands of homicides a year.

In December, former Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval was shot dead in a restaurant in the beach town of Puerto Vallarta.

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Sharay Angulo)
Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar on February 26 welcomed Russias opposition to the return of the Talibans regime. According to ANI, after his meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Atmar said that Afghanistan strongly support Russias position on the Afghan peace process, particularly the stance that the return of the Taliban regime will not be acceptable. Atmar even went on to say that Afghan also welcomes Russias stance on the UN sanctions on the Taliban.

The Afghan FM said, Durable peace in Afghanistan is possible only within the framework of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Republic will not allow international terrorism to operate in Afghanistan and this is in the interest of Russia.

READ: UK PM Reiterates Support Against Taliban In Call With Afghan President

Further, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that Russia is not in favour of removing the Taliban leaders names from the UN blacklist without progress in the Afghan peace talks. In a separate statement, the State Ministry for Peace Affairs Sayed Saadat Mansoor Naderi also called on the Taliban to demonstrate flexibility in the talks and agree on a ceasefire, which is the main demands of Afghans. Naderi said that Afghans want an end to the bloodshed and they want dignified peace.

The solution lies in the negotiating table, Naderi added.

READ: Afghan Taliban Have Had Sanctuary In Pakistan: Ex-top US General

UK PM reiterates Britains support to Afghan

Meanwhile, the MoFA statement comes after the Russian Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said that Moscow prefers that all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan agree on the establishment of an inclusive and transitional coalition government. Kabulov had stated that it would be a bad scenario if the Taliban insisted on such an approach. However, he also added Russia believes that it would be good if there was a transitional coalition government in place in which the Taliban had political status.

Kabulov went on to say that the peace talks in Doha have failed, calling for the peace process to proceed in the Moscow format where there is also the presence of the US, Russia, China and Afghanistans neighbouring nations. He added that the talks in Doha are only about making contact, not peace negotiations. It is worth noting that the Afghan Republic and the Taliban negotiators held their meeting on Thursday after over a month-long deadlock in the talks with the main focus on the agenda of the negotiators. UK PM Boris Johnson has also reiterated Britains support for Afghanistan in its fight against the Taliban.

(With inputs from ANI)

READ: US President Joe Biden Would Not Be Okay If The Taliban Ruled Afghanistan: WH

READ: Pentagon Chief Urges Immediate Reduction In Taliban Violence




A second aide has claimed Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed her - at the height of the pandemic.

Charlotte Bennett, 25, said the New York Governor told her he was open to dating women in their 20s and asked her questions about her personal life in June.

It comes after Lindsey Boylan, 36, claimed he asked her to play strip poker and kissed her on the lips without her permission when she worked for him in 2017.

Cuomo, 63, said he 'never intended to act in any way that was inappropriate' with Ms Bennett and his press secretary said Ms Boylan's claims were 'false'.

The governor yesterday promised a review by former federal judge - appointed by Bill Clinton - Barbara Jones into the allegations against him.

But prominent Democrats such as Alessandra Biaggi, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Carl Heastie turned their backs on him and called for a 'truly independent probe'.

Both Gov. Andrew Cuomo (left) and his special counsel, Beth Garvey, released statements Saturday evening calling for the review from former federal judge Barbara Jones (right)

Charlotte Bennett, 25, who served in a number of roles for Cuomo - including executive assistant and health policy advisor - said the governor made a number of concerning comments to her last spring during the height of the pandemic in the state. She is the second former aide to accuse the governor of sexual harassment

Boylan had already alleged in tweets in December last year that Cuomo 'abused his power' and sexually harassed her for years

Ms Bennett, who was an executive assistant before she resigned in November, claims on numerous occasions the governor asked her questions about her personal life.

The questions in early June included those that pertained to a romantic relationship between two people of different ages.

Bennett said Cuomo also made comments stating he was open to dating women in their 20s, which she took as overtures to a sexual relationship.

The former aide did state that Cuomo never made an attempt to touch her but added that he was lonely and 'can't even hug anyone'.

Bennett says she said she missed hugging her parents, to which she claims he said: 'No, I mean like really hugged somebody?'

Bennett told the New York Times: 'I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared.

'And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.'

In his statement Saturday, Cuomo described Bennett as a 'hardworking and valued member of the tead during COVID' who he had tried to 'mentor'

Bennett, who served in a number of roles for Cuomo - including executive assistant and health policy advisor - said the governor made a number of concerning comments to her last spring during the height of the pandemic in the state.

Bennett informed Cuomo's chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers, of the interaction and was transferred to her role as the health policy adviser.

Her new office was in the complete opposite side of the Capitol. She also said she gave a statement to Judith Mogul, special counsel to the governor.

She also told her parents and friends of the encounters, soon after they occurred, informing them of the growing discomfort she had with working with him.

According to her LinkedIn, Bennett is now working at Primary Maternity Care as a Director of Operations.

Who is former federal judge Barbara Jones? The woman asked by Cuomo to lead the independent review into his sexual harassment allegations Both the governor and his special counsel, Beth Garvey, released statements Saturday evening calling for the review from Barbara Jones and for all staff to fully comply after former aide, Charlotte Bennett, accused Cuomo of harassment while working with him during the pandemic. According to her website, Jones was the former judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She was appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1995, working on cases that included accounting and securities fraud, antitrust, fraud and corruption involving city contracts and federal loan programs, labor racketeering and terrorism. According to her website, Jones was the former judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York In May 2010, she was appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts to serve on the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Jones served until October 2012. In 2018, Jones was notably appointed as a Special Master by SDNY Judge Kimba Wood to manage the review of documents that had been seized from Michael Cohen, lawyer for former President Donald Trump. The appointment to judge came at the recommendation of the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), CNBC reported in 2018. Prior to being a judge, Jones worked under Rudy Giuliani when he was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan in the 1980s. Jones was instrumental in the conviction of Autumn Jackson in 1997 after they attempted to extort $1million from Bill Cosby. After stepping down as judge in early 2013, Jones acted as an arbitrator and overturned National Football League running back Rack Rice's indefinite suspension after he physically assaulted his fiancee in an elevator. 'She is incredibly efficient,' Glen Kopp, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former colleague of Jones' at Bracewell, where the former judge is a private partner. 'She can consume, absorb and make sense of a lot of information very quickly.' Advertisement

Bennett said she initially saw Cuomo as a 'father figure', telling him she even played middle school soccer against one of his daughters.

'We got along really well,' she said, noting that she didn't think anything of the questions about her dating life at first.

Bennett sent her mother a text on January 20, following an extensive conversation she had with Gov. Cuomo.

'Had a really long convo with Gov today,' she texted, telling her mother of the two-hour talk she had with Cuomo.

'He had a lot to say and was very emotional and serious but also asked a lot of questions,' she wrote. 'He got emotional. Not me.'

As she transitioned roles and began working in Albany, Bennett noted that the relationship she had with Cuomo began to change by mid-May.

On May 15, she got to the Capitol at 7am and soon engaged in a chat with Cuomo about her love life.

She told the Times the governor began gossiping with her about who she had been romantically involved with in the governor's staff.

Bennett shared the conversation with other staff members.

During the chat, Bennett told Cuomo of a speech she was scheduled to give to Hamilton students about her experience as a survivor as sexual assault.

She said that the governor soon became enamored with her story.

'The way he was repeating, 'You were raped and abused and attacked and assaulted and betrayed,' over and over again while looking me directly in the eyes was something out of a horror movie,' she said in a text to a friend. 'It was like he was testing me.'

Bennett describes the May 15 encounter 'as the turning point in our relationship.'

'Anything before it I now see differently,' she said. 'I now understand that as grooming.'

The former aide said three weeks later, Cuomo began asking her questions about her love life after they had finished working in his office with another aide who had already left.

Bennett said the governor even asked her whether she was monogamous or enjoyed having sex with older men.

During a text with a friend on June 5, Bennett expressed being shaken and upset by the encounter and said she was even worried about writing down what happened.

'Something just happened and I can't even type it out or put it in a video,' Ms. Bennett stated.

Bennett did tell her friend that there had been nothing physical between her and Cuomo.

As the two talked the next day, Bennett disclosed the governor asked if she was having sex with other people 'while in my recent relationships.'

Cuomo allegedly told the former aide that he was lonely, especially following the end of his relationship with Sandra Lee, Bennett shared.

She said Cuomo described Lee as being 'out of the picture,' explaining that he was 'wanting a girlfriend, preferably in the Albany area.'

Bennett said Cuomo asked her about her feelings about age gaps in relationships, allegedly telling her 'age doesn't matter,' a text she wrote to her friend said.

She said: 'He asked me if I believed if age made a difference in relationships and he also asked me in the same conversation if I had ever been with an older man.'

After she turned 25, Cuomo is said to have made a comment about how 'he's fine with anyone above the age of 22.'

Bennett is the second former aide of the governor's to come forward with allegations after Ms Boylan.

'For those wondering what it's like to work for the Cuomo admin, read @LindseyBoylan's story,' Bennett said in a Wednesday post

In an essay published to Medium Wednesday, Ms Boylan claimed the Governor asked her to play strip poker on a flight in October 2017 and kissed on the lips without her permission.

Cuomo has denied the allegations from his former special advisor.

Bennett took to Twitter to share Boylan's story before sharing her own testimony, shading Cuomo in her post.

'For those wondering what it's like to work for the Cuomo admin, read @LindseyBoylan's story,' she said in the post.

In Wednesday's Medium post Boylan claimed she was taking a plane ride with Cuomo in 2017 when he asked her to play strip poker.

'I should have been shocked by the Governor's crude comment, but I wasn't,' she wrote.

She further alleged that during a one-on-one briefing with the Governor to update him on economic and infrastructure projects he kissed her without permission.

'We were in his New York City office on Third Avenue. As I got up to leave and walk toward an open door, he stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips. I was in shock, but I kept walking.

'I had complained to friends that the Governor would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs,' she wrote.

Boylan had already alleged in tweets in December last year that Cuomo 'abused his power' and sexually harassed her for years.

In an essay published to Medium Wednesday, Lindsey Boylan - who worked as a special advisor to Cuomo in 2018 - charged that the Governor asked her to play strip poker and kissed on the lips without her permission. Cuomo has denied the allegations

Cuomo said in a statement: 'When she came to me and opened up about being a sexual assault survivor and how it shaped her and her ongoing efforts to create an organization that empowered her voice to help other survivors, I tried to be supportive and helpful.

'Ms. Bennett's initial impression was right: I was trying to be a mentor to her. I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.

'The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.

'This situation cannot and should not be resolved in the press; I believe the best way to get to the truth is through a full and thorough outside review and I am directing all state employees to comply with that effort.

'I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgements. I will have no further comment until the review has concluded.'

Cuomo's press secretary Caitlin Girouard issued a statement Wednesday saying Boylan's latest allegations are untrue.

'As we said before, Ms. Boylan's claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false,' she stated.

Special counsel and senior adviser to the governor Beth Garvey said Judge Barbara Jones will lead the review and 'there are no limits' on her scope.

But top Democrats have already turned their backs on the governor and criticised the appointing of Ms Jones.

In a crushing blow, Cuomo's second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, called for an independent review into the allegations on Saturday, saying: 'Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and taken seriously'

Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-NY), Chair of Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance, called on Cuomo to resign in a stinging rebuke and statement

A number of high profile Dems have released statement, turning on Cuomo and calling for an investigation into the allegations against him. Maya Wiley, who is running for mayor of New York City, said that she was disgusted by the allegations which she said were not denied by Cuomo

NYC Mayor hopeful Andrew Yang called for an 'aggressive independent investigation,' calling for an 'acknowledgement that harassment has no place in public service'

New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Cousins said 'no' when asked if the investigation called for by Cuomo for sufficient, communications director Mike Murphy told NY1 . Murphy added that Cousins was calling for Attorney General Letitia James to claim jurisdiction in the issue

Cuomo's second-in-command Lt. Gov. Hochul, called for an independent review into the claims, adding: 'Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and taken seriously.'

Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-NY), Chair of Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance, called on Cuomo to resign in a stinging rebuke and statement.

'As a New Yorker, a legislator, Chair of the Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee, and a survivor of sexual abuse, I am calling for Governor Cuomo to resign,' she said, along with her statement.

She added: 'I commend the courage of Ms. Bennett and Lindsey Boylan for coming forward.

'The harassment experienced by these former staffers is part of a clear pattern of abuse and manipulation by the Governor, and that pattern makes him unworthy of holding the highest office in New York.'

Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said for 'all allegations of harassment must be taken seriously. A truly independent investigation is warranted.'

New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Cousins said 'no' when asked if the investigation called for by Cuomo were sufficient, adding that the new allegations were 'deeply disturbing and concerning.'

Cousins is calling for Attorney General Letitia James to claim jurisdiction in the issue.

NYC Mayor hopeful Andrew Yang called for an 'aggressive independent investigation', calling for an 'acknowledgement that harassment has no place in public service.'
Bakersfield has been losing the war on litter for the past few years, but that could soon change.
The House passed President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill without any Republican votes. The Senate likely will do the same.

Several GOP senators said Sunday that Biden was refusing to make changes to the bill that could attract their support, while Democrats pushed back by saying the Republicans havent offered any alternatives other than cutting the measure by more than two-thirds.

The President has been open to hearing good ideas, hearing good ideas from Republicans and Democrats on how to make it better, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on CNNs State of the Union. And at this point in time, though, what this proposal is going to address is how were going to help people bridge through this period of time, get them direct checks, reopen schools, get more vaccines in the arms of Americans.

We have not seen a substantive, big proposal in response back from Republicans. This is the scope of the problem and the scope of the kind of package that we need to pass to address that.

In a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this month, 68% of Americans supported the $1.9 trillion package, including 37% of Republicans. And in a recent Gallup survey, 67% of Americans, including 34% of Republicans, backed Bidens response to the pandemic.

What is fair is that President Biden and the Democrats in Congress gave several weeks for there to be a serious negotiation that came close to the scope and range of this challenge, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said on CNN. The proposals that came forward werent anything like the scale of the challenge. And so, frankly, were moving ahead with a bill that probably will get no Republican votes in the Senate, but will have broad Republican support in the country.

But U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, dismissed the poll findings.

I guess, if, you know, checks are coming out to peoples homes, thats going to be popular, but that doesnt mean that this is the right bill, Portman said on ABCs This Week. Hopefully theyll back up and say, Lets work with some Republicans and do something bipartisan as we have done over the past year.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who like Portman was part of the group of 10 GOP senators who met with Biden in February to discussed their proposed $618 billion stimulus legislation, said the White House has refused to consider any of their suggestions.

You come up with a better package than if you only have one partys interests represented, Cassidy said on CNN. It would have been better had they actually listened to us in fact, as opposed to merely in rhetoric.

They made a conscious decision not to include us, he said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Republicans objected to some specific allocations, such as money to replace lost toll revenue on a bridge linking the U.S. and Canada, which President Donald Trumps administration originally requested; and allocating $1 billion of the $30 billion to help NJ Transit and other systems make up lost revenues to a separate account for ongoing public transportation projects in California, Indiana and Arizona.

One issue in particular that drew Republican ire was the proposed increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025.

There are things that have nothing do with COVID, Portman said. Minimum wage was one, of course.

But U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said the minimum wage definitely needed to be part of the legislation.

That is a huge part of economic recovery, she said on ABC. The people who are suffering most from the minimum wage and whats happening in the pandemic are the essential workers, many of them are women and many of them are getting paid very low wages.

The Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, ruled that the provision could not be included in the stimulus bill because it is being considered under a parliamentary process known as reconciliation, which also prevents a filibuster and allows passage by majority vote.

That has led Senate Democrats looking for another way to include the raise in the stimulus bill, an effort that Biden supports, Psaki said.

He is absolutely committed to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Psaki said on CNN. And were going to spend the next few days and weeks looking for the best path forward, working with Democrats and Republicans, hopefully, to do exactly that.

Even if the stimulus bill gets no Republican votes, Coons said there will be plenty of opportunities for bipartisanship during the next four years.

My hope is that, after we pass this bill, we will then move towards bipartisan legislating on a whole range of other issues, whether its immigration or criminal justice reform or national service or other topics, Coons said.

I dont think we should throw up the white flag and say, well, theres no way that we can work with Republicans, when this is literally the first major piece of legislation to come through. We will have other chances to pass bold legislation in this Congress in this year, but we have to give bipartisanship a chance.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Irelands premier has slammed the thuggish behaviour and attacks on gardai as anti-lockdown protesters stormed the capitals city centre.

Some 23 people were arrested as hundreds of protesters took part in an anti-lockdown demonstration in Dublin.

Three officers were injured during protest, with one requiring hospital treatment for their injuries.

3 @gardarep injured in todayas scenes in Dublin with one hospitalised ...I think of them & their families all of whom will be affected by the disgusting behaviour of these protesters...the pressure, stress & danger placed on my @AGSI_Ireland colleagues today is unacceptable  antoinette (@antoabs) February 27, 2021

Protesters clashed with gardai as demonstrators marched through the city centre and attempted to make their way to St Stephens Green park.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he utterly condemns the protests.

Mr Martin said demonstrators posed an unacceptable risk to both the public and gardai.

In a statement, Mr Martin said: The large gathering, in the face of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, showed a complete lack of respect to the people who have made huge sacrifices during this pandemic.

Nor can we tolerate the thuggish behaviour or attacks on gardai, who have the publics utmost respect as they continue to protect and serve our society in difficult circumstances.

There can be no justification for the march or the violence that unfolded, and I pay tribute to members of An Garda Siochana who moved quickly to make arrests and restore order.

The protest in Dublin is reckless and is a slap in the face to the people of this city and beyond who have made huge sacrifices over the last year. Shocking and disgraceful scenes. #graftonstreet  Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) February 27, 2021

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that up to 23 people were arrested following todays protests in Dublin.

He said that he expects more arrests to be made.

Very regrettably, people arrived intent on violence. They engaged in attacks on members of An Garda Siochana including the throwing of a firework type device. There will be a full investigation into this, Mr Harris said.

There were some 23 arrests that we have made already and those arrests are continuing. This operation is not over as we pursue individuals who engage in protest and illegal activity today.

They had no reasonable grounds for being there in the first place so we will pursue particularly those who formed a very hard core to deal with.

You dont carry a firework to a protest with any other purpose than to engage in violent conduct. We will follow through with an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Mr Harris said they were aware that momentum had been gathering on social media in the lead-up to Saturdays protest.

Mr Harris also said that garda officers were very lucky they were not seriously injured when a firework was fired directly at them.

It was directed at that individual and so we are fortunate they didnt suffer a serious injury, it was only the individuals quick thinking that saved him, Mr Harris said.

We will follow through with a serious crime investigation into that incident.

Mr Harris said the demonstrators was a collaboration of groups made up of anti-lockdown protesters, anti-vaccine and anti-facemasks.

This was groups working in concert together, as a mob, he added.

There can be no justification for the march or the violence that unfolded. Micheal Martin

Deputy premier Leo Varadkar said he was horrified to see protesters clash with police.

Mr Varadkar tweeted: Irish people have spent last year fighting Covid.

There is no excuse for violence to gardai or anyone.

This behaviour on Grafton St by a selfish few undermines sacrifices that millions have made in the last 12 months.

The policing operation involved approximately 125 members of An Garda Siochana including uniformed personnel, plain clothes, public order units, garda mounted unit and garda dog unit.

Thirteen protesters have appeared before the Criminal Court of Justice and have been remanded in custody to appear before Cloverhill District Court at a later date.

Seven were charged with offences and released on station bail and three youths have been released for consideration of inclusion in the Juvenile Diversion Programme.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee described the clashes as completely unacceptable.

In a statement, Ms McEntee said: I have spoken to the Garda Commissioner this evening and he has told me the disturbance in Dublin is being brought under control.

Closure Notice: St. Stephen's Green, Dublin

St Stephens Green is closed today, Saturday 27th February 2021, on instructions from An Garda SAochAna . #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/8xsfedZezb  Office of Public Works (@opwireland) February 27, 2021

I know there have been a number of arrests already today and a special court sitting is being arranged to make sure these law-breakers are prosecuted speedily. I understand fixed charge notices have also been issued to a number of people.

I want to commend the courage and professionalism of the Gardai on duty today in Dublin who responded with great control and discipline in an extremely challenging situation.

This situation was completely unacceptable and was an insult to so many who have worked so hard in the fight against Covid-19 and to those who have died.

This mindless thuggery showed a wilful and blatant disregard for the public health rules which are needed to help us all and keep us safe.

Pure thuggery on the streets of Dublin today. Itas not a aprotesta. Itas an attack on our national effort. The abuse directed at the Gardai is sickening & shameful. Disgraceful. Thoughts with the Gardai and their families  Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) February 27, 2021

There was a heavy garda presence in the city centre ahead of the protest, which started at around 2pm.

Hundreds of people, who were not wearing face masks, took part in the demonstration.

Gardai used batons to push protesters away from the park.

Videos of the protest shows a demonstrator point a firework at gardai before it went off, while other missiles and items were thrown at gardai.

Protesters were prevented from gathering in the park after the Office of Public Works closed the gates to the public.




A CORK TD has criticised the government for not making dual diagnosis of mental health issues and addiction a priority.

Last month, Deputy Thomas Gould and Sinn Fein colleague Deputy Mark Ward introduced the Dual Diagnosis: No Wrong Door Bill in the Dail.

Deputy Gould is the Sinn Fein spokesman on Addiction, Recovery and Wellbeing.

Last year, the Government included a plan to progress the National Clinical Programme for Dual Diagnosis in its Programme for Government, as part of a list of measures aimed at tackling the area of substance misuse.

The two deputies want the issue of dual diagnosis to be given priority because of a previous lack of progress in the area.

Now, Deputy Gould says: "In statements in the Dail, Minister for State Mary Butler mentioned that a National Clinical Lead had been appointed in the area of Dual Diagnosis. She called this significant progress.

"However, the HSE have confirmed to me that there was already a National Clinical Lead for Dual Diagnosis. This person left the role in late 2018 and has only recently been replaced."

He is also concerned that the Dual Diagnosis Working Group has not met since late 2018 and a new Clinical Director was only recently put into the position.

He continued: "This is a disgrace. In the meantime, the much mentioned Working Group on Dual Diagnosis has not met. In over 2 years, there has been no progress by this group on Dual Diagnosis. Finally filling a vacant post is not significant progress. It is shambolic that it has taken over two years to recruit somebody to this vital role."

He said a "properly functioning dual diagnosis service" could have benefited many people in the past two years.
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Solange Knowles has recently been teasing some new music.

And the Grammy winner appears to have some theatrics in store for her fans, sharing a sneak peek on Instagram.

She showed off her stunning figure Saturday, as she took to Instagram to share some bold scantily-clad looks with her 4.5million followers, from what appeared to be a music video shoot.

Video vixen: Solange Knowles showed off her stunning figure Saturday, as she took to Instagram to share some bold scantily-clad looks with her 4.5million followers, from what appeared to be a music video shoot

The 34-year-old posed under the sun in a nude backless crop top, which tied in the back with black string, paired with a barely-there black g-string.

She sported the look in a mirror selfie, as she sported a pair of long black avant-garde evening gloves, adorned with discs down the arm.

Solange also put her gorgeous bod on display in a black two-piece bikini, accessorized only with gold hoop earrings.

She donned a sexy one-piece look with criss-crossed straps that wrapped around her waist, as she served some hand choreography under a rooftop sign.

Scantily clad: The 34-year-old posed under the sun in a nude backless crop top, which tied in the back with black string, paired with a barely-there black g-string

Bold look: She sported the look in a mirror selfie, as she sported a pair of long black avant-garde evening gloves, adorned with discs down the arm

Bikini babe: Solange also put her gorgeous bod on display in a black two-piece bikini, accessorized only with gold hoop earrings. She donned a sexy one-piece look with criss-crossed straps that wrapped around her waist, as she served some hand choreography under a rooftop sign

Some of the images matched a recent Insta Live, in which she appeared to tease a new music video, playing an update of the instrumentals included in her 2018 interdisciplinary performance piece Metatronia (Metatron's Cube).

It comes after she dropped her fourth studio album When I Get Home, back in March of 2019.

The Seat at the Table artist kicked it up to evening attire in a plunging black minidress, as she stood in a chic conversation pit.

Her photo dump included an image of her throwing up her arms in front of the water display at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Familiar images: Some of the images matched a recent Insta Live, in which she appeared to tease a new music video, after she dropped her fourth studio album When I Get Home, back in March of 2019

Little black dress: The Seat at the Table artist kicked it up to evening attire in a plunging black minidress, as she stood in a chic conversation pit

Getting lucky: Her photo dump included an image of her throwing up her arms in front of the water display at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

Heart's song: Solange also shared a video of herself in bed, lip-syncing to Jazmine Sullivan's 2015 track Silver Lining

Solange also shared a video of herself in bed, lip-syncing to Jazmine Sullivan's 2015 track Silver Lining.

In addition to teasing new music, she recently joined her sister Beyonce, 39, and other famous Texans in offering assistance to Houstonians affected by recent snowstorms and the subsequent blackouts, through Bey's charity BeyGOOD.

The Johnson Family Vacation actress also made an unspecified donation to Mutual Aid Houston.

Solange wrote on Twitter: 'sending so much love back home and im committed to doing more... my heart breaks man thank you for all the endless work u guys are doing on the ground.'
A Former Member of Parliament for Tema East, Mr Nii Kwatei Titus Glover of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), last Thursday assured residents that all ongoing road construction projects initiated in the Tema East Municipality would continue, even though he lost the seat.



Despite losing the seat during the December 7, 2020 general election, I still feel that there is the need to continue the road construction project initiated with the support of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2019 in the Tema East Municipality, he stated.



The inner roads construction will continue due to the relationship I have with my people. That is why I always go around to supervise those road construction projects and to also support President Akufo-Addos declaration of 2021 as the year of roads again, the former MP said.



Inspection



Mr Titus Glover said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Tema after inspecting some of the ongoing construction works involving the overlaying of asphalt within the Site Six to Site One stretch of road.



I must support the government to deliver whether I am an MP or not. Whether I am a minister or not, the vision of President Akufo-Addo must be carried through, he stated.



He said Tema East had a community road network stretching from the Old Meridian FM Junction to Bankuman adding that other minor road networks had been completed on that stretch of road.



Moreover, the road stretching from Site Six to Site One, which is now undergoing an overlaying of asphalt with thickness of 70 mm, is due to be completed within a few weeks.

Source: Graphiconline.com









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Featured Video
By Nam Sang-so





"Stand, Navy, out to sea, fight our battle cr y Anchors aweigh " The march song of the U.S. Navy, played by a brass band on the dock, vibrates in the air as the U.S. aircraft carrier Essex carrying Grumman Panther fighters was slowly pushed out of the dock by tug boats. It's headed to another East Sea operation.



The U.S. 7th Fleet is headquartered at Yokosuka at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. It is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with 60 to 70 escort ships, and carrying some 300 aircraft and 40,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel. The fleet had participated in all major operations in the Korean War (1950-53).



The landing at Incheon, Korea, was conducted by the 7th Fleet's amphibious ships. The battleships Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri and Wisconsin all served as flagships during the war.



Upon graduating from ROK Navigational School, I was assigned to serve on the bridge of a Korean navy PF-61. PF-2 was our sister ship during the war. The patrol frigate had a 2,400-ton displacement, was 92 meters long, could travel at a speed of 20 knots and had some 190 crew and officers on board.



And she was equipped with SONAR (sound navigation ranging to detect submarines) and armed with depth charges to kill enemy submarines and high-caliber cannons. As we belonged to the US fleet, the Korean frigates too visited Yokosuka and Sasebo (on Kyushu island) U.S. naval bases for maintenance and liberty of the crew.



At one time during the peak of the war, the PF-2 was ordered to retrieve a Russian fighter plane, a MiG-15, that was shot down on Sinmi island located off the shore south of the China-North Korean border. With two Korean mine sweepers, the PF-2 was dispatched, only to face attacks by Russian Yak-9 fighter planes.



After losing one Yak-9, the Russian formation retreated. Eight sailors aboard the PF-2 were injured, while the ship suffered some damage to the main deck and failed to pick up the Russian plane. The PF-61 sailed to the island and tugged the enemy plane back for evaluation.



On a spring day in 1953, the two sister frigates were on routine escort duty on the East Sea. And the PF-2 was to sail back to Busan to get supplies. "Get us some doenjang and ganjang," I sent a message in English morse-code by luminous signal to her.



Immediately a call sign flashed out from the bridge of the U.S. Flagship; "What are doenjang and ganjang?" The U.S. flagship was monitoring our communication. "Korean food seasoning; soybean paste and soy sauce," I flashed back. "Thanks, dot-dash-dot (roger)," replied the flagship.



In retrospect, I'd witnessed amazing sights and was a part of great adventures. I would never forget the thrilling days of the sea operations with the U.S. 7th Fleet. Some 70 years have passed and I'm near deaf. Still, once in a while the sweet melody resonates in my dreams; "Until we meet once more, happy voyage home Anchors Aweigh."





The writer (sangsonam@gmail.com) is a Korean War veteran.


The woman who accused the cabinet minister told NSW Police early last year she had been raped by the man in January 1988, when she was 16. She had not made a formal statement when she returned home to Adelaide, where she took her life in June, leading the police to suspend their investigation. South Australian Police are preparing a report for the state coroner amid an intense debate over the publicity given to the woman and her claims after the ABC revealed an anonymous letter about her case on Friday. Labor leader Anthony Albanese said Mr Morrison faced a test over whether to hold an investigation or ask the minister to step aside. Its his responsibility  he solely appoints the cabinet. He must assure himself that its appropriate that the current make-up of the cabinet can continue, he said. The Labor leader did not say the cabinet minister should step aside, resign or be removed.

Loading Mr Bradley, who founded Marque Lawyers and acted for the woman at the time she made her complaint to police, said the minister should step aside during the investigations due to questions of integrity, not necessarily the law. I think he will have to stand aside, at the moment at least, because hes been accused of such a grave crime, Mr Bradley said. Its untenable for him not to, I would think. Its not really a legal question, its a question of propriety. It goes to his ability to do his job. Its necessary that his integrity is not under serious question.

And its about the integrity of the entire government  whether it can carry on with a cloud this huge hanging over it. With the NSW Police investigation on hold after the womans death, defenders of the cabinet minister argued he could not get a fair hearing given the case would not go to trial. An independent investigation would also encounter problems because NSW Police do not have a formal statement from the woman, the usual step when a complainant is interviewed and signs the document. The cabinet minister has not been named by police nor the media and his office did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. The debate over the ministers past began after the ABC reported on Friday night that friends of the woman had sent an anonymous letter that day to Mr Morrison, Labor Senator Penny Wong and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw wrote last week that disseminating allegations in the media risks prejudicing any police investigations. Mr Hunt said this meant public commentary on the 1988 case was strongly discouraged and not an appropriate pathway under the AFP advice. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age asked the Prime Ministers office whether the cabinet minister would be stood aside and, if not, what the grounds were for keeping him in his job while inquiries continued. Mr Morrisons spokesman said the ministerial code of conduct said ministers should stand aside if and when they are charged with a crime. The code, however, also gives the Prime Minister discretion on the matter.

Loading Ministers must accept that it is for the Prime Minister to decide whether and when a minister should stand aside if that minister becomes the subject of an official investigation of alleged illegal or improper conduct, it says. Ministers will be required to stand aside if charged with any criminal offence. Greens leader Adam Bandt called for a federal inquiry into the matter and for the minster to step aside. If the Prime Minister doesnt at least stand this man aside while he conducts his own inquiry, then hes sending the terrible message there is space in his cabinet for someone with an unresolved rape accusation, he said.
File picture taken Sept. 26, 2020 shows he Calmont vineyard standing over the Mosel loop in Bremm, Germany. The German disease control agency is adding France's Moselle region to its list of areas with a high rate of variant coronavirus cases, meaning travelers from there will face additional hurdles when crossing the border into neighboring Germany.(AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)

Germany announced Sunday that travelers from France's northeastern Moselle region will face additional restrictions because of the high rate of variant coronavirus cases there.

Germany's disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, said it would add Moselle to the list of "variant of concern" areas that already includes countries such as the Czech Republic, Portugal, the United Kingdom and parts of Austria.

Travelers from those areas must produce a recent negative coronavirus test before entering Germany.

The Moselle region in northeastern France includes the city of Metz and borders the German states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate.

Clement Beaune, the French minister for European affairs, said France regrets the decision and is in negotiations with Germany to try to lighten the measures for 16,000 inhabitants of Moselle who work across the border. Specifically, he said France does not want them to face the daily PCR virus tests that Germany has applied elsewhere to travelers along some borders.

"We don't want that," he said.

Beaune said France is pushing for the use of easier, faster testing methods and for tests every 2-3 days rather than daily. More talks were expected later Sunday, he said.

Police officers address walkers around Hamburg's Outer Alster who do not adhere to the strict mask requirement in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, Feb.28, 2021. In case of repetition, they can impose a fine. (Markus Scholz/dpa via AP)

The weekly rate of new infections in Moselle, at more than 300 per 100,000 people, is well above the average for France's eastern region and the national average. In Germany, the number of cases per week currently stands at almost 64 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Robert Koch Institute recorded 7,890 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Germany over the past day, taking the total to over 2.4 million cases. The death toll rose by 157 to 70,045.

German officials have warned that virus variants such as the one first detected in Britainknown as B.1.1.7could spread more easily and fuel the infection rate at a time when Germany is slowly relaxing its lockdown measures.

"There are two trains rushing toward each other," said Karl Lauterbach, an epidemiologist and lawmaker with the center-left Social Democrats.

He called for Germany to prioritize giving as many people as possible an initial vaccine dose, as some other countries have done, including with the AstraZeneca shot currently reserved for those under 65. Companies and schools should also carry out weekly tests, or more once possible, and those with a negative result should also be able to visit stores again.

AstraZeneca's vaccines are ready for Corona vaccination at the vaccination center. in Apolda, Germany, Sunday, Feb.28, 2021. A total of 5350 employees at elementary and special schools as well as kindergartens are expected to receive their first Corona vaccination at the Thuringian vaccination centers today. (Michael Reichel/dpa via AP)

Bavaria's governor, Markus Soeder, also urged a change to the way the AstraZeneca shot is used. The vaccine has been shunned by many hoping to get the shot made by German company BioNTech and Pfizer, or a similar one made by U.S. firm Moderna.

Soeder said Sunday it was "an absurd situation" that many who want to get vaccinated can't, while those who can don't want to.

"Whatever is left over should just be released," he said.

Explore further UK virus variant spreading rapidly in Germany: minister

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Two struck-off solicitors who were jailed last week for siphoning off 400,000 from banks and credit unions appear to be, at first glance, miles away from the kinds of con artists working away at elaborate stings involving fake wigs, bogus driving licences and forged utility bills.

But Det Gda Alan McCarthy, who led the investigation into Keith Flynn and Lyndsey Clarke after a tip-off from bank official Alan Boland, clearly knows otherwise.

Mr Boland, from Bank of Ireland's financial crime unit, had become suspicious of patterns in certain loan applications in late 2017 - and he identified six potentially bogus accounts that resulted in a loss of 32,000.

"I met Alan Boland about another case, he asked me to look into this," explains Cork-based Det Gda McCarthy. "This is how it started."

Soon gardai made their first break in the case. Some of the bogus accounts were linked to the genuine BoI account of a solicitor named Lyndsey Clarke.

"That gave us a name. A starting point. She was a solicitor, an upstanding person. We were very cautious in our approach," he said.

"We had to make sure she was the right person."

Clarke was not a typical suspect for involvement in crime of any sort, but within months gardai had confirmed this unlikely suspect was actually their woman.

Back in 2014 though, Clarke was making headlines of her own and was an upstanding citizen.

She ran as the Fine Gael candidate in the local elections in Cork, even posing with then taoiseach Enda Kenny and speaking to the local press about the challenges of being a working mother.

Her political ambitions, though, were soon thwarted by the voters: she failed to get elected, securing just 239 first preferences in the north-west ward of Cork city.

Fast forward four years from her brief dabble in politics, and Clarke's life had taken an entirely different direction.

Gardai had established she was linked to some of the bogus bank accounts, so they began surveillance of the solicitor in 2018.

The surveillance unit at Cork's Anglesea Street station began to follow her. These gardai's extensive experience in tracking people was called upon to assist as the investigation gathered pace.

Officers soon established she was in a relationship with fellow solicitor Keith Flynn, whom she went on to marry.

This also fitted the bill as gardai had determined there was a man involved in the fraud.

The investigation then began to snowball as the couple came under suspicion for involvement in dozens of other loans using fake identities at other banks and credit unions.

When Clarke and Flynn visited banks on occasion to apply for fraudulent loans, both always looked the part.

On one occasion, a bank worker recognised that a wig was worn but felt he could not ask for it to be removed because of legal repercussions if it was worn for medical reasons.

"They always presented very well. They were very clever. It was very well thought out and well researched," said the detective.

Clarke and Flynn donned wigs and costumes while using forged drivers' licences and passports in a targeted campaign to defraud banks and credit unions of almost 400,000.

The couple created 80 fake bank accounts using 60 fake identities, and even paid homeless people for their PPS numbers to assist their financial thefts.

After carrying out months of surveillance, gardai were ready to make a move.

There were two properties in Cork where it was suspected the couple were hiding cash and other incriminating evidence linking them to the crimes.

"When we did a search, we had to make sure it was the right property," said Det Gda McCarthy.

"We knew we only had one opportunity and we couldn't get it wrong."

Gardai did not get it wrong.

They secured the keys from the landlord to an apartment rented by the couple in the popular suburb of Sunday's Well in north Cork city. There they struck gold, seizing a locked safe in a wardrobe.

"They weren't present. We made contact with them while in the apartment," said Det Gda McCarthy.

"That evening they presented themselves voluntarily to gardai and handed over the keys to the safe."

Inside the safe, gardai found more than 92,000, 21 fake Irish driving licences, 19 false bank cards and 16 credit union books in different names.

It was July 5, 2018. Neither Clarke nor Flynn was arrested but instead they were interviewed under caution - the first of three separate and lengthy conversations with the investigating officers.

"The first interviews were three hours each. They left the station, knowing the evidence gardai had against them."

By the time of their second and third interviews over the following two months, the couple began to confess, 'making full admissions'.

There were no tears or recriminations by either Clarke or Flynn.

"They were calm. They answered the questions. They knew they were caught. From their legal background, they knew what would lie ahead of them," said Det Gda McCarthy.

In the safe, gardai recovered nearly 100,000 of the almost 400,000 stolen by the couple. This, though, leaves 300,000 unaccounted for.

Some was spent on renting properties to provide them with addresses to help in the scam. More still went on their lavish lifestyle.

"They were spending quite a bit to make it work, by renting properties, some of them very expensive properties," said the detective.

"They went on a number of exotic holidays. They were both also motorbike enthusiasts. They also had some other expensive items in their homes, like kayaks and canoes."

But Det McCarthy knows this does not account for the vast majority of the missing 300,000.

Gardai have searched to no avail for more hidden cash, he said, but he believes the couple have somehow stashed money out of reach.

"There is a suspicion they have money hidden 'offside'. When released, if they stay local in Cork, we'll keep an eye on their activities."

Was greed the couple's sole motivation?

"It was just financial gain. There were no debts.

"There was no reason for it other than financial gain," said the officer.

He praised the role of his colleagues from the Economic Crime Investigations Unit at Anglesea Street for their key role in the investigation.

"This was a case of two solicitors involved in white- collar crime," he said.

"Fraud and financial crime of this manner is becoming more prevalent.

"This was an extensive case and it worked out. It shows that simple mistakes can result in severe consequences and that people from every walk of life can get involved in serious crime."

Last week Flynn (46) was sentenced to four years behind bars, while his wife Clarke (37) was given a two-year sentence, for their loan scams targeting banks and credit unions.

The pair, both with addresses in Blarney Street, Cork, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud. Both are former solicitors who worked together before being struck off for unrelated reasons.

Does the lead investigator believe it was Clarke or Flynn who masterminded the crime?

"We didn't learn from talking to them who was the main force," said the detective.

"They were both complicit. They were both attending the financial institutions in disguises. It was a joint enterprise."
UPDATE: 2nd person dies after shooting at Acropolis strip club in SE Portland

One man was killed and another injured in a shooting at the Acropolis Steakhouse strip club in Southeast Portland on Saturday night, police said.

Portland police responded 11:28 p.m. to a report of two people shot at a bar in the 8300 block of Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard, in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood.

Medical personnel arrived and found one man dead, while the other was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A person who answered the phone at Acropolis declined to comment.

Police said the shooter or shooters left the scene before officers arrived and released no other details.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Detective Scott Broughton at Scott.Broughton@portlandoregon.gov (503-823-3774) or Detective Eric McDaniel at Eric.McDaniel@portlandoregon.gov (503-823-0833).

-- Jaimie Ding

jding@oregonian.com; 503-221-4395; @j_dingdingding
Fianna Fail Senator Erin McGreehan has welcomed the announcement of Project Woodland, an initiative to tackle issues in forestry in Ireland and drive forward the planting of trees.

Project Woodland is being established by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and it involves four different workstreams working to her through a Project Manager and Project Board.

The project Board will be chaired by the Secretary General, Brendan Gleeson.

Senator McGreehan commented: I very much welcome this - forestry had been completely ignored by previous governments and it has got to a point where there is a huge backlog of applications.

"It is so bad that the timber supply that is necessary for our construction industry is being put in question.

Forestry is an important industry in this country and the bureaucratic mess that has been created I hope now with Project Woodland that it will be streamlined.

"The process should not be that bureaucratic or lengthy.

"I know that many farmers are waiting for years for applications to be approved or not.

The Louth Senator added: I am a huge advocate for planting and protecting native trees and there should be an incentive to plant trees on farms, to actively put in place a proper hedgerow management plan in the new agri-environmental scheme.

Micro woodlands should also be encouraged, and farmers should be encouraged to plant micro woodlands in areas of their farms that maybe suitable. Trees can assist with flooding, provide shelter and of course a haven for our native biodiversity.
Teacher unions to take action for salary anomalies once again: CTU View(s):

The teacher unions will collectively disrupt education in schools from March onwards if the Government does not heed their requests for a revision of their salary anomalies, the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) said last week.

CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said the request for the salary revisions had been postponed for several years by consecutive governments and no solution had been granted. He said the governments had repeatedly been using delaying tactics by appointing committees to review the salaries of teachers and principals.

So far, three committees had been appointed and all three reports prepared by the committees had been shelved without any redress for the aggrieved parties, Mr. Stalin said.

The present Education Minister G. L. Peiris had also promised but there were no signs to revise salaries so far.

An earlier attempt by unions to hold a major protest in March 2020 had to be shelved because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The latest report prepared by the Education Ministry said a sum of Rs. 54 billion would be needed to grant salary revisions to the 247,000 teachers and principals serving in more than 10,000 schools in the country.

(CC )
A government-funded loyalist charity met with police to defend a sinister UVF "show of strength" in east Belfast.

The ACT Initiative, which has strong links to the terror gang, told senior cops that the display earlier this month was a peaceful "walk-through" to deter anti-social behaviour in the Pitt Park area.

Its east Belfast branch later wrote to the PSNI repeating the claim, a letter that was referenced in court on Friday when alleged senior UVF figures Derek 'Banic' Lammey (56) and David 'Wee Mac' Matthews (34) were refused bail. Along with East Belfast UVF boss Stephen 'Mackers' Mathews (58), the trio are charged with unlawful assembly and affray.

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But what was not revealed in court are the annual six-figure sums of public cash given to ACT, which was set up to help the UVF transition into a community organisation.

Last year the registered charity, which counts several former UVF life sentence prisoners on its board of trustees, was given almost 300,000 of government cash.

UVF leaders John 'Bunter' Graham and Harry Stockman have met with senior civil servants under the auspices of ACT to ask for 5m of funding to help the paramilitary group abandon criminality.

Government sources told Sunday Life that the charity's public defence of the Pitt Park intimidation could damage future cash requests.

A senior official said: "We were blindsided by this and it will cause problems, particularly with public perception.

"People will rightly ask why taxpayers' money is being given to a charity that is justifying naked displays of paramilitary intimidation."

ACT's defence of the Pitt Park mob came from its east Belfast branch, which regularly meets with the PSNI.

Four other loyalists arrested in connection with the UVF show of strength, which resulted in 11 people seeking shelter in the Ballymac Community Centre fearing for their lives, were freed without charge yesterday.

Among them were Glenn Rainey (34), who had been on bail charged with the murder of Ian Ogle and separate accusations of cocaine dealing.

Loyalist sources told Sunday Life that the UVF's Shankill Road bosses are using the arrests of Stephen Matthews and Derek Lammey to attempt to install a new leadership in east Belfast.

This non-violent coup is seen as essential if the organisation is to get its hands on 5m of government Fresh Start funding.

Graffiti telling Matthews and Lammey, his alleged 2IC (second-in-command), that "your days are done" appeared in east Belfast on Friday.

Expand Close Graffiti which appeared in east Belfast last week / Facebook

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But UVF sources in the area are claiming it was written by local criminals and is not reflective of feelings on the ground. One said: "The graffiti is strikingly similar to other graffiti that has gone up in east Belfast recently, which points to an agenda-driven and orchestrated campaign designed to cause tension in the loyalist community.

"There is growing frustration that the PSNI has not properly investigated the smashing up of homes belonging to a mother-of-three and a pensioner, or secured CCTV, or arrested the well-known suspects.

"Despite all the provocation, the orchestrated social media campaigns, the false-flag graffiti which appears at key moments and the perceived two-tier policing, loyalists in east Belfast are not going to fall into the trap by reacting."

At Derek Lammey's failed bail hearing last Friday, a prosecution lawyer repeated the PSNI's belief that he is a member of the UVF.

She said: "Based on the evidence, it's the police belief that all of these men are members of the UVF. This (the gathering in Pitt Park) involved a display of sinister force by the group acting together in this manner."

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A barrister for Lammey claimed a majority of people living in the area were in support of what occurred.

"There is a small family who the Pitt Park residents group say have tortured the broader community for years," he told the court.

"This was a protest on behalf of residents of Pitt Park, who are tired of the behaviour of a certain family and their connection."

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A lawyer for David Matthews called for the UVF allegation against his client to be discounted, saying: "Opinion evidence and anonymous hearsay evidence is not admissible in any form of court proceedings."

Stephen Matthews, Derek Lammey and David Matthews are expected to reapply for High Court bail next month.

cbarnes@sundaylife.co.uk
Shaheed Al-Hafed, February 28, 2021 (SPS) - On Saturday, President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Mr. Brahim Ghali, received the credentials of Ambassador Armando Vergara as the ambassador of Cuba to the Sahrawi Republic (SADR), at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic.



In a statement to the media, the Cuban ambassador said that he was honored to present his credentials as ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the Sahrawi Republic, adding that it was a great opportunity to coincide with the celebrations of the 45th anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Republic.



On this occasion, the Cuban ambassador congratulated all the Sahrawi people and their national leadership. (SPS)



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For Iberian excellence, Tom samples two London restaurants from his own kitchen

Bar Douro box, Serves 2, 60, bardouro.co.uk

Nieves Barragan Mohacho is one hell of a cook. I first tasted her food nearly 20 years back, at the great and pioneering Fino in Fitzrovia. Then followed her through the Barrafina years and on to Sabor, the place she now owns with her friend and business partner Jose Etura. Ive never had a bad bite.

The Sabor en Casa box (90, and delivery from 10) is, as youd expect, magnificent. Postbox red Cadiz prawns, sweet as young love, with a sigh of garlic and nudge of chilli, cooked for a few seconds in a hot pan. Octopus is vac-packed with some olive oil, and warmed in the bag. The dish is finished with salt and smoked sweet paprika. For a second, when I close my eyes, I could be in a Galician bar, rather than cold lockdown London.

Theres a tortilla mix, ready to be gently fried in a small pan, impossible to muck up. Although not having a small frying pan, I use a saucepan instead. And ham croquetas, deep-fried in vegetable oil (also included), the bechamel centre so light and oozing that it feels like eating a hot, pig-scented cloud. Beetroot salad is clean and fresh, with a great honk of fresh horseradish; arroz negro (rice cooked in squid-ink broth), while beautifully rich and surprisingly delicate, is blacker than Satans soul. A huge blob of aioli adds pungent allure. For pudding, a glorious prune cheesecake, not over-sweet, with a Pedro Ximenez sherry sauce.

Sabor box, Serves 2-3, 90, saborencasashop.com

Then over to Portugal, and a box from Londons Bar Douro (60 plus 5 delivery). A plateful of pata negra ham, the flesh streaked with swirls of alabaster fat. More croquetas, this time flavoured with smoked sausage, more robust than those from Sabor, but every bit as good. Theres a salt cod hash, where pearlescent flakes of that Portuguese staple are mixed with crisp straw potatoes, a couple of beaten eggs and a fistful of olives. It takes minutes to cook and seconds to devour. A vast lamb shank, slow-cooked in red wine, and reheated in the bag, bleats with ovine depth, while grilled cabbage comes with soubise (pureed grilled onions) and roasted, garlic-heavy potatoes with paprika and herb oil.

Simple dishes, but not the sort youd usually cook at home. Two boxes of pure Iberian delight.

Drinks: Ollys online wine picks

For hassle-free wine, sign up for the Wine Societys Wine Without Fuss packages. From 85 a case (just over 7 a bottle) you can choose reds, whites or a mix  the value is superb. Majestic also gets my vote for delivering a brilliant range with terrific customer service. Buy from your local independent online or over the phone for excellence. With free delivery and no-quibble returns, wine online is the future of easy drinking.

WINE OF THE WEEK Xinomavro Jeunes Vignes Thymiopoulos 2019 (13%), 11.50, The Wine Society. Fine wine in bargain form. Vibrant, complex, bright; this is peerless.

Pasqua Passimento Rosso 2017 (14%), 8.99, Majestic. This rich, sleek and fulsome red is stunning with a spaghetti bolognese.

Berry Bros & Rudd Albarino by Benito Santos 2019 (13%), 13.95, bbr.com. A peach carved from crystal! Stunning purity from this own-label ace.

GOUGUENHEIM Blue Melosa 2015 (14%), 15.80, tanners-wines.co.uk. Magical Malbec  think mint choc chip meets wine. A generous, rich red.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  A new project in New Mexico aims to provide more in-depth, accessible information about Blacks who shaped American history and other culturally significant historical events.

The project, Black Story//Black Song: History Through the African American Lens, provides eight short online video courses that delve into the topics of ancestry, art, civil rights, poetry, hip hop, literature, New Mexico history and science.

The videos were created by Earthseed Black Arts Alliance, a group in northern New Mexico that works to increase Black representation in arts and cultural programs.

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Raashan Ahmad, a founding member of Earthseed Black Arts Alliance, was the projects producer.

There are more stories out there than I got when growing up, he said. We wanted to tell more history of Black folks. We have a history here and everywhere thats real beautiful.

Grants and donations from local businesses helped pay for the project.

Each approximately 5-minute video features a different African American speaker who is an expert in the field they are presenting.

The segment by Nikesha Breeze, a STEM teacher in Taos who specializes in African American history, discusses important Black figures in New Mexico history. Writer, poet and performer Oriana Lee talks about the origins and rise of Hip Hop.

The videos are accompanied by a full lesson plan that can be downloaded and saved. The lesson plans include a vocabulary index, an activity, guiding questions and a list of further resources. There is also a short bio on the presenter.

The materials can be found at earthseedblackarts.org/black-story-black-song.

Ahmad said the project is for everyone, but it was put together with teachers in mind. Its organized in a way that can supplement their existing lesson plans or so that they can direct their students to access the material online at home.

Black history, he said, is relevant all year but Black History Month, which is held every February, heightens the awareness.

Its really bizarre its not learned year round, he said. But we understand February is an easy launch.

Ahmad said much of the history related to Blacks that is learned in school, focuses on their suffering, not their triumphs or ordinary, everyday life.

We wanted to show something beyond trauma, he said. There is also joy in our history.

Dhaka, Feb 28 : The Bangladeshi government has announced reopening of all the schools and colleges in the country from March 30.

The country's Education Minister Dipu Moni made the announcement after a high-level meeting on Saturday night. The minister said school and college students will attend classes in person initially.

Students of junior classes will resume their academic activates in phases later, she added.

Last week Moni announced that universities will reopen on May 24, the Xinhua news reported.

The closure of educational institutions nationwide ordered by the government started on March 17 last year as part of the country's efforts to halt the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The closure has been extended repeatedly and the latest extension was from February 14 to 28 in a bid to contain the spread of the virus in the current cold weather.
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A judge has ordered a convicted sex offender, an Albuquerque lawyer, released from a three-year prison sentence into a monitored program with the Bernalillo County jail.

The reason: He cannot get sex offender treatment in prison due to the pandemic.

On Feb. 17, 2nd Judicial District Judge Courtney Weaks suspended two years of 51-year-old Matthew ONeills prison sentence.

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Weaks ordered ONeill transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center to serve the remaining year in the Community Custody Program. Under the order, ONeill would be released but would have to check in with MDC regularly, register as a sex offender, wear an ankle monitor and abide by other conditions  such as not being around anyone under the age of 18, aside from his children.

The defendant and the community would be best served if he is to receive such treatment, Weaks wrote in her order.

However, MDC denied the request for entering the CCP. A spokeswoman said that under a memorandum of understanding the jail has with the courts, those charged with certain crimes, including sex offenses, are not eligible for the program.

ONeills attorney, Marc Lowry, is planning to fight that refusal in a hearing next month. Lowry did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Judge Daniel Gallegos in September sentenced ONeill  a former partner at the Whitener Law Firm  to 22 years but suspended 19 years, after he pleaded no contest to possessing and manufacturing child pornography.

Eric Harrison, a spokesman for the New Mexico Corrections Department, said ONeill was never able to make it to Otero County prison  where sex offenders are held and receive treatment  because the prison quit accepting transfers after the COVID-19 outbreak there. Instead, ONeill was at the Grants prison awaiting transfer, he said.

The allegations against ONeill arose in January 2019, after evidence of child pornography was found on his work computer, according to previous Journal reports. The Attorney Generals Office seized the computer, thumb drives, a camera and other items from his office. Since then, ONeill has been sued by Whitener Law Firm for damaging the firms reputation, and in June the state Supreme Court suspended him from practicing law in the state.

After he was sent to prison, ONeills attorneys filed motions to have his sentence reconsidered on the grounds of the possible long-term effects of COVID-19 and its presence in New Mexico prisons. They asked that ONeill be given credit for time served and put on probation, arguing that incarceration is not a deterrent in child sex abuse material cases.

The attorneys said the true harm will come to ONeills children, with their father behind bars, and ONeill if he gets infected with COVID-19.

Prosecutors argued that the victims in the material that ONeill was caught with do not get to put their pain and suffering on hold due to the pandemic and ONeill was not being subject to cruel and unusual punishment.
K-12 students in Hanoi will be back to school next Tuesday, while university students and learners of other educational institutions will return the following week.

According to the decision of the municipal Peoples Committee, K-12 students will return to school on March 2, while university students and other learners will resume their normal classes on March 8.

The citys Department of Education and Training, Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, and Department of Health were tasked with carrying out COVID-19 prevention and control measures to prepare for the back-to-school dates.

Local schools have been required to disinfect all classrooms and facilities prior to March 1, as well as preparing soap, hand sanitizer, face masks, and electronic thermometers to ensure safety for students, teachers, and staff members.

The Hanoi administration previously ordered all students to switch to remote learning from February 17 until the end of the month due to the complicated COVID-19 pandemic.

As the city has not documented any local infection for multiple days, the municipal Department of Education and Training proposed that students be allowed to go back to school in early March.

The city is also expected to lift a lockdown on the final location on March 1.

Vietnam has recorded 2,423 COVID-19 cases as of Sunday morning, with 1,844 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

A total of 837 community-based infections have been reported in the country since January 27.

Among them, 35 were detected in Hanoi.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
By Parisa Hafezi

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Sunday ruled out holding an informal meeting with the United States and other major powers to discuss ways to salvage the unravelling 2015 nuclear deal, insisting Washington must first lift all its unilateral sanctions.

"Considering the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, Iran does not consider this the time to hold an informal meeting with these countries, which was proposed by the EU foreign policy chief," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, according to Iranian media.

The United States said it was disappointed but remained ready to "re-engage in meaningful diplomacy" and would consult with the other major powers to seek a way forward.

Iranian officials had said Tehran was studying a proposal by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to hold an informal meeting with other parties to the nuclear pact and the United States, which reimposed sanctions on Iran after then-President Donald Trump quit the deal in 2018.

The new administration of President Joe Biden has said it is ready to talk to Iran about both nations resuming compliance with the accord, which scrapped broad economic sanctions against Iran in return for curbs intended to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons - something Iran says it does not want.

But the parties cannot agree who should make the first move. Iran says the United States must lift sanctions, while Washington says Tehran must return to compliance with the deal, which Iran has been progressively breaching since 2019.

A White House spokeswoman said Washington remained keen to achieve a "mutual return to compliance" with the deal.

She said it would consult with the major powers that are also parties to the deal - Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - on the best way forward.

NOT 'THE END OF THE ROAD'

One senior U.S. source said Iran's rejection was simply part of the diplomatic process.

Story continues

Separately, a senior U.S. official said the United States was not wedded to any particular format for talks.

"We don't think that this is the end of the road. It's unfortunate ... that the Iranians said: 'No,' but we'll be open to other ideas," said the senior U.S. official.

"If they want us to consider some other format, we're not going to be sticklers for format," he added.

Earlier, Iran's nuclear chief urged the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-nation Board of Governors not to endorse a U.S.-led push to criticise Tehran's decision to scale back its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

"If the IAEA's Board of Governors adopts a resolution against Iran, we will show an appropriate reaction," Ali Akbar Salehi said, according to the Iranian state news agency, IRNA.

In a position paper seen by Reuters and sent to other IAEA member states before the board's quarterly meeting this week, Tehran threatens to end a deal struck with the IAEA a week ago temporarily maintaining some monitoring of its activities.

Diplomats said it was unclear whether the board would adopt a resolution.

Last Tuesday, Tehran stopped implementing the so-called Additional Protocol, which had enabled the IAEA to carry out snap inspections at undeclared locations.

But under the Feb. 21 agreement, Tehran agreed to maintain the recording of extra data as specified by the 2015 deal for up to three months, and to let the IAEA access it at the end if sanctions were lifted.

Khatibzadeh said there was no need for a "negotiation or a resolution" by the IAEA board of governors for the United States to "end its illegal and unilateral sanctions and return to its commitments."

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Peter Cooney)
By Yi Whan-woo



A nonprofit diplomatic organization is making an international appeal for the United Nations to mark the anniversary of Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun's death as "a day of peace in the East."



The Voluntary Agency Network Korea (VANK) said Sunday it made the appeal on change.org, the largest international petition site on a wide range of subjects including human rights.





Ahn Jung-geun

Ahn (1879-1910) is a celebrated hero in Korea for his 1909 assassination of Hirobumi Ito, a Japanese elder statesman who laid the groundwork for imperial Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula and served as the first resident governor of a colonized Korea.



Ahn was sentenced to death and executed on March 26, 1910.



VANK cited Ahn's argument that he gunned down Ito in Harbin, China, to restore peace in the East.






Rumours are swirling that The Weakest Link is returning to Australian TV screens with a beloved star at its helm.

According to TV Tonight, comedian Magda Szubanski is a 'contender' to host the popular gameshow, which is said to be coming to Nine.

Magda, who is best known for her portrayal of Sharon Strzeleck in the TV comedy series Kath And Kim, would replace original quizmaster Cornelia Frances following her tragic death from cancer three years ago.

Meet your new quizmaster? Comedian Magda Szubanski, 59, (left) is reportedly a 'contender' to host an upcoming reboot of The Weakest Link on Channel Nine, replacing the late Cornelia Frances (right)

If Magda does choose to follow in the footsteps of Cornelia, she will likely have to channel a far more stern character than the comedic style for which she's known.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out for comment.

The Weakest Link originally aired on Channel Seven from February 5, 2001 until April 22, 2002.

You are the weakest link, goodbye! If Magda does choose to follow in the footsteps of Cornelia, she will likely have to channel a far more stern character than the comedic style for which she's known

Last week, TV Tonight reported that a casting notice for a game show with the working title Quizical 'was believed to be for a new version of The Weakest Link for Nine'.

The casting notice described the project as 'a quiz show where everyone is invited to play.'

'We are looking for individuals who arent afraid to have some fun, have a friendly but competitive nature and who can answer quiz questions or have a good time trying.'

Reboot: Last week, TV Tonight reported that a casting notice for a game show with the working title Quizical 'was believed to be for a new version of The Weakest Link for Nine'. Cordelia seen here in a 2001 publicity still from the show

'The only thing we ask you to bring is a positive attitude and be ready to have some laughs.'

The Weakest Link was based on the UK game show format.

The Australian version was canceled after two seasons due to modest ratings.

Tragic death: Cornelia died on May 28, 2018, aged 77, following a year-long battle with bladder cancer which eventually spread to her hip and spine. Seen here in 2009

Former host Cornelia died on May 28, 2018, aged 77, following a year-long battle with bladder cancer which eventually spread to her hip and spine.

The actress is remembered as a TV legend, having appeared in shows such as Home and Away, Prisoner, and Sons and Daughters.

Cornelia was honoured with an Order of Australia Medal for her contribution to the arts.
With eight states showing a spike in fresh infections, India is set to start its second phase of covid-19 vaccination from Monday, now extended to senior citizens and people aged 45 and over with co-morbidities.

This follows a lukewarm response to the first phase, which aimed to vaccinate 30 million health and other frontline workers but achieved less than half the number. The second phase target is 27 million.

Registration for the second phase will open at 9.00am. Those eligible will be able to register and then book an appointment for the jab, anytime and from anywhere, using the Co-WIN2.0 portal (www.cowin.gov.in) through apps such as the Arogya Setu.

Only one live slot will be available for a beneficiary for each dose. Appointments for any day for a covid vaccination centre will be closed at 3.00pm. However, appointments can also be booked for a future date when vaccination slots are available.

For the second dose, appointments can be booked at the same centre on the 29th day of the first dose onwards. If a beneficiary cancels the appointment for the first dose, then appointment of both doses will be cancelled. The beneficiaries will not have a choice of vaccine.

People can register on the Co-WIN2.0 portal by keying in their mobile numbers, and follow the steps to complete the process. Up to four beneficiaries can be registered under one mobile number .

However, all those registered on one mobile number will have nothing in common except the mobile number. The Photo ID Card Number for each such beneficiary must be different," the health ministry said. Either of the photo identity documents can be used by citizens for availing of online registration such as Aadhar card or letter, electoral photo identity card (EPIC), passport, driving licence, PAN card, national population register (NPR) smart card or pension documents with photograph," it added.

People will be able to book an appointment at a clinic of their choice. On-site registration, or walk-ins, will be allowed for those who cannot register in advance.

Success of the second phase is critical to ramping up the entire programme, which now involves the private sector.

In the first phase, a total of just over 14 million doses were administered, as per provisional data available on Sunday. These include 6.6 million healthcare workers (1st dose), 2.4 million HCWs (2nd dose) and 5.1 million frontline workers (1st dose). This has been put down to vaccine hesitancy among healthcare and frontline workers.

In the second phase, the jabs will be free of charge at government clinics but will have to be paid for in private facilities.

The service charge to be recovered by private hospitals acting as covid vaccination centres would be subject to a ceiling of 100 per person per dose. In addition, private hospitals will recover 150 per person per dose as cost of vaccine dose. Hence, financial ceiling of the total amount recoverable by the private hospitals is 250 per person per dose," Vandana Gurnani, additional secretary and mission director of the National Health Mission told state officials in a letter Mint has reviewed.

The ramp-up plans to enrol more than 10,600 private hospitals and clinics. Speedy vaccination is key to controlling the pandemic which is again seeing a disturbing trend of rising cases. Eight statesMaharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarathave shown a surge in new covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the government said on Sunday

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Stella Jean is a Haitian-Italian clothes designer who is trying to change the Italian fashion industry by working with African designers.

She is showing her designs during Milan Fashion Week, a seasonal event in Italys northern culture center of Milan. The current show lasts until March 4.

Jean is the only Black member of the Italian National Fashion Chamber, a non-profit group that supports Italian fashion. She credits the group with a lot of goodwill in cooperating with five young designers. The effort included financing and business partnerships with Italian suppliers.

Jeans work became popular after Giorgio Armani invited her to a fashion show in 2014.

When you want to do something, you can do them immediately, said Jean. She said she has been working against the mentality of a certain part of the Italian fashion world.

Edward Buchanan and Michelle Ngomo are two Black fashion designers working in Milan. They collaborated with Jean demanding fashion companies show their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement through action.

The Italian fashion group is continuing its efforts by collaborating with five new designers from Italys minority communities during fashion week in September.

Jean also wants the world fashion system to value sustainable production methods. So she created an event to build relationships between Italian fashion companies and African fashion designers and artisans. She is also working on a database to document examples of when African culture is misrepresented in the fashion industry.

Valerie Steele is the director of The Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology, in New York City. She said many of Jeans ideas could be copied in the United States and other places.

Steele has some of Jeans creations in the organizations museum collection and recorded a conversation with the Italian designer for Black History Month. Steele said Black designers are also under-represented in the United States although Black culture has done a lot for the fashion industry.

When a few years ago we did an exhibition on Black fashion designers...we were very shocked to realize that on Vogue.com, something ridiculous, like 1 percent of the designers featured were Black, Steele said.

Im Armen Kassabian.

Colleen Barry reported this story for The Associated Press. Armen Kassabian adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

________________________________________________

Words in This Story

featuring  n. showing an interesting or important part, quality or ability

runway  n. an area where models walk and show new styles of clothing

collaborate v. to work with another person or group in order to reach a goal;

solidarity  n. a feeling of unity between people who have the same interests and goals

artisans  n. a person who is skilled at making things by hand

exhibition  n. the act of showing something in public

ridiculous adj. extremely silly or unreasonable

Do you think some people are excluded from certain industries of work because of their race or ethnicity? Explain why or why not? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
Kangana Ranaut is happy and excited to be playing a Sikh Soldier in her upcoming movie, Tejas. She is all set to embark on the journey of her new project and she cant keep calm about the same. She took to Twitter to share that she had no idea that she would be playing the role of a Sikh soldier until she read the script.

She wrote, Playing a Sikh soldier in Tejas. I never knew until I read my character's full name on my uniform today. Had an instant smile on my face. Our longings and love have a way of manifesting, the universe speaks to us in more ways than we understand.

Playing a Sikh soldier in Tejas, I never knew until I read my character full name on my uniform today, had an instant smile on my face, our longings and love has a way of manifesting, universe speaks to us in more ways than we understand  pic.twitter.com/wkR9jQWbhL  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 27, 2021

While she was excited to share the new update with her followers, people were mighty pissed and started calling her a hypocrite. People are not okay with the fact that she will be playing a Sikh woman but didnt support farmers from Punjab.

Heres what people are saying:

So when you play a sikh soldier thats your 'deshbhakti' and when the same sikhs farmers protests they are terrorist and khalistani. Wa re bobdi. Queen of HIPOCISY

Have some SHAME pic.twitter.com/udpQya8LK4  Monkey Bath (@jadhaoanupcdt) February 27, 2021

Dont play a Sikh character when you called the whole Sikh community and farmers terrorist. Thank you.  Prem Gill (@Prem_Gill) February 27, 2021

But you called us khalistani..... why you want to become one.



You don't deserve to be a Sikh at all.



"Sir Deke Sardari Milti Hai



Zeher gholkar nahin  Arunjit Singh Sharma John Khan. (@AJSB05) February 27, 2021

Till now you called these Sikh farmers as Terrorists and now when you got a role for movie as Sikh suddenly pyaar aagya.



Such a Hypocrite women.  Nahyan (@nahyanCr7) February 27, 2021

Chal ab chikni chupdi batein mat kar. Jo tumne sikhs ko beizzat karne ki koshish ki usko koyi sikh nahi bhool sakta. U r just unacceptable by sikhs now.  Miss Chamko (@harpreetgrover5) February 27, 2021

Koi sympathy nahi milegi Punjab aur Haryana ke exhibitors se. No show no audience. @RSVPMovies

Release this Goo on Koo.  Benaam (@Benaam01) February 27, 2021

People even went on to say that she will get no support from the Sikh community for the movie as she has hurt their sentiments by calling all the Sikh farmers as Khalistanis.



What do you have to say about it? Do you agree with how people are reacting to it? Let us know in the comments section below.

Meanwhile, Tejas is bankrolled by Ronnie Screwvalas RSVP. The film marks the directorial debut of Sarvesh Mewara, who had earlier in a statement said, When your debut film has Ronnie Screwvala as the producer and Kangana Ranaut as the lead actor, going all out to chase your dreams feels worth it.

Talking about the movie, Kangana had earlier said, Very often the sacrifices made by our brave women in uniform go unnoticed by the nation. Tejas is a film where I have the honour of playing the role of one such Air Force pilot that puts country before self. I hope we instill a sense of patriotism and pride in the youth of today with this film.

Apart from Tejas, Kangana will be seen in J Jayalalithaas biopic Thalaivi and is also set for Dhaakad. She also announced the second installment of the Manikarnika franchise titled Manikarnika Returns: The Legend Of Didda recently.
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A 63-year-old susu collector has been dragged to an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly beating his 64-year-old wife (name withheld) with a metal object upon suspicion that she was receiving telephone calls from her alleged boyfriend.



When he appeared before the court, presided over by Mrs Christiana Cann, the accused, Richard Odonkor, pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing harm.



The case was adjourned to March 15 this year for a Case Management Conference (CMC).



ADR failed



The couple have not been able to resolve the issue through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).



Odonkor has been granted bail in the sum of GH30,000 with three sureties, two of which are to be justified.



The court also ordered the prosecution to file its witness statement and all documents the court would rely on and serve same on the accused person.



The facts of the case as presented by Chief Inspector, Judith B. Asante, were that the complainant was the wife of Odonkor and both lived at Teshie in Accra.



The prosecutor said there had been a misunderstanding between the two for some time now which often resulted in arguments in which the accused person had been accusing the complainant of picking calls in the night suspected to be from her boyfriend.



Chief Inspector Asante said on January 15, this year, about 2:00 a.m., an argument ensued between the two again and in the process Odonkor attacked his wife and in the course of the melee used a metal object to beat her severely, injuring her in the process.



According to the prosecutor, Odonkors wife managed to free herself and went to lodge a complaint with the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) at the Nungua Police Station.



She was handed a medical report to go to hospital for treatment.



The prosecutor said a full health report on Odonkors wife was later submitted to the police, following which Odonkor was arrested.



He was subsequently charged with the offence of causing harm following investigations.





Source: Graphiconline.com









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Highlights Apple is starting to roll out privacy changes to iOS 14 that will require users to opt in to allow ad tracking.

Facebook is not happy and has launched an ad campaign against it.

Facebook is telling users that providing access to their activity will lead to personalised ads and will support small businesses that rely on ads to reach customers.

Two of Silicon Valley's largest tech giants, Apple and Facebook, are in a bitter fight that revolves around the iPhone data of millions of people and whether tech companies should be able to track that data as easily as they do now without people's consent.

Various types of data collected from users are used by companies like Facebook to personalise ads to an individual person based on demographics, geographic location, interests, and activity. It is important here to note that these personalised ads are one of the largest sources of revenue for Facebook.

Late last year, Apple introduced its new privacy-centered changes that forced all app developers on the App-Store to explicitly ask users for permission to collect this data. As expected Facebook is not happy with these changes.

The social media giant is now launching a new ad campaign. It invites its users to help small businesses through tough times. We don't need to say that the ad takes a ride in the economic mess caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The video ad was released on Thursday with the following tagline "Good ideas deserve to be found".

Facebook has even taken out full-page newspaper ads railing against Apple's changes, and both Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook have made a series of increasingly hostile public remarks.

Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook used a speech he gave at a data privacy conference in Brussels to excoriate social media companies whose business models rely on collecting "vast troves of personal data" to sell targeted ads. "An interconnected ecosystem of companies and data brokers, of purveyors of fake news and pedlars of division, of trackers and hucksters just looking to make a quick buck, is more present in our lives than it has ever been," said Cook.

In the coming weeks, Apple will update its iOS software for iPhones to require apps to get explicit consent to track what people are doing on their phones for the purposes of sharing it with third parties.

Some apps, like Facebook, allow for some data tracking to be manually disabled. But by default, it is turned on. That gives the company reams of personal data on who we are and what we are doing, which it then vacuums up, packages, and uses to sell ads.

Starting sometime early this spring, Apple will require apps to send a push alert where people can either choose to "ask app not to track" or "allow."

We believe users should have the choice over the data that is being collected about them and how it's used. Facebook can continue to track users across apps and websites as before, App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 will just require that they ask for your permission first. pic.twitter.com/UnnAONZ61I  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) December 17, 2020

The conflict between Apple and Facebook largely boils down to the difference in their business models. Mark Zuckerberg has long argued that the only way to build a sustainable social network that connects billions of people is for the platform to be free to use and supported by advertising.

It is often said that when a tech service is "free," users pay mightily with their data. And that is the case with Facebook, which has a lucrative business of selling data to third-parties, like data brokers and advertisers.

Apple, meanwhile, is mostly in the hardware business. Apple makes most of its cash by selling iPhones, iPads, and laptops. While Apple has apps that do a fair share of data mining, Apple claims it does not share that data with third parties. No doubt Apple's upcoming software update helps its image as a privacy protector.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) --- The Oregon Supreme Court has upheld that a defendant can be acquitted by a nonunanimous verdict, months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that guilty verdicts must be unanimous.

Legal experts say the decision Thursday keeps Oregon as the only state where split jury verdicts with 10 or 11 not guilty votes among a 12-member panel amount to an acquittal, not a hung jury.

Defense lawyers hailed the decision, which erases doubts among trial judges about how the U.S. Supreme Court ruling applies in Oregon.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling settled a quirk of constitutional law that had allowed divided juries to convict in Louisiana and Oregon.
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After putting his Los Angeles home on the market last year, Armie Hammer reportedly moved out of the residence in the middle of the night this past week.

Movers were assisted by flashlight as they moved his belongings out of the Hancock Park house he once shared with ex Elizabeth Chambers, Page Six reported on Sunday.

The website reported the disgraced actor, 34, arranged the move 'under the cover of night.'

Moved out: After putting his Los Angeles home on the market last year, Armie Hammer reportedly moved out of the residence in the middle of the night this past week (pictured 2018 with estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers)

Hammer himself was not seen during the move, but one neighbor who observed the relocation relayed details to Page Six.

'Trucks and a gaggle of movers descended on the property, working well after midnight and lit only by flashlights,' the source told the site.

Hammer and his estranged wife Elizabeth originally listed the home in September 2020, and recently received an offer after reducing the price multiple times, according to the New York Post.

Hammer has been shrouded in controversy since news of his alleged graphic social media communications came to light.

Off the market: Hammer and his estranged wife Elizabeth originally listed the home in September 2020, and recently received an offer for the house after reducing the price multiple times, according to the New York Post

A number of women have publicly spoken about their communications with Hammer, most notably model Paige Lorenze, who said Hammer took aspects of their consensual BDSM relationship to an alleged abusive, uncomfortable place.

Hammer's lawyer denied Lorenze's accusations to Page Six January 22, calling them patently untrue.

'Any interactions with this person, or any partner of his, were completely consensual in that they were fully discussed, agreed upon, and mutually participatory,' the attorney said. 'The stories being perpetuated in the media are a misguided attempt to present a one-sided narrative with the goal of tarnishing Mr. Hammer's reputation, and communications from the individuals involved prove that.'

Split: Hammer and Chambers called it quits last year, after 10 years of marriage (pictured 2018)

Hammer and estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers, 38, split this past July after 10 years of marriage; they are parents to two children, daughter Harper, six, and son Ford, four.

Taking to Instagram earlier this month, Chambers said she was 'shocked, heartbroken, and devastated' at reports of Hammer's conduct.

'For weeks, I've been trying to process everything that has transpired,' she said. 'Heartbreak aside, I am listening, and will continue to listen and educate myself on these delicate matters. I didn't realize how much I didn't know.

Chambers added that she 'not be commenting further on this matter,' as her 'sole focus and attention will continue to be on our children, on [her] work and on healing during this incredibly difficult time.'
A two-vehicle crash killed three people and injured two others Saturday in Larimer County, the Colorado State Patrol said.

Officials said a Subaru Forester was on Highway 287 about 4:45 p.m. when it slid on ice and lost control. As the Subaru slid, it turned sideways and was T-boned by an oncoming Hyundai Elantra.

The collision happened near mile marker 376, nine miles south of the Wyoming state line.

All three occupants of the Subaru were killed: The 21-year-old male driver, an 18-year-old female passenger and a 19-year-old female passenger, CSP said.

A 21-year-old male passenger in the Hyundai suffered serious injuries and is hospitalized, CSP said. The 18-year-old female driver of the Hyundai suffered minor injuries.

U.S. 287 was closed for several hours Saturday in both directions at Owl Canyon Road, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The highway has since reopened.
Global Finance, the New York-based international publication, has recently granted Arab Bank the Best Trade Finance Provider 2021 in the Middle East award.

The recognition comes as an acknowledgment of the banks leading position in the region and its exceptional capabilities in providing the latest banking solutions and trade finance products that meet its clients evolving needs across the different sectors.

Arab Bank was selected for this award based on an evaluation process conducted by a panel of the magazines editors with input from international financial analysts, corporate executives and technology experts. Criteria for choosing the winners included transaction volume, scope of global coverage, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative technologies.

This global recognition is a testament to Arab Banks solid performance and long success record driven by its institutional vision and constant efforts towards adopting the latest technologies in the banking industry to provide seamless and well-rounded banking experience to its clients. It also comes as a manifestation of its integral role in facilitating trade across the Middle East and North Africa by delivering comprehensive banking solutions and services that are in line with the latest developments in the banking sector locally, regionally and globally.

Arab Bank owns one of the largest global Arab banking networks with more than 600 branches spanning five continents, as well as extensive experience in trade finance and deep understanding of the region, thus reaffirming the banks ability to meet its clients evolving needs across countries.

It is worth mentioning that Arab Bank also received several international recognitions during the past year, most notably the Best Bank in the Middle East award from Global Finance for the fifth consecutive year. The list of awards also includes Best Bank for Cash Management in the Middle East from Global Finance, Best Trade Finance Services in the Middle East from EMEA Finance, Cash Manager of the Year in the Middle East from Global Investor/ISF. The bank also received the Best Mobile Banking App in the Middle East award from Global Finance in recognition of its corporate digital banking services.-- Tradearabia News Service
The father of murdered teenager Jodie Chesney has revealed his joy at becoming a dad again, two years after his daughter's life was taken in an unprovoked knife attack.

Peter Chesney, 40, saw his world crumble when the 17-year-old was murdered in an east London park by two drug dealers after they mistakenly idenitifed her as a rival.

Consumed with grief, his relationship with Joanne, Jodie's stepmother, was placed under strain and ended soon after.

Peter Chesney, pictured with his daughter, Jodie, who was murdered in an unprovoked knife attack in 2019, has revealed he is set to become a father again

But two years on, Peter has found happiness again with a new partner and has disclosed they are expecting a baby, something he describes as 'a gift from Jodie'.

Tomorrow, on the second anniversary of the young teenager's death, they will find out if the new arrival is a boy or a girl at the five-month scan.

Speaking to The Sun, Peter said: 'Someone said to me, 'This is Jodie looking down on us  it's her saying that she wants us to be happy'.

Peter Chesney was out in London celebrating his 39th birthday on 1 March, 2019, when he took a call from an unknown number before realising to his horror that it was the police with devastating news.

The popular 17-year-old had been relaxing with friends in an east London park when two drug dealers launched a knife attack on her and stabbed her in the back

The popular 17-year-old student had been relaxing with friends in Amy's Park in Harold Hill, east London, just after 9pm when two shadowy figures emerged from the dark and one knifed her in the back.

She screamed and collapsed in the arms of her boyfriend, Eddie Coyle, 18, as her attackers made off in a fellow drug dealer's car.

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and his 17-year-old runner Arron Isaacs were later found guilty of being involved in a 'tit-for-tat vendetta' with rivals that resulted in killing Jodie by mistake, the Old Bailey heard.

Jodie, a keen Explorer Scout, had visited Downing Street and had planned to become a vet

Judge Wendy Joseph QC handed the stabber Ong-a-Kwie a life sentence with a minimum of 26 years.

She ordered his 'enthusiastic supporter' Isaacs to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure for at least 18 years.

Jodie, from Dagenham, was a keen Explorer Scout who had also attained silver level in her Duke of Edinburgh Award. She was just two weeks away from reaching gold when she was killed.

She had visited Downing Street while a Scout and taken part in a televised Remembrance commemoration just months before she was killed.

A keen classical pianist and photographer, Jodie was also selected to honour the Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Albert Hall, appearing in a BBC broadcast in front of the Queen and Prince William.

Jodie wanted to be a vet and was studying for A-levels in psychology, sociology and photography at Havering Sixth Form College in Hornchurch.

Remembering back to how his life was upended by the murder, Peter revealed he turned to drinking to 'mask' his pain and thought he would never recover, adding: 'But whenever I get really low, I remember what a good person Jodie was and that pushes me to try to be my best.'

Following her death, Peter set up a charity, the Jodie Chesney Foundation, aimed at proactively steering young people away from knife crime. His brother, David, a vicar, works alongside him on the project.

Peter Chesney has said that he cannot forgive Svenson Ong-a-Kwie and Arron Isaacs for the death of his daughter. Ong-a-Kwie was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 26 years, while Isaacs was given a jail sentence with a minimum of 18 years

Decribing the last two years as 'hell', Peter said he thinks about his daughter every day, expecially on the way to work as he passes the petrol station where the ambulance stopped as emergency workers tried to save her life.

He also revealed that the bench where she was killed has been removed, while the park has been enhanced with purple flowers - Jodie's favourite colour.

Meanwhile, her cherished piano is now adorned with photographs of her, while an old birthday card has been turned into a keyring which Peter carries with him.

Admitting that he can not forgive her killers, Peter said he is now focused on celebrating Jodie's life ahead of tomorrow's anniversary, while also looking ahead to becoming a father again.

He added: 'I am so grateful to have a new baby on the way and a lovely girlfriend but I am not moving on with my life, just moving forward.'
A Chinese proverb says that a year's plan starts with spring. In China, more than half of the grain area is planted in the spring, and spring farming concerns the harvests in the following two seasons.

At present, spring farming and preparation is conducted across the country from south to north, and multiple measures have been rolled out to guarantee agricultural production.

To stabilize grain and soybean output and increase corn acreage is a major theme of China's spring farming this year. In 2020, China will work to ensure the planting of over 1.75 billion mu (117 million hectares) of grains this year, and to consolidate the planting area of double cropping rice is a priority in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Besides, the country will also ensure that the newly added planting areas of early season rice in 2020 is not reduced this year. Corn acreage is expected to be expanded in northeast China, North China Plain, southwest China and northwest China. Soybean planting area will be stabilized in these regions.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), the planting areas of winter wheat and winter rapeseed will recover growth this year. A total of 335 million mu of winter wheat is planted, 3 million mu more than that from a year ago; 96 million mu of winter rapeseed is planted, up around 4 million mu year on year. The growth of winter wheat and winter rapeseed in most places of China is better than that in the last year. The proportion of first- and second-class winter wheat has reached 88.5 percent, 1.9 percentages higher year on year, laying a solid foundation for summer harvest.

Sufficient supply of agricultural materials is ensuring smooth spring farming and future harvests.

In an agricultural cooperative in Xiapanao village, Ankang Township, Anxiang County, Changde, central China's Hunan Province, 15,000 kilograms of seed rice are standing by in a warehouse. The seed rice, apart from being distributed to the 2,000 mu of farmland contracted by the cooperative, will also be offered for other nearby major growers, serving the production in a total of nearly 4,000 mu of land.

"The recent situation in the market indicated that the supply of seeds is sufficient this spring, and the supply of other agricultural materials is also guaranteed," said Zhou Jianguo, head of the cooperative.

As a major grain producer of Hunan Province, Anxiang County is planning to grow over 810,000 mu of grains this year. To promote large-scale production of early season rice, the county has established five sprout cultivation factories, which will be completed at the end of March before the start of sprout cultivation.

According to MARA, 3.4 billion kilograms of corn, rice and soybean seeds will be offered for this year's spring farming. Besides, 20.3 million tons of fertilizers are also expected to be provided.

Agricultural machineries are also offering effective services for spring farming.

Zhongxian County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has been promoting subsidizing policies for purchasing agricultural machineries just after the Spring Festival. The municipality has offered a total subsidy of 72 million yuan ($11.14 million), and dispatched machinists to villages to guide the maintenance, testing and reconditioning of agricultural machineries.

Xu Zongquan is a major grower in Zhongling village, Xinli Township of Zhongxian County. He runs a professional cooperative in the village that offers machinery services for nearby farmers.

His cooperative has all kinds of agricultural machines, including rice transplanters with three robotic arms, as well as drones that are able to spray pesticides. Besides, a rotary cultivator in the cooperative is able to plough over 40 mu of land per day.

It is reported that over 22 million sets of agricultural machineries will be employed in China's spring farming this year. Most of the machineries have been reconditioned and have been put into service.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-01 00:52:13|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Sunday said it has only received 58 percent of 1.3 billion U.S. dollars required to meet humanitarian needs in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region.

"About 58 percent of 1.3 billion U.S. dollars needed to meet humanitarian needs in Tigray regional state have been received," the UNOCHA said in a report.

UNOCHA appealed to humanitarian partners to cover the rest 570.1 million U.S. dollars needed to comprehensively meet humanitarian needs in Tigray regional state.

UNOCHA needs funds to meet the humanitarian needs of more than 2.25 million people.

UNOCHA also said 61,307 Ethiopian refugees living in Sudan are also included in the latest humanitarian aid appeal.

UNOCHA also said it continues to be concerned by continuous reports of incidents of house searches, lootings, killings and Gender-based Violence (GBV) against civilians in Tigray regional state.

Nearly four months of fighting in northern Ethiopia's Tigray regional state between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which used to rule the region until November and the Ethiopian Defense Forces has left hundreds of people dead, thousands displaced and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Enditem
Hyundai Motor's IONIQ 5 electric vehicle / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor



By Baek Byung-yeul



Hyundai Motor is cruising to its goal of becoming a powerhouse company in electric vehicles (EVs) as its new EV model IONIQ 5 has been received well in both domestic and European markets.



The carmaker's European subsidiary said Friday (local time) that it sold 3,000 IONIQ 5 vehicles on the first day of preorders. The subsidiary added European consumers showed a robust response to the new EV model as about 10,000 people applied to buy the IONIQ 5.



After the new EV was unveiled last week, the European subsidiary said it has generated around 236,000 inquiries. After rolling out the IONIQ 5 in Europe this month, Hyundai plans to release the new EV in other regions including the United States later this year.



The IONIQ 5 also enjoyed brisk preorders in the Korean market, reaching 23,760 on the first day of preorders, which surpassed the company's previous record of selling 17,294 Grandeur sedans in advance orders in 2019.



The figure was also larger than the record held by Kia, a sister company of Hyundai Motor, which sold 23,006 preorders for Carnival minivans, also known as the Sedona in North America, in 2020.



"The exceptionally high interest in IONIQ 5 underlines the strength of Hyundai in zero-emission mobility. With its ultra-fast charging, long range and customizable interior space, the IONIQ 5 is a game-changer that sets the benchmark in its class  and these outstanding characteristics have immediately proved to be attractive to significant numbers of European customers," said Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, vice president of marketing and product at Hyundai Motor Europe.



The IONIQ 5 is Hyundai Motor Group's first EV model based on its Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), a dedicated battery electric vehicle platform. The E-GMP is designed to serve as a core technology for the next-generation EVs of its Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands.



The carmaker said cars produced on the platform have super-fast charging and long travel ranges on a single charge. Hyundai Motor launched its EV-only brand IONIQ in 2020 and plans to release three dedicated EV models  the IONIQ 5, 6 and 7  by 2024.



The brisk preorders for the IONIQ 5 in Europe also raised expectations for Kia's new EV model CV, which will be released both in domestic and European markets later this year. The automotive group expects the European market, where stricter CO2 emission regulations have been applied since 2020, will be the largest market for its EVs.


Pro-life activist at CPAC slams 'anti-woman culture' that encourages abortion

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Pro-life activists slammed the anti-woman culture that causes women to believe that having a baby will prevent them from achieving their life and career goals during a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday.

Moderated by the New York Posts Kelly Jane Torrance, the "Hard Questions for the Hard Cases: How to Defend Life" panel included Emily Berning, the CEO of the nonprofit pro-life organization Let Them Live; Alison Centofante, the director of external affairs at the pro-life group Live Action; and Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.

Torrance acted as devils advocate throughout the panel, asking the passionate pro-life activists to respond to some of the most common arguments from abortion supporters.

She acknowledged widespread opposition to third-term abortions among Americans who describe themselves as pro-choice but noted that tougher questions come at the beginning or when there are medical issues.

Responding to an inquiry about what to say to mothers who are seeking abortion because they find themselves in a difficult financial situation or think they are too young or because they are not in a relationship, Berning stressed that circumstances are temporary and abortion is permanent.

Berning also took issue with the anti-woman culture thats saying if you have a baby, you cant do anything. You cant do it. You have to kill your child to be successful. That is what the culture is telling women and we have to be so opposite of that.

She then described the work of her organization, Let Them Live, where she and her staff counsel pregnant women and explain that those temporary circumstances do not define you as a mother, they do not define you as a person, and we will help you get out of that so that you can make a life-affirming decision.

Politics is downstream from culture, so if we expect to change anything, we  need to change the culture and that starts with letting women know that we are here for them, she added.

Torrance also referenced comments made by actress Michelle Williams, who, at last years Golden Globe Awards, said she didn't think she would've had the career she had if she didn't have an abortion at a young age.

Berning rejected that argument: Its not one or the other.  Why does our society say it has to be one or the other? You either choose your education or your child. You either choose paying for your rent or you choose your child.

It does not have to be a one or the other situation, she asserted. Women are strong enough to do what they want to do in life and have a child if they choose.

Asked to weigh in on exceptions to abortion bans if the life of the mother is at risk, Centofante explained that we have done so much research talking to the worlds leading OB/GYNs who say that the goal is to always, should be, to save them both.

Centofante added, if that baby needs to be separated from that mother, the answer  is early delivery, early induction or C-section, not dismembering that child.

There is no need to go in and intentionally kill that child, she continued. An emergency C-section to help that mother can be done in under an hour or two, a third-trimester abortion that occurs after 24 weeks when these high-risk cases can develop takes two to three days. So you tell me whats safe.

When Torrance asked what should be done if a doctor informs a mother that her baby would be born with serious, serious disabilities or serious developmental issues where the child will either die very quickly or will have a horrible, burdensome life, Centofante maintained that the child is a human being worthy of our legal protection.

Torrance brought up a hypothetical situation in which a doctor says to a mother, this childs going to have a miserable life because of Down syndrome or another condition that will keep them from having a fulfilled life.

In response, Berning pushed back on that way of thinking: Its no one persons job to decide for another person if their life is fulfilled.

Health professionals need to speak up and speak out and be done with abortion, Centofante asserted as she recounted how during her pregnancy, a doctor asked her if she wanted to do prenatal testing to determine if her child had Down syndrome. She lamented that 90% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in the United States are killed.

When a pregnant woman walks into Planned Parenthood, they see money, Centofante contended. When they walk into  Let Them Live, Live Action, a pregnancy resource center, were like, Lets just help you.

Centofante alleged that the reason abortion is so intertwined in politics and culture is because Planned Parenthood receives government funding. Pull their taxpayer funding and you will see the pro-life movement step in to take care of women and the abortion industry fade out. Its because were propping it up with our own money.

Torrance then asked the panelists how one can convince atheists or agnostics who don't have an easy in to being pro-life that results from practicing a religion to oppose abortion.

Science is showing us so much about the humanity of the unborn, Fischbach responded.

I have five grandchildren and another on the way and when my children were born, you had those little grainy ultrasounds, she recalled. Now youve got the 4D and you can see if the babys smiling.

The pro-life issue is not just a religious one, Berning added. It doesnt have to be religious, supporting women  supporting unborn children; its just something we should do as human beings.
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THE Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is to review a Cork double murder-suicide after it emerged at least one of the brothers involved had contact with Gardai in the hours before the horrific triple tragedy.

The contact - in the form of a phone call on Thursday evening - involved the brothers assuring Mitchelstown Gardai that a disagreement was being amicably resolved and there was no need for uniformed officers to attend the 25 acre family farm at Corragorm some 8km from the north Cork town.

The Sunday World revealed today that suspected axe-killer Johnny Hennessy rang a third party on the evening of the killings saying there was "awful fighting" going on at the 17-acre property.

The recipient of this phone call is understood to have subsequently notified gardai. An officer then contacted Johnny, the youngest of the three Hennessy brothers, by phone.

During the call, 59-year-old Johnny is said to have assured gardai that the earlier row had been resolved and insisted there was no need for an officer to visit the property.

Following the conversation, Gardai were satisfied that concerns brought to their attention by another individual did not warrant sending a patrol car to the property.

It is understood that at no stage were fears raised with Gardai that any brother was under threat or that there was any suggestion of violence being involved in the family disagreement.

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However, several hours later, the bodies of Willie (66) and Paddy 'Pa' Hennessy (60) were discovered at the farm after a relative called to ensure everything was alright amid concern that Pa had not returned to his Mitchelstown home.

A third brother, Johnny Hennessy (59), was later recovered from the River Funshion.

Expand Close Paddy and Willie Hennessy Photo: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision / Facebook

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A GSOC spokesperson confirmed they are now reviewing the matter.

"GSOC received a referral on Friday from a Garda Superintendent related to possible contact between An Garda Siochana and one of the deceased prior to the incident," they said.

"The referral was made under Section 102 of the Garda Siochana Act, 2005. The matter is now under examination by GSOC."

Pa was found with severe head injuries in the farmyard where the brothers operated a firewood business and raised dry cattle.

Willie was found with similar severe head injuries in a nearby shed.

Both had suffered blunt force trauma injuries to the head after being struck repeatedly with an axe. The two brothers were pronounced dead at the scene.

Expand Close Garda forensics fly a drone near the farm off the Mitchelstown to Mallow Road outside Kildorrery, co. Cork where the bodies of two brothers in their 60s were discovered. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision / Facebook

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Whatsapp Garda forensics fly a drone near the farm off the Mitchelstown to Mallow Road outside Kildorrery, co. Cork where the bodies of two brothers in their 60s were discovered. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

Johnny, who lived at the farmhouse, was not present and his car was missing.

His Toyota Corolla van was found parked near Killacluig Church, some 4km away, on Friday morning.

After a major manhunt involving Garda search teams, the Garda dog unit, the Garda helicopter and the Garda water unit, his body was located at lunchtime a short distance away in the River Funshion.

The three brothers had lost another brother, Jer, to a family tragedy in 2014.

A nephew had also died in tragic circumstances in 2012.

Post mortem examinations were conducted on all three brothers over the weekend at Cork University Hospital (CUH) by Locum State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.

The findings are being withheld for operational reasons but it is understood Willie and Pa died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries to the head consistent with blows from a heavy axe.

A blood-stained axe was found a short distance from where the first two bodies were discovered.

Johnny is believed to have died from drowning.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu has extended the existing state-wide lockdown till March 31. The Tamil Nadu government has put in place centres guidelines for containing the spread of COVID-19 cases.

The order directed the district administration to make sure of strict enforcement of measures to prevent and manage COVID-19 and can as far as possible use provision of section 144.

Adding to this, the district administration will be taking appropriate COVID-19 measures, including social distancing and ensuring everyone wears a mask. Moreover, spitting in public places will be penalised.

Meanwhile, other states like Maharashtra and Gujarat are also witnessing massive surge in coronavirus cases and the respective state governments have extended the lockdown in some districts.

In Amravati and Achalpur cities, lockdown was extended for a week in view of the coronavirus situation, while restrictions were also imposed for the weekend in Nagpur, Buldhana and Yavatmal. Adjoining Achalpur, Anjangaon Surji town will also remain under lockdown till 6 am on March 8.

The Gujarat government has extended the night curfew in four major cities Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot by another 15 days, the curfew was supposed to end on February 28.

On Saturday, Maharashtra reported more than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases for the fourth straight day, raising the caseload in the state to 21,46,777. The death toll in the state due to the pandemic has reached 52,092, as per official data.

The Union Health Ministry said that Indias total number of active COVID-19 cases reached 1,64,511 on Saturday. Moreover, six states including Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, which have shown a surge in new cases in a span of 24 hours account for 86.37 percent of the new cases.

Meanwhile, in the third phase of the coronavirus vaccination drive which begins from March 1, the government is aiming to expand the vaccination drive to the general public of the nation, which include people with co-morbidities in the 45-59 years age group and senior citizens.

Additionally, the health ministry announced that the registration on the Co-WIN 2.0 portal will open at 9 am on Monday (March 1). The beneficiaries will be able to self-register and book an appointment for the vaccination on Co-WIN 2.0 portal.

The ministry has also revealed the list of the private hospitals which can participate in the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination program which aims to vaccinate the age-appropriate groups.

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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2021) Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former Belarusian presidential candidate in exile whom the opposition claims to be the true victor, announced on Sunday a series of visits to Finland, Portugal, and Switzerland from March 1-10.

Tikhanovskaya will first travel to Finland from March 1-4 to "discuss the situation in Belarus and Finland's support of the Belarusian civil society," the statement on her website read. The agenda includes meetings with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, among other officials.

"After Finland, on March 4-7, [Tikhanovskaya] will visit Portugal ... On March 7-10, the leader of democratic Belarus will visit Switzerland to meet the UN and the Swiss parliament representatives," the statement read.

While in Portugal, Tikhanovskaya will meet with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva and ex-President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, according to the statement.

During the meetings with European politicians, Tikhanovskaya will discuss the crisis in Belarus, including the riots, and the ways in which she thinks the European Union can support Belarusian human rights activists and independent media.

Since the August 9 presidential election, which saw incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko entering his sixth term, Belarus has been engulfed in a nationwide unrest, with the opposition rejecting the official results, according to which, Lukashenko gathered over 80 percent of the vote, and claiming electoral fraud.

Some Western countries condemned the violent suppression of rallies by the government's security forces and imposed sanctions on a number of Belarusian officials, deemed responsible for violence and alleged fraud. Tikhanovskaya, in turn, fled to Lithuania and has been rallying support from Western countries ever since.
Dancing With The Stars' Witney Carson had COVID-19 when she gave birth to son Leo at the beginning of January.

The professional dancer, 27, revealed she contracted coronavirus earlier this year while doing a Q&A on her Instagram Story on Saturday.

'So I've debated sharing this or not but yes we did have Covid when Leo was born,' Carson replied to a fan.

Scary situation: Whitney Carson of Dancing With The Stars fame has revealed she was COVID-19 positive when she gave birth to her son Leo, born January 3rd

She also revealed that she passed the virus to her parents, writing: 'We gave it to my parents on Christmas Eve.'

Because they had contracted covid, Witney's parents actually had to meet their grandson at a distance.

'They weren't out of quarantine yet & had to meet their grandson for the first time through a window literally broke my heart into pieces,' the Utah native went on, sharing video of the heart-wrenching moment.

Carson has been open about her difficult birth with Leo, an experience which she described as 'traumatic' during an interview with Us Weekly earlier this month.

'I pushed for two and a half hours. I was fully dilated and the baby just did not want to come out,' she shared.

Debated: 'So I've debated sharing this or not but yes we did have Covid when Leo was born,' Carson replied to a fan

Sharing: The professional dancer, 27, revealed she contracted coronavirus earlier this year while doing a Q&A on her Instagram Story on Saturday

From a distance: She also revealed that her parents had to meet their grandson 'through a window' after they contracted the virus through Carson

A terrifying reality for any mother - let alone a first time mom - Carson said she was not 'prepared' for the C-section, previously calling it 'the hardest day of [her] life.'

'He just was, like, stuck underneath my pelvis for so long. His heart rate started going really high. So we had to do an emergency C-section and obviously, we did whatever was right for the baby,' she said.

Above all Carson said, 'We're just really happy that he's healthy. That's the most important thing.'

She added that the reality of giving birth was definitely nowhere near what she expected.

'Traumatic': The Utah native admitted son Leo's birth was 'traumatic' during a conversation with Us Weekly sharing that he 'wasn't coming out,' prompting an emergency c-section on January 3. She's pictured February 6

Tough labor: The whole labor process took 24-hours, and she shared that she was not 'prepared' for the emergency c-section following two and a half hours of pushing

'I think I just went in with such high expectations. I'm going to have a great birth. I'm going to recover so quickly. I'm going to bounce back. And it just was the complete opposite of what I thought.'

Getting candid about her postpartum journey she told the publication her body has been 'slower to recover' following the surgery, but with regards to breastfeeding she feels 'totally fine.'

'It is just so weird to me. My body's used to that extreme, push it to the limit, 24 hours a day, all day. Like, I don't feel any pain. I feel like the milk let down, which is a little bit painful, but nothing I can't handle,' she shared.

Throughout her labor husband Carson McAllister was holding her hand as she called him 'an actual angel,' adding, 'even though it was so rough I loved this day so much & would do it all over again.'

Family support: She welcomed her son Leo with husband Carson McAllister, calling him 'an actual angel' throughout the process; pictured January 3

Happy family: Speaking about her postpartum journey on Instagram she said it was 'anything but glamorous' saying that she cried at one point and thought to herself 'I'll never recover from this'; pictured February 7

False expectations: 'It was just was the complete opposite of what I thought,' she said about the whole experience of giving birth

She also shared that two weeks after giving birth she was 'still in a diaper,' calling labor 'no joke.'

Providing an update on Instagram over the weekend she told her 1.3M followers, 'my post partum journey has been anything but glamorous.'

'I remember the day after I had the c-section, and the nurses were getting me out of the hospital bed I cried & thought to myself, "I'll never recover from this!"'

She continued, 'Even though that thought was so scary for me, I was and am SO proud of this body, that it protected and nurtured this little human. Our bodies are truly amazing..here's to the women!!'

Overall she said that Leo - who is named for his grandpa - has been 'really good from day one.

Being parents has also brought she and her husband of four years closer, as she told Us, 'Watching him be a father is, like, the most amazing thing because it's just been us two for years. It just melts your heart and you just love him that much more
WE are now reading that the Minister of Sport has come out with a statement regarding our participation in the Tokyo Olympics.

As with the usual run-of-the-mill political type, the statement vacillates, kicks the can down the road and seeks to avoid the issue. Let us be clear on what the situation is regarding these Olympics.
Harrowing details have emerged about how a woman was allegedly murdered and dumped in bushland after a meth-fuelled sexual encounter.

Dennis James Pietrobon was last year charged with murder after allegedly dumping Nicole Cartwright's body in a park in Hunters Hill, in Sydney's lower North Shore, in 2018.

Pietrobon, who met Ms Cartwright through a dating app, allegedly struck the 32-year-old at his house before covering her face with a hoodie.

Two days later he took her body to Buffalo Creek Reserve where he planned on placing her in a council bin, police alleged in Burwood Local Court on Wednesday.

But he was allegedly caught off guard by a passerby and instead dragged her body 30m and fled the scene, the court heard, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Dennis James Pietrobon was last year charged with murder after allegedly dumping Nicole Cartwright's body in a park in Hunters Hill, in Sydney's lower North Shore, in 2018

Detectives arrested Pietrobon at Parramatta Police Station at about 12.45pm May 27 last year

Pietrobon's fingerprints were allegedly found on tape binding Ms Cartwright's wrists, as well as a shirt that was discarded near her body, a Sydney court heard

The court also heard allegations Pietrobon's fingerprints were found on tape binding Ms Cartwright's wrists, as well as a shirt that was discarded near her body.

His DNA was also discovered on the garbage bin that he allegedly used to transport her body to the park, police said.

Pietrobon's lawyer argued that investigators still hadn't established Ms Cartwright's cause of death.

'The Crown cannot say what my client actually did. It is on the Crown case they meet up with for what crown says was consensual and highly risky sexual conduct to consume methylamphetamine,' she told the court.

'The DPP need to prove he caused the act and that he intended she die. A highly experienced pathologist cannot say how she died.'

Prosecutor Nicholas Leach told the court Ms Cartwright took an Uber to Pietrobons home before she was allegedly murdered.

'On the Crown case what is taking place in the early hours is the deceased met up with (Pietrobon) to engage in a pump and play session,' he said.

A council worker made the gruesome discovery in Hunters Hill (located above) about 7.30am on October 3, 2018

Mr Leach alleged Pietrobon became 'extremely violent' and struck her in the left side of her face.

Pietrobon then allegedly stuffed Ms Cartwright in the boot of his Mercedes two days later, the court heard.

CCTV footage captured a similar car heading in the same direction as the reserve where she was dumped.

Pietrobon was arrested at Parramatta Police Station on May 27 following a police investigation spanning more than 18 months.

The magistrate last week denied Pietrobon's bail application. The case continues.
We were pleased to see that Black History Month didnt go by this year without honoring one of South Carolinas most significant  but also one of its most overlooked  African American figures.

Last week, members of the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill to rename the U.S. Post Office in Georgetown after the first African American to serve in their body, Joseph Rainey. He was born into slavery in Georgetown in 1832, and his father was a barber who eventually earned enough money to purchase his familys freedom and move them to Charleston.

When drafted by the Confederacy during the Civil War, Joseph Rainey fled to Bermuda with his wife and went into business there. They returned to Georgetown soon after the war, and Mr. Rainey became chairman of that countys new Republican Party, then served as a delegate to the 1868 state constitutional convention and won a Statehouse seat.

Those stepping stones eventually led to his election to Congress in 1870, where he served until 1879, after Reconstruction ended. It would take a half century before another African American would match Mr. Raineys eight-year-plus tenure.

Along with Robert Smalls, another former enslaved person elected to Congress from South Carolina, Mr. Rainey fought for racial equality, education and economic opportunity. But his historic story faded over time, particularly in comparison to Mr. Smalls, whose daring theft of a Confederate vessel from Charleston Harbor during the war burnished his legend.

In fact, U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, who represents Georgetown, told his colleagues that Mr. Rainey is an American hero that I had never heard of before I got to Congress. Mr. Rice worked along with the rest of the states House members to pass the Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office Building bill. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace noted that Mr. Raineys incredible leadership to our nation deserves much more than a Post Office, but this is certainly a start.

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Of course, his story was remembered by some. Lorna Rainey, who lives in New York, learned about her great-grandfather from her aunt. From the time I was 3 years old, my Aunt Olive would take me onto her knee every time I saw her and tell me the stories of her dad and the things he accomplished and the things that he went through before and during the time he was in Congress, she told reporter Tyler Fleming. I always knew who I was and, no matter what happened, no one could take that from me.

Ms. Rainey has watched as interest in her ancestor has grown during the past 20 years. Many historians hope it grows more still, particularly as we look back at Reconstruction with fresh eyes.

For 10 or 12 years, Reconstruction worked, Brent Morris, director of the Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era, told Mr. Fleming. African Americans were able to seek public office and represent the population. It was a powerful constituency. Reconstruction wasnt this dark period, it was a chance for America to make good on the ideals set forth in 1776.

The Georgetown Post Office on Charlotte Street is less than 2 miles away from Mr. Raineys childhood home on Prince Street, now a National Historic Landmark. Congressman Jim Clyburn said he hopes the new honor will shine new light on Joseph Raineys story and legacy.

To truly honor the contributions of Joseph Rainey, and all African Americans, we must build on this progress by working together to address our countrys longstanding racial inequities and fulfill the promise of liberty and justice for all, Mr. Clyburn said.

Exploring our past  particularly drawing lessons and inspiration from figures whose stories have been obscured by time  is a great way to better understand ourselves and work toward a brighter future.
Fresh protests in Barcelona over the jailing of a Spanish rapper turned violent on Sunday, with ten people arrested for assaulting the cops by nightfall.

Trash cans were set on fire, broken glass covered the sidewalks, and police lines formed around crowds.

Demonstrations began earlier this month, after rapper Pablo Hasel was arrested and taken to start his nine-month jail sentence.

Known for being anti-establishment, Hasel was convicted in 2018 for breaking free speech laws glorifying terrorism and insulting royalty.

In tweets and lyrics, he called Spain's former King a mafia boss, likened Spanish judges to Nazis and referenced a Basque separatist group, ETA.

On Saturday, some 2,000 people in masks and holding banners marched through Barcelona, calling for his release.

Police put up barricades downtown, as businesses and a police van went up in flames.

Pressure now mounts on Spain's government to uphold its recent promise to relax free speech laws.

Video Transcript

- Fresh protests in Barcelona over the jailing of a Spanish rapper turned violent on Sunday, with 10 people arrested for assaulting the cops by nightfall. Trash cans were set on fire, broken glass covered the sidewalks, and police lines formed around crowds. Demonstrations began earlier this month after rapper Pablo Hasel was arrested and taken to start his nine-month jail sentence.

Known for being anti-establishment, Hasel was convicted in 2018 for breaking free speech laws glorifying terrorism and insulting royalty. In tweets and lyrics, he called Spain's former king a mafia boss, likened Spanish judges to Nazis, and referenced a Basque separatist group, ETA.

On Saturday, some 2000 people in masks and holding banners marched through Barcelona calling for his release. Police put up barricades downtown as businesses and police van went up in flames. Pressure now mounts on Spain's government to uphold its recent promise to relax free speech laws.
Ahead of Andalucia Day, 28 February, a study by the Centre for Sociological Research (CIS) commissioned by the regional government has revealed very high levels of Andalusian sentiment and support for autonomy among the regions population. Some 90% of respondents said they were proud to be Andalusian and of their accent, and that they identified with regional symbols of identity such as the flag.

The study considered questions relating to Andalusian identity, feelings of belonging and opinions on the level of autonomy that the region currently has.

The report also compared these findings to sentiments of Spanish national identity and respondents association with Spanish symbols.

Andalusian and Spanish pride

One of the main findings was the deeply-embedded sense of pride in being Andalusian, with 90.4% of respondents declaring themselves to be quite proud or very proud of their regional identity. A total of 87.6% gave the same response regarding Spanish identity.

Moreover, on a scale of 0 to 10 from not at all Andalusian to very Andalusian, the average response was 8.5. Clearly, this identity is compatible with feelings of Spanishness because the average response was 8.9/10 on the same scale regarding this identity. Indeed, 77% of people indicated that they feel equally Andalusian and Spanish.

Green and white flag

Similarly, 89.6% of those who took part identify with or strongly identify with the Andalusian flag, just a fraction higher than the 89.4% who said they identified with the Spanish flag. Moreover, 86.8% of people did not associate the Andalusian flag with a particular political ideology or party, instead seeing it as a non-partisan symbol of regional identity and belonging.

On top of this, 80.4% said they identified with the Andalusian regional anthem, similar to the 83.9% who signalled a level of identification with the Spanish national anthem. However, less than half of people (41.2%) declared that they identified with the European Unions anthem.

Level of government autonomy

Regarding the constitutional status of the region, only 5.3% of respondents felt that Andalusia currently has too much autonomy. On the other hand, 59.5% believed that the level of regional independence is sufficient, while 31.4% want more autonomy for Andalusia.

On the subject of the Andalusian accent, 91.1% of those surveyed noted it was a part of their identity. Furthermore, 38.6% expressed a degree of anger at the criticism that the accent receives, while 12.5% actually saw the attention it receives as a source of pride.

Additionally, 30.4% expressed indifference at the negative attention.

The study was carried out between 8 and 11 February this year and surveyed a total of 800 adults living in Andalucia.
The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two.

Health experts had been anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the U.S. and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways.

The FDA panel voted unanimously - 22 to zero - in favor of the vaccine saying J&J's vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death.

A third vaccine is seen as a vital means to ramp up the immunization rate.

Together with Pfizer and Moderna doses, it gives the US enough doses to fully vaccinate every adult in the country.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine which required just a single shot dose

President Biden released a statement on Saturday: 'This fight is far from over. Though we celebrate todays news, I urge all Americans  keep washing your hands, stay socially distanced, and keep wearing masks.'

In large clinical trials that spanned three continents, the J&J vaccine's efficacy against severe disease was 85.9 percent in the United States, 81.7 percent in South Africa, and 87.6 percent in Brazil, where the variants of most concern are spreading.

Overall, among 39,321 participants across all regions, the efficacy against severe Covid-19 was 85.4 percent, but it fell to 66.1 percent when including moderate forms of the disease.

Crucially, analyses of various demographic groups revealed no marked differences across age, race, or people with underlying conditions.

'The more vaccines that have high efficacy that we can get into play, the better,' Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said ahead of the FDAs ruling.

Shipments of a few million doses to be divided among states could begin as early as Monday.

With 100 million doses of the single-shot expected by the end of June, the additional doses could boost the US stockpile enough to have enough vaccine to inoculate every American.

But Johnson & Johnson admitted earlier this month that only three or four million doses will be available immediately upon authorization but with some 800,000 of that expected to go directly to pharmacies., 70,000 would be sent to community centers; and 90,000 would go to federally qualified health centers.

President Joe Biden called the FDA approval 'exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis.'

'We know that the more people get vaccinated, the faster we will overcome the virus, get back to our friends and loved ones, and get our economy back on track.... But I want to be clear: this fight is far from over.

'There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable. We must continue to remain vigilant, act fast and aggressively, and look out for one another  that is how we are going to reach that light together,' he continued.

By the end of March, J&J has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the U.S., and 100 million by summer. Together with Moderna and Pfizer it's enough for every person in the U.S.

FDA advisors voted for the FDA to authorize J&J's one-dose COVID-19 vaccine

A closer look at the numbers of people in hospital show that there is a significant downward trend

Saturday's figures show there are currently 51,116 people in hospital with virus and 2,137 deaths in the last 24 hours

On Friday, during a visit to Houston, Biden described the federal government's mass inoculation drive as 'the most difficult operational challenge this nation has ever faced logistically.'

He said there were to be expected challenges in reaching people in remote areas, and in persuading others who were 'hesitant to take the shots.'

'We all know there's a history in this country of subjugating certain communities to terrible medical and scientific abuse, but if there's one message that needs to cut through all this: The vaccines are safe. I promise you,' Biden said.

'We are still in the midst of a deadly pandemic. There is a shortage of vaccines that are currently authorized and I think authorization of this vaccine will help meet the needs at the moment,' said Dr Archana Chatterjee, a panelist and dean of the Chicago Medical School.

The panel was particularly glad that vaccine can be easily stored, at just refrigerator temperatures of between 35.6 and 46.4F, making distribution easier than that of the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc vaccines that use mRNA technology and must be shipped and stored frozen

That is 'very practical for rural areas in the US and across the world,' said one of the panelists, Dr Ofer Levy, a professor at Harvard Medical School and director of Boston Children's Hospital's vaccine program.

J&J's vaccine also had a low rate of side effects in a 44,000-person trial. Sixty-one percent of participants had some reaction, but just 2.3 percent were considered severe.

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.

Three to four million doses of the vaccine are expected to be rolled out next week.

Most people who had side effects had nausea, fatigue, headaches, body aches or fevers.

There had been no severe allergic reactions to the vaccine documented in the trial data prior to Friday, but Johnson & Johnson scientists revealed that one person had since had an anaphylactic reaction to the shot.

A Johnson & Johnson scientist works in a laboratory during the development and testing of the Janssen coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine

The vaccine was 66 percent effective at preventing moderate-to-severe cases of COVID-19 compared with a placebo in the context of trials in North America, South America and South Africa.

'It gets way over the bar and it's nice to have a single-dose vaccine,' said Dr Stanley Perelman, another panelist and coronavirus expert at the University of Iowa.

He noted, however, that it is 'a little challenging to know how to use it clinically right now.'

Dr Perelman did not elaborate on that, beyond to say that we are in a 'shifting environment' but was perhaps referring to the possibility that Johnson & Johnson's vaccine ends up being a two-dose vaccine.

The nation will now have a third vaccine from which to protect citizens with the Johnson & Johnson shot only requiring a single shot compared to Pfizer and Moderna's jabs

By the end of March, J&J has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the U.S., and 100 million by summer.

J&J also is seeking authorization for emergency use of its vaccine in Europe and from the World Health Organization.

Worldwide, the company aims to produce about 1 billion doses globally by the end of the year.

On Thursday, the island nation of Bahrain became the first to clear its use.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 72,806,180 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in the country as of Saturday morning and it had distributed 96,402,290 doses.

The tally is for both the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines as of 6am Saturday, the agency said. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines involve two doses.

The CDC on Friday had reported a tally 70,454,064 vaccines doses administered and 94,300,910 doses distributed.

People wait in line to receive COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic held by the L.A. County Sheriff's Community Advisory Council in Los Angeles

The agency said that as of Saturday, 48,435,536 people had received at least one vaccine dose while 23,698,627 had received the two doses.

A total of 7,043,540 vaccine doses have been administered in long-term care facilities, the agency said.

The United States has recorded about 28.5 million coronavirus cases and 510,373 deaths.

Daily case numbers are roughly where they were in October and well below the single-day record of about 300,000 infections set in early January, but federal health officials are warning impatient governors not to relax pandemic control measures, fearing a recent steep drop in cases and deaths could be about to level off.

Concerns have been raised after the seven-day average for new cases  69,483 as of early Saturday  has been creeping upwards.

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As the country shifts gear on the next phase of vaccination, state health authorities have asked private hospitals to pull up their socks and be ready to take on the inoculation challenge once registration on CoWIN 2.0 begins from 9 am on Monday.

From managing registrations and storing vaccines to also making timely payment to the Centre for the doses procured, the private sector is poised for a bigger and more active role in administering the life-saving jab.

In a well-laid out plan, the Centre has said that as the CoWIN portal goes live for the general public in specified age groups on March 1, it is likely to be a soft launch at some reserved vaccine centres. The drive will pick up as more people in the 60-and-above and 45-plus with comorbidities register on CoWIN.

The proportion of slots, where on-site registration, appointment, verification, and will happen on the same day as part of the mobilisation exercise, will be decided by states. Private hospitals will be kept out of this.

Slots will be automatically reserved for those scheduled to receive their second dose  which was suspended for Saturday and Sunday.

The rest will be open slots available to the general public. A time table will be prepared by the district administrator  this will be available on the CoWIN portal.

The type of vaccine will not be disclosed at the time of appointment. Currently either of the two vaccines  Covishield or Covaxin  will be available in hospitals.

The Delhi government had asked hospitals to make an immediate payment of Rs 150 per dose to the Centre for the stock they wish to purchase. A maximum number of 2,000 doses and a minimum of 600 will be provided by the Delhi health department to each hospital, said a senior official.





ALSO READ: Decoded: How can vaccine makers adapt to new coronavirus variants?

Maharashtra is working on preparing a master plan. State Health Secretary Pradeep Vyas said a meeting was held with hospitals on Saturday. Based on their willingness and infrastructure, we will proceed, said Vyas, adding that the private sites will need to make an upfront payment to receive the doses. The Mumbai civic body is likely to conduct inoculations mostly at government sites on Monday.

Mulund-based Platinum Hospital, which is on the government panel, said it has so far not heard from the civic body. We do not have any doses yet. There will be greater clarity in the next few days, said a hospital official. Vyas said the drive will stabilise in the days to come.

Covishield, which comes in vials of 10 doses, and Covaxin, in vials of 20 doses, have to be stored in 2-8 degrees Celsius. Hospitals have been told to be ready for random inspections, checking on their storage and refrigeration facilities on site.



In a marked departure from the earlier strategy, where government teams were collecting unused vials and providing support to trained staff, private hospitals will now have to take over on-ground implementation. Delhis Max Hospital, for instance, will start the process from 12 noon onwards. Delhis health officials have directed the hospitals to keep the drive going six days a week, from 9 am to 5 pm.

The target number of doses in a vaccination cycle will be decided by states, based on the total number of available doses, additional doses likely to be available, and after factoring in the requirement for the second dose. One person will be able to register up to four beneficiaries; the identification card for each has to be different. Appointments for any date for a Covid vaccination centre will be closed at 3 pm on that day for which the slots were opened, said the health ministry.

Beneficiaries will be able to edit records of registration and appointment till vaccination. As soon as the date of appointment is booked, the CoWIN portal will schedule the person for the second dose on the 29th day from the first one. In certain cases, the second dose can be rescheduled up to the 42nd day. There will be a special reserve slot beyond the 42nd day.

If a person cancels the appointment for the first dose, the second one will be automatically cancelled. However, there is no option to cancel the second-dose appointment.





ALSO READ: Private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 for a shot of Covid-19 vaccine

The government has also advised hospitals to ensure there is no overcrowding by managing the time slots.

The Delhi government said that from March 1, no doses at private hospitals will be available for free, including those scheduled to take the second dose.

Private hospitals in Gujarat like Apollo CVHF Heart Institute have said they will not be able to begin the vaccination drive from Monday.

It is only on Sunday we were given instructions. Our own staff has its second dose scheduled on Monday. While spot registrations as well as through apps like CoWIN and Aarogya Setu are being encouraged, one needs to see how many are able to do so. It will take at least two to three days to begin inoculation, said Apollo CVHF Heart Institutes Chief Operating Officer S R Anklesaria.

A spokesperson at another leading private hospital in Ahmedabad said the internal management at private hospitals of the vaccination drive will take time.

Unlike government hospitals, much of the standard operating procedures are not yet in place. There is no clarity on how to go about the process. For instance, will the inoculation be done during outpatient hours needs to be ascertained. With manpower crunch, the internal management of the drive will take time. We wont be able to begin vaccination before a week from Monday, the spokesperson added.

Besides, the health ministrys campaign against vaccine hesitancy is also expected to gain momentum, with focus on community engagement and social mobilisation.

A list of 20 comorbidities has been specified by the health ministry for those in the 45-59-year age bracket, including diabetes for more than 10 years, CT/MRI-documented stroke and hypertension, coronary artery disease, moderate or service valvular heart disease, among others. The age will be calculated as on January 1, 2022. Covid vaccine price has been capped at Rs 250 per dose at private hospitals: Rs 150 for vaccines and Rs 100 as operational charges.
Amid a blistering international outcry over the countrys treatment of LGBT+ citizens, Ghanas president has vowed to never legalise marriage equality in a devastating but expected blow.

In breaking his days-long silence, Nana Akufo-Addo sought to stress that queer rights will not budge an inch anytime soon under his four-year presidency, Africa News reported.

Speaking at the opening of the second Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Ghana at Asante Mampong in the Ashanti region on Saturday (27 February), Akufo-Addo repeated the words hes said time and time before.

I have said this before, let me in conclusion stress again, the New Patriotic Party leader said, that it will not be under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legal, that same-sex marriage will be legalized in Ghana, it will never happen in my time as President.

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Let me repeat, it will never happen in my time as President.

After one of Ghanas few LGBT+ rights group opened a new office and community safe space it became a target for conservative backlash, signalling the depth of anger felt towards queer Ghanaians.

The office, which received the backing from European Union officials, has become a pinched battleground between a fledgeling queer rights group and a small but powerful cadre of religious conservatives.

So-called family values organisers have urged law enforcement to arrest its members  they came close after an unlawful police raid earlier this week.

National security officers stormed the building and forcibly closes the premises. Now leaders of LGBT+ Rights Ghana fear for their safety

In Ghana, homosexuality is illegal and anti-LGBT+ sentiment is common, spouted by lawmakers and religious leaders and codified by its colonial-era laws.

Queer residents have escaped being burned alive by vigilantes, robbed, abused and blackmailed by Grindr catfishers and the countrys chief imam has blamed the coronavirus on transgender and lesbianism and called LGBT+ people demonic.
Image via Getty/Aaron J. Thornton/FilmMagic

A lawyer has asked authorities to start an investigation into T.I. and Tiny on behalf of the 11 women who claim they were drugged or sexually assaulted by the couple, The New York Times reports.

Lawyer Tyrone A. Blackburn sent a letter to the prosecution claiming that the couple has committed a host of crimes including sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats and false imprisonment. Blackburn even recounted an event that happened in 2005 from an alleged victim that refused to remain anonymous.

On several occasions, T.I. forced her to take multiple ecstasy pills, Blackburn wrote. The duo forced her to engage in sexual acts with different women against her will.  She has personally witnessed women complaining of being kidnapped and held against their will for days at a time.

Blackburn says he has sent letters seeking a criminal investigation to different attorney offices across America including the US Attorneys for the Northern District of Georgia and the Central District of California, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, and the states attorney general. Although hes received notices of delivery, no formal investigation has been launched.

T.I. has denied the accusation on behalf of himself and his wife. Yet despite claiming to have proof the stories were fabricated, the rappers T.I. And Tiny: Friends And Family Hustle television show has been put on hold until an official resolution has been reached.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during an interview with The Epoch Times' "Crossroads" at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Feb. 27, 2021. (The Epoch Times)

Twitter, Facebook, Google Need Regulation Like Utility Company: Texas AG Paxton

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has suggested that Big Tech firms should be treated like utility or phone companies in terms of regulation.

Over the past several years, there have been calls for the federal government to regulate Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, and other Big Tech firms, as these companies can exercise great control over what can and cant be discussed on their platforms. Some conservatives, including former President Donald Trump, have said Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 should be repealed or at least changed, while others have said that Big Tech companies have violated antitrust laws and have pursued monopolistic practices.

Paxton, a Republican, told The Epoch Times Crossroads program on Feb. 27 that these companies control the entire platform and can choose who to keep or who to cancel.

And so there is no other choice other than to regulate them, he said, suggesting they be regulated like a utility company.

These firms have to provide power to everybody, because youre the only choice, Paxton said. Normally, Id say  a private company can do what they want, and consumers have choices.

But in terms of social media, consumers dont have a choice, they have no choice, he said. And so we have to regulate that and make sure that free speech is not being controlled by a few very wealthy tech people.

In the wake of accounts being suspended or posts being deleted by moderators on Facebook or Twitter, there have been arguments that conservatives should instead create their own social media platforms. However, with Parler being taken down by Amazon Web Services and being deleted from Apples App Store and Googles Play Store, some have argued that its a sign these companies hold too much power. Another alternative social media platform, Gab, suffered similar blows several years ago after a mass shooting suspect posted his intentions to open fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue. As a result, Gab was forced to create its own payment processor and host its own servers.

When applying the term public utility to social media, it implies that these websites are public necessities and as a result, should be regulated by the government. These companies are being increasingly viewed as vital for living in an interconnected world; some have argued that living a successful life would be difficult without them.

Paxton also said that his office is investigating five companies related to the whole issue of the president being deplatformed last month.

In mid-January, Twitter, Google, Facebook, Twitch, and others suspended Trumps accounts following the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol. Twitter executives later said that Trump likely will never be able to return to the social media account.

But Trump, who favored Twitter to make announcements and voice his frustrations, said recently that Twitter has become very boring and suggested that millions of people are leaving.

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The Taoiseach has appealed to people to stick to the guidelines and hold the line during lockdown as the vaccine programme is rolled out.

Micheal Martin also insisted that vaccines are being administered as soon as they are arriving in the country, and that the supply should ramp up significantly in April.

He made his comments during a visit this afternoon to the Cork campus of Munster Technological University (MTU) where GPs began vaccinating patients aged 85 or over, about an hour before violent scenes during an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin, where fireworks were fired at gardai.

Mr Martin said he understands how difficult it is for people adhering to the various restrictions during this prolonged lockdown.

I would say to people that it is very important to stick to the guidelines. I know it is very difficult for people - it really is, he said.

It is a very long lockdown but as we roll out the vaccination programme we give greater protection to the most vulnerable and our most senior citizens which prevents them from getting sick and prevents mortality.

"I would say to people to 'hold' - we need to vaccinate the elderly, we need to vaccinate those who are most vulnerable to the disease and it makes sense to do that."

Mr Martin said concerns are heightened in the context of the UK variant of the virus, which spreads more easily.

"We do not want to go back to where we were in January," he said.

There were almost 1,500 people in hospitals when our intensive care departments were at their limits. All of the staff in our hospitals were under enormous pressure and we cannot go back there.

That is why it is important that we do this in a structured way. I know this is very, very hard on people. I do understand (the concerns) of businesses.

"There is a way of dealing with this now - we have a vaccination programme. We now know that vaccination is having an impact. I would ask people to please hold with us.

"That is how it is going to go - it is going to be very cautious and conservative as we roll-out the vaccination programme.

It makes sense in March that we drive down the numbers. The good news is that the hospital numbers are coming down. Intensive Care Unit (ICUs) are a bit slower and hospitals are still a bit under pressure.

"So we do not want hospitals going back to where they were in January. Likewise, what we reopen now we want to keep open. We do not want to be going back and closing sectors again if we can avoid it.

"Hopefully this will put us on a steady track."

April should be "a very big month" in terms of vaccination numbers, the Taoiseach said, while should help in easing restrictions.

Vaccination centres will be used on a wider scale at that stage, he said.

"We are giving out vaccines as we get them in - there is no delay in terms of the vaccines once we get them into the country.

Bar the Moderna (vaccine) - they asked us to keep 50% in stock for the second dose - in terms of PfizerBioNTech and AstraZeneca, we are giving them out as soon as we get them in.

Nora Mcauliffe, 99, from Blarney and GP Una O'Halloran from Blarney as the first vaccinations at the Covid-19 vaccination centre at the Bishopstown campus of Munster Technological University (MTU) are administered Picture: Larry Cummins

Mr Martin watched as up to 350 people aged 85 and over received the first dose of their vaccine today in from GPs from practices across Cork city and East Cork.

It will be used again for the next three weekends for this age group, before operating as a hub for GPs to administer vaccines to their patients aged 70 and over for the following weekends.

They will vaccinate an expected 2,500 people aged 70 and over by appointment over the coming weekends.

GPs will schedule appointments for their own patients and will be in direct contact with their patients to arrange the appointments.

We are now nearing the end of the second week of the three-week programme to deliver first vaccines to those aged 85 and over by their GPs. While the majority of people receive their vaccines at their GPs own surgeries, the vaccination hub at MTU provides for some GPs to come together to administer the vaccine as efficiently as possible, a spokesperson for the HSE said.

Mr Martin paid tribute to the doctors who coordinated the operation with the HSE.

It is wonderful to see the joy on peoples faces as they get the vaccine, Mr Martin said.

I think we also know now that the vaccination programme is having an impact on the nursing homes and in the hospitals - the level of the disease has gone way down. Clearly, the vaccination programme is having an impact there - that is what doctors are saying to us.

But he would not be drawn on the possible lifting of restrictions from April 5. He said public health experts want to assess the impact of the partial reopening of schools from Monday.

I am not going to speculate about anything after April 5. We will look at it in advance and look at outdoor activities, sporting activities, construction and the 5km issue, he said.
Press Release

February 28, 2021 Lacson Stresses Policy Adjustments to Prevent Repeat of PNP-PDEA 'Misencounter' More at: https://pinglacson.net/2021/02/28/lacson-stresses-policy-adjustments-to-prevent-repeat-of-pnp-pdea-misencounter/ The government may need to adjust its policies to prevent a repeat of the deadly "misencounter" between Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operatives in Quezon City last Wednesday, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Sunday. Lacson said one such adjustment would involve the PDEA "overseeing" anti-drug operations and focusing on intelligence work, and leaving the assault operations to specially trained police personnel. "We have to resolve the trust issue between the PNP and PDEA. But it would be better if the PDEA acted as overseer in anti-drug operations, and focus on intelligence-gathering, whether it is technical or human intelligence," he said in an interview on DZBB radio. "In other countries, the output of intelligence work is shared with specially trained police units, with one or two PDEA operatives accompanying or 'guiding' the police force in the operation. That is the ideal situation where coordination is smooth and tight. The last thing we need is the reluctance of our agencies to work together because of what happened," he added. Lacson, who headed the PNP from 1999 to 2001, noted this setup is used in the United States where representatives from the US Drug Enforcement Agency "oversees" or "guides" specially-trained police forces in the assault. He added that such policy adjustments are needed for the government to keep two to three steps ahead of drug syndicates, especially to address the possibility that such syndicates manipulate "informants" to mislead government forces into fighting each other. "Kailangan ng gobyerno, kaming mga policy makers, two to three steps ahead sa iniisip ng sindikato (We in the government must make sure we are two to three steps ahead of the syndicates)," he said. Lacson also voiced support for Senate Bill 3 of Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, which - among others - creates the Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority as the supervising agency for the proper, more effective and efficient implementation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The proposed agency will also absorb the policy-making and strategy-formulating functions of the Dangerous Drugs Board. Meanwhile, Lacson said those found liable for Wednesday's incident should not just be relieved but be slapped with administrative and criminal charges due to the deaths of the law operatives involved. "Napakalungkot at hindi dapat maulit ang pangyayari (What happened was very sad and should not be allowed to happen again)," he said. "Sad to say, the government's anti-drug efforts have not succeeded. Otherwise, we would have made a big dent in the operations of drug syndicates. This is shown by the mere fact that shabu is still being sold and so many drug addicts are roaming the streets," he added.





Former US president Donald Trump has signaled he will seek revenge on fellow Republicans who voted to impeach him last month, and he followed through Friday, endorsing an ex-aide against an Ohio congressman.







Trump threw his "complete and total" support behind Max Miller, a 2020 deputy campaign manager and White House advisor challenging Representative Anthony Gonzalez, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the deadly January 6 riot at the US Capitol.







"Max Miller is a wonderful person who did a great job at the White House and will be a fantastic congressman," Trump said in a statement.







"Current Rep. Anthony Gonzalez should not be representing the people of the 16th district because he does not represent their interest or their heart," Trump added.







It is believed to be the first endorsement Trump has offered to a challenger of one of the Republicans who voted for his ouster.







"I will never back down and will never betray my constituents," Miller, 32, said in a tweet highlighting Trump's endorsement.







Trump was impeached on January 13 but acquitted one month later by the Senate. He has said he aims to play a role in Republican efforts to win back the House in 2022. (AFP)


Eddyville Woman In Police Chase To Fredonia

By West Kentucky Star Staff

FREDONIA - An Eddyville woman faces multiple charges after she fled from law enforcement into Caldwell County on Friday night.The pursuit began on US 641 after a Lyon County deputy attempted to stop a car that was reportedly traveling 74 miles per hour. He said the driver, 42-year old Stephanie A. Miles, disregarded the deputys lights and siren, and fled into Caldwell County.Miles reportedly drove through yards and then got stuck in a ditch in Fredonia. Miles was taken into custody after she fled on foot and was tased.Miles was booked into the Crittenden County Jail and charged with first-degree fleeing or evading police, first-degree wanton endangerment, tampering with physical evidence, resisting arrest, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of controlled substances, third-degree criminal mischief, speeding, and driving with one headlight.
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A large iceberg the size of Bedfordshire has broken away from the Antarctic, scientists have revealed.

The separation, which took place near Britain's Halley research station, saw the iceberg measuring 1,270 square kilometres break off from the Brunt Ice Shelf in a process called 'calving', the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said.

It comes almost a decade after scientists first detected vast cracks had formed in the shelf which is located in the Weddell Sea section of Antarctica.

The BAS, which has been operating the research station since 2017, said the first indication that a calving event was imminent came in November 2020 when a major crack - called the North Rift  carved its way through the ice.

The vast iceberg measuring 1,270 square kilometres broke off from the Brunt Ice Shelf in a process called 'calving', the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said

The British Antarctic Survey, who have operating research station since 2017, said scientists first detected vast cracks had formed in the shelf almost a decade ago

In January, the rift pushed northeast at up to 1 km per day and eventually an iceberg was formed when the crack widened in the morning of February 26 and split from the rest of the floating ice shelf.

The movement has been relayed back to the research station's headquarters in Cambridge and scientists will be inspecting satellite imagery when it becomes available.

According to NASA, the crack in the Brunt Ice Shelf was stable for nearly 35 years before it recently began accelerating.

While it is not the largest iceberg to split off from the Antarctic, it is the biggest chunk the Brunt Ice Shelf has lost since observations began more than 100 years ago in 1915.

Britain's Halley VI Research Station, which monitors the state of the vast floating ice shelf daily, said their team had been preparing for the calving 'for years'.

BAS director Jane Francis said: 'Our teams at BAS have been prepared for the calving of an iceberg from Brunt Ice Shelf for years.

'We monitor the ice shelf daily using an automated network of high-precision GPS instruments that surround the station, these measure how the ice shelf is deforming and moving. We also use satellite images from ESA, NASA and the German satellite TerraSAR-X.

A crack called the North Rift formed on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica before the iceberg formed

The Halley Research Station is a research facility on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica

In January, drone footage showed a massive crack beginning to form in the Brunt Ice Shelf

'All the data are sent back to Cambridge for analysis, so we know what's happening even in the Antarctic winter, when there are no staff on the station, it's pitch black, and the temperature falls below minus 50 degrees C (or -58F).

WHAT IS A CALVING EVENT? Glacier calving is a natural occurrence caused by the forward motion of a glacier making its end unstable. During a calving event, part of the end of a glacier drops off, often forming an iceberg. Calving of glaciers is often accompanied by a loud cracking or booming sound before blocks of ice up to 200 ft high break loose and crash into the water. The entry of this ice into the water can cause large and hazardous waves. Advertisement

'Over coming weeks or months, the iceberg may move away; or it could run aground and remain close to Brunt Ice Shelf. Halley Station is located inland of all the active chasms, on the part of the ice shelf that remains connected to the continent.

'Our network of GPS instruments will give us early warning if the calving of this iceberg causes changes in the ice around our station.'

Meanwhile Simon Garrod, Director of Operations at British Antarctic Survey, added: 'This is a dynamic situation. Four years ago we moved Halley Research Station inland to ensure that it would not be carried away when an iceberg eventually formed. That was a wise decision.

'Our job now is to keep a close eye on the situation and assess any potential impact of the present calving on the remaining ice shelf.

'We continuously review our contingency plans to ensure the safety of our staff, protect our research station, and maintain the delivery of the science we undertake at Halley.'

Glaciologist at the base have said the latest event is unlikely to affect the station's current location.

Calving is a natural occurrence caused by the forward motion of a glacier making its end unstable.

During a calving event, part of the end of a glacier drops off, often forming an iceberg.
Former CIA Director John Brennan said President Joe Biden should not 'turn a blind eye' to actions of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after report blamed him for murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Brennan, who served as the CIA chief from March 2013 to January 2017, called on Biden to prevent bin Salman from ever entering United States while still maintaining a longstanding strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia.

'The United States and Saudi Arabia have had a longstanding strategic partnership that I think is very important to both countries,' Brennan said in an interview with MSNBC's Joshua Johnson.

'It runs the gamut from energy to security, counter-terrorism and economics. So therefore, I do think its important we maintain the strength of that relationship.'

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Former CIA Director John Brennan, pictured, said President Joe Biden should not 'turn a blind eye' to actions committed by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince

A recent report found Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, pictured, had approved the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018

Brennan, who served as the CIA chief from March 2013 to January 2017, called on Biden, pictured, to prevent bin Salman from ever entering United States

Former CIA Director @JohnBrennan discusses the difficult road ahead for U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia under President Biden: pic.twitter.com/cHADqal5RU  The Week with Joshua Johnson (@TheWeekMSNBC) February 28, 2021

However, Brennan said the Biden administration should not 'turn a blind eye at all to things Saudi leaders do, including Mohammed bin Salman.'

Brennan said Biden has to send a 'clear signal' to bin Salman that 'these types of activities, oppressing, suppressing and ruthlessly killing any Saudi activist who dare to speak out against him is something that shouldnt be tolerated.'

'I do think we can distinguish between the strategic partnership between the two countries and the actions of one man,' Brennan said.

He continued: 'Thats why Im really hoping that the Biden administration is going to hold him accountable, saying that he is not going to come to the United States for any official or personal visits.'

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi pictured in 2012. He was last seen on October 2, 2018

Brennan added that the Biden administration officials should not hold any senior level meetings with bin Salman.

'That has to be made very clear, not just to Mohammed bin Salman and the rest of the Saudi government, but also to other governments throughout the region,' Brennan said.

'They cannot get away with this because the Biden administration is going to hold them to certain standards in terms of human rights and values.'

Biden said on Saturday that his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday.

It follows the U.S. intelligence report that found bin Salman had approved the killing of Khashoggi.

The Biden administration has faced some criticism that the president should have been tougher on the crown prince, who was not sanctioned despite being blamed for approving Khashoggi's murder.

Asked about punishing the crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, who is also known as MBS, Biden said: 'There will be an announcement on Monday as to what we are going to be doing with Saudi Arabia generally.'

Biden did not provide details.

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday. He is pictured stepping off Air Force One on Saturday

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of MBS policies, was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the prince in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

The intelligence report released Friday, which had been withheld after being completed under Trump, said it was 'highly unlikely' that Khashoggi's murder could have taken place without his green light.

The report points to the crown prince's 'absolute control of the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations,' where his authority is already well established.

The killing of Khashoggi also fits a pattern of 'the crown prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad', it added.

But Saudi observers dismissed the highly anticipated report, with Ali Shihabi, a government adviser close to the kingdom's royal court, saying the 'thin' assessment lacked a 'smoking gun'.

The Saudi government, which has denied any involvement by the crown prince, on Friday issued a statement rejecting the U.S. report's findings and repeating its previous statements that Khashoggi's killing was a heinous crime by a rogue group.

Soon after the report was made public, the Arabic hashtag 'We are all MBS' began trending on Twitter, with pro-government cyber armies tweeting in support of the Saudi heir apparent.

The Saudi leadership is 'untouchable', screamed a front-page headline in the pro-government Okaz newspaper, which also denounced the report.

On Friday, Biden had said in an interview with Univision that he would hold Saudi Arabia 'accountable', adding that he had spoken with King Salman about the decision.

'I spoke yesterday with the king ... Made it clear to him that the rules are changing and we're going to be announcing significant changes today and on Monday. We are going to hold them accountable for human rights abuses,' Biden said.

'If they want to deal with us, they will have to deal with it in a way that the human rights abuses are dealt with,' he continued.

The president added that once he got his hands on the report, he worked to 'immediately' read and release it.

'It is outrageous what happened,' he asserted.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman waves on Saturday just days after the report was made public in the U.S. claiming he had authorized Jamal Khashoggi's killing

Despite the unequivocal conclusions of the assessment, the administration stopped short of imposing any diplomatic or economic sanctions on the heir to the throne of the influential ally.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained that Biden wants to 'recalibrate' but not 'rupture' its relations with Riyadh, a longstanding Middle East partner.

'This is not the Saudi smack-down that many expected,' said Varsha Koduvayur, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think-tank.

It indicates 'Biden's overall Saudi stance: put values at the heart of US foreign policy, emphasize human rights, and reverse the transactional approach of last four years (under Trump) -- while preserving the relationship,' Koduvayur added.

Among the punitive steps the United States took on Friday was the imposition of a visa ban on some Saudis believed involved in the Khashoggi killing and sanctions on others, including a former deputy intelligence chief, which would freeze their U.S. assets and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.

Biden has now said he will deal with Saudi Arabia on Monday. He is pictured above with First Lady Jill Biden as they walk to board Marine One on Saturday afternoon

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden exit Marine One as they walk to board Air Force One on Saturday. Biden said he read and released the Saudi report as soon as he could

Blinken released a statement stating the world was 'horrified' by Khashoggi's killing and announcing a new 'Khashoggi ban' visa restriction on people linked to 'counter-dissident activities.'

He said the government has acted against 76 individuals but did not identify Khashoggi.

The public censure of the prince along with US sanctions marks a sharp departure from the policy of former president Trump, who sought to shield the kingdom's de facto ruler.

Biden had pledged during his campaign to make the kingdom a 'pariah' after it got a free pass under Trump, but observers say he is instead adopting a middle path.

While scrutinizing human rights, his new administration is working to preserve a valuable security partnership as it moves to reboot nuclear talks with Riyadh's arch-enemy Tehran.

Biden also needs to deal with the top crude producer on the highly fraught issues of energy, counterterrorism, and efforts to end the conflict in Yemen.

'The Biden foreign policy team is comprised of seasoned experts who are not so naive as to think that they can achieve their goals in the Middle East without dealing with a Saudi state that still anchors, though in a less totalizing way, both oil and security in the Gulf,' said Kristin Diwan of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

'For this reason, they have ruled out the sanctioning of Mohammed bin Salman, preserving space to deal with the Saudi state and its top leadership.'

The office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified report on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi that identified the crown prince approved the killing

Recent official statements from Washington have called Saudi Arabia a 'security partner', instead of what the Trump administration highlighted as an 'ally' and a key buyer of US military hardware.

In an apparent snub earlier this week, Biden insisted on making his first Saudi phone call to 85-year-old King Salman, even as Saudi pro-government supporters insisted that his son, Prince Mohammed, was the kingdom's day-to-day ruler.

'Washington realizes that MBS could go on to rule Saudi Arabia for the next half century, so it cannot afford to completely alienate him,' a Western diplomat told AFP.

'But it is also making clear that it will no longer give him a free pass.'

The crown prince has denied involvement in the October 2018 murder of Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident.

MBS did accept responsibility for the assassination as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. And Riyadh eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a 'rogue' extradition operation gone wrong.

Five men were given the death penalty for the journalist's murder but had their sentences commuted to 20 years in prison after being forgiven by Khashoggi's family.

Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia in September 2017 to live in self-imposed exile.

He was writing columns critical of the Saudi government - including of both King Salman and MBS - for The Washington Post when he was killed.

In October 2018, Khashoggi visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, to pick up the paperwork required for his marriage to a Turkish citizen. He was never seen leaving.
Two brothers have been arrested after they allegedly shot and wounded two sheriff's deputies during a car chase near the border between Georgia and Florida.

Authorities said the shooting unfolded on Saturday night in Brinson, Georgia, when Troy Arthur Phillips and his brother Brad Phillips opened fire with a rifle while being pursued by the deputies on Highway 84.

Brad, 41, was arrested after the chase while Troy, 40, remained at large for much of Sunday before finally being taken into custody just before 2pm.

One of the deputies shot came from the Decatur County Sheriff's Office in Georgia. He was shot under the arm and airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.

The second deputy with the Seminole County Sheriff's office also suffered non-life threatening injuries. Neither deputy has been named publicly.

Authorities said the shooting unfolded on Saturday night in Brinson, Georgia, when Troy Arthur Phillips (left) and his brother Brad Phillips (right) opened fire with a rifle while being pursued by the deputies on Highway 84

Authorities said the Seminole County deputy began pursuing the Phillips' in their Chevrolet pickup truck after attempting to pull them over for reckless driving.

The Decatur County deputy joined the chase after the pickup entered into Georgia.

The men allegedly began shooting from their vehicle before pulling over and trying to break into a home by shooting through the door.

The homeowner returned fire and the suspects left the home. They then opened fire on the Decatur County deputy inside his vehicle.

Troy, 40, (pictured) remained at large for much of Sunday before finally being taken into custody just before 2pm

The suspects continued driving before eventually crashing into a wooded area, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Brad was taken into custody without incident. He is expected to be charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, the GBI said.

Troy managed to escape police, who launched a massive manhunt that continued into Sunday before he was arrested as well.

The GBI did not say what charges Troy would face.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem ripped into Dr Anthony Fauci for criticizing her state's response to the coronavirus pandemic during an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday.

The Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate fiercely defended South Dakota's record on COVID-19 and said Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases, wrongly predicted that the state would be overwhelmed by the virus.

'We never focused on case numbers. Instead, we kept our eye on hospital capacity,' Noem said.

'Dr Fauci told me that I would have 10,000 COVID patients in the hospital on our worst day. On our worst day, we had a little over 600.'

'I don't know if you agree but, Fauci is wrong a lot!' she added, eliciting cheers from the audience.

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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem ripped into Dr Anthony Fauci for criticizing her state's response to the coronavirus pandemic during an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday (pictured)

'I don't know if you agree but, Fauci is wrong a lot!' Noem said of the NIH director (pictured at the White House on Thursday)

Noem then turned her attention to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been slammed over his handling of COVID-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes. He signed a March order that allowed nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients back to their facilities.

Earlier this month, Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo's secretary, unleashed a political firestorm when she admitted to state Democrats that the administration had deliberately hid data on the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

'That's the media's COVID hero,' Noem said of Fauci.

'By the way, he also earned an Emmy and wrote a book on his COVID response. So, who really needed the advice?'

Noem also slammed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over his handling of COVID-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes

Noem, who has fought against mask mandates throughout the pandemic, spent the majority of her lengthy address railing against lockdowns and arguing that the US economy was 'crushed' by the government, not the virus.

'The question of why America needs conservatives can be answered by just mentioning one single year, and that year is 2020,' Noem said.

'Everybody knows that almost overnight we went from a roaring economy to a tragic, nationwide shutdown.'

She touted her decision not to close business or require masks, saying: 'No governor should ever arrest, ticket, or fine people for exercising their freedoms.'

Still, South Dakota has often struggled to contain the pandemic, leading the country in cases and deaths per capita this fall despite having a population of under 885,000.

As of last week the state ranked second-worst for cases per capita with 12,609 per 100,000 and eighth-worst for deaths per capita with 212 per 100,000, according to a tally from Becker's Healthcare.

Noem was roundly criticized in August when she encouraged a motorcycle rally in Sturgis that was reportedly attended by 250,000 people.

South Dakota has often struggled to contain the pandemic, leading the country in cases and deaths per capita this fall despite having a population of under 885,000. The state's latest metrics are shown above in graphs from the COVID Tracking Project

With her eyes on a White House run in 2024, Noem made it clear in her CPAC speech that she still supports former President Donald Trump as she borrowed his penchant for attacking Fauci.

She stood in front of a banner with the words 'America Uncanceled' as she asserted that the US has seen 'an organized, coordinated campaign to remove and eliminate all references to our nation's founding and many other parts of our history'.

'To attempt to cancel the founding generation is an attempt to cancel our own freedoms,' Noem said.

'Let's always remember America is good. Freedom is better than tyranny. We are unique, we are exceptional, and no American should ever, ever apologize for that.'

She also called for Republicans to change their approach to attracting voters, arguing that relying on traditional right-wing campaign issues such as deregulating industry and cutting taxes 'is not good enough anymore'.

'As conservatives, we often forget that stories are much more powerful than facts and statistics,' Noem said.

'Our stories need to be told. It is the only way that we will inspire and motivate the American people to preserve this great country.'

With her eyes on a White House run in 2024, Noem made it clear in her CPAC speech that she still supports former President Donald Trump as she borrowed his penchant for attacking Fauci

The governor also revealed that she was inspired to go into politics after her father died in a farming accident.

She recalled sifting through items in the console of his pickup truck and finding a recording device.

'I pushed the play button and immediately I heard my dad's voice. He was talking about seed corn varieties,' she said.

'I made a decision that day, to be like my dad.'

A recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll of voter preferences for 2024 found that Noem is polling at just one percent.

She is slated to meet with donors at a fundraising event at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida next month, hosted by Donald Trump Jr.

Many other potential 2024 hopefuls took the stage at CPAC with messages similar to Noem's, including Florida Gov Ron DeSantis and US Sens Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz. Former President Trump is slated to speak on Sunday afternoon.
BANGKOK, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- When a plane carrying Thailand's first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from China's Sinovac landed at an airport here on Wednesday, people waiting on the tarmac cheered and applauded.

"Thank you to the People's Republic of China for delivering the first batch of vaccines this month and the following batches in the subsequent months," said Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, when he welcomed the vaccines' arrival at the airport.

Prayut expressed his gratitude while a refrigerated container, with a banner reading "COVID-19 vaccines, returning smiles to Thailand" written in Thai, was lowered from the plane.

The Chinese vaccines would be distributed to 13 provinces of Thailand to prioritize health care workers and those most at risk, while more vaccine shipments are expected to arrive in March and April.

Thailand, known as the Land of Smiles, is heavily reliant on tourism but it recently has seen a drop in tourism due to COVID-19. The country welcomed about 40 million foreign tourists in 2019, but only 6.7 million last year.

It is widely expected that the COVID-19 vaccines will be a game-changer. Prayut hopes the vaccine would contribute to the recovery of the tourism sector through easing restrictive measures, such as exempting vaccinated tourists from the two-week mandatory quarantine.

The arrival of the Sinovac vaccines marks a significant move to jumpstart the vaccination process in Thailand and thus catch up with other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Tang Zhimin, director of China ASEAN Studies at the Bangkok-based Panyapiwat Institute of Management.

Elsewhere in the ASEAN region, where COVID-19 has claimed more than 50,000 lives from over 2.4 million cases, countries are placing their trust in China as they have ordered, received or approved the emergency use of Chinese vaccines.

Among the biggest takers of the Chinese vaccines is Indonesia, which has ordered a large number of doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

"We should ensure the quality, safety and effectiveness. That's the first one. Then the second one is, of course, they have to be listed in the WHO (World Health Organization) recommendation," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, the Indonesian government's spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination.

In a livestream, Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Jan. 13 rolled up his sleeves to receive his first shot of the Sinovac vaccine, kicking off the nation's mass inoculation campaign.

The massive vaccination program would help Indonesia achieve herd immunity after 181.5 million people, or around two thirds of the country's population, are inoculated within 15 months, said Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono.

The largest economy in Southeast Asia is pinning its hope on the mass vaccination drive to curb its soaring cases, which have exceeded 1.3 million, and revitalize its virus-hit economy.

On Saturday, Malaysia also received its first delivery of the Sinovac vaccine, days after the country kicked off its inoculation program, which aims to inoculate at least 80 percent of the country's total population.

Viruses do not respect borders and only by cooperating in the spirit of solidarity can the international community overcome the pandemic, said Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.

As COVID-19 is still raging and countries around the world are scrambling to obtain vaccines, which are in short supply, China has promised to make Chinese COVID-19 vaccines a global public good. Enditem
Bollywood's legend Amitabh Bachchan's health condition has deteriorated once again due to a medical condition and he will undergo surgery for the same. However, it is unclear if the medical procedure is complete.

The megastar, in a cryptic message, revealed this on his blog but stopped short of mentioning the nature of his ailment.

The 78-year-old actor said on Saturday, February 27, that he will not be able to write due to the surgery.

Also Read: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan becomes first Indian celebrity voice on Amazon's Alexa

Amitabh Bachchan had earlier said that he would begin shooting soon for Vikas Bahl's upcoming movie.

The veteran actor's upcoming film Jhund, is slated to hit the screens on June 18, while his other movie 'Chehre' will release in theatres on April 30.

Also Read: Bachchan family bungalows turn into COVID-19 containment zones; Amitabh, Abhishek stable in hospital

The actor recently shared the details about the projects his family members -- wife Jaya Bachchan, son Abhishek Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan -- were currently working on.

The screen icon was last seen in Shoojit Sircar's "Gulabo Sitabo", which had a digital premiere last year in the wake of the coronavirus-induced shutdown.

One of the busiest stars in the Hindi film industry, Amitabh Bachchan was recently shooting for "MayDay", directed by and starring Ajay Devgan.

The veteran actor, who regularly keeps in touch with his followers whom he calls his 'extended family' via social media, was also one of the first Indian film personalities to be diagnosed with coronavirus last year.

Amitabh Bachchan, along with Abhishek Bachchan, 45, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, 47, had tested positive for COVID-19 in July 2020. His granddaughter, Aaradhya (nine) too had contracted the virus.

They were admitted to a private hospital here for treatment and were discharged later.

(With inputs from PTI.)
Andrew Cuomos ex-girlfriend, Sandra Lee, issued words of healing and peace to her social media followers just hours after the New York Governor was accused of sexual harassment by a former aide for the second time.

Lee, an Emmy-award winning Food Network chef who dated Cuomo for more than 14-years, wrote to Instagram on Saturday night: Sending everyone peace and loving healing regards from Malibu! The best sunsets ever thank God for the Ocean!

The 54-year-olds post came in the wake of a bombshell New York Times report, in which Cuomos 25-year-old former aide, Charlotte Bennett, accused him of asking her inappropriate personal question at work, including whether she had monogamous relationships and if she dated older men.

Bennetts accusations followed closely on the heels of similar claims made by another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, who accused Cuomo, 63, of attempting to kiss her on the mouth while they were alone in his New York City office back in 2018.

The latest acts of harassment, according to Bennett, occurred during the height of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, just months after he split with Lee in the fall of 2019.

Sandra Lee (left) dated Cuomo for more than 14 years. They started their relationship just months after the now New York Gov. finalized his divorce from Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy

Lee's Instagram post came hours after a bombshell New York Times report outlined claims of sexual harassment from a former aide for the second time

Charlotte Bennett (left), 25, accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in his Albany office, including quizzing her about dating older men. Lindsey Boylan (right) accused him of attempting to kiss her on the mouth in 2018

In addition to her claims that Cuomo quizzed her about her sex life, Bennett also told the Times that the governor once allegedly disclosed to her during a June meeting in his office in Albany that he was so lonely and appeared to be hinting for her to embrace him.

The former aide did state that Cuomo never made an attempt to touch her but told her he 'can't even hug anyone'.

Bennett says she said she missed hugging her parents, to which she claims he said: 'No, I mean like really hugged somebody?'

Bennett told the New York Times: 'I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared.

'And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.'

Lindsay Boylan - a Democratic candidate for Manhattan borough president  previously accused Cuomo of sexual harassment in a series of December tweets, accusing him of 'abusing his power'.

She later followed up on those claims in an essay published to Medium earlier this week, where she alleged Cuomo kissed her on the lips without warning inside his Manhattan office in 2018.

Bennett (right) also told the New York Times that the governor once allegedly disclosed to her during a June meeting in his office in Albany that he was so lonely and appeared to be hinting for her to hug him

Lindsay Boylan - a Democratic candidate for Manhattan borough president  previously accused Cuomo of sexual harassment in a series of December tweets, and followed up on those accusations in an essay this week

Boylan also claims he asked her to play strip poker on a flight in 2017.

'I should have been shocked by the Governor's crude comment, but I wasn't, Boylan wrote of the governors request. 'I tried to excuse his behavior. I told myself 'it's only words.'

But that changed after a one-on-one briefing with the Governor to update him on economic and infrastructure projects.

'We were in his New York City office on Third Avenue. As I got up to leave and walk toward an open door, he stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips. I was in shock, but I kept walking.

After that, my fears worsened. I came to work nauseous every day, Boylan wrote.

Responding to the allegations made by Bennett on Saturday, Cuomo said: I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.

The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.

The governor yesterday promised an independent review by former federal judge - appointed by Bill Clinton - Barbara Jones into the allegations against him.

While Lee's post didn't speak directly to the mounting controversy regarding Cuomo, she has previously said they are still in regular contact, despite their split more than a year ago.

Hes still my guy. Neither one of us, well as far as I know, has had a date,' she told the Today show last year, at around the same time Cuomo allegedly came on to Bennett.

Cuomo and Lee first met after being introduced by a mutual friend during a cocktail party in the Hamptons

Cuomo pictured with his girlfriend of 14-years Sandra Lee, and his three daughters, Michaela (left), Maria (near right), Cara Kennedy Cuomo (far right) in 2018

Cuomo and Lee first began dating in 2005, just months after his divorce to Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, was finalized.

The pair first met after being introduced by a mutual friend during a cocktail party in the Hamptons.

Over the course of the 14-year courtship, they moved in together and regularly spoke lovingly of one another in the press.

Lee has been quoted as saying that she and Cuomo never fought and that he was especially laid-back and mellow - a stark contrast to the way he was described during his bitter divorce.

However, in September 2019, the couple issued a joint statement to announce they were breaking up.

The end of their relationship followed more than a year of speculation, with the couple listing their Mount Kisco home for sale, and Lee skipping two major gubernational events in the months leading up to the announcement.

One of the skipped events was Cuomos State of the State address  the first time Lee was not by his side for an address since he was elected governor of New York.

Over the recent past, we have realized that our lives have gone in different directions and our romantic relationship has turned into a deep friendship, the pair wrote in their statement.

We will always be family and are fully supportive of each other and dedicated to the girls. Our personal lives remain personal and there will be no further comment.

Lee is an Emmy Award-winning Food Network host. She has previously described Cuomo as laidback and mellow

In her post to Instagram, Lee shared an image of a Malibu beach, concluding 'The best sunsets ever thank God for the Ocean!'

Lee and Cuomo shared a home together in Mount Kisco, NY, (above) which was sold last year

Cuomo and Lee reportedly ended on amicable terms, however the chef spoke out about her heartbreak in December last year, when her and the governors home in sold.

Today will be one of the saddest days of my life, she wrote on December 14. Today is the day that I do the final move out from Lily Pond. I love that house and I have a personal relationship with every single room of that home. I hope the new owners take care of it as well as I did and I will love it forever. #thehousethatbuiltme.

In a later posting she wrote, My last moments on Lily Pond were very BitterSweet. I walked around the outside of my beautiful home I wanted to drink in every angle and remember the beautiful moments that were spent in every place.

Lee is also said to be in regular contact with Cuomo's three daughters, Michaela, Maria and Cara Kennedy Cuomo.
Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan arrived at the office of the Mumbai Police Commissioner to record his statement in connection with his 2016 complaint about fake e-mails in his name to Kangana Ranaut.





Right after Hrithik Roshan's photos at the police station went viral, he started to trend on Twitter, recording an astounding 23k tweets in less than three hours. After going through a plethora of them, it appears that not only are people apologizing to the superstar for buying Kangana Ranaut's side of the story but upholding him for fighting for his 'truth'.

Huge respect and kudos to #HrithikRoshan for fighting the battle in a calm and composed manner. There's a huge difference between justice and revenge, and @iHrithik's case is all for justice," wrote one user while another called Hrithik Roshan a "dignified man".

Discover below how people are siding with Hrithik Roshan in his legal battle against actor Kangana Ranaut.

@iHrithik I apologize for believing #KanganaRanaut a few years ago. Im so sorry for doubting your character. Your conduct over these years (and her conduct too), have helped me realize I was believing the wrong person. Youre a dignified man!  #SorryHrithik#HrithikRoshan  Avni Malik (@MalikAvni) February 27, 2021

Instead of social media statements, he is taking the lawful course. He is going to give his Statement for the First time in 6 years. #HrithikRoshan pic.twitter.com/2bQfZca8Xk  Cool FanClub of H.RO (@CoolFanClubofHR) February 27, 2021

I hope Almighty Allah will triumph justice and truth , then you sir keep going the way you are , you are a true, Sincere ,dignified , honorable man.

"A confident man walks like a king" #HrithikRoshan  pic.twitter.com/GOKtBGSB9G  Moon light (@Moonlig55221940) February 27, 2021

#HrithikRoshan

Apologize me , Even I doubted u! Long back! @iHrithik is innocent. He has received over 3K emails from #KanganaRanaut and we have established that no mails were sent to her from his email. His phone records prove that he has made 4 calls to her in seven years pic.twitter.com/QKJAIdCzvU  _ursaimantjenith_ (@jenith_sam) February 27, 2021

Be Strong

Be Beautiful

Be You



In short Be Hrithik Roshan #HrithikRoshan pic.twitter.com/YbLnmkdhfa  Ashutosh (@ianandashu1) February 27, 2021

the only place they'll ever be seen together. obviously this comes after #KanganaRanaut's dreams and Court.



ps: i hope she doesn't visits #HrithikRoshan's dreams and give him night terrors. pic.twitter.com/Duu8hkP9Yo  Akshar (@aksharmistry) February 27, 2021

Who do you support?
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Mariah Brown, Kody and Meri Browns only child, surprised many fans of TLCs Sister Wives when she came out as gay in 2017. The 25-year-old, who attended Loyola University Chicagos graduate program in social work, had always been a devout member of the Browns fundamentalist Mormon church. She even wanted to join a polygamous family and be a sister wife herself.

Now, Mariah is engaged to Audrey Kriss, whom she started dating in 2017 when they were both students at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mariah and Audrey got engaged at the Womens March in Jan. 2019 and moved to Chicago for Mariahs graduate program.

Some Sister Wives fans worried that Kody and his four wives wouldnt accept Mariah for who she was, due to their religious sects disapproval of the LGBTQ community. But the Brown family threw their full support behind Mariah and welcomed Audrey with open arms.

In a new sneak peek of the Feb. 28 episode of Sister Wives, Kodys first wife, Meri, and third wife, Christine Brown, reveal how they feel about Audrey and Mariahs relationship.

Mariah, Kody, and Meri Brown | Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images

Meri reflects on her own life in comparison to Mariahs

TLC recently shared a sneak peek of the upcoming episode of Sister Wives on Instagram. In one preview, Meri celebrates Mariah and Audreys move to Salt Lake City, where they attended college together. They shared an apartment in Chicago while Mariah completed her education, and she now works as a program manager at a community center in Utah.

That kind of freedom to explore career and educational possibilities or to venture far from home, as well as to live with a partner before marriage, was something Meri never got to experience.

I came from a different culture than what weve tried to create for our kids, Meri tells TLC producers, explaining that her background was much more restrictive. She grew up in a polygamous family and was told to follow a particular path in life, as well as to hide aspects of who she was. By contrast, Meri says shes happy that Mariah is out and proud about her life and feels free to do and be whatever she wants.

The culture I grew up in was, You need to get married when youre young, and you need to have kids, and you need to be quiet about who you are, and you need to just stay in this little box, Kodys first wife elaborates.

RELATED: Sister Wives: Mariah Browns Fiancee Defends Her On Meri Browns Instagram After Homophobic Comments

The Sister Wives star is happy her daughter has more freedom than she did

The pride in Meris voice is evident when she says she loves that Audrey and Mariah were able to live in Chicago together after college and experience the excitement of big-city life together.

At first, she struggled somewhat with Mariahs coming-out announcement  particularly because same-sex relationships werent expected or tolerated in the Brown familys conservative church. (However, the Browns have always said they would gladly accept any of their children who were part of the LGBTQ community.)

Now, Meri couldnt be happier about her daughters path in life and her relationship with her fiancee. In the Sister Wives preview, she says shes especially happy that Mariah has a sense of freedom, independence, and possibility that Meri never had when she was young.

Weve tried to create an atmosphere of, You can do whatever you want to do, for our kids, the Sister Wives star says. And shes doing it.

RELATED: Sister Wives: Meri Brown Posts Touching Tribute to Her Daughter, Says Her Sexuality Was Never an Issue

Christine Brown thinks Mariah and Audrey have a true partnership

Kodys third wife, Christine, also has praise for Mariah and Audreys relationship.

The Sister Wives star tells TLC producers she thinks Meris daughter and her future wife make a good couple because they communicate so well with each other. Christine compliments their ability to be in sync with each other, make compromises, and work with one another to achieve mutual happiness.

Even though Chicago may have been better for one of them than the other, theyre able to give and take and make it a true partnership, Christine says.

Mariah, she explains, enjoyed the fast pace of Chicago more than Audrey did. Their choice to move back to Utah shows that theyre considerate of one another and willing to cooperate and talk things through.

They were willing to do whatever was necessary to make it so they would both be happy, Christine says of Audrey and Mariah. They know that they can help the other person be happier and live their best life.

The next episode of Sister Wives, Robyn the Peacemaker, airs Feb. 28 on TLC at 10 p.m. EST. In addition to Mariah and Audreys visit and announcement, the episode will cover Meri and Kodys flailing relationship, as well as Christines desire to move back to Utah.
In the depths of the early Covid-19 crisis last year, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo soared to national prominence as he became a daily fixture on television -- providing a calm, steady recitation of the facts that endeared him to many Americans who were terrified of the deadly new virus ravaging their cities and overwhelming their hospitals.

Now a year later, the Democratic governor is engulfed in multiple controversies that have threatened his political survival and raised serious questions about his judgment at a time when he might otherwise have been on a glide path to a fourth term in the 2022 election.

Just a few years after the #MeToo movement put a glaring spotlight on the entrenched pattern of sexual misconduct by men in powerful positions, Cuomo is facing sexual harassment allegations from two female former aides who described an unsettling power dynamic in his office that they say they are determined to call attention to.

Cuomo's office at first said it had requested an 'independent review' into the matter and had tapped a former federal judge to lead the effort. But after criticism from Democratic lawmakers about that approach and an extended back-and-forth over how the probe should be conducted, Cuomo's office said Sunday it was referring the matter to the New York attorney general, who has indicated she will appoint an independent investigator.

In a statement Sunday evening -- nearly 24 hours after the second sexual harassment allegation broke -- Cuomo said that he now realizes that what he perceived as 'playful' banter in the office could have been have been 'misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.'

The sexual harassment allegations come as Cuomo's administration is embroiled in a controversy over the state Department of Health's alleged underreporting of Covid-19 nursing home deaths and the administration's delay in providing data about those deaths to state lawmakers. The FBI and the US attorney's office in Brooklyn are examining the handling of the data. Some state lawmakers have accused Cuomo of a cover up and have said they are considering repealing the governor's emergency powers. Lawmakers are also asking whether more deaths in New York's long-term care facilities could have been prevented.

Disturbing allegations

The new sexual harassment allegation emerged Saturday evening in an article in the New York Times. Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former executive assistant and health policy adviser to Cuomo, told the newspaper that during one of several uncomfortable encounters, Cuomo asked her questions about her sex life during a conversation in his State Capitol office and said he was open to relationships with women in their 20s.

She interpreted the exchange -- which she said took place in June while the state was in the throes of fighting the pandemic -- as what the newspaper called 'clear overtures to a sexual relationship.' CNN has reached out to Bennett for comment on the latest accusation.

Cuomo denied Bennett's allegations Saturday in a statement, saying he believed he had been acting as a mentor and that he 'never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.'

'The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported,' Cuomo said, saying that 'she came to me and opened up about being a sexual assault survivor' and that 'I tried to be supportive and helpful.'

In his statement Cuomo noted he had requested an 'outside review' of the matter and asked that New Yorkers await the findings 'before making any judgments.' He called Bennett 'a hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID' and said 'she has every right to speak out.'

His office at first said the inquiry would be conducted by former Federal Judge Barbara Jones.

But several high profile New York Democrats including Reps. Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio -- a longtime adversary of Cuomo -- rejected that approach, stating that Cuomo should refer the matter to the state attorney general, who could appoint an independent investigator.

Cuomo's office then altered its approach to the probe several times on Sunday. Under pressure from Democratic lawmakers, the governor's office said they would refer the matter to New York Attorney General Letitia James, but at first suggested she should work with the chief judge of the Court of Appeals to choose an independent lawyer to conduct the investigation. James rejected that idea and said it was her sole duty to oversee it. By Sunday evening, Cuomo's office had acquiesced. Beth Garvey, special counsel and senior adviser to the governor, called on James to choose 'a qualified private lawyer to do an independent review of allegations of sexual harassment.'

In the new account to the New York Times about the second sexual harassment allegation -- which triggered a flood of calls from prominent Democrats for investigation into Cuomo's conduct -- Bennett told the newspaper that she felt compelled to speak out about her experience because she wanted to draw scrutiny to the way Cuomo 'wields his power.'

Bennett told the Times that Cuomo did not make a physical advance on her, but the message was clear. 'I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,' she told the newspaper. 'And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.'

Bennett agreed to speak to the New York Times last week after she shared a tweet from the account of another former Cuomo aide, Lindsey Boylan, who wrote a detailed post on Medium about her own allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo, which his aides have said are untrue.

When tweeting Boylan's account, Bennett urged people to read it if they want to know 'what it's like to work for the Cuomo (administration).'

Boylan alleged in the Medium post that Cuomo invited her to 'play strip poker' during a 2017 flight on his taxpayer-funded jet while another aide was seated beside her and a state trooper behind her. In 2018, Boylan said, Cuomo stunned her by kissing her on the lips after a one-on-one briefing on economic and infrastructure projects in his New York City office.

Cuomo denied Boylan's allegations in a December news conference when she first made them.

In a statement released by the governor's press secretary on Wednesday, four other people said they were on October flights with her and that 'this conversation did not happen.'

CNN has not been able to corroborate the allegations, and when asked for further comment, Boylan -- who is currently running for Manhattan borough president -- replied that she was letting her Medium post speak for itself. She wrote in the post that she hoped sharing her story 'will clear the path for other women to do the same.'

'Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected,' Boylan wrote. 'His inappropriate behavior toward women was an affirmation that he liked you, that you must be doing something right. He used intimidation to silence his critics. And if you dared to speak up, you would face consequences.'

Boylan tweeted Sunday morning that Cuomo should resign. 'And if he does not resign, he should be removed from office. Not one more victim. Not one more life destroyed,' she wrote.

New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, released a statement last week calling the Boylan accusation 'disturbing.'

'This is deeply disturbing. Clearly there is no place for this type of behavior in the workplace or anywhere else,' Stewart-Cousins wrote.

Cuomo sought to explain his interactions with female colleagues in an additional statement released Sunday evening, where he said he is often 'playful' in his conversations at work and has teased people about their personal lives or their relationships. He said he never meant to offend anyone or cause harm, and that he has simply tried to 'add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business.'

'I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended,' Cuomo said in the statement Sunday night. 'I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.'

He added that he 'never inappropriately touched anybody, and I never propositioned anybody, and I never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but these are allegations that New Yorkers deserve answers to.'

The seriousness of the allegations led many Democratic lawmakers, as well as the White House, to weigh in on Sunday. De Blasio -- a frequent Cuomo sparring partner -- called Sunday for the state legislature to revoke the governor's emergency powers and said that 'two fully independent investigations must be held immediately into the deaths at nursing homes and the disturbing personal misconduct allegations.'

Asked about the new allegations against Cuomo on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden 'believes that every woman should be heard, should be treated with respect and with dignity.'

'Charlotte should be treated with respect and dignity. So should Lindsey. And there should be an independent review looking into these allegations and that's certainly something he supports and we believe should move forward as quickly as possible,' Psaki told CNN's Dana Bash, calling the allegations 'serious' and adding that 'it was hard to read that story as a woman.'

An already perilous position

Now facing two sets of allegations against him that detail not only inappropriate conduct but an office culture where women say they were afraid to speak up, Cuomo will have to explain the environment that he has created over his three terms as governor. And the allegations come at a difficult time for Cuomo when some of his political adversaries are more loudly questioning his political tactics as his administration is criticized for its handling of Covid-19 data.

His administration is still reeling from the fallout from a report released in January by James, the state attorney general, that revealed that the New York State Department of Health undercounted Covid-19 deaths among residents of nursing homes by approximately 50%. The governor has faced fierce criticism both for his explanation of what happened and his actions as he tried to mitigate the damage of the data reporting scandal.

More than 15,000 residents of New York's long-term care facilities have died (or are presumed to have died) from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, according to the state Department of Health. But until January, the department only reported the deaths of long-term care residents who died in a facility like a nursing home, not those who passed away after being transferred to hospitals.

Ocasio-Cortez, one of the state's high-profile lawmakers in Washington, DC, has come out in favor of 'a full investigation of the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes during COVID-19.'

The confusion about the nursing home numbers led many New York lawmakers to drill the Cuomo administration for clearer answers about that data throughout last year. Earlier this month, after James' report, Cuomo's top aide Melissa DeRosa admitted in a virtual meeting with state lawmakers that the administration tried to delay the release of the data on Covid-19 deaths in long-term care facilities, because they were wary of a federal Justice Department preliminary inquiry.

During a subsequent news conference, Cuomo acknowledged that his administration did not respond 'soon enough' to requests for the data on Covid-19 deaths that was being requested by lawmakers, but he said the state's death counts were accurate.

'To be clear, all the deaths in the nursing homes and in the hospitals were always fully, publicly and accurately reported,' he said.

Like DeRosa, Cuomo tried to explain his administration's delay in releasing data on Covid-19 deaths to lawmakers by stating that the Department of Health 'paused' state lawmakers' request for Covid-19 death data while his administration was focused on the related inquiry by the Justice Department. In a narrowly worded apology, he said the delay in providing the information to lawmakers created 'a void' that allowed conspiracy theories to flourish.

'The void we created by not providing information was filled with skepticism and cynicism and conspiracy theories which furthered the confusion,' Cuomo said. 'We should have done a better job in providing information. We should have done a better job of knocking down the disinformation. ... I accept responsibility for that.'

But that apology did not go far enough for many of the lawmakers who are delving more deeply into whether more could have been done to prevent the state's more than 47,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

In another notable allegation about the power dynamics that Cuomo has created, one lawmaker accused the governor of trying to control the fallout over the misleading data reporting about nursing home deaths by threatening his career.

Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim, a progressive from Queens who is an outspoken critic of Cuomo, alleged that during a phone call with the governor earlier this month, Cuomo threatened his career if he 'did not cover up for Melissa (DeRosa) and what she said.'

Recounting the conversation, Kim told CNN that Cuomo said: 'We're in this business together and we don't cross certain lines' and added that 'I hadn't seen his wrath and that he can destroy me.'

Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo's senior adviser, said the allegation that Cuomo threatened to 'destroy' Kim was a lie.

Cuomo's standing with a majority of New Yorkers remained high in a Siena College Research Institute survey released earlier this month but conducted before the details of DeRosa's call were made public. More than 60% of voters approved of his handling of the pandemic although a majority gave him 'fair' or 'poor' marks on making public all data about Covid-related deaths of nursing home patients.

The questions about the Cuomo administration's handling of the data are not fading, as yet another contentious hearing with New York state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker showed last week.

State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, the Democratic chair of the health committee, expressed frustration during the hearing with an administration that he said 'will apparently never acknowledge that you have done anything wrong.'

At the height of his popularity last spring, Cuomo was praised for his clarity and his candor about the depths of the crisis that his state was facing. That clarity has been missing in his administration's explanations of the handling of Covid-19 data, which have been confusing and difficult to follow. He now also faces serious allegations that he created a toxic work culture and acted in a way that indelibly changed the career trajectory of two young women in his employ.

Whether he has a political future won't be clear until he explains how that happened and offers his constituents a candid assessment of his own conduct -- which will determine whether he can regain their trust.

This story has been updated with additional developments.
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New Delhi: E Sreedharan, also famously known as 'Metro Man' revealed the reason behind his joining Bharatiya Janata Party, he was formally inducted into the BJP in Malappuram on Thursday.

In a conversation with Aditi Tyagi, E Sreedharan said that the people of Kerala are fed up with the corruption, scandals, and nepotism and claimed that BJP can rid the state of these things.

"Kerala has been ruled by two major parties in the last 20 years -- the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front. One is led by the CPI(M) and the other is led by the Congress. During this time, I don't think Kerala has brought the development needed, particularly in the matter of industries required. People are now fed up with the corruption, scandals, nepotism, which BJP can remove," E Sreedharan said.

Popularly known as the Metro man, he enjoyed a cult status not only in Kerala but across India for his work and earned respect from everyone cutting across political lines.

Elattuvalapil Sreedharan is credited with changing the face of public transport in India with his leadership in building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro while he served as the Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. Later he helmed several other metro projects in key cities.

On February 18, just weeks ahead of Kerala Assembly elections, former Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan announced that he will join the BJP. Sreedharan joined the party during BJP's ongoing Vijaya Yatra led by Kerala BJP Chief K Surendran.

"If BJP comes to power in Kerala, I am ready to become the chief minister. The party has not asked me till now as it is too premature. But if BJP asks me, I am willing to take up the post and show how a state can be run efficiently like we are running DMRC," Sreedharan was quoted by ANI earlier.

The election for 140-member Kerala Assembly will be held on April 6 while the counting of votes will be held on May 2.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had announced the poll dates for four states (West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu) and one Union Territory (Puducherry) on Friday.
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Vaping could be banned in the UK following recommendations set out by the World Health Organisation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set out plans to prohibit e-cigarettes due to fears users could replace ingredients with other harmful substances, The Sun on Sunday reports.

Clive Bates, a tobacco harm expert and the former director of anti-smoking group ASH, told the publication the advice is 'irresponsible and bizarre', and will ultimately 'protect the cigarette trade'.

The potential ban was detailed in a report published by WHO's tobacco regulatory committee, and will be discussed later this year at a conference in Glasgow.

Vaping could be banned in the UK following recommendations set out by the World Health Organisation (Stock image)

The report warned vapes which allow the user to change the devices liquid ingredients could allow for dangerous substances to be added, making the e-cigarettes more harmful.

A report commissioned Public Health England (PHE) and published earlier this week found that smoking remains the largest single risk factor for death and ill-health in England.

The research, from King's College London, found nicotine delivery devices play a crucial role in helping Brits quit smoking, with vaping products the most popular aid used by smokers trying to quit in England last year.

The report estimated that in 2017, more than 50,000 smokers stopped with the help of vaping products and that incorrect perceptions of its relative risks compared to smoking regular cigarettes may be discouraging smokers from using vaping to quit.

What is an e-cigarette and how is it different to smoking tobacco? An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) is a device that allows users to inhale nicotine by heating a vapour from a solution that contain nicotine, propylene and flavourings. As there is no burning involved, there is no smoke like a traditional cigarette. But while they have been branded as carrying a lower risk than cigarettes, an increasing swell of studies is showing health dangers. E-cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, but the vapor does contain some harmful chemicals. Nicotine is the highly addictive chemical which makes it difficult for smokers to quit. Nearly three million people in Britain use e-cigarettes, and more than nine million Americans. Advertisement

Professor Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction at King's College London, warned that smokers from disadvantaged groups are more likely to be wary of vaping and less likely to use the aids to quit.

'What is concerning is that smokers, particularly those from disadvantaged groups, incorrectly and increasingly believe that vaping is as harmful as smoking', said McNeill. 'This is not true and means fewer smokers try vaping.'

Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at PHE, said: 'Smoking is still the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease  killing almost 75,000 people in England in 2019.

'The best thing that a smoker can do is to stop smoking completely and the evidence shows that vaping is one of the most effective quit aids available, helping around 50,000 smokers quit a year.

'Thousands more could have quit except for unfounded safety fears about e-cigarettes.

'The evidence has been clear for some time that, while not risk-free vaping is far less harmful than smoking.

'For anyone who smokes, particularly those who have already tried other methods, we strongly recommend they try vaping and stop smoking  ideally with additional support from their local stop smoking service for the very best chance of quitting for good.'

Despite evidence that vaping is the most useful aid to quit smoking, government backed research published in September 2020 revealed the risks posed by inhaling flavouring ingredients are still unknown.

The independent Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) said e-cigarettes should only be used as a stop-smoking aid.

The report warned users who do not already use tobacco products risk negative effects on their health by vaping.

Health threats to bystanders were considered low but people can suffer an increased heart rate from high nicotine exposure, if stood close to someone vaping, it said.

Professor Alan Boobis, Chair of the COT, said it was wrong to consider the devices as harmless.
ISRO set to launch Brazilian satellite

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch the Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday at around 10:24 am. Along with Amazonia-1, 18 other co-passenger satellites will also be onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C51). The countdown for the launch had begun on Saturday. It is important to note here that this will be ISRO's first mission of the year 2021.

Read: ISRO Launch LIVE Stream: In First 2021 Mission, Brazil satellite, Digital Gita Space-bound

Cong-Left alliance to start campaigning in WB

The Left-Congress-ISF alliance in West Bengal is set to launch its campaign for the upcoming assembly elections with a mega rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata on Sunday. The CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress have already decided on seat-sharing, and talks between the Left and Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui's Indian Secular Front have also concluded with both agreeing on 30 seats for the newly- floated outfit. The negotiations between Congress and ISF are underway, and both sides are hopeful that the differences over a few seats would be resolved.

Read: West Bengal Polls: Left-Congress-ISF Alliance To Kick Off Campaign With Mega Kolkata Rally

BJP Tableau attacked in WB

As the assembly elections are getting closer in the poll-bound West Bengal, political violence in the state is only rising by each passing day. According to the BJP, the tableau launched by the BJP president JP Nadda at 'Lokkho Sonar Bangla' on February 25, was attacked by the TMC goons, on Saturday. BJP alleged that TMC goons entered its warehouse in Kadapara near Swabhumi and broke into the publicity vans and stole many valuable items as well from the premises. An FIR has been filed by BJP against TMC.

Read: Ahead Of Polls, BJP Tableau Attacked In Bengal's Kadapara; Party Alleges Attack By TMC

India seeks return of Rohingyas to Myanmar

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti observed that India has a significant role to play in early return of the displaced Rohingyas, who fled Myanmar due to what was being called 'ethnic cleansing'. He was speaking at the informal UN General Assembly meeting on the military coup in Myanmar that killed at least three and injured several. Over 1.1 million Rohingyas fled the Rakhine state and crossed borders in 2017 seeking shelter in Bangladesh, after troops in Myanmar burned several Rohingyan homes, raped their women, and killed several of them.

Read: 'India Will Play Vital Role In Return Of Rohingyas From Bangladesh To Myanmar': Tirumurti

Petrol & Diesel price in India

While the price for per barrel crude has been subject to variation for the past week with the rate on February 28 being $61.66 (Rs 4,537.95), India witnessed a third day constant in the prices of petrol and diesel with a few witnessing a hike by a rupee, on Sunday. While vehicle owners in five states paid a rupee more per litre of petrol, diesel prices in three Indian states of Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka also witnessed the same. However, West Bengal is the only exception where people have to pay Rs 84.35 for per litre diesel, a hike of Rs 3 compared to Rs 81.32 on February 26.

Read: Petrol & Diesel Price In India Today: Fuel Prices In Every State & UT On Feb 28 Listed
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us

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In addition, Georgia is re-opening its borders for Ukrainians.

Two new visa-free destinations are to become available to citizens of Ukraine as of March 1, 2021.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba announced this on Twitter on February 28.

Read alsoUkrainian passport in world's TOP 30 in terms of mobility

According to him, visa-free travel with Grenada will be launched on March 1.

Also, as of March 1, a visa-free regime is to be introduced for the overseas territories of the Netherlands  Aruba and Curacao, as well as the three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands  Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba.

In addition, Georgia is re-opening its borders for Ukrainians.

All conditions of travel abroad can be found on the portal of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's consular service at tripadvisor.mfa.gov.ua.

Other related news reports

Reporting by UNIAN

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MEMBERS of Peace with Justice Advocates and Racial Justice Mission Groups of the New Hampshire Conference, United Church of Christ, have come together in strong opposition to HB 544 as found in the State Budget HB 2. We adamantly oppose the prohibitions of divisive concepts language in thi
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Come one, come all  virtually, that is.

Online community forums and interviews with the Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent finalists will be livestreamed for the public, starting Monday.

During the forums, the four finalists will get a chance to address previously submitted questions from the community. After each forum, the APS Board of Education will publicly interview the candidate.

The link to the livestreams can be found at APS.edu.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Online feedback forms will launch next week for people to share their thoughts with the board, too.

The school board is aiming to announce its superintendent pick on March 17.

The schedule is:

 Monday: Ignacio Ruiz.

 Tuesday: Scott Elder.

 Thursday: Bolgen Vargas.

 Friday: Ushma Shah.

Forums will be from 6 to 7 p.m., and interviews will be 7:15 to 8:30 p.m.

IN REMEMBRANCE: Many in the education community are praising y Karen Trujillo, the late Las Cruces Public Schools superintendent and former education secretary, as a longtime educator who made a difference.

Trujillo was struck by a car and killed while walking her dogs.

Current New Mexico Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart called her a passionate and caring advocate for children, saying she was a vibrant person.

Weve lost a champion for children, and she will be missed by her colleagues and friends in the education community, Stewart said in a written statement.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called her death a loss for public education across the state and said she left behind an unfinished legacy of credible service.

And the APS board and interim Superintendent Scott Elder said she will always be remembered as a role model for all educators, a fierce defender of public education and a trusted ally.

IN-PERSON GRADUATIONS: APS is planning face-to-face ceremonies for the class of 2021 the week of May 10.

Public health orders and the possible spread of COVID-19 will dictate the specifics. But the district said plans are in place for the 13 comprehensive high schools to have ceremonies at the schools, with magnet school ceremonies at the Berna Facio Professional Development Center.

However, a bigger facility may be used if larger crowds are given the green light.

Dates and times are listed at APS.edu.

Shelby Perea: sperea@abqjournal.com
Pilibhit : , Feb 28 (IANS) To revive this dying industry of flute making in Pilibhit, the Yogi Adityanath government has decided to cultivate the delicate Assam bamboo (schizostachyum), which is known to be highly suitable for flutes and is presently brought from Silchar.

The Pilibhit flute has been included in the state government's 'one district, one product' (ODOP) programme.

Pilibhit has now got a 'Bansuri Chowk', showcasing a colossal metallic flute to the people of the district at the main gateway to the district headquarters.

Pilibhit is known to craft the best bamboo flutes in India. Two decades ago, the district accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the total flute production in the country.

Despite all this, Pilibhit's handcrafted bamboo flute seems to be out of tune with the times. Flute-makers here are struggling to keep afloat and the annual demand of over 60 lakh flutes has now shrunk to just 5 to 5.50 lakh.

The workforce had dwindled from over 7,000 to 150 to 200 as cheaper made-in-China flutes have flooded the markets.

District magistrate Pulkit Khare has now announced cultivation of Assam bamboo in the district to cut down on transportation cost and loss (estimated to be at least 15 per cent) due to damage while transporting and loading the bamboo from Silchar.

Experts of the Maharashtra-based National Rural Bamboo Mission & Research Institute and Mizoram- based Advanced Research Centre for Bamboo were consulted to ascertain if Pilibhit's climate, soil and subsoil water level would be suitable for cultivating the bamboo.

Khare said, "Our efforts will be focused upon the revival of those markets which the flute manufactures have hitherto lost. We will also explore new markets in south eastern and the north eastern countries where flute is played." For this, the Pilibhit's flute would be exhibited in various national and international trade fairs.

Assistance of the department of commerce would also be taken for promoting flute export, he added.
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On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the Russian invasion and seizure of Crimea, the United States reaffirmed its position that Crimea belongs to Ukraine. In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russias invasion and seizure of Crimea brazen and said that the United States does not, and will never recognise Russias purported annexation. Further, he called on Russia to immediately end its occupation of Crimea, release all Ukrainian political prisoners and return full control of the peninsula to Ukraine.

Blinken said, The United States continues to stand with Ukraine and its allies and partners today, as it has from the beginning of this conflict. On this sombre anniversary, we reaffirm a simple truth: Crimea is Ukraine.

He added, We will continue to work to hold Russia accountable for its abuses and aggression in Ukraine. We will also continue to honor the courage and hope of the Revolution of Dignity, in which the Ukrainian people faced down sniper fire and enforcers in riot gear on the Maidan and demanded a new beginning for their country. The United States still believes in the promise of Ukraine and we support all those working towards a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous future for their country.

Russias invasion and seizure of Crimea is a brazen affront to the international order, and we call on Russia to end its occupation of Crimea immediately. The United States will never recognize Russias purported annexation. #CrimeaisUkraine pic.twitter.com/B1j0uu8Jxe  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 27, 2021

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EU reaffirms Russia belongs to Ukraine

In a separate statement, the President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass, also reiterated the EUs condemnation of the annexation of Crimea, which it says constitutes a violation of international law. Mass said that the Council reaffirms its unequivocal and unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine with its internationally recognised borders. He also called on Russia to fully comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights standards.

Mass said, The Committee of Ministers remains concerned that the human rights situation in the Crimean peninsula has significantly deteriorated since the illegal annexation by the Russian Federation. Bearing in mind the decision by the European Court of Human Rights of 14 January 2021 regarding Crimea, I call on Russia to fully comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights standards, including by granting unimpeded access to regional and international human rights monitoring mechanisms, as well as non-governmental human rights organisations, to Crimea and Sevastopol.

It is worth noting that back on February 27, 2014, masked Russian troops had moved in and captured strategic locations in Crimea, as well as Crimean institutions, including the Supreme Council of Crimean Parliament. The Council of Ministers was dissolved and a new pro-Russian PM installed. The Russian Federation opposes the annexation label, with Russian President Vladimir Putin defending the referendum as complying with the principle of self-determination of peoples.

READ: German Charged For Passing Parliament Floor Plans To Russia

READ: New US Envoy To UN Gets Red Carpet Welcome From Russia
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Loyalist killer Michael Stone has been forced to quit painting because of arthritis in both hands.

The 65-year-old, who was freed on parole from Maghaberry Prison last month after serving 26 years of a life sentence, made a small fortune from his art when he was previously freed under the Good Friday Agreement.

Some of the work sold for over 10,000, but debilitating stiffness in Stone's fingers means he will never pick up a paint brush again.

A pal of the Milltown Massacre gunman said: "It's true, Michael Stone will never paint again. He has rheumatism in both hands which means he struggles to lift a paint brush.

"That said, there is still great demand for his art and he has plenty of pieces stocked up."

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Stone's paintings and his participation in art exhibitions has angered the relatives of his victims. The former UDA man was involved in six sectarian killings in the 1980s when he was one of Northern Ireland's most notorious assassins.

The organisers of a 2018 exhibition in east Belfast at which Stone's work was prominently displayed later apologised to these families.

Robin Stewart, from the Reach Project, said: "We regret the hurt and pain caused. Michael also recognises the hurt that his past actions have caused and he understands how that can have an impact on the victims' families."

Mr Stewart also admitted Stone's notoriety resulted in a surge of interest in his artwork. He added: "We sold a number of paintings at the launch and have had more emails today from people locally and across the UK looking to come and view the works with an interest in buying. Some of these may be people genuinely interested in the art or because of who the artist is."

Stone, who suffers from a heart condition and the rare debilitating Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2F, which affects his mobility, says he took up painting to stave off boredom while in solitary confinement in the Maze Prison.

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In a previous interview, he revealed: "Eventually, I got out of solitary and had access to a lot more materials, including watercolour and oil paints.

"Prisoners were allowed to paint their cells any colour, but mine was like a rainbow because I was always wiping my brushes on the wall. I suppose the colours were a reaction against the dull surroundings, and I also included metallic touches, an echo of the prison bars."

Stone was pictured for the first time in years last week strolling by the seaside with his wife Karan, also a keen artist, at Millisle, Co Down, while wearing a bulletproof jacket and a monitoring tag.

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His early release conditions ban him from giving media interviews, and he is subject to strict monitoring conditions similar to those placed on Isis terrorists in England.

Stone was arrested in 1988 after attacking the funerals of three IRA members in Milltown Cemetery and killing three mourners. He admitted a total of six murders and was jailed for a minimum of 30 years. The ailing loyalist was freed under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in 2000, but returned to jail in 2006 for trying to murder Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness at Stormont.

He was released again last month after the High Court said keeping him behind bars until 2024 would impinge on his human rights.

cbarnes@sundaylife.co.uk
James Packer's casino empire has been dealt another blow with the revelation that Crown Resorts underpaid hundreds of workers.

Crown reported itself to the Fair Work Ombudsman after stories surfaced of widespread underpayment of hospitality workers including at the casino giant's high-profile restaurants Dinner by Heston and Rockpool Bar & Grill.

But the underpayments that the Ombudsman is investigating at Crown are separate to those of its rock-star restaurants and involve workers employed directly.

Pictured: James Packer and Kylie Lim at St Tropez, France, in 2018. Mr Packer's casino empire has been dealt another blow

Crown Casino in Melbourne has been rocked by an investigation into underpaid wages right after a Royal Commission was launched

The company underpaid hundreds of workers across its venues including its huge Melbourne casino and resort, which is Victoria's largest single-site employer, The Age reported.

'Crown self-initiated a comprehensive assessment of its workforce following media reporting of widespread underpayment issues, particularly in the hospitality industry,' Crown told The Age.

'Our expectation is that only a small proportion of our employees are potentially impacted, and that the majority of employees impacted are not covered by an enterprise agreement.'

The gambling giant did not say what the total amount of underpayments would be, but the newspaper estimated it would run into millions.

The workplace regulator was swamped by underpayment cases in recent years, but urged any employers who identify non-compliance to report and co-operate, and to workers to ask the Ombudsman directly for assistance.

The United Workers Union's casinos director Dario Mujkic agreed that it was mostly workers not covered by union agreements who would be affected.

'The risk of underpaying workers is best avoided when those workers have a union agreement and are educated about their rights and entitlements through their union,' he said.

Crown Casino, Barangaroo, Sydney, pictured under construction in July 2020. The Victorian Royal Commission was launched following the Bergin report in NSW which found Crown facilitated money laundering and failed to act when it was drawn to their attention

James Packer (left) talks to Eddie McGuire (right) at Nine in 2006. Mr Packer's casino empire is facing a Royal Commission as well as a Fair Work Ombudsman investigation

Underpayment of wages has been uncovered at dozens of businesses, including on farms and at large franchises such as Coles, McDonalds and 7-Eleven.

The Victorian Parliament has passed legislation making deliberate wage theft a crime, with the laws coming into effect within months.

A Federal Government bill that includes making wage theft a crime has passed the lower house but may face opposition in the Senate.

The unpaid wage investigation comes as a fresh blow to James Packer's casino empire after the Victorian government announced it would launch a royal commission into Crown Resorts, to test the suitability of the gambling giant to hold its Melbourne casino licence.

'This is about making sure that those who hold a casino licence in Victoria uphold the highest standards of probity and integrity  and that they're accountable for their actions,' Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement.

The government says the royal commission is the most appropriate way to access information regarding Crown's suitability to hold the casino licence given it will have the power to compel witnesses and seek documentation.

The announcement of the royal commission follows the release of the Bergin report in NSW earlier this month, which found Crown facilitated money laundering through subsidiaries' bank accounts and failed to act when it was drawn to their attention.

The Victorian government has called a Royal Commission into Crown Resorts' Melbourne casino operations

The announcement of the royal commission follows the release of the Bergin report in NSW earlier this month. Pictured, Crown Resorts key shareholder James Packer with Andrew Demetriou, who resigned as Crown Resorts director following the release of the report

Victorian Gaming Minister Melissa Horne said the state government had gone through the 800-page report line by line and decided a royal commission was needed.

'The findings in there were so severe that the most appropriate action to protect Victorian interests was the establishment of a royal commission,' she told reporters on Monday.

'The Royal Commission will establish the facts and the Government and the VCGLR will take any necessary action at the conclusion of the investigation. We will not tolerate illegal behaviour in our gaming industry.'

Former Federal Court judge Raymond Finkelstein will take on the role of royal commissioner overseeing the inquiry. He is expected to report back as early as August and no later than the end of the year.

It is estimated to cost Victorian taxpayers $5 to $7 million. The government has also laid the ground work to establish an independent casino regulator.

In a statement, Crown's executive chairman Helen Coonan said: 'Crown welcomes the announcement from the Victorian Government as it provides an opportunity to detail the reforms and changes to our business to deliver the highest standards of governance and compliance, and an organisational culture that meets community expectations.

'Victorians should be assured we recognise the responsibility placed on us by the community, governments and regulators and we will fully cooperate with the Royal Commission.'

Earlier this month, Commissioner Patricia Bergin, a former judge of the NSW Supreme Court, told the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority the money laundering alone rendered Crown unfit to hold the licence for its casino in Sydney's Barangaroo.

Crown Melbourne (pictured) has been located on the banks of the city's Yarra River since the late 1990s

The Bergin report in NSW found Crown Resorts was not suitable to hold a casino licence at its Barangaroo development. Pictured, Crown Sydney

It also put its staff in China in danger of being detained and dealt with junket operators it was told were involved in organised crime, Ms Bergin concluded.

Ms Bergin left it to IGLA to decide whether it should cancel, suspend or impose conditions on the licence.

But she suggested sweeping cultural change was needed, as well as specific measures like the removal of certain board directors, a thorough audit of Crown accounts for money laundering, and measures to stop the sharing of confidential information with Crown Resorts key shareholder James Packer.

Crown Resorts directors Andrew Demetriou, Harold Mitchell, Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland all stepped down following the release of the report. Crown Resorts CEO Ken Barton also resigned.

Last week Western Australian announced a probe into whether Crown should be allowed to continue operating its Perth casino.

WA's Gaming and Wagering Commission formally recommended an inquiry into Crown Perth following the NSW report into the company's operations.

The state solicitor will prepare terms of reference for the investigation, which will have the powers of a royal commission.


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 28)  The government received on Sunday the first shipment of vaccines against COVID-19.

The vaccines, from Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech, arrived at the Villamor Air Base around 4:10 p.m. and will later be delivered to COVID-19 referral hospitals in Metro Manila for the vaccine rollout on Monday.

In a speech delivered during the turnover ceremony, President Rodrigo Duterte said the arrival of the vaccines gives hope that the pandemic would soon be over in the country.

"I said it before and I will say it again, COVID-19 vaccines would be treated as a global public good and made available to all, rich and poor alike. No nation, no people should be left to suffer the ravages of this pandemic for whatever reason," he said.

Duterte also noted that among all countries who received the Sinovac vaccines, only the Philippines had theirs delivered by a Chinese government plane.

"Yung iba, kinukuha doon sa China. Dito, hinatid sa atin," he said.

[Translation: Others had to go get them from China. Ours were delivered.]

In a separate speech, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said he hoped the vaccines would help the country kick off the mass inoculation campaign "to curb the pandemic and allow Filipinos to return to normal life at the earliest."

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro said they were ready to receive the vaccine as they arrive to be stored in a facility in the city prior to rollout on Monday.

"This is a DOH storage facility. It's all systems go here. In fact, upon delivery of the vaccines, it will already be inventoried, and after the inventory, the deployment will be done in order to start the rollout effectively tomorrow morning," he said.

On Monday, 525,600 AstraZeneca vaccines were expected to arrive. However, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the arrival would be delayed.

"Meron lang kasi balita...na hindi matutuloy dahil nga ang sabi ng WHO nagkakaproblema sila sa supply. So, maantala daw ng isang linggo," he said in an interview after the turnover ceremony at Villamor Airbase.

[Translation: There is news...that it will not push through because the WHO (World Health Organization) said they were having trouble with supply. So, it will be delayed by a week.]

To date, there are 576,352 COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the Department of Health.
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(@FahadShabbir)

QUITO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2021) Ecuador is interested in Russian investments that include the transfer of technologies, leftist presidential candidate Andres Arauz told Sputnik.

On February 7, Ecuador held the first round of the presidential election, with Arauz having won it with over 32 percent and qualified for the runoff scheduled for April 11.

"Of course, we are interested in foreign investments, Russian investments with the transfer of technologies, so that Ecuador could retain its production capabilities," Arauz said on late Friday.

The presidential candidate believes that the trade between Russia and Ecuador could significantly rise. He added the potential for developing bilateral educational and health care cooperation.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Elijah Brown thinks Black history is something that should be honored every single day, not just during the month of February.

That message served as the 16-year-olds inspiration when he designed Black History Month shirts that are now being sold in hundreds of retail stores across the country.

Brown, a junior at Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy, was tapped by Meijer to design his own custom T-shirt as part of the retailers Black History Month collection featuring eight shirts and sweatshirts sold across the Midwest this month.

His shirt features an image of a bird released from a cage, designed by Grand Rapids artist Jasmine Bruce, along with an original quote from Brown: This isnt just a month, its everyday for us. #blackhistory

I wanted to put the message out to not celebrate Black History month, but to celebrate Black history, period, Brown said.

The image of a bird leaving its cage was inspired by Maya Angelous poem, Caged Bird and its themes of captivity and freedom, Bruce said.

It resonated strongly with us both to honor Black lives and share the importance of Black history with others, the artist said in a prepared statement.

Growing up, Brown always had associated Black History Month with famous civil rights activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

But it wasnt until 2020, after the killing of George Floyd, that Brown started thinking about Black history in a different light. Floyds death sparked nationwide protests and riots over police brutality and systemic racism, and ignited a movement to change how Americas cities are policed.

Instead of associating Black History Month with the past, Brown wanted to spread the message that todays events are shaping history for tomorrow.

Knowing whats going on right now with protesting and police brutality really impacted the shirt, Brown said. Our history is now. Whats going on now will be our history in the next 20 to 30 years.

We need to establish our history now so it can be talked about and be a legacy for generations as the past.

Each of the 4,000 T-shirts were hand-printed in Grand Rapids through the West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology, a nonprofit that engages Grand Rapids high school students in creativity and civic engagement through after-school and summer arts and technology programs.

Brown is a WMCAT student, and the proceeds from his shirts help support the mission of the nonprofit to provide equitable access to opportunity in West Michigan.

The shirts were sold this month in 220 Meijer stores in six states  Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio. The shirts will still be available for purchase while supplies last even after February.

Shawn Colley, Meijers divisional merchandising manager of mens apparel, said the retail giant was proud to promote Browns work.

This shirt design is clearly meaningful and we are excited to offer it to our customers as part of our Black History Month collection, Colley said in a prepared statement.

Brown said he hadnt realized the full extent of the project when he first agreed to design the T-shirts. When he found out his work would be displayed in Meijer stores across the Midwest, he knew he was making a really big impact.

I feel really proud of myself, he said. But Im very humble person.

The 16-year-old said his parents are usually more excited about the accomplishment than he is.

My mom cried and told me to keep going, she knew I was always going to do something big, he said. My dad bought the T-shirt and asked me to sign it, he wanted to put it up in a frame.

Brown said some of his friends even bought the shirt without knowing who designed it, and then called him when they found out it was made by him.

That really showed me that people understand this shirt before they even hear the story or are supporting somebody they know, he said. So I really hope this shirt opened everybodys eyes up that Black History Month is every day for us.

The 16-year-old has big goals for himself, and this T-shirt project is just the start.

This really elevated me to really become something, he said. Im 16 and on the news, making a shirt for 220 stores. When Im 21, I want to be doing something even better. I want to keep building off this.

Brown is currently dual-enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College and is studying to be a financial advisor when he graduates. He said he loves math and wants to learn how to manage finances and help others do the same.

I just want to really do great in life and be very financially stable and embed generational wealth, he said. Thats my whole goal in life.

To help you navigate this complicated school year, 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:

Bay Citys NAACP branch celebrates over a century of existence in a predominantly white county

Its role in the Underground Railroad could earn Jackson train station national historic recognition

Genesee County author writes books that encourage Black kids to find beauty in being different
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A multitude of states, counties and cities have banned conversion therapy, usually for minors only, with efforts underway to issue a national ban for all through the so-called Equality Act (HR 5). Yet, conversion therapy is a misrepresentative, maligning and summarily ill-defined term employed as a jamming tactic to capitalize on an allusion to implicitly forced religious conversion while stigmatizing and intimidating any therapist who would engage in change-allowing therapy. It implies coercion and suffering, neither of which are true of modern change-allowing therapy (aka SOCE for sexual orientation change efforts). Modern SOCE therapists uniformly view old aversive techniques (think shaming, electric shocks, etc.) as unethical and ineffective. Tellingly, no state or municipality enacting a therapy prohibition has yet to ban aversive practices, only counseling that allows clients to explore their potential for change of SOGI (sexual orientation, gender identity). Why not ban aversive measures too, if abuse is really the issue?

Counseling therapy for any issue requires a willing and motivated client who determines the aims of the therapy. Simply put, no ethical therapist accepts a coerced SOGI patient nor coerces them. Client autonomy and client directed-therapy are the ethical standard of care in the mental health field. So the desire for help in addressing unwanted same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria is usually and necessarily driven by the patients themselves, though critics often frame therapy as otherwise. Were it otherwise, change-allowing therapy would have collapsed long ago. Supply and demand dictate there is no market for what is not wanted.

Nicholas Cummings, past president of the American Psychological Association (APA) and chief of the Kaiser-Permanentes mental health division for decades, expressed that most of the 18,000 or so clients seen by him and his team were those simply desiring a happier and more stable homosexual lifestyle. It is not people of faith creating a problem with change-allowing therapy, its patients of all walks wanting help.

A recent APA webinar, Psychology and LGBTQ+ State Legislative Advocacy 2021, listed the following four items as suggested talking points in opposing therapy:

Ever since the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its diagnostic manual in 1973, it has been widely known that someones minority sexual orientation is not mental disorder to be cured or treated. Rather, it encompasses an individuals sense of personal and social identity based on their attraction to men, women, or more than one gender (Institute of Medicine, 2011). In 2013 the American Psychiatric Association removed gender identity disorder from the manual (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Gender identity refers to a persons basic sense of being male, female, or of indeterminate sex, and every person has a gender identity (APA, 2009b). Efforts to change an individuals sexual orientation or gender identity may encourage people to hide these aspects of their identity, which can lead to mental health problems such as depression, sexual problems, low self-esteem, and suicide (Beckstead & Morrow, 2004; Blosnich, et al., 2020; Dehlin, et al., 2015; Green, et al., 2020; Ryan et al., 2018). Experts at the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have concluded that sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts are coercive, can be harmful, and should not be part of behavioral health treatment (SAMHSA, 2015). Many who offer change efforts are not licensed mental health practitioners, so it is unclear what, if any, training or education they may have received to represent themselves as qualified. As of January 2018, an estimated 57,000 LGBTQ+ youth will undergo this practice from a religious or spiritual advisor (Mallory, et al., 2019).

These APA talking points are highly contestable.

APA Talking Point 1

The insinuation that minority sexual orientation (orientation essentialism is itself an ideological term) is considered a mental disorder is a straw argument. Even viewing such as a disordered sexuality should not be conflated by the APA with terming it a mental health disorder. Even so, it does not follow that patient-initiated-and-directed therapy has no relevance. Mental health experts routinely provide counseling for people without pathology, bereavement being an obvious case in point.

Furthermore, many sexual minority individuals would take issues with the assertion that such status encompasses an individuals sense of personal and social identity. Many can and do reject LGBT identification and wish to live otherwise, finding their identity in factors more foundational than sexuality.[1],[2],[3] Studies addressing who they are and why they exercise their autonomy in this direction abound.[4],[5],[6] And they are not alone in using change-allowing therapists.

The APA did remove gender identity disorder from the DSM-5, but the reasons were arguably ideological more than scientific.[7] As I have previously written, decades of professional literature confirm that, conservatively, 85 percent of children with gender dysphoria become comfortable with their bodies; and the overwhelming majority of people with gender dysphoria have additional mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychoses, personality disorders, histories of self-harm or suicidality, etc.), neuro-developmental disabilities (autism spectrum), adverse childhood events and family issues that pre-date or coincide with their gender incongruence.[8]

There must be mental health advocacy for the majority of gender dysphoric/incongruent youth who will desist by adulthood, not just for those choosing transition to an opposite-sex persona. The APA Handbook on Sexuality and Psychology warns that Premature labeling of gender identity should be avoided,[9] and explains why, This approach runs the risk of neglecting individual problems the child might be experiencing and may involve an early gender role transition that might be challenging to reverse if cross-gender feelings do not persist.[10] Yet, the APA is advocating for therapy bans while there is mounting international scrutiny of routine transition affirmation due to lack of evidence of efficacy and safety (e.g., the UK High Court in Bell vs. Tavistock (2020), the Swedish National Council for Medical Ethics,[11] Finlands Council for Choices in Health Care in Finland (COHERE) (2020), among others).[12]

APA Talking Point 2

Surveys claiming harm rarely define the term conversion therapy with any precision, routinely muddy the waters by combining simple pastoral or other ill-defined spiritual counseling with actual therapy by licensed clinical professionals, fall back on a simplistic affirmation versus conversion false dichotomy, and they use survey designs (notably convenience sampling) that all but assure the exclusion of those who benefitted from therapy (e.g. sampling from exclusively LGBTQ+ organizations, clubs and venues), among other weaknesses. Convenience sampling creates low-quality data.[13] Gideons Handbook of Survey Methodology for the Social Sciences warns, you cannot make statistical generalizations from research that relies on convenience sampling[,] and Convenience sampling is to be avoided always in survey research. The lesson seems lost on much of the research in this field, demonstrating how compromised modern research methods can be at the altar of group think and foregone conclusions. As psychologist Christopher Rosik observed, There is growing evidence that constructs and conclusions derived from LGBT identified samples may not be easily transferrable to non-LGBT identified sexual minorities with primary religious identities (Hallman, Yarhouse, & Suarez, 2018; Lefevor et al., 2019; Rosik, 2007).[14]

The selection of studies specified in the APA talking point demonstrate the previously stated shortcomings along with the citation bias prevalent in the literature. I will briefly address the newer studies they cited.

Dehlin, et al (2015)[15] was a web-based retrospective survey of 1,612 ex-Mormons (only 29 percent were active LDS members) with recruitment and other biases further assured by the authors reputations as gay advocates with anti-SOCE views. It employed a strongly flawed rating scale: 1 = highly effective, 2 = moderately effective, 3 = not effective, 4 = moderately harmful, and 5 = severely harmful. Note the instrument midpoint was not neutral, and the scale merged the metrics of effectiveness and harm rather than using only one. Provider confounding occurred, combining reported results from both religious and professional SOCE providers, with 85 percent reporting using religious or private individual SOCE methods, but only 44 percent using a therapist or group-led SOCE. Even so, slightly positive outcomes were found for therapist-led, group therapy, group retreat and psychiatry methods, with about 44 percent finding them helpful.

Missteps in Ryan, et al (2018)[16] were addressed in a letter by Psychologist Rosik.[17] Ryan measured parent-initiated SOCE during adolescence and its relationship to mental health, which is already a problem, excluding patient-initiated SOCE, which any ethical change-allowing therapist insists upon. Ryans team concluded it was associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempts, less educational attainment, and less weekly income. But association is not causation. Rosik stated that Ryans team did not disentangle participants perceptions of the effects of licensed therapists from that of unregulated and unaccountable religious leaders. So, which was to blame for the perceived poor results? Rosik noted selection and recruitment bias, in that the sample was limited to LGBT-identified young adults, which excludes by definition those who felt they benefitted from religious and professional engagement, and who would also be far less likely to go to LGBT bars, clubs, or service agencies where participants were recruited for this research.

Blosnich, et al (2020) claimed, Over the lifetime, sexual minorities who experienced SOCE reported a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts than did sexual minorities who did not experience SOCE. Well, hold on. A forthcoming letter to the editor in the same journal (Rosik, Sullins, Schumm, Van Mol) listed three issues with the study.[18]First, calculations were done using only the total sum of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), yet different ACEs have differing levels of effect on suicidality. The SOCE group reported greater exposure to parental violence and more abuse (emotional, physical and sexual) than the non-SOCE responders. The model was not adjusted for the differences in ACE exposure and severity, thus failing to account for their contribution to suicidality. Second, it was speculative to blame SOCE for suicidality without a longitudinal design, a control for pre-SOCE levels of suicidality, and a comparison of suicide levels between clients in SOCE and non-SOCE therapy. Again, association is not causation. And third, the Generations studythe data source for Blosnichonly sampled people who were already LGBT identified, thereby excluding sexual minority individuals who do not so identify along with omitting their likely more positive experiences with SOCE. Finally, the Generations study was far too vague in defining SOCE (treatment, tried to change and try to make), thus confounding and invalidating interpretation and conclusions.

In Green, et al (2020), the Trevor Project conducted an online survey recruiting adolescents and young adults (AYA) who experienced sexual orientation or gender identity conversion efforts (SOGICE) and who interacted with materials deemed relevant to the LGBTQ community. This design excludes AYAs who do not or no longer identify as LGBTQ nor interact with the LGBTQ community or its materials, which would likely be the case with those who found therapy helpful. By excluding them, it can make no conclusions about them. Prior to survey questions specific to youth mental health and suicidality, the LGBTQ-identified AYAs were instructed to contact the Trevor Project crisis intervention hotline if needed, thus revealing the study sponsors and their well-advertised biases.

Greens study defined SOGICE as coercive, someone attempted to convince them to change, which ethical change-allowing therapists do not do. The survey excluded 105 participants who said they experienced SOGICE but without someone trying to convince them to change, so it can claim nothing about non-coercive SOGICE. The study asserted that LGBTQ-identified youth who were more than two times more suicidal were more likely to have experienced SOGICE therapy. The researchers then fully commit to the association as causation fallacy by concluding, The elevated odds of suicidality observed among young LGBTQ individuals exposed to SOGICE underscore the detrimental effects of this unethical practice No, they dont. A more suicidal youth is more likely to experience therapy than one who is not. It does not follow that the therapy was causative of suicidality.

APA Talking Point 3

The 2015 report, Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth, was prepared for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) by Abt Associates. Prepared for and not by SAMHSA, and it includes this disclaimer, The views, opinions, and content of this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of SAMHSA or HHS. The erroneous coercion and harm claims of this APA talking point have already been addressed above.

A group of 15 LGBT activist professionals, one of whom was lead author of the 2009 APA Task Force Report, stated in an otherwise harshly anti-therapy commentary: As of this writing, to our knowledge, there have been no formal actions by a regulatory body against a provider for engaging in conversion therapy.[19]

The bans are needless. The legislatures already have a process in place to address complaints of harmful practice and clinician malfeasance through state licensing boards. If clients had been harmed or treated unethically, the licensing boards would already have known, documented and acted. No such complaints exist.

APAs Gay and Lesbian Task Forces 2009 report specified, We found that nonaversive and modern approaches to SOCE since 1978 have not been rigorously evaluated.[20] This concedes SOCE have been non-aversive for more than 40 years. The Efficacy and Safety section (page 82) reiterates, We found few scientifically rigorous studies that could be used to answer the questions regarding safety, efficacy, benefit, and harm of modern change-allowing therapy. That is far from concluding SOCE to be harmful or ineffective. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals cited these statements of the APA Task Force Report in their 2020 ruling striking down a therapy ban for minors in Otto, et al v. City of Boca Raton.[21]

APA Talking Point 4

If indeed Many who offer change efforts are not licensed mental health practitioners, why impose therapy bans that would only eliminate the qualified participation of licensed professionals? Wouldnt that drive the willing and motivated people unhappy with experiencing minority sexuality to precisely the unlicensed others? The APA talking points reasoning seems circular.

ConclusionThe APA legislative talking points violate patient autonomy, misrepresent change-allowing therapy and those who offer it, seem founded on ideology rather than science, are replete with citation bias favoring weak studies with unmerited conclusions, and would block the availability of ethical psychotherapy and counseling choice for sexual minority people already at risk.

[1] Michael W. Hannon, Sexual Disorientation: The Trouble with Talking about Gayness, firstthings.com, Oct. 10, 2013. https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2013/10/sexual-disorientation-the-trouble-with-talking-about-gayness

[2] Andre Van Mol, Mistaken Identity: There is No Straight or Gay, Oct. 26, 2017. https://cmda.org/resources/publication/mistaken-identity-there-is-no-straight-or-gay

[3] Elizabeth Woning, Belonging. January 30, 2021. https://www.elizabethwoning.com/essays/2021/1/30/f2o3kflgwwj7c5ocd1oh5jnq5ra23b

[4] Christopher H. Rosik, G. Tyler Lefevor, A. Lee Beckstead, Sexual Minorities who Reject an LGB Identity: Who Are They and Why Does It Matter? Issues in Law & Medicine, Volume 36, Number 1, 2021. In press.

[5] G. Tyler Lefevor, Sydney A. Sorrell, Grace Kappers, Ashley Plunk, Ron L.

Schow, Christopher H. Rosik & A. Lee Beckstead (2019): Same-Sex Attracted, Not LGBQ: The Associations of Sexual Identity Labeling on Religiousness, Sexuality, and Health Among Mormons, Journal of Homosexuality, DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2018.1564006

[6] G. Tyler Lefevor, A. Lee Beckstead, Ronald L. Schow, Marybeth Raynes, Ty

Mansfield & Christopher H. Rosik (2019): Satisfaction and Health Within Four Sexual Identity Relationship Options, Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, DOI: 10.1080/0092623X.2018.1531333

[7] Quentin L. Van Meter. Bringing Transparency to the Treatment of Transgender Persons. Issues in Law & Medicine, Vol. 34, Iss. 2, Fall 2019, pp. 147-152.

[8] Mental Health Advocacy for Gender Dysphoric Youth, CMDAs The Point Blog, Feb. 27, 2020. https://cmda.org/mental-health-advocacy-for-gender-dysphoric-youth/

[9] W. Bockting, Ch. 24: Transgender Identity Development, in 1 American Psychological Association Handbook on Sexuality and Psychology, 744 (D. Tolman & L. Diamond eds., 2014).

[10] W. Bockting, Ch. 24: Transgender Identity Development, in 1 American Psychological Association Handbook on Sexuality and Psychology, 750 (D. Tolman & L. Diamond eds., 2014).

[11] https://www.transgendertrend.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/SMER-National-Council-for-Medical-Ethics-directive-March-2019.pdf.

[12] https://palveluvalikoima.fi/documents/1237350/22895008/Summary_minors_en.pdf/aaf9a6e7-b970-9de9-165c-abedfae46f2e/Summary_minors_en.pdf

[13] Bornstein, M. H., Jager, J., & Putnick, D. L. (2013). Sampling in developmental science: Situations, shortcomings, solutions, and standards. Developmental Review, 33(4), 357370. https ://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2013.08.003.

[14] Christopher H. Rosik (2021) RE: Ryan, Toomey, Diaz, and Russell (2018),

Journal of Homosexuality, 68:2, 181-184, DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2019.1656506

[15] Dehlin, J. P., Galliher, R. V., Bradshaw, W. S., Hyde, D. C., & Crowell, K.A. (2014). Sexual orientation change efforts among current or former LDS church members. Journal of Counseling Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/cou0000011.

[16] Ryan, C., Toomey, R. B., Diaz, R. M., & Russell, S. T. (2018). Parent-Initiated sexual orientation change efforts with LGBT adolescents: Implications for young adult mental health and adjustment. Journal of Homosexuality, 115. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/00918369.2018.1538407

[17] Christopher H. Rosik (2019): RE: Ryan, Toomey, Diaz, and Russell (2018),

Journal of Homosexuality, DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2019.1656506

[18] Rosik CH, Sullins DP, Schumm WR, Van Mol A. Sexual orientation change efforts, adverse childhood experiences, and suicidality. Am J Public Health. 2021;111(4): e1e2. Acceptance Date: December 30, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306156

[19] Drescher, J., Schwarz, A., Casoy, F., McIntosh, C., Hurley, B., Ashley, K., Barber, M., Goldenberg, D., Herbert, S., Lothwell, L., Mattson, M., McAfee, S., Pula, J., Roario, V., Tompkins, A. (2016), The growing regulation of conversion therapy: What state medical boards need to know, Journal of Medical Regulation, 102, p. 10, http://jmr.fsmb.org/archives/archive-2010s/

[20] American Psychological Association, Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. (2009). Report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. Retrieved from http://www. apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-resp.html

[21] https://lc.org/newsroom/details/112020-court-of-appeals-strikes-down-fl-counseling-ban-1
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Christian leaders in Kwara have rejected the directive by the state government to all public schools to allow the use of Hijab as 10 schools shut over the controversy reopen on Monday.

The leaders called on Christian faithful to occupy the affected schools and to hold a day of prayer and fasting for divine intervention.

The government, last Friday, ordered the temporary closure of 10 grant-aided secondary schools in Ilorin, the state capital, pending the resolution of the controversy in the schools, which were established by Christian missions.

The schools are Cherubim and Seraphim College, St. Anthony College, ECWA School, Surulere Baptist Secondary School, Bishop Smith Secondary School, CAC Secondary School, St. Barnabas Secondary School, St. John School, St. Williams Secondary School and St. James Secondary School.

While Muslim leaders insisted that students should be allowed to use the head covering in accordance with the Constitution, their Christian counterparts demanded respect for the background of the schools that were established by churches or Christian missionaries.

However, on Thursday evening, the state government approved the use of Hijab in all public schools in the state.

According to a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Mamma Jibril, the state government said it considered the submissions of all the major interest groups before arriving at its decision on the matter.

Reacting to the governments statement, however, the proprietors of the affected schools rejected the decision of the government.

In a communique read by Victor Dada, a reverend, the group condemns the use of hijab in Christian missions grant-aided schools as this will cause discrimination in schools and allow terrorists to easily identify our children and wards.

Christian mission grant-aided schools should be returned to the owners promptly as most of these schools have churches besides them and unnecessary trespass may lead to break down of law and order.

Christian faithful should occupy all grant-aided schools. Christians should have a day for prayers and fasting for God to intervene in the imbroglio.



We shall continue to interact and dialogue with the state government on the return of grant-aided schools to the proprietors, Mr Dada said on Saturday.

The opposition from the group may thwart the peace efforts of the state government to bring an end to the controversy.

The spokespersons of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the education ministry both declined comments on the objection of the Christian leaders.

But an official of the ministry, who spoke unofficially on the matter. said the decision of the government stands.

The appeal court has ruled that the schools belong to the government and the use of hijab is a constitutional right of pupils, he said.
The attack was the second thwarted attempts reported on Saturday. The coalition destroyed a bomb-laden drone launched towards border city Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia, Xinhua reported.

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, according to Sputnik.

The coalition destroyed on Friday a missile launched from Sa'dah governorate in Yemen towards the kingdom's southern region. On the same day, two Houthi drone attacks were foiled.

The conflict in Yemen began in September 2014 when Houthi forces took over the capital city Sana'a.

The Saudi-UAE-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis overthrew from power the internationally-recognized government in Sanaa, which the coalition seeks to restore.

The five-year civil war has left tens of thousands of people dead, most of them civilians, according to relief organisations, and has pushed millions to the brink of famine in what the UN calls the worst humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world.

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Building Back Better Means Blackouts and Fragile Grids

Commentary

South Australia in 2016; California last year; now, Texas. The recent blackout is a terrible ordeal for Texans but a political disaster for the Biden administration. The president had just signed an executive order making climate change the organizing principle of his administration. All coal and natural gas power stations are to be taken off the grid by 2035. To solve the climate crisis, America is to be powered almost exclusively by wind and solar, with a smattering of nuclear and hydropower.

As temperatures across Texas plunged, demand for heating surged. At 4 p.m. on Feb. 14, Texas, with the most installed wind capacity of any state, was producing 9,101 megawatts (MW) of power. By 8 p.m. the following day, wind output was just 649 MW, a fall of 92.9 percent. Nuclear, coal, and gas generation fell too, but the wind drop-off was the largest in absolute terms and, with the exception of solar, in relative terms as well. As shown in the table, the drop in wind output accounted for 41.5 percent of the total fall.

It doesnt take a genius to figure out that increasing dependence on weather-dependent, weather-exposed power generation is a formula for grid unreliability and blackouts. As analysts at Life:Powered point out, since 2015, Texas has been relying entirely on wind and solar to meet demand growth and now has less gas and coal generation than five years ago. The catastrophic system failure this month was a disaster waiting to happen. The greater the reliance on wind, the more devastating will be the consequences of the weather not being right when demand surges.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates argues that the solution is to weatherize wind turbines against the cold and to connect the Texas grid to the rest of the nation. But weatherizing wind turbines doesnt make the wind blow when there isnt any. Grid interconnectors are a sensible way for neighboring systems to trade electricity with one another, but they can also be used by countries with large amounts of wind and solar, such as Germany, to dump their balancing problems onto their neighbors. In response, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands have phase-shifting transformers to control unwanted power surges from Germany.

Interconnectors are no lifeline during times of acute grid stress. Like Texas, the state of South Australia relies heavily on wind power. In September 2016, a severe storm knocked out some transmission towers and forced six wind farms to curtail their output. The interconnector with neighboring Victoria was already over its safety limit. Within seconds it tripped, and much of the state was plunged into darkness.

The ability of the grid to cope with sudden supply-demand imbalances and maintain frequency is determined by the inertia in the system. Grid managers must also keep grid frequency within tight limits. The 600-ton turbines of coal-fired power stations spin at 3,000 rpm, generating synchronous power and providing system inertia. Think of it as maintaining balance on a moving bicycle. It comes naturally. Now imagine Bill Gates trying to balance on a stationary bicycle without his feet touching the groundthats wind and solar. They are non-synchronous, as are interconnectors, with low-to-zero physical inertia.

Having lots of renewable capacity makes for a less stable grid. It doesnt take exceptional weather to cause blackouts. In August 2019, large parts of southern England saw their power cut off during a period when a record 67 percent of electricity demand was being met by wind. A sudden loss of generating capacity, thought to be caused by a lightning strike, was followed by a sharp drop in grid frequency that led grid managers to initiate a cascade of disconnections to restore grid stability.

Britain provides a textbook example of decarbonizing the grid and the distortions caused by renewable energy subsidies. Wind and solar have high fixed costs but close to zero variable costs, as the energy inputs from wind and sun are free. That means coal and gas cant compete when the wind is blowing and the sun is shining. In the four years before 2016, the economically destructive effect of subsidizing zero-marginal-cost output saw Britains Big Six energy companies rack up cumulative losses of 2,096.4m ($2,945.4m) from their coal- and gas-fired power stations.

These losses led them to run down their thermal assets, and three of the Big Six exited thermal generation altogether. In the next three years, losses narrowed to 22.6m ($31.7m). Over the same period, the Big Sixs renewable portfolio generated profits of 2,782.0m ($3,897.6m), despite generating less than one-third of the electricity compared to the output of their coal and gas power stations. In 2019, the Big Six obtained an average wholesale price of 116.64 ($163.41) per megawatt hour (MWh) for renewable electricity58 percent more than the 73.58 ($103.09) per MWh they received for electricity generated by their thermal-power stations, which are critical for keeping the lights on and the grid stable. Consumers bore the burden of the renewable subsidies. In those three years, Big Six residential customers saw the average price of electricity rise by 27.7 percent, to 18.08p (25.33 cents) per kilowatt hour (kWh), leading them to cut their electricity consumption by 12.1 percent.

Gates and others blame the Texas blackout on the failure of power-station owners to weatherize their plants. But these owners have little incentive to invest in their plants when faced with falling load factors brought about by the growth of wind outputand now with an administration that wants to push them off the grid altogether. Some climate scientists see the Texas freeze as evidence of climate change, as does the presidents climate envoy John Kerry. If man-made climate change is predicted to cause more extreme weather, then it is perverse to increase the vulnerability of the electrical grid to severe weather and make the amount of electricity available at any given moment even more dependent on changing weather conditions.

Texans would be better off if the state had no investment in wind power; its grid would be more resilient, and investment in thermal generation plants would have been stronger. Instead, the Biden administrations decision to rejoin the Paris climate agreement is a prelude to more draconian climate policies than envisaged under the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan. Although the Paris Agreement speaks of achieving net zero in the second half of this century, the Biden administration is bringing forward the net zero deadline to 2050vastly increasing the speed, cost, and disruption of decarbonization.

The preamble of the Paris Agreement contains a much-overlooked recital that provides context on how the agreement should be interpretedrecognizing, it says, that parties may be affected not only by climate change, but also by the impacts of the measures taken in response to it. Scientists are divided as to whether Texans are suffering from the effects of man-made climate change. But there can be little doubt that they are suffering from the destructive effects of climate-change policies. Republicans should require the Biden administration to demonstrate the cure is less harmful than the disease. Texas is a warning.

From RealClearWire.

Rupert Darwall is a senior fellow of the RealClear Foundation and author of Green Tyranny: Exposing the Totalitarian Roots of the Climate Industrial Complex and the report The Climate Noose: Business, Net Zero, and the IPCCs Anti-Capitalism.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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Overcast. High around 75F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly to mostly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower late. Low 57F. Winds light and variable.
There have been 13 additional Covid-related deaths, it has been confirmed this evening.

Of these deaths, 10 occurred in February, one in January, one in October and another one remains under investigation.

The youngest person to have died was 55 and the oldest was 92 years old.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has also been notified of 738 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

The average age of today's case numbers is 32 years old while 71% of the cases are people under the age of 45.

Dublin accounts for the highest number of cases with 311 while there are 54 cases located in Limerick, 36 in Cork, 34 in Offaly and 33 in Donegal. The remaining 270 cases are spread across 20 other counties.

As of 8am this morning, there are 550 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 135 are in ICU. There have been 27 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

This morning, HSE Chief Paul Reid said healthcare teams are exhausted but getting their vaccines and "great signs" of it reducing transmission is giving them a second wind.

"We are winning, it's just not over yet," he said.

The Deputy Chief Medical Officer says he is hopeful people will be able to go on staycations this summer.

This weekend marks a year since the first case of Covid-19 in the Republic and Dr Ronan Glynn says the country is now in a much better place.

Dr Glynn says the trends are heading in the right direction and is urging people to keep up their efforts to suppress the virus.

"I'm very hopeful that if we can continue to suppress the case numbers down through March that we will be able to give people much greater levels of certainty about the spring and summer ahead by the end of March.

"But it is all contingent on us managing to keep things under control over the coming weeks in particular."

Today's numbers come following clashes in Dublin city centre as Gardai prevented anti-lockdown protesters from making their way to St Stephen's Green park this afternoon.

Over 250,000 people have received first vaccine dose

Over a quarter of a million people across the country have now received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures up to Wednesday show just over 136,000 people have been fully vaccinated.

The rollout to over 85s is continuing today with hundreds of patients getting their jab at hubs in Cork and Galway.

Some GPs are still experiencing issues with the delivery of doses, like Dublin-based doctor Nina Byrnes.

"What is frustrating is we were trying to get our delivery date confirmed but we had no way of doing that," said Dr Byrne.

"We had people ringing us saying 'my friend over 85 was vaccinated two weeks ago' and we kept trying to say to people that we are pretty sure it's going to be the first week of March but it was getting to the end of last week and we had no date."

Gardai to conduct checks on people reported to be ignoring self-quarantine rules

Gardai are carrying out house checks this weekend to ensure people entering the country are self-quarantining.

Officers will conduct checks on those who have been reported as not engaging with the Department of Health monitoring process.

A further 13 countries - including Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela - have been added to the list of "high-risk" countries.

There are now a total of 33 countries on it - and anyone arriving from those places has to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Failure to comply with the regulations may result in a 2,500 fine or six months in prison, or both.

A leading immunologist has urged the government to "get on top of" travel restrictions to keep new Covid variants out of the country.

Kingston Mills, an immunology professor at Trinity College Dublin, said strict travel rules are crucial.

"We really, really have to get on top of the travel and stop the importation of more variants because if we don't do that then our vaccine programme could be under threat in the short term.

"I think the travel restrictions are integral to preventing the problems with the variants."

Nphet don't want any further school closures Ronan Glynn says Nphet does not want to see any more school closures due to the impact of Covid-19.

Around 300,000 students in the first four years of primary school and Leaving Cert pupils will return to class on Monday.

Dr Glynn has asked parents not to organise play dates and to minimise their contact with other people as schools re-open.

"The key concern for Nphet around the re-opening of schools has been that it would signal to wider society that there can be other forms of mobility and other forms of interaction," said Dr Glynn.

"We want to get our children back to school and, crucially, we want them to stay back at school on this occasion. We don't want to see anymore closures because of the profound impact that that has on children."

Two deaths and 184 Covid-19 cases in the North as over 500,000 vaccine doses given

A further two coronavirus connected deaths were reported in the North today.

Another 184 individuals have tested positive for the virus, according to the latest update from the Department of Health.

On Saturday morning there were 307 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of whom 36 were in intensive care.

The more recent deaths reported by officials brings Northern Irelands death toll to 2,052 since the outbreak of Covid-19 a year ago.

A total of 112,357 people in the region has contracted the virus since the first case was reported last February.

More than half a million people have received a Covid-19 vaccine, of which 505,188 were first doses and 31,898 were second doses.

While Northern Ireland faces ongoing lockdown restrictions into April, its seven-day incidence rate fell to 89.8 per 100,000 people.

It is the lowest incidence rate since September, figures show.

The Minister for Health Robin Swann urged people to stay Covid-free this weekend.

I would again urge everyone to maintain social distancing from others and stay local if they are heading outdoors, Mr Swann said.
Part-time checkout attendants, shelf-stackers and sales assistants would be allowed to work additional hours without overtime in a joint union-employer plan to encourage more permanent jobs rather than casual positions.

The proposal, led by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia to give part-time retail staff more flexibility, rivals the Morrison governments plan to legislate a similar arrangement but differs on specifics.

Peter Strong blasted ideology as a barrier to middle-ground reforms on industrial relations. Credit:Pat Scala

Both the ACTU and COSBOA were in the industrial relations working groups that Prime Minister Scott Morrison called to try to find common ground but ended without agreement on solutions after months of negotiations.

Genuine agreement between unions and employers has always been possible, but not in a

process which has been hijacked by ideologues, COSBOA chief executive Peter Strong said in a statement announcing the plan, which will be presented to the industrial tribunal for consideration on Monday.
Protesters shout slogans as police arrive during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar (AP)

Security forces in Myanmar have made mass arrests and appeared to use lethal force as they intensified their efforts to break up protests a month after the military staged a coup.

There were reports of gunfire as police in Yangon, the biggest city, fired tear gas and water cannons while trying to clear the streets of demonstrators demanding that the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi be restored to power.

Photos of shell casings from live ammunition used in assault rifles were posted on social media, adding to evidence that live rounds were fired.

Reports on social media identified one young man believed to have been killed in Yangon.

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His body was shown in photos and videos lying on a pavement until other protesters were able to carry him away.

A violent crackdown also occurred in Dawei, a much smaller city in south-eastern Myanmar, where local media reported at least three people were killed during a protest march.

The fatalities could not immediately be independently confirmed.

Confirming reports of protesters deaths has been difficult amid the chaos and general lack of official news.

The February 1 army takeover reversed years of slow progress towards democracy after five decades of military rule.

Ms Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party would have been installed for a second five-year term in office, but the army blocked parliament from convening and detained her and President Win Myint, as well as other top members of her government.

Sundays violence erupted early in the morning when medical students were marching in Yangons streets near the Hledan Centre intersection, which has become the gathering point for protesters who then fan out to other parts of the city.

Videos and photos showed protesters running away as police charged at them and residents setting up makeshift roadblocks to slow their advance.

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Nearby, residents were pleading with police to release those they picked up from the street and shoved into police trucks to be taken away.

Dozens or more were believed to have been detained.

There was no immediate word on Yangon casualties.

Sounds of gunfire could be heard in the streets and there were what appeared to be smoke grenades thrown into the crowds.

Demonstrators later on Sunday regrouped and were said to be planning to march to the local police station to demand the release of the medical students.

Video from the online media company Dakkhina Insight showed a young man receiving urgent medical attention in the street for what appeared to be a wound in his upper chest.

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Medics held an oxygen mask to his face while calling out for an ambulance.

Security forces on Saturday began employing rougher tactics, taking pre-emptive actions to break up protests and making scores, if not hundreds of arrests.

Greater numbers of soldiers have also joined police.

Many of those detained were taken to Insein Prison in Yangons northern outskirts, historically notorious for holding political prisoners.

According to the independent Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, as of Saturday, 854 people had been arrested, charged or sentenced at one point in relation to the coup, and 771 were being detained or sought for arrest.

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The group said that while it had documented 75 new arrests , it understood that hundreds of other people were also picked up on Saturday in Yangon and elsewhere.

MRTV, a Myanmar state-run television channel, broadcast an announcement on Saturday night from the Foreign Ministry that the countrys ambassador to the United Nations had been fired because he had abused his power and misbehaved by failing to follow the instructions of the government and betraying it.

Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun had declared in an emotional speech on Friday at the UN General Assembly in New York that he represented Ms Suu Kyis civilian government elected by the people and supported the struggle against military rule.

He urged all countries to issue public statements strongly condemning the coup, and to refuse to recognise the military regime.

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He also called for stronger international measures to stop violence by security forces against peaceful demonstrators.

The junta said it took power because last years polls were marred by massive irregularities.

The election commission before the military seized power coup had rejected the allegation of widespread fraud.

The junta dismissed the old commissions members and appointed new ones, who on Friday annulled the election results.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Prayer is never an evasion of life's trials; the light of faith is not needed for a beautiful spiritual emotion , nor to flee from reality, because the Christian's mission is to be little lamps of the Gospel," said Pope Francis before today's Angelus prayer.

The Pope was commenting on the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus in today's Gospel speaks, which urges us to go beyond our fixed patterns and "look at the beauty of the Risen One" even in times of difficulty, but at the same time warns us to "guard against spiritual laziness".

To a thousand people present in St. Peter's Square for the recitation of the Marian prayer, Francis also addressed the invitation to "fast" from gossiping, from chattering. I advise you - his words - a fast, a fast that will not make you hungry: fast from gossip and slander. It is a special path. In this Lent I will not gossip about others, I will not chatter ... And we can all do this, all of us. This is a good form of fasting.

The second Sunday of Lent - he said - invites us to contemplate the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain, in front of three of his disciples (cf. Mk 9: 2-10). Shortly before, Jesus had announced that, in Jerusalem, he would suffer a lot, he would be rejected and put to death. We can imagine what must have happened then in the hearts of his closest friends: the image of a strong and triumphant Messiah is thrown into crisis, their dreams are shattered, and anguish assails them at the thought that the Master in which they had believed he would be killed like the worst of evildoers. It is precisely at that moment, with that anguish in his soul, that Jesus calls Peter, James and John and takes them with him to the mountain ".

Here, He is transfigured before them. His radiant face and his shining robes, which anticipate the image of him as the Risen One, offer those frightened men the light of hope to cross the darkness: death will not be the end of everything, because it will open to the glory of the Resurrection " .

"As the apostle Peter exclaimed (cf. v. 5) at that moment, it is beautiful to stay with the Lord on the mountain, to experience this 'anticipation' of light in the heart of Lent. It is an invitation to remind us, especially when we are going through a difficult trial, that the Lord is Risen and does not allow the dark to have the last word. Sometimes it happens to go through moments of darkness in personal, family or social life, and to fear that there is no way out. We feel terrified in the face of great enigmas such as illness, innocent pain or the mystery of death. On the same journey of faith, we often stumble upon encountering the scandal of the cross and the demands of the Gospel, which asks us to spend our lives in service and to lose it in love, instead of keeping it for ourselves and defending it. We need, then, another gaze, a light that illuminates the mystery of life in depth and helps us to go beyond our schemes and the criteria of this world. We too are called to climb the mountain, to contemplate the beauty of the Risen One who lights glimpses of light in every fragment of our life and helps us to interpret history starting from his Easter victory .

"Let's be careful, though: that feeling that 'it's nice for us to be here' must not become spiritual laziness. We cannot stay on the mountain and enjoy the bliss of this encounter alone. Jesus himself brings us back to the valley, among our brothers and in daily life. We must guard against spiritual laziness: we are fine with our prayers and liturgies, and this is enough for us. No! Climbing the mountain is not forgetting reality; to pray is never to escape from the hardships of life; the light of faith is not needed for a beautiful spiritual emotion. This is not the message of Jesus. We are called to experience the encounter with Christ because, enlightened by his light, we can carry it and make it shine everywhere. Ignite little lights in people's hearts; to be little lamps of the Gospel that bring a little love and hope: this is the mission of the Christian ".

After the recitation of the Angelus, Francis recalled today's World Day of Rare Diseases. In the case of rare diseases - he said - the network of solidarity between family members, fostered by these associations, is more important than ever. It helps not to feel alone and to exchange experiences and advice. I encourage initiatives that support research and care, and I express my closeness to the sick, to families, but especially to children. Being close to sick children, children who are suffering, praying for them, making them feel the caress of God's love, tenderness ... Healing children with prayer, too ... When there are these diseases that we do not know what they are, or there is a somewhat bad progonsis. We pray for all the people who have these rare diseases, especially for the children who suffer .
New Delhi:

Samsung has announced the information on the preorders and release date of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phone. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is scheduled to launch on August 23.

Samsung is going to release the Galaxy Note 8 on September 15 in its home country. However, customers in South Korea will reportedly be able to preorder the Galaxy Note 8 between September 1- September 10. But after the official unveiling in New York City on August 23, users will be able to experience the Galaxy Note 8 first hand starting August 25-August 31 in carrier shops and Samsung stores, according to the recent report published in the South Korea's ET News.

The report also mentioned the price of Galaxy Note 8 which is nearly 1,000 in Europe (Rs 75,000 approximately).

Also Read| Jio Phone: How to book it online and offline? Check out here

Let's have a look at key features and specifications of much awaiting Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone

On the design part, the new Samsung smartphone will be available in Midnight Black and Maple Gold colors in the first shipment in September, followed by Orchid Grey and Deep Sea Blue variants later.

The smartphone which inherits the Galaxy S8s design, will come with a force touch display thats also called 3-D touch.

In terms of specifications, the smartphone is said to feature a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a display resolution of 14402960 pixels in an 18.5:9 aspect ratio.

The phone will be powered by Samsungs Exynos 8895 chipset worldwide, except in the US, where it will come with Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 chipset with 6GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 expected to come with the dual-camera setup with a 12-megapixel and another 8-megapixel sensor at the back.

Leaks suggest that the Galaxy Note 8 battery will fit between the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus as it is expected to come with a battery capacity of 3,300mAh.

Also Read| Xiaomi to launch Mi Note 3 in China
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The Canadian Press

As COVID-19 vaccine supplies ramp up across the country, most provinces and territories have begun planning to give second doses in the coming weeks. More than 23 million people across Canada have now had at least one dose of a vaccine. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says by the summer, Canada will have enough vaccines so that every eligible resident will have gotten their first dose, and by September, it will have enough doses for everyone to be fully vaccinated. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended that Canada turn toward the ultimate goal of fully immunizing the population, now that supplies of COVID-19 shots are increasing. The advisory panel said those at highest risk of dying or becoming severely ill should be prioritized for second shots, either after or alongside first doses for anyone else who is eligible for a vaccine. Since the novel coronavirus is still circulating in Canada, NACI is still recommending that the second dose be received up to four months after the first dose, in order to maximize the number of people who get at least one shot. Here's a list of the inoculation plans throughout Canada: Newfoundland and Labrador All people in the province aged 12 and older can now book an appointment for a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. So far 2.19 per cent (11,446) of the population has been fully vaccinated. --- Nova Scotia Appointments for an initial COVID-19 vaccine shot are now open to people 12 years of age and older. Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for use in children aged 12 and up. The Moderna vaccine is only available for those 18 and older. Under the province's accelerated vaccine plan, someone who received their first dose of vaccine on March 22 and is due for a second dose on July 5 will now be able to reschedule their second appointment for as early as the week of June 20. The province has stopped the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine as a first dose. The Health Department says the decision was based on "an abundance of caution'' due to an observed increase in the rare blood-clotting condition linked to this vaccine. The department also says it will reschedule anyone who was to receive AstraZeneca to instead be inoculated with Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna "in a timely manner." --- Prince Edward Island In Prince Edward Island, residents as young as 16 can book a COVID-19 vaccine. People 16 years and older who have certain underlying medical conditions, pregnant woman and eligible members of their household can also get a vaccine. So far 8.11 per cent (12,868) of the population has been fully vaccinated. --- New Brunswick Residents in New Brunswick aged 12 to 17 are now eligible to book an appointment for a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Officials also say residents 55 and older who received an Astra-Zenaca vaccine for the first dose at least eight weeks ago can now get a second dose of the vaccine with informed consent. So far 5.08 per cent (39,633) of the population has been fully vaccinated. --- Quebec In Quebec, all residents 12 and older can book a COVID-19 vaccination appointment. The province's health minister says Quebecers 12 to 17 years old will be fully vaccinated by the time they return to school in September. Quebec also says it will shorten the delay between first and second doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to eight weeks from 16 weeks. The province says more than 5.8 million doses of vaccine have now been administered, with more than 58.1 per cent of the population having received at least one dose. --- Ontario All adults in Ontario can now book COVID-19 vaccine appointments. People turning 18 in 2021 can book Pfizer-BioNTech shots. Youth aged 12 and older can also book appointments across Ontario. They can book through the provincial online portal, call centre and through pharmacies offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the only shot authorized by Health Canada for use in youth aged 12 and older. Ontarians, meanwhile, are getting the option to shorten the interval between COVID-19 vaccine doses. Most people are being scheduled for doses four months apart, but officials say the new interval could be as short as 28 days. The plan will start with seniors aged 80 and older this week and the province will later offer second shots based on when people received their first. People will keep their original appointments if they dont re-book. The province aims to see all eligible Ontarians fully vaccinated by the end of September. Ontario is also resuming use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine but only as a second dose. Those who received the first dose of AstraZeneca between March 10 and March 19 during a pilot project at pharmacies and some doctor's offices in several Ontario communities will be first in line to receive their second dose. Ontario says more than 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have now been administered across the province. So far 4.68 per cent (687,894) of the population has been fully vaccinated --- Manitoba Manitoba is using the Pfizer vaccine for everyone aged 12 and up, and the Moderna vaccines for people aged 18 and up. These are available through a few channels including so-called supersites in larger communities. The province is also allowing anyone 40 and over to get an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through pharmacies and medical clinics, subject to availability. People 30-39 can get a shot if they have certain underlying health conditions such as chronic liver failure or severe obesity. The province has opened up second-dose appointments to all Indigenous people aged 12 and up, to people with certain medical conditions such as severe heart failure and Down syndrome, and anyone who received their first dose on or before March 29. Provincial health officials say they now expect 70 per cent of Manitobans aged 12 and older to get a dose by the end of June. So far 7.75 per cent (106,678) of the population has been fully vaccinated. --- Saskatchewan Saskatchewan says it reached the step two threshold of its reopening roadmap released last week, with over 70 per cent of residents age 30 and older having received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That means restrictions will begin to be relaxed June 20, which includes easing capacity limits on retail, personal care services, restaurants and bars, although they must still maintain physical distancing among occupants or have barriers in place. The rules also raise caps on private indoor gatherings to 15, while capacity limits jump to 150 for both public indoor gatherings and all outdoor assemblies, whether public or private. Premier Scott Moe says once 70 per cent of the entire adult population is vaccinated, Saskatchewan can move to the third step of its plan and remove almost all of the remaining public health orders. Saskatchewan residents aged 12 and older are now eligible to book their first COVID-19 vaccine appointment. A school immunization program for those aged 12 to 18 will be introduced in June, but eligible residents of that age can also be immunized at clinics offering the Pfizer vaccine. Anyone 85 and older or anyone who received their first vaccine dose before February 15 can now book their second dose. Anyone diagnosed with cancer and solid organ transplant recipients will be receiving a letter of eligibility in the mail which will allow them priority access to a second dose. There are drive-thru and walk-in vaccination clinics in communities across the province. The province says 6.60 per cent (77,767) of the population has now been fully vaccinated. --- Alberta Every Albertan aged 12 and older is now eligible for a vaccine. As of May 27, 60.3 per cent of Albertans over the age of 12 had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The milestone means the province's second stage of easing restrictions can begin on June 10. It is subject to hospitalizations being below 500 and trending downwards. Some of the restrictions that would be lifted include allowing outdoor gatherings  including weddings and funerals  with up to 20 people. Restaurants would be allowed to seat tables with up to six people, indoors or outdoors. Retail capacity would also increase, and gyms could open for solo or drop-in activities with three metres of distancing. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, has said people who are immunocompromised can book a second dose three or four weeks after their first shot. All other Albertans are eligible to get their second dose three to four months after the first. For the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the province lowered the minimum age to 30. They are, however, reserving the remaining supply for second doses when people are eligible. More than 250 pharmacies are offering immunizations. So far 8.82 per cent (388,200) of the population has been fully vaccinated. --- British Columbia British Columbia is setting an end-of-summer target for everyone in the province to receive their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has also announced a decrease in the time between the first and second dose of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, cutting the interval to eight weeks from 16 weeks. But the interval for people who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a first dose and are waiting for their second AstraZeneca shot may take longer. Henry said the province is waiting for results from international data on AstraZeneca, including the effectiveness of mixing vaccine shots and ongoing concerns about rare blood clots. Henry said the rollout of second doses will be similar to the first dose, with those at the greatest risk at the top of the list. Seniors, Indigenous people and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable were to start getting their invitations to book a second shot by the end of May. The province will try to ensure that everyone gets the same vaccine they were first administered, but a shortage of the Moderna vaccine may mean people will have to substitute it for a Pfizer shot. Henry said the National Advisory Committee on Immunization has reviewed the evidence on using different vaccines and has updated the guidance, confirming that while it is preferable to have the same product, it's not always possible. Pfizer and Moderna are the same type of vaccines. Families can get vaccinated together in B.C. as the government allows youth between the ages of 12 and 17 to get their COVID-19 shot. The shots will be administered at community clinics instead of in schools based on feedback from families, with 310,000 children in B.C. eligible to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been approved for that age group. As of Friday, about 3.1 million doses of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines had been administered in B.C., which means about 63 per cent of those eligible have got their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. So far 3.14 per cent (160,885) of the population has been fully vaccinated. --- Nunavut Chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson says Nunavut has placed an order for doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with the federal government to vaccinate people ages 12 to 17 in the territory. The Moderna vaccine is currently the only one available in Nunavut. Nunavut has opened vaccinations to anyone 18 and older. It is also offering shots to rotational workers coming from Southern Canada. In the territory, 36.44 per cent (14,113) of the population has now been fully vaccinated. --- Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is now offering vaccinations against COVID-19 to young people between 12 and 17. The territory, which has only been using the Moderna vaccine, recently exchanged some of that for doses of the Pfizer product, which Health Canada has now approved for anyone as young as 12. So far 51.74 per cent (23,344) of the territory's population has been fully vaccinated. --- Yukon The territory is now vaccinating children aged 12 to 17. The government says clinics in most communities will be held in schools, while those in Whitehorse can get their shot at the Coast High Country Inn Convention Centre. The children will be getting the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The territory says because of limited supply and stricter handling requirements, the vaccine will only be available for a short time. It says second doses for those 12 to 17 will start on June 23 and medical travel will be supported for youth who aren't able to make the clinic date in their community. The Moderna vaccine is available to adults 18 years of age and older. The government says 59.34 per cent (24,763) of the population has now been fully vaccinated. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2021. The Canadian Press

The full-time siren has blown on Bruce McAvaney's distinguished career in the AFL commentary box after calling more than 1,000 games.

The legendary Channel Seven broadcaster, 67, shocked footy fans on Sunday by announcing that last year's grand final was his last behind the mic at an AFL match.

Regarded for decades as the voice of the AFL alongside co-commentator Dennis Cometti, it was a difficult decision to walk away.

'I felt like I got to a stage in my career where I had to reduce my workload,' McAvaney told Seven News.

Channel Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney (pictured at work) has made his last appearance in the AFL commentary box for the network

'I'm going to miss it enormously, I just visualise when Richmond and Carlton run out there in round one, and the ball is bounced, I'm going to climb a wall somewhere.

'I'm going to have to move on and just be a fan like everybody else.'

McAvaney insists the decision to step back after a coronavirus-interrupted AFL season wasn't health-related, having battled chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in 2017.

The shock decision was the result of recent discussions with his wife Anne and network boss Lewis Martin.

'I was confident I could continue on (calling) strongly, but I just felt it was the right time for me,' McAvaney told the Herald Sun.

'Something had to give. I realised I wanted to keep working. I didn't want to retire, that's far from my mind. But I just didn't think I was in a position to continue to do as much as I was doing.'

The full-time siren has blown on Bruce McAvaney's distinguished career in the AFL commentary box after calling more than 1,000 games

But fans will be relieved to hear McAvaney won't disappear from television screens just yet.

He'll remain involved in Seven's horse racing coverage and will call the Tokyo Olympics for the network later this year.

Few viewers will ever forget McAvaney's famous call of Cathy Freeman's 400m gold medal victory at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

'[I'm] certainly not anything close to retirement, it's just a new phase, where I cut back slightly, and anything I'm asked to do at Seven I'm going to do with the same enthusiasm and same commitment,' he told Seven News.

Bruce McAvaney (pictured with 2012 Australian Olympic diver Rachel Bugg) looks forward to calling the Tokyo Olympics for Seven later this year

'I still feel like there's a bright future, in a ridiculous way I feel like I haven't reached my potential, I still want to get better, and that's what I'm hoping to do over the next few years.'

'For those that like my on air they're still going to see me, for those that say shoosh, bad luck.'

He has been on Seven's screens since joining the network in Adelaide in 1978 and has called 20 AFL grand finals in that time.

McAvaney has been at the front of the AFL's free-to-air coverage from apart from a five-year absence between 2002 and 2006 when Seven lost the television rights to Ten.

James Brayshaw will fill McAvaney's vacancy in Seven's commentary box this season alongside Brian Taylor, Hamish McLachlan, Luke Darcy, Wayne Carey and Daisy Pearce, which gets underway in March.
New Delhi:

The country was yet to recover from the shock of Chandigarh stalking case, a 22-year-old techie riding back home on her scooter alone from office late night in Gurgaon had to face the same trauma DJ Varnika Kundu went through last week.

The techie was stalked and harassed for almost three kilometers by miscreants on an SUV in Gurgaon. The victim is so traumatised with the incident that now she is bedridden.

The incident came to light after the victim along with her fiance lodged a complaint at police commissioner Sandeep Khirwars office.

According to the complaint lodged by the young techie, she was returning home from office in sector 17 when two men standing near an SUV waved at her to stop near Sirhaul Chowk.

Also Read | Chandigarh stalking case: Vikas Barala admits he followed victim's car, say sources

She added in the complaint that when she moved ahead ignoring the two, the duo started following her. The victim further mentioned in her complaint that the duo driving parallel to her scooterette passed lewd and sexual comments on her.

According to the victim, the miscreants in the SUV tried to stop her several times at lone areas. She cried for help but no one came to her rescue. The techie added that one stopped to help her but the duo in the SUV warned him of dire consequences if he tried to intervene.

Also Read | Chandigarh stalking case: Victims father expresses happiness on Police action

The techie further added that she managed to escape her stalkers by taking a narrow lane.

In the Chandigarh stalking case, a daughter of an IAS officer, Kundu, was allegedly stalked and abduction attempt was made by BJP chiefs son Vikas Barala and his friend on Friday-Saturday night. The police have arrested Barala and his friend in connection to the alleged stalking and harassment case.





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Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
ESPRIT CAM, a leading computer-aided manufacturing software that supports a variety of CNC machines, has deepened its existing partnership with Frances Technical Centre for Mechanical Industry (CETIM) to include additive manufacturing.

CETIM was established in France in 1965 in order to improve companies competitiveness through mechanical engineering, transfer of innovations and advanced manufacturing solutions.

Additive manufacturing, or AM, creates parts in 3D, breaking out limits and supplementing historical manufacturing processes. AM technology is made of several sub-technologies, as described in the AM Field Guide. ESPRIT supports both direct energy deposition (DED) and powder bed fusion (PBF) with products that have been tested and validated by industrial partners.

In 2020, teams from ESPRIT continued to develop products to enhance the support of additive technologies. ESPRIT released a new feature which adds support to several new slice formats such as 3MF and Binary CLI, further improving interoperability between software and machines. Binder jetting uses a liquid binding agent to bind powder particles one layer at a time until the final product is complete, or printed.

Relying on an established collaboration with CETIM, ESPRIT teams validated the support of a third AM technology: binder jetting. By preparing data in ESPRIT Additive Suite products, CETIM was able to build a job made of six impeller parts with a binder jetting machine from Swedens Digital Metal.

We used the ESPRIT Additive PBF product to slice the 3D model and produce a compatible file format that would be readable by Digital Metals machine, says Clement Girard, ESPRITs additive product manager. All data preparation was done using a version of ESPRIT Additive PBF thats still in development.

Although ESPRIT Additive support for binder jetting technology is not yet commercially available, this success demonstrates whats possible when both teams collaborate closely.TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (Salic), which is owned by the Public Investment Fund, has signed an agreement with Brazils Minerva Foods to establish a joint venture in Australia for the processing and export of red meat.



The joint venture comes within the framework of Salics role and contribution to the food security system in the Kingdom by creating a series of sustainable agricultural investments in multiple geographic regions, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA).



Salic pointed out that the memorandum of understanding comes within the framework of its strategy to focus on two basic commodities which are grains and red meat in Australia.



Salic also pointed out that its fully owned subsidiary Australian Meridian Farms complements with Minerva Foods intention to expand its investments also by increasing its sales opportunities and reducing risks to its operations in the field of red meat. Australia is one of the largest countries in the world in terms of the volume of livestock and the largest exporter of processed meat to the Middle East and the Kingdom.



Minerva Foods is considered to be one of the largest companies for producing meat in South America and the second largest exporter in the Republic of Brazil, as it produces more than a million tons of livestock to more than 100 countries around the world.



Last September, Salic announced an increase in its shares in Minerva Foods to 34%, as red meat presents one of the most important basic food commodities targeted by Salic, as the Kingdom's import of red meat amounts to about 400,000 tons annually.
Carrie Calvin is a founder or board member of seven civic or charitable organizations in St. Tammany, but the position that she holds most dear is that of co-president and chief operating officer of her family.

If there is one thing Ive learned through the pandemic, it is how important it is to put family first, to share how grateful we are for our blessings with each other, and to bring my kids the example of why we share with our community, said Calvin.

I know my kids will be involved in their communities  Im not sure how, but Im sure that they will.

Calvin, 42, was born in Slidell but spent her growing up years outside of Chicago. She decided to return home after high school to attend Southeastern Louisiana University, where she met her husband, Eric. They live in Slidell with their daughters Cayenne, 10, and Cypress, 8.

Calvin has modeled for her girls a passion for impacting her community through her work with The Slidell Rotary Club; in founding the Prayer for Peacemakers annual event and the Friends of the Slidell Police; through work with the Northshore Harbor Center; the Steel Mimosas womens networking and philanthropy organization; and the Leadership North Shore program, all in less than seven years.

Her ambitious outlook received a kick-start when a grade-school teacher called her average and told her she would never excel. I was devastated, but when I told my dad he said, Well are you only average? I answered emphatically No and he told me to go out there and prove it.

That teacher unknowingly lit a fire in Calvin. As a student, she set her sights on achieving the honor roll and later, the university deans list even when reading comprehension was a challenge.

I learned how to study, and often that meant reading and rereading information. I pulled all-nighters with iced coffee and chocolate-covered espresso beans, whatever it took.

Her aptitude for numbers led her to a career in accounting, where she also held herself to the highest standards. She is the audit director at Bourgeois Bennett CPAs and Consultants, where two years ago, she became one of the youngest women to be named partner.

Calvin has also never been afraid to get creative in order to achieve results, whether that meant designing a multicolored resume as a fledgling job applicant or trying her hand at producing a slideshow-style video as part of her Praying for Peacemakers event. I am not your typical accountant, she joked.

That 2017 video featured nearly 300 members of the law enforcement community in St. Tammany. She created it as a follow-up to the 2016 inaugural Praying for Peacemakers, a prayer vigil for police and other law enforcement officers in the wake of an attack on police officers in Dallas.

That first event grabbed national attention. In nine days, it went from having 20 people attending to drawing thousands. It was incredible, she said.

Calvin is founder and president of the Friends of the Slidell Police Foundation which supports the department in dozens of ways from helping hospitalized officers with medical bills and retired K-9 officers with veterinarian visits to purchasing software equipment and assisting with the stall fees for the horses of mounted officers.

The organization also helped to showcase for the community the softer side of police officers, Calvin said, when it sponsored the pink police car fundraiser for the cancer center at Slidell Memorial Hospital.

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The fundraiser raised more than $40,000 last October by allowing Slidell citizens to sign the car for a donation to the hospital. In the process, residents viewed police officers in a different light, she said.

Having police officers out there meeting the community allowed everyone to see that they are human; they are fathers and mothers. They leave their families to protect all of us, she said.

Calvins current projects include planning the Blue Line Bash fundraiser for the Friends of the Slidell Police and the Rotary Heritage Fest, both to be held in July.

But her first experience working with a community organization came seven years ago, upon the suggestion of her church pastor, Donald Bryan of the First Pentecostal Church of Slidell. She said he encouraged her to join the Rotary Club of Slidell Northshore. Calvin said she agreed because of the Rotary Clubs service above self motto and the groups original mission to fight polio, which afflicted her father throughout his life.

She ended up serving the chapter as president, and her work with the Rotary Club led to an invitation to join the Leadership Northshore program for St. Tammanys emerging leaders. I just fell in love with our community and wanted to keep giving back and making an impact, she said.

In 2019, she extended her reach into community service by founding the Steel Mimosas womens group, which meets quarterly to network and support nonprofits close to the hearts of its 130 members. The group raised $60,000 for their supported organizations in its first year.

During the COVID-19 shut down, the group continued to meet via Zoom for events such as wine-tasting and cooking classes and have focused on putting the spotlight on nonprofits throughout the parish that are struggling, she said.

Calvin said the Steel Mimosas have shown her the way that like-minded women can make impactful waves throughout the community, she said.

Its also important that women lift each other up. If you know that you are part of something where you are supported, you will be at your best. The Steel Mimosas is about women working together and bringing out the best in everyone.

Calvin said shes been applying that message at home as well, carving out focused time for family and sharing with her girls daily all that she is thankful for.

She said during quarantine, the family began a routine of gathering together early in the mornings. That ritual has continued and during chilly winter mornings, the family has enjoyed starting their days around a cozy fire, she said. That snuggle time with my kids is one of the most important things that I do, Calvin said.

She said they share what they are all grateful for, and Calvin often expresses to the girls why she spends time helping others in the community. She said when she sees the girls putting aside old toys to donate or ministering to younger children, she knows she has made an impact.

I know that my kids are going to be active in giving back to their own communities, she said. I dont know exactly how, but I know they will be involved.
BASL elections: Saliya Pieris wins with thumping majority View(s):

Saliya Pieris, PC, was this week elected as 26th President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) for the year 2021-2022 with a thumping majority over his rival candidate Kuvera de Zoysa, PC.

Mr Pieris secured total of 5,178 votes while Mr de Zoysa polled 2,815a difference of 2363 votes. In Colombo, Mr Pieris scored a massive 2,416 votes while Mr de Zoysa gained 1,146.

He also performed well in Kurunegala where he polled 192 to his rivals 43; in Galle, where he counted 151 votes to 57; in Kuliyapitiya , where he won 84 votes over 14; and in Matara where he gained 176 to Mr de Zoysas 62. In Mt Lavinia Mr Peiris received 71 votes against 38 while in Vavuniya Mr Peiris received 28 against four.

In Jaffna Mr Peiris received 51 votes against 11. The election was held on Wednesday. Senior Attorney-at-Law Rajeew Amarasuriya was re-elected as Secretary uncontested. In Kandy Mr Peiris received 158 against 135 for Mr Zoysa while in Kalutara Mr Peiris received 77 as against 52 for his rival. In Gampaha Mr Peiris received 114 votes against 100 votes.

However, Mr Zoysa performed well in Negombo where he scored 94 over Mr Pieriss 77; in Ratnapura, where he won 86 to 48; and in Gampola where he received 21 against no votes for Mr Peiris. In four other branches Mr Zoysa received higher number of votes than Mr Peiris. They were Anamaduwa, Balapitiya, Matale, Minuwangoda and Morawaka

Elections were held in respect of 85 branches.

In Attanagalla and Badulla both received equal votes with 22 and 29 respectively.

Senior Attorney-at-Law Rajeew Amarasuriya was re-elected as Secretary uncontested.

The election was held on Wednesday.

Mr Pieris heads his law chambers, practicing in the areas of criminal law, public law and fundamental rights in the Appellate and Original Courts. He was appointed in February 2018 as the first Chairman of the Office on Missing Persons. Between October 2015 and March 2018, he was a Member of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. He was also Deputy President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka from 2015 to 2017.
It says the completion of the first review of the program carries significant risks.

Ukraine in 2021 will receive only one disbursement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the current cooperation program.

This is stated in a forecast by Fitch Ratings.

Read alsoIMF lists terms for further talks with Ukraine

"Fitch also assumes for 2021 one IMF disbursement of US$0.7 billion, US$1.5 billion of other official financing, higher Eurobond issuance than the planned US$1.4 billion, and a 0.2% of GDP drawdown on fiscal reserves," the rating agency said.

The agency notes that the completion of the first review of the program carries significant risks.

"In particular, parliamentary approval for anti-corruption and judicial reform legislation will be challenging. IMF prior actions in these areas were partly a response to Constitution Court rulings in 4Q20 that restricted the powers of the national anti-corruption agency and withdrew criminal liability for false asset declarations. We see somewhat less implementation risk to the other significant new SBA [Stand-By Arrangement] requirement to reverse December's imposition of a temporary cap on gas prices," it said.

The rating agency says there would be greater political impetus to legislate remaining prior actions in 2H21 as the need for at least staff-level SBA approval to unlock other official and external financing would become more acute (with US$2.2 billion external amortization in September and a spike in budget funding need towards year-end).

"Government cash holdings of US$3 billion (US$1.8 billion in foreign-currency), a lighter repayment schedule over the next six months, and available domestic liquidity provide some financing space," it said.

IMF in Ukraine

On June 9, 2020, the IMF's Executive Board adopted an 18-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) worth SDR 3.6 billion, or about US$5 billion, aimed at helping Ukraine overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 12, Ukraine received the first IMF disbursement worth US$2.1 billion under the SBA.

In late November, the Finance Ministry reported on the successful completion of talks with the IMF on benchmarks of the draft budget for 2021, which was one of the major prerequisites for starting the SBA review.

On January 11, 2021, an IMF mission resumed work in Kyiv, they worked until February 12 but departed without any decision on the SBA review.

Reporting by UNIAN
Male: The Maldivian Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) on Saturday (February 27) informed that over 98,511 people have received the first dose of Indian-made Covishield vaccines manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII), reported avas.mv.

India has been at the forefront of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and is providing vaccines to the world under the Vaccine Maitri initiative.

More than 25 nations across the world have already received Made-in-India vaccines and 49 more countries will be supplied in the coming days, ranging from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific Islands.

The COVID-19 vaccine program is being implemented in 179 islands across the Maldives. Around 69,725 people from the Greater Male Region and 28,586 people from the atolls, informed HEOC.

HEOC spokesperson, Dr Fathmath Nazla Rafeeq said the inhabited islands on which vaccination has not commenced yet are HA Muraidhoo and V Fulidhoo. Both islands have a small population and lack resources. Dr Nazla said mobile teams will be sent to the islands to begin vaccination, reported avas.mv.

The Maldives has a total population of around 557,426 people, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), meaning that about 19 percent of the population have received the first of two vaccine doses.

The Maldives began vaccinations on February 1 and has procured 1.1 million doses of vaccines, enabling it to inoculate almost the entirety of its population in the next few months.

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CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Last fall, changes to the states EdChoice voucher program by Ohios legislature and governor helped make roughly half the states students eligible for private-school scholarships, the Fordham Institute estimated. EdChoice scholarship applications for the 2021-2022 school year will be available starting this Tuesday, March 2.

While half of the states students will not immediately take advantage of these scholarships, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District foreshadows what might be.

So far this year, 24% of student enrollments reported by the Cleveland Heights-University Heights (CHUH) district are for EdChoice private school vouchers, up from 20% the previous year and 13% the year before that. Thirty-nine percent of the districts state funding, or $8.9 million, is projected to pay private school tuition.

According to the Ohio Department of Educations first February Foundation Funding Report, districts will spend $162 million this school year on these private school vouchers. If CHUH is any indication, that number will grow by hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years.

The school and district attendance zones where students will be eligible for vouchers next school year are disproportionately populated by low-income households. Voucher eligibility is a function of a schools poverty rate and the Performance Index from the schools state report card -- and that index is constructed entirely of test scores.

Dr. Howard Fleeter of the Ohio Education Policy Institute has demonstrated year after year that test scores and the resulting Performance Index are highly correlated with students household income.

An analysis last year by News 5 Cleveland found that nearly two-thirds of voucher recipients had not previously been students in the public district schools -- they were private school students who had not received state funding for their tuitions, and now do.

So next year and in the years ahead, the legislature will use EdChoice vouchers to divert hundreds of millions more in state funding away from public schools that serve poor students to help pay the private school tuitions of students already attending private schools. These students do have to live in households at or below 250% of the poverty line but are still likely to be better off economically than the students remaining in the schools from which this money will be drained.

At the same time, a historic piece of legislation to address unconstitutionally inequitable funding in Ohios schools passed the House overwhelmingly (87-9) in 2020 but was killed by the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Matt Dolan, because, he said, the changes needed to be considered in the context of the budget process this spring. That legislation has been reintroduced as House Bill 1 this year, so Sen. Dolan now will have that opportunity.

Ohioans who care about advancing equity in educational outcomes must pay careful attention to the Ohio Senate this spring, and to Sen. Dolan, especially. The DeRolph case alleging inequitable funding of Ohios schools was filed almost 30 years ago and the Ohio Supreme Court ruled four times that the legislature needed to fix the states unconstitutional school-funding system.

If passed and funded, HB 1 will make significant progress in addressing the inequities. And if the legislature can divert what will likely be hundreds of millions of dollars a year to pay private school tuitions, it certainly should be able to find the money to better fund the public school educations of the states most needy.

Peter Robertson previously was an administrator in the Cleveland schools and a school board member in Shaker Heights. He is currently working on a doctoral dissertation on the role of online learning in educational change.

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MILFORD  Chamber of Commerce President Pam Staneski didnt serve as a Milford alderman, Board of Education member and state representative without learning a thing or two about negotiating. So when her husband got a job offer in North Carolinas Triangle area, she agreed to the relocation  with a condition.

I said if this is going to be our last move, I want to be closer to our granddaughter, Staneski said. Shes 11 years old, and just started playing softball in the Virginia Beach area. I wanted to be able to finally go and see her games without making an 8-hour drive. So his commute is going to be a little longer.

Staneski, who has led the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce for the past two years, has lived in Milford longer than anywhere else in her life. She said she knew the city was home from the first time she set foot on the Milford Green 23 years ago.

We were living in Illinois, and we knew we wanted to get back to the East Coast because we had family here, Staneski said. So we were looking for a place to buy a house. It was October and the leaves were in full bloom, and that was a big change from Illinois, which is totally flat.

The Staneskis found themselves sitting on the Green, sipping coffee and looking at the foliage when future 5-term mayor Jim Richetelli walked by, ice cream cone in-hand, Staneski said.

He said hello and asked us how we were doing, and we said we were thinking of moving here, she recalled. And he said, You cant find a better place to live. We just fell in love with the place immediately.

Staneski said that was one thing she will always remember about Milford, that after years of moving from place to place as the daughter of a military father and then the wife of a businessman, moving to a place she had never been felt like coming home.

I remember after wed lived here about four years, I was visiting my mother and she asked when I was coming home, Staneski said. I told her I had finally found home.

But even as she leaves the city and the business community that she has been part of for decades, Staneski said she is excited for Milfords future, and especially for the Chambers future.

Im sitting here right now in the Chamber office, and there are five people in the conference room, and 20 more on the monitor having the weekly business conference, she said. Just a few months ago it would have been just me in the room and five people on the screen. But thats what this Chamber is. Its people who see the vision, and stay the course.

Although there is no date for Staneskis last day, she said it likely would be some time in early April. In the meantime, board chairman Paige Miglio said the chamber would immediately form a search committee to review applicants and recommend a replacement.

Miglio credited Staneskis personal connections in the area with helping her to leave the Chamber in a better position than it was two years ago.

Pam has played a critical role in the development and success of our organization with her personal energy, extensive experience and involvement in the Milford community on so many levels, Miglio said. We thank her for her dedicated service to the Chamber and specifically for her work alongside our board during our recent move.

The move, from the historic Taylor Library on the Milford Green to a suite of offices in the Connecticut Post Mall, was necessitated by a surge in membership that marked Staneskis tenure. In 2019, her first year on the job, 60 new businesses joined the Chamber. Another 42 joined in 2020.

Staneski said she was optimistic that the new president would continue the Chambers recent run of success.

The Chambers been here for 66 years, and its survived financial crises, a pandemic, and its still here, she said. It will be here long after Pam Staneski is gone, and its a very lucky person that will get to step into this position, in this community.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a visit to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. He will be addressing several public meetings and party meeting today.

In the run up to assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a visit to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. BJP will be contesting elections in these states in alliance with AIADMK. Reports say that AIADMK is likely to work out a seat-sharing arrangement with BJP, in presence of Amit Shah today and the announcement of the number of seats will be made public soon.

The Union minister will hold a Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Puducherry core committee meeting today at 10:30 AM in Karaikal, which will be followed by public meeting in Karaikal at 11:30 am, BJP Puducherry Mandal and Office bearers meeting at 1:30 pm, after which he will head to Tamil Nadu.

In Tamil Nadu, Amit Shah will attend a BJP Tamil Nadu core meeting at Thevanai Ammal College for Women in Viluppuram at 3:45 pm, Vijay Sankalp rally in Jankipuram at 5pm and BJP Tamil Nadu Mandal and Office bearers meeting at Theivanai Ammal College for Women in Viluppuram at 7 pm.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is also currently on a three-day tour of Tamil Nadu. During an event at VOC college in Thoothukudi, Rahul Gandhi launched a staunch attack against BJP and said that institutions like lok sabha, vidhan sabha, panchayats, judiciary and free press hold the nation in place but we have seen a systematic attack on these institutions in past six years. Remarking that democracy is dead in India, he said that one organisation, the RSS, has combined with huge finances to penetrate and destroy our institutional balance.
An investment company backed by Lloyds is reviving plans to sell one of Britain's biggest same-day courier businesses for 250million.

City sources said Lloyds Development Capital, a division of FTSE 100-listed bank Lloyds, is once again looking at whether to offload CitySprint, which delivers drugs and PPE for the NHS.

Two years ago, Lloyds Development Capital appointed corporate finance advisers from Raymond James to carry out a strategic review of CitySprint, but it ultimately decided against a sale.

Up for sale?: City sources said Lloyds Development Capital, a division of FTSE 100-listed bank Lloyds, is once again looking at whether to offload CitySprint

Sources said one of the potential buyers for CitySprint may be logistics group Menzies Distribution, but insiders poured cold water on the prospects of a deal between the two companies, suggesting talks weren't taking place.

Menzies recently appointed former Asda chief executive Andy Clarke as chairman and is owned by the investment firm Endless.

Past reports also suggested that CitySprint might be of interest to companies such as Royal Mail.

Lloyds Development Capital bought CitySprint from rival buy-out firm Dunedin in 2016 for 175million. The firm has been growing through a series of acquisitions, including Heathrow Baggage Services.

Lloyds Development Capital and CitySprint both declined to comment. Endless didn't return calls for comment.
A leading professor in culture at the University of the West Indies (UWI), is contending that longstanding prejudices against Dancehall, Reggae and Jamaicas other music genres, has resulted in much of the documentation of the islands musical history being undertaken by foreigners, many of whom refuse to share the content with the nation unless they are paid.

Donna P. Hope, who is Professor of Culture, Gender, and Society at the UWI, made the observation during a recent radio interview with former Principal Director of Culture in the Ministry of Culture, Dahlia Harris, and her co-host Wesley Burger during their Two Live Crew show on Radio Jamaica. The segment was aimed at highlighting the late pioneering deejay U-Roys, contribution to the development of Dancehall and Reggae music forms.

The professor, who is also known as The Dancehall Professor due to her extensive academic work and publications about Reggae and Dancehall, made her comments after the hosts expressed disappointment that the construction of a Reggae Museum has not materialized.

Burger had also added that he had seen on various occasions in the past where overseas journalists came to the island to meet with some of the artists privately, but that he was wondering how much locally we are able to capture some of the work and the history, separate and apart from what the University professor has been doing.

You know Burger, the challenge we have faced, historically over time, with our music and other aspects of our culture, is that documentation and archiving of our culture is something that we have not necessarily paid much attention to. It costs money and it costs time. You have to have the time to devote to it. You have to have the resources, Professor Hope said.

Museums take up space; you have to get the material in  and also sometimes I find that the will to do it, the interest in it is limited, very small, because there are still prejudices against the deejay, the Dancehall form  the different forms of music. I mean, we only get to a point in our history now where we are actually able and willing to connect positively to Rastafari music, Reggae and these forms. At one point we rejected it outright and what happens is that when something is existing in that kind of vacuum, others, from external places, foreigners come in and deal with it, she explained.

Professor Hope said foreigners had taken advantage of what the Jamaican powers that be had failed to do, by visiting the island and taking full advantage of opportunities to interview artists and other players in the music industry and document these, in most cases for profit.

So we have far more work going on, for example, video documentaries, and these films that are being done by foreigners. So they come here; we the people of Jamaica and the artists are the extras. I put a microphone on you and a camera on you; they do a documentary, you see it come up on Netflix. Look in the credits, there are no Jamaicans involved, except as the actors, she said.

So the ownership reside elsewhere. And you would be surprised that some of the times, you want to use them, they tell you, you have to pay for it Because they come here; the raw material is lying around all over; it is accessible; people are very willing you find, to put their faces on a camera and their mouths on tape machines  and those tapes will be taken elsewhere  especially when there is a white foreigner behind it, and I am saying this very deliberately. Sometimes they are not as willing when somebody who looks like them asks, she said.

Added Professor Hope: And the images go away from us and sometimes some of these things are locked away from us. And these people get more grants, they are able to access a lot more of the large grants.

The professor said it is imperative that the history of the music be preserved for posterity, as many millennials were growing up oblivious to who many of the vintage artists are, and of their contributions.

When I am getting students now, they are 19 and 20 so they are born after 2000. Three-quarters of the people we are talking about, they dont knows who they are. Where do they get the information? It is not being taught to them anywhere in school. It is not coming in the media much because the media is under siege. Jamaican media has to be competing now with everything coming from elsewhere including Instagram and Snapchat and Tik-Tok, she argued.

In the meantime, people are doing their best to put the information down. We are trying our best to at least make it available and not go in terms of the way that we are doing it now  talking in the media- but also documented so people can go and look at it.

Professor Hope also said she believes that the relevant powers that be ought to begin to officially pay homage to its musical and cultural icons, especially when they reach an advanced age. She also found solace in the fact that U-Roy had been bestowed with the Order of Distinction by the Government of Jamaica, and had also been honored in 2019 as the King of Dancehall by Irish and Chin, and crowned by Shabba Ranks.

I want us to start celebrating the lives of our icons, especially once they have passed the three score and 10 and moved on beyond that age. Because it is a difficult time for us, she said.

We give thanks for his (U-Roys) life and his immense contribution and for developing genres not just in Jamaica, but also the connections to the other genres  Hip Hop, Reggaeton and other genres. And I hope that the Dancehall artists of today are also paying a little attention to someone whose work in the music industry provided the platform on which they all stand today, the professor added.

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As the UKs vaccination programme gathers momentum, a committee of experts that advise the government have cautioned it is vital people continue abiding by coronavirus restrictions after their jab.

Good communication and clear messaging is central in preventing people abandoning social distancing measures, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have warned.

Unless the science behind transmission of coronavirus is fully explained to them, experts say those who have received their vaccine may not be so inclined to follow guidelines.

Sage said 20 per cent of UK adults have received their first dose of the vaccine, with 16 per cent believing they have recovered from the virus  an understanding associated with false perceptions of immunity, which increases the risk of people breaching social distancing measures.

In a paper dated 10 February, members of the Sage subgroup SPI-B, which is made up of experts on human behaviour, warned that: "As restrictions change, messaging should be careful to ensure that the importance of continued adherence to protective measures is well explained.

Deputy chief medical officer for England, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, similarly urged that people not be lulled into a false sense of security.

Using a sporting analogy, Prof Van-Tam said at Fridays Downing Street press briefing:"It is a bit like being 3-0 up in a game and thinking, We cant possibly lose this now  but how many times have we seen the other side take it 4-3?

"Do not wreck this now. It is too early to relax. Just continue to maintain discipline and hang on just a few more months, he warned.

Sage raised concerns that the vaccine rollouts success may even lead to those who are yet to be given a dose perceiving there is no longer a major risk to vulnerable people.

The paper read: "To preserve legitimacy, the road map out of lockdown will need to provide clear messaging and transparent criteria.

"For policing, it needs to set out in very clear terms which behaviours, activities and venues are not allowed, where and how the boundaries will be drawn, and why."

The group said unless measures were relaxed or their continued necessity clearly explained, there could be resentment and lower levels of compliance with the law.

Meanwhile, police across the country continue to use an engage, explain, encourage and enforce strategy when dealing with rule breaks with Sage warning this method could become less effective if measures are deemed unnecessary.

The advisory body also cautioned against vaccine certificates or passports which could amplify grievances, as some may be restricted from certain places and venues.

Sage warned against businesses implementing their own forms of vaccination proof, which could challenge the governments gradual roadmap out of lockdown.

Despite the ongoing success of the vaccine rollout, the scientific committee cautioned that the country cannot rule out another resurgence of coronavirus, which could lead to a higher number of hospital admissions and deaths than seen in January.

On Friday, the City of London Magistrates Court spent all day dealing with breaches of coronavirus emergency legislation. Two women were fined 13,000 each for hosting parties of more than 30 guests in their homes in November, with magistrates noting the vitalness of setting deterrent sentences.
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MIDLAND COUNTY, MI  A man and woman were hospitalized Saturday with non-life-threatening injuries after being stabbed by an 18-year-old relative, police said.

Midland County Sheriffs deputies were dispatched to a Mills Township residence at 2:43 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 27, where the stabbing is alleged to have occurred, a news release states.

The victims, a 55-year-old man and 54-year-old woman, were transported by EMS to Mid-Michigan Medical Center for treatment.

An 18-year-old male suspect, who is related to the victims, was taken into custody at the scene, the release states. He is being lodged at the Midland County Jail while he awaits arraignment.

There is no concern for the publics safety at this time, deputies said.

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Bloody scene, GPS evidence led investigators to bodies of Portage couple

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Decades of mentoring Saginaw youths is very rewarding for John Pugh
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Of course, its hard to know if Judge Rakoffs ruling will become a new precedent. The judge wrote that former Jones Group directors made no investigation whatsoever into the propriety of either the huge debt Sycamore had piled onto the company or its squirrelly deal to split two of its most valuable divisions, Stuart Weitzman and Kurt Geiger, into a different Sycamore affiliate at a valuation significantly below their fair market value. Judge Rakoff called the Jones board reckless and said it could not take cover behind the business judgment rule, which usually protects directors from being held accountable for past business decisions so long as they were made in good faith.

The ruling has the potential to hold accountable those responsible for allowing otherwise solvent companies to be sold into circumstances that would soon enough cause their bankruptcy. Theres still a trial in the offing, but many law firms that specialize in bankruptcies immediately understood the ruling for what it is: a shot across the bow of the buyout juggernaut. In a message to its clients, Ropes & Gray wrote that the Nine West decision should be viewed as a serious warning for corporate decision makers and that even though the directors of the selling company were no longer involved, they cannot ignore what a companys balance sheet looks like after it is sold to a new buyer without also risking their protections under business judgment rule.

In the wake of Judge Rakoffs ruling, Big Law quickly sought to warn clients that officers and directors of companies needed to be more vigilant about who they agree to sell a company to and what the buyer plans to do with it. The days of just selling a company to the highest bidder regardless of the consequences  the legal standard on Wall Street since the Delaware Supreme Court decided the so-called Revlon case in 1986  might just be over.

At least in public, private-equity practitioners seem to be unmoved by Judge Rakoffs ruling. A spokesman for Steve Schwarzman at Blackstone told me the buyout billionaire did not have a point of view on the Nine West decision. John Finley, Blackstones general counsel, declined to comment after reading it.

And Judge Rakoffs bombshell hasnt put a damper on the private-equity industry  yet. In January, BC Partners, a British buyout firm that has raised more than $30 billion of equity capital, borrowed $480 million in bank debt and took out another $70 million line of credit to complete the buyout of Womens Care Enterprises, a Florida health care provider. The borrowings represented adjusted debt equal to nine times the companys EBITDA, according to the S&P Global ratings agency.

But the directors of companies being sold to buyout firms would be foolish not to take Judge Rakoffs ruling to heart. In its note to clients, Ropes & Gray may have said it best: Caveat Venditor: Sellers (and their Directors) Beware.

William D. Cohan (@WilliamCohan) is a former investment banker, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair and the author of several books about Wall Street.

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The value of UK sheep meat exports increased by almost 10 percent last year despite the difficulties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Newly released data for 2020 has revealed a profitable year for the sector against the backdrop of reduced volume of exports and changing consumer patterns.

HMRCs figures show the value of exports increased by nearly 10%, while the total volume amounted to 88,200 tonnes, a drop of 7.2% (or 6,850 tonnes) since 2019, which was a strong year for exports.

The main driver in the dip in sheep meat exports from the UK was a cutback of 10.4% in shipments to France, the UKs largest overseas market.

If compared against 2018 totals, both volume and value of sheep meat exports in 2020 were considerably higher, up 19.1% and 6.1% respectively.

The amount of sheep meat imported into the UK fell last year, figures show, by 6.6 percent to total 58,500 tonnes.

Contributory factors to the changes in meat movement include the impact of the pandemic and an overall 3.7% decrease in sheep meat production in the UK.

These factors sit alongside post-Brexit uncertainty and global issues such as the African swine fever crisis in Asia.

A shift in demand also led to decreased exports of beef: the total volume exported was down by 13.8%, however, the value also dipped by 17.3%.

Hybu Cig Cymru  Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) said the Covid-19 pandemic caused considerable disruption for trade in 2020.

However, demand from some emerging markets and into countries where product is sold mostly into retail, did not decline.

Glesni Phillips, data analyst at HCC, said: "Export volumes to the Middle East increased by 18.3% whilst value also shot up by 37.4%, with Welsh processors leading the way.

"There was also an increase of 27.7% in volume sent to Italy (an additional 1,150 tonnes), again with Welsh Lamb securing important new business in the retail sector.

Ms Phillips explained that import levels were also subdued as a result of factors at home and abroad.

Imports are often highest during the first half of the year due to the nature of sheep meat availability in the UK. In 2020, this coincided with the start of the pandemic.

New Zealand is the main importer of sheep meat into our country and a 2.4% decrease in shipments was partly due to the overall decline due to drought conditions which limited their supply.

"This was coupled with an ongoing increase in demand for meat from Asia following the African Swine Fever which diverted some New Zealand sheep meat away from the UK.

The overall decrease in beef exports can be attributed to Covid-19 disrupting trade flows despite a 1.9% rise in beef production in the UK during the period.

Beef prices have also been relatively high in the UK which made exports less competitive.

There were fewer imports of beef from Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland during the year resulting in an overall reduction of 3.3%, whilst value was also down by 2.9%.

2020 was unprecedented for all industries and the red meat sector was no exception, explained Ms Phillips.

But the unequivocal support of customers in the UK ensured a constant retail demand for red meat."
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Australia has in recent years produced a string of highly valuable tech companies that are also global category leaders including project management software titan Atlassian, buy now pay later giant Afterpay and design platform Canva .

Startup Genome has collated data from almost 100,000 startups worldwide to codify the factors that influence the success of startups and unicorns - unlisted tech companies valued at over $1 billion.

That is the conclusion Startup Genome chief executive JF Gauthier reached after an extensive analysis of global and local trends in the technology startup sector.

A narrow focus by founders on national markets and a lack of resources beyond funding are holding back Australia from producing more globally successful technology companies.

However Mr Gauthier says a focus by founders on national, rather than global markets, and poor government policies are holding the country back from producing more.

People know how to build startups in Melbourne and Sydney, not many people know how to build a global category leader, he said. I dont use the word unicorn because its tainted by all the hype but its about how can you create a big company that has 10,000 employees in year five or year 10. How do I create that? Its not very present in Melbourne and Sydney yet.

There has been a surge of venture capital funding in Australia in recent years, with a record $US1.6 billion ($2 billion) deployed into local startups last year, according to KPMG. But Mr Gauthier said the data showed startups needed more than just funding to succeed.

What we see in startup ecosystem is its a complex system and everything is interconnected he said. You cannot triple the amount of funding and triple the success, you have to triple the talent pool, you have to triple the number of entrepreneurs, you have to triple the number of customers that care and want to buy innovation.

Mr Gauthier said big tech unicorns enabled other startups to see how it was done, increase their ambition and provided mentoring opportunities for earlier stage startups.

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Haiti - ALERT : Crooks pretend to be Mgr. Eugene Martin Nugent





The Apostolic Nunciature in Haiti is the victim of crooks, in a note, it warns the population.



Note from the Nunciature :



"Eminence,

Excellencies,

Reverend Fathers,

Brothers and Sisters of Consecrated Life,

Dear brothers and sisters,



The Apostolic Nunciature in Haiti would like to draw your attention to fraud attempts carried out by unscrupulous individuals, in order to extract money from people and institutions in Haiti.



These ill-intentioned individuals pass themselves off as His Excellency Monsignor Eugene Martin Nugent, in more or less well-developed language, liable to create confusion. They are acting with the following erroneous [false] email address : eumnugent@gmail.com



Please do not follow up on any correspondence which you receive from the Apostolic Nuncio recently left from Haiti https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-32951-icihaiti-religion-bishop-eugene-nugent-representative-of-pope-francis-leaves-haiti.html asking you for fund transfers (in favor of works in Africa or Haiti), pending reimbursement.



If so, [if you receive this type of correspondence] please contact the Apostolic Nunciature immediately [Rue Pouget, Morne Calvaire Petion-ville]



The Apostolic Nunciature in Haiti thanks you for your collaboration and would be grateful if you would spread this message widely.



cordially



P. Abel Toglo, Charge d'affaires a.i"



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Posted Sunday, February 28, 2021 8:30 am

The last time the ground shook in a big way in Washington was 20 years ago, and here are a few things that happened:

The tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport twisted and buckled, shattering windows as an air traffic controller warned off approaching planes.

In Seattle's Pioneer Square, brick walls and parapets peeled away from centuries-old buildings, flattening cars and clogging roads with tons of debris.

State workers cowered under tables as massive light fixtures crashed down and the Capitol dome twisted on its base.

A churning mass of mud and trees roared off a hillside south of Seattle, bulldozing a house and briefly blocking the Cedar River.

With a magnitude of 6.8, the Nisqually earthquake of Feb. 28, 2001, was the most powerful quake to strike the state in a generation. But for all its scattered dramas  and at least $2 billion in damage  it was a mild demonstration of the seismic forces that threaten the Pacific Northwest. Only one person died  from a heart attack. Most residents' routines were back to normal within a day or two.

"I call it the fender-bender earthquake," said Eric Holdeman, who was King County's emergency management director that sunny, winter morning. "The other types of earthquakes we face  from the Seattle Fault or the Cascadia Subduction Zone  those are the head-on collision, rollover accidents."

That Washington ranks second in earthquake risk behind California might be surprising to some of the million-plus people who have swelled the Puget Sound region's population since 2001. Holdeman recalls breaking the news to his church's new pastor, who relocated from Chicago.

Anyone who experienced the Nisqually quake isn't likely to forget it  but collective memory fades fast along with any sense of urgency about making the region more earthquake resilient, said Jim Mullen, who was chief of Seattle emergency management in 2001 and went on to lead the state's program.

"We dodged a bullet, but it's more like a Sidewinder missile," he said. "It might miss you once, but it peels around and comes back."

Washington has a long history of inaction on seismic preparedness, commissioning study after study, then filing them away to gather dust. The challenges can seem overwhelming, given that a magnitude 9 Cascadia megaquake and tsunami could be the biggest natural disaster the country has ever experienced.

But emergency managers say the state has made significant progress in the past two decades through initiatives both major and modest.

"While there is certainly a lot more we can do, we are making steady and continuous improvement," said Amanda Siok, who leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency's regional earthquake program.

In one small example from her own life, the old brick school building in Snohomish where she rode out the Nisqually quake in ninth grade has since been demolished and replaced with a modern structure.

The rickety Alaskan Way Viaduct is also gone, with a seismically robust tunnel now carrying traffic through downtown Seattle. Harborview Medical Center, the state's premier trauma hospital, completed nearly $200 million worth of much-needed retrofits and Seattle's crumbling Elliott Bay seawall was rebuilt at a cost of $1 billion.

With funding from a 2003 levy, Seattle built a new emergency operations center and retrofitted or replaced most of the city's fire stations. Another levy three years later paid for seismic upgrades to a dozen bridges, and several more projects are in the works.

Starting in May, Washington residents will be able to get warnings on their cellphones tens of seconds, or even a minute, before strong ground motion via the ShakeAlert System developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. That might not sound like much, but scientists say it will give people time to duck and cover and allow utilities and industries to automatically shut down processes or close valves to reduce damage.

"There has been some really comprehensive work done in both infrastructure and in training and planning and exercises," said Seattle Emergency Management Director Curry Mayer. "Is it perfect? No. Any jurisdiction that tells you they are totally prepared is just lying."

Other major areas of progress  and persistent problems  include:

Schools

In Centralia, 300 kids attend Edison Elementary School  an unreinforced masonry building that dates to the early 1900s. It's one of hundreds of public school buildings in Western Washington constructed before modern seismic codes. Many were made with poorly reinforced concrete that can pancake in an earthquake. Others sit in the path of tsunamis.

Wealthy districts like Seattle, where residents approve every levy and bond measure, have already upgraded most seismically vulnerable schools. But small communities like Centralia can't afford it, leaving children at risk.

"It weighs on you," said district superintendent Lisa Grant. "We want kids to come to school and be safe."

A survey of schools by the Washington Department of Natural Resources found that more than half of those in seismically active areas would experience significant damage in an earthquake. The study spurred the Legislature to allocate $13.2 million last year to fix a handful of the most high-risk buildings, Edison Elementary among them.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction estimates it could cost as much as $3 billion to fix all of the state's potentially dangerous school buildings. That's clearly too much to tackle at once, said Tyler Muench, of OSPI. So the agency is asking the Legislature to start addressing the problem in a systematic way by providing $25 million a year for upgrades starting with the next biennium.

California, Oregon and British Columbia have all taken aggressive steps to make their schools earthquake safe, leaving Washington as the only West Coast jurisdiction that hasn't even assessed its statewide risk.

"We are the furthest behind," Muench said. "We have a lot of ground to cover."

Transportation

If Robert Ezelle, the state's top emergency manager, could snap his fingers and upgrade one part of Washington's infrastructure, it would be roads and bridges. A major drill five years ago that simulated a worst-case Cascadia Subduction Zone quake underscored the problem clearly: With thousands of bridges assumed damaged, it was nearly impossible to move equipment and people.

"If you can't get supplies flowing into the state, we're going to be in a very difficult situation," Ezelle said.

It's a problem the Washington State Department of Transportation has been chipping away at since the early 1990s, upgrading more than 500 bridges. The bad news is that more than 500 bridges are still on the to-do list, with an estimated price tag of $1.5 billion.

The agency is now focused on completing seismically hardened lifeline routes to connect the Puget Sound region to airfields at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Paine Field and Moses Lake east of the Cascades. Many parts of the route have already been upgraded, including a major bridge replacement project on I-5 in Tacoma. With $171 million appropriated by the Legislature, WSDOT hopes to strengthen all the remaining weak spots within 10 years, said state bridge engineer Mark Gaines.

Buildings

Seattle's recent construction boom shifted the age distribution of the city's high-rises, which is a good thing from an earthquake perspective, Holdeman said. Newer buildings must meet newer seismic codes  including a recent local revision to account for growing evidence that the geologic basin under Seattle can amplify seismic waves.

But when it comes to unreinforced brick buildings, the state remains stalled. Seattle alone has about 1,000 of the dangerous structures, but despite multiple efforts to mandate retrofits, has done nothing but tally the number.

The city had planned to draft legislation this year, but was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesman said. Retrofits are expensive and could displace low-income residents and lead to the demolition of historic buildings, said Mayer, adding that there's no easy solution in sight.

But there is at least one reassuring note for private homeowners: Wood-framed houses are often able to ride out ground shaking with little damage because they are so flexible.

Water utilities

One indication of the advanced age of many water systems in Washington is that it's only been a few years since the city of Seattle replaced its last remaining segments of wooden pipe. The city has spent about $100 million over the past several decades to strengthen storage tanks, pipelines, pump stations and reservoirs, with $150 million in additional improvements in the planning stage.

The stakes are clear: A 2018 analysis found it could take two months to restore water across the city after a major earthquake and estimated the total cost of critical upgrades at $850 million.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is spearheading a vulnerability analysis of water and sewer systems across Puget Sound. There's no money to fix problems yet, Ezelle said, but identifying the weak spots is a first step.

Tsunamis

Next month will mark the 10th anniversary of Japan's deadly 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and anyone who watched the horrifying videos knows the only safe place is well above the water level. With 30-foot-tall tsunamis from a Cascadia quake projected to hit parts of Washington's Pacific coast within half an hour, residents in communities without nearby hills would have little hope.

Their best option could be man-made high ground.

The country's first tsunami refuge was completed in 2016 at Ocosta Elementary  a small school near Westport. Administrators piggybacked the project on construction of a gym fortified against ground shaking and surging water and with room on its roof for a thousand people to take shelter.

The city of Westport hopes to build a second "vertical evacuation" structure if it can secure FEMA funding. The agency has already committed $2.2 million to help the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe build a 50-foot-tall tower in Tokeland where nearly 400 people could escape the waves, said Siok, the FEMA earthquake specialist.

The seeds for creating tsunami refuges in Washington were planted a decade ago in a course she participated in at the University of Washington, Siok recalled. Students organized community meetings and helped residents brainstorm the options. Now those seeds are beginning to sprout.

"These things can take a long time," Siok said. "But there's a lot we can do. We just need to keep working."

Seattle Times columnist Gene Balk contributed to this report, which also includes material from Seattle Times archives.

___

(c)2021 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Berger said when he read the findings of the first probe, "it was pretty clear to me we needed to do a follow-on...

A stillborn baby whose mother had coronavirus has died in the womb after being infected with the disease, Israeli doctors have said.

The woman, who had been infected with Covid-19, was in her 36th week of pregnancy when she was admitted to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, Israel, after falling ill on Saturday.

Doctors soon discovered the woman's unborn baby had died in the womb, with tests after birth revealing the foetus had also been infected with the virus.

The hospital said it is unclear if the virus was the cause of the baby's death, The Times of Israel reports.

It comes just weeks after another stillborn baby whose mother had coronavirus died after being infected with the disease through the placenta.

The stillborn baby whose mother had coronavirus has died in the womb at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, Israel. Pictured: Medical staff at the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba

The woman was in her 36th week of pregnant when she was admitted to hospital after falling ill. Pictured: Members of staff work at the Covid-19 isolation ward of Meir Medical Center

The 29-year-old woman has been in her 25th week of pregnancy when she arrived at the Assuta Hospital in Ashdod after suffering a two-day fever and coronavirus symptoms, local media said.

She tested positive for Covid and tests after birth revealed the child also had the virus.

It was the first known incident of its kind in Israel, and a rare global occurrence, the country's Health Ministry said at the time.

Head of the Infectious Disease Department at the hospital, Dr Tal Brosh, told the Ynet news site the foetus had been infected 'through the placenta and with a very high degree of certainty, [we can say] died due to coronavirus'.

Dr Brosh added that they had seen three stillbirths of women who were infected with coronavirus, but had not found the unborn babies with the disease before this incident.

Last week the head of the Infectious Disease Department at the Assuta Hospital, Dr Tal Brosh, said a foetus had been infected 'through the placenta'

'If the mother had been vaccinated in the first or second trimester, this could have been avoided,' Dr Brosh said.

The mother said she had been as careful as she could be to avoid infection, and she was grateful to the medics who 'did their best and were supportive'.

Director of the maternity ward Dr Yossi Tobin agreed that it was probable the death was caused by Covid, due to the baby being infected in utero.

'It was an intrauterine infection of the fetus, which can cause placental infection and death,' Dr Tobin said.

'This is a rare occurrence because a baby is usually infected with coronavirus after birth, as a result of contact with the mother.

'The fact that we were able to find out that they were already positive in the womb indicates a high probability that [the fetus] died as a result of coronavirus.'

The hospital did not reveal if another potential cause had been ruled out.

Israel is so far the only country to be able to prove an effect of its vaccination programme, with ongoing studies suggesting two doses of Pfizer's jab could cut the risk of illness by 94 per cent for over-55s.

This month it was revealed that a 29-year-old woman had been in her 25th week of pregnancy when she arrived at the Assuta Hospital in Ashdod with coronavirus. Pictured: A medical worker holds a patient's hand at the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba

The country is only using the Pfizer vaccine and insists people must get the jab three weeks apart. Britain has said people will get their second shot 12 weeks after the first.

This week it was revealed that Israelis are being asked for evidence of vaccinations status before being allowed into busy locations such as bars, shopping centres and theatres.

Only those with a 'green passport' are permitted to enter certain locations as the country tries to reopen following the Covid-19 pandemic.

People who have received the required two vaccinations receive the green passport which allows them greater freedom.
An al-Qaeda linked-charity group from Turkey has been working with Islamai Sangh Nepal (ISN), which is under the scanner of Indian intelligence agencies for allegedly providing sanctuary to terrorists, to expand its logistical hub for jihadist networks, according to an investigation by Nordic Monitor.

The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief or IHH has been running multiple projects in Nepal, especially in areas close to the Indian border, to broaden the support base among the country's minority Muslim community and expand logistical operations in support of global jihadist networks.

The main facilitator for the IHH gaining a foothold in the Himalayan country was the ISN, which has received funding directly from Turkey to finance various projects.

The IHH has been named in the UN Security Council documents and was investigated for running a line of support to armed terrorist groups in Syria.

The IHH is known as a tool of the Turkish intelligence agency MIT and has been supported by the government of Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which granted the organization special privileges for raising funds.

The activities of the IHH focus on several provinces of Nepal, especially in Province No. 1, Province No. 2 and Lumbini province. It has established mosques, madrasas, orphanages and Islamic centers in several cities including the capital city Kathmandu. It seems the IHH has taken a special interest in places like Sunsari that are close to the Indian border.

The Islami Sangh Nepal (ISN), a Kathmandu-based organisation, came under the scanner of Indian intelligence agencies for allegedly providing sanctuary to fugitive Indian terrorists in 2018.

The ISN's connection to Turkey's radical Islamists is not only limited to the IHH. It was also listed as a member of an organization called the Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (Islam Dunyasi Sivil Toplum Kuruluslari Birligi, or IDSB), a front outfit for Turkish paramilitary group SADAT.

Turkish government's development agency TIKA is also one of the sponsors of ISN activities in Nepal.

Ali Fuat Yilmazer, former head of the Turkish police intelligence section that specializes in radical religious groups, testified in court on August 16, 2016 that "the IHH campaigns are designed to provide aid for jihadists engaged in terrorism around the world and supply medical aid, funding, logistics and human resources for jihadists."

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Prime Minister on Sunday said he regrets not being able to learn the world's oldest language Tamil during his long political innings as a chief minister and prime minister.

He stated this during his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' radio address.

The prime minister said sometimes even a very small and simple question rankles the mind.

"A few days ago Aparna Reddy ji of Hyderabad asked me one such question. She said 'You have been PM for so many years and were CM for so many years. Do you ever feel that something is missing?' Modi said.

Noting that the question seemed simple but was difficult, he said, "I pondered this over and told myself that one of my shortcomings was that I could not make much effort to learn Tamil, the oldest language in the world; I could not make myself learn Tamil!"



The prime minister praised the Tamil language and its rich literature.

"It is such a beautiful language, which is popular all over the world. Many people have told me a lot about the quality of Tamil literature and the depth of the poems written in it," he said.

Modi highlighted that India is a land of many languages, which symbolise its culture and pride.

(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.)
KYODO NEWS - Feb 28, 2021 - 11:48 | World, All, Coronavirus

China, India and Russia are stepping up efforts to expand their influence by providing coronavirus vaccines to developing and middle-income countries, while advanced countries scramble to secure doses of U.S.- and European-made vaccines for their own citizens.

China is donating locally produced vaccines to 53 countries that have requested them, mainly in Southeast Asia and Africa.

"In the recent couple of days we read and heard a lot about Chinese vaccines going overseas and being embraced by many developing countries," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press conference on Feb. 19. "Some media reports said the vaccines became Spring Festival presents that these countries wanted the most."

The first country to get free vaccines from China was Pakistan. China has border issues with India, which is Pakistan's foe. On Feb. 1, Pakistan received 500,000 doses of a vaccine developed by state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group Corp., known as Sinopharm.

China promised in January to donate 300,000 doses to Myanmar after the Southeast Asian country showed an early interest in procuring vaccines from India.

Eastern European countries, which have developed close ties with China under the latter's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, have bought Chinese vaccines. The United Arab Emirates and Indonesia cooperated with China during vaccine trials.

The number of countries that have expressed interest in purchasing Chinese vaccines has reached 27, many of them also administering U.S. and European vaccines to their populations. As its vaccines are taken up around the world, China appears intent on marshalling all available resources to boost its production capacity.

India, which prides itself on being the world's pharmacy as a result of having produced 60 percent of vaccines needed in developing countries during pre-pandemic times, is competing head on with China in the race to gain influence over the developing world.

The South Asian country has donated 1.7 million doses to Myanmar, while also providing free vaccines to at least 15 countries, including in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

It has so far provided over 36 million doses to other countries, both for free and on a commercial basis.

India has administered to its citizens two kinds of vaccines, a locally developed one, and the other that was developed by major British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford and produced by a major vaccine maker under the Covishield brand.

India touts them as relatively easy to handle and less expensive than those made by other countries. It is believed to be donating mainly the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to other countries.

Related coverage:

U.S. regulator OKs 1st one-dose coronavirus vaccine, developed by J&J

FOCUS: Swindlers take advantage of COVID fears to commit vaccine fraud

Survey shows many seniors undecided about vaccination

"From the people of India to the people of Maldives," Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Twitter after handing over 100,000 additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Maldives on his visit there on Feb. 20. "An extraordinarily deep partnership reaffirmed," he also tweeted.

Jaishankar then delivered another 100,000 doses to Mauritius on Feb. 22. Both countries are located in the Indian Ocean, where China is expanding its influence.

Russia in August became the first in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine with the locally developed Sputnik V. Its use is spreading to other former Soviet republics, and countries in Latin America and Africa.

Also in Europe, interest in the Russian vaccine is growing after its latest clinical study showed over 90 percent efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.

According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which has backed Russia's vaccine development, 38 countries had approved the vaccine by Friday. There were initially concerns over the vaccine's safety and quality because it was quickly approved in Russia after a second-phase clinical study.

But a study based on data from a phase three clinical trial that was published in the British medical journal Lancet on Feb. 2 showed the vaccine was 91.6 percent effective in protecting against symptomatic illness.

Each Sputnik shot costs $10 or less, or less than half that of the U.S. peers, according to the investment fund.

Russia is seeking to provide the shots to over 500 million people around the world by the end of this year. But supply issues remain a sticking point. Since the vaccine was rolled out in December, slightly over 1.7 million Russians have completed its two-dose regimen.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has cast doubt on the Russian vaccine diplomacy.

"Overall I must say we still wonder why Russia is offering, theoretically, millions and millions of doses while not sufficiently progressing in vaccinating their own people," she said at a news conference on Feb. 17.

Among the other countries involved in vaccine diplomacy is Israel, which has led the world in vaccinating its population.

The country was working to provide surplus doses of U.S. vaccines to countries such as the Czech Republic and Honduras that have shown willingness to move their embassies to Jerusalem, a part of which is claimed by the Palestinians for a future state.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations recently reiterated their commitment to extend $7.5 billion in aid to efforts to bring COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries.

Japan, one of the G-7 members, has pledged $200 million to the COVAX Facility, an international framework to ensure equitable access to shots.
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Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
Renovations to Carbon Countys 76 Susquehanna St. building remain on track for completion in June, but the 44 Susquehanna St. portion of the project will continue into September, Commissioner Rocky Ahner reported recently.

Work on the second floor of the 76 building in Jim Thorpe is just about complete, he said, and the county is waiting for new furnishings.

The 44 building renovation, however, has been pushed back and should be ready the first week of September to allow for the Elections Office to relocate, he said.

The Elections Office, which was housed in the first floor of the 76 building, has been relocated to 410 Center Ave. in Jim Thorpe, Ahner said.

Anyone who needs to drop off material at the office should go to the temporary location, and people can view a map using a link off the county website, www.car

boncounty.com.

A drop-off box at the 76 building used for mail-in ballots and other election materials is inactive at this time, Ahner said. People should mail items to the Carbon County Elections Bureau, 76 Susquehanna St., P.O. Box 170, Jim Thorpe, he said.

The post office box number is important, as the borough Post Office is holding all the mail for elections and staff retrieves it from the post office daily, Ahner said.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich noted that the link on the county website shows the front of the building of the temporary location to help guide people to the Center Avenue site.

People should avoid the 76 Susquehanna St. location, as it is an active construction site.

The Elections Office should move to its new location in the 44 Susquehanna St. building in the fall, ahead of the general election, Ahner said.

Passing

The commissioners offered condolences to the family of former Commissioner Dean D.W. DeLong, who recently passed. He served as a commissioner from 1983 to 1995. He also served two years as county treasurer.

Lifeguards

Lukasevich noted that the beach at Mauch Chunk Lake Park will be opening in less than 100 days, and applications for lifeguards are being accepted for the summer season.

The park director has six openings for lifeguards and applications are available through the county website.

Other

In other business, the commissioners:

Workers at a textile factory in Vietnam's southern province of Long An, February 2020. Textile is on the list of industries expected to benefit from the new free trade deal between Vietnam and the U.K. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

Trade turnover between Vietnam and the U.K. in January increased by 78.6 percent from the same period in 2020, right after the UKVFTA came into effect.

Citing data from Vietnam Customs, the Europe-America Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said export-import turnover between Vietnam and the U.K. in January reached over $657 million.

Vietnam exported to the U.K. over $598 million worth of goods, an increase of 84.6 percent from January last year and 56.5 percent from December. This growth amid an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic showed the promise of Vietnam-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which came into effect on Dec. 31 last year, said the ministry.

As per the agreement, the U.K. would remove import taxes on 99.2 percent of tariff lines within six years, equivalent to 99.7 percent of Vietnams export turnover to the country. The EU had already promised Vietnam a tariff rate quota (TRQ) with an import tax of 0 percent for some products, while export industries expected to benefit greatly from this agreement include seafood, rice, textiles, wood, vegetables and footwear.

In January, the ministry said some major products exported from Vietnam to the U.K. included seafood, vegetables, phone parts, computers and electric components, all of which increased from the same period last year.

In return, imports from the U.K to Vietnam reached over $59.3 million, a 34.3 percent increase year-on-year. Some major products included metal, pesticide and textile materials, according to the ministry.

Last year, export-import turnover between the two countries reached $5.64 billion, in which Vietnam's exports to the U.K. reached $4.95 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.27 billion. The U.K. continued to be Vietnam's third-biggest trade partner in Europe, behind Germany and the Netherlands.

By December last year, the U.K. had 411 investments projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of $3.84 billion, ranking it 15th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Important projects include those regarding finance, banking and renewable energy.

The UKVFTA was signed in London on Dec. 29 last year to maintain Vietnam and the U.K.'s existing relationship once the Brexit transition period ends on Dec. 31.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-01 00:40:22|Editor: huaxia

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-- China's poverty reduction miracle has given birth to a new field of study, according to the report titled "Chinese Poverty Alleviation Studies: A Political Economy Perspective" released by New China Research, the think tank of Xinhua News Agency.

-- The report, drawing on Chinese President Xi Jinping's discourses on poverty alleviation as the ideological and theoretical foundations, decodes the "winning formula" in China's anti-poverty fight, explores the rationale behind the fight and discusses its global implications.

-- The report summarized Xi's discourses on poverty alleviation as "seven upholds": upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China, a people-centric approach, joint actions to tackle challenges, a strategy for precision, self-reliance, shared development, and a realistic and pragmatic approach.

-- The report summarized foreign experts' views of Chinese inspirations for the world as "5Ds:" Determined Leadership, Detailed Blueprint, Development Oriented, Data-based Governance and Decentralized Delivery.

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's history-making success in poverty alleviation has gone beyond established anti-poverty theories and can provide fresh perspectives and experiences for the global fight against poverty, said a research paper released on Sunday.

The poverty reduction miracle has given birth to a new field of study, according to the report titled "Chinese Poverty Alleviation Studies: A Political Economy Perspective" released by New China Research, the think tank of Xinhua News Agency.

The report, drawing on Chinese President Xi Jinping's discourses on poverty alleviation as the ideological and theoretical foundations, decodes the "winning formula" in China's anti-poverty fight, explores the rationale behind the fight and discusses its global implications.

"Based on our national conditions and following the law of poverty reduction, China has adopted a series of extraordinary policies and measures and constructed a whole set of systems covering policy, work and institutions, blazing a poverty reduction path and forming an anti-poverty theory with Chinese characteristics," it cited Xi as saying.

The report summarized Xi's discourses on poverty alleviation as "seven upholds": upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), a people-centric approach, joint actions to tackle challenges, a strategy for precision, self-reliance, shared development, and a realistic and pragmatic approach.

Female employees make garments in a poverty alleviation workshop in Tongxin County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Feb. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

THE "WINNING FORMULA"

Over the past eight years, China's final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents living under the current poverty line have all been lifted out of poverty. The country has met the poverty eradication target set in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.

A "winning formula" in China's poverty alleviation efforts was holding onto positive dialectical thinking and improving the pro-poor market mechanism under the guidance of the government, said the report.

In China, the "burden" of poverty has been turned into a source of potential, and human and natural resources in poor areas have become a means to achieve common development and prosperity, it said.

By capitalizing on local natural resources, many poverty-stricken areas have developed various businesses and subsequently boosted local economic growth and created job opportunities, the report finds.

From a political economy perspective, a key approach of China's poverty reduction is to maintain the goal of national common prosperity by building a "pro-poor market" in which the government, market and society jointly work to emancipate the productivity of the poor and make them contributors to growth.

In precise poverty alleviation, the "visible hand" of a capable government is not a "restless hand" but an essential "enabling hand," the report said, noting that an effective pro-poor market is not a distortion of the market, but a reconstruction of the market.

Private enterprises, social organizations, and individual citizens are the three new forces of poverty alleviation work in China, while wealthy locals, migrant workers and businessmen, and college graduates from poor areas in China have also played significant roles, the report noted.

Contracted family doctors from Zuolong Township Central Hospital visit a villager with chronic diseases in Zuolong Village, Zuolong Township of Langao County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, July 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

POWERFUL CULTURAL DRIVE

Throughout China's poverty fight runs the Chinese traditional culture of helping the poor and those in need, as well as a "world sentiment" that calls for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, according to the report.

Throughout the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization, the idea of common prosperity has been regarded as a quality of an ideal society, it said.

China is not only a modern success, but also an outstanding ancient civilization. China must build its future without abandoning its past, observes Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate in economics.

The report stressed that China's poverty-alleviation experience and programs, based on practice and extensive international exchanges, have not only advanced poverty alleviation and development theories, but also reflected a "world sentiment" of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Such a "world sentiment" has long been an important value for China to follow in promoting the cause of global poverty alleviation. China is committed to reaching out to others and helping the world.

This "global view," which transcends ideology, the nation-state and political parties, is a "Chinese proposal" for promoting the cause of poverty reduction in the world, it said.

Aerial photo taken on Aug. 17, 2020 shows a photovoltaic power station, also a poverty-relief project, at the green industrial development park in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Hainan, northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WORLD

Calling China a "learner, beneficiary and innovator of global poverty alleviation theories," the report summarized foreign experts' views of Chinese inspirations for the world as "5Ds:" Determined Leadership, Detailed Blueprint, Development Oriented, Data-based Governance and Decentralized Delivery.

"There is no doubt that poverty alleviation is a vivid manifestation of the leadership of the CPC," the report highlighted the top leader's determined will, which creates a strong national will and drives the allocation of resources, as well as the leadership of the 91-million-member CPC.

With the common goal of eradicating absolute poverty, several generations of Chinese leaderships have drawn strategic blueprints and led the nation in successive struggles, which ensured policy continuity and spurred the entire country to work together toward a unified goal.

Meanwhile, China has long prioritized economic development in its poverty fight, which is combined with proactive, precise poverty reduction practices that directly pass on the benefits of economic development to every poor household and eliminate poverty completely.

Villager Mouse Labo takes photos of a camping tent to be rented to tourists in Atulie'er Village, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 23, 2019. Mouse Labo shares photos and videos about the tourism information of Autlie'er Village via livestreaming, a way to promote his hometown's tourism. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)

In the fight against poverty, the Chinese government has also attached particular importance to the development of big data and the digital economy and emphasized the application of advanced digital management, which made China's poverty alleviation success possible in a relatively short period of time.

Last but not least, the report attributed the effective implementation of poverty alleviation policies to the "decentralized" nature of China's governance structure, featuring many improvisations at subnational levels to implement national policies.

Besides experience sharing, China has committed itself to the global combat against absolute poverty by participating in assistance programs, supporting "capacity development" projects and advocating a shared-solutions approach, according to the report.

"China, based on its own experience and theoretical ideas in poverty alleviation, is giving back to the human cause of ending poverty and providing a new reference for other countries and regions," it said.

(Video Reporters: Xiao Sisi, Zhang Baokang, Zhou Hua; Video editor: Zhang Qiru, Liu Ruoshi) 
Police say two men remain in custody assisting officers with their enquiries. (Niall Carson/PA)

Police have confirmed local man Michael 'Micky' O'Doherty was killed in a road traffic collision in Limavady on Saturday.

Mr O'Doherty was 48-years-old.

The collision on Glenhead Road outside the town involved his blue Kawasaki motorbike and was reported to police on Saturday at around 4:20pm.

Emergency services, including police and NIAS responded but Mr O'Doherty was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are urging anyone who witnessed the collision, or may have dash cam footage, to get in touch with them on 101, and quote reference number 1351 of 27/02/21.

Nearly a year after the beginning of the deadly pandemic that has changed the face of life as we knew it, the state Legislatures Special Oversight Committee has held six hearings since October to examine the outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. The state-run, long-term care facility for veterans went from a sought after placement for end-of-life care to a touchstone of the horrors the virus can bring when unchecked.

At least 76 veterans died of COVID-19 between late March and June. The homes former superintendent, Bennett Walsh, and former medical director, Dr. David Clinton, are now under indictment for criminal neglect in connection with the outbreak. Other top management at the home and with the state were ousted from their jobs, the oversight committee was formed and Gov. Charlie Baker on Feb. 11 filed a $400 million bond bill to build a new home on Cherry Street.

The committee is working with a March 31 deadline to recommend reforms at the Soldiers Home. For the hearings, family members, staff, former administrators, trustees and others have been invited to testify about dealing with the outbreak inside the walls, and the historical weaknesses at the home that left it most vulnerable.

What lessons have been learned?

1. Cramped quarters at the home left it particularly open to a swiftly rising death toll.

While the home historically had a reputation for valuable camaraderie among veterans, caring staff and a robust volunteer base, the 70-year-old facility was cramped. Veterans typically were three to a room, with rectangular set-ups that barely left room for a walker to clear a bed. Former superintendent Paul Barabani testified at the third legislative hearing that he had begged state officials for a refurbished home, with modernized rooms and more space.

In some cases, we had to tailor a new intake to the home depending on whether a walker or wheelchair could even make it from the hallway to a bed, Barabani said.

Plans to build a new home basically died on Beacon Hill for several years dating back to 2012, Barabani testified. Plans to secure federal funding were successful until lawmakers refused to back them at the state level. Only after the pandemic were legislators and Baker motivated to launch a Rapid Planning initiative to build a new facility, now set for completion in seven years  when the vast majority of residents who survived the pandemic may not be able to enjoy it. But, advocates are looking toward future generations of veterans.

2. Short staff led to a fire-drill approach to try to isolate obviously ill veterans from seemingly well residents

Employees of the home testified the first obviously sick veteran -- named Veteran No. 1 in an independent report commissioned by Baker -- was allowed to wander the facility for days, if not weeks, showing symptoms. When the numbers of positive cases began to skyrocket in late March, staff who were either ill themselves or fearful of contracting the virus left the home with less than a skeleton staff on a weekend.

Medical Director Clinton was entirely absent, according to testimony, telling staff he didnt want to expose himself to COVID-19. That left Walsh and former Chief Nursing Officer Vanessa Lauziere to trouble-shoot on their own, leading them to combine two dementia units in a dining room. For reasons that remain unclear, two isolation units established ahead of the virus went unused, employees testified. Personal Protection Equipment was scarce. The home seemed entirely unprepared as more veterans got sick and died. Administrators arranged to park a refrigeration truck outside as a makeshift morgue. This, all according to employees who gave testimony during the hearings.

I had to put some of the veterans that I know very well into a body bag and put them in a refrigerator. It was traumatic. These are people I used to talk to; people that I used to have fun with, Kwesi Ablordeppey, a 20-year certified nursing assistant at the home, told the committee during the first legislative hearing at Holyoke Community College.

Lauziere was forced to resign and is among a handful of defendants named in two civil lawsuits filed in federal court by family members. Her attorney has said Clinton abandoned her and state officials set her up to fail.

The building was on fire and they were given a cup of water, said Springfield attorney Jared Olanoff.

Lauziere has not testified before the committee.

Soldiers' Home in Holyoke trustees Chairman Maj. Gen. Gary Keefe, left, Health and Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders.Sam Doran/State House News Service

3. State officials resorted to finger-pointing in record time

Although he has not testified before the committee, Walsh told independent investigator Mark Pearlstein he appealed to higher-ups at the state for help once veterans began dying. Walsh sent emails to former Secretary of Veterans Services Francisco Urena asking for help from the National Guard and was denied. There was initial confusion over how many deaths there were early on, according to Pearlsteins report, which relied on interviews with key players.

Thus far, Pearlstein, Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito have not offered testimony at the hearings. Neither has Walsh, Clinton nor Urena.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse got wind of the rising death toll and reached out to Polito, who apparently got Bakers attention. Only then was the National Guard deployed.

Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, now serves as the new chairman of the Soldiers Home Board of Trustees. He has testified at the last two oversight committee hearings, having been among 102 deployed to the home as an emergency team to take over crisis management and care. Keefe testified his unit never received Walshs initial call via Urena for help.

We never received that request, Keefe told members of the joint committee on Jan. 21.

Many have argued publicly they feel Walsh was scapegoated. Sudders has testified repeatedly that it was only the heroics of the administration that stabilized the home.

It was this administration who sent in the National Guard. It was this administration that sent in Val Liptak and an emergency management team, Sudders testified at the the most recent legislative hearing on Feb. 9.

Liptak is a registered nurse and CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital, appointed by the Baker administration as interim superintendent at the Soldiers Home after Walshs ouster. She remained in that position for nine months before returning to the hospital. The board named Col. Michael Lazo as her temporary replacement as they search for a permanent superintendent.

Also during the Feb. 9 meeting, Board of Trustees member Carmen Ostrander testified that Walsh and company reassured the board they were prepared for the pandemic.

We were told everything is fine ... everything is in place and theres nothing to worry about, Ostrander testified. Then all of a sudden, these people were gone. And the numbers kept going up and up.

Former Holyoke Soldiers' Home Superintendent Paul Barabani speaks at a Dec. 23, 2015 meeting as Francisco A. Urena, the state's former secretary of the Department of Veterans' Services, looks on.The Republican file

4. The Board of Trustees vs. Gov. Charlie Baker

Interactions between Baker and the trustees -- all of whom are his appointees -- have not exactly been smooth sailing. Baker and his administration took the position early on that firing Walsh fell under his authority. Both Walsh and the trustees challenged this in a lawsuit in Hampden Superior Court, arguing a state statute differentiated the power structure from Holyoke to its counterpart in Chelsea. They prevailed; Walsh subsequently resigned.

Onetime board Chairman Kevin Jourdain was removed from the chairmanship in favor of Keefe, though Jourdain remains on the board. Baker has begun replacing other board members with his own picks from the National Guard including Keefe, Lt. Col. Mark A. Bigda, a physician, and Brig. Gen Sean T. Collins, a nurse practitioner serving with the Air National Guard Assistant to the Deputy Surgeon General.

The latest legislative hearing focused on the structure and efficacy of the board of trustees. Keefe testified the statute that governs the Soldiers Home is outdated and their seven-year terms are too long. Jourdain continues to needle state officials during trustees meetings, recently calling newly-appointed assistant Secretary of Veterans Services Eric Sheehan a typical government bureaucrat.

Harmony may be restored now that the bond bill has been filed and trustees got their wish for a larger new home with more beds for veterans.

5. A year later, what now?

At the first legislative oversight hearing, co-chairs state Sen. Walter Timilty and state Rep. Linda Dean Campbell labeled the outbreak at the Soldiers Home preventable cruelty. Family members of veterans including Cheryl Turgeon, whose father died a week after he received the first dose of the vaccine, also testified at that initial hearing she didnt know what to wish for when her father was ill at the home.

I didnt know how to pray. I relied on my father ... but I didnt know if I should pray to God to save him, for me, or if I should pray to God to save him, for him, Turgeon testified.

Now, Turgeon finds herself among family members who have buried their loved ones, but remains an active member of the Holyoke Soldiers Home Coalition, the grassroots entity that gained swift political might and pushed the Baker administration to boost a plan for a new 92-bed home to a 235-bed home and up its projected price tag by $100 million.

Union officials still complain the environment for workers is toxic. The groundbreaking for the new home is certainly years away. A new, permanent superintendent for the home has yet to be appointed by the board.

Family visits resumed on Feb. 10 as the threat of the virus still lingers. As of this week, the state reported 117 veteran residents and 220 staff members have received both doses of a vaccine, while one resident and 10 staff had received the first dose.

It all amounts to an optimistic, but certainly uncertain future for the Heroes on the Hill, family members agree. The coalition is mulling taking a half-step back from the arena to let its work play out.
OWEN COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - A wanted man is back in jail and now so is the woman police say tried to hide him.

According to Vincennes police, William Richardson was wanted out of Owen County, Indiana for escaping from supervised release.

Police say he was originally charged with burglary.

Police say they got a tip he was at a home in Vincennes.

Police found Richardson Friday and took him into custody.

Miranda Puckett was also arrested for assisting a criminal.

Police say she lied when she told them Richardson was not at her home.

Police credit the community for the arrests.
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Sports

Phek village hosts PSA 57th meet

Dimapur, Feb 27 (NPN) | Publish Date: 2/27/2021 1:34:51 PM IST

The four-day, 57th meet of Phek Sports Association (PSA) concluded on Saturday at Phek village.

Nagaland Wrestling Association (NWA) treasurer, Vezuhu Keyho graced the closing ceremony and gave away prize to the winners.

In his address, Keyho reminded the participants that discipline and good manner were the main components to shine in the field of games and sports.

He also called upon the people to maintain unity and peace for all round development. The closing function was chaired PSA vice president, Vesakho Vero.

Bible Hill/Surhoba topped the medal tally with 17 (11 gold and 3 silver and 3 bronze). The four day long meet featured track and field events, Naga style category wrestling, football, volleyball and basketball.

A new team of PSA for tenure 2021-22 have also been announced with Veto Hoshi as president and Kudezo Vero as general secretary, among the others.

WINNERS

*Women volleyball: Champion- New Town; Runner-up  Chosaba

*Men volleyball: Champion- Chosaba; Runner-up  Bible Hill/Surhoba

*Women basketball: Champion- Bible Hill/Surhoba; Runner-up  Old Town

*Men basketball: Champion- Chosaba; Runner-up  Mutsuba Chedzuba

*Women Football: Champion- Old Town; Runner-up  New Town

*Men football: Champion- New Town; Runner-up  Chosaba

WRESTLING (Naga Style)

Below 86Kg

Champion: Vekutho Soho- Old Town; Runner up: Sherayi Vero- Chosaba

Below 74 kg

Champion: Vekuhu Rhakho- Mutsuba Chedzuba; Runner up: Veba Keyho- Tehece Nado

Below 65kg

Champion: Kuluvezo Soho- Mutsuba Chedzuba; Runner up: Mutuhu Venuh- Old Town.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 18:39:39|Editor: huaxia

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HARARE, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's current Level 4 COVID-19 lockdown is due to end Monday, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa expected to announce whether there will be an extension or relaxation of restrictions.

The country experienced increased infections and deaths in January and early February following the festive season when there was a lot of traveling, but these have since declined as the government enforced the stringent lockdown restrictions.

For the first time since the beginning of the year, there were no deaths recorded during the 24-hour reporting period for Saturday, while only 14 new cases were confirmed.

The decline has brought hope that the country has managed, to a great extent, to control the spread of COVID-19, although some people remain cautious, saying that the level of testing remains low and fear that a third wave of the pandemic could still hit the country.

To date, the country has recorded 1,463 deaths from 36,054 cases, with 2,005 being active.

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba told The Sunday Mail that Mnangagwa would update the nation on new measures before the expiry of the current lockdown.

Business leaders also told the paper that they were optimistic that the president's address would come with eased lockdown measures to allow some operations to resume.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries President Henry Ruzvidzo said the current lockdown has resulted in market and supply chain disruptions for businesses.

"The rates of infection are indeed down and can be attributed to the swift action taken January. Our expectation is that we learn from the experience of the past few months on the major sources of risk and take measured responses going forward," said Ruzvidzo.

"It is important to ensure that the economy can rebound recognizing the country's limited capacity to bail out businesses. We expect more businesses to be allowed to resume operations," he said.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers Association President Denford Mutashu said there was a need to strike a critical balance.

"We need to up the tempo in the national vaccination exercise in our ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we need to strike a critical balance by ensuring we double efforts on intra-trade and open up the economy further. Borders must remain closed until at least 50 percent of the population is vaccinated," he said.

Zimbabwe has launched its COVID-19 vaccination program after taking delivery of the first batch of vaccines from China.

Frontline workers, including journalists, are being prioritized for inoculation under the first phase of the vaccination program. Vaccination is being done on a voluntary basis and in three phases. Enditem
ASEAN members are arranging to hold a special foreign ministers meeting next week to discuss the political crisis in Myanmar in the wake of the coup there early this month, according to ASEAN diplomatic sources.

Soldiers at a checkpoint in Naypyidaw, Myanmar (Photo: VNA)

It would be the first such meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations since the member country's military ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

The Kyodo News Agency quoted sources as saying that most ASEAN countries have expressed readiness to attend the meeting, with Myanmar's military-appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin also asked to attend.

The meeting is likely to be a hybrid form with some attending in person and others joining virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to one of the sources. An in-person meeting would be held in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, where ASEAN has its secretariat.

In Thailand on February 24, Wunna Maung Lwin arrived in Thailand to hold diplomatic negotiations related to recent political developments in the country. Wunna Maung Lwins engaging in the negotiations showed Myanmars efforts in cooperating with ASEAN to seek solutions to political issues in the country.

ASEAN comprises 10 member countries. Myanmar joined the association in 1997.

In early February, in a statement, ASEAN called on the sides to seek dialogue and reconciliation to bring the situation back to normal soon.

The statement highlighted the importance of ASEAN member states political stability in achieving peace, stability, and prosperity for the ASEAN Community.

The military of Myanmar pledged to hold an election and transfer the power, while rejecting the accusation of conducting coup d'etat as well as violence in protests inside the country./. VNA
The hard-hit Czech Republic has requested a delivery of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine in response to the delayed arrival of EU-procured jabs and will also consider Chinese inoculations, the president said Sunday.

The EU member tops the world in new infections per 100,000 people over the last 14 days and is second only to neighbouring Slovakia in deaths, according to an AFP tally.

The vaccination rollout is slower than expected with only 650,000 jabs administered since December in the country of 10.7 million people, which Czech politicians blame on slow procurement by the EU.

"After consulting the prime minister, I have sent a letter to (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, asking him for a supply of the Sputnik vaccine," President Milos Zeman said on TV Prima.

"Information from the Russian embassy suggests it could arrive in the next few days," said the pro-Russian, pro-Chinese leader.

He said he would not mind if the country used the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine either as "vaccines have no ideology".

Neither Sputnik V nor Sinopharm have been approved by the European Union regulator EMA, unlike the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines currently used in the Czech Republic.

But Zeman and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said they would not wait for the EMA to give the green light.

"All we need is a stamp from the (Czech) State Office for Drug Control," said Babis, who visited Hungary and Serbia earlier this month to learn about the two vaccines.

"Sixty-five countries in the world want the Russian vaccine, including six EU countries, so why say, 'Jesus, it's terrible'?" said Babis.

"Believe me when I say that EU member states will also be asking for Sputnik in a few months," added the billionaire populist, wholike Zemanhas already received both jabs of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Explore further Hungary starts using Chinese vaccine in EU first: PM

 2021 AFP
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Just one vaccine shot reduces the risk of being hospitalized by Covid-19 by more than 90 per cent, according to stunning new findings.

Public health officials have told politicians in the UK about the remarkable results apply for both the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, with the British jab proving slightly more effective but the jab has not been approved by the FDA in the United States.

The reason is simple. AstraZeneca has not yet filed an application in the U.S., saying it first needs to finish its phase 3 U.S. trials. So far, AstraZeneca has not applied for its doses to be distributed.

Drug approvals usually take months once an application is filed, but the FDA's emergency authorizations for COVID vaccines have been granted within weeks.

The company knows that the FDA won't simply accept results from trials in other countries so it is waiting the results of clinical trials in the U.S. before making its application.

Some confusing results from its trial from differently designed clinical trials in Brazil and the UK raised questions about dosing as well as how well it works for people 65 and older.

Germany and France are not administering the vaccine to their older residents, despite the World Health Organization saying it was fine to do so.

A single shot of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer jab cuts the chance of needing hospital treatment by more than 90 per cent, 'real world' results from the NHS vaccination program show

Chief designer Professor Sarah Gilbert told CBS News that her team has already been working for months on modifying their vaccine to tackle new variants of the coronavirus and expects to have a new version ready in the fall.

The ability to turn on a dime is down to the 'plug and play' platform used in the original Oxford vaccine, Gilbert said.

'You decide what antigen you want to use from the virus you want to make a vaccine against, exactly which version of it, and then you just slot it in and you make your vaccine,' she said.

Oxford has its own biomanufacturing facility on campus which means modifications can be fast-tracked.

"We've established our pipeline," she said. "We make the first seed of stock of the vaccine in the manufacturing facility in Oxford. That's just a few minutes away from here on campus."

Gilbert said that a modified vaccine that would take on new variants could be rolled out in the United States in a matter of months.

In a ignominious climbdown, health chiefs in both countries have now suggested they could update their policies for the Oxford University researched jab after initially refusing to give it to the over 65s.

France changes its tune on AstraZeneca jabs following Ursula von der Leyen's praise for the vaccine France's government has said it wants to 'rehabilitate' the AstraZeneca vaccine as EU leaders try to undo the doubts they sowed about the jab which have led to low uptake despite its proven effectiveness. The French health ministry admitted that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine had an 'image deficit' which had led to 'feeble' usage of the jab, with only 107,000 people immunised with it so far. It comes after Emmanuel Macron himself raised doubts about the jab's effectiveness and claimed that Britain had taken a risk by authorising it so soon, while French regulators refused to approve it for over-65s. Meanwhile the French government is considering new local restrictions to deal with a worsening Covid-19 situation as it scrambles to avoid a new national lockdown. 'We will use all possible levers to rehabilitate the vaccine,' the French health ministry said, according to Le Telegramme, days after real-world data in Scotland showed the AstraZeneca shot reducing Covid hospitalisations by 94 per cent. Germany's government is also pleading with people to take the AstraZeneca jab, while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said that she herself would take it - despite her furious row with the drugmaker last month over missing shipments to the EU. That struggle is set to continue into the spring with as many as 90million doses missing from AstraZeneca shipments in the second quarter of 2021. An EU official involved in talks with the firm says AstraZeneca has warned that it may deliver only half of its promised 180million doses from April to June, having slowed supplies in January because of delays at a Belgian factory. The new shortage could hamper the EU's ability to meet its target of vaccinating 70 per cent of adults by summer - with Britain promising to offer one dose to 100 per cent by July 31. The EU supply shortage is seen as one of the main reasons for a widely-criticised vaccine roll-out which is lagging far behind that in Britain. While the UK has handed out 27.0 doses per 100 people, the EU is lagging behind on 6.2 and has not significantly sped up its progress in recent weeks. Von der Leyen defended her policies by pointing out that the EU had handed out 27milion doses in total compared to 17million in Britain - but the bloc of 27 countries has a population more than six times larger. She also noted that Italy had given double-doses to more people than Britain, but it has handed out far fewer doses overall. Catching up to Britain will be made even harder if AstraZeneca shortfalls continue into the early summer, as an EU official told Reuters last night. Von der Leyen told the Augsburger Allgemeine that 'I would take the AstraZeneca vaccine without a second thought, just like Moderna's and BioNTech/Pfizer's products.' Advertisement

For Britain, it represents another huge boost to the country's world-beating vaccine rollout, which has now achieved nearly 20 million first injections. The hugely successful inoculation program is threatened only by the small minority who are still refusing to have the jab.

It helps to explain why the numbers being hospitalized are falling in the UK so rapidly in the oldest age groups.

Deaths among the over-75s have dropped by 40 per cent, while the number of over-85s being admitted to intensive care units with Covid has dropped close to zero.

The strong results for the Oxford vaccine are a rebuke to the German authorities, which last month advised against its use in the over-65s.

The vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca is stunningly effective at preventing recipients becoming seriously ill from Covid-19, new analysis shows.

It is even better than the Pfizer jab at stopping people getting so sick that they need to be admitted to hospital, Ministers have been told.

A single shot of either jab cuts the chance of needing hospital treatment by more than 90 per cent, 'real world' results from Britain's NHS vaccination program show.

But the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, shunned by millions across Europe because of concerns over trial data, is proving slightly more effective at stopping severe Covid-19 illness than the Pfizer jab.

Its apparent superiority even holds among over-70s, vindicating the UK drug regulator's decision to approve it for use in older people.

The results are a massive boost not just for Oxford and AstraZeneca, but also the Government. Ministers have ordered 100 million doses, making it the workhorse of the NHS vaccination campaign.

The landmark results will add to growing confidence that vaccination is breaking the link between infections and deaths.

The figures were calculated by comparing Covid hospitalization rates across England in those who have received a first dose of vaccine in the NHS rollout, to those of a similar age who have not.

They follow a Scottish study of Covid hospitalization rates, published last week, which came to similar conclusions.

Edinburgh University researchers found that by the fourth week after injection, 'the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines were shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization from Covid-19 by up to 85 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively'.

Among over-80s, who are at highest risk of severe illness, a single dose cut the risk of needing hospital treatment by 81 per cent from week four onwards, when the results from both types were combined.

Well-placed sources said the larger English study found hospitalization rates in over-70s were slightly lower among recipients of the Oxford vaccine than those who got the Pfizer drug. Last month, German authorities advised against using the Oxford vaccine in over-65s, citing lack of evidence of effectiveness from formal trials. The trials were dogged by low numbers of older volunteers.

French President Emmanuel Macron then caused consternation by falsely claiming the Oxford vaccine was 'quasi-ineffective' for over-65s  although he has since rowed back by saying he would have it.

In a subtle riposte to European critics, Professor Sarah Gilbert, who spearheaded Oxford's Covid vaccine project, said real-world data 'now provides evidence of high effectiveness of both the Oxford-AstraZeneca and BioNTech-Pfizer vaccines in preventing hospitalization in people over the age of 80, after a single dose, supporting our confidence in using this vaccine in adults of all ages.'

The results are already having a stunning impact on Covid statistics, which show hospitalizations and deaths falling fastest among Britain's oldest people. Deaths in over-75s  almost all of whom have now had their first jab  fell 40 per cent in the last week. By contrast, they fell 23 per cent in under-65s, who remain largely unvaccinated. The number of Covid admissions to intensive care units among over-85s has also dropped to near zero in the last couple of weeks, Public Health England reports indicate.

But the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, shunned by millions across Europe because of concerns over trial data, is proving slightly more effective at stopping severe Covid-19 illness than the Pfizer jab

Germany and France look set to approve the AstraZeneca Covid jab for the over 65s in a major U-turn aimed at speeding up their shambolic vaccine drives. Pictured: A near empty vaccination centre in Germany earlier this month

EU nations including Germany are being far outpaced by Britain in the vaccine race after Brussels was late to place orders with firms including Pfizer and AstraZeneca

In another boost for Oxford, new evidence also indicates one dose of its vaccine provides more durable protection. Updated trial results show that from three weeks to three months after first dose, the vaccine was 76 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic infection and 'protection did not wane'.

Protection from one Pfizer dose dipped from 84 per cent five weeks after injection, to 58 per cent after more than six weeks.

Last night it emerged that Germany is reconsidering its recommendation on the Oxford vaccine.

Professor Thomas Mertens, head of the country's vaccination commission, said there will be 'a new, updated recommendation very soon', the newspaper Der Spiegel reported.

He also lamented the fallout from their January decision, saying they 'never criticized the vaccine', only the lack of data in over-65s.

He added: 'However, the whole thing went somehow bad.'
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will hold a rally on March 1. He announced this on his Facebook page, News.am reports.

Dear compatriots!

On Monday, March 1, at 18:30, I invite all of you to Republic Square, to a meeting and a procession, Nikol Pashinyan wrote.

"Tomorrow at 18.30 o'clock we are going to Yerevan Square for the sake of the power and legality of the people," he added.
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German chemicals giant BASF has paid its directors and staff a bonus worth 360million (312million) after borrowing 1billion from the Bank of England.

The 51billion manufacturer  which operates around the globe and at 11 UK locations, including at plants in Bradford in West Yorkshire and Alfreton in Derbyshire  said part of the payout was based on a 'recognition and appreciation' bonus.

In an upbeat statement on Friday, BASF also said it would pay its investors a 3billion final dividend  the same as last year.

Boost: In an upbeat statement, BASF also said it would pay its investors a 3billion final dividend  the same as last year

It said a 'year-end rally' meant full-year sales beat expectations. However, the disruption earlier in the year meant underlying performance targets were not met, so the board changed the threshold for payouts by a special resolution.

BASF's emergency Bank of England loan, which is guaranteed by the Treasury, was the biggest handed to any corporation in the heat of the crisis. The loan scheme for large companies allowed foreign firms to apply if they had a material presence in the UK.

Concern over firms handing out bonuses and dividends while borrowing cheaply from the central bank prompted the Treasury to tighten rules on the taxpayer-backed loan agreements in May.

But Covid Corporate Financing Facility loans taken before then, including BASF's giant debt, are not covered by the restrictions on rewarding executives or investors.

The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that the US owner of Boots gave its billionaire boss Stefano Pessina a windfall of almost 50million just days after the pharmacy giant drew 300million from the loan scheme.

Last month, Boots' owner, Walgreens Boots Alliance, signalled another dividend payment  its biggest quarterly payout ever  taking the total paid during the crisis to more than 1billion.

BASF said it intended to repay its loan next month and pointed out it would not pay the bonus windfall to staff and directors until May.

When asked about the 'appreciation' bonus, BASF said: 'This year's bonus payment is due to a discretionary decision of the board of directors in appreciation of the outstanding work of the BASF team worldwide.'

BASF chairman Dr Martin Brudermuller said in a separate statement: 'With this bonus, we want to acknowledge the huge effort put in by the BASF team in the pandemic year 2020, which was difficult for everyone.'

He said of the dividend: 'A reliable dividend payment is a priority for us, even in difficult times.'
A day after snapping ties with the ruling BJP, the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) on Sunday joined the Congress-led grand alliance to fight the Assembly polls against the saffron party with the 'Mahagathbandhan' leaders urging the other local parties to join it.

The leaders of the Mahagathbandhan said on Sunday that its chief ministerial candidate would be decided in consultation with the other constituents of the alliance after the Assembly elections are over.

With the joining of the BPF led by vteran tribal leader Hagrama Mohilary, the number of parties in the grand alliance rose to seven.

AICC Secretary Anirudh Singh told the media that with the joining of the BPF in the Congress-led grand alliance, the aspirations of the people of are about to find a voice.

President Ripun Bora claimed that it is certain that the Congress-led alliance will come to power on May 2 after the polls in March-April.

"RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav during his two-day visit to on Friday and Saturday held meetings with us and assured to campaign for the 'Mahajot' in the elections," Bora told the media.

Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other party leaders are frequently visiting Assam which proves that the BJP is going to lose the elections.

CPI (ML) leader Pankaj Das said that with the joining of the BPF in the Mahagathbandhan, the victory of the grand alliance in the ensuing Assembly elections is 200 per cent ensured.

The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) organisational general secretary Aminul Islam, CPI-M state secretary Deben Bhattacharjee, CPI state secretary Munin Mahanta also expressed confidence to form the government in Assam, ousting the BJP.

The Congress, which was in power in the state for 15 years (2001-2016) until the BJP led alliance came to power in Assam in 2016, had earlier formed the Mahagathbandhan with three Left parties -- CPI-M, CPI and CPI-ML -- as well as the AIUDF and the Anchalik Gana Morcha, two regional parties having a political base among the Muslims and indigenous people, respectively.

The and the AIUDF had fought separately in 2016, managing to win 26 and 13 seats, respectively.

In a significant political development on Saturday, BJP ally BPF had announced to snap ties with the saffron party.

The ruling BJP in Assam since 2016 had an alliance with the BPF, which still has three ministers in the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal-led government.

The BJP, after the Bodoland Territorial Council polls in early December last year, had forged an alliance with new ally United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) after discarding incumbent partner BPF.

The BJP has decided to fight the polls in western Assam's tribal dominated Bodoland area in alliance with new ally UPPL besides Asom Gana Parishad.

In 2006 and 2011, the BPF was part of the Congress-led government in Assam, but before the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, the party broke ties with the

BPF leaders claim that its support ensured that the BJP won as many as 27 Assembly seats in the 2016 polls. The BPF won all the 12 seats of Bodoland areas in 2016.

Another regional alliance comprising Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), Raijor Dal and few other local parties formed a third front to take on both the BJP and the Congress led alliance.

The elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6. The results will be declared on May 2.

--IANS

sc/arm

(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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Government yesterday February 26, 2021 intervened to avert a serious disruption to air travel and operations at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with striking workers of the airport.



A strike action by the unionised staff of the Ghana Airport Company disrupted travel plans of many passengers who had early morning domestic and international flights to catch.



Travellers with early flights was greeted with a deserted airport as there were no one to attend to them while airline staff who were also present did not know what to tell their passengers.



However, a timely intervention from the Chief of Staff, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, who summoned the leadership of the workers union to an emergency meeting, saved the situation from getting worse.



The meeting, attended by the leadership of the union, and which had the Ministers-designate for National Security and Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Albert K. Dapaah and Ignatius Baffour Awuah, respectively, resulted in the strike being called off immediately for operations to resume.



It was agreed at the meeting that government be given two weeks to go through the demands of the agitated workers and act on them.



Situation



The workers, who last Thursday served notice of their action through their leaders, carried out the strike action, leaving scores of travellers stranded as there was no service to enable them to go through the process to embark on their trips, either on the domestic or the early morning international flights.



The strike was to agitate for the removal of the Managing Director of the company, Mr Yaw Kwakwa, for mismanaging the company and causing its fortunes to dwindle.



Energy Quest Show

Justice Agbenorsi reports from the KIA that in the morning, there were scores of travellers at Terminals Two and Three for domestic and international flights as there were no staff to take them through the process for embarkation.



While some had gathered to discuss the issue, others were agitated over being held in a state of uncertainty without any word from either management or staff of the airlines.



Some travellers, particularly, those travelling on the domestic flights, decided to use alternative means to travel, most opting to go by bus.



However, later in the afternoon, the tension eased as travellers who were patient to wait went through the process for embarkation.



The Daily Graphic observed that the departure halls were busy as travellers were being checked in.



Also, queues had built up outside as passengers lined up to be screened.



Neither the staff who had resumed work nor the airline staff would talk to the Daily Graphic.



A passenger, Yaw Ankomah, who was travelling to Tamale, said he was relieved that operations had resumed.



The event in the morning has disrupted the schedule of many people already. Its a relief that service has resumed. If it had been allowed to go on, it would have caused a terrible havoc to peoples travel plans, he said.



Crunch meeting



The Chairman of the Divisional Union of the Public Workers Services Union, Mr Issaka Bamaba, told the Daily Graphics Donald Ato Dapatem that the leadership of the workers union was invited to a crunch meeting by Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-

Opare, Mr Kan Dapaah and Mr Baffuor Awuah where they agreed on an MoU.



He said it was agreed that the government side be given two weeks to go through their demands and act on them, adding that the union had also agreed to suspend the industrial action and would wait for governments response.



Travellers in Kumasi



From Kumasi, Daniel Kenu reports that domestic travellers had to look for alternative ways of getting to their destination following the strike action by workers of the Airport Company Limited.



Usually very busy on Fridays going into the weekend, by 10 a.m yesterday, the airport had been deserted as most of the travellers scheduled to travel in the morning said they were heading towards Asafo VIP station to catch a bus.



"This country is not serious. You cancel a flight without a word to passengers, is it fair? Mr Yaw Adumako, a businessman from Adum, who said he had a scheduled meeting with his partners in Accra in the morning, told the Daily Graphic.



Flight lands in Tamale



The first flight for the day arrived at 2p.m. in Tamale, and operations resumed around 12 noon at the time Samuel Duodu arrived to assess the situation.



Staff at the airport informed the Daily Graphic that the strike had been called off.



Workers action



This latest action by the workers comes after the union issued a statement on Thursday directing all general staff to withdraw their services at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) from 06:00hrs Friday, February 26, 2021, until otherwise communicated by the union.



The workers said, the action has become necessary following the boards attempt to shelve the report of an investigative committee comprising the Ministry of Aviation, the Board, Senior Management, and the Public Services Workers Union which confirms the allegations of mismanagement and abuse of office levelled against the Managing Director, Mr Yaw Kwakwa.



The affected services included screening of pre-board passengers and access control, fire/safety cover for all aircraft, water supply and sewage treatment, as well as public announcement and flight display.





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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At state-run LNJP Hospital, the nerve centre of Delhi's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many doctors at times had to wear PPE kits for nearly 18 hours to attend to struggling patients in the sweltering heat when its first wave had hit the city and the mortuary was piled up with bodies.

It's been one year since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the national capital, and daily cases and death counts have both come down significantly, and scenes of distress in the hospital's corridors and outside morgue have been replaced by talks about the ongoing vaccination.

It was on March 1 that the first case of COVID-19 was recorded in the city, a few months after the "unpredictable virus" had wreaked havoc in Wuhan in China, where it was first reported globally.

Rohit Datta, a businessman from east Delhi, who had returned from Italy last year, tested positive for the new virus that had left the world puzzled and in a grip of extreme fear.

The world had not seen anything like this before since the Spanish Flu of 1918, and certainly not in India. As the cases began to spiral in large parts of the country, including Delhi, a nationwide lockdown was imposed late March by the government to contain the spread of the virus.

While most people were practically left confined to their houses for several months and work for home became the new normal, healthcare workers faced the heavy brunt of the pandemic, as doctors, nurses, served patients day in and day out, without any weekly breaks, isolated from their family members for days, weeks or even months.

Amit Anand, a 35-year-doctor at the 2,000-bed LNJP Hospital who has been on duty since the outbreak of the pandemic here, said, "It's one year of COVID in Delhi, and I also met my family back home, after a gap of one year."



The Begusarai native, whose wife also holds an MBBS degree, told PTI, "I met my wife and son, now two-and-a-half years old, in Bokaro this February, and he almost didn't recognise me. The pandemic literally separated us from our families. But we have to do our job, which we have chosen, so that motivated us throughout this very tough period."



LNJP Hospital, now a partial COVID-19 facility, was the first hospital to be converted into a dedicated facility in Delhi, and soon Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH), GTB Hospital and other government hospitals were also roped in, besides reserving beds in private hospitals to treat increasing number of patients.

On June 23, the national capital had reported its first wave of the infection with 3,947 cases, the highest single-day spike till then.

Delhi went into a war mode, with government efforts to combat the pandemic being led by 'corona warriors' in hospitals in white lab coats and police in streets wearing khaki.

Ritu Saxena, Emergency Department chief, at the hospital, which has treated a record over 11,000 COVID-19 patients till date, recalled that in June when the first wave had hit Delhi, a large number of people were dying daily and bodies would pile up beyond capacity in the mortuary.

"Some doctors at times had to wear PPE (personal protective equipment) kits for 18 hours in a day in harsh summer when temperature had gone above 40 degrees Celsius to attend to patients," she said.

Delhi then battled the second and third waves of the pandemic in September (over 4,000 daily cases multiple times) and November respectively, the latter being the worst this year, but the city known for its resilience, soldiered on and eventually manage to surmount it.

The highest single-day spike of 8,593 cases in Delhi till date was reported on November 11, while on November 19 the city recorded 131 COVID-19 deaths, the highest single-day fatality count till date.

Suresh Kumar, Medical Director of the LNJP Hospital and a COVID-19 survivor, says the past one year of battling the pandemic had taught "valuable lessons" to meet the challenges ahead.

"In this period, we also equipped ourselves with more medical infrastructure. So, we had 155 oxygen supply pipe lines in the beginning for beds, besides oxygen cylinders. We expanded it gradually to 1,000, to meet the 2,000-bed requirements. Also, we now know at least something about this virus and its behaviour," he told PTI.

As one year gets over since the outbreak of the pandemic, while deaths have reduced significantly, daily cases have shown an upsurge in the last few days.

Delhi recorded 243 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, while three fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 10,909, according to data shared by the city health department.

This was the fourth successive day when daily cases count have stood at the 200-mark or beyond.

Delhi had recorded 94 fresh COVID-19 cases on February 16, the lowest in over nine months.

Doctors on Friday warned that the numbers could go up in the coming months.

While the vaccination drive which started on January 16 is currently underway, Kumar urged people to continue to wear masks and adhere to safety norms as the vaccine can only to cut the transmission of the virus.

Asked what was the most memorable moment of this one year gone by, he said, "Entire period will stay with us in our memories, but feted by the government with floral showers from helicopters really touched our heart.

(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.)
Syria said U.S. air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in the east of the country on Friday were a cowardly act, which follows rocket attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq.
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This is the knife-wielding thug who threatened to kill his victims who have been left "crippled with fear" following two terrifying home invasions in Sligo.

One young woman was pushed to the ground when John McDonagh (25) and his brother-in-law Kaelem Sweeney (18) burst their way into her home in Ballinode, at 5am on January 18 last year.

After the pair's arrest, a man with links to the two men threatened to petrol bomb the victim's home if she went to court.

McDonagh, who lived in the same estate as his victims, also held a knife to the neck of a young man sleeping upstairs in the house during the incident, which lasted for 20 minutes and saw them make numerous threats to kill, steal cash and other items and smash up the house as well as a vehicle parked outside.

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After leaving the house, McDonagh went into another house in the estate and stole 1,350 worth of electronics and threatened to kill and 18-year-old man who had just moved into the area.

McDonagh, with an address in Brookfield, and Sweeney, from Garavogue Villas, pleaded guilty at Sligo Circuit Court to aggravated burglary, threats to kill, criminal damage to the house and criminal damage to a car in relation to first incident, while McDonagh also pleaded guilty to unauthorised taking of a vehicle. They will be sentenced next month.

The terror unfolded from 5am on January 18 last year when McDonagh, who was armed with a long kitchen knife, and Sweeney, who was armed with a Stanley knife, forced their way into a house in Glencarrig.

A young woman saw them coming in and tried to close the door but they hit her with the door and she fell to the ground.

McDonagh then ran upstairs, where a man was sleeping and held a knife to his throat while demanding money. Sweeney was downstairs with a Stanley blade where two men were sleeping on couches.

The woman pleaded with the attackers to just take what they want and leave. McDonagh then told her to "shut up" and told her if she rang gardai they would do to her what happened to "that lad in Cork" referring to a student who had been stabbed to death in Cork that week.

The woman said the two men then went mad with knives slashing mattresses, kicking holes in the walls and kicking doors.

They took cash from the man who had a knife held to his throat and pointed their weapons at the woman's and man's faces.

They went back downstairs where McDonagh smashed the TV, took a kettle and took car key while Sweeney slashed the couches.

McDonagh then told all four victims not to go to gardai or they'd be dead. He then got into a car belonging to one of the men in the house and drove it around at speed for a short period before getting out and smashing all the windows with a kettle and slashing the tyres with his knife.

Later, McDonagh walked into a house in Brookfield which was unlocked and told an 18-year-old man who had just moved in the previous week: "I'm taking your stuff".

He took a PlayStation, a 32-inch TV and a Nintendo Switch and told the teenager he would kill him if he called the gardai.

The young woman and the 18-year-old man from the second house gave victim impact statements in court. The young woman said she had suffered increased depression and anxiety as a result.

"The fear I live each day is unexplainable. Nobody will realise what we went through. I have sleepless nights, missed work."

She said she was "crippled with fear" and the crime harmed her whole outlook on life.

A man with links to McDonagh and Sweeney contacted the woman two days after the incident and told her that her home would be petrol bombed if she attended a bail hearing in relation to the case.

Leon Sweeney, from Garavogue Villas, was sentenced to nine months in December over the threats.

In his victim impact statement the 18-year-old man said he is still in fear to leave his house, cannot get what happened out of his head and sleeps for just four hours a night.

McDonagh, who also has links to Kerry, has 34 convictions for offences including assault causing harm, theft and unauthorised taking of a vehicle. He was out on bail at the time of the home invasions.

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Washington: Thousands of National Guard troops will remain in Washington until mid-March amid fears a QAnon conspiracy theory that Donald Trump could still be inaugurated this week will lead to another attack on the US Capitol.

Followers of the QAnon cult have claimed Trump will reclaim the presidency on March 4, the date presidents were inaugurated up until 1933, when Inauguration Day was moved to January 20.

The US Capitol dome is seen past security fencing and barbed wire erected after the deadly January 6 riots. Credit:AP

Online posts about March 4 from QAnon devotees, who believe Trump is working to take down a cabal of deep state politicians, have caused alarm among US security officials who fear further violence could occur.

Almost 5000 National Guard troops will remain in the US capital until March 12, in part because of concerns of a repeat of the violent scenes on January 6, said Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
It looks like one rule for the boys and another for the girls.

Regatta season is fast approaching, with two key school events scheduled for later this month. Theres the Head of Schoolgirls Regatta held on March 12-14 on the Barwon River outside Geelong with the Associated Public Schools of Victoria Sport Regatta (mainly boys but which does include girls) on March 20 at Lake Nagambie.

Guess which event is allowing spectators?

Yes, convoys of four-wheel drives full of long-suffering rowing parents from Firbank and Melbourne Girls Grammar will head down to Geelong in full knowledge that spectators have been banned from the HOSG Regatta. While the APS Head of the River (traditionally boys but mixed gender from schools including Brighton Grammar and St Kevins) is allowed 1050 people, or two spectators for each senior rower.

Why? The races are organised separately, with each organising committee organising its own COVID-safe plans. The no-spectator rule was decided by the HOGS committee, who werent keen to comment on the matter further.
Via email, I learned of this notable new letter sent from coalition of public policy organizations, business groups and criminal justice reform advocates calling upon Prez Biden to use his clemency power on behalf of certain marijuana offenders. Here is an extended excerpt from the letter:

Thank you for taking a strong leadership position in support of criminal justice reform in the United States. The protests and civil unrest that dominated the news following the murder of George Floyd revealed historic levels of mistrust and eagerness for bold new leadership. Our system is in urgent need of reform, and we appreciate the goals outlined by your administration.

President Biden, we urge you to clearly demonstrate your commitment to criminal justice reform by immediately issuing a general pardon to all former federal, non-violent cannabis offenders in the U.S. In addition, all those who are federally incarcerated on non-violent, cannabis-only offenses for activity now legal under state laws should be pardoned and their related sentences commuted. Cannabis prohibition ruins lives, wastes resources, and is opposed by a large majority of Americans. Two out of every three states in the U.S. have abandoned the federal governments blanket prohibition and now provide safe and regulated access to cannabis for adults and/or those with qualifying medical conditions. And Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has showcased the important role of clemency in achieving justice and equity with cannabis reforms through his recent work pardoning or expunging nearly half a million prior cannabis convictions.

Criminal histories related to cannabis can be particularly harmful for individuals, despite the change in laws in many states. Convictions can seriously limit job opportunities, housing, and educational options. Long after a person has gone through the legal system, the baggage of the war on marijuana continues to undermine that persons life and diminish their prospects. It is past time for the harm to stop.

In November 2019, during a Democratic Primary Debate, you stated: I think we should decriminalize marijuana, period. And I think everyone  anyone who has a record  should be let out of jail, their records expunged, be completely zeroed out. You now are in a position to do just that through a categorical pardon grant. Such grants are hardly unprecedented. Presidents from both political parties have taken such action when circumstances warranted it. In 1974, President Ford signed a proclamation granting conditional pardons to the Selective Service Act violators who did not leave the United States. In 1977, President Carter issued categorical pardons to all Selective Service Act violators as a way to put the war and divisions it caused in the past.

While the war on cannabis impacts individuals of all races, a disproportionate number who enter the criminal justice system are people of color. On your first day in office, you signed an executive order rightly stating that, Our Nation deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face. Today, the long-term harm of cannabis prohibition in communities of color throughout the country is profound. As we look to solutions to provide healing, the dangerous policing tactics that were developed to execute the war on marijuana, including no-knock warrants and other aggressive tactics, shock the nation and have led us to historic levels of mistrust. When a large majority of Americans no longer believe cannabis should be illegal, aggressive enforcement tactics quickly lose support. A general pardon of all former and current federal non-violent cannabis offenders would be the kind of grand, ambitious, and impactful action that would effectively signal to marginalized communities that their suffering is seen and that the government seeks to remedy their harms.
It sounded like a riddle, the question the new boss posed to Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron in a 2013 meeting.

"Why are you taking the pain," Amazon founder Jeff Bezos asked Baron and a small group of executives shortly after he purchased the company, "and not taking the gift?"

Baron knew all too well what the "pain" was. He had come to The Post earlier that same year, hired in large part for his reputation as a newsroom leader who knew how to do more with less. At the Miami Herald, he oversaw coverage of the disputed 2000 presidential election and the Elian Gonzalez immigration drama, before moving to the Boston Globe and guiding its Pulitzer-winning investigation of the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal - during years when both newsrooms endured financial constraints or deep cuts.

It was understood that a similar balancing act would be expected of him at The Post, where he had just overseen a blockbuster series of reports about surveillance overreach by the National Security Agency - even as he privately anticipated the likelihood of having to preside over major budget cuts after The Post's years of financial decline.

So that was the pain of which Bezos spoke. But "we sat there wondering what the gift was," Baron recalled, "because none of us were quite aware of it."

The gift, Bezos explained, was the internet - which had given The Post the power to distribute its work worldwide for negligible cost. So, how was the company going to take advantage of it?

3 1 of 3 Washington Post photo by Marvin Joseph Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Washington Post photo by Ricky Carioti Show More Show Less 3 of 3





The meeting marked a turning point for The Post - and for Baron, who is retiring Sunday after eight years at the helm of the news organization.

It was a partnership forged at a crucial time, allowing the print newsman to help reinvent the company's business strategy for the digital age. And The Post's revival in turn empowered Baron - a normally reserved personality - to take up the mantle as a leading advocate for press freedoms when the industry came under attack during the Trump administration.

"I've long felt that we don't speak up for ourselves well enough, often enough, forcefully enough, and that somebody has to do it," Baron said. "I'm not one who naturally was looking for a limelight, but who was going to do it? Who was going to speak up for us? I felt that nobody was doing that."

- - -

The biggest challenge Baron saw when he started at The Post in the first week of 2013: "We didn't have a clear vision about how we were going to get out of the mess that we were in."

At a time of aging readership, steep print circulation declines and the loss of ad revenue to digital players including Facebook and Google, The Post had avoided the major layoffs imposed by many other regional newspapers. But its ranks and its ambitions had been thinned by staff buyouts and positions left unfilled.

The effect was plainly visible to Baron, in a news product he found at the time to be lacking in investigative and accountability reporting.

"And I was surprised by that," he said, "that here we were with The Washington Post, and some days we were struggling to figure out what would be worth putting on the front page."

Meanwhile, it seemed to him that the staff was unnecessarily demoralized by the fact that its longtime rival, the New York Times, appeared to be thriving. Baron, though, saw opportunity. "They can be the U.S. Army, and we can be the Special Forces," he said. "And you know, the Special Forces can win the war."

It was a pragmatic optimism that Baron had also shown in his earlier roles overseeing newsrooms whose flush days were past. At the Herald, "he came in and said, 'This is the hand we are dealt,' " said Alberto Ibarguen, who was publisher when he hired Baron as editor.

He displayed a sure-footedness in managing staff and stories. "He demanded more from the people we had," Ibarguen said. "His insight was we didn't need to go around hiring reporters from every which place; he just needed people to step up and do the reporting they are capable of."

The publisher also observed Baron's deft salvage instincts at work with the printed word. In one news meeting, he said, Baron quickly assessed a struggling story: "He said, 'Your lead is here,' pointing to the tenth paragraph, 'and you need to answer these two questions' - and then the story ended up on the front (page)."

Despite having come up in the era of print, Baron says he was pushing for digital innovations long before he teamed up with Bezos. In Boston, where he spent more than 11 years, he integrated the newsroom of Boston.com into the Globe, encouraged the development of online video, and formed what he described as a tiny online-audience team.

His specialty, though, remained his talent for overseeing a team as it conceptualized and launched ambitious investigative projects - notably the Boston investigation that exposed the Catholic Church's coverup of priests who had abused children. The saga was turned into the 2015 film "Spotlight," which won the Oscar for Best Picture.

On June 2, 2013, five months after Baron started at The Post, he joined former Los Angeles Times executive editor John Carroll for dinner at the home of Alan Miller, president of the nonprofit News Literacy Project. Toward the end of the evening, Carroll turned to Baron and asked, "So, have you found your Catholic Church yet?"

Baron appeared startled but quickly regained his poker face, Miller recalled. "We'll see," he responded. ("Did you see the look on Marty's face?" Carroll said to Miller the next day. "He's got something.")

Five days later, The Post reported that the NSA had been conducting widespread, secret surveillance of the internet, sweeping up the data of U.S. citizens. The prize-winning series of stories prompted congressional inquiries, spurred information technology companies to enhance encryption of their web traffic and started a national conversation about the balance between national security and privacy.

A similar epic of government accountability reporting during Baron's tenure was The Post's Afghanistan Papers series in late 2019 - secret government documents revealing that high-ranking U.S. officials had long been aware of the unwinnable nature of the Afghanistan war and the corruption plaguing U.S. aid distribution but never revealed it to the public.

- - -

It was over drinks at the Madison hotel bar, near The Post's then-headquarters, that publisher Katharine Weymouth delivered the bombshell news to Baron in August 2013, seven months after she hired him:

After 80 years of ownership, her family had agreed to sell the company to Bezos.

Baron said he welcomed the news - even as he half-expected that Bezos, who "is certainly entitled to," would want to replace him.

"I had long felt - actually well before that - that we needed fresh thinking in the industry," he said. "Because I was not hearing any new ideas from anybody."

For decades under the Graham family, The Post had defined itself as an essentially regional newspaper that happened to be in a very consequential city. That was the identity that steered its strategy for news coverage, circulation and ad sales. Similarly, Baron recalled, "we were shrinking with that in mind, and cutting costs with that in mind."

Then Bezos arrived. Wrong strategy, he said.

In that first meeting, he encouraged Post executives to embrace the brand it established during the Watergate era as investigators and truth tellers and use it to build a national and international audience.

In a second meeting, at Bezos's Seattle-area home, the tech magnate continued to press Post executives for ideas that would appeal to a national audience, as well as ones that would attract younger readers. When Baron and his colleagues returned with a more refined set of ideas for new products - blogs and reporting teams focused on opinion, policy and political analysis, and overnight news from around the country among other areas, as well as new visual presentations for Post stories - Bezos agreed to fund them.

"That," says Baron, "was the beginning of providing us a bridge to the future" - an investment in desperately needed new initiatives without taking from areas in ways that would alienate traditional subscribers.

Other than crafting a new motto for The Post - "Democracy Dies in Darkness" - Bezos otherwise left editorial decisions up to Baron and other Post executives.

During Baron's tenure, The Post grew to have more than 3 million digital-only subscribers, even as print circulation has declined, and has enjoyed five straight years of profitability. The staff grew from 580 to more than 1,000. The Post opened new bureaus, after years of shuttering them, and this year expects to have 26 locations around the world. The Post, under Baron's leadership, has won four Pulitzers for national reporting, two for explanatory reporting and one each for public service, investigative reporting, criticism and photography.

"Had The Washington Post kept only a local focus it would have failed, however great its digital tools," said Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. Baron, she said, "operated as an editor who was wedded to news but not to paper. He was happy to see engineers in the newsroom, anxious to get reach and impact for stories and clear-eyed about the trade-offs."

Bezos's money alone would not have been enough to save the paper, she added. "If we have learned one thing in the past 20 years it is that digital newsrooms succeed on the strength of their journalism primarily. ... We've seen plenty of very innovative newsrooms fail."

- - -

Less than two years after Bezos purchased The Post, Donald Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for president.

If Bezos provided a bridge to the future, Trump threatened to blow it up.

During his campaign, Trump ran against the mainstream news media almost as much as he campaigned against his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and repeatedly denigrated individual reporters covering him. In June 2016, as he closed in on the Republican nomination, he blocked Post reporters from attending his campaign rallies. The campaign eventually relented, but Baron never contacted Trump directly to appeal the revocation of credentials for Post journalists.

"I think that's what he was looking for, so that he could say we were begging," said Baron. "If he didn't want to give us credentials then we'd find another way to cover him."

The Post found those avenues, notably with David Fahrenthold's 2016 reporting in which he documented Trump's charitable giving by calling 450 organizations to ask them whether Trump had donated money and using Twitter to crowdsource the public's collective knowledge of Trump's giving.

Trump's constant attacks enlivened in Baron a sense that there was a serious new challenge facing the press, in addition to the financial one. Until that point, "I never felt that the most powerful person in the world was going to be seeking to subvert the role of the free press in this democracy," Baron said.

One afternoon in February 2017, Trump deployed his Twitter account to declare that the "FAKE NEWS media" is "the enemy of the American people." That critical moment convinced Baron that there would be "no limits to his attacks on the press, that he would seek to vilify us in every conceivable way ... to not just discredit us, not just to marginalize us, but to actually dehumanize us."

Just as alarming was Baron's realization that no one was rushing to defend the press - not even its own leaders. "As communicators, we were remarkably terrible at communicating our role in this democracy," he said. "And it was unfathomable to me."

Soon after, Baron delivered a response to Trump's declaration of war. "We're not at war with the administration, we're at work," he said at a conference that month. "We're doing our jobs." It was a message he would continue to build upon in speeches and statements.

"Every one of you has a stake in this idea of free expression," he told the graduating class of Harvard University last spring. "And you should acknowledge this if you value these freedoms that come with democracy: Democracy cannot exist without a free and independent press. It never has."

- - -

Reflecting on the two men who shaped much of his editorship at The Post, Baron contemplated what would he have done without Bezos or Trump.

Even without Bezos, Baron maintains that The Post would have deepened its focus on accountability work. But he would have been forced to continue to trim staff and coverage areas. When Bezos bought The Post, Baron was contemplating having to cut at least 50 newsroom jobs in the coming year, he recalled.

And without Trump?

"Even if Hillary Clinton had been elected, there would have been plenty to investigate, and we should have been in a position to investigate," he said. But Trump, he acknowledged, had an unexpected effect of fueling an intense interest in the news.

"Would we have generated the subscriptions we did without Donald Trump? Probably not, to be honest," Baron said. "But I think it's largely now a result of people recognizing that there needs to be a vigorous press in this country ... that without the traditional press, you're going to have all sorts of flaky sites spreading falsehoods, lies, misinformation, disinformation, bizarre conspiracy theories, things like that."

And The Post "fulfilled our mission of holding power to account," he said. "I'm proud that we did that, notwithstanding the incessant and malicious attacks on us over many years and notwithstanding the assault on objective fact."

In Baron's final year in Washington, unexpected leadership challenges emerged at The Post.

The racial justice demonstrations erupting in American streets echoed inside news organizations across the country. At The Post, staffers pressed management to address what they argued were disparities in the hiring, training, promotion and pay of journalists of color. Baron and Publisher Fred Ryan announced the creation of more than a dozen new positions to cover race and related issues.

Still, "if I look back, I would say that I should have tried to do more over the course of my time here and do it more quickly," Baron said. "No matter how old we are, we all have things to learn."

And in a couple of incidents, Baron clashed with younger journalists over social media posts that he felt were inappropriately combative or opinionated. It was a stance that some critics within and outside the paper complained was out of touch with the expectations of today's online discourse.

Baron said his position came from his belief that "we are an institution" and that every Post staffer is naturally viewed by the public as a representative of The Post. "And any statement, any behavior on the part of our people who work on the staff can reflect on the institution as a whole and, in fact, does."

He added that the number of staff social media posts he has deemed problematic is "infinitesimal," and that on his watch, the number of formal actions The Post has taken to warn a staffer about such posts was "in the single digits."

As The Post searches for Baron's replacement, Cameron Barr, a longtime reporter and editor whom Baron named a managing editor in 2015, will serve as acting executive editor.

The Post marked Baron's departure with a video tribute to him on Thursday featuring A-list personalities and newsroom colleagues. Among those offering toasts to Baron were NBC News anchor Lester Holt, film director Steven Spielberg, "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl and actor Liev Schreiber, who portrayed Baron in "Spotlight." CNN's Wolf Blitzer played anchorman for the video, which was produced by The Post and included an unexpected cameo from fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, who said she bonded with Baron when they were seated next to each other at a dinner. "No one like you is from Tampa!" she recalled telling him when he mentioned his Florida roots. They soon discovered that they had ancestors who came from the same town in Eastern Europe. As a Post reader, she added, "I am sorry he is leaving."

Naturally, there was a testimonial and praise from Bezos, who credited Baron with making The Post "swashbuckling again."

- - -

The Washington Post's Paul Farhi contributed to this report.
Jailed protest leaders decry double standards

BANGKOK: Six hundred police officers will be deployed today (Feb 28) with Free Youth group demonstrators planning to march from Victory Monument to the prime ministers house at the 1st Infantry Regiment barracks, Kings Guard, on Vibhavadi Rangsit Rd.

Sunday 28 February 2021, 10:53AM

Demonstrators will march from Victory Monument to the prime ministers residence at the 1st Infantry Regiment barracks, Kings Guard, on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road on Sunday. Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul / Bangkok Post

Deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) Pol Maj Gen Piya Tawichai has assessed the rally in terms of expected turnout and the risk of third parties instigating violence, reports the Bangkok Post.

He said the MPB has prepared four companies of police officers to maintain order. Pol Maj Gen Piya said police had not yet decided whether to use containers to block the road leading to the 1st Infantry Regiment barracks as they did during previous rallies, adding that barriers would be used only if necessary to avoid any significant impact on commuters.

"I am concerned over possible violence during the protest as explosives were used [in past demonstrations]," he said. Messages from the Free Youth group invited people to join the rally seemed to suggest an incident might happen, he added.

Meanwhile, Noraset Nanongtoom, a lawyer from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group, yesterday tweeted on the Appeal Courts ruling dismissing an appeal for the temporarily release of pro-democracy protest leaders including Parit Chiwarak, Arnon Nampa, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk and Patiwat "Mor Lam Bank" Saraiyaem.

The four have been detained since Feb 9 on lese majeste and other charges relating to anti-government demonstrations. They were denied bail three times earlier.

Mr Noraset said the application submitted to the court on Friday outlined four points that he believed supported the release of the four. The first was a cash bond of B400,000 for each defendant, which was more than the previous bail request.

Charnvit Kasetsiri, a former rector of Thammasat University, and Panas Tassaneeyanon, a former dean of the universitys Faculty of Law, had agreed to act as guarantors for the defendants, he said. He said the defendants also posed no flight risk, had not yet been found guilty and all had permanent residences.

Prajak Kongkirati, an academic who supports the Ratsadorn group, also tweeted on the courts ruling. The academic compared the four to the eight former leaders of the disbanded Peoples Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) who were granted bail on Friday on charges relating to the street protests which ousted the Yingluck Shinawatra administration. He used a Thai hashtag that means equal bail.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2075251/appeal-court-allows-pdrc-leaders-to-walk-free-on-bail

On Friday, Mr Noraset, acting as legal counsel of the Ratsadorn group, filed an appeal for the release of the four protest leaders after the court temporarily released eight former PDRC leaders on bail of B800,000 each.

The eight were jailed on Wednesday by the Criminal Court, but walked out of Bangkok Remand Prison on Friday afternoon after the Appeal Court granted them bail.
By Parisa Hafezi

DUBAI (Reuters) - Tehran said on Sunday the United States must first lift sanctions on Iran if it wants to talk about salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal, reiterating its stance that it will not make the first move to restore the pact with major powers.

President Joe Biden's administration said last week it was ready to talk to Iran about both nations returning to the accord, which aimed to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons while lifting most international sanctions.

Former President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, which in turn gradually began breaching terms of the agreement.

But Iran and the United States have been at odds over who should take the first step to revive the accord. Iran insists the United States must first rescind U.S. sanctions while Washington says Tehran must first return to compliance.

"The U.S. will not be able to rejoin the nuclear pact before it lifts sanctions ... Once everybody implements their side of obligations, there will be talks," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Iran's English Language Press TV.

"Biden claims that Trump's maximum pressure policy was maximum failure...but they have not changed that policy (towards Iran). The United States is addicted to pressure, sanctions and bullying...It does not work with Iran."

Iran has been hard hit by the sanctions, as well as by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

SNAP INSPECTIONS

Further complicating efforts to revive the deal, Iran's hardline-dominated parliament passed a law last year that obliges the government to end implementation of the Additional Protocol from Feb. 23, if sanctions are not lifted.

Under the deal, Iran is applying the Additional Protocol, which grants the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the power to carry out short-notice inspections at locations not declared to it.

"This is not a deadline for the world. This is not an ultimatum ... Like in any democracy, we have to implement the law passed by the parliament...The move (to end snap inspections) is not abandoning the deal," Zarif said.

Story continues

"The minute they come back to full compliance, we will come back to full compliance."

The United States and European parties to the deal have warned Iran against obstructing the IAEA's snap inspections.

Rafael Grossi, the IAEA director-general who is in Tehran to discuss the agency's "essential verification activities", met on Sunday with Irans nuclear energy chief, state media reported.

Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, tweeted that Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, and Grossi held "fruitful talks based on mutual respect".

Zarif said: "We will talk to Mr. Grossi about respecting the laws of our country...but at the same time not creating an impasse for him to continue to carry out the obligations to show Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful."

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Frances Kerry)

By Reito Kaneko, KYODO NEWS - Feb 25, 2021 - 22:59 | All, Japan

The Japan Coast Guard could directly fire a weapon against foreign official vessels aiming to land on the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, ruling party members said Thursday, citing government officials.

The government officials told a panel of the Liberal Democratic Party they have confirmed their interpretation of existing laws. China implemented a new law earlier this month that allows its coast guard to use weapons against foreign ships that Beijing sees as illegally entering its waters.

Government officials had said earlier Japan's coast guard is only allowed to fire weapons directly at foreign vessels in cases of self-defense and emergency escape.

The officials explained the confirmed interpretation at a meeting of the panel, saying it is possible for Japan's coast guard to fire on foreign official vessels under laws by regarding vessels aiming to land on the Senkaku Islands as committing violent crimes.

The interpretation is partly based on applying the use of police power under a police law to the coast guard, an LDP member who attended the meeting said, citing the government officials. The interpretation emerged because using force against vessels of foreign countries is considered to run counter to Japan's war-renouncing Constitution and exclusively defense-oriented policy.

It is the first time government officials have referred to the coast guard's possible firing on foreign official vessels aiming to land on Japanese territory, according to the LDP member, Taku Otsuka, who leads the LDP's National Defense Division that held the meeting.

There were rising concerns in Japan that the country is unable to deal with China's assertiveness around the Japan-controlled, China-claimed Senkaku Islands.

Last year Chinese coast guard vessels entered Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands around twice a month. Since the law took effect in China earlier this month, the frequency has risen to twice a week, according to the Japan Coast Guard.

After the implementation of the law on Feb. 1, Tokyo expressed "strong concern" over the legislation, which also authorizes the Chinese coast guard to seize foreign ships entering waters claimed by Beijing.

On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a video message at a symposium that the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region has become severe, voicing concerns that "military capability expansion lacking in transparency and unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion have continued" in the region, although he did not name China.

Suga also said, "I firmly believe that it is 'a free and open order based on the rule of law,' not 'force or coercion,' that will bring peace and prosperity to the region and the world."

Related coverage:

U.S. raps China on activities near Senkakus, says it supports Japan

China coast guard vessels repeatedly enter Japan waters near Senkakus

Japan ground troops to get transport vessels amid China's rise
Here's a quiz question: which titled (and entitled) member of the Establishment has turned his back on the realities of life at home to live a life of unimaginable luxury in a wealthy Californian suburb, unencumbered by awkward questions from the British press and insulated from the real world by wealth and power?

Prince Harry, I hear you cry.

But for once thats not who Im talking about. I speak of none other than Sir Nick Clegg, former Deputy Prime Minister of this parish and now vice-president of global affairs at Facebook.

Admittedly Sir Nick has not done quite as well as Prince Harry. His 7 million mansion in the wealthy Silicon Valley suburb of Atherton boasts a mere five bedrooms compared to Harrys 14.

It's rich for titled and entitled Nick Clegg to now be defending the cowboy practices of Facebook.

But when it comes to everything else, the two men are remarkably similar. Harry for the way he complains about privacy and then bares his soul on TV. And Clegg for the way he has set aside all his previous lofty principles in order to take Mark Zuckerbergs shilling.

I suppose we shouldnt be surprised.

After all, this was the man who broke his pledge on tuition fees and who, when he finally did get a pop at power, proved himself to have the spine of a whelk.

But for someone who made a great show of wanting to tighten the screws on Britains free press in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry (he even fell out with his Coalition partner, David Cameron, on the issue) its rich to now be defending the cowboy practices of Facebook.

Because make no mistake: Facebook is a far more rapacious force than any British red-top tabloid.

Unregulated, unscrupulous and unashamed, not only does it facilitate the spreading of conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated rumours without accepting responsibility for the repercussions, it is becoming increasingly clear that it will also stop at nothing to defend its right to do so  and turn eye-watering profits into the bargain.

Witness the companys response to the Australian governments valiant but ultimately futile attempts to get it to remunerate providers for the information it uses  information which, while it costs Facebook nothing, is nevertheless what drives its huge advertising revenues.

Prince Harry's California mansion boasts 14 bedrooms compared to Nick's five in his home

Faced with having to stump up for content, Facebook simply switched off access to news for its Australian users. Eventually the two parties reached an agreement. But not before the governments proposals had been significantly watered down.

Yet even the fact that Facebook could take such action in the first place constitutes an egregious abuse of power.

Some might even call it blackmail.

Something you might expect from the Soviet Mafia (maybe they learned a few tricks from hosting all that Russian-backed election disinformation few years back); but not from an organisation that styles itself as a benign, touchy-feely user-facing service. Which reminds me: Sir Nick. Wasnt he king of the touchy-feely user-facing politicians?

Not any more. Ruthless corporate salesman, our Nick.

Indeed, in a blog post he justified his companys actions by saying the proposed law would be like forcing car makers to fund radio stations because people might listen to them in the car.

An interesting analogy. But a wrong one. Facebook isnt a car. Its an out-of-control juggernaut.

If Sir Nick, as he claims, truly believes that quality journalism is at the heart of how open societies function  informing and empowering citizens and holding the powerful to account, then maybe he will use his position at Facebook to protect it. Then again, so much easier to just take the money, get the help to light the outdoor fire  and kick back by the pool with a glass of something cool.

I won't pretend to fully understand the intricacies of the Alex Salmond/Nicola Sturgeon debacle  and I suspect no one but the individuals concerned really does.

But whatever else transpires from this sordid tale, I hope at least the Scottish people will finally see the SNPs leaders for what they really are: bitter, ruthless individuals whose only purpose is the pursuit of power.

Dear Captain Tom was finally laid to rest yesterday, having lifted all our lives.

But it saddens me that he is constantly described as yet another victim of Covid.

He may have tested positive for the disease at his time of passing, but his cause of death was really pneumonia as a result of extreme old age.

And increasingly it seems there may be many others in a similar situation, people who have died with Covid but not necessarily of Covid.

Isnt it time this distinction was reflected in the statistics?

Lady Gaga's bonanza for dog-nappers

It's measure of the mad world in which we live that thieves are prepared to shoot a man in order to kidnap a pair of dogs.

Thankfully, Lady Gagas dog-walker is recovering well and the dogs were later handed in to the police, unharmed.

By offering sums with no strings attached, Lady Gaga has boosted the market for dog-nappings

But not before she had offered a reward of $500,000 for the safe return of her pets  no questions asked.

As the owner of two adored pooches, I understand how distraught she must have been. But such selfish stupidity beggars belief.

Dog theft is already at an all-time high  by offering such a sum with no strings attached, shes effectively boosted the market for violent dog-napping.

Up to to 70 migrants  many of whom may well have come from countries on the Governments red list  took advantage of the calm seas to cross the Channel yesterday, and no doubt more will be on their way.

Its imperative that they are quarantined and, ideally, vaccinated on arrival, for the sake of public health.

No excuses, no exceptions.

Otherwise how can the Government justify forcing legal arrivals to quarantine in hotels for two weeks at vast personal cost?

Isis bride should rot in Syria

Defenders of Isis bride Shamima Begum say she should be allowed to return to the UK because she was just 15 at the time she ran away.

I have some sympathy: every parent of teenagers knows how stupid they can be. But its one thing to go a bit off the rails, quite another to join a death cult with an explicit agenda to torture, maim and kill.

But the most compelling reason why she should not be allowed to return is that she has not shown an ounce of genuine regret. Indeed, when she was interviewed in 2019, she claimed that the murder of 22 people  many of them young girls like her  at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester was fair justification after Western air strikes against Isis in Syria.

If I ruled the world (which thankfully I dont), Id ban cyclists (and all variants thereof, including rollerbladers and people on electric scooters) with loudspeakers in their backpacks.

Ever since the sun came out theyre everywhere.

Bad enough having their sweaty, Lycra-clad thighs shoved in our faces  must we also endure their terrible taste in music?

Oh Haz, where do I start?

So much to say about Prince Harrys latest PR offensive.

Firstly, isnt the sight of a privileged white man pretending to be a black kid from the mean streets of Philadelphia doing a rap a) excruciating; and b) borderline cultural appropriation (something Im sure Meghan does not approve of).

Secondly, what is Haz short for? Has-been?

How does Prince Harry prances about with James Corden tally with the couple's desire for privacy

And thirdly, and perhaps most seriously, how does prancing around on the top of a bus with James Corden and FaceTiming each other with pet names tally with the couples expressed desire for privacy?

Service is universal, Harry and Meghan reminded the Queen last week. Indeed it is.

For example, Sophie Wessex quietly helping out St Johns Ambulance during the pandemic.

Cant do that from the top of a tour bus in California, can you?
(CNN)  At least 18 people were killed and more than 30 injured in Myanmar on Sunday as police and military forces "confronted peaceful demonstrations," the UN Human Rights Office said.

The reported casualties make Sunday the deadliest day since the military seized power on February 1.

As demonstrations against the military coup which ousted the democratically elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi entered their fourth week on Saturday, security forces began a violent crackdown on protesters in towns and cities across the country.

The UN Human Rights Office said it had received "credible information" about the use of deadly force against peaceful protesters in "several locations" in Myanmar on Sunday.

"Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku," a statement from spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said. It also noted reports about the use of tear gas, flash-bang and stun grenades.

CNN has been unable to independently verify those claims.

The statement condemned the "escalating violence" and urged the military to "immediately halt the use of force against peaceful protesters," noting that "the people of Myanmar have the right to assemble peacefully and demand the restoration of democracy."

"These fundamental rights must be respected by the military and police, not met with violent and bloody repression," Shamdasani said.

The office also said police had detained at least 85 medical professionals and students, along with seven journalists during the demonstrations on Sunday, noting that more than 1,000 people had been "arbitrarily arrested and detained" in February, including "members of the democratically elected government."

The statement repeated the UN's call for the release of anyone detained arbitrarily. "The international community must stand in solidarity with the protesters and all those seeking a return to democracy in Myanmar," it said.

In a tweet, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned violence in the country. "We condemn the Burmese security forces' abhorrent violence against the people of Burma & will continue to promote accountability for those responsible. We stand firmly with the courageous people of Burma & encourage all countries to speak with one voice in support of their will," he said.

Shots heard

Reuters earlier reported that Myanmar police had shot dead at least seven protesters Sunday and wounded several others, citing political and medical sources, as well as local media.

In the biggest city, Yangon, a protester was fatally shot when police opened fire on demonstrators, according to Reuters, citing a hospital doctor. The doctor, who asked not to be identified, said the protester was brought into hospital with a bullet wound in the chest. Local media outlet Mizzima also reported the death in Yangon's Thingangyun township.

Also in Yangon, a woman died of a suspected heart attack after police broke up a teachers' protest with stun grenades, according to Reuters who cited the woman's daughter and a colleague.

In the south of the country, three people were killed and more than a dozen were wounded when police opened fire on protesters in the town of Dawei, according to media outlet the Dawei Watch. Local politician Kyaw Min Htike confirmed police had shot protesters in Dawei.

Local media outlet Myanmar Now reported two people had been killed in a protest in the second-largest city of Mandalay, according to Reuters.

Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Videos posted to social media captured the escalating confrontations between protesters and security forces.

In footage from the Hledan district of Yangon, shots could be heard. Local media reported that at least five people were injured in those clashes. Shots could also be heard in a live stream posted on social media by local media from Yangon's Tamwe township, in which crowds of protesters could be seen fleeing from police. At least five students were arrested at protests elsewhere in downtown Yangon on Sunday.

Sunday marks the second day of the military's intensified crackdown on anti-coup protesters, in which hundreds of people have reportedly been detained, including journalists. In towns and cities across Myanmar on Saturday, security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and shot their guns into the air to disperse protesters.

An activist group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), said that as of Saturday, it had documented 854 people who have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the February 1 coup. The group noted, however, that "hundreds of people" were arrested in Yangon and other places on Saturday.

One police officer has been killed since the coup, according to Reuters.

UN ambassador defies military

The latest clashes came a day after the ruling military junta fired the country's United Nations ambassador for making an impassioned plea at the UN General Assembly for international action to help overturn the coup.

On Saturday, state television MRTV announced UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun's removal, saying he had "abused the power and responsibilities of a permanent ambassador" and that he "betrays the country."

Speaking to Reuters following his firing, Kyaw Moe Tun said that he "decided to fight back as long as I can."

Addressing the assembly in New York on Friday, Kyaw Moe Tun defied the military rulers now in control of the country and urged the UN Security Council and the world to use "any means necessary" to rescue the people of Myanmar and hold the military to account.

"We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people and to restore the democracy," he said.

Kyaw Moe Tun said he was delivering the speech on behalf of Suu Kyi's government, which won a landslide in the November 8 elections. Suu Kyi has now been detained alongside other government leaders including President Win Myint.

In a show of defiance, the ambassador also flashed the three fingered "Hunger Games" salute used by protestors on the streets of Myanmar and adopted from recent protests in neighboring Thailand.

The diplomat received a rare round of applause from his UN colleagues at the end of the speech. The new US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, praised the envoy's "courageous" remarks.

"The United States continues to strongly condemn the military coup in Myanmar," she said Friday, addressing the assembly. "And we condemn the security forces' brutal killing of unarmed people."

Thomas-Greenfield added that the US "will continue to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance, including to Rohingya and other vulnerable populations in Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan states."
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A dog was once returned to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home because its new owner decided it didnt match the sofa.

The callous treatment is revealed today by the former boss of the famous rescue centre, who says the unnamed individual was banned from any future adoptions.

Claire Horton, who recently stepped down as the centres chief executive, tells Desert Island Discs that about ten per cent of rescue pets are returned within six months.

Claire Horto, former chief executive of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, says about ten per cent of animals are returned

She tells host Lauren Laverne: Usually it will be a very genuine change in circumstances. So it could be an illness, someone might die.

Then well get people who will bring them back because they hadnt thought it was going to wee on the carpet or chew the bottom of the door.

'We even had a dog come back once because it didnt match the sofa.

As Laverne recoils in horror, Ms Horton, 58, adds: I know, I know, what can you say? We took the animal back because we never judge. We rehomed it to somebody who really cared.

Claire Horton, former chief executive of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (pictured) said one owner returned their dog as it did not match the sofa

Ms Horton, who has three Battersea dogs of her own and a cat, says: Thats the point about the whole Battersea premise around Rescue is our favourite breed.

'Its not about what breed it is, or what colour it is. Its just about being a rescue.

She welcomes news that lockdown has seen a surge in rehoming, but warns against buying imported pets in poor condition from the internet or from unscrupulous puppy farmers.

Ms Horton, now director-general of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, is also asked the age- old question about whether she is a dog or a cat person.

The answer should be I love them both equally, she says. But dogs for me every time.

Desert Island Discs is on BBC Radio 4 today at 11am and will be repeated on Friday at 9am.


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Two people were confirmed dead on Sunday after they were swept away while swimming at a beach in south-central Vietnam the day before.

Rescuers found the bodies of Pham Thanh T., 29, and Nguyen Thi T.B., 30, on Sunday afternoon, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

T. hailed from the south-central province of Binh Dinh while B. came from Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City.

T. and B. had traveled with two others from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet, about 200km apart, in south-central Binh Thuan Province for a vacation on Saturday.

The four checked in at their hotel and went to the beach for a swim at around 6:00 pm that day.

All of them were swept away by strong waves, with rescuers managing to take only two to the shore safe and sound.

T. and B. went missing before being found dead.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Director General Shekhar C Mande on Sunday warned that the COVID-19 crisis was far from being over and allowing a "third wave" by lowering our guard is fraught with grave consequences.

Also, continued collaboration across institutions was necessary to come out of the current situation as well as ward off catastrophic situations arising out of climate change and over dependence on fossil fuels which had the potential to wipe out the entire humanity, he said.

Mande was speaking on "India's response to Covid-19 from S & T perspective" at a virtual "National Science Day Lectures," organised by Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology here.

The expert clarified that India is nowhere near achieving herd immunity and as such people should continue to wear masks and maintain social distancing and hand hygiene to stay away from getting infected by the virus.

Cautioning the people and the scientific community against allowing "complacency to set in," he warned that a third wave would precipitate a far more dangerous situation than the challenge the country had faced so far.

RGCB Director Chandrabhas Narayana moderated the digital lectures.

Answering questions from the scientific community, Mande expressed the hope that the Covid-19 vaccines would be effective against the variants.

The evidence "is not very strong" that the vaccines would not work against the mutated virus.

"We would like to believe that the vaccines are effective" against the variants as the vaccines worked against the entire part of the virus while the mutation took place on a part of the virus, he explained.

The prevalence of COVID-19 cases had come down not because of herd immunity, but because of other reasons, including wearing of masks and people remaining outdoors during the winter.

The fact that the virus remained suspended in the air in closed areas and it lost its potency in open areas helped a great deal in controlling the spread during the winter, the expertsaid.

Precisely for the same reason, the disease went out of control in the West where people remained indoors during the winter, he added.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman of Axilor Ventures, and Jayant Sahasrabudhe, National Organising Secretary of Vijnana Bharati, also delivered lectures.

(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.)
Reach Mai Hoang at maihoang@yakimaherald.com or Twitter @maiphoang

This story is part of the Protecting and Promoting Local Journalism Initiative, a project supported by the Yakima Valley Community Foundation with financial, training and technological assistance from Microsoft Corp. In Yakima County, the initiative is a collaboration between the Yakima Herald-Republic, El Sol de Yakima and Radio KDNA, whose journalists maintain independent editorial control of the project.

To make a charitable contribution to the Yakima Valley Community Foundation's Community Journalism Fund, visit the foundation's website and select the Give Today button. On the sidebar, click on Find Opportunities. Enter journalism in the word search and the fund will pop up. Donors can also send checks and stocks directly to the Yakima Valley Community Foundation.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
IN NUMBERS: Over 16,500 fresh cases reported

India reported 16,752 fresh infections on Sunday, taking the cumulative caseload to 11,096,731, according to a report in the Scroll. The country saw 113 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 157,051, according to central health ministry data. The total recoveries have surged to 10,775,169, while the active caseload is at 164,511. As many as 14.3 million healthcare and frontline workers have been inoculated since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Read more here

Covid-19 R-value back over 1

Indias effective reproduction value (R) for Covid-19 was back over 1 this week, according to a report in ThePrint. The R-value is a key measure of how quickly the virus is spreading. In simple terms, it is the average number of people who become infected by an infected individual. If the R-value is above 1, the virus will spread quickly. If it is below 1, the virus will slow. The R-value increased to 1.02 this week from 0.93 last week. The increase is mainly driven by the fact that half of the top 16 states, in terms of active cases, have an R-value over 1. The metric had stayed under 1 for many weeks in a row sparking optimism that the spread of the virus had been largely curbed. Read more here

India unlikely to meet 400 mln doses target by July

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said in October last year that the government aims to administer 400-500 million shots and inoculate 200-250 million people by July this year. At the current pace, India will have administered just 60 million doses by the end of July or about 15% of the target, a report in The Hindu said. India needs to ramp up the pace of vaccinations from the current 0.3 million doses a day to an ambitious 2.44 million doses a day to meet the target. Read more here

What is the difference between a virus strain and a variant?

According to a report in ThePrint, a strain typically describes different kinds of viruses within a virus family. In other words, it is a genetically distinct subtype within a family of virus. For instance, within the family, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a distinct strain, as is the SARS-CoV virus, which caused an outbreak in 2003, and the MERS-CoV virus that caused an outbreak in 2012. On the other hand, a variant is a genetically distinct subtype within a family of virus. But, it is not different enough to be classified as a strain on its own. For instance, the more infectious variant B.1.1.17, commonly known as the UK variant, is technically a variant and not a strain. Read more here

Second national wave unlikely: Expert

India is unlikely to experience a second wave of the pandemic despite the recent spike in cases, according to Deputy Director at IIT, Kanpur, Manindra Agrawal, a report in The Hindu said. Agrawal said the current spike, where daily cases are averaging between 13,000 and 16,000 since February 23, is driven mainly by Maharashtra and would not last beyond "2-3 weeks" in March. Agrawal is one of India's leading mathematicians and is involved with the National Super Model initiative, led by the Department of Science and Technology, the report said. Read more here
By Nicholas Goldberg





Twenty-five years ago last week, I rushed to the scene of a powerful explosion in downtown Jerusalem. A 22-pound bomb packed with nails and ball bearings and live bullets had been detonated on the No. 18 bus at 6:46 on the morning of Feb. 25.



When I got there, Orthodox Jewish men from the religious burial societies were picking up pieces of scalp and severed digits and charred flesh. A crowd of angry Israelis was shrieking, "Death to the Arabs," and demanding vengeance. I interviewed a distraught 22-year-old soldier sitting on the curb who told me he'd tried to rescue passengers, but they were on fire, stuck to the seats in the bus, their hair burning on their heads. Twenty five people died. Responsibility for the bombing was claimed by Hamas.



The Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which had gotten underway with so much optimism and excitement only a few years earlier, was already coming undone, and I was watching it happen. First, Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli settler on the West Bank, had massacred 29 Palestinians in a Hebron mosque in 1994. Then in November 1995, a right-wing Israeli law student, Yigal Amir, assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at a peace rally.



Now the Islamic militants from Hamas were taking their turn: They blew up the No. 18 bus and then, over the next few weeks, months and years, they blew up more buses, a shopping center, a pizzeria, a coffee shop, a discotheque.



Three months after the No. 18 bus bombing, in a climate of fear and rage, the pro-peace candidate Prime Minister Shimon Peres of the Labor Party was defeated in his campaign for reelection by the young Likud Party hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu, who paid lip service to peace but took few steps toward achieving it.



It took many years for the peace process to fizzle out fully. There were some dramatic early successes followed by endless attempts to resuscitate the process and recapture the momentum.



But today, peace between Palestinians and Israelis is no longer within view, even at a distance. The world has changed in ways that are inhospitable to a just, safe and durable resolution of the conflict.



Here's the lay of the land at the moment: The Labor Party  the legendary left-leaning party of David Ben Gurion that dominated Israeli politics for so many years and fought for a two-state solution under Rabin and Peres  is now so weak that it is conceivable it could win too few votes in the March 23 election to meet the threshold for representation in the Knesset.



Netanyahu, who has done so much to undermine the process, is now the longest serving prime minister of Israel. He's running again in March despite having been indicted on charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust.



Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is currently in what longtime American negotiator Aaron David Miller calls "the 16th year of his four-year term." Palestinians are riven, mistrustful not only of Israelis but of their own corrupt and autocratic leaders as well. Elections have been scheduled for this summer, though some doubt whether they will take place.



After decades of the Israeli government approving new settlements, the number of Israeli settlers living on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem has climbed to more than 650,000, making a contiguous Palestinian state ever more unlikely. Support for a two-state solution has declined, and Netanyahu has gone so far as to threaten to annex the entire West Bank.



Most recently, other Arab states have wavered in their fidelity to the Palestinian cause. Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan have cut separate peace deals with Israel, urged on by the Trump administration  and by a shared antipathy toward Iran. Saudi Arabia could eventually follow suit.



And the United States, having reduced its dependency on Middle East oil, has shifted its attention elsewhere. China poses a far more consequential foreign policy challenge. And the battle against COVID-19 and the rebuilding of the American economy will undoubtedly keep the United States focused on domestic issues for the foreseeable future, barring emergencies.



The collapse of the Oslo peace process is the subject of "The Human Factor," a new documentary by Dror Moreh, whose 2012 film "The Gatekeepers" examined the leaders of Israel's internal security service, the Shin Bet. The new film tells the story of the conflict through the eyes of the American diplomats who worked, sometimes for decades, on behalf of a two-state solution: Miller, Dennis Ross, Martin Indyk, Rob Malley, Gamal Helal, Daniel Kurtzer.



How sad it is to watch as they reflect on their mistakes, successes and frustrations. Was Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to blame or Prime Minister Ehud Barak or Netanyahu or Hamas  or we ourselves? Did peace collapse because of the bombings and killings or because of strategic miscalculations or simply because neither side, ultimately, could empathize with the other?



At the film's climax, President Bill Clinton desperately struggles to bring Arafat and Barak to terms before he leaves office, only to find that the maximum each would offer was less than the minimum the other could accept.



"When I look back now, we saw the world the way we wanted it to be," says Miller, who advised six secretaries of State over 15 years on Israeli-Palestinian issues. "We did not see the world the way it was."



The situation is not entirely hopeless. It's conceivable that over time, the two sides could restart talks and revive the two-state solution, or work out some kind of confederation, or even, I guess, agree to a single-state model, although I remain highly skeptical.



But that's going to take a while. Hard-nosed realists tend to shrug and say that after a century of conflict, if it takes 10 or 20 or 50 more years to fix, that won't be the end of the world.



But when I remember the soldier on the curbside next to the smoldering No. 18 bus, the overcrowded refugee camps of Gaza, the stones, bullets, bombs and rockets, and the keening at the funerals on both sides of the Green Line, I can't help but wonder what future tragedies that delay will bring.





Nicholas Goldberg is an associate editor and op-ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times. This article was distributed by Tribune Content Agency.


Several New York politicians, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, have weighed in on allegations that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) sexually harassed two former aides over the last several years.

Multiple Democratic state legislators have called for Cuomo's resignation, though most lawmakers at the state and national level want an independent investigation to take place first. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden supports one, as well. Cuomo's office announced it had appointed former federal Judge Barbara Jones to lead the review, but that didn't sit well with lawmakers, who argued the investigator should be appointed by New York Attorney General Letitia James instead.

In response, the Cuomo administration reversed course to an extent Sunday, asking James to work jointly with the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals (whom Cuomo appointed) to "select an independent and qualified lawyer in private practice without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review of the matter and issue a public report." James has already confirmed she's ready to oversee the investigation.

As for de Blasio, the mayor  whose relationship with Cuomo has never been smooth, to say the least  issued a statement calling for independent investigations into both the sexual harassment allegations and the recent revelations about New York's COVID-19 nursing home deaths, saying "questions of this magnitude cannot hang over the heads of New Yorkers as we fight off a pandemic and economic crisis." Now, he said, "it's clear" that the New York legislature "must immediately revoke the governor's emergency powers that overrule local control."

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The Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 on Sunday, February 28, successfully launched a Brazilian satellite called Amazonia-1 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) at around 10.24 am after the end of a nearly 26-hour countdown. Besides, the PSLV-C51 also carried 18 other satellites from Sriharikota, including Satish Dhawan Sat (SD SAT) from Chennai-based Space Kidz India (SKI).

PSLV-C51/ Amazonia-1 mission is the first dedicated PSLV commercial mission for NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), a government company under the Department of Space. The NSIL is undertaking this mission under a commercial arrangement with Spaceflight Inc, USA.

The 18 co-passenger satellites are--Four from ISRO's Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and 14 from NSIL. Among the four IN-SPACe satellites are-three UNITYsats from a consortium of three Indian academic institutes and one is SDSAT built by SKI.

Soon after the launch, the Amsazonia-1 successfully seperated from PSLV-C51 and injected into orbit.

A photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been inscribed on the top panel of the spacecraft. "This is to show solidarity and gratitude for his (PM's) Aatmanirbhar initiative and space privatisation," said SKI. The names of ISRO chairperson Dr K Sivan and scientific secretary DR. R Umamaheswaran have also been engraved on the bottom panel.

A digital copy of 'Bhagavad Gita' is also being sent with the spacecraft. It is being placed in an SD (secured digital) card.

About Amazonia-1:

The 637-kg Amazonia-1 which became the first Brazilian satellite to be launched from India is an optical earth observation satellite of the National Institute for Space Research. It is powered by lithium-ion batteries and two solar arrays. It has an 850km swath and 60m resolution.

About SDSAT:

Chennai-based Space Kidz India (SKI) satellite, called SDSAT is a nanosatellite intended to study the radiation levels and space weather and demonstrate long-range communication technologies.

About UNITYsat:

It is a combination of three satellites designed and built by Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, GH Raisoni College of Engineering, and Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology. The satellite is intended to provide radio relay services.

A satellite called 'Anand', built by another Indian startup, Pixxel is also part of the launch. It will be used to detect forest fires early on, oil and gas leaks, crop disease on time, and water pollution levels.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) --- A second former aide has come forward with sexual harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The Democratic governor responded Saturday with a statement saying he never made advances toward her and never intended to be inappropriate.

Charlotte Bennett was a health policy adviser in the Democratic governors administration until November. Bennet was also a graduate of Hamilton College.

She told The New York Times that Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she had ever had sex with older men. Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, recently accused Cuomo of subjecting her to unwanted kissing and inappropriate comments. Cuomo denied the allegations.

State leadership on both sides of the aisle calling for an independent investigation into the Governor.

State Senator Joe Griffo sending a statement saying..

These are serious and deeply concerning accusations made against the Governor that definitely warrant investigation. Sexual harassment should not be tolerated in any form. I want to reiterate that the women who have made these allegations should be respected and deserve to be heard. That is why I am calling on the Attorney General, in some manner, to conduct an independent investigation into these troubling accusations.

State Senator Peter Oberacker (R) : Every allegation of sexual misconduct must be taken seriously. Those were the governors own words when a sitting senator faced similar charges in 2018. Now an independent, unobstructed investigation looking into claims against the governor must commence immediately.

Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D) 119th Assembly District : The recent allegations of sexual harassment made against the Governor are serious. Anyone who has been a victim of sexual harassment should feel comfortable coming forward without fear of persecution or retaliation. That is why I am requesting Attorney General Letitia James and her office to oversee an independent investigation regarding these allegations. Sexual harassment, in any form, will not be tolerated, no matter who you are, and comes with severe consequences if found credible.

State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D):

The continued allegations are deeply disturbing and concerning. The behavior described has no place in the workplace. A truly independent investigation must begin immediately.
Dili, 28 February 2021 (SPS) - Saharawi embassy in East Timor on Saturday hosted an event commemorating the 45th anniversary of the proclamation of the Saharawi Republic.



Organized on the initiative of Timor-Leste movement of solidarity with Western Sahara, the ceremony was attended by some officials as well as academic and civil society personalities.



Addressing the audience, Saharawi ambassador Mr. Mohamed Slama Badi reviewed the significant political and historic context in which the Saharawi Republic was proclaimed.



The participants took this opportunity to reiterate their countrys support to the Sahara cause, which is considered a matter of self-determination and decolonization.



At the end of the event, Timor-Leste solidarity movement read out a statement, in which they called upon the UN and international community to intervene to protect the Saharawis, who are subject to the most abhorrent forms of Moroccan human rights violations.



The Movement said that they will continue supporting the struggle of the Saharawi people until the SADR is completely free, pledging to continue expanding the scope of solidarity network with Western Sahara. (SPS)



089/090/T
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84% in first two priority groups have received first jab

The Manx Government says 84% of people in the first two priority groups have now had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle confirmed it was continually working closely with the NHS in England. The UK Government has announced it expects a significant increase in vaccine supply for the UK next month.

Mr Quayle said Manx residents aged over 80, all in a residential care home and their carers, and all frontline health staff had received their first dose.

"We are vaccinating at pace our over 70s and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable."



"Every day we continue with our vaccination programme is a day with more protection in place and a day closer to our ultimate aim."

Theres not much hoopla, no organized statewide celebration, but March 2, 1836, is an important day in the history of Texas. Thats the day Texas became a republic and declared its independence from Mexico. It was a long time coming.

In 1820 Moses Austin asked the Spanish government in Mexico for permission to settle in Texas. He was granted land, but Austin died soon thereafter, and his son, Stephen F. Austin, took over the project. In 1821, Mexico declared its independence from Spain, and Austin negotiated a contract with the new Mexican government to allow him to bring 300 families to the undeveloped area. Others joined in the settlement, and soon the Mexican settlers were in the minority. Mexico was not pleased with this situation and passed laws to restrict the flow of immigrants to the new land.

In 1833 Austin went to Mexico seeking statehood for Texas within Mexico but was sent to prison. He was released in 1835, the year Mexican dictator Santa Anna demanded that citizens of Gonzales return a cannon that had been used to defend against Indian attack. When Mexican troops were sent to retrieve the cannon, Gonzales residents fired it at them while yelling, Come and take it. That became known as the first battle of the Texas Revolution.

Texas formed an army under Sam Houston and established a provisional government. A convention of Texans met at Washington on the Brazos with the purpose of drafting a constitution and declaring independence from Mexico. In December of 1835 the Texas Army drove Mexican troops out of Sam Antonio. In January of 1836 Santa Annas army began its assault on the Alamo. The delegates in Washington on the Brazos voted in the Declaration of Independence on March 2 during the siege on the Alamo.

The Alamo battle was fierce. Santa Anna attacked with more than 3,000 soldiers. The Texans were sorely outnumbered with less than 200 troops. For 12 days the former mission was bombarded by cannon and rifle fire. Col. William Travis smuggled out a message to Texans that read, I shall never surrender or retreat. Victory or death. The Mexicans claimed victory over the Alamo defenders on March 6, 1836.

Six weeks later, Gen. Sam Houstons Army surprised Santa Annas troops at San Jacinto with shouts of Remember the Alamo. The Texans defeated the Mexican troops and captured Santa Anna. The Mexican dictator withdrew his troops south of the Rio Grande and recognized Texas as a republic. For nearly 10 years Texas existed as a separate country with Houston as its first president. In 1845 Texas joined the union as the 28th state.

Louise Penny, top left, previously visited Bill and Hillary Clinton at their home back, posting a photo of the three on Facebook.
Generous. Humble. Kind. Soft-spoken.

David Campbell, of Belchertown, says hes learned much about his father, Leslie Les Campbell, over the past six months since his death in September at the age of 95. The notes of condolence have flowed in with recollections of how Les Campbell had made an impact in the lives of many.

As I go through his house every day, the common thread I find is he liked to share what he knew, David Campbell says. He was a teacher. There are a lot of things you could call him, but teacher may sum him up best.

His father started sharing his love of birds, for instance, through photography, encouraging others to learn the art as he did over the course of many decades, earning many a national and regional award for his images. Photography also helped the elder Campbell focus on another love, the Quabbin Reservoir, the complicated history of how it came to be and its natural beauty.

The reservoir, but perhaps more importantly, the way in which its creation changed life forever in the Swift River valley of Western Massachusetts when it was built in the 1930s, proved a focal point in many facets of Les Campbells life.

In this photo from 2005, photographer Les Campbell prepares a photo exhibit on the history of the Quabbin Reservoir at his Sky Meadow homestead in Belchertown. He is holding a print of a photo of a local boy made about 1920 by photographer Burt V. Brooks. Brooks lived and worked at that time in Greenwich, one of the towns dismantled for the Quabbin. This print and others made around that time were printed from 5-by-7 inch glass plate negatives. (MICHAEL S. GORDON / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

The Quabbin was where he got his first job, washing dishes for workers there in the 1940s. He went on to a career as a laboratory technician, testing the quality of the water delivered daily for drinking to millions of homes in Greater Boston. It was where he lived in rented house on the reservoir grounds for more than 40 years.

And, it was the subject of countless exquisite photographs in which Campbell captured its wildlife and natural beauty.

I think Ive been one of the luckiest guys on the face of the Earth to have this kind of life, Les Campbell told a reporter for The Republican in an interview in 1992. His mission, Campbell explained at the time, was to educate people that we must keep (Quabbin) as it is, as a sanctuary for people, as well as wildlifeIt would be so easy to destroy (its value) as a sanctuary.

This photograph of a sparkling shoreline at Quabbin Reservoir is among the archive of images by photographer Les Campbell

Now, friends and admirers want to ensure Les Campbell and his second wife, Terry Ann Campbell, who died in 2004, are honored with naming of the Quabbin Visitor Center for them. It was the Campbells who worked tirelessly with the Friends of Quabbin group they founded to see the visitor center established in the mid-1980s. There, they organized groups and hosted events to introduce visitors to the Quabbin and its history.

A bill seeking the Legislatures approval for the visitors center to carry the Campbells names was filed this month by state Sen. Anne P. Gobi, D-Spencer, with support from many of the Senate and House members from Western Massachusetts.

Gobi can remember first visiting the Quabbin as an elementary school student and going to the visitors center.

You walk in, and you may not want to read everything, but you look at the pictures, Gobi says. Thats what is striking. Its the photography that draws people in. Then, they learn the (Quabbin) story and whats behind those photos. I am a former history teacher, and (understand) you need that link to the past. Its extremely important to memorialize both Les and Terry-Ann in this way.

The Quabbin Visitor Center is at the end of the Winsor Dam at the Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown. State Sen. Anne Gobi has filed a bill seeking to name the center in honor of the late Les and Terry Ann Campbell who worked with the Friends of Quabbin to establish the center. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 2/23/2021

Gobi says she will push for the bill, once it receives a docket number and is assigned to a committee for review, to be fast-tracked in hopes its passage can coincide with plans by Campbells family and friends to have a memorial in May. I know theres not going to have any controversy about this, the senator notes.

Already, multiple groups, from the Friends of the Quabbin to many photography organizations which Campbell either helped found or belonged to, are rallying community support of the legislation.

Stephen M. Brewer, Gobis predecessor as senator for the Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire & Middlesex District that includes the bulk of the Quabbin and its watersheds 25,000 acres, describes Les Campbell succinctly: He was the eyes of Quabbin.

Like Campbell, Brewer grew up the environs of what would become the Quabbin  Campbell in Ware and Brewer in Barre, where hes lived his entire life. Their lives were intermingled with those of people whose families once lived and died in the towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott, the remains of which now lie beneath the pristine waters of the reservoir.

Brewer will go so far as to say, The state stole that land from the residents of the Swift River valley. Thus, the passionate response of people like Campbell to preserve the legacy of the towns lost to its creation, he explains.

(Les) pushed senators like me and Bob Wetmore before me to make sure that sacred ground, paid for with huge amount of sacrifice from people, was protected, Brewer says. Imagine it if you were just home from World War I and youd survived the gas of the war in France. Your familys been in Dana or Greenwich for past 100 years, and the state says you have to leave. And, by the way, Were digging granny up in the cemetery, and shes out of here, too. There were 39 cemeteries where the Quabbin is now. It was visceral to Les and to me, and I didnt live it. I always carried that into the Statehouse with me.

As he talks of his late friend, Brewer intersperses his comments with recollections of Campbell photographs, one showing an overlook of Ware from Route 9 as the town is enveloped in fog. Les was as fine a nature photographer as you would find, Brewer says.

In the music barn the senator built in retirement and where he goes often to play his banjo, Brewer keeps several Campbell photographs, one of them a portrait of the town of Greenwich, superimposed on the body of water in which it was swallowed.

Spring Vista, of birches framing Quabbin Resevoir, is one of Les Campbells most well-recognized photographs. (LES CAMPBELL / LESCAMPBELLPHOTOGRAPHY.COM)

Les really was extraordinarily creative, says the retired senator, added that Campbell and the Friends of Quabbin group humanized the history of the reservoir for those not familiar with it. It wont be long before no one is left who lived and can tell those stories, Brewer says. When people forget the sacrifice that was made, it could become a problem. If you did not protect the Quabbin, youd have to put in a water plant.

Like Brewer, former Senate president Stanley C. Rosenberg, of Amherst, had a decades-long friendship with the Campbells. He recalls first meeting Les Campbell while working at the University of Massachusetts Extension Service in the 1970s when Campbell inquired about starting an arts council in Belchertown.

Rosenberg remembers Campbells work illuminating people about Quabbins history with presentations of his photographs on large screens, accompanied by music by Belchertowns high school students.

His commitment to preserving the history, the beauty and meaning of the Quabbin was just legendary, Rosenberg says. He had a very big personality and was a very persuasive man. He was always the front man, but Terry was always there. Shed quietly inject her ideas and thoughts.

Rosenberg, who treasures two Campbell photographs in his home, feels the couples sustained service as volunteers to the commonwealth are worthy of recognition. I think it would be wonderful to recognize (the Campbells) decades of commitment to the Quabbin and to its protection and the appropriate sharing of the Quabbin. Through his photographs, he was bringing people to the site, encouraging people to come but not mess it up. Lets not keep it a secret, Les would say. Lets have people learn the history and enjoy the beauty.

Brewer knows a bit about having things named in someones honor. One the three public boat ramps at the Quabbin, situated in Hardwick, carries his own name. Recalling that ceremony, he says, I was moved beyond belief. Four generations earlier, two miles from that boat ramp is where my immigrant relatives came from county Cork in Ireland to settle on Greenwich Plains Road in Hardwick.

The senator says he thinks his old friend might well feel the same about having the visitors center carry the Campbell name. Deep down hed love it. Les was just a guy who cared about nature.

Cynthia G. Simison is executive editor of The Republican. She may be reached by email to csimison@repub.com.
In the face of congressional inaction, it is time for the states to lead on citizen equality and make America a more perfect union. One way states can begin doing this is by passing legislation supporting the self-determination of all U.S. territories, and in the case of Puerto Rico -- which has repeatedly voted for statehood -- to support its admission into the union on equal footing with all other states. Such moral leadership from the states is essential to correcting Americas historic wrongs that have relegated those living in U.S. territories to second-class citizenship.

If the summer of 2020 taught us anything, it is that there must be no tolerance for the unequal treatment of American citizens. As the public grows in awareness of how the harsh legacies of racial inequality and injustice persist, a historic opportunity is now present.

Once buried at the bottom of a stack of national priorities, or worse yet ignored altogether, the need to erase the blight of structural racism in our country is now being embraced. Symbols like Confederate statues built during the Jim Crow era to intimidate Black citizens are finally being removed or moved to museums. However, one issue that still has the force of law in the United States has been left disappointingly unaddressed: the Insular Cases.

In the wake of the Spanish-American War in the late 19th century, the same U.S. Supreme Court that made the shameful separate but equal decision in Plessy v. Ferguson was forced to grapple with the relationship the United States would have with its newly acquired territories in the Pacific and Caribbean. What resulted was a series of cases that are known as the Insular Cases.

In these cases, unlike in recently admitted territories such as Washington and Idaho, or the mainland territories of Arizona and New Mexico, the Supreme Court decided that territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico were different due to their populations of alien races and that, because of these populations, they could not be governed by Anglo-Saxon principles. These patently racist views underpinned the intent of the courts majority to legislate the doctrine of unincorporated territories into existence, a judicial invention that effectively allowed the United States to possess modern colonies in perpetuity and deny otherwise inalienable rights to residents living under the U.S. flag.

Today, in the 21st century, many Americans are shocked to learn that the Insular Cases are still in effect, and that they continue denying U.S citizens in the territories both equality and full democracy. A deadly example is the federal governments disproportionately weaker response to the devastating 2017 hurricanes in Puerto Rico compared to responses in Florida and Texas. Another is the unequal treatment that territory residents face in federal programs like Social Security, nutritional assistance, Medicaid and Medicare.

The lack of democracy that denies Puerto Rico voting representation in the U.S. Congress, even when its residents are subject to federal laws and can be treated unequally under those laws, was made even more insulting with the approval of PROMESA in 2016. While the islands debt restructuring was necessary, the establishment of an unaccountable financial oversight board for Puerto Rico that has pushed extreme austerity measures -- including the cutting of territory-mandated employee benefits such as sick leave, vacation pay, and pensions -- over the objections of local elected officials, should shock every American and spur us to collective action.

After all, these are fellow Americans, and their unequal treatment by our federal government is abhorrent. Just as we would never tolerate a return to separate but equal, we should not tolerate the second-class treatment of Americans in the territories under a doctrine of separate and unequal.

As elected leaders in the state of Pennsylvania and the former territory of Washington state, we call on our fellow state-level leaders to denounce this abhorrent stain on our American union. The Insular Cases, by the plain text of the decisions and the prejudice of the court justices that decided them, are examples of systemic racism in plain sight. They are cancers on America's founding values and ideals, and they should be aggressively treated as such by leaders at every level of our society.

In recent years, some state legislatures have presented resolutions on these issues. Today, we believe all states that oppose the unjust colonial rule of U.S. territories should immediately introduce and pass legislation to support territorial self-determination, and urge Congress to take action on statehood for Puerto Rico to honor the will of our fellow American citizens there who have already voted to choose full democracy and equality. Until Congress acts, it is the duty of state legislatures to raise awareness about these injustices among our constituents and to demand that federal authorities work to make America a more perfect union.
Egypt has launched on Sunday a four-day, nationwide vaccination campaign against the Poliovirus targeting 16.7 million children under the age of five after Polio cases were detected in some neighbouring countries, Africa and the East Meditteranean.

Minister of Health Hala Zayed said Egypt obtained 38.2 million doses of the oral Sabin vaccine, in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, to boost children's immunity against the Poliovirus in order to keep the country Polio-free.

Polio cases have been detected in recent months in several countries including South Sudan, Sudan, Liberia and Cameroon.

In 2006, UNICEF declared Egypt Polio-free, two years after the last case was detected in the country.

The national campaign, which will last until 3 March, is targeting 100 percent of the Egyptian and non-Egyptian children under the age of five in the country, Zayed said.

The vaccine will be administered by medical teams at more than 5,400 health centres nationwide as well as teams stationed at large squares, train and metro stations, around mosques and churches, in sporting clubs, markets, and at bus stops and via vehicles, Zayed noted.

In villages, medical teams will visit homes to ensure the children targeted in the campaign are vaccinated.

Children can take a first dose of the Sabin vaccine in the next four days from 8am to 5pm, and a second one a month later, Zayed added.

As many as 90,000 medical personnel are taking part in the campaign.

The ministry has also prepared 2,000 ambulances and 800 other vehicles to reach remote areas in the country.

Poliomyelitis (Polio for short) usually infects children under the age of five and spreads through person-to-person contact. Its symptoms often turn from fever, vomiting and pain in the limbs to untreatable paralysis or can cause death in late stages.

According to UNICEF, Egypt managed - due to its vaccination campaigns - to eradicate the life-threatening disease that has infected millions of children in the country and the world for centuries.

The first vaccine against the ancient disease was discovered in 1955.

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POTTSVILLE  The Schuylkill County commissioners on Wednesday approved a three-year agreement with a Lebanon County company to keep the 911 Centers computers running.

Candoris Technologies, Annville, will receive $24,926.64, or $2,077.22 per quarter, for its work. The contract runs through Feb. 28, 2024.

They do all the upgrades and any maintenance, County Administrator Gary R. Bender said.

The county also increased its contract with Prodesign Plus LLC by $45,000 in order to expand a home rehabilitation project.

Prodesign Plus is taking over Wayne Twp. for the housing project, Bender said. The project is part of the Community Development Block Grant program, he said.

Bender said Prodesign Plus already handles housing programs for Butler Twp., Minersville and Schuylkill Haven. He said the move is in line with what township officials want.

Wayne Twp. puts a lot of its money in housing rehab, Bender said. They wanted to contract it out.

Also, the commissioners approved a supplemental budget appropriation of $5,700 for the Department of Human Services.

Director of Finance Paul E. Buber said the money will allow the department to make internal accounting changes in the way a cleaning contractor is paid.

The commissioners also approved the following budget adjustments.

n Adult Probation & Parole Office, $827.

n Children & Youth, $5,000.

n Mental Health/Developmental Services, $3,500.

n Tax Assessment, $1,750.

We are not increasing overall spending with any of the budget adjustments, Buber said. We are transferring budgetary authority between line items.

Buber also said the Children & Youth adjustment is for 2020, while the others are for 2021.

Also, the commissioners approved these four repository sales of property by the Tax Claim Bureau:

n Gilberton, 180 Long Row Road, $980, to Carter Barrett.

n Middleport, 4 Walnut St., $1,536.74, to RSK Flipper LLC.

n Middleport, 94 Washington St., $2,000, to Double D. Property Management LLC.

n Minersville, 101 East St., $1,249, to Jasmine Reynoso.

In another matter, the commissioners, on behalf of Children & Youth, amended the contract with Open Door International to add in-home service hourly rates of $69.22 for supervised visitation, $63.04 for casework counseling and $58.09 for in-home parenting.

They also approved an agreement with Edison House, Doylestown, authorizing various placement programs for Children & Youth through June 30. Rates range from $339.06 per hour to $420 per hour.

In a personnel matter, the commissioners appointed Karen Bevan, of Norwegian Twp., to an office support/secretarial position in human resources. The Salary Board approved her hourly salary of $13.7805.
Media companies are facing mounting calls to explicitly commit to using the money sealed through landmark deals with Google and Facebook to invest in newsrooms and journalism jobs.

Following intense negotiations over the governments media bargaining code, the countrys biggest media companies - Nine Entertainment Co (owner of this masthead), News Corp Australia, Seven West Media and Guardian Australia - have in recent weeks signed multimillion-dollar agreements for their content with Google. Seven, Private Media and Solstice Media and Schwartz Media have signed agreements with Facebook and others are expected to soon follow.

The AAP newsroom in 1964. Credit:

But as yet, just how media companies plan to spend this money, if and when the agreements become legally binding, remains unclear.

The union representing journalists, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, said last week that while the tech giants deals provide a welcome revenue stream for the sector, they will be pointless if they are not used to produce news content.
In his televised address Wednesday night, Gov. Greg Abbott expressed sympathy for Texans who suffered in homes without power, heat and water. He said they deserve answers and vowed immediate actions. But the governors answers miss the mark.

Gov. Abbott announced investigations of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas  ERCOT  which manages the states electric grid. But he left out agencies that manage gas and water systems that failed us, too. We need to take on the full challenge in front of us. If, after this massive failure, we settle for some minor tinkering, we will set ourselves up for more disasters. First, lets look at the governors call to action.

He called for the Legislature to mandate and to fund the winterization of the Texas power infrastructure, to protect it from future winter events. But winterization alone doesnt protect us from the full range of extreme events that Texas can face. In a warming climate, we will more often face extreme heat, drought, hurricanes and floods than repeats of winter events. Climate science remains unclear whether arctic blasts will become more common, but we know that heat and precipitation extremes are becoming more severe.

We shouldnt focus only on freeze failures. We have to anticipate future disasters. We must weatherize, not winterize.

Reliable and resilient energy and water systems must prepare for a full spectrum of extremes, not just winter events. Some winterization investments, such as de-icing equipment for wind turbines, protect against freezes but reduce power output during the summer, when were more likely to need it most. By contrast, investments in efficiency and better transmission within and beyond the state would benefit us throughout the year, but not count as winterization.

Moreover, by calling to protect our power grid, the governor ignored the other systems that failed us. The freeze revealed the vulnerabilities and interdependence of three systems  power, gas and water. Failures in the gas supply and electric power outages cascaded upon each other because we rely too heavily on gas to make power and use power to move gas. Our water systems failed for lack of electricity while backup generators froze up.

Preventing future crises will require recognizing that the freeze failures extended beyond the power grid to gas and water systems as well.

And we must build out a more diversified portfolio of power sources, including more renewables linked with more robust transmission, rather than relying so heavily on the gas supply systems that failed us.

The governors call to mandate and fund winterization is troubling too. Who will fund those actions? Will we once again socialize the costs of our energy systems, while privatizing the gains? That would be especially galling after gas and power producers landed windfall profits while failing to provide us enough energy when we needed it most.

This leads to the big question many of our leaders are doing all they can to avoid. The United States  along with other countries that have signed the Paris climate agreement and a growing number of energy companies and banks  have set aggressive targets to transition away from fossil fuels. Those targets could turn gas plants and supply lines winterized at taxpayer expense into stranded assets.

Gas is often called a bridge fuel from coal to renewable energy and a firm resource available whenever we need it. But the freeze failures revealed the urgency of crossing that bridge and constructing more resilient systems beyond it.

Texas is known for its weak governor system of government. The governors speech was indeed weak. Its time for the state Legislature and Public Utilities Commission to step up and deliver the solutions we need to make our energy and water systems more reliable, clean, affordable and resilient throughout the year.

Cohan is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University.

Highlights The 4G SIM card comes with a Rs. 75 Plan Voucher.

BSNL is offering free 4G SIM cards along with broadband and landline connections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu circles.

The offer is valid till 31st March 2021.

The state-owned telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has started giving free 4G-enabled SIM cards to its new broadband and landline customers. The free 4G SIM card scheme started last week with telecom circles in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the offer is valid till 31st March 2021.

The free 4G sim card offer applies to only customers signing up for a new BSNL landline or Broadband internet connection. The SIM card comes bundled with a Rs. 75 plan voucher, The PV 75 from BSNL offers 100 minutes of free voice calls and 2GB of data for 60 days. According to TelecomTalk, the ailing telecom PSU might have introduced this offer to boost SIM card sales.

BSNL which has been pushed to a distant 4th position in a highly competitive telecom market with leading players such as Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea & Airtel is known to come up with unique offers ever so often, and this offer also seems to follows the organisation's same principle.

In recent times, wired broadband service providers are witnessing increased demand for new connections, especially since the lockdown began in March 2020. BSNL is no exception to this increased demand for broadband and it has accordingly introduced its affordable 'Bharat Fiber' broadband plans starting from Rs. 499.

BSNL seems to be witnessing a good response to its Bharat Fiber plans especially from Southern states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala. To cash on demand, BSNL is bundling a free 4G SIM card with every new broadband and landline connection, according to TelecomTalk.

It is still unclear when BSNL is planning to launch the free 4G SIM card offer in other telecom circles across the country.

Also, BSNL has recently updated it's Bharat Fiber plans across the country to offer more Fair Usage Policy (FUP) limits and fast speeds. The Internet service provider is now offering download speeds up to 300 Mbps with several broadband plans.
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021

Bidens Illegal Bombing in SyriaIs the U.S. Going Back to Regime Change Wars?

Feb. 27 , 2021 (EIRNS)The U.S. bombing of a reportedly Iran-backed militia site in Syria Thursday night, Feb. 25, claiming it was a defensive strike to protect U.S. forces in Iraq, has been denounced by a wide assortment of political and professional sources in many countries as a severe breach of international law and of the U.S. Constitution. Congress members from both parties have decried the deadly attack for breaching both the U.S. Constitution, which requires Congressional approval for acts of war except when the nation is under direct attack, and the UN Charter.

The question to be asked: Will the Biden Cabinet lead the U.S. back into regime change wars? President Donald Trump was unable to implement his intention to end the endless wars launched by Bush and Obama, as the military-industrial complex (which Trump directly accused of demanding new wars on behalf of the weapons producers) countermanded his orders to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump was successful in not allowing any new wars, but now President Biden has Antony Blinken as his Secretary of State. It was Blinken, as Obamas Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Secretary of State, who led the campaign to carry out a regime change war against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, falsely accusing Assad of using chemical weapons against his population, a lie manufactured by British intelligence. Was the Thursday night attack in Syria a trial balloon for the war party to get back to serving as the military hitman for the British Empires colonialist wars?

There is at the same time an effort by world leaders to convince the Biden Administration to head off the escalating danger of war against Iran, a war which would certainly escalate the potential for a wider war with Russia and China. The Democrats under Obama negotiated the original deal with Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which even leading Israeli military and intelligence officials believe was highly beneficial for preventing nuclear proliferation (despite Benjamin Netanyahus ravings against it). But bombing Iran-backed forces, which are directly collaborating with the Iraqi government in fighting the remnants of the terrorist ISIS networks, could undermine any new talks with Tehranperhaps what the war party intended by this air assault in Syria.

The U.S. population must be freed from the Cold War mentality of us vs. them, of the geopolitical division of the world into warring blocs. These are not questions of political parties, nor of personalities. The Pompeo fanatics are fully deployed to make sure Trump does not return to his original intention to be friends with both Russia and China and opposed to purposeless wars, a major reason for his 2016 election and the huge support he received in the 2020 election. On the other side, the Democrats support from a majority of working people and minorities will not hold if the nation returns to perpetual war, and certainly not if the Green New Deal lays waste to the industrial and agricultural workforce.

The City of London rag, The Economist, heralded this week their increasingly successful effort to impose the Royal Familys Malthusian genocide on the American people through the Green New Deal, the Great Reset. Under the title Decarbonizing America, they promote a study by Princetons Center for Energy and Environment to massively increase the production of windmills and solar panels (which proved their destructive role in the disaster in Texas last week), aimed at attaining 50% of American energy usage by renewables by 2030. They admit that this process would eventually require the building of wind farms and solar fields covering 600,000 sq. kmmore land area than Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois combined. It appears they believe we will not need this vast area of land for productive purposes any longer, since they will have reduced the nations population by at least half by that time.

The Schiller Institute and The LaRouche Organization will sponsor an international conference on March 20 to address the global crisis as a whole. As Lyndon LaRouche repeatedly emphasized, there is no solution to the economic crisis, nor the health crisis, nor the strategic crisis, nor the cultural crisis, one at a time. Civilization is at a turning point, a punctum saliens, in which either a new paradigm for humanity as a whole is implemented, through the collaboration of the great cultures of the world, or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will soon be upon us. Join the March 20 event, become a member of the Schiller Institute, and sign on to The LaRouche Organization mailing list.
I was so happily surprised to hear pretty much everyone thats been to The Bakery Box is all, oh my gosh this is so cool, Ive never seen anything like this before, Gawlak said. People love that you dont have to interact with staff, that you can just go and have this self-service model at all hours of the day. I dont think anyone has had anything bad to say yet ... knock on wood.
Weekly coronavirus tests rose for the first time after five weeks of decline, even as the number of deaths and those hospitalized from COVID-19 both continue to drop.

The COVID Tracking Project reported that the United States had 1.6million new tests done on Saturday.

There were 71,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, in addition to 1,822 new deaths related to the coronavirus.

The COVID Tracking Project reported that the United States had 1.6million new tests done on Saturday

Just 48,870 new people have been hospitalized with COVID-19, a figure that has not been below 50,000 since November 2

Just 48,870 new people have been hospitalized with COVID-19, a figure that has not been below 50,000 since November 2.

Weekly test had been seeing a steady decline for five weeks straight, according to the COVID Tracking Project, but had now risen 11.2 percent from last week.

The United States currently has 28,554,167 cases of the coronavirus and some 511,994 people have died.

With more than 150 million new vaccine doses due for delivery by late March, testing was expected to likely to fall further as local governments shift staff and resources to giving shots.

The United States currently has 28,554,167 cases of the coronavirus and some 511,994 people have died

The U.S. government on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, enabling millions more Americans to be vaccinated in the coming weeks and setting the vaccine up for additional approvals around the world.

The J&J vaccine is the third authorized in the United States, following ones from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, both of which require two doses.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the emergency use authorization of the J&J vaccine for adults aged 18 and older following Friday's unanimous endorsement by the agency's panel of outside experts. Shipments to vaccination sites are expected to begin Sunday or Monday.

President Joe Biden hailed the move but cautioned Americans against celebrating too soon. 'Things are still likely to get worse again as new variants spread,' he said in a statement, urging people to continue washing their hands, wearing masks, and maintaining social distancing.

'There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable,' he said.
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Philip Larkin will be turning in his grave over a recent decision to merge his former school with a rival institution, it was claimed last night.

The poet, who attended the 476-year-old King Henry VIII (KHVIII) School in Coventry during the 1930s and 1940s, would be astounded to learn that it is to be merged with its even older rival, Bablake School, according to a former headmaster.

The Coventry School Foundation, responsible for running both co-educational independent schools  which have a combined history of more than 1,150 years and each charge up to 12,000 in annual fees  made the merger decision last year.

King Henry VIII school in Coventry - which was once attended by poet Philip Larkin - has been in operation for the past 476 years

KHVIII School will merge with Bablake School , although some former staff have described the proposal as a 'crazy idea'

Governors claim the difficult but necessary decision was made because of a reduced demand for independent schools in the area. But the move has been opposed by pupils, parents, ex-teachers and alumni incensed that the unique identities of each school would be lost.

Following complaints, the Charity Commission (CSF) has now opened a fact-finding inquiry into the case. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of the CSF.

George Fisher, headmaster of KHVIII from 2000 to 2010 and subsequently a lead inspector in the Independent Schools Inspectorate, condemned the merger as a crazy idea.

These are two schools on opposite sides of Coventry which each have literally hundreds of years of their own separate history, ethos and traditions, he told The Mail on Sunday. They compete tooth and nail on the netball court or rugby field and benefit from a healthy rivalry.

But all of that will be lost in this merger. Once you lose the individuality of a school, its not something you can ever get back.

Parents of current pupils dont want to be told, This is your only choice, like it or lump it. And I think the sad reality is that many will lump it because it isnt what they signed up for.

This is akin to an act of educational vandalism which will permanently diminish two schools which have always been highly successful and unique in the opportunities which they provide for children. Unsurprisingly, many current pupils and their parents are angry.

Philip Larkin, pictured at a memorial for his friend John Betjeman, went to KHVIII School in Coventry

The CSFs plan to rebrand both institutions under the one name  Coventry School  has already prompted an immediate backlash. Governors were forced to back down and the new school will now be called Bablake and King Henry VIII School (BKHS), which Mr Fisher said sounded like some failed high street retailer.

He added: We think the whole thing is being driven through relentlessly by a very small number of governors and staff at the foundation office.

A petition set up by a pupil at Bablake School, which was founded in 1344, calling for the plans to be scrapped has attracted over 3,000 signatures. But despite the opposition, the CSF will press ahead with the merger from September.

It will see pupils aged six to 11 based at the former KHVIII campus and secondary pupils, aged 11 to 18, based at Bablake.

Paul Fernandez-Montes, chairman of the Old Coventrians  the King Henry VIII Former Pupils Association  said that he had received countless messages from ex-pupils objecting.

Ive been overwhelmed by the strength of feeling against the proposed merger and remain bewildered at the lack of any attempt by the governors to provide a proper justification for the proposal, he said.

A Charity Commission spokesman said: We have opened a regulatory compliance case to assess concerns relating to this matter and cannot comment further at this time.

Julia McNaney, chairman of governors at the CSF, said: Against the backdrop of lowering demand for independent education in our region, our foundation took the difficult, but necessary, decision to do likewise. She added: We understand that some of our alumni stakeholders have been disappointed by our decision to restructure the schools, and this may be what has led to complaints to the Charity Commission.

We are confident it will find that we have acted in line with our charitable aims and objectives.
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1. Roads. The citys roads are a mess. Significant resources are needed to fix them.

2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

3. More city programs. The city must invest more in city programs and services.

4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

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A young man in central Vietnam has helped his family escape poverty by chicken breeding and planting peach trees.

Tran Manh Quy, in Xuan Du Commune, Thanh Hoa Province, has been recognised by the Vietnam Youth Federation for his contribution to society.  Photo tuoitrethanhhoa.vn

Tran Manh Quy, 32, lives in Xuan Du Commune, Nhu Thanh, Thanh Hoa Province. His income has hit VND700 million (US$30,300) per year and he has created jobs for 10 local residents with a stable salary of VND5 million each monthly.

Born into a farming family in a poor mountainous region, Quy had a tough childhood.

After graduating from Hanoi University of Physical Education and Sports, he worked all kinds of jobs but still could not afford to care for his family.

In 2012, he realised the land of his hometown was suitable for growing peaches and learned through newspapers and the internet about how to raise chickens under peach trees.

After months of thinking, he decided to leave Hanoi to return to his hometown to chase his chicken and peaches dream.

To implement this agricultural combined model, I had to borrow VND150 million from relatives and a local bank, he said.

Initially, he only raised 200 chickens and planted 200 peach trees and some other fruit trees.

Because he did not have experience in farming and breeding, he encountered many difficulties and the baby chickens died frequently.

With perseverance and an inquisitive spirit, he overcame the difficulties, and improve his skills day by day.

In 2015, he sold many batches of chickens and decided to expand production by planting 300 more peach and other fruit trees, breeding another 800 chickens and digging fish ponds.

To ensure a stable raw source and output, as well as learn experience, I joined a local breeding group with 22 outstanding members, he said.

With his diligent and learning spirit, his farm has expanded to 1.5ha, including 2,000 peach trees, 200 dragon fruit trees and he sells 3,000 chickens raised according to VietGap standards each year.

His farm's chickens have been certified as hygienic and safe by the Agriculture Department of Nhu Thanh District.

His farm's chickens are sold to provincial supermarkets and traders. In the Tet (Lunar New Year) period, he sold 500 peach trees and 1,500 chickens.

As well as running his business, Quy is the Deputy Secretary of the Xuan Du Commune Youth Union and helps clean village roads and build charity houses for local residents.

He led the youth union groups to guide local people on how to protect themselves when from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also encouraged local villagers and youth union members to donate flood to people in flooded parts of the central provinces.

On his plans for the future, Quy said: I will expand the farm and guide the youth union members to develop the economic model by sharing techniques and breeds."

Tran Tien Hung, Deputy Secretary of Nhu Thanh Districts Youth Union, said Quy has always been a leader in the economic development movement of young people.

He has contributed to building a beautiful image of Thanh Hoa Province's youth who always devote their work to the community, Hung said.

Quy was honoured as a 'Model youth example in 2020' by the Vietnam Youth Federation. VNS

Young man's chilli business is red-hot hit A young man from a poor rural commune of Thanh Hoa Province has been successful in growing chilli peppers for export.
Lawton, OK (73501)

Today

Overcast. High around 75F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low 58F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
(Natural News) Is your employer spying on you and tracking your movements online? This might be something you would expect if you work for the CIA or Google  who tracks pretty much everyone, employee or not  but many fast food workers were surprised to learn that McDonalds has been using a secret intel team to spy on its workers.

An expose by Motherboard revealed that McDonalds has established a team of intelligence analysts who are tasked with spying on its employees to find out if they are involved in a popular movement seeking a minimum wage hike.

At the heart of the controversy is the Fight For $15 movement. The group seeks to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and is active on social media. The fast food chain has been internally labeling employees who are working with the group as a security threat and has been spying on them and monitoring their behavior online.

Theyve set up a team of intelligence analysts working out of Chicago and London to identify which of their workers are active in the movement and who they are working alongside to organize protests and strikes or try to create unions.

A $15 minimum wage hike is part of Joe Bidens proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package, although that aspect of the bill has become a major sticking point and may not pass. The federal minimum wage has been sitting at $7.25 per hour for more than a decade.

McDonalds is reportedly particularly concerned about workers who want the right to join unions like the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, along with higher pay and better working conditions.

Documents that were obtained by Motherboard showed that McDonalds wanted to collect strategic intelligence on counter-parties and political intelligence on difficult political landscapes in complex markets that could cause significant business disruption and impact returns on investment.

Secret intel team creating fake Facebook personas to spy on fast food workers

The secret intel team is tasked with determining where and how Fight For $15 will attack their brand. In one report, they tracked individual labor activists activities, including keeping a list of the number of virtual and in-person protests each one attended. They cited events such as protests in parking lots, people driving through parking lots and drive-throughs with signs on their cars, individuals blocking traffic, and people parking billboard trucks with messages about Fight For $15 at their restaurants and headquarters.

In addition to internal analysts, McDonalds has been using data collection software and social media monitoring tools to scrape data that is openly available online to monitor their employees social media accounts. Sources said they were using the tool to reconstruct the friends lists and social networks of employees who were involved in the labor movement via fake Facebook personas.

A former corporate employee of the fast-food chain who asked to keep their identity anonymous to avoid retaliation told the publication: The entire thing was messed up. A company should be working with employees and the people that drive the business, not building an intelligence program directed at reporting on those same people.

Another of the fast food chains concerns is the advocacy campaign launched by the ACLU pressuring the fast food chain to give all of its employees paid sick leave.

Fight for $15 has already been successful in lobbying for a minimum wage of $15 in states like Florida, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois and New York. It is considered one of the most successful labor movements to be seen in recent decades.

Sources for this article include:

InsiderPaper.com

Vice.com
New Pilot Program Helps Enhance State's Vaccine Equity Strategy

New Pilot Program Helps Enhance State's Vaccine Equity Strategy

Applications due March 1 from eligible providers that aim to remove barriers to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine for states most vulnerable ages 60 and up

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 23, 2021

Contact: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, MICH. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Protect Michigan Commission announce details for a new program to help enhance the state's vaccine equity strategy. Michigan providers that are federally enrolled to administer COVID-19 vaccines are encouraged to apply by Monday, March 1 if they can help remove barriers for those ages 60 and up who are most vulnerable to the effects of the virus. Applicants accepted into the community outreach pilot project can request up to 2,500 doses.

We want to make sure all Michiganders have access to the safe and effective vaccines as we work toward our goal of vaccinating 70% of Michiganders age 16 and up as quickly as possible, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. We are working hard to eliminate any barriers to vaccine access. Your ability to get a vaccine should not be impacted by whether you are in a rural or urban part of the state, are lower income, or dont have access to a car, a computer, the Internet or dont speak English. This is what equity means.

The goal of the new pilot program is to help remove barriers to vaccine access for Michiganders 60 and older who live in communities with high Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and high COVID-19 mortality rates. SVI is a tool that uses census data to identify places where a community may have more difficulty preventing human suffering and financial loss in a disaster. It assesses the extent that 15 known indicators are present within a community based on socioeconomic status, family composition and disability, minority status and language, housing and transportation.

Providers are encouraged to apply who are already federally approved to administer the COVID-19 vaccines and can successfully manage the vaccine including storage, identifying a method for second doses, and entering doses administered into the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR) within 24 hours. Applicants will help to identify the barriers in their communities and the specific strategies they will take to address those barriers, including, but not limited to:

Transportation.

Language.

Access related to sensory, cognitive, emotional or physical disabilities.

Vaccine hesitancy.

Other barriers experienced by underserved and minority populations.

Applicants are also encouraged to highlight strong partnerships with community-based organizations, as well as demonstrate their ability to effectively reach out to their most vulnerable residents over the age of 60.

The application letters submitted will identify specific strategies that can be implemented as soon as the provider is awarded a vaccine allocation. Applications must be emailed by 5 p.m., Monday, March 1. An external review panel will complete the review of the applications and select awardees by Monday, March 8. The intent is to have the vaccine doses to the providers chosen for the pilot program no later than Wednesday, March 10. The vaccine doses must be administered within two weeks of receipt. At that time, MDHHS will review the success of the pilot.

With this community outreach pilot project, we want to increase the vaccination rate of individuals who are most at risk of negative COVID-19 outcomes and to identify innovative practices for effective vaccination strategies for vulnerable communities, Khaldun said. We will consider continuing the program based on the availability of the vaccine and the success of the pilot in achieving our goals to remove barriers.

Questions about the application should be submitted to MDHHS-VaccineOutreach@michigan.gov. The application will be no longer than three pages, as well as include a list of partners and two letters of support from that list of partners.

MDHHS announced the states strategy to get 70% of Michiganders age 16 and older vaccinated as quickly as possible at the end of January. The strategy is being guided by the following principles:

All Michiganders have equitable access to vaccines.

Vaccine planning and distribution is inclusive and actively engages state and local government, public and private partners; and draws upon the experience and expertise of leaders from historically marginalized populations.

Communications are transparent, accurate, and frequent public communications to build public trust.

Data is used to promote equity, track progress and guide decision making.

Resource stewardship, efficiency, and continuous quality improvement drive strategic implementation.

The most recent vaccine prioritization guidance can be found on Michigans COVID-19 website.

Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit Michigan.gov/COVIDVaccine.

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Like the good revenants they are, Vo Danh and Bon immediately fall in with an underworld acquaintance from their refugee camp days, a crime boss named, well, the Boss, who runs drugs, a protection racket, a brothel named Heaven and the worst Asian restaurant in Paris, staffed by a murderous crew called the Seven Dwarves. Bon becomes an enforcer while Vo Danh mostly scrubs the restaurants awful toilet. Our narrator, however, is nothing if not resourceful. His aunt (who is not really his aunt) and her white French confreres have lost their resident hash dealer and with the blessing of the Boss, Vo Danh steps in. Not the first revolutionary to become a drug capitalist  and not the last. To avoid the gaze of the Repressive State Apparatus he disguises himself as a stereotypical Japanese tourist, with requisite camera and protruding teeth.

Soldier and spy, neither Bon nor Vo Danh is particularly well suited for the anonymous life of the immigrant civilian. The reader almost senses their relief when a new war breaks out. Another group of immigrants  a band of French-born Algerians  resents the drug competition, and there are stabbings, shootings, kidnappings, C.I.A. gadgets, interrogations and torture. If thats not return-of-the-repressed enough, the old war resurfaces as well. The faceless man who tortured both Bon and Vo Danh at the re-education camp is now working at the Vietnamese Embassy. Bon sets his sights on killing him, and Vo Danh sets his on trying to stop his friend  for he knows something that Bon doesnt.

[ Read our profile of Nguyen. ]

As you can see, The Committed indulges in espionage high jinks aplenty, but in truth the author is not as interested in them as a cursory plot summary might indicate. Nguyen is no le Carre and doesnt wish to be. The novel draws its true enchantment  and its immense power  from the propulsive, wide-ranging intelligence of our narrator as he Virgils us through his latest descent into hell. That he happens to be as funny as he is smart is the best plus of all.

Halfway through the novel, Bon says to Vo Danh: Its guys like you who have to talk. If you dont talk, youd die. Vo Danh does talk, a lot, a critical patter thats as exhilarating as any of the novels generic twists. For a ghost-chained man like him, its his way of living in a broken world, of assembling new stories from the napalmed rubble of the old, of battling all the forces that would erase and distort him. As both victim and beneficiary of colonialitys contradictory radiations, Vo Danh is exquisitely attuned to the complex ways that former colonizers forget their crimes (and former colonized, their complicities), and how whiteness and its allies will accuse people of color of absolutely everything  no evidence necessary. In his forever war against the forces of colonialism and white supremacy, Vo Danh is still a revolutionary, even though he perceives the bitter truth that revolutions always fail their followers, and his is no exception.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that was championed by President Joe Biden, the first step in providing another dose of aid to a weary nation as the measure now moves to a tense Senate.

We have no time to waste, Biden said at the White House after the House passage early Saturday. "We act now  decisively, quickly and boldly  we can finally get ahead of this virus. We can finally get our economy moving again. People in this country have suffered far too much for too long.

FDA clears Johnson & Johnsons single-dose shot, giving U.S. 3rd coronavirus vaccine WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson &

The new presidents vision for infusing cash across a struggling economy to individuals, businesses, schools, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote. That ships the bill to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues.

Democrats said that mass unemployment and the half-million American lives lost are causes to act despite nearly $4 trillion in aid already spent fighting the fallout from the disease. GOP lawmakers, they said, were out of step with a public that polling finds largely views the bill favorably.

I am a happy camper tonight," Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said Friday. This is what America needs. Republicans, you ought to be a part of this. But if you're not, we're going without you."

Republicans said the bill was too expensive and said too few education dollars would be spent quickly to immediately reopen schools. They said it was laden with gifts to Democratic constituencies like labor unions and funneled money to Democratic-run states they suggested didn't need it because their budgets had bounced back.

Louisiana unemployment agency faces lawsuit claiming 'unlawful' unpaid benefits and errors Monthslong jobless benefit delays and errors triggering even more financial hardship during the coronavirus pandemic are being cited by a grou

To my colleagues who say this bill is bold, I say it's bloated," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. To those who say it's urgent, I say it's unfocused. To those who say it's popular, I say it is entirely partisan.

The overall relief bill would provide $1,400 payments to individuals, extend emergency unemployment benefits through August and increase tax credits for children and federal subsidies for health insurance.

It also provides billions for schools and colleges, state and local governments, COVID-19 vaccines and testing, renters, food producers and struggling industries like airlines, restaurants, bars and concert venues.

Moderate Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon were the only two lawmakers to cross party lines. That sharp partisan divide is making the fight a showdown over whom voters will reward for heaping more federal spending to combat the coronavirus and revive the economy atop the $4 trillion approved last year.

Baton Rouge 9-year-old uses birthday money to help OLOL nurses through 'hard time' Nurses working in the coronavirus unit at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center received a heartwarming surprise when a LaSalle Element

The battle is also emerging as an early test of Biden's ability to hold together his party's fragile congressional majorities  just 10 votes in the House and an evenly divided 50-50 Senate.

At the same time, Democrats were trying to figure out how to assuage liberals who lost their top priority in a jarring Senate setback Thursday.

That chamber's nonpartisan parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, said Senate rules require that a federal minimum wage increase would have to be dropped from the COVID-19 bill, leaving the proposal on life support. The measure would gradually lift that minimum to $15 hourly by 2025, doubling the current $7.25 floor in effect since 2009.

Hoping to revive the effort in some form, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is considering adding a provision to the Senate version of the COVID-19 relief bill that would penalize large companies that don't pay workers at least $15 an hour, said a senior Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

That was in line with ideas floated Thursday night by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a chief sponsor of the $15 plan, and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to boost taxes on corporations that don't hit certain minimum wage targets.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., offered encouragement, too, calling a minimum wage increase a financial necessity for our families, a great stimulus for our economy and a moral imperative for our country. She said the House would absolutely" approve a final version of the relief bill because of its widespread benefits, even if it lacked progressives treasured goal.

While Democratic leaders were eager to signal to rank-and-file progressives and liberal voters that they would not yield on the minimum wage fight, their pathway was unclear because of GOP opposition and questions over whether they had enough Democratic support.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal, D-Mass., sidestepped a question on taxing companies that don't boost pay, saying of Senate Democrats, I hesitate to say anything until they decide on a strategy."

+6 Victims, defendants waiting for justice as coronavirus continues to halt New Orleans criminal cases Bob Arthur hasnt been waiting passively for justice in the four years since his 40-year-old son, Shawn, turned up dead in his Metairie apartment.

Progressives were demanding that the Senate press ahead anyway on the minimum wage increase, even if it meant changing that chamber's rules and eliminating the filibuster, a tactic that requires 60 votes for a bill to move forward.

Were going to have to reform the filibuster because we have to be able to deliver, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., another high-profile progressive, also said Senate rules must be changed, telling reporters that when Democrats meet with their constituents, "We cant tell them that this didnt get done because of an unelected parliamentarian.

Traditionalists of both parties  including Biden, who served as a senator for 36 years  have opposed eliminating filibusters because they protect parties' interests when they are in the Senate minority. Biden said weeks ago that he didn't expect the minimum wage increase to survive the Senate's rules. Democrats narrowly hold Senate control.

Pelosi, too, seemed to shy away from dismantling Senate procedures, saying, We will seek a solution consistent with Senate rules, and we will do so soon.

The House COVID-19 bill includes the minimum wage increase, so the real battle over its fate will occur when the Senate debates its version over the next two weeks.

Democrats are pushing the relief measure through Congress under special rules that will let them avoid a Senate GOP filibuster, meaning that if they are united they won't need any Republican votes.

It also lets the bill move faster, a top priority for Democrats who want the bill on Biden's desk before the most recent emergency jobless benefits end on March 14.

But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an incidental impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. MacDonough decided that the minimum wage provision failed that test.

Republicans oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs.

___

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Kevin Freking and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
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WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BRAZIL VARIANT? Name: B.1.1.248 or P.1 Date: Discovered in Tokyo, Japan, in four travellers arriving from Manaus, Brazil, on January 2. Why should we care? 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. It has a third, less well-studied mutation called K417T, and the ramifications of this are still being researched. What do the mutations do? The N501Y mutation makes the spike protein better at binding to receptors in people's bodies and therefore makes the virus more infectious. Exactly how much more infectious it is remains to be seen, but scientists estimate the similar-looking variant in the UK is around 56 per cent more transmissible than its predecessor. Even if the virus doesn't appear to be more dangerous, its ability to spread faster and cause more infections will inevitably lead to a higher death rate. Another key mutation in the variant, named E484K, is also on the spike protein and is present in the South African variant. E484K may be associated with an ability to evade parts of the immune system called antibodies, researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro said in a scientific paper published online. However, there are multiple immune cells and substances involved in the destruction of coronavirus when it gets into the body so this may not translate to a difference in how people get infected or recover. Do our vaccines work against it? There are concerns that vaccines might be less effective against the Brazilian strain, with trials of the Johnson & Johnson jab finding it was slightly less effective in Latin America at preventing mild or moderate cases. However, the trials found it still prevented hospitalisations and deaths. No studies have tested the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against the P1 variant, while Moderna and Pfizer say their mRNA coronavirus vaccines should work against variants with the E484K mutation, with early results showing that these vaccines are only slightly less effective against the P1 variant. Advertisement

A hunt for the missing mystery Covid patient carrying the super-infectious Brazilian mutant strain is underway after health officials admitted that they have no idea who the infected person is, where they were tested or where they have gone.

Public Health England (PHE) said on Sunday that six cases of the concerning P.1 variant first detected in the Amazonian city of Manaus have been confirmed in Britain, three in England and three in Scotland.

Two were confirmed in South Gloucestershire but the third English case has not been located and could be anywhere in the nation because they failed to fill in their details when they were tested for Covid.

That person is likely to have tested positive up to 18 days ago - and may have had no idea they were ill.

One of the P1 cases, found in South Gloucestershire, flew into London from Brazil via Zurich on February 10 - only five days before arrivals from there became required to quarantine in a hotel for ten nights.

Health officials have now issued an appeal asking anyone who took a test on either February 12 or 13 and who has not received a result or has an incomplete test registration card to come forward immediately.

They believe that person is unlikely to have taken their test at one of the regional test sites, where staff can check contact details, but it could have been a home test or from local surge testing.

Officials are also tracking down 136 passengers on Swiss Air flight, LX318 travelling from Sao Paulo, through Zurich, and landing in Heathrow on February 10.

And today they will deploy 'surge testing' in five areas of Gloucestershire just north of Bristol to hunt down any more cases.

But the Scottish Government has not announced surge testing for any postcodes linked to the Aberdeen cases.

Officials said the missing case is not believed to be linked to the others because the virus was found to have slight genetic differences, and said their test was processed on February 14 - meaning that it is likely they took it a day or possibly two earlier.

Scientists fear the Brazilian strain could be more resistant to vaccines - but critics are already pointing at the Government's decision to delay hotel quarantine, which began last month to catch mutant strains, accusing ministers of 'dithering' for a year on the policy.

Paul Charles, the chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told the Telegraph: 'This calls into question the border measures the Government claimed were watertight to prevent variants coming in. This is why only testing on arrival is going to be successful in preventing variants coming into the UK.'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock will hold a meeting with MPs later today to update them on the hunt and the variant.

There are concerns that vaccines might be less effective against the Brazilian strain, with trials of the Johnson & Johnson jab finding it was slightly less effective in Latin America at preventing mild or moderate cases. However, the trials found it still prevented hospitalisations and deaths.

No studies have tested the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against the P1 variant, while Moderna and Pfizer say their mRNA coronavirus vaccines should work against variants with the E484K mutation, with early results showing that these vaccines are only slightly less effective against the P1 variant.

NHS Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis immediately sought to calm public fears about the variant by explaining that vaccines can be quickly adapted within months to tackle new strains.

Expert Kristian G Andersen has said of the variants: 'Despite [the Brazilian variant] B.1.351 / P.1 likely gaining a fitness advantage as more people become immune, the solution obviously isn't to stop or slow vaccination - quite the contrary, it's to accelerate vaccination. Why? Because the vaccines are still effective against them.

'Likely not as effective as they are against non-B.1.351/P.1 lineages, but still effective. So the more vaccines we can get into the arms of people, the fewer numbers of overall infections (including those from B.1.351/P.1) we will have by the time they start to rise, the better.'

The P1 strain has been traced to the Brazilian city of Manaus and has raised fears that it is resistant to coronavirus antibodies because scientists believed the city had hit herd immunity with 75% of people having antibodies - before a second wave began.

Officials said the missing case is not believed to be linked to the others because the virus was found to have slight genetic differences, and said their test was processed on February 14 - meaning that it is likely they took it a day or possibly two earlier.

The hotel quarantine system, which came into force on February 15, requires travellers coming to England from 33 'high-risk' countries including Brazil to confine themselves to their rooms for 10 days, while in Scotland the rule applies to travellers from all countries.

In other coronavirus developments:

Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned the coronavirus crisis has had an 'enormous toll' on the public finances as he appeared to pave the way for a series of tax rises at the Budget on March 3;

A quarter of frontline NHS workers in London are refusing the vaccine;

A poll found 81 per cent of voters think it should be compulsory for medics and care home workers to have the vaccine, while 54 per cent support vaccine passports as a condition of entry to restaurants or on public transport;

Boris Johnson's poll ratings have surged since he announced his 'roadmap' out of lockdown, which is supported by more than two-thirds of people;

Almost three-quarters of care homes bosses said they wanted to implement a 'no jab, no job' policy;

New Covid cases have fallen by 28 per cent over the past seven days to 7,434, while deaths dropped by more than a third to 290;

The number of first-dose vaccinations administered surpassed 19.6 million, with more than 750,000 people having their second jab;

Tributes were paid to Captain Sir Tom Moore at his funeral yesterday;

EU leaders have been warned it could be 2023 before the bloc manages to offer a jab to all of its adult population;

Pubs and restaurants complained they were facing a nightmare of red tape if they wanted to reopen for alfresco service on April 12, in line with Mr Johnson's roadmap.

Surge testing will take place in South Gloucestershire after cases of the Manaus variant were discovered. Three cases of the variant have been found in North East Scotland after flying into Aberdeen from Brazil via Paris and London

Three cases have been found in North East Scotland after flying into Aberdeen from Brazil via Paris and London, the Scottish Government said - while two cases were confirmed in South Gloucestershire. However, the sixth case has not been located and could be anywhere in the nation. Pictured, people queueing at London Heathrow Airport

An aerial view of the Parque Taruma cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, February 25, 2021

Workers wearing protective suits walk past the graves of COVID-19 victims at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery, in Manaus, Brazil, on February 25, 2021

The Brazilian city that thought 75% of its population was protected with antibodies before second wave 'fueled by mutant strain' Brazil has been in the grip of a second wave despite the fact that the variant emerged in a population that was already approaching herd immunity and should have been protected. Scientists fear that coronavirus outbreaks in Manaus, where the Brazilian variant emerged, may be able to dodge vaccine-triggered immunity. Research published last year suggested that around 75 per cent of the population of Manaus, located in the heart of the Amazon rain forest, was thought to have been infected by the virus when it first spread across the globe. This should have sparked 'herd immunity', scientists said. Typically, if such large share of a population has been infected previously, those people will be immune and prevent the virus from spreading. But officials fear that the new strain could cause reinfection following an unexpected surge of new cases in Brazil last month. This may have put evolutionary pressure on the regular Covid strain to adapt to be able to slip past natural immunity to the original version, according to Professor Wendy Barclay, a top virologist at Imperial College London. After the variant appeared in December, cases spiked again, indicating its mutations may be able to evade immune system antibodies that were developed in response to previous infections. Scientists say this could make the vaccine less effective because they rely on the same types of antibodies, and were designed based on the first virus identified in Wuhan, China, which did not have mutations present in the new variants. Researchers say Manaus is particularly vulnerable to Covid because it has high levels of social deprivation, with workers living in crowded, multi-generational housing. It is also a free-trade zone and one of Brazil's largest exporter cities, with frequent traffic from Europe and Asia. Because the virus naturally mutates as it jumps between people, Manaus provided the perfect breeding ground for the virus to evolve. In Manaus, there have been reports of dead bodies having to be dumped in freezer trucks and patients being flown to different states due to a chronic shortage of oxygen and hospital beds. Brazil's capital entered a two-week lockdown on Sunday, joining other states in adopting measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus. At least eight Brazilian states adopted curfews over the past week due to the rise in deaths from Covid-19 amid a second wave of cases. Thursday was Brazil's deadliest day since the beginning of the pandemic, with 1,541 deaths confirmed from the virus. So far 254,000 people have died overall. Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha decreed the total closure of bars, restaurants, shopping malls and schools until March 15 and prohibited gatherings of people. Sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited after 8pm. In the federal district, 85 per cent of hospital beds were occupied on Sunday, according to the local health ministry. President Jair Bolsonaro again criticised such measures, saying on his Twitter account: 'The people want to work.' He threatened on Friday to cut off federal emergency pandemic assistance to states resorting to lockdowns, saying: 'Governors who close down their states will have to provide for their own emergency aid.' Advertisement

Public Health England believes that person is unlikely to have taken their test at one of the regional test sites, where staff can check contact details, but it could have been a home test or from local surge testing.

Health officials have now issued an appeal asking anyone who took a test on either February 12 or 13 and who has not received a result or has an incomplete test registration card to come forward immediately.

They are also tracking down hundreds of passengers on Swiss Air flight, LX318 travelling from Sao Paulo, through Zurich, and landing in Heathrow on February 10, and will deploy 'surge testing' in five areas of the county to hunt down any more cases.

It is understood that officials became aware of the English cases on Friday and the Scottish ones on Saturday. However, when questioned about rising case rates in a fifth of areas, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the BBC yesterday that he had not received any evidence of new variants having emerged.

Labour accused the Government of dragging its heels and taking weeks to set up quarantine hotels, with Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds calling the detection 'further proof that the delay in introducing a hotel quarantine was reckless'.

Home Affairs Committee chairwoman Yvette Cooper said the development 'shows the weaknesses in the Government's Covid border measures'.

'The Brazil variant was first identified a month before one of these cases was brought in on February 10 and many weeks after the Prime Minister was warned that indirect flights were a problem, yet the Government delayed putting stronger measures in place,' she said.

MPs were told this week that around 1,200 people are currently in a number of Government-approved hotels, while more than 100 people a day are going into the hotels at London Heathrow Airport where they must stay at a cost of 1,750 for the accommodation.

Arrivals who leave before the end of the quarantine period could be fined a maximum of 10,000, while those who lie about where they have been could be jailed for a maximum of 10 years.

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: 'We would encourage everyone across the country to adhere to the necessary public health restrictions by staying at home except for essential purposes as this is the single best way of staying safe and stopping the spread of this virus. It is now also illegal for anyone to travel to or from Scotland unless it is for an essential reason.'

Dr Susan Hopkins, PHE's strategic response director for Covid-19, said: 'We have identified these cases thanks to the UK's advanced sequencing capabilities which means we are finding more variants and mutations than many other countries and are therefore able to take action quickly.

'The important thing to remember is that Covid-19, no matter what variant it is, spreads in the same way. That means the measures to stop it spreading do not change.'

A Government spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Very occasionally we do have a test result where the individual has not provided their details. Every effort is underway to locate this person and in the meantime it is important people come forward for testing, continue to follow the restrictions in place and stay at home whenever possible.'

Cases of the mutant strain were detected in France, Italy, the Netherlands and the Faroe Islands earlier this month, amid warnings from British scientists that it was only 'a matter of time' before it landed on UK shores. In January, a coronavirus variant from Brazil was found in the UK - but it was not the 'variant of concern'.

Brazil is in the middle of a devastating second wave of Covid, with more than 1,000 deaths a day, and has the second highest fatality toll worldwide at 254,000 - despite the fact that the variant emerged in a population that was already approaching herd immunity and should have been protected.

At least two variants have spawned there, which experts believe is due to such a high level of sustained transmission, and multiple others are in circulation.

Research last year suggested that 76 per cent of people in Manaus had had coronavirus by October. But officials fear that the new strain could cause reinfection following an unexpected surge of new cases last month.

On Sunday the Brazilian capital entered a two-week lockdown, joining at least eight other states in adopting curfews and draconian measures this past week due to the rise in cases and deaths.

The detection of the Manaus variant in Britain is likely to pour cold water on hopes to speed up Prime Minister Boris Johnson's ultra-cautious 'roadmap' out of England's third national lockdown.

It comes after Britain reported a further 6,035 coronavirus cases within the previous 24 hours and 144 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test - marking a huge drop on last week.

PHE and Test and Trace also announced that surge testing will take place in South Gloucestershire after cases of the Manaus variant were discovered.

Residents who live in five postcode areas, who are aged over 16 and do not have symptoms of Covid-19, are invited to come forward for testing.

People who travel into the areas - BS32 0, BS32 8, BS32 9, BS34 5 and BS34 6 - for work or to visit someone they are in a support bubble with are also able to have a test.

The identified postcode areas fall within Bradley Stoke, Patchway and Little Stoke - and are different to those who were part of the previous community surge testing programme in February.

That testing followed identification of the Bristol variant and authorities say there is no connection between the two programmes.

Drive-in surge testing sites will be open at Stoke Gifford Parkway Park & Ride, as well as The Mall Coach Park at The Mall Cribbs Causeway from 9am on Monday.

A range of community-based locations, where residents can walk-in to collect a test kit, take it home and complete it there then return it for processing, will also be open from Monday.

The programme is expected to run for one week, ending on March 7, with the facilities open each day.

Sara Blackmore, director of Public Health at South Gloucestershire Council, urged people who were invited to come forward and take a test.

'We are keen that all South Gloucestershire residents in the postcode areas identified take part in this testing, which will help us to identify positive cases and prompt self-isolation, which helps to break the chain of transmission,' she said.

'We do recognise the challenge for residents of undertaking another additional testing programme and want to thank you in advance for your patience and support as we continue to work together to protect our communities from Covid-19.

'We are working together with local and regional health partners, Public Health England and NHS Test and Trace, to deliver this swift, safe and co-ordinated response, with an enhanced community testing offer available to people in and around areas where this variant has been discovered.'

The surge testing is in addition to testing for people who have symptoms, and regular rapid asymptomatic testing for essential workers.

Ms Blackmore said it would 'enable closer monitoring' and work to reduce further transmission of Covid-19. 'Even though we have a national road map to recovery from Covid-19, it is vital that we continue to follow the advice, which remains the same to everyone,' she added.

'Behave as if you are carrying the virus, stay in and only leave home if you must.

'Do not mix socially outside of your household and continue to observe public health guidance - hands, face, space. If you are invited to receive a vaccine, please do so.'

People will be able to collect tests from Little Stoke Community Centre and Patchway Community Centre from Monday. Two additional sites will open at Bradley Stoke Jubilee Centre and Baileys Court Activity Centre from Tuesday.

South Gloucestershire Council confirmed that any positive tests would be followed up with genome sequencing to identify the precise strain of Covid-19 in each case. The testing will use PCR tests, which are analysed in laboratories, rather than lateral flow tests.

Mike Wade, deputy regional director for Public Health England South West, said: 'All viruses mutate over time and since the start of the pandemic over 4,000 mutations have been identified in the UK.

'Most are not a concern for scientists, but we know that some mutations result in virus variants that we are keen to track more carefully. In the South West we're working with NHS Test and Trace and local authority public health teams on tailored intervention measures for variants.

'These include more testing, additional genomic sequencing and enhanced contact tracing, enabling us to quickly identify any further cases and help prevent any onward spread.'

The new 'variant of concern' in Brazil was first identified in Rio de Janeiro, the sprawling but densely populated city on the country's seaside in October.

At first, it was mostly isolated to the city, but already driving cases and infections back again in the hard-hit city, which has seen 470,138 cases to-date. But, by December 23, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro researchers who discovered it were becoming concerned.

'The significant increase in the frequency of this lineage raises concerns about public health management and the need for genomic surveillance during the second wave of infections,' they wrote.

At the time, it was clear that the variant was becoming more common, but how exactly it differed and might be more dangerous was not clear. But by December 26, the potential risks of its mutations were becoming clearer.

Brazil has been in the grip of a second wave despite the fact that the variant emerged in a population that was already approaching herd immunity and should have been protected.

Scientists fear that coronavirus outbreaks in Manaus, where the Brazilian variant emerged, may be able to dodge vaccine-triggered immunity.

Research published last year suggested that around 75 per cent of the population of Manaus, located in the heart of the Amazon rain forest, was thought to have been infected by the virus when it first spread across the globe.

Covid rules for UK arrivals from Brazil explained The British Government imposed a travel ban on arrivals coming into the UK from Brazil as well as Central American state of Panama and the former Portuguese colony of Cape Verde on January 15 following 'concerns' about the mutant Brazilian variant. However, any British and Irish nationals and third country nationals with residence rights in the UK arriving in England from Brazil have been required to quarantine in a hotel since February 15. MPs have been told that more than 100 people a day are going into the hotels at London Heathrow Airport, where they must stay for 10 days at a cost of 1,750 for the accommodation on risk of criminal prosecution. Current rules state: You cannot enter the UK if you've been in or through a country on the banned travel list (known as the 'red list') in the last 10 days, unless you're British, Irish or you have the right to live in the UK

You must either quarantine where you're staying or in a managed quarantine hotel for 10 days

What you need to do depends on where you travel in the 10 days before you arrive - if you travel in or through a country on the banned travel list within 10 days, you must stay managed quarantine hotel; if not, you can quarantine at home

You need to provide your journey and contact details in the 48 hours before you arrive in the UK. You must do this by completing the online passenger locator form

You'll need to show proof that you've completed the form when you arrive at the UK border as well as proof of a negative PCR or antigen test taken three days before departure

You could be fined 500 when you arrive at the border if you cannot provide proof that you have had a negative coronavirus test

You do not need a test if you're travelling within the UK, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey; from Ireland; from Ascension, Falkland Islands or St Helena; and children under 11 do not need a test

After arriving at a quarantine hotel you will be tested on days two and eight of your stay using a PCR test self-administered in your room

In Scotland, arrivals from all international destinations have to quarantine, even if they are not on the red list. Advertisement

This should have sparked 'herd immunity', scientists said. Typically, if such large share of a population has been infected previously, those people will be immune and prevent the virus from spreading.

But officials fear that the new strain could cause reinfection following an unexpected surge of new cases in Brazil last month.

This may have put evolutionary pressure on the regular Covid strain to adapt to be able to slip past natural immunity to the original version, according to Professor Wendy Barclay, a top virologist at Imperial College London.

After the variant appeared in December, cases spiked again, indicating its mutations may be able to evade immune system antibodies that were developed in response to previous infections.

Scientists say this could make the vaccine less effective because they rely on the same types of antibodies, and were designed based on the first virus identified in Wuhan, China, which did not have mutations present in the new variants.

Researchers say Manaus is particularly vulnerable to Covid because it has high levels of social deprivation, with workers living in crowded, multi-generational housing. It is also a free-trade zone and one of Brazil's largest exporter cities, with frequent traffic from Europe and Asia.

Because the virus naturally mutates as it jumps between people, Manaus provided the perfect breeding ground for the virus to evolve.

In Manaus, there have been reports of dead bodies having to be dumped in freezer trucks and patients being flown to different states due to a chronic shortage of oxygen and hospital beds.

Brazil's capital entered a two-week lockdown on Sunday, joining other states in adopting measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

At least eight Brazilian states adopted curfews over the past week due to the rise in deaths from Covid-19 amid a second wave of cases.

Thursday was Brazil's deadliest day since the beginning of the pandemic, with 1,541 deaths confirmed from the virus. So far 254,000 people have died overall.

Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha decreed the total closure of bars, restaurants, shopping malls and schools until March 15 and prohibited gatherings of people.

Sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited after 8pm. In the federal district, 85 per cent of hospital beds were occupied on Sunday, according to the local health ministry.

President Jair Bolsonaro again criticised such measures, saying on his Twitter account: 'The people want to work.' He threatened on Friday to cut off federal emergency pandemic assistance to states resorting to lockdowns, saying: 'Governors who close down their states will have to provide for their own emergency aid.'

Cases of the mutant strain were detected in Europe last month, with the Netherlands declaring two cases of the variant in travellers returning from Brazil on January 28.

France had announced four by January 22, and Italy said it had identified three cases in travellers returning from Brazil by January 17.

The Danish-controlled Faroe Islands were the first European area to reveal they had a case of the variant on January 12, which was also identified in a traveller arriving from Brazil.

Spain claimed it had detected a care on February 5, in a 44-year-old man returning from Brazil.

And the German state of Hesse, in the west of the country, claimed to have identified two cases by January 22. But these cases are yet to be rubber-stamped by international experts.

There is mounting concern over the Brazilian strain because of its E484K mutation. It has also been found to carry the N501Y mutation, which scientists say made the Kent variant far more infectious and allowed it to rapidly spread across Britain.

Another key mutation in the variant, named K417T, has the potential to 'possibly escape some antibodies', according to COG-UK.

Chancellor to raise 6billion from income tax, corporation tax, levy on online deliveries and could target self-employed to fill 43billion black hole as he says Covid has had 'enormous toll' on public finances Rishi Sunak could launch a tax raid on online businesses - including a green tax on deliveries - as part of plans to replenish the country's coffers in the wake of the Covid crisis Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday warned the coronavirus crisis has had an 'enormous toll' on the public finances as he appeared to pave the way for a series of tax rises at the Budget on March 3. Mr Sunak would not be drawn on the specifics of his plans amid reports he will launch a 'stealth' income tax raid, hike corporation tax and impose a new levy on online retailers. But he said he will 'level with people' and be 'honest' on Wednesday about the scale of the challenge facing the UK as public sector debt continues to climb above 2.1trillion. Despite not wanting to get into specifics ahead of the fiscal event, Mr Sunak gave the firmest hint yet that the furlough scheme will be extended beyond the end of April. The Chancellor said he had vowed to 'do whatever it took to protect people, family and businesses through this crisis and I remain completely committed to that'. Reports overnight suggested Mr Sunak could soon launch a tax raid on online businesses - including a green tax on deliveries - as part of plans to replenish the country's coffers in the wake of the Covid pandemic. The Chancellor is apparently looking to 'level up the playing field' between online and high street businesses. A green deliveries levy on online retailers is one route Mr Sunak could take, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The Chancellor has reportedly cooled his interest in a Covid 'windfall tax' on the 'excessive' profits website-based businesses have raked in during the pandemic. He is also eyeing tax increases for the self-employed, along with raising an extra 6billion from income tax by 2025 with some clever threshold tactics, according to The Sunday Times. Mr Sunak could freeze the threshold at which people start to pay the basic rate at 12,500 for the next three years while the 50,000 higher rate threshold could be kept in moves which critics have labelled a 'stealth' raid. Such a move, which maintains the Conservative's election pledge not to raise headline rates of income tax, would drag more than 1.6million people into the higher tax bracket by the 2024 general election. Mr Sunak is also widely expected to increase corporation tax from its current rate of 19 per cent, to as potentially as high as 25 per cent. The tax moves would form part of a strategy designed to try to fill an estimated 43billion budget blackhole after the Government borrowed more than 270billion in the current financial year to prop up UK plc. But amid the tax rises will also be a bumper stimulus package, as Mr Sunak looks to jump-start the UK's economy as lockdown is eased and coronavirus rules are lifted. He is set to unveil 5billion in cash grants for businesses suffering from repeated lockdowns when he presents his March budget on Wednesday. Reacting to the reports, Labour's Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said: 'The Chancellor is threatening to hike taxes on struggling businesses and families now so he can cut them before the next election. He's putting party politics before the economy. ' Advertisement

Yesterday, the Government said a further 144 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Sunday, bringing the UK total to 122,849.

Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 143,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The Government also said that, as of 9am on Sunday, there had been a further 6,035 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. It brings the total to 4,176,554.

But yesterday also marked a huge milestone in Britain's fight against the virus, with more than 20 million people in the UK having now have had their first dose of a vaccine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on social media that it was a 'huge national achievement' and praised the NHS staff, volunteers and armed forces for their work in the vaccine rollout.

He tweeted: '20 million people across the UK have now got the jab - a huge national achievement and a testament to the tireless work of NHS staff, volunteers, the Armed Forces & many more.

'I urge everyone to get the jab when called. Every jab makes a difference in our battle against Covid.'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said vaccinating more than 20 million people against coronavirus was a 'magnificent achievement for the country'.

In a video on his Twitter, Mr Hancock said: 'I'm absolutely delighted that over 20 million people have now been vaccinated across the UK - it's absolutely fantastic.

'I want to thank every single person who's come forward to get the jab because we know with increasing confidence that the jab protects you, it protects your community and it also is the route out of this for all of us.'

Mr Hancock urged everyone eligible for the vaccine to come forward and added: 'Every jab in the arm is another life soon to be protected from this awful disease and means we are a step closer to returning to our normal lives.'

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted: 'BINGO! One Score over 20,000,000 people have had the vaccination (1s dose).

'What an achievement for February 2021. What a team! Proud to be with you on this journey.'

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said: 'Vaccinating 20 million people - including 17 million across England - in a few short weeks shows the NHS vaccination campaign is firing on all cylinders, and looking out to Easter and beyond it's full speed ahead.

'As we can see from other parts of the world, having vaccines from the manufacturers versus actually administering them to patients can be two different things.

'So this latest milestone is also a tribute to careful health service planning, effective organisation and amazing teamwork across the whole of the country.'

NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopkins has also praised the milestone as a 'great credit to everyone involved' in delivering the vaccines including trusts and volunteers - but warned that 'now is not the time to let down our guard' or ease restrictions.

'It's important to remember there's a long way to go - we're not even close to half way through this programme,' he said.

'As we set out in our recent briefing, we need to see more progress on vaccines, lower Covid-19 case numbers, much less pressure on the NHS and plans in place to contain future outbreaks before easing restrictions.'

Meanwhile nearly two million people aged 60 to 63 in England are being invited to book a coronavirus jab, with the letters due to start arriving on Monday.

NHS England said the letters will explain how people can make an appointment through the national booking service.

They have been sent out after more than three in four people aged 65 to 70 took up the offer of a vaccination, it added.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show there is no evidence of newly discovered coronavirus variants spreading after concerns that case rates are rising in one in five areas.

He added: 'That's not what I've seen in any of the data.' Pressed if there was any evidence of more new variants, he said: 'No.'

Mr Sunak also said the Government should reach its conclusion on vaccine passports in 'a few months' time' and that the Prime Minister had taken a 'cautious but irreversible approach' with his road map but there was a 'sense of confidence and optimism about the future'.

Asked if the data were better than expected, the PM's road map could happen quicker, he told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday: 'What we want is a cautious but irreversible approach.

'That's why we've taken the approach that we have and those will be the earliest dates that we think we can do the various things we've laid out.'

He added: 'What businesses don't want is a stop-start approach to this, we want to know that it's a one-way road and that's why it's cautious.

'We've given the earliest of dates to give a sense of timing and a sense of direction and then obviously we might have to adjust those if things are not going exactly as we would like, but look the early signs are promising.

'We're seeing great news with the rollout of the vaccine, not just the take-up of it but also the efficacy of the vaccine, the data that we're getting is showing us that it is working, so I think that should give us all a sense of confidence and optimism about the future that we can make progress on that road map and hopefully slowly get our lives back to normal.'

The Duke of Cambridge has also urged people to keep on taking the Covid-19 vaccination so 'younger generations' will feel 'it's really important for them to have it'.

William also warned against 'rumours and misinformation' on social media about coronavirus jabs, as he and Kate talked by video call with two clinically vulnerable women who have been shielding since last March.

His comments came after the Queen encouraged those hesitant about vaccination to 'think about other people rather than themselves'.

The Department of Health and Social Care also said that two rapid coronavirus tests will be sent out to all households with school-aged children every week under plans for schools to safely reopen in England from March 8.

Free tests will be provided to pupils' households, as well as those in their childcare or support bubbles, regardless of whether anyone has symptoms, the department added.

The rapid tests will be ordered and collected from local sites or administered through workplace testing programmes.

Secondary and college pupils will be tested with lateral flow tests twice a week, receiving three initial tests at school before they start taking them at home.

But despite the threat from the virus and lockdown restrictions, Britons headed outside as weather forecasters said the mercury would spike at 73F (23C) by April as spring is set start tomorrow.

The UK has suffered through the coldest winter for three years according to the Met Office and after a week of 64F (18C) spring is around the corner.

Surfers and swimmers were seen on Branksome Beach in Dorset making the most of the sunny skies and some were even spotted without wetsuits as they braved the chilly waters.
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Authorities are investigating a vandalism and fire at a Buddhist temple in the Little Tokyo section of downtown Los Angeles.

Surveillance video caught a man jumping the security fences at the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple on Thursday night, smashing a 12-foot-high glass window with a rock, yanking a pair of metallic lanterns off their concrete bases and lighting two wooden lantern stands on fire, the temple's head priest told the Los Angeles Times.

Your first feelings are those of disappointment and sadness to see what happened, said the Rev. Noriaki Ito. I dont know the motives, but it looks like we were targeted. The only relief I find is that no one was hurt.

The incident comes amid a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans. The advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate said it tracked 245 reports of coronavirus-related discrimination against people of Asian descent in Los Angeles County from March through December last year. They included verbal harassment, physical assaults or refusal of service at at business.

Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Stacy Spell said it was too early to label Thursdays vandalism a hate crime because the investigation is in the early stages.

Ito said the vandalism is part of a troubling pattern of security breaches at the 1 1/2-acre sanctuary during the last two weeks.
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Allegations that a current, serving cabinet minister has been accused of sexually assaulting someone 30 years ago are shocking. The revelation further deepens the wounds of the past fortnight, in which the treatment of women in political circles has once again made headlines.

The ABC revealed the historical allegation on Friday night. NSW Police released a statement saying its Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad had received a complaint from a woman in February last year and had commenced an investigation codenamed Strike Force Wyndarra.

The woman spoke to police initially but did not make a formal statement. Tragically, she died by suicide a few months later, and the investigation was suspended.

Police point out it is always a matter for the individual to decide whether to pursue a complaint against an alleged perpetrator, but anyone with even a passing interest in the process knows that taking such a step is incredibly difficult.

This particular case is tragic on many levels  that the woman only felt able to make a complaint 12 months ago despite her alleged experience as a 16-year-old in 1988; that she has since died; and that the whole incident is likely to remain devoid of conclusive evidence one way or another.
Firefighters were battling a large blaze Saturday evening at an industrial building in northwest Harris County, authorities said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries and initial reports indicated the storage facility on the 16200 block of Texas 249 was unoccupied when the fire started, according to the Harris County Fire Marshals Office.

Citing preliminary information, a spokeswoman for the office said the building had been used to produce WD-40 products but may have stopped those operations two years ago. More recently, it may have been used to produce personal hygiene products, spokeswoman Rachel Neutzler said.

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Images of the fire shared by the fire marshals office showed giant flames extending out of a building underneath a cloud of black smoke.

The offices hazardous materials unit and fire investigators responded to the scene. Firefighting efforts continued into late Saturday night.

alejandro.serrano@chron.com
If you like pecans, youve got to try Rocky Mountain Pecans, Harrington begins. Made from freshly harvested pecans and honey, each batch is hand-mixed using only the highest quality natural ingredients.

As the inventor of the infomercial and founder of As Seen on TV, Kevin Harrington has launched some of the best-selling DRTV campaigns in history. Since producing his first thirty-minute infomercial in 1984, Harrington has been involved in over 500 product launches that have resulted in over $5 billion in global sales.

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They're rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and don't contain anything artificial, Harrington reveals.

As theyre roasted to perfection on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, the natural oils are released to blend with honey and spices, giving you a unique taste, which isnt too sweet or salty, Kevin states.

Did you know that in Southern States, pecans are considered prized gifts for friends, Harrington asks in the video. Carefully packaged and sealed for freshness in two-ounce bags, they are perfect for individual gifts, especially during the holiday season.

Harringtons testimonial video about Rocky Mountain Pecans is scheduled for release across social media platforms, digital channels, and streaming services as well as http://www.RockyMountainPecans.com and http://www.khbrandresponse.tv.

About Shark Discoveries

Headquartered in South Florida, Shark Discoveries is a full-service production, branding, and marketing company that specializes in brand response television, including Celebrity Influencer Videos, and brand building. Based out of a 25,000+ sq ft, state-of-the-art studio, the companys creative team handles every aspect of production from script to screen to airing.

About Rocky Mountain Pecans

Rocky Mountain Pecans was started in Fort Collins, Colorado by a woman who was looking for a low carbohydrate alternative to all the sweets she encountered during the holiday season. She found that the crunchy pecans with hot spices curbed the temptation of sweets.

We craft each unique recipe to compliment the Rocky Mountain taste. Each batch is hand-mixed using highest quality ingredients. The aromatic spices meld slowly in a warm oven, and then they are carefully packaged and sealed for freshness.

For more information about Rocky Mountain Pecans, visit http://www.RockyMountainPecans.com.
Posted Saturday, February 27, 2021 4:58 pm

Anglers will have an opportunity to dip for smelt during a limited-opening recreational fishery on Tuesday, March 2, with officials encouraging continued responsible recreation, proper use of facial coverings and social distancing during the event.

A portion of the Cowlitz River will be open to recreational dip netting along the shore from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for one day only.

Fishery managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) have been watching the smelt run closely to determine if it could support a recreational fishery this year, and for the second year in a row, the fishery will open for limited dip netting.

The fishery proved extremely popular in 2020, with thousands of dip-netters lining the Cowlitz River banks. Dip-netters caught an estimated 35,000 pounds of smelt during the first of two fishery openings last year, said Laura Heironimus, WDFWs Columbia River smelt lead.

But that 2020 fishery took place in a very different environment. In 2021, with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to impact day-to-day life around the world, fishery managers and public health officials are urging dip-netters to recreate responsibly by wearing masks, avoiding overcrowding and practicing social distancing.

This fishery is very popular, and people come from all over to take part in it, Heironimus said. We want people to be able to get outdoors and enjoy this unique opportunity. But it's extremely important that everyone wears a mask and gives each other space to comfortably and responsibly enjoy this fishery. Theres plenty of river for everyone.

The portion of the river open to dip netting extends from the Highway 432 Bridge upstream to the Al Helenberg Memorial Boat Ramp, located approximately 1,300 feet upstream from the Highway 411/A Street Bridge in Castle Rock.

Kessina Lee, WDFWs Southwest Region director, said that the department worked alongside county officials and the Governor's Office when making the determination to open the fishery.

The conclusion was that this fishery could be held safely, but it requires everyone to do their part to reduce the risk of infection, Lee said. If you feel sick, stay home. Dont go shoulder-to-shoulder with other people, even if they're pulling in fish. We have to work together to make sure everyone goes home healthy at the end of the day.

Each dip-netter may retain 10 pounds of smelt per day, with no more than one day's limit in possession. Ten pounds is about a quarter of a 5-gallon bucket. No fishing license is required to dip net for smelt in this limited fishery. All smelt caught must be retained up to the daily limit.

New this year, all individual harvesters must use a separate container to hold their catch, and the container must be in the harvester's presence or identified with the harvester's name. It is unlawful to harvest smelt from a vessel.

WDFW Enforcement officers will be out to help ensure public safety, as well as enforce the 10-pound limit and other regulations while the fishery is open.

Columbia River smelt, also known as Eulachon, were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2010. Managers monitor the run to ensure there are enough fish to support a recreational opening while staying with allowable ESA limits, including the use of commercial test fisheries to help gauge the strength of the run. The recreational fishery also serves as an important opportunity to collect biological data to further assess the run.

DEAR ABBY: I am a male reader with a complaint. Have you noticed that women hardly ever compliment men? On ANYTHING! They expect men to compliment them but never reciprocate.

If you move furniture, take them out for a nice dinner, buy tickets to their favorite show, buy them a gift, they dont have enough manners or couth to say thank you or express appreciation. Getting a compliment is like pulling teeth from a great white shark while hes feeding.

Dont women ever think, Maybe I should say something to HIM instead of expecting him to say it to me? Where do they learn this behavior? Are they taught this growing up? Or do they just not care or even realize? -- SHAKING MY HEAD IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR SHAKING: My late mother, God rest her soul, once commented to me that people with class never use that word. In this case, I will make an exception and tell you that individuals of both sexes who have class were taught from early childhood the magic words please and thank you, and to express gratitude.

I dont know what kind of women you are involved with, but Im suggesting it is time to upgrade the quality. Do not spoil anyone who isnt willing to spoil you right back.

DEAR ABBY: Ive been going to the same poke joint for more than five years now. Several of the employees have worked there for years. I feel at this point, I should know their names, but they dont wear name tags, and Im embarrassed to ask what their names are after so many years. They dont know mine either, but they know enough about me to ask how my son is doing or how my work is going.

I like calling people by their names, but Im a little shy and awkward and dont know how to ask. Should I just keep our weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) exchanges at surface-level chitchat without worrying about what their names are? -- FRIENDLY IN THE WEST

DEAR FRIENDLY: You can certainly do that. It has worked for you so far. However, if you would like to know the employees names, just say that you are terrible with names, and embarrassed to even have to ask after all this time, but ... what is your name? My name is (insert name).

DEAR ABBY: Im getting married next month, and Im so nervous. What can I do to not be scared? -- COLD FEET IN FLORIDA

DEAR COLD FEET: I wish you had been more forthcoming about what you are worried about. Is it the wedding ceremony and your wedding day? If thats the case, have faith that you and your fiance will make it through together because you WILL. Is it your wedding night? A talk with your doctor should allay your fears.

Is it that you are unsure about the person you are marrying? If thats the case, postpone the wedding and schedule premarital counseling for you and your intended. In some religions, the clergy recommend this type of counseling so issues like money and child-rearing can be discussed and not cause serious problems later.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
A number of high profile female Democrats have so far refused to comment on allegations against Andrew Cuomo - despite vilifying conservatives accused of sexual harassment throughout the MeToo era.

Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Senator Elizabeth Warren have all not yet released statements regarding the claims.

They instead remained silent on the issue as of Sunday morning. That's after a second former aide came forward Saturday with further allegations against the embattled New York governor.

Charlotte Bennett, 25, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governor's administration until November, told The New York Times Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men.

Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, 36, a former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, had already accused Cuomo, 63, of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comments.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House and representatives of Clinton, Pelosi and Warren for comment.

In his statement Saturday, Cuomo described Bennett as a 'hardworking and valued member of the team during COVID' who he had tried to 'mentor'

Vice President Kamala Harris, left, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, right, and Senator Elizabeth Warren have all not yet released statements regarding the claims

Cuomo responded to Bennett's claims with a statement Saturday saying he never made advances toward her and never intended to be inappropriate. He had previously denied Boylan's allegations.

He did, however, say he had authorized an outside review of Bennett's allegations.

The governor's special counsel, Beth Garvey, said that review would be conducted by a former federal judge, Barbara Jones.

'I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgements,' Cuomo said. 'I will have no further comment until the review has concluded.'

Vice President Harris has previously said she believed women who accused Joe Biden of inappropriate touching during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign.

She said in April 2019: 'I believe them, and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it.'

Harris also called for Kavanaugh's impeachment in September 2019 after Christine Blasey Ford had accused of the then Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault when they were high schoolers. Kavanaugh denied the accusation.

She tweeted: 'Brett Kavanaugh lied to the U.S. Senate and most importantly to the American people. He was put on the Court through a sham process and his place on the Court is an insult to the pursuit of truth and justice. He must be impeached.'

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday 'any allegation should be reviewed.'

Pelosi said in 2018: 'I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.' She said in Apirl last year she is a 'big, strong supporter of the #MeToo movement'

Warren tweeted: 'Christine Blasey Ford is brave, deserves to be heard, and treated with respect as she raises new questions about Brett Kavanaugh'

House speaker Pelosi said in 2018: 'I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.' She said in April last year she is a 'big, strong supporter of the #MeToo movement'.

And in 2017 Pelosi said of the MeToo movement: 'Harvey [Weinstein] didn't evoke this. The election of President Trump evoked what happened to Harvey and now everybody is served notice.'

After his confirmation to the Supreme Court she issued a statement which read: 'Today is a profoundly heart-breaking day for women, girls and families across America.

'Courageous women risked their safety and well-being to speak truth about this nomination. Tens of thousands more joined them to share their own harrowing stories of sexual assault, at great personal risk.

'Yet, Senate Republicans chose to send a clear message to all women: do not speak out, and if you do  do not expect to be heard, believed or respected.'

Warren tweeted: 'Christine Blasey Ford is brave, deserves to be heard, and treated with respect as she raises new questions about Brett Kavanaugh.'

Clinton said of Ford: 'I found her very credible. You have to ask yourself, why would anybody put themselves through this if they did not believe that they had important information to convey to the Senate?

'I felt a great swell of pride that she would be willing to put herself out there under these circumstances.'

Charlotte Bennett, 25, who served in a number of roles for Cuomo - including executive assistant and health policy advisor - said the governor made a number of concerning comments to her last spring during the height of the pandemic in the state. She is the second former aide to accuse the governor of sexual harassment

Boylan had already alleged in tweets in December last year that Cuomo 'abused his power' and sexually harassed her for years

Cuomo responded to Bennett's claims with a statement Saturday saying he never made advances toward her and never intended to be inappropriate. He had previously denied Boylan's allegations. Boylan is pictured with Harris

Mainstream TV networks ABC, NBC and CBS also did not report on Boylan's allegations in their news bulletins Wednesday night.

And Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand gave a somewhat soft reply.

'I have not read her allegations or her posts or Medium posts. But as I said, everyone has a right to be able to come forward, speak their truth and be heard. And that's true for her and it's also true for Governor Cuomo,' Gillibrand said Thursday.

In the past, Gillibrand has seemed far more reluctant to let Republicans accused of sexual assault 'speak their truth'.

The Democrat senator demanded President Trump 'resign' after he was accused of sexual assault.

In 2018, she called allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh 'disqualifying'.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney said: 'All survivors of harassment and assault deserve to be heard andhave their case thoroughly investigated.'

Following Ford's allegations against Brett Kavanaugh she tweeted: '#BelieveWomen'

AOC on Friday called on the state legislature to investigate the 'extraordinarily serious' allegations, adding that survivors 'deserve to be heard.'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday called on the state legislature to investigate the 'extraordinarily serious' allegations, adding that survivors 'deserve to be heard.'

She said the 'process for hearing this allegation falls squarely in the state legislature.'

She tweeted Sunday: 'Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennetts detailed accounts of sexual harassment by Gov. Cuomo are extremely serious and painful to read.

'There must be an independent investigation - not one led by an individual selected by the Governor, but by the office of the Attorney General.'

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters during a press conference Thursday that Boylan's allegations should be examined more thoroughly.

He spoke before the similar allegations made by Bennett.

'These allegations are really disturbing. Let's be clear about that, they're really disturbing. We have to, as New Yorkers, we got to take this seriously. When a woman comes forward with this kind of very specific allegations, they have to be taken seriously,' de Blasio stated.

'We need a full and independent investigation, I want to emphasize the word 'independent,' investigation by some individual or entity that is not compromised, is not dominated by the governor's office, but an independent investigation,' he continued.

'This kind of behavior, if it's true, is unacceptable in any public servant, in anybody. So we've got to get the truth about this.'

A spokesperson for Chuck Schumer said: 'He has said many times that sexual harassment is never acceptable and must not be tolerated, and that any credible allegation should be thoroughly investigated.'

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) smile after signing the Red Flag bill, also known as the Extreme Risk Protection Order bill, in New York, U.S., February 25, 2019

Hillary Clinton & Governor Andrew Cuomo on stage at rally on reproductive health act at Barnard College in 2007

Actress and activist Rose McGown has also spoken out in defense of Boylan and, like de Blasio, she is demanding an independent investigation.

'I completely stand by Lindsey Boylan. Its truth leaks from every word on the screen that she wrote. She, none of us, should endure what she endured,' McGowan told Fox News.

'If they're doing it to her, what are they doing to constituents? What is he going to do to what he considers the little people? It's monstrous.'

She continued: 'I would like to see an honest investigation. I would like that position of power to be filled by somebody who is not dangerous and a bully and intimidating and threatening because that's what sexual harassment is. It's power abuse. It's trying to make the little person feel small.'

The accusation comes as Cuomo is under increasing pressure over his handling of COVID-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes. He signed a March order that allowed nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients back to their facilities.

Earlier this month, Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo's secretary, unleashed a political firestorm when she admitted to state Democrats that the administration had deliberately hid data on the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

At least 15,000 people living in long-term care facilities have died of COVID-19, nearly double the number Cuomo had initially disclosed. Cuomo says his office was always honest about the figures but that it came down to differences in categorization.

Days after DeRosa's revelation, NY Democrat Assemblyman Ron Kim claimed that the Governor made threats as part of an effort to get him to 'cover up' for DeRosa's admission.

'The Governor called for about ten minutes, it seemed like one hour,' Kim told CNN last week.

He accused Cuomo of 'berating' him in order to pressure him 'to issue a statement that invalidated what I heard. He asked me to lie to cover up for his staff.'

Kim said the phone call left his family traumatized.

Kim has now come out in support of Boylan, who tweeted after she went public with her sexual assault allegations.

'Cuomo is a coward who has abused his powers. His pattern of abuse and harassment toward his aides, journalists, lawmakers, and critiques is despicable. As a lawmaker, I have the duty to hold him accountable. I will not stand down. I will stand with Lindsey Boylan,' Kim wrote.
The French Parliament passed a historic legislation on February 16 to curb the threat posed to the nation by Islamic radicals -- the Act included a section named after Samuel Paty, the Paris schoolteacher who was beheaded by a fanatic Muslim last October just because he had made a mention of a cartoon on Prophet Mohammad in his lecture on social science.

Without mentioning the word Muslim or Islam, the Act prescribes punishment for anybody who passed on information about a potential target of Islamic radicals, mandates an oversight on what the madrasas were doing and demands adherence to the French values of secularism, democracy and freedom. Islam is the second largest 'faith' practised in France and it is noteworthy that Islamic radicals have become a problem in those European nations that had colonised Muslim countries once -- in the case of France it was also known that a large number of Muslim youth had gone to Syria to join in the 'war on terror' which was essentially a combat between the revivalist Islam preached by the radicals and the US-led West.

Islamic radicals carry the historical legacy of the Ulema-led 'Wahhabi' movement of the 19th century that had given a call for Jehad against the Western powers encroaching on 'Muslim lands' -- in Algeria, Arabia and India -- as also for going back to the fundamentals that prevailed in the golden period of the Pious Caliphs from which, according to the protagonists of that Jehad, Muslims and their rulers had deflected causing the political decline of Islam. In the theatres of the 'war on terror' and elsewhere, radicalised forces are taking on the US-led West and their closest allies, including Israel and even Saudi Arabia.

The masterminds behind them find it easy to create faith-based motivation for unleashing terror -- the motivation that drives terrorism proves, in this case, strong enough to produce suicide bombers. The democratic countries have to unitedly deal with this global threat and also work on the saner sections of the Muslim world to come out with proclamations against the invoking of Jehad for solving any political issues in today's times.

India is at the receiving end of this geo-political rise of violence at the hands of Islamic extremists over many years -- ever since the launch of cross-border terrorism in Kashmir in the early Nineties by the Pak Army-ISI axis that took advantage of the success of Afghan Jehad for replicating that strategy in Kashmir and began pumping in battle-hardened Mujahideen into the Valley from across the LOC. Subversion in Kashmir was started in the name of Islam -- the earlier slogans of plebiscite and Azadi were pushed behind -- and the ouster of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley by the ISI-guided Islamic militants became a major part of the new plan.

Pakistan has been using the Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad outfits fostered by it for India-specific offensive. Subsequently, Pakistan also used the Islamic radicals of Al-Qaeda-Taliban and ISIS who were on the forefront of the 'war on terror' that had followed 9/11.

Pakistan has withstood the pressure of the world community calling it to stop harbouring Islamic militants and with its deep military collusion with China on the one hand and the change in US Presidency on the other -- President Donald Trump had stopped financial aid to Pakistan -- it has felt encouraged to step up cross-border terrorism against India, particularly in the period following the abrogation of Art 370 by the Government of India. India has to use diplomacy and Intelligence exchange with friendly countries to supplement the efforts at home to counter terrorism in Kashmir and elsewhere with full armed might.

A matter of grave concern for India in recent times is the constant attempt being made by the Pak agencies through their agents and acolytes to destabilise the domestic scene in India by instigating communal disharmony and exploiting it to create militancy.

India's history of Partition violence made it vulnerable to communal conflicts and the attitude of the leadership of the minority community in seeking a 'share' in the political power beyond the democratic electoral process based on 'one man one vote', kept the pot boiling, making it easy for the Islamic state of Pakistan to fish in this country's troubled waters. In the North, the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) formed by an AMU-based leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami became, after a passage of time, an anchor of Islamic militancy with its offspring, Indian Mujahideen (IM), attracting notice for indulging in terrorist violence.

A militant communal force arose in Kerala some years ago in the name of the Popular Front of India (PFI) with Mallapuram district as its epicentre, to foster communal separatism in the south and step up militant exhortations to the Muslim youth to bring down the Modi regime. It is said to have links with SIMI on the one hand and Al-Qaeda and ISIS on the other -- with Pak ISI pulling strings from behind.

In a brazen challenge to the ruling dispensation at the centre, considering that the organic links of BJP with RSS are well known, PFI brought out a mock parade near Mallapuram on February 21 in which men in RSS uniform as also those dressed up as British soldiers were shown walking tied up in chains with the leash wielded by PFI members, who were wearing skull caps and 'lungis' and shouting slogans like 'Allahu Akbar'. What is alarming is that the Islamic radical organisation did this to mark the centenary of the 'Moplah rebellion' against the British that is known more for the massacre of tens of thousands of Hindus by the Muslim fanatics in that part of Kerala.

In the backdrop of international trends and developments at home, India needs to concretise a multi-pronged strategy of dealing with the advancing threat of radicalisation impacting our communities. The average Indian, regardless of his caste, community or region is engaged in the pursuit of livelihood and well-being -- it is a section of the community leadership driven by vested interests that chose to promote the communal divide by demanding a share in the 'political power' for the minority and happily watched the rise of militancy borne out of communal conflicts. Pakistan, as a promoter of Pan-Islamism, claimed the right to champion the political cause of Indian Muslims and community leadership here went along with it facilitating the exploitation of India's domestic situation by the adversary.

The Pak agencies also got into the act by creating direct or indirect channels to influence minority politics in India. Ascendancy of Islamic radicals during the 'war on terror' further changed the geo-political scene of South Asia and beyond --again because of the pivotal role of Pakistan in sheltering Al-Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS and using them to weaponise its 'proxy war' against India in Kashmir as also in the rest of India. The masterminds behind this 'war' are using the cover of social media to influence and trap members of the minority community for 'radicalising' them before using them for their objective.

Exasperated over the victory of the BJP led by Narendra Modi in 2019 with an even larger margin, the political opposition, leadership of the minority community and the anti-India lobbies within the country and outside are making efforts to invoke the name of RSS for making allegations of Hindu 'majoritarianism', 'fascism' and 'authoritarianism' against the regime. The opposition is understandably focusing on the large Muslim minority to gain numbers. The domestic scene in India is marked by an accentuation of Hindu-Muslim divide and a sharp increase in the rhetoric of militancy on the one hand and a visible emboldening of Islamic radical forces instigating terrorism, on the other.

Pakistan is playing a game in all of this. Since it is well known that all Indians enjoy the same personal and socio-cultural freedoms -- subject to the requirements of peace and orderliness of the society -- and also that the democratic governance in this country is constitutionally well-defined in terms of a secular relationship between the citizen and the state, all those who are being instrumental in adding to the stir were apparently pursuing a political objective.

There is learning for India from the steps envisaged by France to deal with faith-based militancy. First, there should be no ambiguity about defining the responsibility for the maintenance of law and order in all its aspects -- the Centre needs to adopt a line of deterrence to get the states to discharge their primary responsibility in this matter. There is a clear dividing line between public criticism of the government and giving calls for militant action -- even President Donald Trump was flawed for his speech in which he exhorted his followers to march to the Capitol in Washington on January 6 this year.

It is necessary to have an outreach to the minorities to protect them from their own communal minded leaders. As already mentioned, there should be a mobilisation in the democratic world and among the 'moderate' Muslim regimes to oppose resorting to violence in the name of Jehad. A clear proclamation to this effect should be sought from Muslim forums, minority institutions and Idaras in the country and deterrent prohibitory action initiated against radical bodies and individuals giving calls for faith-based violence. India should declare zero tolerance towards terrorism of this kind.

(The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau)
The 2020 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) into senior high, technical and vocational schools, will be live Sunday, February 28, 2021.



Out of the total number of 533,693 registered candidates, 494,530 candidates qualified to be placed.



Automatically placed



In all, a total of 343,264 candidates have automatically been placed in one of their choices, while 151,266 qualified candidates could not be matched with any of their choices.



A statement signed by the Head of the Public Relations Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ms Cassandra Twum Ampofo, said all such students are therefore, to do self-placement to select from available schools.



To access the placement platform, candidates are to obtain a placement pin code from an approved vendor, log onto the site www.cssps.gov.gh, enter the 10-digit index number and add 20 as year of completion, the statement explained.



It said for instance that if a students index number was 1234567890, 20 would be added to the number to make it 123456789020, then enter the pin code details (serial number and pin), click on submit and wait for placement to show up.



The candidate, the statement added, should print the form, if placed, and visit the school to begin the admission process.



Self-placement



If a student is not matched with any of their choices from the automatic placement system, they will be redirected to the self-placement portal.



From the portal, select a school by providing the region, residential preference, school, programme of choice, click on submit, print the form and visit the school to begin admission process , the statement directed.



It explained that schools selected on the self-placement portal could be changed as many times as candidates wished on the portal until they enrolled in a school.



Assurance



Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) wishes to assure all students, especially, those who could not be matched with their choices during the automatic placement, parents and the general public that all schools with vacancies have been uploaded on the portal for students to select from during self-placement without hitches.



The public is also informed that the National Solution Centre will not be set up this year due to COVID-19. Instead, the GES Call Centre will be active to receive complaints and concerns, the statement said.



It gave the call centre numbers as 0900800700 and 0302987654.



Delays



Earlier last week, the Director-General of the GES, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa explained that the placement of candidates under the CSSPS had, over the years, always been done two or three weeks to the reopening of schools, and this years is no different.



Usually we give them some two or three weeks to prepare to go to school and we wanted to keep to that, he said.



Prof. Opoku-Amankwa also explained that there had been no delay in the placement, as some people were speculating, saying the same format that was used during the pre-COVID-19 era was what the GES had stuck to this year.



He said the period of waiting after the results were released afforded the GES to engage with the WAEC to ensure that majority of the candidates whose results were withheld had the results released to them.



On December 16, last year when WAEC released the results, 977 candidates had their subject results withheld, pending the outcome of investigations.

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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I Wish the Lessons of My Parents Generation Were Being Taught Today: Rep. Burgess Owens on Ending Systemic Racism

Despite growing up in an America segregated by the KKK and Jim Crow, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) says the remarkable success he saw in his family and community growing up instilled in him a sense of pride that helped him see success was possible in his own life.

I grew up at a time where, a black communityeven though we were segregated in Tallahassee, Florida, even though at 12 years old, I was watching in front of Florida State Theater because we couldnt go into that particular theaterwe turned within, he told The Epoch Timess Crossroads program on Saturday.

We knew what it was to have a priority of faith, of education, of a family, and free market. And because of that, in 1960, the black community led our country in growth of the middle class, men matriculated from college, men committed to marriage, the percentage of entrepreneurs was over 40 percent, which meant across our country, 50 to 60 percent of blacks within the segregated community were middle class.

Speaking to Crossroads at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, Owens reflected on the values of meritocracy and education that his parents generation embraced in his youth, which he said exposes the flaws in the narrative being told to younger generations of blacks in America today.

I would ask Americans, first of all, we need to learn our history. Dont buy into the leftist mantra of systemic racism, Owens said.

Everybody has tough, tough times, no one is gonna be liked by everybody. The key is what do you do to command respect for yourself, for who you believe you are, and for your family, for your name.

Owens said that children in black families in the 60s grew up learning about how to respect God, country, family, respect for women, and respect for authority.

That all happens within a family, is where a young man know[s] what it looks like to protect and provide for women, and to have such respect for womanhood itself that youre willing to do anything, to sacrifice anything, for that. And thats what weve been missing out in the last few decades.

He said under current cultural and policy trends, young men in black communities are not understanding their responsibilities to commit to their families, and be the provider, to be a partner, to be a friend, and to be a good example. Those things are missing. So we have to get that back. And once we do, then we will be okay.

Dont look at yourself as a victim, he urged the black community. Recognize when tough times come, man up, woman up, overcome it, get better, and then turn back around and help other people to know they can do the same thing youve done.

Owens said his parents generation did not trust or rely on the government to fix their problems. Teachers, professionals, business owners supported their community to grow and prosper.

We need to do the same thing today. We need to look at ourselves, look at ourselves as being the solution to our problems, Owens said.

Success is what you see, is what you believe, is how youre taught. We need to get back to that. And at the end of the day, theres no excuse today, when you have a black president, a black vice president, and a young man like myself who grew up in Tallahassee is now Congressman, theres no excuse for anyone not to be able to do the same thing.

Owens also warned that extreme leftist ideology being spread in society is teaching people to hate God, capitalism, and the family unit.

Thats what we see in Black Lives Matter dot Inc. Thats on their mission statement, Owens told The Epoch Times.

So lets not buy into that. Dont allow the left to teach us and to convince us that we should become racists by looking at each other outside in, outside first.

Looking inside out and find the best of each other and well do much better, he said.
A senior German immunologist, Carsten Watzl, has urged his country to change its mind and start allowing persons aged over 65 to receive the Oxford- vaccine.

In a BBC interview, Watzl, head of the German Society for Immunology, predicted regulators would have to reverse their decision to not recommend the jab for older people.

He urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to have the vaccine live on TV to prove it is safe.

Germany's vaccine commission is currently reviewing its recommendation.

Watzl's call comes after recent studies in Scotland showed the jab to be effective among the elderly.

Germany is one of several EU states that have expressed doubts over the efficacy of the vaccine in older people.

The country is currently struggling to avoid a third wave of infections as cases remain stubbornly high.

The EU's medical regulator approved the use of the Oxford- vaccine for all age groups in January.

But the rollout was met by some public scepticism after regulators in countries including France, Germany and Italy recommended that it should not be used for people over 65. They citied insufficient data on its efficacy for older people.

German health authorities have so far used fewer than 300,000 of the 1.17 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine the country has received.

In January, French President Emmanuel Macron said the jab was "quasi-ineffective" for older age groups - a claim strongly refuted by the UK government and British medical regulators. AstraZeneca itself says the vaccine is effective at all ages.

The UK is among countries that have approved the jab for all age groups.

The decision was boosted by recent research led by Public Health Scotland, which found that four weeks after the first dose, hospital admissions were reduced by 85 per cent and 94 per cent for the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca jabs respectively.

Among the over 80s, there was an overall 81 per cent reduction in the numbers admitted to hospital when the results for both vaccines were combined.

--IANS

int/pgh

(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 latest update from the Ministry of Health (MoH) showed positive results of Vietnams bid against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam recorded no new local case of COVID-19 on Sunday morning, according to an MoH report.

The national caseload tally stayed at 2,432, with 837 domestic cases reported since January 27, when Vietnam confirmed the first community-based infection after having spent almost two months detecting zero local transmissions.

Meanwhile, patient No. 1,536, the most serious COVID-19 case in Vietnam at the moment, is making good progress, with five test results turning out negative so far, the MoH said.

The patient is a 79-year-old woman who landed in Da Nang from the United States on January 13.

She tested positive for the pathogen on January 13 and was transferred to the Da Nang Lung Hospital for treatment. She has a medical history of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Patient No. 1,536 is considered the most critical infection in Vietnam now, even surpassing the case of patient No. 91, a British pilot who spent 68 days on life support.

The patient is seeing positive recovery following 26 days on an ECMO machine, a type of life support outside the body, and 10 liters of blood plasma injection.

The patients situation has prompted seven national-level consultations which involved Vietnams leading medical experts.

Four teams consisting of 18 medical workers were mobilized to ensure consistent treatment for the patient and minimize transmission risks.

In related news, the first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City at 11:00 am on Wednesday.

The shipment of 117,600 shots is part of an order of 204,000 doses approved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.

We expect the price of the COVID-19 vaccine to be very favorable for many people to have a chance to get inoculated early during the pandemic, said Vu Thi Thu Ha, supply chain director of Vietnam Vaccine JSC, the vaccine importer.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A woman receives a coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca in a nursing home in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Friday. Yonhap



It takes around two weeks to build immunity after inoculation



By Lee Hyo-jin



With the start of COVID-19 vaccinations nationwide, attention is growing over how individuals should prepare for inoculations and what safety measures they should take after receiving the injections.



Below is a list of questions and answers regarding vaccination based on information from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).



Q. What is the procedure before inoculation?



Once you arrive at a vaccination facility, you will go through a preliminary checkup with doctors on your history of allergic reactions to medication, food, cosmetics or other vaccines. People who have previously shown abnormal reactions to ingredients in an mRNA coronavirus vaccine  polyethylene glycol and polysorbate  will not be able to receive a vaccine injection.



Q. Should patients with underlying illnesses stop taking medication?



There is no reason to discontinue or alter the medication of patients with underlying conditions before or after they receive the vaccine. Those who are taking prescription drugs may take their medication regardless of the vaccination. Health authorities noted that vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna are also available for immunodeficient or HIV patients, as they are not live vaccines.



Q. Should I cancel the inoculation if I get ill?



It depends on the symptoms you are experiencing. If you have light symptoms such as common cold symptoms without a fever, you can head to the vaccination site. But if you have a temperature higher than 37.5 Celsius or any other coronavirus symptoms, it is advisable for you to reschedule the appointment.



Q. What safety measures should be taken after the vaccination?



After getting the injection, you should stay at the vaccination site for 15 to 30 minutes to watch for signs of any abnormal reactions. Continue to watch for signs of an abnormal reaction for at least three hours after you leave the site and avoid vigorous exercise. The inoculated area should be kept clean for at least three days.





Medical workers wait in an observation room in case they suffer any abnormal reactions after receiving coronavirus vaccine injections at the National Medical Center in Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-27 22:45:54|Editor: huaxia

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Palestinian medical staff members work at a detection lab for COVID-19 in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Feb. 27, 2021. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye announced on Saturday that tightened precautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus will be imposed in Palestine for 12 more days. (Photo by Luay Sababa/Xinhua)

RAMALLAH, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye announced on Saturday that tightened precautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus will be imposed in Palestine for 12 more days.

Ishtaye told a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the new measures will be valid starting Sunday for 12 days, adding that the measures were taken to curb the increasing numbers of infections in the Palestinian territories.

"A full lockdown will be imposed all over the West Bank on Friday and Saturday and the movement of all kinds of vehicles will be prohibited," Ishtaye said.

He said all kindergartens, as well as government and private schools will be shut down for 12 more days for all the grades, except secondary schools.

Ishtaye also said all universities, colleges, training, and educational centers will remain closed, and only members of administrations of these institutions will be allowed to go to work.

"Movement of people and vehicles will be banned every day from 7:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m., where all stores and shops will be closed except pharmacies and bakeries," he said.

Ishtaye added that gatherings of people at weddings, parties, and mourning places will also be banned for 12 more days.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said in a statement that Palestine recorded nine fatalities, 1,623 new COVID-19 cases and 1,209 recoveries in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Palestine in March last year, a total of 206,438 people have so far been infected, including 2,236 deaths, she added. Enditem
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Theres a motorcade of political and legal heavies heading down the Hume Highway bound for Canberra and the High Court of Australia on Monday. This time the crowd is headed for the swearing in of NSW senior counsel Jacqueline Gleeson to the courts seven-member bench.

Gleeson has been a judge of the Federal Court in NSW since 2014 and was announced in October alongside Melbourne-based silk Simon Steward as a replacement for retiring justices Geoffrey Nettle and Virginia Bell. Steward was sworn in, in a low-key COVID-safe ceremony in December with another session held on February 1 where family and friends could attend. Gleeson - whos father is former High Court chief justice Murray Gleeson - will get the full shebang on Monday. And a good thing too given the crowd scheduled to attend.

Swearing in: New High Court Justice Jacqueline Gleeson. Credit: Peter Braig

Former banking royal commission boss Kenneth Hayne - who is also a former chief justice of the High Court - was en route to Canberra on Sunday for the ceremony, as was NSW Governor Margaret Beazley who was the first female president of the NSW Court of Appeal before being appointed to the states top ceremonial post. Not that Beazley was prepared to talk to CBD about the trip. And then theres Gleesons actor brother-in-law Eric Bana, who has loyally attended the legal eagles other investitures. Given he was last spotted attending the premiere of his latest thriller The Dry in Sydney, odds are he will bring star power of the likes the institution has never seen before.

Its also worth noting Gleesons appointment has been a cause for celebration in Government House in Sydney. On February 13, Beazley together with her husband Dennis Wilson hosted a dinner for the High Court justice-to-be ahead of her official start date on March 1. Lovely.
Two schoolboys in Binh Duong have created an automatic body temperature measurement machine that can also be used to disinfect hands and take the roll-call. The machine is being used at their school.

Nguyen Thanh Tai (left), Nguyen Dien Nam and their machine

The first class after Tet holiday at the Nguyen Van Cu Secondary School in Thu Dau Mot City of Binh Duong province on February 22 went smoothly. Students had medical examinations but the process took little time and did not require many workers thanks to the body temperature machine invented by two of the schools students, Nguyen Thanh Tai and Nguyen Dien Nam.

After seeing teachers and students at schools queuing up to have their temperature taken and hands disinfected, they decided to create an automatic equipment to measure body temperature, spray disinfectant and control students daily attendance as well.

During a lesson in late 2020, Tai told his teachers about the idea. The teachers had also heard of a similar idea from Nguyen Dien Nam, another student. Tai and Nam did not know each other at that moment.

The idea from the two students was applauded by the schools board of management which then assigned teacher Le Thi Thuong to help them.

After four months, it was completed and put into use at the school.

The device measures students body temperature, sprays disinfectant when students raise their hands and manages students attendance via fingerprint scanning.

Tai said the inventors felt a bit worried on the first day of use. But they later

sighed with relief as the machine ran perfectly.

There was just a minor error, which has been fixed, Tai said.

The equipment operates based on the heat sensor system inside. The machine uses power from electricity sources or a solar cell put above in case the electricity is cut.

The machine is fitted with a temperature sensor which is taller than the students average height. Users just need to stand 20-30 cm away from the machine. The sensor measures their temperature and shows it on the LED screen mounted to the dashboard.

Since students height varies, the students equipped it with a camera which recognizes images and automatically raises or lowers the temperature sensor eye. Meanwhile, disinfectant from the tank inside is sprayed through a pipe.

The machine is also equipped with a fingerprint sensor. Students have to have their fingerprints scanned for the attendance register.

The entire process lasts only five seconds.

Xuan An

Prolonged pandemic issues cloud recovery Following the new coronavirus outbreaks in a number of localities, Vietnams economy could face yet another difficult phase in the early days of the new lunar year as production and services are hindered in several sectors.

Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

GOP lawmakers and supporters flocked to the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend.

CPAC this year was marked by an allegiance to Trump and an expectation that he will remain influential.

Here are the most striking  and the weirdest  moments of the four-day event.

Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

GOP lawmakers and supporters convened for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, where they praised former President Donald Trump, mocked masks, and promoted illegitimate claims of voter fraud.

Some, like Donald Trump Jr., used their stage power to rally the crowd against Big Tech and the mainstream media. Among his targets was Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third highest-ranking Republican in the House who voted to impeach Trump last month.

The conference, running from February 25 to 28, teemed with top GOP leaders from all over the United States, most of whom largely stood by the twice-impeached former president.

CPAC marks Trump's first public appearance since leaving office, as he was the headlining guest of the conference.

Here are some of the most striking - and weirdest - moments of this year's CPAC:

There was a golden statue of Trump.

People take a picture with former President Donald Trump's statue on display at CPAC. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Standing at more than 6 feet tall, the statue was unveiled late Thursday. It's a golden structure resembling Trump, with a suit jacket, red tie American-flag shorts, and flip-flops.

Attendees posed with and took pictures of the statue.

The artist behind it, Tommy Zegan, said he spent six months making the statue in Mexico.

"He's wearing a business suit because he's a businessman. The red tie represents the Republican party, the red white and blue shorts represent the fact that he's a patriot," Zegan told the New York Post.

Zegan said he hopes to sell it for more than $1 million or submit it to a Trump presidential library in the future.

And Trump merch for sale everywhere.

Various items are seen on sale at the merchandise show at CPAC on Saturday. AP Photo/John Raoux

Trump, despite leaving office more than a month ago with the inauguration of President Joe Biden, was a focal point of the GOP conference.

Story continues

Attendees came dressed in Trump gear, and speakers alluded to or explicitly referred to his hold on the Republican party.

"Let me tell you right now, Donald J. Trump ain't going anywhere," Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Friday to a crowd.

Trump, for his part, has embraced the idea that he maintains a strong influence in the party. He's floated several possibilities to remain relevant in politics, such as a potential 2024 presidential run and the formation of a political action committee. His support from top GOP lawmakers indicates that Trump, while out of office, still maintains deep influence in GOP politics.

Gov. Kristi Noem defended coronavirus handling in South Dakota.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. AP Photo/John Raoux

Noem has frequently flouted coronavirus guidelines that have since become regular and expected in dozens of states across the country.

On Saturday, she slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading coronavirus expert, while defending her own policies that go against guidelines from health officials.

"I don't know if you agree with me, but Dr. Fauci is wrong a lot," Noem said, receiving applause from the CPAC crowd.

For months, Noem has refused to issue a statewide mask mandate in South Dakota, even as the state earned a reputation as one of the 10 most dangerous when its COVID test positivity rate neared 60% in November.

And despite having the 6th smallest population in the country, South Dakota has the second-highest overall rate of coronavirus cases. The only state that beat out South Dakota is North Dakota.

Roger Stone danced to a rap about Trump.

Roger Stone dances with rapper Forgiato Blow as he arrives for CPAC. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Convicted felon Stone danced outside the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Florida.

He arrived at the event without a ticket and began to dance on the sidewalk next to Forgiato Blow, a rapper who's been described as "Trump-loving" by hip-hop outlets.

Forgiato Blow was at the time rapping about Trump winning the election, which did not happen.

The two were standing by and dancing near a truck featuring a giant image of Trump in the style of "Rambo" with an assault weapon.

And he signed autographs.

Roger Stone signing an autograph at CPAC. AP Photo/John Raoux

Stone also posed for pics with onlookers and Trump supporters.

Conference organizers did not let him in to the event since he didn't have a ticket.

Trump in December pardoned Stone, who was found guilty of seven felonies last year in relation to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Mask-less attendees made up the crowd.

People listen as Don Trump, Jr. addresses the CPAC crowd on February 26, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Though many attendees wore masks, many others did not.

And when a CPAC organizer urged the audience to wear a mask, she was met with resistance.

"We are in a private facility and we want to be respectful of the ordinances that they have as their private property, so please, everyone when you're in the ballroom, when you're seated, you should still be wearing a mask," said CPAC organizer Carly Conley.

Attendees shouted "freedom" and booed at the directive.

It's been almost a year since the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic. Since then, more than 28 million people in the United States have contracted the virus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Of that, more than 500,000 Americans have died.

Many of the speakers who got on stage, which included a wide array of top GOP politicians, did not wear masks.

Mask-wearing for months has been one of the guidelines that various health agencies have touted as most effective for preventing the spread of the coronavirus in public spaces.

Ted Cruz mocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Ted Cruz addressing the crowd at CPAC. AP Photo/John Raoux

Cruz appeared to make fun of Ocasio-Cortez for her response to the January 6 Capitol riot.

"I thought I was going to die," Ocasio-Cortez said after the insurrection.

"We're gathered at a time where the hard left, where the socialists control the levers of government, where they control the White House, where they control every executive branch, where they control both houses of Congress. Bernie is wearing mittens, and AOC is telling us she was murdered," Cruz said.

His remarks about her came just days after she raised millions of dollars for Texans who were suffering after a storm knocked out power.

During that storm, Cruz fled to Cancun.

A woman advertises a book of Trump's tweets.

A woman shows publicizes"Just the Tweets." Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A woman walked around dressed as a giant book titled "Just the Tweets," an advertisement for a book containing the former president's tweets from his first year in office.

Trump was banned from Twitter in January because of his potential to incite further violence following the deadly siege on the US Capitol, during which five people died.

Immediately following Twitter's permanent suspension of Trump, top conservatives began sharing their Parler accounts on the platform, encouraging their followers to gravitate there.

The former president was infuriated when he learned he was banned. A senior administration official told Politico that Trump went "ballistic." Shortly after Twitter removed his @realDonaldTrump account, the former president tweeted from the official @POTUS and @TeamTrump handles. But Twitter immediately deleted those posts as well.

"Do you miss me yet?"

Former President Donald Trump embraces the American flag as he arrives on stage to address the CPAC crowd. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trump began his closing remarks by asking a cheering crowd, "Do you miss me yet? Do you miss me?"

Trump, who was expected to speak on the unity of the GOP, said, "For the next four years, the brave Republicans in this room will be at the heart of the effort to oppose the radical Democrats, the fake news media and their toxic cancel culture  something new to our ears ... and I want you to know that I'm going to continue to fight right by your side."

"We're not starting new parties. You know, they kept saying, 'he's going to start a brand new party. We have the Republican. It's going to unite and be stronger than ever before. I am not starting a new party. That was fake news."

"Wouldn't that be brilliant? Let's start a new party. Let's divide our vote so that you can never win. No, we're not interested in that."

He spent most of his remarks railing against the Biden administration's immigration policies, executive orders, and COVID-19 response, particularly around vaccines and school reopenings.

"This alone should be reason enough for Democrats to suffer withering losses in the midterms and to lose the White House decisively four years from now," Trump said, setting off a chant of "USA, USA, USA."

"Actually, as you know, they just lost the White House," he added, maintaining the false claim that he won in 2020. "But who knows ... I might even decide to beat them for a third time."

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Even before the pandemic, evolving technology and artificial intelligence were already stoking fears that progress could eventually lead to jobs losses, pushing those without digital skills out of the work force. The divide only deepened when the pandemic forced millions of employees to start working from home. While technology made remote work possible for them, that wasn't an option for millions of others. Now as vaccinations ramp up and employees are able to go back to the office, the U.S. workforce is primed for more change. Elizabeth Reynolds is the Executive Director of MIT's Task Force on the "Work of the Future." She talks with Soledad O'Brien about how we keep the next transition from leaving millions of Americans behind.
Dalton  When the Strout family arrived late Saturday morning in Dalton center, everyones tasks were clear: Deanna, the mom, would take her oath as police chief. Before that, son Evan, 16, and daughter Paxton, 17, would lead the Pledge of Allegiance, then pin stars to their mothers collars. Daughter Camryn, 10, would hand her mom a bouquet of flowers.

And husband Marc, a detective sergeant in the Pittsfield Police Department, decked out in his dress uniform, would pin the Dalton chiefs badge above his wifes left pocket.

Unclear, though, was what else Marc Strout might do.

All right, get ready, he quipped, once the gold chiefs pin was affixed. And with that, he snapped out a salute to the new chief  to laughter, cheers and applause.

The noon ceremony at the Dalton CRA on Main Street became a family affair writ large  as the new chiefs extended clan joined with town officials, public safety workers and members of the community to witness the installation of Daltons first woman chief.

When they voted Feb. 11 to make Deanna Strout chief, members of the Select Board praised her connection to the community, shaped over two decades of police work in town.

Robert W. Bishop Jr., chairman of that board, grew emotional when he turned from the podium Saturday to speak to the new chief, before the oath was administered by Town Clerk Deborah Merry. This is a great time for Dalton, Bishop said. It goes to show. If you do your job, follow your dreams, this is what happens.

Strout Sworn in as Dalton Police Chief Deanna Strout and her family are escorted past members of the Dalton Police Department before she was sworn-in.

Strout was selected over two other finalists after receiving the highest rating in a skills assessment conducted by a consultant hired by the town. The board received several dozen unsolicited messages of support for her candidacy from people in Dalton.

The community support was overwhelming, Select Board member Joe Diver told the crowd.

Weve turned a major, major page. This is a great day for Dalton, board member Daniel Esko said after the ceremony.

Anthony Riello, a former Pittsfield chief who served as interim Dalton chief for seven months, said in an interview that in the months he worked with Strout, he found her to possess special qualities in police work. Shes a leader. Shes really a leader, Im telling you, he said.

Strout Sworn in as Dalton Police Chief Dalton Police Chief Deanna Strout speaks to the crowd after being sworn-in as chief on Saturday.

Chiefs remarks

Strout thanked the board for its backing and trust and pledged to be available to the community. My door is always open for everyone, she said.

As she did during her final interview, Strout also praised Riello for using his months in the position to take steps to modernize the force, including the creation of new sergeant positions, and to motivate a young force of officers.

He has been instrumental in bringing our department forward, Strout said of Riello. I also feel that I have found someone who likes to talk as much as I do.

Strout Sworn in as Dalton Police Chief Interim Police Chief Anthony Riello speaks at the swearing-in ceremony for Daltons new police chief, Deanna Strout.

Those changes came after the board removed former Chief Jeffrey Coe from his post in early 2020, then subjected him to a disciplinary process that ended with him leaving voluntarily with a hefty severance without any admission of error or misconduct.

We have come a long, long way since I started here 23 years ago, Strout said. She praised the departments officers, most of whom she led in Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) classes when they were in middle school.

They are smart, motivated and they care about our community, Strout said of the departments officers. Im so excited to work with them to provide Dalton with the police service youve come to know and expect from all of us.

She referred playfully to her husbands salute after the pinning, which came as a surprise. Marc Strout, who serves on the Select Board, said privately hed told his wife he would not be making that show of rank.

I hope somebody has a picture of that salute, the new chief told the crowd. Thats going in the office.

In closing, Strout spoke to her two daughters  and all the other girls. Remember, we can do anything.

In his invocation, the Rev. Christopher Malatesta asked divine support to help Strout build bridges that make for a healthier society and better community. Addressing the new chief directly, he said, May you never lose your smile and enthusiasm.  May you always be rewarded for your goodness.

The ceremony was attended by Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington and an array of local police chiefs, including those from Windsor, Hinsdale, Lanesborough and Peru as well as a lieutenant colonel from the Berkshire County sheriffs department.

Also on hand was the towns newly hired manager, Thomas Hutcheson, who will begin work in April, and dozens of town employees.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 18:07:27|Editor: huaxia

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Hungarian President Janos Ader receives an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 26, 2021. (Photo by Noemi Bruzak/MTI/Handout via Xinhua)

- Hungarian President Janos Ader called on all Hungarians to register for the vaccination as soon as possible.

- As of Saturday, 563,601 people have received at least a first vaccine jab, while 244,407 have received two jabs.

BUDAPEST, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian President Janos Ader received an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 on Friday as the country was bracing for the third wave of the pandemic.

Ader told local news agency MTI that he chose the Chinese product that was immediately available, instead of Pfizer or Moderna's vaccines, for which he would have to wait several months.

Meanwhile, in a short message aired by Hungarian public television M1, Ader called on all Hungarians to register for the vaccination as soon as possible.

"Anyone who gets the chance to receive the first and then the second vaccine with any product approved by the Hungarian authorities and Hungarian experts should do so," Ader said.

"Let's trust our doctors, let's trust our healthcare system," Ader said, adding that he hoped that Hungarians would soon leave the pandemic behind.

Staff members transfer the first batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine purchased by Hungary at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 16, 2021. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

With access to vaccines from five producers, namely China's Sinopharm, Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Russia's Sputnik V, Hungary, the first European Union (EU) member state to buy and authorize the use of Chinese vaccines, started to administer the Sinopharm vaccine on Wednesday.

Calling the first day of the injection of Chinese vaccines "a very important day," Prime Minister Viktor Orban stressed that vaccines purchased from the EU were arriving slower than expected, and Hungary would find itself in "big trouble" without Chinese and Russian vaccines.

The Hungarian government is boosting its vaccination program with Russian and Chinese vaccines, as the third wave of the pandemic has brought daily infections and deaths in the country to the level of mid-December last year.

Hungary on Saturday registered 4,948 new cases and 107 more deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national total to 424,130 and the death toll to 14,902, according to official data.

So far, 319,691 people have recovered. Currently, 5,282 patients are being treated in hospitals, including 482 on ventilators, figures from the government's coronavirus information website showed.

A family doctor administers a dose of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine to a woman in Nagykata, Hungary on Feb. 24, 2021. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via Xinhua)

As of Saturday, 563,601 people have received at least a first vaccine jab, while 244,407 have received two jabs, according to the website.

According to a Friday report by local media Daily Metropol, Hungarians were lining up to get the Chinese jab.

Hungary intends to inoculate all the 2.6 million people registered for the vaccine by Easter, and Prime Minister Orban aims to vaccinate a further million by May.

After the arrival of the first batch of Chinese vaccines, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said Friday that another batch would arrive in Hungary in March.

With the help of Russian and Chinese vaccines, Hungary would become the EU member with the highest number of citizens vaccinated, Orban said. 
More than 68,000 citizens have signed up on the government website designated for registration to obtain coronavirus vaccines in the first 24 hours after the site was officially launched on Saturday evening, Khaled Megahed, the spokesperson for the health ministry, told media outlets late Sunday evening.

The website divided vaccine seekers into three categories: medical workers, chronic disease patients, and elderly without chronic disease.

All citizens above the age of 18 could apply for vaccination online on the website (https://egcovac.mohp.gov.eg/#/home) but the priority would be given to those above 65 and those suffering chronic diseases per the country's vaccination priority list.

According to the instructions of the website, all vaccine seekers are required to provide personal information, name the governorate where they prefer to get the vaccine, and consent to receive the vaccination before submitting the request.

All valid requests will be processed within 72 hours of submission, according to Megahed.

A text message will be sent on mobile phones to people who registered successfully, confirming the date and location for receiving the first shot.

Citizens who cannot access the website could register for vaccination at the nearest hospital.

Egypt has already vaccinated hundreds of medical workers at isolation and triage hospitals nationwide as a first step in the vaccination campaign which began in mid-January.

Some 65 percent of citizens under the age of 30 and around 40 million of those who are above that age group are targeted to be vaccinated by the end of 2021.

Minister of Health Hala Zayed announced last week that citizens will get the two-shot vaccine at a cost of no more than EGP 200 (around $13), with needy families and individuals to be exempt from the charge.

The vaccination campaign currently uses the Chinese Sinopharm and British-Swedish Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, with each person receiving two shots administered 21 days apart.

Egypt has received 350,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, and 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, both of which were granted emergency use authorisation by the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) in January.

The EDA has also approved the emergency use of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine last week.

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Even if you have dabbled in the extensive library of books on this matter, I doubt you will have seen so extensive a collection of assassination sourcing (once an investigative reporter, always an investigative reporter). And yet the show is never dry or dull  the director, Kevin Christopher Fox, and his cast of male actors of a certain age and type all ratchet up the stakes. The laudably rapid-fire show is quite serious, of course, although there are a few hints of self-awareness (I'd suggest adding a few more) and some useful discussion of how Levin's theory intersects with that of movie director Oliver Stone, whose 1991 movie "JFK" had a lot bigger marketing budget than does Assassination Theater. I found Levin's arguments far more plausible than those of Stone, some similarities notwithstanding. Unlike Stone, Levin does not see New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison as a hero. Au contraire. It should also be noted that Stone already had made his movie before some of Levin's research came to be.
Unless youve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, youve most likely been inundated with all kinds of new stories and finger-pointing social media diatribes about Texas shocking grid failure as temperatures dropped below freezing across the Lone Star State earlier this month. And, adding insult to injury, after coping with rolling blackouts and a plague of burst pipes during the harsh winter storm, some residents were hit with power bills big enough to bankrupt them--in some cases over $15,000.

As these disastrous (and in some cases deadly) developments unfolded, there was no shortage of accusations and blame games to go around, with different factions (mistakenly) pointing to frozen wind turbines while others blamed the states uniquely deregulated power grid. Now, as Texas lawmakers launch an investigation into the source of the energy system failures, state regulators have also come under fire amidst a general atmosphere of finger pointing and blame shifting at the unfolding legislative hearings.

While the outages came as a shock to Texans, as well as to the rest of the world watching the news unfold on their various screens, the elements that came together in a perfect storm (so to speak) to cause the systemwide failures have been in place for years, and in some cases, decades. Texas unique utilities market has been blazing its own trail for a long time now, having begun its course towards energy independence in 1999, but its only when something goes wrong that these kinds of innovations (or the nations most extensive experiment in electrical deregulation according to the New York Times) come under scrutiny.

Texas is in a unique position to run its own grid however it sees fit, as 90 percent of the states energy is produced on its very own grid. And the state has seen fit to run that grid with very, very little regulation, handing control of the states entire electricity delivery system to a market-based patchwork of private generators, transmission companies and energy retailers as the New York Times reported last week.

Related Video: Top 5 Uses of Petroleum



This decision was not a sinister and sneaky back-room deal; it was widely publicized and supported in equal measure by constituents and industry leaders alike. Competition in the electric industry will benefit Texans by reducing monthly rates and offering consumers more choices about the power they use, then- Texas-governor George W. Bush was quoted when he became a signatory on the 1999 deregulation legislation.

But while Texans were promised cheap electricity in exchange for rallying around grid deregulation, that simply never came to fruition. Since long, long before the $15,000 one-month utility bills, Texans have been paying a premium for the very same energy they were promised to receive at a discounted rate. A deregulated power grid is particularly vulnerable to the ebbs and flows of the market, and nearly 60% of Texans now buy their electricity from a retail power company at a market-based rate instead of a local utility. A recent Wall Street Journal analysis based on nationwide data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed that not only have Texans not received the lower power bills they were expecting, on the whole theyve paid more than other U.S. consumers--a lot more. Customers of that deregulated energy market have paid a total of $28 billon more for their power since 2004 than they would have paid if theyd been covered by the states traditional utilities, Earther reported this week.

While the slow trickle of money of of Texans pockets over the last 17 years is newsworthy, considering that deregulation was sold to the public to do the exact opposite, its entirely likely that the system would have charged on unchanged without the massive and scandalous grid failures cause by this months storms--although with changing weather patterns this kind of catastrophic climate event was coming sooner or later. But in the wake of the devastating outages, the U.S. and Texas energy industries are already changing in response as power companies bail on deregulated grids. Investors prefer steady dividends from regulated utilities over erratic profits in the freewheeling American power production industry, the Financial Times reported this week.



While there are certainly still plenty of benefits to deregulation--incentivizing innovation and pricing out coal plants are just two examples--this months events show that those benefits no longer outweigh the risks for many Texan power producers and consumers.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Powering the farmers' protests in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, lashed out at the Centre's indifference towards the farmers who have been protesting for the last three months at Delhi's borders - Singhu, Tikri and Ghaziabad, against the three Farm Laws. Addressing a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' in UP's Meerut, Kejriwal alleged that the 26 January violence at Red Fort was orchestrated by the BJP itself. Comparing BJP to Britishers, he said that not even the colonisers did not use water canons and lathis on farmers.

'AAP did in 5 years what BJP couldn't in 25 years': Kejriwal slams BJP during Surat rally

Kejriwal: 'BJP worse than Britishers'

"It has been more than 3 months, in winters, for the last 95 days at Delhi border with their families are sitting at protests. 250 farmers have been martyred but the govt is not affected. They ask to waive off their loans, every party says vote for us and we will waive off but after winning they say we don't have money. In the 2014 elections, the BJP in their manifesto said, we will bring the Swaminathan report. In three years of the govt, BJP in an affidavit in the Supreme court wrote that will not give MSP," he said.

"Water canons, lathi-charge are being done on farmers. Are they enemies of our country? Even Britishers did not do this. They also did not do so much atrocity," he said adding, "The entire Red Fort incident was planned by them. Many people told me that they were deliberately shown wrong path as they didn't know the streets of Delhi. Those who hoisted flag were their (BJP) workers. Our farmers can be anything but anti-nationals."

People joining AAP after seeing work done by Kejriwal govt: Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia

Proclaiming that the Centre's Farm Laws were a 'death warrant' for farmers, Kejriwal said that farmers will become labourers in their own fields. Highlighting AAP's involvement in the farmers protest, Kejriwal said that his government had supplied water, food, medical supplies, toilets etc. "Centre's three farm laws are death warrant for farmers. The government wants to take away their lands and give them to 3-4 capitalists. Farmers will become labourers in their own fields, that is why it's do or die situation for farmers," he said.

He added, "We have participated in the protest from the beginning. Centre's plan was to stop them but they reached Delhi border. Centre had sent me a file, and it was written that Delhi's 9 large stadiums were to be turned into jails, but I have that power, they had to send the file. We have been helping them with water, free wifi, toilets." Remembering BKU leader Rakesh Tikait's breakdown at Ghazipur, he said that it was unbelievable sight saying, "On 28th January night, what we saw was unbelievable. Rakesh Tikait ji was sitting at Ghazipur border, he was doing it for farmers and govt sent their police goons, he got emotional and cried. We could not see it."

Delhi-ites vote in 5 civic body by-polls; Here's why it's a litmus test for AAP, BJP, Cong

AAP and Farm Laws

AAP had voted against the Farm Bills in the Parliament with MP Sanjay Singh storming the well and manhandling a marshal by grabbing his neck when he tried to stop his path to the well - resulting in his suspension from the Rajya Sabha for the entire monsoon session. Later, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and all AAP MLAs tore copies of the Centre's Farm Laws in the Delhi Assembly, before passing a resolution against the farm laws. Moreover, both Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh have met Tikait and addressed Kisan Mahapanchayats in UP. Delhi government have also supplied free water, wi-fi, medical facilities, toilets, food and legal aid to the protesting farmers at Delhi borders. Talks between farmers and Centre have stalled after government suggested stalling the laws for 1.5 years, while farmers have been adamant on repealing.

AAP 'helps' protesting farmers to send defamation notices to BJP netas for smear-campaign
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 23:37:02|Editor: huaxia

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STOCKHOLM, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A potentially deadly strain of salmonella has been found in wild boars in Sweden. Though it poses no threat to humans as long as the meat is cooked properly, it could potentially devastate the country's pig industry, an expert said Sunday.

Four decades after salmonella choleraesuis was eradicated in Sweden, it emerged again last summer at a pig farm in Skane province, southern Sweden.

Now, it poses a threat to piggeries hundreds of kilometers away. In December, the bacterium was found among wild boars in an enclosure in the Sodermanland province. All animals were culled, but extensive tests later revealed that it has spread to wild boars in the entire region.

There are also fears it may spread to domestic pigs. Sweden's pig farming industry last year produced 247,000 tonnes of pork, according to the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

If that happens, the effects could be devastating, Axel Sanno, a researcher in porcine herd health management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, told Radio Sweden News.

"It did already happen once and it could likely happen again that the infection is introduced in the domestic pig herd, which could have a big impact on the food supply in the country."

The bacterium reportedly causes blood poisoning, often with deadly effects for the infected animals. The meat is, however, safe for human consumption as long as it has been properly cooked. Enditem
(CNN) -- Myanmar police shot dead one protester on Sunday and wounded several others as they moved to end weeks of demonstrations against the military coup, according to a local politician and news reports.

Police opened fire in the southern town of Dawei, local politician Kyaw Min Htike said. The Dawei Watch media outlet reported that one person was killed and more than a dozen were wounded.

Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Videos posted to social media also captured escalating confrontations between protesters and security forces in the cities of Yangon and Mandalay.

In one video from the Hledan district of Yangon, shots could be heard. Local media reported that at least five people were injured in those clashes. At least five students were arrested at protests elsewhere in downtown Yangon Sunday. Shots could also be heard in a live stream posted on social media by local media from Yangon's Tamwe township, in which crowds of protesters could be seen fleeing from police.

The military intensified its crackdown on anti-coup protesters over the weekend, with hundreds of people reportedly detained.

The clashes come a day after the ruling military junta fired the country's United Nations ambassador for making an impassioned plea at the UN General Assembly for international action to help overturn the coup.

On Saturday, state television MRTV announced UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun's removal, saying he had "abused the power and responsibilities of a permanent ambassador" and that he "betrays the country."

Speaking to Reuters following his firing, Kyaw Moe Tun said that he "decided to fight back as long as I can."

Myanmar has seen 22 consecutive days of protests since the country's military seized power in a coup on February 1, ousting the democratically-elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained alongside other government leaders including President Win Myint.

Addressing the assembly in New York on Friday, Kyaw Moe Tun defied the military rulers now in control of the country and urged the UN Security Council and the world to use "any means necessary" to rescue the people of Myanmar and hold the military to account.

"We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people and to restore the democracy," he said.

Kyaw Moe Tun said he was delivering the speech on behalf of Suu Kyi's government, which won a landslide in the November 8 elections.

In a show of defiance, the ambassador also flashed the three fingered "Hunger Games" salute used by protestors on the streets of Myanmar and adopted from recent protests in neighboring Thailand.

The diplomat received a rare round of applause from his UN colleagues at the end of the speech. The new US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, praised the envoy's "courageous" remarks.

"The United States continues to strongly condemn the military coup in Myanmar," she said Friday, addressing the assembly. "And we condemn the security forces' brutal killing of unarmed people."

Thomas-Greenfield added that the US "will continue to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance, including to Rohingya and other vulnerable populations in Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan states."

"The world should applaud the bravery of Representative Kyaw Moe Tun for delivering such a powerful statement on behalf of the people of Myanmar, not the illegitimate military junta," Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center, said in a statement Friday.

"The international community should support the will of the people of Myanmar by recognizing the CRPH and refusing to legitimize, normalize, or cooperate with the military government."

The military continued its crackdown of anti-coup protesters on Saturday with hundreds reportedly arrested, including journalists.

Activist group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), said that in towns and cities across the country, security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and shot their guns into the air to disperse protesters.

A woman was reportedly shot and wounded in the central town of Monywa, according to Reuters, citing local media and an emergency worker.

In the biggest city Yangon, police fired tear gas and flash bangs to break up a group of protesters representing Myanmar's different ethnic groups. Protesters had been chanting insults at police prior to the disruption, a witness told CNN. When the group scattered, police gave chase across the neighborhood.

In a village on the outskirts of the capital Naypyidaw, riot police use tear gas grenades and fired rubber bullets into the air to disperse hundreds of protesters.

AAPP said that as of Saturday, it has documented 854 people who have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the February 1 coup. The group noted, however, that "hundreds of people" were arrested in Yangon and other places on Saturday.
Playa del Rey resident Dara Pastor walks past a mural, painted on a wall at the restaurant Playa Provisions, reminding everyone to wear a mask. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The winter surge of COVID-19 brutalized much of Los Angeles County, sending case rates and deaths skyrocketing for weeks.

But in some neighborhoods, the pandemic's wrath was barely felt.

In West Hollywood, Malibu and Playa del Rey, infection rates actually fell, or increased much less than elsewhere, according to a Times data analysis of more than 300 neighborhoods and cities across the county.

Those communities' relative good fortune can be explained by some obvious demographic factors, such as Malibu's low housing density and West Hollywood's large population of singles able to work from home.

But residents and city officials also point to other factors they believe helped keep the pandemic under control: sea breezes, easy access to open space for exercising, a strong culture of mask compliance and, crucially, limited contact with other people.

"I am keenly aware that I am in the minority of people," said Shayna Moon, a project manager for a technology company who works from home in Playa del Rey, where case rates declined during the surge. "So few people have been protected in the way that people in my age and income bracket and education have been."

The data analysis underscores the wrenching inequities unveiled by the pandemic in L.A. County and beyond.

Some areas  the Eastside, eastern San Fernando Valley, South L.A. and southeastern part of the county  have been devastated by the coronavirus. Many of these are low-income communities with a high number of residents who are essential workers, putting their lives at risk at supermarkets, manufacturing firms and other businesses. They are far more likely to live in overcrowded conditions, bringing the coronavirus home from work and spreading it among the household.

Hard-hit areas lack the assets  vast recreational open space and a population with the economic means to stay home, get goods delivered and work remotely  of affluent communities that fared better. It was not just living in sprawling single-family homes rather than denser apartments that made the difference, but additional economic and lifestyle factors.

Story continues

When taken as a whole, these factors paint a tale of two surges  showing that the luxuries of location and privilege play an important role in one's ability to avoid the coronavirus.

This story, which examined weekly case rates between Nov. 15 and Jan. 15, is about some of the places the holiday surge passed over.

Malibu

Masked visitors to the Malibu Pier, which features shops, fishing and restaurants open for outdoor dining. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

In the courtyard of a Malibu shopping plaza last week, Renee Henn, 27, sat on a bench in the sun as people milled around sipping coffee, chatting over lunch at physically distanced tables and popping into a Pilates studio.

Henn, who lives in a house near the beach with her father and his girlfriend, has been able to work remotely for a local tech company during the pandemic. She said lack of density, lifestyle factors and even the Malibu climate could help explain the areas relatively tame COVID-19 numbers.

Were near the water, and the sea air heals, she said. Everybody is outside all the time.

While L.A. County's coronavirus case rate exploded by 450% during the surge, the case rate for the city of Malibu only doubled. That places it near the top of the list of communities least affected by the surge.

Pricey real estate may have helped to insulate Malibu. The median home value in the seaside community is $2 million, according to census data, and many of the essential workers at restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses in its compact commercial district live outside the area.

The city's affluent residents were able to pivot to working remotely soon after the pandemic started, and most City Hall services and meetings immediately transitioned to online.

A lot of people in Malibu were able to adjust to working from home," said the city's mayor, Mikke Pierson, "and I think it made a huge difference compared to all the people that had to head out on 9-to-5 jobs that required them to be out among other people."

Pierson noted that Malibu does not have nursing homes or long-term care facilities (although there have been efforts to establish some), which have been hubs for outbreaks of the virus.

But as a tourist destination, Malibu poses some risks. With up to 15 million visitors a year, Malibu considers crowding on beaches and trails to be a "real concern" during the pandemic, said city spokesman Matt Myerhoff.

To encourage healthy behavior, the City Council in November passed an ordinance requiring the use of masks. It is enforced with a $50 fine that can be avoided if the person in violation complies immediately. The city also placed digital signage along highways encouraging the use of face coverings in public.

The city has been using all of its communications channels to repeat and reinforce the [Los Angeles County] public health officials' safety recommendations [and] health orders, Myerhoff said.

Additionally, the area has plenty of open space. Julia Bagnoli, 36, lives in an Airstream in the woods, she said, in the hilly area of Topanga just east of Malibu. She has a number of jobs  including alcohol treatment counseling and teaching yoga at a children's school  but her primary occupation is Vedic astrology, which she has been able to practice remotely throughout the pandemic.

Compared with her woodsy home, the city is just more crowded, she said while playing with her puppy Usha at a shopping plaza on Pacific Coast Highway. She noted that there are only about 10,000 people in Topanga and fewer than 14,000 in Malibu. Theres like 14,000 people in a four-block radius in Hollywood. Were just more spread out.

West Hollywood

Cars stream through the intersection of La Cienega Boulevard and Holloway Drive in West Hollywood. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

West Hollywood, in some ways, would seem a prime candidate as a superspreader locale. The city jams 36,000 people into less than 2 square miles.

But while other densely populated areas in the county, including parts of South L.A. and the San Gabriel Valley, saw coronavirus case rates skyrocket by more than 1,000% during the surge, West Hollywood saw its cases climb by only 46%.

The main difference: household size. West Hollywood is a place where many residents live alone, according to city data. And many of the area's residents have been able to work from home throughout the pandemic.

Those options are off the table for many of the essential workers and people who depend on multigenerational housing in parts of L.A. that were hit hard by the surge.

Dex Thompson, a 33-year-old actor, said he is the sole occupant of his house near the busy intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard and has been going on Zoom auditions since the start of the pandemic. Even the decision to audition has been deliberate, he said.

Theres a little bit of narcissism here, Thompson said of West Hollywood, as he snacked on sushi and beet juice outside Whole Foods. Everyone feels a little important, like, Im about to be somebody, and youre not, so am I going to risk my life for you or for this opportunity?

A sign of encouragement shines on the Santa Monica Boulevard median in West Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

That luxury  of housing, work and choices  has, in many ways, been a determining factor amid the pandemic.

Lisa Cera, a stylist, said she and her business partner have managed to keep their business afloat by working out of her apartment.

Like Thompson, she is the sole occupant of her home, which is around the corner from West Hollywood's commercial corridor. She has three interns  two of whom work remotely  and is tested for the coronavirus any time she has to step onto a film set.

Although Cera has friends on the East Coast who have contracted COVID-19, she said she didnt know anyone in West Hollywood who has had it.

Keeping fit may have helped her and others in her neighborhood to stay healthy during the pandemic, she said. She hikes in Runyon Canyon almost every day and is careful to pull her mask tighter when someone gets close to her on the popular trail.

Though ocean breezes and gourmet juices may seem like less-than-quantifiable factors, there is a case to be made for their correlation to health and avoidance of COVID-19.

Lifelong, systemic lack of access to primary healthcare and nutrition, as well as environmental factors like pollution, can contribute to a higher likelihood of illness and death from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of those factors have long plagued the poorer, denser and more diverse parts of the county that were hit hardest during the surge.

West Hollywood's network of social programs may have also made a difference. The city provided free grocery and meal delivery for vulnerable residents, expanded assistance for renters and small businesses and developed advanced technological outreach and communication efforts, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Belsanti.

Additionally, West Hollywood, like Malibu, passed an ordinance requiring the use of masks in public.

Some residents said the combination of factors worked.

Were a small city, said Douglas, 49, a real estate developer who declined to give his last name. West Hollywood is good at communicating policies and getting the information out.

Playa del Rey

In Playa del Rey, an affluent beachfront neighborhood near Los Angeles International Airport, the pandemic has barely registered.

In fact, infection rates declined by 25% during the two-month period identified by The Times.

The area in the heart of Silicon Beach doesn't have Malibu's spaciousness, but it seemed to have demographic advantages. The coastal community is largely residential, with a mix of single-family homes and apartments, and it has fewer crowded households than most neighborhoods and cities in the county, according to a Times review of data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

It's also among the most affluent  and has a high percentage of white-collar workers, meaning many presumably have the advantage of working from home.

Moon, the project manager and a Midwest transplant to the neighborhood, has been cautious about following public health guidelines, she said, expressing gratitude that her employer has allowed her to work from home since April.

Moon said she doesn't step foot outside her apartment without a mask  and rarely ventures farther than neighborhood groceries and drugstores.

I assume very little risk on a daily basis. Ive basically been insulated from it because of the demographic that Im in, she said.

Perry Chung walks through the popular commercial center of Playa del Rey with a coffee from Playa Provisions. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

But the public health precautions  such as stay-at-home orders and intermittent bans on indoor and outdoor dining  have taken their toll on the neighborhood.

At Playa Provisions, a well-known eatery just off the beach, business is down by 75%.

"We love being that go-to staple and dependable location for people to come," said Brooke Williamson, the restaurant's co-owner and co-chef. "Every moment of this has been so painful."

She and her staff never relaxed their safety precautions, even as the neighborhood fared better than other parts of the county, she said.

"I tried not to think about the area not being dangerous. I always treated my restaurant and staff and family as if we were in the highest-risk areas to try to avoid being relaxed in any way."

While Williamson talked, more than a dozen people walked by her restaurant. All wore masks.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Last week a Rubicon was crossed. It was the week the Irish people finally lost confidence in its Government.

Worse still, it was the week the Government lost confidence in itself. The penny finally dropped: Ireland has a Government that cannot cope with Covid.

An Irish Times poll confirmed Government fears: 51pc believed the Government was "not doing a good job" on Covid, a slump of 15pc. Taoiseach Micheal Martin's and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly's ratings tanked. Last year's Covid hero, Leo Varadkar, lost 13pc.

On Wednesday evening there was an outbreak of tribal spleen at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting. Ex-ministers Michael Ring, Frances Fitzgerald and Regina Doherty let fly. Micheal Martin and Stephen Donnelly were filleted. Even Tanaiste Leo Varadkar conceded that the Government's message was confused. Meanwhile, in Fianna Fail, the mutterings against Micheal Martin are even louder than those from their old enemies, Fine Gael.

Only one man's ratings rocketed in the poll. Chief medical officer Tony Holohan is respected by a massive 83pc. Holohan is a leader of whom politicians are profoundly jealous. While the Irish people trust Tony , they deeply distrust the politicians occupying key Covid posts.

Why is this such a catastrophic development? Well, if citizens lose confidence in political leaders, they will soon inevitably decline to comply with the rules they advocate.

We have now reached that point. There is growing evidence that more and more people, disaffected with political antics, are cheating, selectively flouting Covid regulations. They feel capable of making more rational choices themselves. Increasingly, the rules are becoming a la carte.

The public is now bewildered; but it has good instincts, sensing that the politicians have failed it. Regina Doherty insisted at the Fine Gael meeting that all the last government's work in the first lockdown was being wasted.

The public is bewildered about why Micheal Martin promised us a "meaningful" Christmas, why the entire Cabinet succumbed to demands to open up from employers' group Ibec, publicans and restaurateurs in defiance of health advice from Tony Holohan. The politicians' decision had fatal consequences. The third wave followed. The public hold ministers responsible for the deaths of citizens. Although this is a serious charge, sadly it has a ring of truth.

The public is bewildered by petty rivalries between the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste, resulting in confusing Covid messages; bewildered that our Government - entrusted with saving lives - funked the issue of the Irish Border, a cowardly political retreat that gave the virus free rein; bewildered that it took nearly a year to bring in mandatory quarantine legislation, long after that horse had bolted and more lives had been lost; bewildered that emergency legislation takes weeks to complete, pointing out that the 2008 bank guarantee crisis legislation was passed by both Houses and signed by the President in 48 hours; bewildered that the vaccination roll-out is pitiful compared with the UK, Northern Ireland and the United States.

And the nation feels humiliated after its eye has been wiped on the pandemic battlefield by Boris Johnson and Arlene Foster. No wonder they look to Holohan for wiser guidance.

The Government has bet the bank on school reopening and on vaccinations. Meanwhile, several ministers are shamelessly jousting to be the bearer of precious good news. So, they all head for the media with different spins, striving to outshine each other . It is a deadly game. While Nphet has suggested that schools themselves are safe places, they are sending clear signals about the dangers of mobilising hundreds of thousands into the wider school overflows.

Will the parents heed pleas from the floundering stewards of safety, Martin and Donnelly, and head straight home after the school run, refuse to gather at the gates, shun car-sharing, ignore the teachers and ban playdates?

Not a chance.

The return of schools will multiply contacts. Opening up, at a time when confidence in the Government's advice is shot, will hardly deter thousands of parents from yielding to the temptation of forbidden fruit, such as 'brief contacts' and 'once-off' household visits.

Infections will multiply. A cynical Government is gambling on a compensating reduction in infections brought about by vaccinations.

Sadly, just as schools reopen, younger people are catching the virus in increasing numbers. The Government is playing Covid roulette with its school reopening strategy in a desperate bid for popularity. Should it not have considered waiting a few more weeks until the vaccine was going full steam ahead, and not staggering out of the station?

Politicians have led us into a bad place. Specifically, Micheal Martin and Stephen Donnelly shattered all public belief in their competence during media interviews last week. The Taoiseach needs to reshuffle the Cabinet.

The original appointment of Donnelly to Health, needlessly replacing the incumbent Simon Harris in mid-crisis, was politically reckless. A cabinet post may have been promised to Donnelly when he joined Fianna Fail, but to land a novice in the trickiest portfolio of all was political insanity and totally unfair to him. Perhaps he demanded it; he does not lack self-confidence.

If Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar want to restore public confidence in the Government, they should speedily change the guard.

The absence of Simon Coveney from the front line in this Government's life-or-death battle is sinful.

While neither Martin nor Donnelly enjoy the public's confidence, Coveney is the safest pair of hands on the planet.

In the last Cabinet in which I served, he was mature, authoritative and gave no hair-raising interviews. He was head and shoulders above the rest of us, trusted by the public and respected by his colleagues.

If he were persuaded to accept the poisoned Health chalice, Leo could take Foreign Affairs in preparation for his return as Taoiseach next year.

Donnelly does not deserve to be humiliated. He could seamlessly slip into Leo's portfolio. His background in McKinsey and Company makes him a far better fit for the challenge of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

And the combination of Coveney and Holohan might start to restore the public confidence so urgently needed.

Hes been condemned by his own state party for his vote to convict former President Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy doesnt appear to be bothered. Declaring himself at such peace with his decision, Cassidy told reporters last week that the formal censure from the Louisiana Republican Partys executive committee reflects the sentiment of "a small group of people," not the "broader Republican Party."

Upon further questioning, Cassidy doubled down.

"There's a diversity of opinion among Louisiana Republicans, even if there is not among a very small group of people," he said.

The senators got a point. The party leaders who convened an emergency weekend vote to blast him do indeed make up a very small group of people, at least compared to the majority who voted to give Cassidy a second six-year term in November. As to whether they represent the views of the much larger universe  or put another way, whether all those voters look to them for direction  history suggests otherwise.

There are a few obvious reasons for this. One is that the truest and most committed believers tend to run for party office, which means that the views of people who serve dont necessarily reflect those of the rank and file.

Another is rooted in Louisianas open primary system, which robs political parties here of a source of influence they enjoy in other states: the ability to set rules that benefit their favored candidates. Thats why Louisiana doesnt see fights like the one playing out right now in Virginia, where mainstream forces there are maneuvering to set up a nominating system for the fall gubernatorial election that would likely disadvantage a hardcore Trumpist candidate, and instead choose a nominee who could appeal to moderates in the general election.

The Louisiana Republican Party cant do anything like that. With the open primary, anyone who meets legal criteria can get on the ballot, and the top primary finishers, regardless of party, meet in a runoff.

How that plays out varies depending on who runs, but its a notoriously difficult system to game.

Back in 1995, the party tried to clear the GOP side of the field by making an early endorsement of a state representative named Quentin Dastugue for governor. Dastugue was a perfectly respectable option, but the endorsement didnt convince voters and donors to give him a serious look. He wound up dropping out ahead of qualifying, as voters instead coalesced around a longtime Democrat whod just switched parties, Mike Foster.

The next year, the party endorsed Christian conservative Woody Jenkins for Senate in a race that featured a long list of more mainstream Republicans. Wary moderates got on board when Jenkins polled ahead of other members of the field and the split created a possibility that two Democrats might make the runoff. But even though Louisiana was already tilting right by then, Jenkins turned out to be too extreme; Democrat Mary Landrieu beat him by a hair and then held the seat for 18 years, until Cassidy ousted her in 2014.

More recently, the party was unable to settle on one of three major GOP candidates who sought the right to face, and presumably beat, Democrat John Bel Edwards in the 2015 gubernatorial runoff. The fight wound up being so bloody that David Vitter  the guy who threw most of the punches  never recovered his footing.

Its worth noting here that the Louisiana Democratic Party faces similar structural challenges, and is also guilty of being run by a very small number of people who dont have much influence on the voters at large.

This is why some leaders of both parties are pushing, once again, to bring back party primaries. The state experimented with such a system for congressional elections a decade ago and then abandoned it, but the Legislature is planning to take another look. Such a system would theoretically give party leaders a way to punish Cassidy for his impeachment vote should he run again in 2026.

Asked about a possible change, Cassidy labeled it a "stupid idea" that would create added costs, and fly in the face of history. Notwithstanding Edwards two wins, he noted, Republicans have become the dominant force in Louisiana under the system we have now.

No thanks, he might have added, to the people who are now leading the charge against him.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 17:22:51|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Russian helicopter made an emergency landing in Syria on Friday, and the pilots were taken to hospital immediately with no life-threatening situation, according to local media citing the defense ministry. Enditem
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Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny must serve his sentence in a penal facility where 'torture-like' conditions are so horrific inmates have severely injured themselves to avoid being sent there, a former prisoner has claimed.

Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, was jailed this month over alleged parole violations related to an embezzlement case he said was trumped up for political reasons, something the authorities deny.

His whereabouts had been unknown since Thursday when his allies learned that he was transferred out of one of Moscow's most infamous jails to an undisclosed location.

But it has been revealed that Navalny, 44, has arrived in penal colony number 2, known as IK-2, in the town of Pokrov, about 100km east of Moscow, human rights activist Ruslan Vakhapov told TASS agency.

Former prisoners from IK-2, where Navalny will serve his two-and-a-half year sentence, have said the conditions are 'like torture'.

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny must serve his sentence in a penal facility where 'torture-like' conditions are so horrific inmates have severely injured themselves to avoid being sent there, a former prisoner has claimed

Navalny, 44, has arrived in penal colony number 2, known as IK-2, (pictured today) in the town of Pokrov, about 100km east of Moscow

Pictures from the prison today showed metallic grey buildings behind a grey fence and barbed wire inside the colony, as well as the gold domes of a church

Meanwhile, local activist Ruslan Vakhapov has revealed that Navalny 'wouldn't be able to ask for help until his lawyers arrived' if anything happened.

Navalny was arrested last month upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin.

Politician Dmitry Demushkin, who served a two-year sentence for inciting hatred in IK-2, has claimed that the conditions are so horrific that people would 'cut their veins and stomachs' open so as to avoid being sent there.

'People did everything not to go there,' Demushkin told Russian television channel TV Rain. 'Even to the extent that they opened up their stomachs, opened up their veins.

'Therefore, the administration never notified the convicts that they were going to the [IK-2] to serve their sentences.'

Pictures from the prison today showed metallic grey buildings behind a grey fence and barbed wire inside the colony, as well as the gold domes of a church.

Pictures from the prison today showed metallic grey buildings behind a grey fence and barbed wire inside the colony, as well as the gold domes of a church

Navalny (pictured with his wife Yulia) was arrested last month upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin

A guard at the gate asked reporters to keep a distance of at least 100 yards if they wanted to film it.

Demushkin claimed that the aim of the penal colony is to 'psychologically break people' and leave them isolated from the outside world.

'When I arrived there, through unofficial channels, only three weeks later my relatives found out where I was,' he said.

'My first letter that the colony sent was two and a half months later, and before that all my letters were destroyed, and they did not reach me from relatives and friends.'

Demushkin said he spent the first eight months in the penal colony's notorious second sector, where conditions felt 'like torture'.

'I was forbidden to talk to other inmates, they were forbidden to look at me, my hands were always behind my back when I was out of my cell,' Demushkin told The Moscow Times.

'It was forbidden to attend the local prison church, to do any sporting activities.'

Navalny accuses Putin of ordering his attempted murder after he was poisoned with Novichok

Alexei Navalny's life is in danger and he must be released from prison immediately, European Court of Human Rights demands Europe's top human rights court has ordered Russia to release jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny after ruling that his life is at risk. The ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that was posted on Navalny's website on Wednesday demands that Russia set him free immediately and warns that failing to do so would mark a breach of the European human rights convention. Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator and President Vladimir Putin 's most prominent critic, was arrested last month 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. Earlier this month, a Moscow court sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison for violating 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 has ruled to be unlawful. In its Tuesday's ruling, the ECHR pointed to Rule 39 of its regulations and obliged the Russian government to release Navalny, citing 'the nature and extent of risk to the applicant's life.' 'This measure shall apply with immediate effect,' the Strasbourg-based court said in a statement. Advertisement

Another former inmate, Konstantin Kotov, who spent two years in IK-2 after being arrested and charged during Moscow's election protests in 2019, said it was a 'strict prison'.

'This is, by any measure, an extremely strict prison,' he told said. 'They try to control your every step, your every thought.

'Inmates who have spent time in different prisons across Russia told me this was the toughest one they have been in. It definitely felt like a high-security prison for hard criminals.'

The decision to move Navalny to IK-2 caused alarm to human rights activists who monitor the rights of Russian prisoners.

Pyotr Kuryanov, a lawyer at the Defence of Prisoners' Rights Foundation NGO, said it is 'lawless' at the penal colony.

'Its completely lawless there,' he said. 'They will break you. Bad things have been going on there for a long time.'

Ruslan Vakhapov, a local activist of the prisoners' rights group Jailed Russia, described conditions as particularly severe.

'In short, it's a bad colony,' she told Reuters.

Many prisoners cooperate with the colony administration and help them to control other inmates closely, abusing them if they violate a strict daily schedule, Vakhapov said.

'If there is a need to prevent Navalny from communicating with others, nobody would talk to him,' the activist said.

'(If anything happens), he wouldn't be able to ask for help until his lawyer arrives,' he added.

Navalny will be quarantined as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus before joining other prisoners in the colony, the Moscow Public Monitoring Commission that defends the rights of prisoners and has access to people in custody said, according to the RIA news agency.

Earlier on Sunday a Navalny ally, Leonid Volkov, called on Twitter for authorities to provide official information about his whereabouts and access to him by his lawyers.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, suffered a near-fatal poisoning in Siberia in August with what many Western nations said was a nerve agent. Navalny accuses Putin of ordering his attempted murder.

Putin has dismissed that, alleging Navalny is part of a U.S.-backed dirty tricks campaign to discredit him.

Earlier this month, Navalny was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for violating the terms of his probation while convalescing in Germany.

The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated - and which the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled to be unlawful.

His detention has fuelled political tensions between Moscow and Western governments, which are preparing additional sanctions against Russian officials.

Navalny's arrest also led a wave of protests that drew tens of thousands to the streets across Russia. Authorities have detained about 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days.

Russian officials have dismissed demands from the US and the EU to free Navalny and stop the crackdown on his supporters.

Moscow also rejected the ECHR ruling that, citing risks to Navalny's life in custody, ordered the Russian government to release him.

The Russian government has rebuffed the court's demand as unlawful and 'inadmissible' meddling in Russia's home affairs.

Earlier this week, EU foreign ministers agreed to impose new sanctions against Russian officials linked to Navalny's jailing.

RTHK: Duterte says no jab for me yet as shots arrive

The Philippines received its initial batch of Covid-19 vaccine doses on Sunday in a shipment donated by China, a day before its inoculation drive is due to begin, but President Rodrigo Duterte will not be among the first to be vaccinated.

Duterte attended a ceremony to mark the arrival of the initial 600,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac, which were delivered by a Chinese military aircraft ahead of a further 25 million CoronaVac doses due to be delivered in batches this year.

But Duterte, who turns 77 next month, told a news briefing that, though he wants to be vaccinated, his doctor wants a different Chinese brand of vaccine for him.

His comment emphasises the lack of support the Phillipines' faces as it launches its inoculation drive. One opinion poll showed that less than a third of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated because of perceptions over potential side-effects.

The country's vaccination campaign is targeting healthcare workers, police and military personnel initially. It has also negotiated supply deals with other manufacturers, aiming to inoculate 70 million people, or two thirds of the population.

The Philippines is the last Southeast Asian country to receive initial vaccine supplies, fuelling concerns over recovery prospects for a consumption-driven economy that suffered its worst slump on record last year, hit by lengthy coronavirus lockdowns.

"What you see now are donated vaccines. The problem is everyone is rushing to secure supplies," Duterte said at the media briefing. "Until there is residual supply, we'll just have to wait."

Duterte vowed to ease restrictions further to support economic recovery but only when more vaccines become available. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-02-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
(Natural News) A Waking Times editor pointed out that censorship is now the new battleground in the consciousness war. In a Feb. 15 op-ed, the outlets editor Dylan Charles said consciousness plays a big role in the conversation regarding censorship done hand-in-hand by the government and Big Tech. Charles first wrote the piece in August 2018, unaware that his opinion piece would become relevant almost three years later.

The Waking Times editor emphasized the importance of digging deep with open eyes and letting friendly and unfriendly truths into ones perspective in his article. In order to make the best choices for ourselves, this view must be as broad and as complete as possible, Charles remarked.

He cited the idea of a war on consciousness, a concept introduced in 2013 by Graham Hancock. The war on consciousness initially centered on the war on drugs  with the end goal of an international police state. The author and researcher explained that in order to achieve this ultimate goal, humanitys perspective must be restricted and prohibited from moving beyond the socio-economic and political realities.

Hancock suggested that people must be allowed to seek altered states of consciousness. This drive, when followed, is necessary for humanity to continue to evolve. He suggested a number of ways to reach this higher state  such as breathing exercises, meditation, fasting, hypnosis, rhythmic music, dance and plant medicines. Hancock put emphasis on the latter as the most effective and efficient means available to mankind in reaching a higher realm of consciousness.

Charles subsequently mentioned that a new offensive in the consciousness war has emerged, this time in the domain of information awareness. When a group of people  conspires to deliberately restrict access to [viewpoints], opinions, ideas, personalities and information, then [the group is] engaged in a struggle to control others perception of the world, he said.

The Waking Times editor remarked that the groups ultimate goal is to shut down imagination and control [peoples] consciousness of the world shared by everyone. Doing so lets them herd everyone else onto the same rules under the guise of equality.

Charles ended his piece by reiterating the value of personal sovereignty of mind and spirit. He explained that it is precisely this inner freedom and fearlessness that makes one impossible to control.

Big Techs overarching censorship powers are designed to keep the people in place

Charless mention of a group censoring certain viewpoints and opinions is no longer a dream, but a reality. Big Tech firms such as Facebook and Twitter have been given unprecedented power over public discourse. With great power comes great responsibility as the adage goes, but it seems that technology companies are using this censorship power wantonly to keep people in check. (Related: Big Techs censorship is leading to the takeover of humanity.)

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is one of the few lawmakers that have stood up to and spoken out against Big Tech censorship. The lawmaker from the Lone Star State called this particular brand of censorship the single greatest threat to free speech and democracy back in October 2020. He told Breitbart News Daily host Alex Marlow that time: There are a handful of Silicon Valley billionaires who have amassed more power than ever seen before over information, over the public square [and] over discourse. Big Tech is brazen [and] is shamelessly silencing and censoring conservatives.

Cruz later doubled down on his opposition toward Big Tech censorship in January 2021. In an interview with Breitbart News in Georgia, the Texas senator slammed both Facebook and Twitter.

First, he asserted that Twitter is the most brazen among the technology firms. Cruz mentioned asking the social media sites CEO Jack Dorsey if anybody elected him to be in charge of what people are allowed to read. Twitter brazenly censored the New York Post when it ran stories about Hunter Biden and Joe Bidens corruption concerning China, Ukraine and Russia  and they just silenced it. Not only did they prevent [people] from circulating those stories. For two weeks, they banned the [Post], the senator said. (Related: Twitter waging censorship warfare against corporations that supported Trump.)

He then shifted his attention to Facebook, describing it as highly problematic. Cruz was more lenient in describing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as the latter acknowledged the need to protect free speech. The lawmaker commented: Even though Facebooks pretty bad, just saying free speech is important makes him appear markedly better than his rivals. Nevertheless, Cruz said that both social media platforms pose very serious concerns. (Related: Censorship spree? Facebook removes almost 200 accounts to address hate speech, violence.)

Visit TechGiants.news to read more about how Big Tech companies censor opinions that go against the narrative.

Sources include:

WakingTimes.com

Breitbart.com 1

Breitbart.com 2

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The chairman of the Libyan National High Electoral Commission (HNEC), Imad Al-Sayeh, Sunday held a meeting with a delegation of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) aiming to monitor the developments of the issuance of a voters card intended for the next elections
CHARLOTTETOWN - Officials in Prince Edward Island introduced what they described as new "circuit-breaker measures" on Saturday in an effort to curb a recent spike in the province's long-standing low COVID-19 case count.

Dr. Heather Morrison, chief medical officer for Prince Edward Island, speaks to the media on Wednesday, December 16, 2020 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. Prince Edward Island is introducing what it describes asnew circuit-breaker measures to try and curb a recent spike in COVID-19diagnoses. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brian McInn

CHARLOTTETOWN - Officials in Prince Edward Island introduced what they described as new "circuit-breaker measures" on Saturday in an effort to curb a recent spike in the province's long-standing low COVID-19 case count.

The discovery of six new infections prompted the announcement from Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Heather Morrison and Premier Dennis King, who said the latest diagnoses cannot be linked to travel outside the province.

Officials are acting under the assumption that they are a contagious new variant of COVID-19 that first emerged in the United Kingdom and was detected on the Island earlier this month, they added.

"We need to wrap our arms around this virus and prevent it from spreading to the full extent that we can," King said at a Saturday afternoon briefing.

"We will continue to ask people to stay apart as much as possible while at the same time being as active socially and physically as possible because we have learned over time how important both those aspects are to our overall well-being."

The new restrictions, which take effect on Sunday and last for two weeks, will limit gatherings to an immediate household, plus a consistent circle of 10 contacts.

Sporting events, tournaments and competitions will be banned but team practices can continue.

Organized gatherings for concerts, worship services and movies will be limited to 50 people while gyms, museums, retail stores and libraries can operate at half-capacity with additional cleaning measures in place.

Restaurants can remain open for takeout and delivery only, while personal services may operate on an appointment basis provided masks are worn.

The tighter restrictions are needed to "interrupt the chain of transmission," Morrison said.

"As this outbreak continues to evolve in the coming days, we are expecting to receive more positive cases," she said. "This outbreak is likely going to get worse before it begins to get better."

Her comments came as the province reported six new COVID-19 infections, all among patients in their 20s.

The province has recorded 14 new cases in four days  12 of which have no connection to travel outside the province.

Prince Edward Island has remained relatively unscathed by the pandemic, going long stretches without new infections.

The province last introduced a circuit-breaker lockdown in early December after counting seven new cases over the course of one weekend.

The initial lockdown, which closed restaurants, libraries and fitness facilities, was eased after a week. The province then introduced rules closer to the ones being implemented now, which were in place until early January.

King said the current outbreak is not only disappointing but also worrisome, as the province is operating under the assumption that the new cases are a more contagious variant of the novel coronavirus.

"It's discouraging from the perspective of all Islanders simply because we've done very, very well to date and we can see the finish line but we do seem to be stuck in this tangled spider's web of COVID and it won't really let us out of its grip."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2021.
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SAMUTPRAKARN, Thailand, Feb. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand based manufacturer of food supplement products, Supreme Pharmatech Co., Ltd., just announced, that in December 2020 they have reached an agreement with world renowned scientist, Professor M.R.Mozafari, to join hands in development and production of a new generation of food supplement products based on liposomal technology.



Prof. M.R. Mozafari is a world class expert in the fields of encapsulation and controlled release of bioactive agents, nano-biotechnology, drug delivery and targeting. He has authored almost 300 publications, 8 patents and 5 books in the field of pharmaceutical nanotechnology. He has developed and patented a new method of industrial-scale manufacturing of liposomes, named for his research as the "Mozafari Method".



Mrs. Milint Winthasiri, Chief Executive Officer of Supreme Pharmatech Co., Ltd., said that the development of liposomal technology will bring enormous opportunity to explore new potential markets worldwide. She added that the management of Supreme Pharmatech is delighted to join forces with Professor M.R. Mozafari, who will lead the Research and Development Department at Supreme Pharmatech.



A liposomal delivery system has many advantages over regular oral ingestion. The lipid components of liposomes are natural phospholipids, which are impervious to the various digestive enzymes, such as acids and bile salts. Liposomes have a low toxicity and a lack of immune system activation. Both water soluble and fat soluble ingredients, can be incorporated in the liposomal delivery system. Liposomes are capable of providing targeted delivery of vital bioactive compounds to the cells with highest ratio.



Liposomal process require the most advanced knowledge and know-how in nano-science, as well as the most advanced equipment. For the time being, Supreme Pharmatech is the only factory in South-East Asia, capable of producing liposomal raw materials and ready liposomal products in powdered and liquid forms.



In 2021, Supreme Pharmatech will focus on the development of highly demanded liposomal ingredients, especially liposomal vitamins C and D3, liposomal calcium and magnesium, liposomal coenzyme Q10, liposomal astaxanthin, as well as other liposomal bioactive ingredients  apigenin, curcumin, quercetin, kaempherol, hesperidin, silymarin, gingerol, berberine, resveratrol and many more.



In 2021 Supreme Pharmatech plans to open 6-7 more new branches abroad. All export sales will be based on liposomal or semi-liposomal poly-formulations with wide application. Supreme Pharmatech also has plans to adapt exported formulations to the local market and cooperate with local buyers of food supplement products on an OEM basis.



Supreme Pharmatech and Professor M.R.Mozafari are putting maximum effort to bring significant changes to the world's industry of food supplements and lift-up the image of Thailand as one of the world's leading countries in nano-technology.



Published at: https://activities.ch7.com/detail/465772

Company website: https://supremepharmatech.com



Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12859933



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Supreme Pharmatech Co., Ltd.

Related Links

https://supremepharmatech.com


PHIs in Gampaha withdraw threat to stop work By Kumudini Hettiarachchi, Ruqyyaha Deane & Meleeza Rathnayake View(s): View(s):

In a different development, the Gampaha Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) who threatened to stop work after Friday, alleging that instructions with regard to vaccination were being changed often, withdrew the threat on Saturday after getting proper instructions from the Health Ministry.

The vaccination programme has been initiated in selected GN divisions but we have not been informed by the health authorities about the ages of the people who should be vaccinated, claimed the Gampaha Districts PHIs Chairman and Secretary, S.R.M.S.R. Samaradiwakara and H.K.C. Padmalal, in a letter to the Western Province Director of Health Services on Friday.

First we vaccinated those over 30 years of age. Then we were told to vaccinate those over 60. Once again, through a telephone call, we were informed that the age-group of those to be vaccinated has been changed and the scheduled dates of the vaccination programme were in disarray, they said.

They added that until they receive written instructions from the Secretary of Health, the PHIs involved in the vaccination programme in the district would stop work after Friday (February 26).
Start Your Future  Experience is Everything View(s):

If you are an enthusiastic individual with a passion for either Hospitality, Cookery, Patisserie, Events or Travel and Tourism then studying in either of these fields will open many global and domestic opportunities.

William Angliss Institute @ SLIIT, delivers Australian curriculum that is based on practical skills and knowledge whilst delivering in state-of-the-art facilities. In fact, we are growing and have just commenced an extension of our facilities with three new kitchens, more classrooms and a rooftop student recreation area. We have highly qualified industry experienced staff and foreign teachers (delivering from Australia due to current travel restrictions) that will push for the right attitude which will only enhance your learning experience and allow you to become career ready. Experience is Everything

Armed with an Australian qualification you have the power of demand in any part of the industry you desire to work in. We are excited about the future of the industry and now is an opportunity for you to get involved and prepared for the hospitality and tourism boom that will take place after COVID-19. Our Alumni graduates are thriving in many places throughout the world and here in Sri Lanka. We currently have our graduates in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Italy, Switzerland, Maldives, USA and even in the Caribbean.

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Advanced Diploma of Travel & Tourism (SIT60116) commences at the Diploma level through to the Advanced level over an 18-month period. Career paths range from being either a Tour Guide, Travel Agent, Information Officer, Resort Manager, Tour Costing, Advertising and Promotions, Airline Ground Operations, Tour Operator, Cruise Operations or Reservation Agent.

Diploma of Event Management (SIT50316) is a part time programme over 2 years, where you learn to design and deliver dynamic events across a range of industries such as sporting, food & wine, music, business and community events.

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Certificate I in Hospitality (SIT10216) is an introductory programme into the world of Hospitality. This programme is delivered over 2 months and is designed for students that may not meet the eligibility requirements of higher qualified programmes. Upon successful completion you have the opportunity to complete further study streams.

When you successfully complete your programme with us, you will receive the William Angliss Institute, Australian Qualification and you may be eligible to apply for a continuation of your studies at William Angliss Institute, Australia.

Do you have a passion and a love of food? Why not join of our short courses, you can choose a short course in Desserts, Cakes, Breads or Pastries!

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Editors note: This story was updated Sunday afternoon with information on the arrest.

A man accused of committing several arsons at emergency-services stations in Connecticut has been arrested in Pennsylvania.

Richard White was taken into custody Saturday night after he was spotted by the Pennsylvania State Police, WBRE/WYOU is reporting.

State police at Milton said they were alerted by Connecticut authorities that White had been seen traveling west in Interstate 80.

He was taken into custody about 8 p.m. during a traffic stop in the Milton area, they said. White is being held in the Northumberland County Prison pending extradition to Connecticut.

In Connecticut, Old Saybrook police Chief Michael Spera told WTNH that White, 37, of Torrington, Connecticut, had started several fires around the state at ambulance and fire stations.

This individual has targeted those who we count on to save lives, Spera told the station. Our officers have worked diligently all evening obtaining both search and arrest warrants in an effort to quickly stop these violent attacks against public safety and cause the suspect to be taken into custody.

Reports indicate that White is accused of starting a fire at the Hunters Ambulance building in Old Saybrook, before he drove to Meriden and threw a Molotov cocktail at the Hunters Ambulance facility there.

He is also accused of setting fire to an ambulance inside a fire department in Roxbury, then setting fire to a nearby home, according to reports.

Police told WTNH it is unclear at this point if a house fire in Washington Saturday evening was connected to this case.

The incidents remain under investigation.
Jen Psaki suggested Sunday that Joe Biden will not directly issue sanctions against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, claiming there are better ways for the president to retaliate for journalist Jamal Khashoggis murder.

'We believe there is more effective ways to make sure this doesn't happen again and to also be able to leave room to work with the Saudis on areas where there is mutual agreement  where there is national interests for the United States,' Psaki told CNN.

'That is what diplomacy looks like,' Biden's press secretary said during an interview with 'State of the Union' on Sunday morning.

The presidents spokesperson was specifically asked why the U.S. was punishing people under the Crown Prince, but not MBS himself.

She called Khashoggi's 2018 murder a 'horrific crime.'

'That is what complicated global engagement looks like and we have made no secret and been clear we are going to hold them accountable on the global stage and with direct actions,' Psaki added.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that 'there are more effective ways' to hold Saudi Crown Prince MBS responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's killing then issuing sanctions

The comment comes after President Joe Biden, pictured leaving church on Sunday, said Saturday that his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday

Pictured, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman arrives at Diriyah E-Prix 2021 in Riyadh on Saturday. Biden has faced criticism for not being tougher on MBS

Biden said on Saturday that his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday.

It follows a U.S. intelligence report that found Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The Biden administration has faced some criticism that the president should have been tougher on the crown prince, who was not sanctioned despite being blamed for approving Khashoggi's murder.

Asked about punishing the crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, who is also known as MBS, Biden said: 'There will be an announcement on Monday as to what we are going to be doing with Saudi Arabia generally.'

Biden did not provide details.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of MBS policies, was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the prince in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

The intelligence report released Friday, which had been withheld after being completed under Trump, said it was 'highly unlikely' that Khashoggi's murder could have taken place without his green light.

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi pictured in 2012. He was last seen on October 2, 2018

The report points to the crown prince's 'absolute control of the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations,' where his authority is already well established.

The killing of Khashoggi also fits a pattern of 'the crown prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad', it added.

But Saudi observers dismissed the highly anticipated report, with Ali Shihabi, a government adviser close to the kingdom's royal court, saying the 'thin' assessment lacked a 'smoking gun'.

The Saudi government, which has denied any involvement by the crown prince, on Friday issued a statement rejecting the U.S. report's findings and repeating its previous statements that Khashoggi's killing was a heinous crime by a rogue group.

Soon after the report was made public, the Arabic hashtag 'We are all MBS' began trending on Twitter, with pro-government cyber armies tweeting in support of the Saudi heir apparent.

The Saudi leadership is 'untouchable', screamed a front-page headline in the pro-government Okaz newspaper, which also denounced the report.

On Friday, Biden had said in an interview with Univision that he would hold Saudi Arabia 'accountable', adding that he had spoken with King Salman about the decision.

'I spoke yesterday with the king ... Made it clear to him that the rules are changing and we're going to be announcing significant changes today and on Monday. We are going to hold them accountable for human rights abuses,' Biden said.

'If they want to deal with us, they will have to deal with it in a way that the human rights abuses are dealt with,' he continued.

The president added that once he got his hands on the report, he worked to 'immediately' read and release it.

'It is outrageous what happened,' he asserted.

Pictured, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Saturday. A U.S. intelligence report that found the crown prince had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman waves on Saturday just days after the report was made public in the U.S. claiming he had authorized Jamal Khashoggi's killing

Despite the unequivocal conclusions of the assessment, the administration stopped short of imposing any diplomatic or economic sanctions on the heir to the throne of the influential ally.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained that Biden wants to 'recalibrate' but not 'rupture' its relations with Riyadh, a longstanding Middle East partner.

'This is not the Saudi smack-down that many expected,' said Varsha Koduvayur, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think-tank.

It indicates 'Biden's overall Saudi stance: put values at the heart of US foreign policy, emphasize human rights, and reverse the transactional approach of last four years (under Trump) -- while preserving the relationship,' Koduvayur added.

Among the punitive steps the United States took on Friday was the imposition of a visa ban on some Saudis believed involved in the Khashoggi killing and sanctions on others, including a former deputy intelligence chief, which would freeze their U.S. assets and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.

Biden has now said he will deal with Saudi Arabia on Monday. He is pictured above with First Lady Jill Biden as they walk to board Marine One on Saturday afternoon

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden exit Marine One as they walk to board Air Force One on Saturday. Biden said he read and released the Saudi report as soon as he could

President and First Lady are pictured on Saturday stepping off Air Force One

Blinken released a statement stating the world was 'horrified' by Khashoggi's killing and announcing a new 'Khashoggi ban' visa restriction on people linked to 'counter-dissident activities.'

He said the government has acted against 76 individuals but did not identify Khashoggi.

The public censure of the prince along with US sanctions marks a sharp departure from the policy of former president Trump, who sought to shield the kingdom's de facto ruler.

Biden had pledged during his campaign to make the kingdom a 'pariah' after it got a free pass under Trump, but observers say he is instead adopting a middle path.

While scrutinizing human rights, his new administration is working to preserve a valuable security partnership as it moves to reboot nuclear talks with Riyadh's arch-enemy Tehran.

Biden also needs to deal with the top crude producer on the highly fraught issues of energy, counterterrorism, and efforts to end the conflict in Yemen.

'The Biden foreign policy team is comprised of seasoned experts who are not so naive as to think that they can achieve their goals in the Middle East without dealing with a Saudi state that still anchors, though in a less totalizing way, both oil and security in the Gulf,' said Kristin Diwan of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

'For this reason, they have ruled out the sanctioning of Mohammed bin Salman, preserving space to deal with the Saudi state and its top leadership.'

The office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified report on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi that identified the crown prince approved the killing

Recent official statements from Washington have called Saudi Arabia a 'security partner', instead of what the Trump administration highlighted as an 'ally' and a key buyer of US military hardware.

In an apparent snub earlier this week, Biden insisted on making his first Saudi phone call to 85-year-old King Salman, even as Saudi pro-government supporters insisted that his son, Prince Mohammed, was the kingdom's day-to-day ruler.

'Washington realizes that MBS could go on to rule Saudi Arabia for the next half century, so it cannot afford to completely alienate him,' a Western diplomat told AFP.

'But it is also making clear that it will no longer give him a free pass.'

The crown prince has denied involvement in the October 2018 murder of Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident.

MBS did accept responsibility for the assassination as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. And Riyadh eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a 'rogue' extradition operation gone wrong.

Five men were given the death penalty for the journalist's murder but had their sentences commuted to 20 years in prison after being forgiven by Khashoggi's family.

Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia in September 2017 to live in self-imposed exile.

He was writing columns critical of the Saudi government - including of both King Salman and MBS - for The Washington Post when he was killed.

In October 2018, Khashoggi visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, to pick up the paperwork required for his marriage to a Turkish citizen. He was never seen leaving.
The UK has reported 7,434 new cases of Covid-19, the lowest number of daily infections in almost five months.

The number of cases is the lowest reported since 2 October, when there were 6,968 new infections.

Coronavirus hospital admissions are also at their lowest levels in England since October, NHS figures show.

The most recent data shows 874 people in England were admitted to hospital with Covid-19 on 24 February. That is the lowest daily total since 19 October, and a drop of 79 per cent from the peak of 4,134 reported on 12 January.

The UKs current R rate is estimated to range between 0.6 and 0.9, unchanged from last week.

A further 290 people had died within 28 days of a positive test as of Saturday, bringing the national death toll to 122,705.

Separate figures published by the UKs statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 143,000 deaths involving coronavirus in the UK.

A total of 19,682,048 people have now received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, Public Health England said.

In Wales alone, more than 38 per cent of the adult population have received a first dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca jab in the 12 weeks since the rollout of the countrys vaccination programme.

The figures came as Boris Jonhson rejected suggestions that remote working would become the norm, and predicted workers would return to offices in a few short months.

Meanwhile, the governments scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) warned good communication with the public is critical to prevent people from abandoning social distancing measures after being vaccinated.

The scientists fear false perceptions of immunity could lead to an increase in people breaching the rules.

As restrictions change, messaging should be careful to ensure that the importance of continued adherence to protective measures is well explained, Sage said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 07:57:21|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican leaders have blasted Democrats over the House passage of the 1.9-trillion-U.S.-dollar COVID-19 relief package, calling it a partisan process to push through Democratic agenda during the pandemic.

"In 2020, Congress passed five COVID-19 rescue packages. All five were completely bipartisan," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement Saturday, after the Democrats-held House approved the relief package amid unanimous Republican opposition.

McConnell continued that the five rescue packages approved last year were the largest peacetime fiscal expansion in American history, "yet no bill earned fewer than 90 votes in the Senate or less than about 80 percent support in the House."

The latest relief, a major legislation for President Joe Biden, cleared the lower chamber of Congress early Saturday morning by a vote of 219 to 212, with lawmakers largely voting along party lines. Two Democrats defected and voted against it.

"House Democrats snapped that bipartisan streak. They jammed through a bill that even liberal economists and editorial boards say is not well targeted to this stage of the fight," said the Senate Republican leader, noting that more than a third of its spending would not go out this fiscal year.

"The House's partisan vote reflects a deliberately partisan process and a missed opportunity to meet Americans' needs," he said.

Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House, said in the debate before the vote that "almost every one of this bill's 592 pages includes a liberal pipe dream," which "predates the pandemic."

"We ran the numbers. The amount of money that actually goes to defeating the virus is less than 9 percent, less than 9 percent. So don't call it a rescue bill. Don't call it a relief bill," said McCarthy.

The House vote came after more than eight hours of debate by the House Rules Committee on the framework for the relief package, and a full House debate that started late Friday night and stretched into early Saturday morning.

In the House debate that lasted for over an hour, Republican lawmakers unanimously opposed the giant relief package, calling it a Democratic wish list, arguing that the plan includes provisions that they see as unrelated to the crisis, and that the high price tag could result in unsustainable debt for future generations.

Many Republicans have questioned the need for another massive relief package as lawmakers have passed nearly 4 trillion dollars in relief efforts since the pandemic began, especially after a 900-billion-dollar aid package approved in December 2020.

Democrats, meanwhile, defended it as much-needed relief, highlighting the urgency to rein in the surging pandemic, which has claimed 500,000 American lives, and to bolster the ravaged economy, with millions of Americans still out of work and businesses grappling with the economic fallout from COVID-19.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the chamber, said in a statement Saturday that the relief plan is "coronavirus-centric," as it delivers the "decisive action" that families and small businesses demand and need.

"This package puts vaccines in people's arms, puts money in workers' pockets, puts children safely back in school, puts people back in work," said the Democratic leader. "It does so by honoring our heroes with state and local funding."

A few hours before the House debate, in response to McCarthy's conspicuously satirical tweet suggesting an up-or-down vote on each item separately in the relief package, Pelosi said on Twitter that even Republican mayors across the country are imploring Republican lawmakers to support the relief plan.

Pelosi was referring to a bipartisan letter to Congress on Jan. 29, co-signed by mayors across the country, including more than 30 Republican mayors, who called on lawmakers to roll out more relief for state and local governments as soon as possible.

Early February, Democrats moved to pass a procedural step in both chambers, allowing them to push through the big relief bill in the Congress without Republican support, a move criticized by Republicans as a "partisan process."

Most legislation requires 60 votes in the Senate to advance, but the budget reconciliation process allow Democrats to pass the bill with only a simple majority. With a 50-50 split Senate, and Vice President Kamala Harris to cast the tie-breaking vote vote, Democrats would be able to pass the bill without any Republican votes.

Michael Burgess, a Republican congressman from Texas, said it has been "disappointing" that Democrats are using a "partisan process" to pass a major rescue bill, just days after Biden called for unity in his inauguration speech.

"President Biden's call for unity was a simple talking point and instead of working with House GOP and Senate GOP. Democrats are pushing forward a partisan agenda that doesn't represent all Americans," Burgess said in a tweet.

Biden, however, recently said what Republicans proposed is "either to do nothing or not enough."

"If I have to choose between getting help right now to Americans who are hurting so badly, and being bogged down in a monthly negotiation or compromising on a bill that's up to the crisis, it's an easy choice," said the U.S. president.

The 900-billion-dollar relief package approved in December was widely considered long overdue, as Republican and Democratic lawmakers remained deadlocked for months over the size and scope of the aid bill, unable to strike a deal before the 2020 general election.

Democrats are now rushing to get the new relief bill approved in Congress and send it to Biden to sign into law, as federal unemployment benefits are set to expire in mid-March. Enditem
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
How do you get a weeks worth of political scandals and pandemic news into a single comedy sketch? And how do you find out if you qualify for a Covid vaccine and, if so, where to get one? Saturday Night Live attempted to answer some if not all of these questions with an opening segment about a fictional game show called So You Think You Can Get the Vaccine, hosted by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci.

This weekends broadcast, which featured Nick Jonas as both its host and musical guest, began with Kate McKinnon playing Fauci, describing herself as Americas voice of reason and celebrity hall pass for some reason.

She said the show would give everyday Americans a chance to vie for vaccine eligibility, adding: Getting the vaccine shouldnt be a competition, but Americans will only want to get it if it means someone else cant.

She then introduced the three-person panel of governors who would be approving or denying the requests of contestants, beginning with Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, whom she said was hated by every single person in California except those 10 people he had dinner with in Napa that one time.
She began filming scenes for her new Marvel blockbuster ThorL Love and Thunder earlier this month.

But Natalie Portman took a break from her hectic filming schedule on Sunday to step out for a take-away coffee from a local cafe in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Joined by her nine-year-old son Aleph, the Black Swan actress, 39, showcased her trim pins in a pair of denim shorts, while covering up her lithe torso beneath a loose-fitting white T-shirt.

Legging it! Natalie Portman, 39, showed off her trim pins in a pair of denim shorts as she stepped out to grab coffee in Sydney on Sunday

She completed her look with a pair of black-and-white sneakers, and a set of sunglasses, which she removed once inside the cafe.

The down-to-earth star went makeup-free and allowed her brunette locks to fall loosely around her shoulders in natural curls.

Natalie relocated from the US to Australia with her family in September, months ahead of filming scenes for the latest installment of the Thor franchise.

White on the mark! Joined by her nine-year-old son Aleph, the Black Swan actress looked effortlessly trendy in a white T-shirt, sneakers and sunglasses

She is now living in Sydney with her husband Benjamin Millepied, 43, and their children, son Aleph, nine, and daughter Amalia, four.

Thor: Love and Thunder will see Natalie's character, astrophysicist Jane Foster, take up the mantle of Thor after transforming into a female version of the Norse god.

In October, Natalie revealed her excitement on returning to the franchise during an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Natural beauty: The down-to-earth star went makeup-free and allowed her brunette locks to fall loosely around her shoulder

'It's going to be really silly and funny and great. We've got [director] Taika Waititi. He's wonderful, so I'm very excited,' she said.

Natalie was absent for 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, but was a key player in the first two Thor films in 2011 and 2013.

Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to be released in February 2022.
Pro-democracy activist Benny Tai is greeted by media members as he arrives to report to the police station over national security law charges in Hong Kong on Feb. 28, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Dozens of Leading Hong Kong Dissidents Charged With Subversion

HONG KONGForty-seven Hong Kong dissidents were charged on Feb. 28 with conspiracy to commit subversion, in the largest single clampdown on the citys pro-democracy opposition under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

Sam Cheung, a young activist and a participant in an unofficial primary election last summer, was dressed in a black mask and accompanied by his wife when he was charged after reporting to a local police station.

Hong Kongers have a really tough time these days, he told reporters before entering the station. I hope everyone wont give up on Hong Kong  [and] fight on.

Cheung was arrested in a dawn raid, along with more than 50 other lawmakers and activists on Jan. 6 in the largest so-called national security operation since the laws passage last June. They were accused of organizing and participating in an unofficial primary election last July aimed at selecting the strongest candidates for a legislative council election.

The Hong Kong police said in a statement they had charged 47 persons with the single count. They are to appear in court on March 1, the statement added.

The pro-democracy lawmakers were detained at the time, questioned, and some had their mobile phones and computers confiscated, before being released pending further investigations.

Pro-democracy activist Benny Tai arrives to report to the police station over the national security law charges in Hong Kong on Feb. 28, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

My chance of bail wont be too great, Benny Tai wrote in an earlier social media post. He was also charged and accused by Chinese authorities of being a key tactician for the pro-democracy movement in the former British colony.

Those also called in by Hong Kong police include a group of younger resistance camp pro-democracy activists including Lester Shum, Sam Cheung, Ventus Lau, and Fergus Leung.

Along with other #HongKong 2020 primaries candidates, we were notified to report to the Police ahead of schedule in relation to #NationalSecurityLaw charges, i.e. running in an independent primary. My leisure outfit helps me stay comfy should I be detained for God knows how long. pic.twitter.com/AYFKBOspez  Ray Chan (@ray_slowbeat) February 28, 2021

The pro-democracy camp denounced the arrests as political persecution for the informal, peaceful poll that drew 600,000 votes in a city of 7.5 million.

A rights advocacy group, Power for Democracy, that co-organized the primary elections, said in a Facebook post it had disbanded.

The Hong Kong police say 99 individuals have been arrested for suspected violations of the security laws so far.

Some of these have been denied bail, including media mogul and prominent Beijing critic Jimmy Lai, despite protracted legal appeals.

The Chinese Communist Partys sweeping national security lawsseen by opponents as a threat to Hong Kongs freedoms and autonomypunish acts of subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism against Chinas one-party state, with possible life imprisonment.

By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret. The Epoch Times contributed to this article.
History books note that Emile Peugeot applied for the lion trademark in 1858, decades before the first actual car made by the French came to be. This particular animal was chosen by the French because allegedly it could best describe the strength and sharpness of the products they made.Having such a long life behind it, the symbol went through a number of changes (see gallery for more). Whereas at first it was shown as an actual lion, on all fours, and with a pointy tail, by the turn of the 20th century it got up on its hind legs, facing to the right.It wasnt until after the end of the Second World War, in 1948, that this particular image started being used on cars. It was then when it turned its attention to the left, and kept its two-leg gait, with the front legs in the air and clawing away at something as if it were a zombie.The present-day logo that just got replaced last week is a stylized version of the lion, in silvery-chrome. A massive version of it, measuring 4.8 meters tall (15.7 feet) and 12.5 meters long (41 feet), was shown with great fanfare during the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.In none of its 174-year existence did the Peugeot logo appear as a cub. It does so now, courtesy of British leasing startup LeaseFetcher , who imagined it together with baby versions of the logos used by Lamborghini, Ferrari, Ford Mustang, and Jaguar.Unlike the other four, the one we have here is much more difficult to make out, as because the original has no face, there are few options left to try and instill youthfulness.

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Another 7,434 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,170,519, according to official figures released on Saturday.

The country also reported another 290 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 122,705. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news reported.

The latest figures were revealed as more than 19.6 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the vaccine.

The Britain's reproduction number, also known as the R number, remains unchanged at between 0.6 and 0.9, the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) announced Friday.

The figures mean that on average, every 10 people infected with coronavirus will infect between six and nine others. If the R number is above one, it means the coronavirus outbreak is growing exponentially.

According to SAGE, the infection growth rate is estimated to be between minus 6 percent to minus 2 percent, which means the number of new infections is shrinking by between 2 percent and 6 percent every day.

However, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Jonathan Van-Tam has urged the British public not to "wreck this now" as infections rates remain high in certain parts of Britain.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since 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.

--IANS

int/rs

(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.)
Imaginative play at childcare can equip children with skills they need to thrive academically at school.

Children who took part in narrative-based, role-playing activities known as Playworlds were shown to have improved executive functions, the skills that allow people to organise and self-regulate, according to new research from Monash University and Queensland University of Technology.

Conducted in two Melbourne preschools with almost 100 participants, the research showed children performed challenging tasks while playing and developed their cognitive functions including planning, memorising and focusing on a goal.

Children at Windermere Early Learning Centre & Kindergarten solve problems in their imaginary Playworld. Credit:Lara McKinlet/Monash PlayLab

Monash University Laureate Professor Marilyn Fleer, who led the study, said all of the skills would be vital when the children reached school.
THE ongoing formal political dialogue between Zimbabwe and the European Union, to normalise strained relations between the two, will continue despite the recent extension of sanctions on Harare by Brussels.

The EU extended its embargo against Zimbabwe a fortnight ago, citing alleged human right violations.

Harare opened formal dialogue with Brussels in 2019, which has culminated in a measured thawing of relations.

Another round of talks scheduled for December last year was cancelled as a result of Covid-19 and its attendant restrictions. Dialogue between the two sides has now been elevated to Ministerial level.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade spokesperson Ms Constance Chemwai told The Sunday Mail that a date for the third round of talks was being finalised.

The Cotonou Partnership Agreement Article 8 Political Dialogue between Zimbabwe and the European Union (EU) takes place twice a year as agreed between the two sides, said Ms Chemwai.

The dates for the third session of this dialogue are yet to be finalised. The agreed agenda of the political dialogue at the launch on June 3, 2019 covers a broad range of areas of focus that include investment, trade and economic development, humanitarian assistance, human rights, democracy, good governance and the rule of law, development co-operation and regional, continental and global co-operation.

Asked whether the recent extension of sanctions will disrupt the dialogue process, she said, No it will not.

Responding to questions from The Sunday Mail, EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Timo Olkkonen, said continuing the dialogue process was essential.

The EU and Zimbabwe held two formal political dialogues under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement since 2019.

The second political dialogue held in November 2019 was held at ministerial level, which was a welcome development in view of establishing a regular and formal engagement. The third meeting of the political dialogue was postponed last December due to the Covid-19 situation, but the EU is ready to have the next talks at the earliest occasion and once the situation allows.

The meetings allowed for the continuation of discussions on topics that are of common interest and are priorities in EU-Zimbabwe relations: human rights, democratisation, rule of law and good governance; economic developments and reforms, the investment climate and implementation of our free trade agreement, the Economic Partnership Agreement; development cooperation, humanitarian assistance and global and regional partnerships, Mr Olkkonen said.

The EU, he said, was keen to support Government in undertaking economic and political reforms.

The 28-member bloc imposed sanctions on Harare in 2002 but has been progressively reviewing the embargo in recognition of reforms being undertaken by Government.

Last year, the EU suspended sanctions against three senior Government officials  Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga; Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda; and the late former Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri.

The EU is willing to engage with and support the government across a wide range of policy fields where we can bring EU co-operation and assistance to bear, especially with regard to governance and capacity building, based on a genuine government commitment, said Mr Olkkonen.

The EU is currently planning for its future co-operation with Zimbabwe so the timing would be opportune to discuss these issues. Sunday Mail
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It's been two decades since Kareena Kapoor Khan entered into the film industry. In the last two decades, Kareena not only carved a niche for herself, but also became a female superstar. Today, we bring to you an old interview of Kareena, which she gave to a media portal ahead of her debut film release Refugee. In the interview, Kareena had spoken about her first co-star Abhishek Bachchan and predicted that he would be better than his father Amitabh Bachchan.

When asked how she found Abhishek as an actor, she had said, "As an actor he is better, at least I find him a thousand fold better... His father was the best, but he is going to be better than the best. I am sure about it. As a person he is wonderful, he is one of my closest friends."

In the same interview, Kareena had also reacted to the possibility of comparison between her and her sister Karisma Kapoor, who was already a star at that time. She had said that it is unfair to compare her with Lolo.

"Right now, though, I don't mind if they say it. Refugee has not hit the theatres yet. As soon as it does, people will know that Karisma and Kareena are poles apart. You cannot spot a single similarity between us on the screen," had said the Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham actress.

Kareena also spoke about her inspiration and said that she has always admired veteran actresses like Nargis and Meena Kumari, and she wants to be like them.

ALSO READ: Kareena Kapoor Khan And Saif Ali Khan Welcome A Baby Boy, Their Second Child

"I hope to bring back the old times with Refugee. As you can see in the promos on television, the film is in the old school style. It is not the typical young crowd thing that everyone is doing. From the old times, Nargisji and Meena Kumari are the ultimate for me. Of today's stars, I only admire Kajol and my sister. My sister, for her dedication and hard work. And Kajol, because I think she is a brilliant actress," asserted Kareena.

Among actors, she had chosen Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.

ALSO READ: Saif Ali Khan On His Paternity Break: Who Likes To Work With A Newborn At Home?
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been transferred to the Vladimir region some 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Moscow to serve a 2.5-year term in a penal colony, Moscow's public commission that monitors detainees' human rights said Sunday.

President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent was sentenced this month to 2.5 years in a penal colony for breaching parole terms while in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack.

For several days, his allies had been unaware of his whereabouts, with the head of the Federal Prison Service saying Friday Navalny had been transferred from a Moscow detention centre to a penal colony without providing further details.

Reports based on unnamed sources circulated in local media over the weekend about Navalny's possible location, before Moscow's public commission said in a statement Sunday that the opposition figure was in a Federal Prison Service institution in the Vladimir region.

' We have 100 percent information that Navalny arrived in the Vladimir region to serve his sentence,' a member of the commission, Alexei Melnikov, told the Inferfax news agency.

' At first, he will be in quarantine, then he will be transferred to his colony,' he added.

Navalny spent months recovering in Germany from the near fatal poisoning with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok that he claims was ordered by Putin. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the claim.

The 44-year-old opposition politician was arrested on his return to Moscow last month, sparking a wave of protests across the country and a brutal police crackdown.

Leaders of Western countries have condemned his detention and called for his immediate release.

The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials over the crackdown.

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Gardai have dispersed a large group of people from a cemetery as they celebrated a deceaseds birthday, in what offcers described as a contravention of Covid-19 public health guidelines.

An estimated 200 people gathered and played loud music from a stereo system at St Josephs Cemetery, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, today.

They brought tables, chairs, food and refreshments, said an informed source.

There was little or no mask wearing or social distancing, they added.

Gardai were alerted to the scene and cleared the group from the graveyard. Files are to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Shortly before 3pm on Sunday 28th February 2021 gardai from Rathkeale attended at a local cemetery where a large group of people had gathered in contravention of current public health measures, a Garda spokesman confirmed.

The organisers of the gathering were identified and those present dispersed peacefully. No arrests were made.

The Garda spokesman reminded the public: The Health Act 1947 (Section 31A-Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No.10) Regulations 2020, as amended, are currently in force.

In supporting the Covid-19 public health guidelines and regulations, An Garda Siochana has and will continue to adopt, a graduated policing response based on its tradition of policing by consent, he said.

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This method of policing, during the pandemic, has seen gardai engage, educate, encourage and, as a last resort, enforce.

Where gardai identify potential breaches of the public health regulations a file is prepared for the DPP in each case or a Fixed Payment Notice is issued where appropriate, they added.

A local source said: This is the lowest of the low here in Rathkeale. Weve had large groups of people gathering for funerals and weddings in the town during the pandemic, but this is just ridiculous.

They gathered in their droves inside the cemetery with tables and chairs, having a birthday party in the cemetery, its absolutely ridiculous, and not only that, its insulting to the dead people in that cemetery, they added.

Gardai are separately investigating alleged breaches of public health guidelines after a reported 150 people attended a funeral in Rathkeale last month.

Last Christmas gardai encountered house parties and other public health contraventions in Rathkeale involving gatherings by large groups at private establishments and on public thoroughfares in the town.





An Australian businessman is fighting extradition to Saudi Arabia after being arrested in Morocco over alleged anti-government activism.

Usama Al-Hasani was travelling on his Australian passport when he was detained upon arrival in the Moroccan capital Rabat three weeks ago.

Dr Hasani, who holds dual Australian and Saudi citizenship, is accused of being involved in a group that opposes the Saudi state-sponsored form of Islam known as Wahhabism, Moroccan news site Yabiladi reported.

Usama Al-Hasani was travelling on his Australian passport when he was detained upon arrival in the Moroccan capital Rabat three weeks ago

Saudi human rights group Prisoners of Conscience said Dr Al-Husaini was arrested on request of Saudi authorities who also requested his deportation as soon as possible.

'We confirm that Moroccan authorities will put Dr Usama Al-Husaini to trial on three March, then he'd be most probably deported to Saudi Arabia, where the real danger lies, because he'll be either killed or put in prison for several years,' it tweeted.

The group described Dr Al-Husaini as a 'prominent figure'.

'He is a merchant, a Quran reader, and a former professor at King Abdulaziz University [in Jeddah],' Prisoners of Conscience tweeted,

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Morocco.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to US intelligence released on Friday

Australian Middle East expert Rodger Shanahan from the Lowy Institute told The Australian he believes the case will present a challenge to the Australian Government.

Dr Al-Husaini describes himself on his Twitter account as an Associate Professor of Business Information Systems and consultant for international business and trade.

'I bear witness that the property is for God and everything else is false,' his Twitter bio reads.

'Licensed in several novels and I love poetry and history, interested in spirituality.'

There is concern Dr Al-Husaini's arrest is at least in part an attempt by the Saudi ruling family to undermine opposition to its rule.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, approved an operation to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to US intelligence released on Friday.

US President Joe Biden declared he would hold Saudi Arabia 'accountable' for Khashoggi's murder, but stopped short of broad sanctions so far.
Washington, DC , US (PANA) - The United States has expressed grave concern over reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia following fighting between the government and forces loyal to the former regional government led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)
New Delhi: Voting for 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats in Gujarat began on Sunday (February 28) morning. According to the State Election Commission, the counting of votes for the civic polls will be done on March 2.

The SEC has said voting for 8,473 seats, comprising 2,720 in 680 wards in municipalities, 980 in district panchayats and 4,773 in taluka panchayats, will be held across 36,008 booths.

Some 3.04 crore people in the state are eligible to vote for these polls, and over 44,000 police personnel, including state reserve police units, 12, CAPF companies and 54,000 homeguards, will be in place to ensure incident-free voting, they added.

While the BJP has been the dominant force in the state for several years now, the Congress believes the fuel price hikes and disenchantment of the people with the ruling party will help it make a comeback.

The Aam Aadmi Party, with 2,097 contestants, and Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), that has fielded candidates in minority-dominated seats in Godhra, Modasa and Bharuch municipalities, will look to challenge the state's two main parties.

Earlier this month, the BJP had swept the elections to six municipal corporations in the state including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar. The party won 483 out of 576 seats.

The Congress managed just 55 seats. The AAP won 27 seats, all of them in Surat, making them the main opposition in Surat Municipal Corporation. The polls were held on February 21.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Investigators have found that Goldenseal, a natural botanical product, may interfere with the intestinal absorption of metformin thereby compromising blood glucose control in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Metformin is an anti-diabetic used in the treatment of diabetes.



Lead investigator James T. Nyugen PharmD, a PhD candidate at Washington State University, Spokane and his colleagues tested for interactions between goldenseal and several drugs in healthy volunteers.



The results are published in the Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.



Goldenseal a natural botanical product can interfere with the absorption of metformin and compromise blood sugar control and increase negative outcomes.

Read More..

"Supplements containing goldenseal ... a perennial herb native to North America, have consistently ranked among the top 20 highest selling natural products during the last decade. As more patients continue to seek goldenseal and other natural products to self-treat their medical conditions, there is an increasing need to characterize their safety profiles, especially when co-consumed with prescribed medications, which can lead to adverse natural product-drug interactions."



Earlier clinical studies have shown that goldenseal inhibits cytochrome P450 and one study showed a 40 percent increase in the concentration of midazolam in the body.



Clinical studies and in vitro studies were conducted by the investigators to determine the relation between goldenseal and metformin.



They found that goldenseal has an effect on intestinal absorption of metformin and co-administration of metformin and goldenseal may compromise blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes and increase their risk of negative health outcomes.



Paine said, "While this finding warrants a degree of caution to be exercised among patients and their treating physicians, we have more work to do to confirm whether these findings in healthy volunteers in fact have clinical relevance in the management of diabetes. We are in the process of starting a follow-up study that should ultimately answer that question."







Source: Medindia The investigators said,Earlier clinical studies have shown that goldenseal inhibits cytochrome P450 and one study showed a 40 percent increase in the concentration of midazolam in the body.Clinical studies and in vitro studies were conducted by the investigators to determine the relation between goldenseal and metformin.They found that goldenseal has an effect on intestinal absorption of metformin and co-administration ofPaine said,Source: Medindia The results are published in the Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/28/2021



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[ Spoiler Warning: This report features spoilers about Brandon and Julia and if the couple is still together.]

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So are Brandon and Julia still together now or did the couple break up?

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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 Brandon Gibbs and Julia Trubkina were just shown discovering they're not pregnant on Season 8, so what do spoilers reveal about if Brandon and Julia got married or split up and are still together now?Brandon, a 27-year-old pest-control technician who helps to run his parents' farm in Dinwiddie, VA, entered his first serious relationship with Julia, a 26-year-old go-go club dancer from Krasnodar City, Russia.Brandon said he fell in love with Julia at first sight because she was so beautiful. The couple then talked on the phone and Brandon flew to Russia after just a few weeks.The couple then applied for a Tourist Visa so Julia could visit him in the United States, but once the consulate learned Brandon was her boyfriend, she was told to apply for a K-1 visa instead.Since Brandon couldn't stand the thought of living without Julia, after only five months of a long-distance relationship, he invited her to join him in Iceland -- and that's where he proposed marriage to her.The couple then traveled to France where both of their families met for the first time, and Brandon's loved ones were a little worried that Julia was using Brandon for a Green Card.Since Brandon had spent almost $10,000 in seven months for his relationship, Brandon broke the news they'd have to live with his parents for a while and save some cash.Betty was also afraid Julia would get pregnant, so she asked Julia to take birth control.Julia refused to take contraception and explained that while she didn't want to welcome children for another two or three years, she never had an accident before with her serious ex-boyfriend.Brandon and Julia then had a "perfect" reunion at the airport, but Julia was upset to learn she'd have to sleep in a separate bedroom from Brandon."I can't control my mother. I can't control how they will interact. They both have really strong personalities, and I just feel like they're going to clash," Brandon lamented in a confessional.Once at the farm in Virginia, Julia quickly hated the early-morning hours and feeding the animals."I don't want this. This is not the life [of] my dreams. Brandon say we need to stay here before we marry, but I say to him, 'No, Brandon, this is not going to work.' I need to leave," Julia vented in a confessional.Julia was ready to go back to Russia after only one day of working at his parents' farm."I wish she would see this as an opportunity and just give life on the farm a chance," Brandon told the cameras.But Brandon and Julia still planned to get married, and they set their wedding date on May 9.With 75 days to wed, Brandon felt torn between Julia and his disappointed parents, who believed Brandon had neglected his responsibilities at the farm.Betty and Ron therefore asked Brandon and Julia to contribute more, but Julia complained, "I came here to be with your son, not to take care of your stuff."Meanwhile, Brandon was sick of being scolded by his parents, and he was also upset that Julia's presence had ruined the dynamic of his family."It's not all working like we wanted," Brandon said, asking Julia to try harder around the farm.Julia said she was losing her mind and Brandon wasn't taking care of her because he wasn't fixing the situation or standing up to his parents."I hate this place," Julia complained to Brandon. "I don't want to stay here. I want to leave now."Julia said if they didn't move, she would return to Russia."You don't care about this. You not fix problem and I not feel you love me. And I don't love you too if you don't love me. I hate you now, Brandon. I hate you," Julia complained.Brandon told the cameras that Julia had no idea how lucky they were to be living in a place for free while he was saving money for their future together. Brandon felt like his effort was in vain due to Julia's reaction.Brandon insisted to Julia that he was trying and their situation was just temporary. Julia argued, "I try for you!" But Brandon said the work wasn't as hard as Julia was making it out to be.Brandon said he loved Julia and it hurt him to hear she'd be willing to leave him, but Julia said she had sacrificed her life for Brandon and so he needed to do the same and compromise."It's hard to hear, but I'm going to fix this for us... I'm going to be the man that you want me to be," Brandon said.Brandon was ready to choose Julia over everything, so he told his parents that Julia was unhappy and giving him an ultimatum to move somewhere else or break up.Ron begged Brandon not to "make a stupid decision," and Betty seemed shocked and devastated.Betty hoped to be a family and eventually pass on the farm to Brandon, and she said she had been hoping to gain a daughter and not lose her only son."That's a beautiful world you paint... but I don't think that was the world we were hoping for," Brandon explained. "Either I'm staying here alone or we're leaving together," Brandon said.Betty said the fact Julia was making him choose between her and his parents was "so sad." Betty therefore gave into the idea of Brandon and Julia sleeping in the same room.With 70 days left to wed, Brandon told Julia that Betty was willing to bend the house rules for them, and Julia said she'd be okay with that arrangement for "a short time" because it was "a little fix."Brandon felt optimistic Julia could build a better relationship with his parents over time, but he pointed out they only needed to worry about one problem at a time.Five days later, Brandon said he couldn't be happier with Julia, especially thanks to Betty, who had finally allowed them to sleep in the same room.Brandon and Julia then had a pregnancy scare and informed Betty and Ron that they might be expecting their first child.Brandon admitted Julia being pregnant would be "a nightmare" because they didn't have enough money to have a big wedding or move out."You guys are getting off on the wrong foot to having a wonderful life," Ron said, before Betty noted she had many sleepless nights over her son's relationship.But Julia found out she was not pregnant, which she and Brandon both found as a relief.Julia worried Betty and Ron would try to control things more because of the scare.Brandon hoped to start birth control in some form, but Julia didn't want to. Brandon therefore decided it was time to start using condoms, even though he admitted he didn't like them.Brandon and Julia definitely appear to still be a very happy couple.In late February, Brandon posted two selfies with Julia, one of which featured Julia kissing him on the cheek.Brandon captioned one picture of Julia and himself posing in a hotel room, "I'm just waiting on Sunday. #90dayfiance #brandonandjulia #beautiful."On February 12, Brandon also posted a video on Instagram of Julia kissing him on one cheek while his dog licked his other cheek."Love who loves you back. Happy Valentine's day guys. #90dayfiance #Brandonandjulia," Brandon captioned the video.Around the same time, Julia posted a picture of Brandon hugging her on the beach."I want to congratulate everyone on the upcoming Valentine's day and wish to find a person next to whom you will not need anyone else. #90dayfiance #Brandonandjulia," Julia wrote alongside the image.Julia also took to Instagram in mid-January 2021 and dropped other hints she and Brandon remain a couple.On January 20, Julia posted a hilarious photo with Brandon in which she stuffed her shirt and asked fans to come up with a funny name for the picture. And about a week earlier, Julia also posted a sweet selfie of the couple."Just cute photo #90dayfiance#Brandonandjulia," Julia wrote alongside the January 12 picture with a blowing-kiss emoticon.Several days earlier, Julia uploaded a photo of Brandon giving her a piggyback ride."It seems to me that this week we will not be in the episode. a little positive to you all #90dayfiance #90dayfiance8 #Brandonandjulia," Julia captioned the photo, adding three kissing emoticons.And a photo surfaced on Reddit of Brandon and Julia spending New Year's Eve together in someone's apartment with two male friends.While the picture indicates the group had welcomed 2021 together, many Reddit users commented on how Julia appeared to be photoshopped into the picture and whether the photo was authentic.Julia also conducted a recent Q&A with her followers on Instagram Stories and dropped additional hints that suggest she is still with Brandon and living in the United States."Everything is pretty nice," Julia said of her current life. "It's pretty in my life. I've never had, like, an easy life," Julia said. "I all the time chose a hard life."Julia said her English "is much better than before," probably because she's around English-speaking people all the time."I try to learn everything but it's so hard for me," Julia added.When asked whether she likes living in Virginia, Julia responded, "I guess you'll watch the episode to see how I'm enjoying it."When an Instagram user called Julia and Brandon "the cutest couple," Julia replied, "Thank you so much."Julia also revealed she currently has a great relationship with Brandon's parents, although there is tension between them on the currently-airing season of .A fan asked how Julia essentially puts up with her "parents-in-law," and Julia responded, "I love my parents a lot because my parents want what is best for me. If I could choose other parents I would never choose other parents because my parents are the best and I love them a lot."In addition, Julia said she hopes she can "start working" soon and put her degree in design to good use in either apartments or homes.As far as her favorite experience in the United States goes, Julia revealed, "I like people in America because everyone smiles and everyone tries to help. You never ask for help but people try. This is so cool."When asked whether she likes Russia or America better, Julia said there are some things she likes better in Russia and other things she likes better in the United States.She noted the countries are just "different." For example, Julia said she cannot drive yet in America while she has her license back in Russia.Julia shared excitement, however, when someone mentioned all the states she can travel to in the United States. Julia said she'd love to visit New York especially.Julia told her followers it was "hard to leave [her] house and family" in Russia, but she added, "My parents understand this."But Julia played coy when asked direct questions about whether she married Brandon and is still in the United States and living with Brandon's parents.Julia admitted she doesn't want to "get in trouble" by breaking her NDA contract with TLC.When one fan wrote that it seems like she married Brandon, Julia replied, "I don't know!"And she explained to fans, "I can't say where I stay right now or what I do right now."But Julia did admit her favorite thing about Brandon is that "he is so cute." Julia beamed when talking about Brandon, so it appears unlikely that they've broken up.Julia also appeared to spend Christmas in America, as she posted a photo of herself posing next to a giant Christmas tree decorated in gold ornaments inside of a store."I know how important Christmas is in America! it is a sweet and family holiday when all dreams come true," Julia captioned the photo."in Russia the New Year is more important on December 31st. I wish everyone that wishes come true, love and be loved! #90dayfiance #90dayfiance8 #Brandonandjulia."Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
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SALEM TWP., MI - A person died in a hit and run late Friday night outside Plymouth.

Authorities responded to a traffic accident report just before midnight, Feb. 26 in the area of Pontiac Trail near Six Mile Road in Salem Township, according to the townships fire department.

Salem Township Fire Chief Jim Rachwal told MLive the person, whose name has not been released, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Michigan State Police and the South Lyon Police Department are investigating the incident, Rachwal said.

The area of Pontiac Trail and Six Mile Road was closed at 12:02 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27, according to an alert by the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office. The Salem Fire Department left the scene at 5:30 a.m., Rachwal said.

Messages left with Michigan State Police and the South Lyon Police Department for additional details were not immediately returned.

The Northfield Township Police Department and Huron Valley Ambulance assisted on the scene.

Read more from MLive:

The story of Albert Wheeler, Ann Arbors first and only Black mayor

Oakland County deputy shoots armed suspect after standoff in Royal Oak

Suspect arrested after Midland County stabbing sends two to hospital

Huron County Road Commission plows path to safety for Bad Axe man rescued in woods

Judge stresses proper court attire after man appears shirtless in Zoom hearing

Man hit by car in Flint in critical condition

Jury trials to restart next week in Genesee County Circuit Court

Trials to resume in Saginaw County after COVID-19 interrupted them for a year

Man shot in head on Saginaws East Side
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RIO RANCHO, N.M.  The date and venue have changed for the trial of a man charged with raping and killing a 6-year-old girl in Rio Rancho in 2018.

Leland Hust is charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death and criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13 in the death of Ariana Jade Romeo in a house on Moonstone Drive. He was 21 when he was charged.

According to 13th Judicial District Court records, Husts trial has been moved to June, with jury selection June 7. The trial had been scheduled for this month.

The case will be tried at the Valencia County Courthouse in Los Lunas.

In December, defense attorney Michael L. Rosenfield filed a motion for a change of venue from Sandoval County to Valencia County. In the motion, he said extensive print and broadcast coverage from Rio Rancho and Albuquerque news outlets would give potential Sandoval County jurors a bias against Hust.

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Moving the case to Valencia County, where this type of sensationalism is not as interesting to the community because the crime did not happen there, solves the problem of having an entire community exposed to information to which prospective jurors should not be exposed, Rosenfield wrote.

He said an online search of the Valencia County News-Bulletin showed no articles about the case.

District Judge George Eichwald issued the order for the venue change Feb. 4. According to the order, the prosecution didnt oppose the new location.
They were style sensations in TV hits The Queens Gambit and The Crown, sporting a series of ravishing outfits and winning armies of fashion fans.

But there will be precious little glamour for Anya Taylor-Joy and Emma Corrin tonight as they wait to hear if their performances have earned them a Golden Globe.

The ceremony, normally a glitzy red-carpet event, is being held virtually  and it seems the hopefuls have been happy to dress down for the occasion as they wait at home for the verdicts.

Anya Taylor-Joy was spotted out for some coffee and cigarettes in Los Angeles ahead of the Golden Globes

Anya played Beth Harmon in The Queens Gambit, pictured, Netflix's hit drama about chess

Anya, 24, who played chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queens Gambit, was spotted strolling in Los Angeles dressed all in black with a pair of chunky-soled burgundy Dr Martens.

Anya, American-born but Argentine-British by birth, also sported a Frozen-inspired plait and puffed on Marlboro Light cigarettes.

The willowy star is nominated for Best Actress in a made-for-TV film for The Queens Gambit and for best actress in a motion picture for the film Emma. British breakthrough actress Emma Corrin, who produced an uncannily lifelike performance as Diana, Princess of Wales in The Crown, is Anyas main rival for the Best Actress in a TV movie prize.

She chose to relax before the awards by going for a walk with her dog Spencer.

Emma, 25, wore a cosy hoodie and 216 Ashley Williams trousers with a skeleton print as she took to the streets of Hampstead, North- West London with her flatmate, Lara Spirit, who is a political campaigner.

The Golden Globes kicks off Hollywoods awards season, and the British stars involved will have to wait at home to learn of her fate in the early hours of tomorrow.

Thanks to the eight-hour time difference with Los Angeles, Emma, The Crown co-star Olivia Colman and Killing Eves Jodie Comer will only learn whether theyve won between 1am and 4am tomorrow.

Emma Corrin , pictured with a friend, is also tipped for success in the Golden Globes for her portrayal of Princess Diana in The Crown

Thanks to the eight-hour time difference with Los Angeles, Emma, The Crown co-star Olivia Colman and Killing Eves Jodie Comer will only learn whether theyve won between 1am and 4am tomorrow

Soon after nominations were announced on February 3, camera kits were sent to nominees all over the world for them to film themselves and their acceptance speeches.

Due to Covid restrictions, gone are the glam-making squads of hairdressers, make-up artists and fashion designers who would usually be vying to beautify the A-listers.

Instead, British stars will be forced to get ready by themselves  or at best with a little help from those in their households. One insider said: Sitting indoors with nowhere to go, even if you are dressed up, kind of takes all of the glamour out of things. Its usually such a huge, fun event.

Other hopeful Brits include Josh OConnor (Prince Charles in The Crown), and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman).
Those looking for help in a domestic violence situation have a new way to reach Schuylkill Women in Crisis.

The organization will add a text hotline Monday to its list of services for victims of intimate partner violence. It works by users texting Hopeline to 20121 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, although organization officials said they will gradually expand the hotlines hours of operation over the next few months.

They said in a news release the new hotline is designed to help those experiencing abuse get help without the need to call the organizations telephone hotline, adding that it comes at a stressful time for everyone, particularly those experiencing violence.

During the (coronavirus) pandemic, victims were more isolated than ever before because they had to shelter in place with their perpetrator, unable to call for assistance, officials said in the release. This service allows victims another option to reach out for help.

In an interview in October, Schuylkill Women in Crisis President and CEO Sally Casey said victims of domestic violence spending more time with their abusers increases the risk to their safety. Work on the hotline began last year, according to the release.

In addition, the organizations hotline, 570-622-6220, and toll-free number, 800-282-0634, are available 24 hours a day. All services are provided by trained staff and volunteers, and are free, confidential and provided regardless of gender.

More information on Schuylkill Women in Crisis can be found online at www.s-wic.org or on the organizations Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.
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.
African American Equity in Media

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 Angel Jennings, Assistant Managing Editor for Culture and Talent, Los Angeles Times (@AngelJennings)

 Brandon Brooks, Managing Editor, The Los Angeles Sentinel (@BrandonIBrooks)

 Beverly White, Reporter, NBC Los Angeles (@BeverlyNBCLA)

Moderated by Executive Director Capri Maddox

About the webinar : This roundtable discussion, hosted by Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department (LA Civil Rights) & Councilmember Mark Ridley Thomas will bring together reporters, editors, and journalists to engage in a meaningful discussion on African American representation in newsrooms and news coverage moderated by LA Civil Rights Executive Director Capri Maddox. This conversation will explore the history and future of diversity in Los Angeles news media as well as the landscape of media industries following a year of racial reckoning, rising threats from white supremacist groups, and the inauguration of a new President and the first Black woman Vice President. The roundtable will identify needed actions to address discrimination through the lens of journalism and media, and be streamed live online at facebook.com/LACivilRights as a part of LA Civil Rights programming for Black History Month.
The Medical Board of California said it was investigating a plastic surgeon who attended a video traffic court hearing from an operating room while dressed in scrubs and with a patient on the surgical table.

The surgeon, Dr. Scott Green, reported by videoconference for a trial in Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday.

Hello, Mr. Green? Hi, are you available for trial? a courtroom clerk said as Dr. Green, wearing a surgical mask and cap, appeared in a virtual square with operating room lighting fixtures visible behind him. It kind of looks like youre in an operating room right now.

I am, sir, Dr. Green replied as machines beeped in the background. Yes, Im in an operating room right now. Im available for trial. Go right ahead.
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College student Peniella Irakoze recently called more than 1,000 other students who did not return to her school, Phoenix College, this term.

The 20-year-old works part-time for the community college in the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona. These days, it has become a usual part of her job to check on how those students are doing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

I didnt know that so many people were struggling, said Irakoze, who studies medical laboratory science. So many students arent coming back, she added.

Community colleges offer two-year degrees and job training. They often appeal to older students looking to learn new skills.

Phoenix College is one of many community colleges in America to have seen major drops in enrollment over the last year, as students face difficulties with money, family life and online learning.

Across the country, community colleges have seen a 10 percent drop from the autumn of 2019 to autumn 2020. Those numbers come from the National Student Clearinghouse.

Community colleges have been hit harder than four-year colleges and universities.

The pandemic has had a severe effect on older adult students who choose the community college path. Many have lost jobs or have no time for their own schooling as they supervise their childrens online classes.

Martha Parham is senior vice president for the American Association of Community Colleges. She noted that the majority of older adult community college students have or had jobs in industries that have been badly hurt by the pandemic.

Often during times of nationwide economic difficulties, more Americans turn to community college education. They do so to learn new job skills or change their careers.

But that has not happened during the pandemic, education experts say.

That raises concerns for policy makers and others who consider community colleges to be an important path for low-earning Americans. At a Senate hearing last month, Miguel Cardona, President Joe Bidens pick for education secretary, called for federal financial support to help hurting community colleges.

Even in good economic times, many community college students struggle to stay in school as they deal with the demands of supporting families, paying for housing and covering the costs of school.

The added difficulties of the pandemic have been too much for many students, said Ralph Thompson. He is the temporary dean of students at Phoenix College. Thompson gave Irakoze the task of calling other students to see how they are dealing with the crisis.

The students need to hear that someone understands what they are going through, Thompson said.

Across the U.S., community colleges have reported rising demand from students who need help getting food.

At MassBay Community College near Boston, applications for meal assistance have increased 80 percent since last year. Dinora Torres  a single mother with four young daughters  said the assistance helped her continue taking classes.

If I didnt have that, I dont know if I could have been able to make it, said Torres, who is 29. It has been really hard. A lot of nights Im not sleeping. Some days I would have to send my kids to my parents so I could work all day on catching up.

MassBay suffered a 10 percent drop in enrollment. School officials there have been giving increasing financial aid for students. Torres said donors set up by the college brought her family a Thanksgiving meal and Christmas presents for her daughters.

They got my daughters each a gift," Torres said. "I wasnt even going to celebrate the holidays this year because I didnt have the money.

Community college supporters hope the enrollment drop is temporary. Some experts predict many students will return to classes when schools reopen and jobs return.

But at least some students are expected to decide against higher education. Experts say that choice could lead to a lifetime of lower earnings and financial struggles.

We are worried about losing some of them permanently, said David Podell, president of MassBay. They may follow up later, but each year that they defer their education, the less theyre going to make in a lifetime and the later the stability will come.

The drop in enrollment also represents how the pandemic has widened educational racial inequalities.

The National Student Clearinghouse reports that enrollment drops at community colleges were largest among Black students and Native Americans.

About 60 percent of Phoenix Colleges students are racial minorities, but officials said it is too early to know whether minorities experienced greater decreases.

Angelica Larraga is a student at Phoenix College. She said the pandemic forced her to give up working as a traveling hair stylist because she could not visit peoples homes.

Larraga is 35 years old. She has two young sons. She said the last year has been extremely difficult, and her children have struggled with online learning.

Financial assistance from the school has helped Larraga pay for her schooling and books. But the familys economic difficulties meant they needed additional help from local food donation programs.

Larraga said, Im just trying to make everything work.

Im Ashley Thompson. And Im Dan Friedell.



The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor.

Quiz - Enrollment at US Community Colleges Drops Sharply During Pandemic Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

________________________________________________

Words in This Story

degree - n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university

enrollment - n. the act of entering someone as a member of or participant in something

application - n. a formal and usually written request for something (such as a job, admission to a school, a loan, etc.)

defer - v. to choose to do (something) at a later time

stability - n. the quality or state of something that is not easily changed or likely to change
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Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year.

Nasas Kate Rubins and Victor Glover put the mounting brackets and struts together, then bolted them into place next to the stations oldest and most degraded solar wings.

They had to carry out the hundreds of pounds of mounting brackets and struts in 8ft bags. The equipment was so big and awkward that it had to be taken apart like furniture, just to get through the hatch.

Some of the attachment locations required extra turns of the power drill and still were not snug enough, as indicated by black lines.

The astronauts had to use a ratchet wrench to deal with the more stubborn bolts, which slowed them down. At one point, they were almost an hour behind.

Whoever painted this black line painted outside the lines a little bit, Mr Glover said at one particularly troublesome spot.

Well work on our kindergarten skills over here, Mission Control replied, urging him to move on.

With more people and experiments flying on the space station, more power will be needed to keep everything running, according to Nasa.

A look at both @NASA_Astronauts working outside the @Space_Station today: Kate Rubins & @AstroVicGlover. They're installing bracket support structures at the base of the station's solar arrays, to enable future upgrades to the arrays. pic.twitter.com/Ed5OrxX8lt  NASA (@NASA) February 28, 2021

The six new solar panels, to be delivered in pairs by SpaceX over the coming year or so, should boost the stations electrical capability by as much as 30%.

Ms Rubins and Mr Glover worked on the struts for the first two solar panels, due to launch in June.

The eight solar panels there now are 12 to 20 years old, most of them past their design lifetime and deteriorating.

Each panel is 112ft long by 39ft wide. Tip to tip counting the centre framework, each pair stretches 240 feet, longer than a Boeing 777s wingspan.

Boeing is supplying the new roll-up panels, about half the size of the old ones but just as powerful thanks to the latest solar cell technology.

 High-definition views are coming in from astronaut Kate Rubins' helmet camera as she makes her way to the worksite for today's spacewalk. She & @AstroVicGlover will work together to assemble and install modification kits for upcoming @Space_Station solar array upgrades. pic.twitter.com/GAtAeeKNVO  NASA (@NASA) February 28, 2021

They will be placed at an angle above the old ones, which will continue to operate.

A prototype was tested at the space station in 2017.

Rubins helmet featured a new high-definition camera that provided stunning views, particularly those showing the vivid blue Earth 270 miles below. Pretty fantastic, observed Mission Control.

Sundays spacewalk was the third for infectious disease specialist Rubins and Navy pilot Glover, both of whom could end up flying to the moon.

They are among 18 astronauts newly assigned to Nasas Artemis moon-landing programme. The next moonwalkers will come from this group.

I spoke with @NASA Astronaut and @USNavy Commander Victor J. Glover aboard the International Space Station. @AstroVicGlover is making history as the first African American on a long-duration space mission. He is a reminder of what's possible when we dream big and think big. pic.twitter.com/DV9OXyivbD  Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) February 27, 2021

Last week, US vice president Kamala Harris put in a congratulatory call to Mr Glover, the first African American astronaut to live full time at the space station.

Nasa released the video exchange Saturday.

The history making that you are doing, we are so proud of you, Ms Harris said. Like other firsts, Mr Glover replied, it will not be the last. We want to make sure that we can continue to do new things, he said.

Ms Rubins will float back out on Friday with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to finish the solar panel prep work, and to vent and relocate ammonia coolant hoses.

Mr Glover and Mr Noguchi were among four astronauts arriving via SpaceX in November. Ms Rubins launched from Kazakhstan in October alongside two Russians. They are all scheduled to return to Earth this spring.

Derek Khan, a celebrated fashion stylist to hip-hop and R&B stars like Salt-N-Pepa, Pink and Lauryn Hill who later fell far from those glittering heights, died on Feb. 15 at a hospital in Dubai. He was 63.

The cause was complications of Covid-19, said Beverly Paige, a former vice president of publicity at the Island Def Jam Music Group.

Mr. Khan, a diminutive man with outsize charm and a high-wattage smile, presided over the marriage of pop music and high fashion that began in the 1990s. A creator of the over-the-top look known as ghetto fabulous, he persuaded rap stars to shed the street wear they were known for and to let him dress them in Fendi, Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana and to bedazzle them with jewels from Harry Winston, Piaget and Van Cleef & Arpels.

When he was the in-house stylist for Motown, he was known as Dolce around the office, Andre Harrell, once the chief executive of that label  and a hip-hop star maker as founder of Uptown Records  told The New York Times in 2003.
1. Roads. The citys roads are a mess. Significant resources are needed to fix them.

2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

3. More city programs. The city must invest more in city programs and services.

4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

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Hard to Swallow

The head of the consulting firm McKinsey was voted out of his role last week after an investigation into the consulting firms involvement in the opioid crisis. Earlier this month, McKinsey agreed to pay 49 states a settlement of almost $600 million because it helped Purdue Pharma turbocharge sales of its OxyContin painkillers, even after the drugmaker pleaded guilty to misleading doctors and regulators about OxyContins risks. McKinsey did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, but the evidence against the firm made for pretty bad publicity.

Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara

Whats Next? (Feb. 28-March 6)

Twitter Makes Moves

For the first time in years, Twitter is adding new features to its platform. In a bid to attract more users, the company announced plans to introduce a subscription model for exclusive content and create communities for specific interests. These offerings arent wildly different from those on other social media platforms, but unlike its peers, Twitter rarely changes its formula and hasnt put much of its energy toward growth. Until now, that is. The companys chief executive, Jack Dorsey, said that Twitter wants to increase its number of daily active users by at least 64 percent, to 315 million, and at least double its annual revenue over the next three years.

Working It Out

WeWorks former chief executive, Adam Neumann, is set to receive a $480 million settlement in his drawn-out legal dispute with SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate that bailed out the company after Mr. Neumann nearly drove it into bankruptcy in 2019. SoftBank tried to walk away from the deal after the pandemic wiped out demand for co-working spaces, but no dice  its been locked in a battle with Mr. Neumann ever since. Now, SoftBank has compromised and agreed to buy half the shares it originally committed to. The lawsuit delayed Softbanks efforts to take WeWork public  whatever it may be worth now.

The Fight for $15

House Democrats forged ahead with the Biden administrations $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which includes a measure to bump up the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. But a nonpartisan Senate official ruled that the wage increase violated the budgetary rules that govern what can be included in the bill. Those guidelines are stricter than usual because Democrats are relying on a fast-track process known as budget reconciliation, which shields the legislation from a filibuster in the Senate and allows it to pass without Republican support. The Senate will have to determine whether the wage provision can stay when it takes up the bill this week. In related news, Costco is one step ahead, and is raising its workers minimum wage to $16 an hour.
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St. Joseph, in fact, concretely expressed his fatherhood by making an offering of himself in love, a love placed at the service of the Messiah who was growing to maturity in his home, writes Pope Francis, quoting his predecessor St. Paul VI. In St. Joseph, Jesus saw the tender love of God, the one that helps us accept our weakness, because it is through and despite our fears, our frailties, and our weakness that most divine designs are realized.

Josephs spiritual path is not one that explains, but accepts  which does not mean that he is resigned. Instead, he is courageously and firmly proactive, because with Holy Spirits gift of fortitude, and full of hope, he is able to accept life as it is, with all its contradictions, frustrations and disappointments.

In practice, through St. Joseph, it is as if God were to repeat to us: Do not be afraid! because faith gives meaning to every event, however happy or sad, and makes us aware that God can make flowers spring up from stony ground.

The carpenter of Nazareth, explains the Pope, "was able to turn a problem into a possibility by trusting in divine providence. He had to deal with the concrete problems his family faced, problems faced by other families in the world, and especially those of migrants.
Thai police shot rubber bullets and used water cannon and tear gas against pro-democracy protesters in Bangkok Sunday at a rally outside a military barracks housing the prime minister's residence.

A youth-led protest movement calling for the resignation of Prayut Chan-O-Cha's government had lost steam in recent months following a second wave of coronavirus infections in Thailand.

But the recent detention of four prominent protest leaders on royal defamation charges has given it a shot in the arm.

The four are among 58 protesters facing lese majeste charges and the prospect of up to 15 years in jail per charge if convicted of insulting the monarchy.

An estimated 2,000 demonstrators marched from the major Bangkok intersection Victory Monument on Sunday to a nearby military barracks where Prayut lives.

Among the protesters were scores of migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar rallying against the coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

Some Thai protesters marched wearing hard hats and carried red flags.

Hundreds later pushed through shipping containers and barbed-wire barricades, leading to a confrontation with riot police guarding the entrance of the barracks.

Scuffles broke out between riot squad officers and protesters, while some demonstrators were seen pushing a police truck.

"They are preparing everything, shields, baton, water with some chemical and rubber bullets," one protester at the front line told Thai media.

Amid the tense stand-off, officers used water cannon trucks and let off tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd -- the first use of force, albeit non-lethal, at a Bangkok rally for several months.

Protesters shouted for water and saline as they were sprayed. Some wore raincoats while others held their bare hands in the air or raised three figures -- a symbol of resistance.

Officers later shot rubber bullets, according to an AFP journalist on the ground.

"It doesn't hurt too much," a protester told Thai media, showing a red mark on his arm

Story continues

Some protesters threw glass bottles, rocks and bricks at officers while others took refuge inside a nearby Shell petrol station, which later closed early.

Despite protest organisers sending a social media message at around 8:30 pm local time (1:30 pm GMT) urging demonstrators to go home, scores stuck around, many on motorbikes playing a cat and mouse game with advancing police.

Erawan Emergency Medical Centre said 16 protesters were injured and a riot squad police officer lost consciousness.

A nurse at Rajavithi Hospital told AFP the officer died but would not elaborate on the circumstances.

At least two protesters were arrested, according to a live Facebook feed, however police have not confirmed the total number.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said 19 were arrested including a 16-year-old.

A small group of protesters continued to clash with officers outside Din Daeng Police Station after midnight, in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Thailand's pro-democracy movement kicked off last July and at its peak attracted tens of thousands of mostly young people.

Among the movement's demands are a rewrite of the army-drafted constitution and reforms to the monarchy -- a taboo-smashing stipulation in a country where the ultra-wealthy royal family has long been untouchable.

bur-lpm/dw
I recently received a notification that the county was foreclosing on the Cayuga S.H.A.R.E Farm, which is operated by the Gayoggho-no (People of the Great Swamp.) For years this farm operated as a place for education, healing and experiencing traditional Haudenosaunee culture. One may think that the lands of the Original People would be tax exempt, which according to the treaties they should be. However, the New York state government and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs refuse to recognize this groups sovereignty, only recognizing Clint Halftowns group as the authentic tribal representatives.

In an effort to save the farm, they have set up a Cayuga SHARE webpage to raise funds for the 14 years ($116,000) of back taxes owed to the county due on April 16. I ask you all to check it out and donate what and if you can. The fundraisers fiscal sponsor is Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming and is a 501c3, so your donation is tax deductible.

But what Id really like to see is our county forgive these taxes owed. We have given tax breaks to entities that close down and leave shortly after their tax break is over. The people who run the S.H.A.R.E. Farm would love to stay and be a growing part of the community. Seriously, havent we historically taken enough from the Haudenosaunee?

Ronald C. Van Nostrand

Moravia

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In 2019 , Erik Prince, the founder of the notorious mercenary firm Blackwater and a prominent Donald Trump supporter, aided a plot to move U.S.-made attack helicopters, weapons, and other military equipment from Jordan to a renegade commander fighting for control of war-torn Libya. A team of mercenaries planned to use the aircraft to help the commander, Khalifa Hifter, a U.S. citizen and former CIA asset, defeat Libyas U.N.-recognized and U.S.-backed government. While the U.N. has alleged that Prince helped facilitate the mercenary effort, sources with knowledge of the chain of events, as well as documents obtained by The Intercept, reveal new details about the scheme as well as Princes yearslong campaign to support Hifter in his bid to take power in Libya. The mission to back Hifter ultimately failed, but a confidential U.N. report issued last week and first reported by the New York Times concluded that Prince, a former Navy SEAL, and his associates violated the U.N. arms embargo for Libya. For more than a year, The Intercept has been investigating the failed mercenary effort, dubbed Project Opus. This account is based on dozens of interviews, including with people involved in the ill-fated mission, as well as the U.N. report and other documents obtained exclusively by The Intercept. It includes a blow-by-blow account of how Prince and an associate sought to pressure the Jordanian government to aid the illicit mission, as well as previously unreported details about how the architects of Project Opus used Princes connections to the Trump administration to try to win support for their efforts in Libya. The Intercepts reporting shows that the push to aid Hifter continued even after Project Opus fell apart. In the summer of 2019, after their backdoor efforts failed to convince Jordan to approve the arms transfer, Prince called a member of Trumps National Security Council to request a meeting; Prince asked the official to meet with Christiaan Durrant, Princes business associate and former employee. At the Army and Navy Club near the White House, with Prince sitting silently at his side, Durrant described the campaign to back Hifter and asked for U.S. support for their mercenary effort, the former NSC official told The Intercept. The upside, Durrant told the official, was that the U.S. help would limit Hifters reliance on the Russians, who were also supporting him in the war. The official, who asked not to be named because he feared professional reprisals for being publicly associated with Prince, balked. It wasnt something I wanted to be involved in, he said. In a statement, Princes lawyer, Matthew Schwartz, categorically denied the findings of the U.N. report and said he had asked the body to retract it. Mr. Prince had no involvement in any alleged military operation in Libya in 2019, or at any other time, the statement said. He did not provide weapons, personnel, or military equipment to anyone in Libya. Schwartz declined to respond to detailed questions from The Intercept, including about whether Prince lobbied Trump administration officials to support Hifter. An attorney for Durrant, Vince Gordon, declined to answer detailed questions from The Intercept, instead providing a link to a statement in which Durrant acknowledged having set up a company called Opus, but said his work has never involved any military operations or armed conflict.  We dont breach sanctions; we dont deliver military services, we dont carry guns, and we are not mercenaries. Durrant added: I remain friends with Erik Prince and have no business or financial relationship with him. Many questions about Project Opus remain unanswered, including who paid for the operation, which allegedly cost $80 million, according to the U.N. report. It is also unclear what happened to that money after the mission failed, and whether its architects had help from other governments such as the United Arab Emirates, which has long supported Hifter. The U.N. is continuing its investigation, and the FBI has been asking questions about Princes involvement in the Jordanian deal and his connections to the Libyan conflict. (The FBI cannot confirm the existence of an investigation into Mr. Prince, a spokesperson told The Intercept.) If the U.N. Sanctions Committee approves the reports findings, Prince would face a travel ban and have his bank accounts frozen. At least four countries have opened criminal probes into the alleged Libya plot as a result of the U.N. investigation, according to a Western official. The purpose of the mercenary mission was to provide Hifter with a maritime interdiction capability  but also the capability to identify and strike land targets, and terminate and/or kidnap high-value targets, the U.N. report concluded. The report, authored by an independent group of investigators who monitor sanction violations, known as the Panel of Experts, includes a PowerPoint presentation that outlines detailed plans for the mission. The PowerPoint describes a so-called termination team, a hit squad composed of foreign mercenaries who would jump out of the helicopters to chase and kill their targets; it appears to be modeled on the secretive, elite U.S. Joint Special Operations Command. The PowerPoint lists 10 individuals as assassination targets, including commanders aligned with the U.N.-backed Tripoli government as well as two EU citizens.

Libyan militia leader Khalifa Hifter attends a military parade in the eastern city of Benghazi on May 7, 2018. Photo: Abdullah Doma/AFP via Getty Images A right-wing political donor whose sister, Betsy DeVos, served as Trumps education secretary, Prince founded the private security company Blackwater. After the companys contractors killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdads Nisour Square in 2007, Prince changed its name and ultimately sold it in 2010. He later moved to the UAE and helped build a presidential guard for the royal family before being pushed out amid negative media exposure and questions about missing money. He established a small investment fund called Frontier Resource Group that was financed by his personal wealth and focused on natural resources in Africa. Simultaneously, he set up a Hong Kong-based logistics and security company, Frontier Services Group, whose largest investor is a powerful Chinese government-owned investment bank. During the Obama administration, Prince tried and failed many times to intervene in Libyas devastating civil war. Erik Prince has been attempting to deploy a small-scale aviation and maritime private military capability into Libya since 2013, the U.N. report states. The scale, organization and systems proposed were all similar to those deployed on the private military operation Opus in eastern Libya. Princes relationship to Hifter dates back to at least 2015, according to the U.N. report. That year, the report notes, Prince supplied Hifter with a private jet. Over a three-week period in February 2015, Hifter flew the Frontier Services plane to Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE  the Sunni Arab coalition that supported his effort to take control of Libya. On the day Hifter returned from his tour, the eastern Libyan government nominated him as the leader of its military. Shortly afterward, Prince began offering plans to use a mercenary force in eastern Libya under the guise of stopping the flow of migrants to Europe. The plans went nowhere. When Trump won the White House, Prince wasted no time in inserting himself into what would emerge as a new Middle Eastern coalition under a new president. In January 2017, he flew to the Seychelles to meet with Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince and de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, known widely as MBZ. The crown prince would become a key player in the Trump administrations evolving plans for the region. While Princes Seychelles trip has been probed for possible connections to the Trump-Russia scandal, there were other motives at play. On the trip, Prince pitched MBZ on his private military ideas to support the UAEs wars in Somalia, Yemen, and Libya. Prince was like a kid at Christmas about his meeting with MBZ, according to notes from special counsel Robert Muellers investigators, who interviewed Prince during the Trump-Russia investigation. He could only focus on the presents under the tree. After his appearance at MBZs private summit, Prince had what was then a secret meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, the powerful head of Russias sovereign wealth fund. The meeting with Dmitriev was initially suspected to be a backchannel effort by Putin and Trump to lift U.S. sanctions on Russia. The investigators notes revealed that the subject was Princes mercenary ambitions in the Libyan conflict. When the secret summit was over, Prince tagged along with MBZ on his private jet back to the UAE. During the flight, Prince later told special counsel investigators, Prince discussed his idea for using a modified crop duster as a counterinsurgency plane. Prince had made his way into the Trump White Houses inner circle, forging ties to the presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner as Kushner sought to reshape U.S. policy in the Middle East, according to three people with knowledge of their relationship. Prince acted as a shadow adviser to Kushner, according to a former senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with their relationship. This is completely false, wrote Jason Miller, a spokesperson for Kushner. Mr. Prince in no way served as an advisor to Mr. Kushner in any capacity. At the same time, Prince was acting as an unofficial adviser to MBZ. A leading buyer of U.S. arms, the UAE regained its position as one of Americas closest allies during the Trump years, following a chill in relations under President Barack Obama, and expanded its influence and military involvement in the Gulf and Africa. Within a year of Trump taking office, the Gulf nation had taken the lead in supporting Hifter as the figure most likely to defeat the U.N.-recognized government in Libya and perhaps unify the fractured country. The UAE ramped up its support for Hifter and his forces, providing air defenses, drones, and jets, as well as paying for foreign mercenaries to fight alongside Hifters troops. Kushner and MBZ decided to let Erik have some contracts while they reordered the Gulf. Prince benefited from the warm relationship between Kushner and the UAE, a former senior U.S. intelligence officer who consults with Middle Eastern governments told The Intercept. The UAE, the former official said, wanted the Trump administration to let it help Hifter win control of Libya, while the UAE worked to realize Trump and Kushners vision of a realigned Middle East. The Abraham Accords, which the Trump administration touted as its signature foreign policy achievement, involved normalizing relations between Israel and a handful of Arab nations, including the UAE. Kushner and MBZ decided to let Erik have some contracts while they reordered the Gulf, the former intelligence officer told The Intercept. Mr. Kushner has no knowledge of Mr. Princes contracts, Kushners spokesperson told The Intercept. Mr. Kushner has not even spoken or communicated with Mr. Prince since 2017, and any assertion otherwise is complete nonsense. After Libyas Arab Spring uprising shook the government of Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the U.S. and NATO allies helped overthrow him in 2011. The following three years, the country was largely stable, though political and geographic fissures and rivalries percolated. But when violent conflict between the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord based in Tripoli and Hifters Libyan National Army in the countrys east broke out in 2014, thousands of civilians were killed and many more displaced. At least five countries began to provide military support to the warring parties, in violation of the U.N. arms embargo. Turkey has supported the GNA, while the UAE, Egypt, Russia, and Jordan have supported Hifter and the LNA. Thousands of foreign mercenaries flooded the country, and the war became one of the worlds most intractable conflicts. Since civil war broke out in Libya, the U.S. has largely remained on the sidelines. Official U.S. policy has been to support the U.N.-led peace process, although Trump called Hifter in April 2019, after Hifters attack on Tripoli, to thank him for his counterterrorism efforts, according to news accounts at the time. The UAE has backed Hifter because it wants to quash any remnants of popular uprising and return the country to military dictatorship. The political landscape created by Trumps victory presented new opportunities for Prince to resume his push to support Hifter. The U.N. report, citing a confidential source, described an April 2019 meeting between Prince and Hifter in Cairo to discuss a planned mercenary intervention in Libya. In a statement, Princes lawyer said his client has never met or spoken to Mr. Hiftar. This alleged meeting is fiction and never took place. But two people with knowledge of Princes relationship with the Libyan commander confirmed to The Intercept that Prince does indeed know Hifter, and asserted that he has met with the Libyan strongman, along with one of Hifters sons. (In April 2019, the same month as the alleged meeting in Cairo with Hifter, the House Intelligence Committee formally sent the Justice Department a criminal referral on Prince, accusing him of making materially false statements to Congress in the Trump-Russia probe. Among the allegations made by the Intelligence Committee was that Prince tried to conceal from Congress the second meeting he had with Dmitriev in Seychelles about Libya.) Project Opus was designed to leverage Princes connections to help Hifter gain the upper hand in Libya. The elaborate plan involved buying at least nine disused, U.S.-made military aircraft from the government of Jordan and airlifting them to the Libyan battlefield in June 2019. But there was an urgent problem: Jordanian officials were holding up the $80 million arms deal, which would have violated U.N. sanctions and possibly U.S. law. Project Opus was designed to leverage Princes connections to help Hifter gain the upper hand in Libya. On paper, the plan provided Hifter with a special operations force that could fly and kill at night in a bid to help the Libyan commander topple the GNA in Tripoli. Failing that, the paramilitary force could help Hifter resuscitate his military operation, which had stalled on the outskirts of the capital. But Jordans leader, King Abdullah II, has ultimate authority to approve any deal for weapons from his small Middle Eastern nation. Prince knew the king well from the war on terror years, when Blackwater, Princes private security company, worked closely with the Jordanian government. Prince knew how Jordans levers of power worked and who could move them, so he contacted one of Abdullahs personal advisers. Prince asked the adviser to help an associate of Princes with what he described as a shipment of humanitarian aid. Abdullah knew about the shipment, Prince told the adviser, and it had been cleared in Washington. The adviser was troubled by Princes vagueness. I didnt know Prince as a humanitarian, he later told The Intercept. Nonetheless, Prince told the kings adviser that the associate would contact him.

Excerpt of text messages sent by Christiaan Durrant, using the alias Gene Rynack, to an adviser to King Abdullah II of Jordan. Durrant claimed that he could conceal the identities of parties involved in the proposed transfer of weapons and other gear to Libya. Image: The Intercept Moments later, the adviser received a message on Signal from Durrant, a former Australian military pilot who had a long association with Prince. Durrant was using the screen name Gene Rynack, an alias that the U.N. report noted may have been a reference to Mel Gibsons character in the film Air America. Durrant, in the statement his lawyer provided, does not deny that he contacted Jordanian officials. But he portrayed Opus as a project aimed at supporting private companies and NGOs in war-torn Libya. Through OPUS we provided engineering inspections and recommendations on the viability and value of several different aircraft. We were not involved in the sale of these aircraft beyond the inspection and viability recommendations, Durrant asserted. I was in Jordan as part of this project and held meetings with numerous Government officials. But the texts Durrant sent the kings adviser contradict those claims. Those texts made it clear to the adviser that this was no humanitarian aid mission. Durrant asked Abdullahs adviser to arrange for the Jordanian government to allow a scheduled first shipment of equipment and mercenaries to depart for Libya. Durrant briefly explained the situation: Nine U.S.-manufactured military helicopters, weapons, ammunition, and other equipment were headed to Libya, according to Durrants text messages, which were obtained by The Intercept. Durrant estimated that it would require 10 round-trip flights using a Jordanian military C-130 cargo plane to deliver everything, including the helicopters. We are paying J[ordan] for everything, Durrant texted the adviser, including for the rental of the transport plane. Durrant then tried to coax the adviser to help by describing how beneficial the arms shipment would be for the kingdom. The Jordanians would make money, Durrant promised, we are employing a lot of locals and #1  a reference to the king, according to the adviser  can take all the glory of [the] mission. Durrant then tried to reassure the kings adviser, writing that [r]eputation risk had been assessed and promising, we will hide/destroy any footprints. Durrant followed up with a phone call asking Abdullahs adviser to keep the weapons deal secret, the adviser told The Intercept. Durrant said that although the Trump White House supported the mission and the CIA was aware of it, only Durrant and Prince knew all the details, according to the adviser.

Memo sent by Christiaan Durrant describing the status of Operation Opus after Jordanian officials blocked the sale and transfer of armed helicopters and other military weaponry to Libya. The next day, Durrant sent a memo to the adviser outlining the status of the arms shipment as well as the planned military operation in Libya. Durrant called his group Opus, and the plan was as ambitious as it was unrealistic. Littered with military jargon, the memo, which was obtained by The Intercept and described in the U.N. report, listed the equipment and units headed to Benghazi. The helicopter gunships and weapons had been selected and inspected, the memo stated, and were ready to be packed up and sent across the Mediterranean into eastern Libya. The shipment would include surveillance airplanes that could be used to target people and enemy supply ships, as well as a drone. It also featured a unit to track and seize weapons smuggled via the Mediterranean by allies of the GNA, a cyber unit, and a medical evacuation plane. And it anticipated providing at least a dozen helicopters, including nine that Durrant intended to purchase from the Jordanian government. There would be a marine strike group with two armed boats that would be used to create a blockade, Durrants memo stated, forcing enemy supply vessels to dock in Benghazi, Hifters seat of power. Now, with some of the shipment ready to move, Durrant and his team needed export licenses. The team can be effective within 7 days if [the Jordanian government] supports with export of controlled items, including helicopters, air ammunition, ground weapons, ground ammunition and night vision, according to the memo. Despite Durrants efforts and Princes outreach to the kings adviser, the Jordanian military refused to sign off on the licenses. In Jordan, Princes intervention in a humanitarian shipment was raising more questions for Abdullahs adviser. If the king knew about the shipment, as Prince had told the adviser, and if the White House and the CIA were on board, as Durrant had claimed, why would Prince ask for help from one of the kings personal aides? Princes outreach and Durrants memo made several people around King Abdullah uneasy, and the Jordanian monarch signed off on a quiet inquiry to get to the bottom of it, according to the royal adviser and a second person familiar with the investigation. One of Abdullahs military advisers, an active-duty British general named Alex Macintosh, was put in charge. Macintosh had formerly served with the British SAS, an elite commando unit, and the king respected his judgment. Macintoshs inquiry was brief, according to two people with knowledge of it. He met with Durrant, who was using a transparently fake alias and staying in an Amman hotel with what Macintosh later described as a motley-looking crew of Western mercenaries. Durrant told him he was buying nine helicopters from the Jordanian government  six MD530 Little Birds and three AH-1 Cobras  plus heavy weapons and ammunition. But Durrant didnt have so-called end user certificates: internationally recognized paperwork that identifies where, to whom, and for what purpose arms are being transferred. This was the heart of the problem. With a U.N. arms embargo banning weapons shipments to Libya, it could not be listed as the destination for Durrants shipment. And because the aircraft were U.S.-made, their purchase would require preauthorization from the U.S. government, which had not been provided. The British general asked Durrant which country the end user certificates would list as the destination for the shipment. Durrant told Macintosh that they could declare the destination was Tunisia, Libyas neighbor, or anywhere else you find acceptable, according to a Western official who discussed it with Macintosh. Macintosh declined to comment. As Macintosh investigated, he made another discovery: The kings brother, Prince Feisal Hussein, had been involved in the attempt to sell the Jordanian aircraft and arms, according to the Jordanian royal adviser, who discussed the finding with Macintosh. Feisals role was confirmed by two other people with knowledge of the deal. In a response provided by the Jordanian Embassy, Feisal said he had no involvement in the attempted weapons shipment nor any relationship with Prince. The government will conduct a full, transparent investigation into all allegations related to this alleged operation, according to the statement. In relation to allegations that have recently appeared in press reports, we confirm that Jordan sold no planes to Libya.

Jordanian Prince Feisal Ibn Al-Hussein, left, seen here in 2015 with Gen. Lloyd Austin, the current U.S. defense secretary. The men were inspecting 18-nation training exercises on Jordans border with Saudi Arabia. Photo: Raad Adayleh/AP The weapons sale had a certain logic. The Jordanian military had a stockpile of old U.S.-made attack helicopters donated more than a decade earlier by the U.S. and Israel to help bolster Jordans counterterrorism forces. But the helicopters were old and expensive to maintain, and Jordan ultimately had little use for them. Blackwater and Prince might have benefited most from the donated helicopters: Jordans military had hired the company in 2006 to train Jordanian special operations forces on how to use them. In Feisals capacity as a senior air force officer, he had worked with Prince and Blackwater on their training. The king was told that Prince and Feisal were involved in the proposed weapons shipment, according to his adviser. By then, the CIA had learned that Prince and Durrant were claiming that the U.S. government had signed off on the deal. The CIA sent a message to Abdullah making clear the agency wanted him to stop the transfer, according to two people familiar with the CIAs outreach, including a person with direct knowledge. The king agreed to shut it down. You had Erik involved in a deal where [the Jordanian military] would have to issue fraudulent end-user certificates in an obvious violation of the U.N. arms embargo, the adviser told The Intercept. The king was advised that this could hurt future [legitimate] military sales. Despite Project Opuss failure to get the helicopters and arms from Jordan to Libya, the mission to deliver a mercenary force to Hifter went forward. The mercenaries, led by a South African helicopter pilot, flew to Benghazi on June 25 or 26, according to the U.N. report and a person familiar with the operation. Durrant quickly purchased six replacement helicopters from South Africa for roughly $18 million and shipped them to Libya, according to the U.N. report. But the helicopters were old and unarmed, unlike the ones the contract had promised. When Hifter learned that the Jordanian deal had failed and Durrant and his team had instead shipped six substandard helicopters, he flew into a rage and threatened the mercenaries, according to the U.N. report. Hifter sent the pilots back to their safe house under guard, according to a person with knowledge of the operation. The mercenaries, concerned for their own safety given Hifters anger, decided to flee the country, according to the person with knowledge of the operation. On June 29, 2019, the team abandoned the six South African helicopters and escaped from a Benghazi harbor. They left for Malta on the same two rigid hull boats that Durrant had outlined in his memo, according to the U.N. report. The boats were supplied by another Prince business partner, a Maltese arms dealer. The trip took 36 hours after one of the two boats malfunctioned and had to be left behind. When they reached Malta, the mercenaries paid a fine for arriving without an entry visa and were released. Local media reported that they claimed to be civilian contractors who had fled Libya because the security situation on the ground was untenable. Durrant claimed that the men were not mercenaries, instead portraying them as unarmed logistical personnel being sent in to support oil and gas companies. In the statement provided by his lawyer, Durrant claimed the men had entered the country to setup a logistics centre in Libya. Within 48 hours they left due to security concerns.  Nothing happened and in no way were any sanctions breached. Durrant denounced what he called the politicization of the UN through its investigation, claiming the investigators chose to use their limited resources to pursue 20 unarmed personnel entering Libya for a 48 hour period yet thousands of armed mercenaries and seemingly limitless weapons are continually flowing into the country, according to his statement. Even after the Jordanian shipment failed to materialize and the mercenaries fled Libya, Prince and Durrant didnt give up. Instead, they shifted their efforts to Washington. It was no secret that Prince advocated using mercenaries to support Hifter. From the early days of the Trump administration, he had pushed for a U.S.-backed, Gulf-funded private military force to enter Libya, according to Trump administration officials and documents. Before Hifters April 2019 offensive, Prince argued that his plan would end the ground war in Libya, stop terrorism, and make it easier to stabilize the country, according to a former Trump administration NSC official. Thats just not something the U.S. government can do, the former official said. It sounds attractive and sexy because it sounds clean and easy, but its actually not, and [its] not legal. After the operation fell apart in June, Durrant continued to lobby members of the administration to revive the mission. One of those officials was Victoria Coates, then-NSC senior director for the Middle East and North Africa and one of the few Trump administration officials who had met Hifter. Coates knew that Durrant was a business associate of Princes; Durrant called Coates and told her he was supporting Hifter and wanted Washingtons backing. I never met with Christiaan Durrant, Coates told The Intercept. After one or two phone calls, he made me feel uncomfortable. Coates said she asked the White House switchboard to block future calls from Durrant. When Durrants direct outreach failed, Prince contacted his friend on the NSC, one of Coatess colleagues, for the meeting at the Army and Navy Club, which also led nowhere. Prince then reached out to yet another Trump administration official. This time, Prince asked the official to help connect Durrant with the CIA. The official spoke to The Intercept on the condition that they not be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the press. Durrant told the official that he was part of a military group working in Libya that included Americans and wanted CIA support. He said Were with Hifter, we might be getting pushed out, and the Russians are coming in to support him, the official recalled Durrant telling him. He kept it vague, but the bottom line was he said he was with Hifter, and that if the CIA didnt help, Hifter would turn to Russian mercenaries to try to break the stalemate. When the official passed Durrants message on to a CIA contact, the agency responded that it didnt want to speak with Durrant and asked the official not to have further contact with him. The bottom line was he said he was with Hifter, and that if the CIA didnt help, Hifter would turn to Russian mercenaries to try to break the stalemate. Durrants efforts to sway the Trump administration in his favor may have gone even further. In September 2019, Federal Advocates, a Washington lobbying firm, filed a disclosure with Congress after being hired by one of Durrants companies, Opus Capital Assets, which is based in the UAE. The initial filing described Opus as a geopolitical national security firm and declared that Federal Advocates had been paid $60,000 to lobby the Trump administration on geopolitical issues in Africa. Subsequent filings described Opus as an oil and gas logistics services entity, and Federal Advocates described its lobbying efforts as providing educational background to the Administration. Kevin Talley, one of the lobbyists, declined to comment on Opus or the contract.

Soldiers from the self-styled army of Libyan militia leader Khalifa Hifter take part in a military parade in the eastern city of Benghazi on May 7, 2018. Photo: Abdullah Doma/AFP via Getty Images The U.N.s Panel of Experts opened an investigation in the summer of 2019. Its findings represent something akin to a grand jury indictment. The panels report was submitted to the U.N. Sanctions Committee, which will decide whether or not to approve its findings and designate Prince, Durrant, and others named in the report as weapons smugglers. Princes lawyer denounced the U.N. investigators, claiming they did not give Prince sufficient chance to respond to the reports allegations. Given the astounding inaccuracies and falsehoods as reported in the media, and the absolute lack of due process or right to reply, we have requested that the Panel retract its report immediately, he wrote. The U.N. report described multiple efforts to reach Prince and request his participation in the investigations, and said he never responded. The panels investigators contacted most of the 20 foreign mercenaries detained in Malta and were also met with silence. Durrants lawyer, Gordon, told U.N. investigators that he represented Opus and those who fled Libya. Like the lobbying documents filed by Federal Advocates, Gordon claimed that Opus was an oil and gas logistics company; Gordon said that company personnel went to Libya for a commercial job, only to flee when it became too dangerous. The U.N. report described the oil and gas contract as a cover story to hide their true mission. Investigators were able to slowly piece together the alleged mercenary plot after an African intelligence service tipped them off to fake export documents used to ship some of the replacement helicopters that were sent to Libya, according to a Western official familiar with the investigation. The U.N. panel obtained a copy of an $85 million contract for Opus to conduct a geological survey of Jordan. The document was counterfeited with the deliberate intent to disguise the true purpose and led back to companies in which Prince had an ownership interest, according to the U.N. report. (Gordon, Durrants lawyer, told The Intercept that Prince had no relationship with Opus.) The contract was based on a real proposal from a geological survey company, Bridgeporth, whose logo adorns the bottom of each page of the document. In June 2019, when Project Opus was underway, Prince owned a significant share of Bridgeporth through his investment fund, FRG, which helped obscure Princes connection.This is indicative of the complex multi-shells that Erik Dean Prince uses to disguise his control over, and benefits from, trading companies, the U.N. report noted. After the U.N. inquired about the companys possible role in the Libya operation, Prince changed his funds arrangement with Bridgeporth, making his continued investment less visible. Princes ownership of Bridgeporth was another clue for the U.N. panel. It was not the first time Bridgeporth had been implicated in mercenary force proposals. In 2014, Prince created an assassination plan for Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistence Army in central Africa. The document, which was obtained by The Intercept, proposed using Bridgeporth and an oil and gas survey as the cover in the kill or capture mission.
Our Australian friends have a saying about people whose ambitions exceed their abilities. They call such people tall poppies and warn that the tallest are the first to be cut.

That saying came to mind when I looked back at Donald Trumps appearance 10 years ago at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. (See video below.)

I was in the press gallery for that occasion just as I will be in the press gallery for Trumps address to CPAC this afternoon.

In that 2011 appearance, Trump told the audience that he would decide by June whether to enter the race for the 2012 Republican nomination.

I doubt if anyone took the prospect of a Trump candidacy seriously. But the audience certainly seemed to be enjoying his speech, which was the usual mix of humor and bombast.

In the midst of it all, he said one thing that brought to mind that piece of wisdom from the land Down Under.

That came after, in typical Trump fashion, he boasted that he had won many wars and earned billions of dollars.

Those accomplishments actually made him less likely to enter politics, Trump said.

Most successful people dont want to be scrutinized or abused, and thats what happens, Trump said.

It is indeed what happened. Once Trump became president his life was subjected to intense scrutiny. Events that might not have otherwise surfaced  such as that Access Hollywood appearance that sparked a million-woman march - now made national headlines.

When allegations of payoffs to former mistresses surfaced, the Manhattan District Attorneys Office used that as entree to investigate Trumps business dealings.

Last week, eight years worth of his financial records were handed over to the aggressive Democratic prosecutor Cyrus Vance for his perusal.

That investigation could dog the Donald for years, accompanied perhaps by probes into what role, if any, he played in the sorry events of Jan. 6.

The big question at CPAC is whether Trump will declare hes going to make another run in 2024. I for one would prefer to see him enjoy his well-earned return to private life.

In 2016 he had astonishing success when he came out of nowhere to beat first the Republican and then the Democratic establishments. But in 2024 his candidacy would face similar prospects as those he assigned to Ron Paul in that 2011 speech.

After supporters of the Texas congressman and two-time contender for the GOP presidential nomination shouted out his name several times, Trump took up the topic of another Ron Paul candidacy.

Trump said he admired Pauls policies, but Ron Paul cant get elected president.

Well, neither can Donald Trump. He cant seem to get over that 47 percent barrier in popularity.

His excuse is that the 2020 election was stolen from him. But several of my fellow conservatives say he would be wise to drop that pitch.

Is he gonna whine about the past election or have a vision for the future? asks Rick Shaftan, a conservative political consultant formerly of Sussex County and now of North Carolina.

I expect a lot of whining. That may not be good for the GOP, but it could be good for the Donald.

If Trump says hes in the race for the 2024 nomination, or even hints at it, a cynic would have to ask whether hes just trying to get enough contributions to cover his legal bills.

Trump has threatened to create an organization to run primaries against members of Congress who resisted his unconstitutional attempt to change the results of the recent election. But that would require him to spend time and money on people other than his favorite person: himself.

If Trump cared about the Republican Party, he would announce that hes not running again. That would clear the field for a primary contest among a lot of other promising Republicans.

Then he could go back to being the Donald Trump we used to see at CPAC in the good old days, a smart-talking New Yorker who could dismantle a Democrat with just one wisecrack.

That guy was a winner, such a winner that he promised that once he was elected wed all get tired of winning.

But his ambition exceeded his abilities.

For this tall poppy its time to duck out.

BELOW - THE DONALDS COMING-OUT PARTY AT CPAC IN 2011:
Schools throughout Schuylkill County are seeing higher rates of students failing classes as they cope with the challenges of virtual learning.

Mahanoy Area Superintendent Joie Green said the failure rate is higher this year in part because of the lack of participation in online classes. Its gotten so bad, she said, that district officials have notified county Children & Youth and referred some cases to Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker, who has told parents that if their children dont log on to the districts virtual learning platform and show improvement within 30 days, he would honor citations put out by the district for failing to attend school.

They are not doing what they are supposed to be doing despite automated calls and letters sent home, Green said.

Some homes got two or three letters, calls and visits before they went to the magistrates office, she added. Theres no excuse why a child cant be educated either in person or virtually.

Contact with parents, in some cases via Zoom meetings, along with before- and after-school tutoring and plans for summer school are among the steps being taken to try to improve student performance.

Officials from most county districts replied to requests on how they are faring with failing students:

Blue Mountain

As reported from a Feb. 18 meeting, Blue Mountain is having problems at the middle and high school.

At the middle school, 70 out of the 573 students, about 12%, are failing two or more classes. Two failing classes is enough to be retained at the end of the year.

Thirty-one percent of special education students, 36% of asynchronous virtual academy (VLN) students, 12% of synchronous virtual students and 10% of in-person students are failing two or more classes at the middle school.

Principal James McGonigle said officials have made phone calls, sent letters and emails, and conducted Zoom meetings with parents.

At Blue Mountain High School, 212, nearly 25%, of the 862 students are failing one or more classes, with 44% of special education students, 58% of virtual academy students, 20% of synchronous virtual students and 16% of in-person students failing.

Principal Kevin Berger said last week that high school staff has started to take attendance each period for synchronous virtual students, as well as checking attendance more frequently for asynchronous VLN students.

The failure rates were lower at the elementary schools. Blue Mountain Elementary West and Blue Mountain Elementary Cressona Principal Kristin Frederick said at last weeks meeting very few students at those schools were at risk of failing, while Blue Mountain Elementary East Principal Mark Cesari said 30 students are in jeopardy of failing, 10 of whom are learning virtually.

Mahanoy Area

Green said 40%, or about 170, of the 427 junior/senior high school students are failing one or more classes, about 56% of them virtual students and 43.5% in-person.

At the elementary school, 78 of 532 students, about 15%, are failing.

The district defines failing as getting below a 70% grade in two courses. At the high school, failing two or more classes means a student cant participate in extracurricular activities.

In addition to phone calls and letters, Green said she has joined principals, attendance officers and pupil services team members in visiting homes to help students log in to the remote learning software.

Unless the students do their work and improve their grades, they wont be able to move up in grade levels.

The teachers have gone above and beyond, Green said. The whole district has come together to get these kids educated.

North Schuylkill

Superintendent Robert Ackell said there has been an increase in students failing classes compared to previous years. After the first two marking periods ended, he said 184 high school students, 84 students in grades 7-8 and 152 in grades K-6 are failing one or more subjects.

Ackell said poor attendance and failure to complete assignments are two contributing factors.

Teachers contact parents through phone calls, emails, text messages and the DOJO software system in an effort to rectify problems. Also, the district offers free after-school tutoring for students in grades K-8 in-person and virtually, conducts truancy meetings and home visits, provides remedial and supplemental support for students, and invites parents for tutorials with Google Classroom. Also, the district participates in the Schuylkill ACHIEVE after-school program offered by Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29.

The superintendent said summer school opportunities will be offered for students in grades 6-12 for remediation for failing a class.

School-home connection is a key component, he said.

Pine Grove Area

At Pine Grove Area High School, the rate of failure has more than doubled compared to last school year.

Sixteen percent of the 528 students (84 students) failed one course during the first semester, compared to 7% of 506 students (35 students) during the first semester last school year, Principal Mike Janicelli said.

Of the 16% that failed during the first semester this year, 22% were enrolled in virtual learning and 29% are special education students. Of the 7% that failed last year, 13% were enrolled in virtual learning and 40% were special education students.

Janicelli said teachers continue to monitor student progress and encourage remedial work to increase grades. In addition, students who selected virtual learning who are struggling academically are being asked to return to in-person instruction.

Middle school Principal Melissa Mekosh said during the first marking period, 14% of students failed at least one class, compared to 7% who failed one class during the first marking period last school year. Of the 14%, 21% are special education students and 15% are enrolled in virtual learning. Last school year, of the 7% who failed one class, 23% were special education students, with no virtual students enrolled.

She said communication with parents and guardians is happening regularly and students get regular updates on missed assignments through the Schoology learning software, email and in-person.

Mekosh said teachers are working with students learning remotely during prep periods, through Zoom or on the phone, and students are encouraged to join the ACHIEVE.

Guidance counselors at the middle and high school also meet regularly with students.

While students failing hasnt been a problem at the elementary school, Principal Sandra Burns said teachers had to cover a lot of area since the last formal face-to-face instruction took place last March.

Pottsville Area

Acting Superintendent Jared Gerace said district officials have experienced higher numbers of students not performing to expected levels academically, due in part to attendance.

We are identifying the students in need of additional support and providing them with a variety of academic and social interventions, he said.

Saint Clair Area

Superintendent Thomas McLaughlin said about 5% of the student population in the K-8 school, both virtually and in-person, are failing, a rate slightly higher than past years. He said administrators have met with students in danger of failing and letters have been sent to parents and guardians.

He said help is available from teachers who are available before and after school, through an after-school program and academic support that takes place during ninth period.

Schuylkill Haven Area

At Schuylkill Haven Area Elementary Center, 21 out of 424 students in grades K-4 are failing, a rate double that of last year, Principal Joseph Delluso said.

Schuylkill Haven Area Middle School Principal Matt Buletza said 88 students, or 37% of the student body, have failed a class this school year, compared to 32 students, or 12%, who failed last school year.

At the high school, Principal Matt Horoschak said 149 students, or 33%, failed one or more courses this year, compared to 75, or 16%, last school year.

The principals said the problem is being addressed with reminders from teachers, administrators and guidance counselors, in-school programs and extended deadlines on assignments.

Shenandoah Valley

Superintendent Brian Waite said district officials are reviewing the number of students struggling academically and said one intervention might be summer school.

Tri-Valley

Superintendent Mark D. Snyder said district officials continue to seek and provide additional supports in order to help all students find success within the hybrid instructional model. He added that he hopes there wont be a significant difference in failure rates by the end of the school year.

Williams Valley

Superintendent Diane R. Best said there have been higher failure rates this school year, with about 26% of students in grades 7-12 in danger of doing so.

Many supports have been put in place since mid-year to address learning needs, said Best, including 50 students signed up for a credit recovery program.

The district has implemented a Check and Connect program that teams students with mentors for regular meetings. Also, there are tutoring opportunities and remediation support is available at the elementary school.
LNG project: CEB calls for proposals before ADB releases feasibility study By Namini Wijedasa View(s): View(s):

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has called for international proposals to deploy a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and a mooring system for liquefied natural gas (LNG) even before the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released the feasibility study it funded for the project.

Feasibility studies map out the pros and cons of undertaking a costly initiative before investing time and money into it. Under ADB rules, such documents must be publicly disclosed.

The ADB confirmed this week that it supported the LNG feasibility study using Technical Assistance (TA) 9741-SRI: Supporting Feasibility Study and Survey to Adopt Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Power Generation to Diversity Energy Mix.

The studies were supported by experienced international experts, said a spokesperson. The report was submitted to the executing agency, the CEB, and the Ministry of Power for final approval. After incorporating their comments on the draft report before disclosure, we will coordinate with the CEB and MOP [Ministry of Power] to expedite and ensure the disclosure of this TA report at the earliest, she maintained.

But the CEB has already called requests for proposals (RFP) for the development of the FRSU at offshore Kerawalapitiya on a build, own and operate basis, along with a compatible mooring system on build, own, operate and transfer basis. The deadline for submissions is June 18.

The FSRU is expected to have a regasifcation capacity of 380 million standard cubic feet a day (a unit of measurement for gases) and an optimum LNG storage of 156,000 cubic metres. It will supply regasified LNG for power plants located in Kerawalapitiya and Colombo.

The required pipelines (subsea and onshore) will be established by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) on a build, own, operate and transfer basis. Whoever wins the tender will be expected to design, finance, procure, build, deliver, commission, operate and maintain the FSRU. The same applies to the mooring system which, additionally, will have to be transferred at the end of the term to the CEB.

One private sector source who evaluated the RFP called it a mess with the FSRU proposed to be run by one party, and the pipelines to be run by another. And the closely-guarded feasibility study clearly states LNG cannot be unloaded from FSRU for 130 days of the year as the sea is too rough.

downtime will be 130 days starting from mid-May to end of September when the SW monsoon is in effect, it says. This means a breakwater will have to built, although there is no mention of it in the RFP advertised last week.

Meanwhile, a vessel of the capacity required by the CEB is not readily available (there are only 37 FSRUs in use worldwide). And the Government has specified in tender documents that it will require only half of the LNG stored in the vessel, although it will pay for the whole tank.

This is going to be very expensive for the country, the private sector source said. And the CEB knows nothing about LNG but wants to handle supply.

According to the RFP, an agreement will be entered into with the CEB and Sri Lanka Government for the establishment of the infrastructure. The term of the project is ten years from acceptance under the agreement.

The plan is it to have a submersible pipeline, a landfall point and two onshore pipelines, a CEB source said. One will supply LNG to nearby plants including 300mw Yugadhanavi power plant run by West Coast Power. The other will go to Kelanitissa where there are certain plants now running on diesel which can be converted without too many problems to LNG.

But projecs critics say there will be economic and financial implications if LNG is procured in such large quantities before gas plants and infrastructure are in place. The plants scheduled for 2025 and 2033 have not yet been approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka. (The FSRU project will, however, take two to three years to complete and operationalise).

What is the risk of this project if the President decides to push through his target to generate 70 percent of the countrys electricity through renewable energy? one detractor asked.

It is also not clear what the sovereign commitment is for FSRU and mooring point. Regardless of the source of funds, all large-scale projects need Government backing to be financed and insured. It was widely pointed out by power sector sources that the CEB did not have the in-country expertise to answer clarifications or evaluate these bids but no foreign consultant has been hired.

Another fear is that the projectas designedwill block natural gas development in Sri Lanka. This is why the feasibility and economic modelling are important, he pointed out. Normally, countries spend years doing detailed modelling and feasibility for such an initiative.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Feb, 2021 ) :Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday rejected a summary moved by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to increase the petroleum prices for the next fortnight by approximately over 6 Rupees in per liter price and said the people must be given a relief.

According to the information available from the PM House the OGRA had proposed an increase of Rs 6.22 in the price of MS petrol, Rs 6.82 in the price of High-Speed Diesel, Rs 6.37 raise in the price of Kerosene Oil, and Rs 5.

78 hike in Light Diesel Oil.

The Prime Minister said he was fully cognizant of the burden on the common man and has already geared up the government machinery to ensure the availability of everyday prices at low prices.

Imran Khan said the welfare of the masses was his prime responsibility. He said despite the fact that the petroleum prices in the international markets were going up, he has decided not to accept the proposed raise of OGRA and said the people would be able to get the petroleum products at the same price.
Texans can be thankful that the heartless mayor of Colorado City proved to be the outrageous exception rather than the rule during the deadly Lone Star deep freeze. While he was ranting in an unhinged Facebook screed that neither elected officials nor neighbors owed anybody anything during the most dangerous and debilitating snow and ice storm in decades, the (now former) mayors West Texas neighbors were helping each other.

So were his fellow Texans in Houston and other big cities, along with small-town and rural residents across the state. Shoveling sidewalks along their icy streets, delivering food and water to those without, checking on elderly shut-ins shivering under blankets, they exemplified their conviction that we are indeed our neighbors keeper.

Local government also responded to electricity grid failures that left 4 million Texans at the mercy of single-digit temperatures and without water for nearly a week. The city of Houston under Mayor Sylvester Turners leadership and Harris County under Judge Lina Hidalgos, were responsive, forthcoming and focused. Recognizing the seriousness of what was happening, they and their counterparts tried to respond to a crisis that not only left Texans uncomfortable and upset but also fearful of the potential danger that resulted in dozens of deaths, the exact number of which is still being tallied.

Texans, children and adults, froze to death from here to Abilene. Many others died or were sickened from carbon monoxide poisoning as they resorted to desperate, dangerous measures to keep warm: bringing in outdoor grills, sitting in a running car inside a closed garage.

These losses of life must be reminders that the system broke down  not just the power grid, not just the non-profit grid manager ERCOT, but Texas system of governance itself.

While local officials had our back, our state government let us freeze. The primary reason we were ill-prepared is because we relied on state officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who prioritize amassing power and profit instead of providing public service. Their weak and irresponsible leadership set the stage for this fiasco.

State officials were warned more than a decade ago that the grid was vulnerable, that it needed upgrading, weatherizing  yet, lawmakers refused to require companies to do it. They knowingly chose deregulation over reliability, failing to build in extra energy capacity in case of emergency. On the contrary, they created a perverse incentive for energy producers during a crisis: the more desperate the demand, the more decadent the profits.

And it wasnt enough to coddle industry in the warm embrace of Texas-style voluntary compliance over the past two decades.

Weve learned in recent days that back in November, the agency cut ties with its independent reliability monitor. And Houston Chronicle reporters Eric Dexheimer and Jay Root reported Friday that Abbotts appointees at the Texas Utility Commission gutted enforcement of Texas grid rules over the past year, leading to a 40 percent drop in enforcement cases by the end of 2020.

In a hearing last week, Abbotts handpicked PUC chair, DeAnn Walker wilted under lawmakers angry questioning. As they pushed her to promise a thorough investigation, she balked.

I dont know that we have the staff, she said, failing to acknowledge her role in eviscerating the Oversight & Enforcement Division, which could have done that investigation.

Even lawmakers not directly involved in utility oversight have failed Texans by promulgating hot-button social issues designed to keep them in office rather than telling constituents hard truths about making the needed investments to avoid a life-threatening disaster. In essence, they didnt acknowledge effective governance as a job requirement  perhaps not even as a realistic possibility.

Unfortunately, we citizens dont always take our responsibilities seriously either. We allow a governor to go on Fox News and blame the mythical Green New Deal Monster for the states power failure and let him escape blame himself. We are likely to re-elect a U.S. senator who mariachis off to Mexico during the miserable depths of the crisis instead of holding him to account.

Decades ago, two huge snowstorms dumped 35 inches of snow on Chicago, and the citys response was disastrous. For weeks, people couldnt get to work, stinking trash piled up, mass transit failed. When the sun came out on Election Day, Chicagoans remembered their snow boots and booted out their mayor. We Texans rarely take governance that seriously, let alone our power over it as voters. Despite our vaunted reputation for rugged independence, we vote lemming-like, whether blithely casting ballots as yellow-dog Democrats decades ago or as their GOP equivalent these days (whatever the color of the canine).

The yellow-dog nickname, of course, originated with the old saying that Democrats in years past would vote for a yellow dog before casting a ballot for a Republican. Such Pavlovian devotion, then and now, lets our elected officials off the hook. They dont have to be serious about providing responsible, responsive governance if were not. They can wear their anti-government cynicism like a badge, trusting either that were gullible enough to accept willful neglect as conservative piety  or that were simply too disengaged to care.

Last week, Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick were showing brow-furrowed seriousness as they vied for Oscar mentions with their portrayals as the dutiful government stewards who despite their seven years each in Texas highest-ranking offices, were caught woefully unaware by the catastrophic vulnerabilities of Texas power grid. The two, who regularly play the patron saints of polarization on cable TV, gallantly vowed solutions, launched investigations, threatened subpoenas. Abbott called for real reform  including weatherization requirements for power generators  and trolled ERCOTs out-of-state board members until a few submitted resignations.

Patrick committed his own precious time to deliver Texans from electrical evil: Im just going to put this on my shoulders and take responsibility for this fix, he said.

Well see. Perhaps this time, the threat of ballot box consequences is real enough to push our statewide elected loafers into service  real service in the interests of the people of Texas. If so, the people have to keep that threat alive with our vigilance, our calls, our letters, our prying public eyes into governments closeted affairs.

We cant allow the warmth of a springtime sun to melt away our memories of Texans freezing to death, literally. Chicago got serious. So can we.
Sad I cant talk in Tamil: After PM Modi, Amit Shah plays language card in TN, Puducherry

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Villupuram/Karaikkal, Feb 28: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday spoke high of Tamil and its culture, calling it ''sweet'', on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed regret about not being able to learn the old southern language.

Addressing his party's ''Vijay Sankalp'' rallies in Villupuram in Tamil Nadu and Karaikkal, an enclave of neighbouring Puducherry, ahead of the April 6 Assembly elections, Shah apologised to the crowd that he could not deliver his address in Tamil, although it "would have been nice" if he could do so.

"First of all I want to say sorry that I am unable to talk in one of the oldest languages in the country, the sweet one," Shah said at the Villupuram public meeting.

'Regret not learning Tamil': PM Modi on Mann Ki Baat

"Without the great Tamil culture, India''s culture is incomplete," he added. Tamil Nadu had given "great people" who have done the country proud globally, Shah said, adding "the country respects Tamil and its culture."

He also referred to Modi''s statement on Sunday about the language. Shah's harping on Tamil came on a day when Modi, in his monthly ''Mann ki Baat'' programme expressed regret over not being able to learn the "world''s oldest language."

"A few days ago Aparna Reddy ji of Hyderabad asked me one such question. She said ''You have been PM for so many years and were CM for so many years. Do you ever feel that something is missing?" Modi said.

Noting that the question seemed simple but was difficult, he said, "I pondered this over and told myself that one of my shortcomings was that I could not make much effort to learn Tamil, the oldest language in the world; I could not make myself learn Tamil!" The prime minister, who had invoked Tamil poet Kanian Poongundanar in his UN General Assembly address in 2019, besides reciting from Tamil treatise Tirukkural during his recent public engagements in Tamil Nadu, also praised the Tamil language and its rich literature.

"It is such a beautiful language, which is popular all over the world. Many people have told me a lot about the quality of Tamil literature and the depth of the poems written in it," he said.

Shah, in his Karaikkal public meeting regretted that he could not address the crowd in the "great Tamil language." He also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his recent support to jallikattu, which he witnessed in Madurai in January and said the party's election manifesto for the 2016 assembly polls batted for a ban against the bull taming sport.

Jallikattu, the famous event held in Madurai during the harvest festival Pongal in January, has an emotional connect with the Tamil people and a major agitation was held in 2017 at the Marina here seeking revoking of an earlier ban against the conduct of the event.

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Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 22:52 [IST]
Joe Biden wants an investigation into sexual assault and harassment allegations levied against Andrew Cuomo, the president's spokesperson revealed Sunday, as a second woman came forward against the New York governor.

'There should be an independent review looking into these allegations,' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday. 'And that's certainly something the president supports.'

Psaki said the allegations 'are serious.'

'It was hard to read that story as a woman,' Psaki said of the New York Times piece revealing the new allegations against Cuomo.

'That process should move forward as quickly as possible,' she said of a probe into the governor's conduct toward female aides.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (right) told CNN on Sunday that President Joe Biden wants an investigation into sexual assault and harassment claims against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

'It was hard to read that story as a woman,' Psaki said of the New York Times piece revealing the new allegations against Cuomo, adding the claims 'are serious'

Charlotte Bennett, 25, who served in a number of roles for Cuomo, said the governor asked several questions of her personal life, including asking if she dated older men

The allegations came after former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan already alleged in tweets in December that Cuomo 'abused his power' and sexually harassed her for years

Charlotte Bennett, 25, told the Times in an article published Saturday, that Cuomo told her he was open to dating women in their 20s and asked her questions about her personal life in June.

Revelations of her allegations comes after Lindsey Boylan, 36, further detailed her claims against Cuomo in an essay posted to Medium on Wednesday. She added to her account of the incidents in that post, claiming the governor asked her to play strip poker and kissed her on the lips without her permission when she worked for him in 2017.

Cuomo, 63, said he 'never intended to act in any way that was inappropriate' with Bennett and his press secretary said Boylan's claims were 'false'.

The governor on Saturday promised a review by former federal judge Barbara Jones into the allegations against him. Jones was appointed to her judgeship by then-President Bill Clinton.

Prominent New York Democrats such as U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and State Assemblyman Carl Heastie turned their backs on Cuomo and called for a 'truly independent probe'.

'Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett's detailed accounts of sexual harassment by Gov. Cuomo are extremely serious and painful to read,' AOC, who represents parts of Queen and The Bronx, tweeted on Sunday.

She added: 'There must be an independent investigation - not one led by an individual selected by the Governor, but by the office of the Attorney General.'

Progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called on Sunday for an independent investigation after Cuomo appointed a former Clinton-appointed federal judge to probe the allegations

Cuomo, 63, said he 'never intended to act in any way that was inappropriate' with Ms Bennett and his press secretary said Boylan's claims were 'false'

The New York governor's press secretary Caitlin Girouard issued a statement Wednesday saying Boylan's latest allegations are untrue.

'As we said before, Ms. Boylan's claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false,' she stated.

Special counsel and senior adviser to the governor Beth Garvey said Judge Barbara Jones will lead the review, adding 'there are no limits' on her scope in the probe.

Top Democrats, however, have already turned their backs on the governor and criticised the appointing of Jones.

Hochul, Cuomo's second-in-command, called for an independent review into the claims.

'Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and taken seriously,' she said.

Biaggi, who chairs the New York Senate Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance, called on Cuomo to resign in a stinging rebuke.

'As a New Yorker, a legislator, Chair of the Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee, and a survivor of sexual abuse, I am calling for Governor Cuomo to resign,' Biaggi said in her statement.

She added: 'I commend the courage of Ms. Bennett and Lindsey Boylan for coming forward.'

'The harassment experienced by these former staffers is part of a clear pattern of abuse and manipulation by the Governor, and that pattern makes him unworthy of holding the highest office in New York.'

Heastie said 'a truly independent investigation is warranted' if they want to maintain the claim that 'all allegations of harassment must be taken seriously.'

Previously, the White House has stood by Cuomo, claiming Biden would continue working with him to address the coronavirus pandemic and in the New York Democrat's capacity as the chairman of the National Governors Association.

Cuomo has found himself in hot water as the two women come forward with their stories and as he faces another controversy involving lying about the number of nursing home deaths in New York from COVID-19.

Iran's coronavirus fatalities broke the 60,000 mark on Sunday, official figures showed, as the Islamic republic battles the Middle East's worst outbreak of the illness.

The grim milestone comes after several Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, warned of a Covid-19 "fourth wave" with cases rising in certain areas of the country.

"Sadly in the past 24 hours, 93 people lost their lives to Covid-19, and total deaths from this disease reached 60,073," health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said in a televised address.

Iran has registered a total of 1,631,169 infections, according to the ministry.

But some officials -- including Health Minister Saeed Namaki -- have admitted in the past that the actual numbers are likely higher than the official figures.

"We have to observe (virus) restrictions probably for months, and maybe for the whole of the next year," President Rouhani said at the country's weekly Covid-19 taskforce meeting on Saturday.

He called on citizens to better observe health protocols in the new Iranian year starting on March 21, saying Iran will face a "more difficult" situation over the next year by having to battle "mutated strains of the virus".

The coronavirus taskforce spokesman Alireza Raisi on Friday said that Iran is "very concerned" about the more contagious British variant of the virus, which has already "circulated in the country."

"We have identified 112 people infected with the British variant in the country, eight of whom have died," he said, according to the health ministry.

He noted that the variant was seen in many provinces including the capital Tehran, and the virus' new focal point in the southwest, Khuzestan.

Similar to previous waves, Khuzestan is among the first areas to relapse into "red", the highest level on Iran's colour-coded risk scale.

The number of daily infections nationwide has hit 8,000 in recent days, a level still much lower than the record high of 14,051 infections registered on November 27.

Daily deaths dropped below 100 in early January, the lowest level since June.

- 110,000 doses "distributed" -

Tehran started a national vaccination campaign on February 9 using Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, with the first target groups being health workers, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions.

Head of health ministry public relations Kianoush Jahanpour told AFP on Sunday that "110,000 vaccine doses have been distributed" in Iran so far, without specifying the number of people who had received the first jab.

The second dose will start being administered on March 2, he added.

The Islamic republic has bought a total of two million doses of Sputnik V, according to Jahanpour, and they will be delivered gradually.

Iranian state media on Sunday reported that 250,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine were delivered to Tehran, a day after Jahanpour announced that they were donated by the Chinese government.

Health Minister Namaki has said Iran would also receive 4.2 million doses of the vaccine developed by Anglo-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University, purchased via the international vaccine mechanism Covax.

Iran is also working on locally developed vaccine projects, with the clinical trials of the second homegrown vaccine starting on Sunday.

The jab, dubbed Razi Cov Pars, was developed at the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, which is linked to the agriculture ministry, and unveiled earlier this month.

Its clinical trial began with two male volunteers receiving it at Tehran's Rasoul Akram hospital, state television showed.

The Razi facility's deputy chief, Mohammad-Hassan Falah-Mehrabadi, told attendees at a ceremony at the hospital that 133 people have volunteered for the trial.

The Islamic republic started clinical trials of its first locally developed vaccine in late December.

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Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said Sunday the Republican Party should stop 'idolizing' Donald Trump and relying on the former president's coattails to win back the majority in Congress in 2022.

'If we idolize one person, we will lose,' the Louisiana senator told CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'And that's kind of clear from the last election.'

Cassidy, one of the seven Republican senators who voted for Trump's impeachment conviction earlier this month, said the GOP will win 'by speaking to those issues that are important to the American people' and 'not by putting one person on a pedestal and making that one person our focal point.'

'If we do that, if we speak to those issues, to those families, to those individuals, we win. That's where our focus should be,' Cassidy said in his Sunday morning interview.

Cassidy also predicted that Trump will not be the Republican presidential candidate in 2024  mainly citing his age.

'He will be 78 years old, but I don't think he will be our nominee, for the reasons I have said. Over the last four years, we have lost the House, the Senate and the presidency,' he said.

GOP Senator Bill Cassidy predicted Sunday that Donald Trump will not be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024

'If we idolize one person, we will lose,' the Louisiana senator told CNN. 'And that's kind of clear from the last election'

Trump will deliver the keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday afternoon in Orlando, Florida as he makes his political comeback speech where he will come just short of announcing he will run for president again

'Political campaigns are about winning,' Cassidy continued. 'Our agenda does not move forward unless we win. We need a candidate who cannot only win himself or herself, but we also have to have someone who lifts all boats. And that's clearly not happened over the last four years.'

Cassidy would not answer if he felt Trump would be 'fit' to serve as president again in four years, but reiterated: The point is, I don't think he is going to be our nominee, for the reasons I just described.'

Several Republican figures appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week who have been rumored, encouraged or perceived as potential 2024 candidates.

Those potential contenders include Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Rick Scott of Florida, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Many of these individuals expressed during remarks at CPAC that they back Trump.

Cassidy said the GOP's focus should be looking at appealing to those who voted for Trump in 2016 and switched to voting for President Joe Biden in 2020  not leaning into Trumpism as a new equivalent to conservatism.

As Trump prepares to make a comeback to the political spotlight in his speech at CPAC Sunday afternoon, Cassidy reminded CNN that this gathering does not represent the whole of the Republican Party.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Sunday: 'It's up to the voters and the voters are saying overwhelmingly they agree with what President Trump did in office'

'CPAC is not the entirety of the Republican Party,' he said.

'If we plan to win in 2022 and 2024, we have to listen to the voters, not just those who really like President Trump, but also those who perhaps are less sure,' the Louisiana senator continued. 'If we do, if we speak to the voters who are less sure who went from President Trump to President Biden, we win. If we don't, we lose. That is a reality that we have to confront.'

'If you're going to win in 2022 and 2024, you have got to speak to voters who didn't vote for us last time,' Cassidy continued.

Trump will help close out the conservative conference in Orlando, Florida on Sunday with a keynote speech where he is expected to come just short of announcing he is running in 2024 while portraying he is the presumed Republican candidate for 2024.

Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee Ronna McDaniel told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday that it is voters who will decided the future of the party  and she believes they will continue to support the former president.

'It's up to the voters and the voters are saying overwhelmingly they agree with what President Trump did in office,' McDaniel said.
Syed Husin: History books need open minds, not emotional politicians

The most recently revised version of the Form Four history textbook does a better job of balancing different historical narratives than its previous editions, said former PKR deputy president and Universiti Malaya professor Syed Husin Ali.

"Some people are questioning the mention of Communists in the book. Well, it is one thing to talk about the terror they caused through their violent struggle and this cannot be denied. In fact, there is a whole chapter in the book about the Communist Emergency from 1948 to 1960."

"But at the same time, the fact has to be accepted that there was a role played by the Communist to fight the Japanese during World War II and that is covered by one page. Even in achieving independence, they were one factor, without their military action, the British might not have given us independence so fast.

"The Communist Party of Malaya had a Communist government in mind, but to get that, first they also needed independence," Syed Husin told Malaysiakini.

He added that a balanced understanding of history needed open minds and less emotional remarks from politicians who do not necessarily know what they are talking about.

Recently, Umno Youth Chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki had incorrectly criticised Pakatan Harapan over two pages in the history textbook on the role played by radical Malay leftist leaders in fighting for independence and the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army's (MPAJA) battle against the Japanese occupation.

"First of all, the official history was very often about individuals and groups in the elite strata of society. In the past, it was presented as if those who fought for Merdeka were only Tunku Abdul Rahman, Umno and the alliance.

"That was unfair and lopsided as there was not much mention of the common man and the Malay leftist leaders in the struggle," said Syed Husin.

"We need to revisit and review the role of the CPM in the independence struggle.

Story continues

"We should also not brand the radical nationalist political parties like Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya, Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (API) and Angkatan Wanita Seda (AWAS) as pro-communists.

"They all played a role and recently they have been included. I believe that now they have tried to show some kind of balanced view and this is reflected in the textbook.

He said that school history books were showing some improvement but still could be better.

The Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) on Feb 25 had confirmed that the Form Four history textbook had gone through a strict quality control process covering various processes before being certified in April 2018.

It was also vetted by a seven-member multi-racial panel of experts comprising Associate Prof Shamrahayu Aziz (IIUM); Prof Kamaruzaman Yusoff (UTM); Prof Emeritus Abdullah Zakaria Ghazali (UM), Ho Hui Ling (UM); Prof Sivamurugan Pandian (USM); Associate Prof Rohani Abd Ghani (UKM) and Associate Prof Bilcher Bala (UMS).

Legal action

Ever since Asyraf brought up the issue, it has threatened to boil over.

Harapan's former education minister Maszlee Malik has already instructed his lawyer to send a letter of demand to Asyraf over the matter.

The Simpang Renggam MP asked Asyraf to make an open apology and pay compensation for alleged defamation regarding the issue.

Maszlee explained that the process of writing the textbook had already started in 2017 and the education minister at that time, Mahdzir Khalid, was from Asyraf's own party, Umno.

Asyraf has refused to apologise saying that his allegation was based on the approval of the Curriculum and Assessment Standard Document (DSKP) on April 24, 2018, and that it then needed to get cabinet approval to enable the printing process.

Former education minister Maszlee malik

To back this up, he claimed that on April 7, the BN government had dissolved Parliament and the BN cabinet was no longer governing although in actual fact BN stayed on as a caretaker cabinet until the polling day on May 9 of that year.

Meanwhile, former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching said she would take legal action after it was alleged that she had been 'interfering' in changing the content of school history textbooks.

Yazid Othman, the deputy chairperson of the Coalition of NGOs for Rejecting Form Four History Textbooks (BST4) claimed in an online discussion that there was an 'unseen hand' manipulating the contents of Form Four history textbooks including 'glorifying communists' as independence fighters.

Not naming Teo, he made reference to a Chinese female deputy minister of education.
CARACAS  Unless you read the local Venezuelan press, you are unlikely to know that an American secret agent is currently standing trial in Venezuela on charges of terrorism and weapons trafficking.

Matthew John Heath was arrested in September outside Amuay and Cardon oil refineries in possession of a submachine gun, a grenade launcher, C4 explosives, a satellite phone and bricks of $20 bills. The Venezuelan government also alleges that he was found carrying a small coin or badge that CIA employees use to prove their identity to one another without raising suspicions. On Wednesday, Heath pled not guilty to all charges.

Situated in Falcon state in the west of the country, the Amuay and Cardon facilities are the largest refineries in the oil-rich nation, considered an enemy of the United States since it elected socialist president Hugo Chavez in 1998. The facilities have been the site of controversy before: in 2012, a fire at the plants killed 55 people; after conducting hundreds of interviews with experts and witnesses and carrying out over 200 inspections and technical tests, the Venezuelan government claimed that the evidence of sabotage was overwhelming.

A spy falls

A former marine, Heath is also widely reported to have been a CIA agent, serving the agency as a communications operator between 2006 and 2016, at which time he took a job at security firm MVM (for obvious reasons, the CIA does not confirm or deny the identity of its staff). Although MVM is technically a private company, it was founded by three former Secret Service agents and continues to work closely with Washington. According to business directory Dun & Bradstreet, the firm provides security staffing and consulting services, primarily to U.S. government entities. Indeed, the only clients listed on its website are American government agencies. Need a secret agent? begins its description of the company.

There is not a hint of this, however, on MVMs public-facing website, which describes the organization as merely providing extensive domain expertise in the areas of counter-narcotics, criminal and civil investigations, public safety, and national security. MVMs 800 employees, it states, are here to offer professional and administrative services,  informational technology services,  and mission solutions.

This follows a broader trend of the U.S. government outsourcing clandestine operations to private contractors  a process that ensures there is less accountability and public scrutiny, as well as one that keeps its more controversial actions at arms length. A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA, said Allen Weinstein, cofounder of the National Endowment for Democracy, an organization that funds pro-American groups worldwide.

Radio silence

One might think that a supposedly innocent American citizen on trial for terrorism inside a hostile enemy country, facing decades behind bars in Venezuelas notorious prisons, would spark a nationwide media furor  especially as Heath claims that he was tortured while incarcerated. But far from it. In fact, there has been zero mention of the case in national U.S. media this week, including nothing in The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, The Washington Post, Fox News, or USA Today. This is striking, as the news was published on the largest newswire service, Reuters, meaning that virtually every outlet in the West must have seen it and could freely republish it themselves or use its material for a story.

Virtually the only Western media outlets touching the story were local news stations in Tennessee, Heaths home state. Yet none of those outlets mentioned Heaths alleged background as a secret agent, nor the incriminating items in possession of which he was arrested, rather presenting him as a completely innocent victim of an authoritarian regime. Few even offered an explanation as to why, amid a raging pandemic, he would leave the U.S. and go to Venezuela of all places. NBC affiliate WBIR Channel 10 was the only exception, claiming he had traveled there to gain more boating experience, a defense that is unlikely to convince many Venezuelan prosecutors.

The State Department, which rarely misses an opportunity to denounce Venezuelas Maduro government for human rights transgressions, has also been largely silent over the case. Its entire comment on the situation amounts to one tweet from spokesman Ned Price, in which he tepidly asks Venezuela for a fair trial.

Limited hangout

The deafening silence from Washington and from corporate media suggests that Heath was indeed in Venezuela on official business and that the government has made a conscious decision to cut ties to him, leaving him to his fate so as to not draw more attention to its own actions. Kicking up a storm of protest would entail inviting far more scrutiny upon itself and potentially losing any plausible deniability that it is not engaged in a campaign of international terrorism against the South American nation.

The United States has been carrying out a decades-long push for regime change against the Venezuelan government, supporting coup attempts, funding and training political movements, and propping up self-declared president Juan Guaido as the countrys rightful ruler. In January, the U.S. lost its most powerful ally in the cause, as the European Union chose to stop recognizing Guaido after he lost his seat in the Venezuelan National Assembly in recent elections.

Earlier in the year, the U.S. was similarly caught with its hand in the cookie jar, after two former Green Berets led an amphibious invasion on Venezuela with the goal of shooting their way to the presidential palace and installing Guaido as dictator. The attempt failed spectacularly, and few of the heavily armed fighters managed to even make it to land, the event quickly being dubbed Donald Trumps Bay of Piglets. Trying to defend themselves, the American mercenaries implicated a number of key figures, including Trump himself, as well as former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince. The coup plotters even claim they met at the Trump Doral resort in Miami. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put out a half-hearted denial, claiming only that there was no U.S. government direct involvement in the botched coup attempt.

Heaths case is the latest in a series of U.S. cloak and dagger moves against the Caribbean nation. Whether he is found guilty or not, it appears that he will be receiving no help from the U.S. government. When things go wrong in espionage, you are apparently on your own.

Feature photo | Items found on Heath at the time of his arrest according to Venezuelan authorities. Photo | Venezuelan Foreign Ministry

Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams.
Photos of pandemic life rarely come as instantly iconic as these: a group of high school band students practicing together in a rehearsal room, each playing in an individual green tent, their faces and instruments visible only through a narrow plastic window. The pictures were taken by Don Seabrook, photo editor at local newspaper the Wenatchee World, for a report published Wednesday on how students at local high schools were adjusting to in-person learning during the pandemic.

Two high schools in Washington State are ... adjusting to life in the pandemic https://t.co/FVzlunnMSz  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 25, 2021

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The Wenatchee High School bands performance space has gained wide attention not only within the city of Wenatchee, Washington, but nationwide, reaching outlets from the BBC to Jimmy Kimmel Live! The photosincluding one of a student crammed inside his small tent with a sousaphone, which couldnt be comfortablehave led some observers to speculate that these kids were forced into this situation and that this is surely a sign of the apocalypse.

As a former high school sousaphone and tuba player, I wanted to hear from the band kids themselves. So I reached out to the high schools band conductor, who put me in touch with two of his students: Lars Sorom, a 16-year-old junior, and Henry Bergey, a 15-year-old sophomore (who also told me it would be epic if I linked to his YouTube channel). Both are trumpet players in classical and jazz ensembles at the school, and they were apparently slightly involved themselves with making this green arrangement happen. I spoke with Sorom and Bergey over Zoom on Friday, in the middle of the school day, about how the tent situation came to be (they call them pods), what its like to rehearse in such strange circumstances, and how theyve managed to pursue their passions for music in the middle of a pandemic. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Nitish Pahwa: How do the pods work with rehearsing? When you all are in the pods, are you all able to listen to one another? Is your conductor also in a pod?

Lars Sorom: No, he stands out in the middle and we all turn and face him. And the rehearsing works really, really well. Its pretty exciting because obviously earlier in this semester, when we werent in person, we all tried to rehearse over Zoom. But that just doesnt work at all. So now that were set up in these pods, its so exciting to be able to play together. Any interaction is welcome, especially because the pods work so well.

Henry Bergey: Yeah, I think the pods are amazing. We spent half of our year being online. Being able to play with other people and make music is phenomenal and I love it. But the biggest, hardest hurdle to overcome in rehearsals is actually our a.m. and p.m. time slots because our day is cut in half [because of hybrid schedules during the pandemic]. So we have so little time to learn music.

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So rehearsal time is cut sharply? You dont get a full hour or more than that?

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Bergey: We get 35 minutes.

Thats not very much at all.

Sorom: We usually have 85-minute classes in a normal year. And I know some groups practice together outside of things, but there arent really organized extracurricular groups, especially this year because they dont want to promote people gathering.

Bergey: Like in the marching band, Im one of the trumpet section leaders and I hold sectionals. Those are outside of school, thoughwe cant mandate that because COVID. I supply a Zoom link for those wanting to go. Its strongly advised that you attend those.

I saw in some photos that the choirs use the pods too?

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Bergey: Yeah. Im actually president of the bel canto choir, which is our sophomore audition choir. We do exactly what the band does. We have our music, and our pods are 6 feet apart. Recently in Washington state, our county has moved into phase 2, so we can actually sing outside of pods with masks. But prior to that, it was no singing permitted.

How does it feel actually playing in the pod, as trumpet players?

Bergey: I know for sure I was so excited to be able to play together. And all of this is voluntary. Thereve been things online about how were forced into the pods, but if you dont want to be in there, theres no pressure to be in the pods. Its super, super exciting to be able to play with the rest of the group and also be able to hear the other people in the group. Theres just something so rich about being able to hear harmonies with other people.

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Do you know how its been working out for the bigger instruments? One of the big photos that went around was your schoolmate carrying the sousaphone, and the bell barely fitting in the tent. Another one of my colleagues was wondering how its working with percussionists: Do the xylophones have to stay in some weird fenced-off area? Hows that working for people who need larger equipment?

Sorom: So, because the percussionists arent wind instruments and arent blowing their particles out, theyre just in masks playing their instruments. Obviously this sanitized, or theyre bringing their own sticks, but that seems to be pretty normal, other than wearing a mask. Then the bigger instruments like the sousaphoneobviously you saw the picture, it doesnt really work to be in the pod. Mostly theyre still practicing at home or sitting and listening to the other people playing so they can hear where they have to come in, in hopes that once this is all over, they can join the band again. But the sousaphone doesnt actually play in the pod. That was just taken for the picture.

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The sousaphone doesnt actually play in the pod. That was just taken for the picture.  Lars Sorom, 16

Bergey: We do have a couple of tuba players, and I think were short of tubas. So if someone reading this article would like to donate, like, $10,000 to buy us some more tubas, that would be awesome. But I think tubas fit, and on some of the horns, they can remove the bells. Our band director is going to start having people do that.

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Is there a system of disinfecting each pod after use?

Sorom: I dont know if you saw, but on the front of the pod there are big numbers. Everyone is assigned a number to their pod and theyre obviously in different classes. More people would use the same pod, but after every use, you unzip the door and flip it up to kind of promote air movement, and then we have a disinfectant. We spray the whole thing down after every use. That has to sit for 20 minutes so that its fully disinfected. And then the next group can go in and play in their pods.

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Bergey: If youre wondering whose idea the numbers were, that was Lars idea. So if someone gets sick and we find out about it, well say No. 43. And then whoevers in that pod will probably go get a COVID test and well say, OK, no one use Pod 43 for a little bit, even though that would be precautionary because its disinfected every time. You dont just let the particles sit in the pod for the next person to breathe in.

Are there any other places within the school that are using these pods, besides the band and choir?

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Bergey: Well, the whole music department. So also mariachi will use them.

Oh, you have a mariachi ensemble? Thats cool.

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Bergey: Oh yeah. We have a big mariachi program. But thats it. No one else is using the pods. Sports just do stuff with masks. [To Lars] You tell him about cross country. You guys have to pull your masks down when you start, right?

Sorom: Yeah, the pods stay in the music department. The sports are all masked. Obviously you cant run in a pod.

One of my colleagues had an interesting question: Obviously, the culture is full of weird band stereotypes, like the whole band geeks thing, which really wasnt much of a thing even when I was in high school. But Im curious, how has this moment affected perception of the band among the larger student body?

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Sorom: Dude, I have got to say, theres a lot of people that are like, Oh my gosh, thats my school. But Im like, Can you really say that? I mean, you dropped band in third grade. Its so cool, but what Im hoping is that well get a whole bunch of freshmen next year wholl be like, I want to go play in the pod band, thats so cool. And I mean, it is really cool! I walk around the school with my head up high because Im like, I was on Jimmy Kimmel last night. I mean, I was in one of the green pods. That was pretty cool.

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The band is not like totally nerdy at Wenatchee High School. We play pep music and people really enjoy the pep music, and we win awards in marching band and in competition. So its not just the small band that all the nerds that are inits definitely a pretty big thing at this high school. There are the kids that are like, Oh wow, the band has such nerds. But suddenly when Wenatchee High School was being talked about on BBC and CNN, then theyre like, Oh wow, thats my school. I feel like public opinion of band will be a little raised after this, which is definitely a good thing.
Myanmar police fired on protesters around the country on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least 18 people were killed, the UN human rights office said.

Police and the military were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city, Yangon, after stun grenades, tear-gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds.

Protesters shout slogans during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar. Credit:AP

Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after being taken to a hospital with a bullet in the chest, said a doctor who asked not to be identified.

Police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that  according to credible information received by the UN Human Rights Office  has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded, the UN human rights office 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.
Photo credit: diane39 - Getty Images

From Car and Driver

American Humane makes the astonishing claim that as many as 100,000 dogs are killed each year riding unrestrained in the back of a pickup truck.

A new state legislator in Utah has introduced the Transportation of Dogs Act to make sure this potentially dangerous activity becomes illegal.

Currently, only six states have specific laws against this sort of thing.

The state of Utah is about to consider legislation to make it illegal to let your dog(s) ride in the bed of a pickup truck. One impetus for the bill is the outrage that was created when the Utah Humane Society video (below) of a dog standing on a truck zooming down the highway went viral. Unrestrained dogs can be tossed around in the bed or fall off while the truck is movinga problem with an easy solution, but even easy may be too hard for people used to the practice. Still, if the American Humane organization's claimthat 100,000 dogs die each year from riding in pickup-truck bedsis anywhere near reality, it's a serious problem.

Rep. Ashlee Matthews, the only Democrat to win in Utah in November, has introduced the Transportation of Dogs Act (officially, H.B. 386) to the state legislature. The bill would make it illegal for people to drive faster than 40 mph with unrestrained dogs in the back of their truck. There are exceptions for working farm dogs and hunting dogs or if the sides of the bed are at least 46 inches tall. A driver's first violation would result in an infraction, and any further violations would be misdemeanors. Rep. Matthews did not respond to Car and Drivers request for comment.

Deann Shepherd of the Humane Society of Utah told local news station WITN last year that the group would support a law similar to what Rep. Matthews has introduced. The Utah state legislative session ends March 5.

"This bill is long overdue," said Rachel Heatley, Utah Humane Society advocacy director, in a statement. "This legislation is an easy and effective way to reduce distraction on Utah's high-speed roadways and save countless lives of humans and animals."

Story continues

Other States' Laws

According to outdoor supplier Orvis, only six other states have laws that ban unrestrained dogs riding in truck beds: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Some states also forbid drivers from having dogs on their lap while driving, and some states require dogs to be in the back seat of cars. Orvis notes there are 16 states where the laws regarding dog transportation are ambiguous enough that it's likely up to a law enforcement officer to decide if the way the dog is being carried is dangerous or against the law.

The American Humane Society says pets should always ride inside the cab, never in a truck bed. In fact, it is the first safety rule listed on the group's website, which goes on to point out that it's not just falling or jumping out of the bed that can hurt the animal. There's no protection from the weather in the bed, so at the very least you should use a secured crate back there if you have to carry your dog and there's no room in the cabin.

Dogs falling out of truck beds can also be hazardous to other drivers, but simply leashing your dog to the truck is not a good idea, the group said, because "many dogs have been strangled when tossed or bumped over the side of the truck and been left helplessly dangling."

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As much as conservatives in America love capitalism, many U.S. capitalists sure seem to hate conservatives  especially Christian conservatives. On virtually every issue important to conservatives of all stripes, large U.S. corporations ("Big Corp" for this column) stand opposed  almost unanimously!  to American conservatives.

In other words, to the detriment of America and the truth, Big Corp has gone "woke." Coca-Cola provides the most recent and egregious example of gross corporate wokeness. According to a whistleblower, Coca-Cola is forcing its employees to complete online training that instructs them on "What It Means to Be White" and how to "try and be less white."

This racist training declares:

To be less white is to: be less oppressive be less arrogant be less certain be less defensive be less ignorant be more humble listen believe break with apathy break with white solidarity ...

No doubt this garbage is directly the result of Coca-Cola bowing to the evil efforts of the "woke" army of Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the like. As Al Perrotta recently put it, "of course, it's doubtful anybody with any brains in Coca-Cola's leadership really believes such racist, divisive gibberish. But they do believe the Woke Warriors won't let them rest until they push this poison onto their employees."

Thanks in large part to Big Corp, as cities were looted and burned across America in 2020, BLM raked in tens of millions of dollars. As reported last year by Jordan Davidson at The Federalist, Amazon, Pepsi's Gatorade, Microsoft, Warner Records, Intel, and numerous other members of Big Corp helped to line the stuffed coffers at BLM. This will do nothing if not embolden BLM and its allies to continue their violent, destructive, and grifting ways. In addition, the lavish funding of BLM will further promote the group's racist agenda. None of this is good for America.

Coca-Cola is far from alone when it comes to its corporate "wokeness." Under Armour has also recently come under fire for forcing employees to endure "anti-white diversity training videos." Long before "woke" and its derivatives entered our lexicon, Big Corp had surrendered to the agenda of the modern left. Decades ago, Big Corp quickly got on the bandwagons of the radical pro-abortion agenda, the perverse LGBT agenda, and so on.

According to recent polling by Echelon Insights, the top issues for Republicans (yes, not all Republicans are reliably conservative, but virtually all conservatives vote Republican) that are a "problem for the country" are (in order of importance):

Illegal immigration

Lack of support for the police

High taxes

Liberal bias in the mainstream media

General moral decline of the country

Socialism

Antifa violence

China

Legal abortion in the third trimester

Election fraud

Tech company censorship

Discrimination against Christians

Other than perhaps "high taxes" (and even this means something different to individual conservatives from what it means to Big Corp), there's not an issue in this list that Big Corp has taken a stand on that is favorable to conservatism. For example, "Corporate Supremacists"  as Brian Schuster described them in 2018  "love mass immigration." What he means is that they love illegal immigration. One reason for this is, as Schuster put it:

A steady stream of immigrants means a steady stream of competition for jobs. Workers generate profit for multinational corporations, and the cheaper a company's labor costs are, the more profit is left over for the corporate supremacists at workers' expense.

Just after the 2020 presidential election, the New York Post reported that "Big Tech" began lobbying the incoming Biden administration to "reverse President Trump's stricter immigration policies." According to the Post, "rescinding Trump's [immigration] actions is the industry's top priority next year."

Media corporations that are part of Big Corp are the main reason that conservatives are concerned about "liberal bias in the mainstream media." Because this bias helps to further the left's agenda, other members of Big Corp play along. In fact, in attempts to censor conservatives, many of them have sometimes engaged in advertising boycotts.

Tragically, hundreds of members of Big Corp  including Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Best Buy, Capital One, Chevron, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Dell, Delta Airlines, Dominos, E-TRADE, Food Lion, General Motors, Google, Hershey, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg, MasterCard, Mattel, Microsoft, Netflix, Nike, PepsiCo, Sony, Starbucks, Target, Texas Instruments, Uber, and many others  have thrown their support behind the evil  and misnamed  "Equality Act." Thanks to Democrat control and the support of Big Corp, this abomination recently passed the U.S. House. Perhaps more than any other collection of words in recent history, the "Equality Act" epitomizes the "general moral decline" of America.

As many others have already noted, the evil "Equality Act" promotes anything but "equality." Among other disastrous consequences, if the "Equality Act" becomes law, it will make criminals out of those who live according to the biblical (and biological) view of who is a male and who is a female, it will gut religious liberty and compel speech, it will ruin women's and girls' sports, it will endanger women and girls, it will allow for children to be taken from their parents, and so on. Yet Big Corp finds all of this not only acceptable, but necessary.

Clearly, these "woke" corporations have forgotten their foundations and forgotten what allows for their continued existence and prosperity. They have forgotten  or choose to ignore  that they could prosper as they have only in the United States of America. Most importantly, they have forgotten God and His law. As I point out in The Miracle and Magnificence of America, the United States is the world's most enduring constitutional republic and the world's most powerful and prosperous nation  which has produced the world's largest and wealthiest corporations  because our Founders rightly feared God and dually embraced the principles of Christianity and free-market capitalism (as espoused by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations).

Many liberals in America  including many now in D.C.  would've long ago shredded the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution endures because it is worth conserving, and from the beginning of this great nation, conservatives in America have long understood that fact. If anything is worth conserving, it is those things that have been settled for all time, and more than any other governing document written by mankind, the U.S. Constitution embraces this notion.

To the great detriment of America (or any nation), "wokeness" is a war on the truth. Like individuals, corporations embrace this deadly ideology because they ignore God and go their own way. As has been the case for all time, if we want this to change, we need revival and repentance in our corporate boardrooms.

Trevor Grant Thomas: At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.

www.trevorgrantthomas.com

Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America

tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Image: Mike Mozart via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
Behind the vibrant blue door of this refrigerator was a bounty of goods: apple sauce, cottage cheese, yogurt, mixed greens, milk and eggs.

More than just a vessel to keep food fresh, this fridge is a resource set up to help combat food insecurity, an issue that has only been exacerbated by the financial impact of COVID-19.

Its also a way to connect people around support for one another and build resilient communities, said Billy Gove, a volunteer who worked with others to organize the Worcester Free Fridge.

Knowing that if youre facing insecurity that the community has your back. People are willing to go the extra mile to drop off donations, Gove said.

The fridge was set up at 300 Southbridge St., the home of Save The Bridge, on Feb. 14 after months of work from volunteers to organize the fridge. Gove has worked with Lucy Barret, an organizer; Khai Lai, a senior business analyst from Shrewsbury; Vanessa Calixto of El Salon; Addison Turner of the Worcester Youth Co-ops; Frankie DeFranco of The Bridge; volunteers Ioannis Alexiou and David Flores; and others.

This group has called themselves Worcester Free Fridge. Theres also another group in the city called Worcester Community Fridges, working on a similar program. Worcester Community Fridges has a refrigerator outside Fantastic Pizza at 910 Main St.

Soon, Worcester Community Fridges is getting ready to open its second fridge at 44 Portland St. downtown. The first fridge is in a high foot traffic area and can be emptied at least three times a day, said Maria Ravelli, a community organizer.

On Saturday afternoon, for example, the fridge emptied out in about an hour, Ravelli. Another volunteer headed out to grocery shop to fill it back up. In addition to volunteers, the group works with organizations like Project New Hope and Angels Answer.

The effort by Worcester Community Fridges started in January and moved fast with online crowdfunding. The fridge opened at the end of January.

The work that were doing is because were acknowledging that, as a people, were all being underserved and were just figuring out a way that we can equitably redistribute those resources, Ravelli said. I think were also normalizing free food exchange in general. Letting people know that we all take from the fridge. This is a community resource.

Ravelli said volunteers are starting to get to know some of the people who use the fridge.

We have one neighbor whos obsessed with broccoli so every time we see him we make sure to always have something broccoli-related in the fridge for him, Ravelli said. I think it just makes people feel seen, which is really powerful.

In Worcester County, 1 in 12 people dont have enough healthy food to eat, according to a 2019 impact report from the Worcester County Food Bank. Of children, that static narrows to 1 in 9.

So far, the fridge on Southbridge Street has been stocked but the donations go quickly, Gove said. The fridge was painted by an artist known as Planet Janet.

Right now were trying to keep track of how to know when donations are being taken, when the fridge is empty. Were trying to see whats really in need so were all brainstorming ideas of how to better serve the community, Gove said.

The reaction has been heartwarming, Gove said, as people come together to fill the fridge.

Gove said he thinks of mutual aid as a change of frameworks. Instead of having an outside entity come into the community to help, a project like the free fridge effort is about changing frameworks so the community can uplift itself, he said.

Word of mouth and social media have been effective tools for both groups to spread awareness of their fridge programs.

Wanting to help people is part of human nature, Ravelli said.

When seeing that this kind of mutual aid initiative exists, it was just like an instinct to be like duh, of course that makes sense to do that, Ravelli said.
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On March 13, 2020, almost exactly one year ago, hospitals in New York City shared an uneasy feeling that the enemy was all around us, growing in force and stealthily approaching, but still invisible. Then, over the next three weeks, the COVID tidal wave washed over us in full fury, as desperately ill patients flooded our emergency rooms. So as not to drown in that wave, Bellevue Hospital needed to rapidly expand inpatient capacity. And we did.

Our facilities team opened up 100 new floor beds by repurposing old spaces. Our tradespeople hurriedly converted every one of our 56 ICU cubicles into a negative pressure room  employing a makeshift construction to exhaust filtered air through the outside window. Our surgeons canceled their operative schedules, joining the medical teams in the care of COVID patients. Our anesthesiologists became full-time proceduralists, supporting the ICU teams 24/7. Our orthopedists formed a proning team, turning ventilator patients from face-up to face-down positions on schedule, to support their respiratory status. Our nurses took on extra patients, worked in hot zones, and redesigned their workflow. Within two weeks, our hospital was completely transformed. Every space had a new purpose and every staff member had a new role. No one was overlooked.

By early April, Bellevue had taken its hit, had filled all our newly designed ICU beds, and was struggling to breathe. But when we looked around us, we saw that hospitals in the outer boroughs were even worse off. They had been completely buried in an avalanche of COVID with dozens of patients still backed up in their emergency departments. At that point, we decided to do something that seemed contrary to our self-interest, practically suicidal for an overwhelmed hospital. We began bringing in transfers. By the dozens.

Under the direction of our public hospital system leadership, up to 40 COVID patients per day were transferred to Bellevue from packed emergency departments in Brooklyn and Queens. Through the peak of the surge, we imported more than 600 COVID patients from other hospitals, filling every repurposed space with a new patient until Easter Sunday when, creaking and groaning, our great historic hospital began to come apart at the seams. Fortunately, after that point, the tidal wave subsided and the COVID census rapidly receded.

I would like to think that our hospital was exceptional in its COVID response. But it was not. Truthfully, our performance was no different than the responses of hospitals everywhere. All across the nation, hospital administrators obsessed about N95 mask deliveries, construction workers puzzled over airflow, and pharmacies coped with critical shortages. Emergency physicians worked in full PPE for 12-hour stretches, surgeons gave up their bread-and-butter operative cases, and doctors of all stripes assumed unfamiliar roles to help the greater good. Nurses agonized over PPE and stretched their coverage models, wondering if they could hug their children at night. Housekeepers scrubbed sinks and wiped down bedside tables, pondering whether COVID can penetrate latex gloves and cloth gowns, like radiation. Through it all, these selfless professionals came to work every day. They showed up. Why? In a word, coalescence.

Hospitals are, by nature, mission-driven institutions, and in every hospitals mission is some version of this phrase: to provide high quality, safe care to all our patients, regardless of need. Underneath all our differences, we have the same objective and, as professional staff, we put that aim above our own fears, concerns, and selfish interests. Because of that driving mission, our nations health care providers put all differences aside, aligned their forces, and joined as a mighty army to defeat a common enemy  all together. All as one. Coalescence.

Can the same be said of Americas leaders in our federal response? In a word, no. From the very start, our national leaders retreated along party lines and began pointing fingers. Our commander-in-chief denied the truth, downplayed the danger, and then immediately launched into the blame game. It was the CDC. It was the state governors. It was China! Each state began to look out for itself, fighting over PPE, competing for staff, shifting blame. National leaders lined up by party, and pretty soon, the entire public health approach became a familiar sad story: red states vs. blue states.

When faced with an existential crisis, any organization, as large as a nation or as small as a marriage, will go one of two ways. Either it will bond together, coalesced in a common purpose, or it will collapse in a spasm of blame and shame. While our health care institutions displayed the inestimable value of coalescence, our political leaders demonstrated the catastrophic impact of divisiveness. And our national statistics confirm the result. More than a half million deaths to date from a preventable pandemic.

Is there any hope for our nation? Can we learn an important lesson from the health care industry? Can we find the will to coalesce as health professionals have done? I believe we can. We have done so many times in our history, and the current administration is already displaying a penchant for facing the truth, learning from science, and promoting the collaboration needed to overcome our common foe. Coalescence. Lets support our leaders in this welcome change.

Nate Link is chief medical officer, Bellevue Hospital, New York City, NY, and author of The Ailing Nation: Lessons from the Bedside for Americas Leaders.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
In a text message sent to a friend after the meeting, Ms. Bennett said Ms. DesRosiers had said: How can we do this?, asking whether she wanted to stay in the executive branch or move to another part of the state government.

When Ms. Bennetts friend asked what that meant, Ms. Bennett explained that an outside job would still be with the administration, but just not interacting with him.

She also told her friend, in the same series of texts, that she trusted Ms. DesRosiers but was worried about Mr. Cuomos reaction: I just said I didnt want him to find out and get mad.

Two days later, on June 12, Ms. DesRosiers told Ms. Bennett she would be transferred to a new position as a health policy adviser, still working in the executive branch, but in a different part of the Capitol. Her new job was announced in a June 17 email to Department of Health officials. Welcome Charlotte! it concluded.

Later that month, Ms. Bennett met with Ms. Mogul, a special counsel to the governor, and repeated her claims. She said, however, that she soon decided to let this go and move on.

In a statement on Saturday, Beth Garvey, another special counsel to the governor, said that Ms. Bennetts concerns were treated with sensitivity and respect and in accordance with applicable law and policy. She characterized the transfer to a health policy position as fulfilling a longstanding interest of Ms. Bennetts.

Of Ms. Bennett, Ms. Garvey said, she was consulted regarding the resolution, and expressed satisfaction and appreciation for the way in which it was handled. Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge in Manhattan, will lead the outside review into the matter, Ms. Garvey said.

Egypts Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar made a tour on Saturday in both Ain Shams and Cairo universities to make sure precautionary measures against coronavirus are applied on the first day of the mid-year exams.

The mid-year exams at schools and universities were postponed in December due to the second wave of COVID-19. In February, the authorities extended the mid-year break by a week to end on 26 February.

The exams at universities are held amid a set of strict measures that had been announced earlier by the Supreme Council of Universities

Abdel-Ghaffar inspected exam halls at the two universities to make sure enough distances are left between each two students, urging continuous disinfection of the facilities, the higher education ministry said in a statement.

The ministers tour included the faculties of dentistry, pharmacy, science and literature at Ain Shams University, as well as the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University.

Abdel-Ghaffar has been keen on inspecting all precautionary measures agreed upon during the last meeting of the Supreme Council of Universities on 20 February, highlighting the need to immediately punish violators.

During his tour, the minister spoke with some students about their readiness for the exams and the second semester.

Students at the first secondary year (Grade 10) also took their first mid-year exams today amid strict measures. Their exams are set to continue until 8 March, based on a plan previously announced by Education Minister Tarek Shawki.

The grade 10 students took their Arabic and biology exams in school classrooms.

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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2021) Terrorist militants ambushed an army base located in Mali's central Macina Cercle area, fleeing the scene as clashes ensued and leaving behind a large improvised explosive device, the Malian armed forces (FAMa) said on Saturday.

"Overnight from February 26 to 27, around 2:10 a.m. [2:10 GMT], the #FAMa from the security post of #Saye [village] in #Macina Cercle reacted strongly to an attack by armed terrorist groups," the army said on Twitter.

As an "intense fighting" followed, the terrorist militants fled the scene, leaving behind an improvised explosive device consisting of two 5-liter [169 oz] cans filled with explosives," a follow-up tweet read.

Mali has been plunged into a security crisis since 2012, when a separatist uprising in the country's north grew into a full-scale terrorist threat, spreading to the central regions of the Western African nation. Jihadist groups attack the Malian army and the forces of its allies from the G5 Sahel bloc, as well as European troops, on a regular basis.
Italy on Saturday announced it was tightening restrictions in five of the country's 20 regions in an effort curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Driving the news: The announcement comes as health experts and scientists warn of the more transmissible coronavirus variants, per Reuters.

The state of play: For the first time since late January, two regions  Basilicata and Molise  have been placed in the country's red-zone, the strictest tier of Italy's color-coded system.

All bars, restaurants and non-essential businesses must close and movement will be severely limited.

The tiers (white, yellow, orange and red) are based on infection levels and other factors.

In Lombardy, Marche and Piedmont, which were moved from the yellow to the orange zone, restaurants and bars must close except for carry-out. Residents are also not allowed to leave their towns except for emergencies or health and work reasons.

Yes, but: The island of Sardinia became the first region to move to the minimally restrictive white zone, according to Reuters.

What they're saying: Many outbreaks are due to the (new) variants. I am concerned about the progress of the epidemic," said Gianni Rezza, a senior health ministry adviser, per Reuters.

"We must keep up our guard and we must intervene promptly and strongly where needed, Rezza added.

The big picture: Earlier this week, the country extended a ban on non-essential travel between the regions through at least March 27, per Reuters.
Prince Andrew is set to miss out on Trooping the Colour again this year amid the Jeffrey Epstein scandal with his place at the Queen's birthday parade being taken by an Afghan war veteran.

The Duke of York, who didn't appear in his daughter Princess Beatrice's wedding photos, stepped back from public life in 2019 after a disastrous BBC Newsnight interview about his relationship with Epstein.

Royal sources claim the Duke intends to return to his duties to 'serve his country'.

However, the Queen and senior royals are thought to be less keen on the idea and Andrew is now set to miss Trooping the Colour on June 12 which will mark the Queen's 95th birthday.

The event will be the first significant royal occasion since the outbreak of the coronavirus and Andrew will be replaced by Major General Roland Walker, a veteran whose vehicle was hit in January 2010 by an IED set by the Taliban in Helmand.

Andrew is now set to miss Trooping the Colour on June 12 which will mark the Queen's 95th birthday

Andrew will be replaced by Major General Roland Walker, a veteran whose vehicle was hit in January 2010 by an IED set by the Taliban in Helmand

Later that year he received the Distinguished Service Order honour from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Andrew previously met with Walker and the Queen in March 2018 at Windsor Castle to mark the Duke's appointment as colonel of the Grenadiers.

Now, It is understood the Queen has approved the amended plans for Trooping the Colour, with Walker taking Andrew's place on the parade.

The decision comes amid continued scrutiny of the Duke's relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in prison in New York.

Andrew is facing accusations from alleged victim Virginia Roberts that she was forced to have sex with him on three occasions when she was aged 17 in 2001.

In response to the outcry over Ms Roberts's allegations, the Queen's son has been forced to give up royal duties and step down from all his charitable patronages.

Lawyers for the victims of Epstein have called on the Prince to submit himself for an FBI interview after the US agency made it clear they wished to speak with him.

But he has so far not been interviewed by the FBI despite claiming that he has reached out to the US Department of Justice and agreed to co-operate with their investigation.

The Duke's long-time friend Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, is currently awaiting a trial in America on charges of grooming teenage girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse.

Virginia Roberts, one of the victims of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, claims she was forced to have sex with the Duke, now 60, on three occasions, allegations he vehemently denies along with any other wrongdoing

In response to the outcry over Ms Roberts's claims, the Queen's second son was forced to give up Royal duties and step down from his charitable patronages (Prince Andrew with Epstein in 2010)

Maxwell also featured in a famous picture of the Prince with his arm around Ms Roberts who says she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with the royal.

Senior military officials have described Andrew as an embarrassment to the armed forces while royal sources see him as a 'busted flush' whose presence is 'toxic'.

A senior royal aide told the Sunday Times: 'While the hurdles around the Epstein case are still hanging over him, it will be difficult for him to represent the family again in any capacity as his presence would overshadow the work of the monarchy. The duke is focusing on doing what needs to be done to cause less distraction and that is still ongoing.'

Another source said: 'It's a very difficult one for the Grenadiers and for the Queen. He was an assiduous colonel but it has all been overshadowed by the other stuff.' It is unclear whether Andrew, who has not appeared alongside the royal family at any public event since 2019, will be on the palace balcony for the post-parade fly-past.

Andrew hired a 'working group' to help clear his name and rehabilitate his image, including lawyers from the City firm Blackfords, Clare Montgomery QC and the spin doctor Mark Gallagher.

But in a bungling attempt to clear the Prince's name Mr Gallagher, and the Duchess of York's personal assistant Antonia Marshall, approached online troll Molly Skye Brown to try and discredit Virginia Roberts.

They also discussed the possibility of setting up a fake Twitter profile to ensnare other Epstein victims.

But in a dramatic twist, the 42-year-old mum-of-one from Orlando, Florida, turned on the pair and even reported their approach to the FBI.

Now Mr Gallagher has resigned amid fury from palace officials over the approach.
She's been keeping busy throughout the coronavirus pandemic as she continues to shoot scenes for Brassic.

And Michelle Keegan enjoyed a spot of leisure time as she posed in a towel on Instagram on Saturday.

The former Corrie actress, 33, looked radiant as she showed off her natural beauty in a moisturising face mask while sipping on a glass of red wine.

Glow: Michelle Keegan enjoyed a spot of leisure time as she posed in a towel on Instagram on Saturday

Displaying her natural beauty, the star showed off her flawless complexion as she smiled for the camera, with her raven tresses tied in a bun.

Michelle wrapped herself in a grey towel and lay back on some plush pillows as she relaxed.

The star captioned the snap: 'Another rip-roaring Saturday night. Party one.'

Michelle was forced to stop filming the third series of the show last year in order to isolate after she was exposed to COVID-19, although she did not contract the virus.

Plays Erin Croft: She's been keeping busy throughout the coronavirus pandemic as she continues to shoot scenes for Brassic

A source told MailOnline at the time: '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.'

Brassic follows the story of Lancashire native Vinnie (Joe Gilgun), who suffers from bipolar disorder and his best friend Dylan, played by Damien Molony, from whom he has been inseparable since childhood.

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 a single mum seeking a better life for herself and son Tyler (Jude Riordan), while navigating complicated relationships with show leads Dylan and Vinnie. The new series of Brassic is expected to air on Sky One later this year.
Travellers staying at a quarantine hotel faced further curbs on their freedom after staff discovered frustrated guests cavorting outside during an illicit booze-up.

The plight of self-isolating arrivals at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel had earlier plunged into farce when bosses advised any smokers to order nicotine patches as their cigarette breaks were being halted to keep guests in their rooms.

But up to 15 guests gathered in a smoking area outside the hotel near Heathrow last Wednesday night. They were spotted drinking and sharing cigarettes, with several failing to wear masks and some seen hugging.

Many were said to be members of a WhatsApp group for 'rebel guests' of 'HMP Radisson'  the nickname they coined for the hotel.

The Government is still refusing to reveal the number of Covid cases found through its controversial quarantine hotels scheme.

It is not clear how many travellers are actually using the quarantine hotels, and the Department of Health has refused to reveal how many of them have tested positive.

The plight of self-isolating arrivals at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel had earlier plunged into farce when bosses advised any smokers to order nicotine patches (the hotel, pictured)

A guest said the phone app was widely used by those staying to compare notes during the ten-day quarantine and to arrange meet-ups and coordinate smoking breaks.

'It's a shame that one group of guests have ruined it for everyone,' a security guard told an undercover MoS reporter on Thursday, 'but it got out of hand last night.

'There were at least 11 of them drinking and partying for like two hours.'

Hotel chiefs ordered a fresh crackdown in response, insisting that guests be allowed to leave their rooms for 15-minute spells  and only under escort.

Poor communication and disagreements between the hotel and security staff have prompted complaints from guests ever since the controversial quarantine programme began on February 15.

Radisson bosses had sent a letter under hotel room doors on Tuesday night. The letter said needing a cigarette 'is not a reason to go outside' and that guests 'as a matter of course will not be allowed outside to exercise' during their stay.

Up to 15 guests gathered in a smoking area outside the hotel near Heathrow last Wednesday night, and were said to be members of a WhatsApp group for 'rebel guests' of 'HMP Radisson'

'You are likely to need nicotine replacement products,' the letter read, 'you should order nicotine substitute products to your hotel.'

The letter infuriated guests, including a key worker from South Africa who said: 'It's ridiculous, everyone is losing their minds.

'It's a bloody nightmare, they are trying to crack down and make smokers survive on nicotine replacements, it's horrible. We are all tearing up the letter and saying we do not consent.'

The hotel declined to comment.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 23:37:22|Editor: huaxia

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KINSHASA -- At least 16 civilians were killed overnight from Saturday to Sunday in several simultaneous attacks by ADF-Ugandan rebels in North Kivu province and Ituri province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to military sources.

In the province of North Kivu, at least 10 civilians were killed in the attack. In the neighboring province of Ituri, another branch of the same rebellion launched the attack at the village of Boyo and killed six civilians. (DRC-Attack)

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MOSCOW -- Russia successfully launched its first "Arktika-M" satellite on Sunday to monitor the Arctic's climate and environment, the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos said in a press release.

A Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the satellite on board blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 09:55 a.m. Moscow time (0655 GMT), Roscosmos said. (Russia-Arctic Satellite)

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BUDAPEST -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban received an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 on Sunday.

"Vaccinated!" Orban wrote on Facebook, posting a photo of himself getting the shot, a close-up of the Chinese vaccine and a picture of a door to the vaccination point where he received the inoculation. (Hungary-COVID-19-Chinese Vaccine)

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BAGHDAD -- At least five security members were killed and four others wounded on Sunday in a car bomb explosion in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a local official said.

The blast took place in an area in the west of the town of Haditha, some 200 km northwest of the capital Baghdad, when a joint force of the Iraqi army and tribal fighters came close to a suspected car to check it, Mabrouk Hameed, mayor of Haditha, told Xinhua. (Iraq-Car Bombing-Killing) Enditem

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti observed that India has a significant role to play in early return of the displaced Rohingyas, who fled Myanmar due to what was being called 'ethnic cleansing'. He was speaking at the informal UN General Assembly meeting on the military coup in Myanmar that killed at least three and injured several.

Over 1.1 million Rohingyas fled the Rakhine state and crossed borders in 2017 seeking shelter in Bangladesh, after troops in Myanmar burned several Rohingyan homes, raped their women, and killed several of them. All Rohingyan 'refugees' have since camped in the Cox Bazar of Bangladesh. Referring to the displaced Rohingyas, Tirumurti acknowledged "India will continue to work with the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar so the return of displaced persons to their shelters in Rakhine in a manner that is safe, speedy, and sustainable can be initiated."

READ | India At UNGA Seeks Int'l Community's 'constructive Support' To Save Myanmar's Democracy

The UN ambassador also said that India has the highest stake in resolving the issue as it is the only country that shares a long border with Bangladesh and Myanmar.

He was further quoted by PTI as saying We have been counseling our partner nations on the need to have a balanced and constructive approach in the issue. The mobilisation of support for the developmental needs of the local people is crucial for this and India has been consistently encouraging stakeholders to find practical and pragmatic solutions."

READ | On Myanmar, UN Chief & US Govt Condemn Police Brutality On Agitating Shipyard Workers

Recently on February 1, the military in Myanmar seized power and detained the de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi with other NDL members. The opposition allegedly accused Suu Kyi of possessing walkie-talkies and other foreign gadgets illegally. Last week, the troops in Myanmar opened fire at the pro-democracy protestors killing at least three while several were severely injured. UN condemned the brutality by forces and asked all parties to return to civilian rule.

The military took charge after the opposition also alleged that the elections were rigged while they demand re-election. However, now India's permanent representative to the UN Tirumurti has also raised concerns over the early return of displaced Rohingyas, which is a long-pending issue to be addressed.

READ | Myanmar's Envoy Urges International Community To Take Strong Action To End Military Rule

Referring to efforts in place by Bangladesh to shelter the Rohingyas, he appealed "The international community must support the efforts of the Bangladesh government and assist them in ensuring that issues related to radicalisation in the camps and other security challenges are addressed in an expeditious manner," he conveyed at the UNGA.

READ | Myanmar Coup: CRPH Appoints A Special Representative And A Special Envoy To UN
During the terrible winter storm last week, Breaking Bread Ministries received many calls, emails and social media messages from community members who were worried about people they saw out on the street.

We care deeply about each person we serve out there and know every one of them by name, so it was an amazing and humbling experience to hear so many other Midlanders expressing concern for our friends.

While the severity of the storm caught many by surprise, this was exactly the situation for which we had been preparing.

After the first freeze in October, Breaking Breads street ministry team recognized that we needed an intentional and detailed emergency weather plan for our friends out there. Many of them did not even have the most basic survival gear, including winter wear and sleeping bags.

We reached out to Midland for help and started a Winter Gear fundraiser on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Our generous supporters provided more than 160 sleeping bags, and many coats, gloves, hats and boots for those we serve on our outreach truck every morning.

In preparation for the next storm, Breaking Breads leadership met with several other nonprofits to formulate a more streamlined and efficient plan to get people out of dangerous winter weather and into shelter. When this storm forecast was announced, we readied ourselves and prepared to put the plan to the test.

The Salvation Army of Midland worked very closely with Breaking Bread as we went out multiple times each day to pick up and bring every person we could find to their shelter. As the threat of the storm grew worse and people began to see it was not something they could ride out inside a tent or tucked away in an alley, every person finally agreed to go with us.

The Salvation Army welcomed them each time our van pulled up, did not charge anyone or turn anyone away, and they even brought in extra beds and opened additional rooms to make sure every single one of the 200-plus people who came to the building had a safe place to stay.

As they were housing and feeding so many people, their food supply quickly ran low. We reached out to the West Texas Food Bank, and within an hour, they provided 200 boxes to hand over to the Salvation Army. Just a few streets over, the Baptist Crisis Center stayed on-call 24/7 ready to hand out winter clothes. We stayed in communication daily and were prepared to open up our own building in case they became too full, as has been the plan in emergencies prior.

Now that the storm has passed, we can all breathe a little easier. Our staff has looked back on that time with amazement and appreciation for the nonprofits that jumped in, supported one anothers efforts and worked overtime to ensure that our fellow Midlanders were safe. None of us could have done it all, but our preparation and partnerships enabled us to keep many people sheltered and fed during the worst storm our city has seen in decades.

Breaking Bread Ministries is proud to be a part of this group, humbled by the generosity of our community, and blessed to get to serve so many amazing and wonderful people.
For Subscribers Why South Dakota county officials are shirking state-given water rights

Grant County could be the thirteenth county to repeal their drainage ordinance in the past decade.
Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang presented his letter of credential to ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi at a virtual ceremony on February 26, officially becoming Vietnams representative to the ASEAN.

The credential presenting ceremony. (Source: VNA)

This is the first time a ceremony of this kind has been held in the virtual form amid the complicated development of the ACOVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

On the occasion, the ASEAN Secretary-General again praised the success of Vietnam during the year it held the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020, especially in leading ASEAN in maintaining solidarity and proactively responding to the complicated developments of the pandemic.

He re-affirmed the important contributions of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) during the Year of ASEAN Chairmanship 2020, including chairing and participating in the successful negotiation of many documents in the framework of ASEAN cooperation with partners, coordinating inter-pillar issues and strengthening the role and activities of the ASEAN Secretariat.

He expressed his belief that Ambassador Bang, with his experience as a senior diplomat, will make important contribution to the CPR work, thus further consolidating Vietnams role and position in ASEAN and ASEANs in the international community.

Ambassador Bang reiterated Vietnams commitment to realizing the ASEAN Vision 2025 through close coordination with other ASEAN members.

In 2021, Vietnam will serve as chair of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Task Force and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the ASEAN Foundation (AF BOT). The country will end its tenure as coordinator of ASEAN-Japan relations and take over as coordinator of ASEAN-RoK relations for 2021-2024./. VNA
JACKSON, MI -- City and nonprofit officials in Jackson are ramping up efforts to create a 300-bed homeless shelter with in-house services at a former missionary bible college.

The United Way of Jackson County wants to buy the former Ethnos360 Institute, 1210 E. Michigan Ave., to create a trauma-informed shelter. It hasnt purchased the building yet, but is preparing to do so once it secures grant funding or enough money from a capital campaign to make a down payment, President and CEO Ken Toll said.

Related: Former Jackson bible institute being eyed as potential trauma-informed shelter

United Way intends to use data-driven models created by Oregon-based Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, which recently opened a center in an unused jail in Portland. Those centers use a data-driven intake to create a personalized program for participants to address their root causes of homelessness.

If you dont have a stable place for you and your kids to sleep that night, you experience a massive amount of stress which can trigger former incidents, Toll said. Using a trauma-informed approach means everyone is sensitive to the fact that trauma does make you grow up differently and when you do have an outburst or disciplinary problem, instead of kicking you out for 30 days and letting you be hungry, you have different tools in your toolbox to deal with that personally.

Finding the right building was the hardest part, Toll said. The bible institute is great because its already outfitted with classrooms, an industrial kitchen, gym space, an auditorium, childcare space, apartments and plenty of office space.

A facility like this helps solve (housing instability) and helps force a lot of the collaboration into the same space thats going to be really instrumental in lifting people out of poverty, Jackson Mayor Derek Dobies said.

Those at the shelter would get services like addiction or mental health treatment, job training and child in the building. Alan Evans, Helping Hands CEO, equated the models to an individualized education program in schools, in which struggling students have a specialized goals related to their educational progress to reach grade-level standards.

We took that concept from the school districts and we applied it to our organization, because we realized that we have to hear people are stories and evaluate the obstacles they face to reenter society, Evans said. And it doesnt matter if its addiction or mental health or victims of domestic violence, or a veteran or an ex-convict. We do a full evaluation of the person.

Intake questions at Helping Hands centers include demographics, assessment of basic needs like insurance status, possession of social security card, identification and food stamp cards, and personal history, Evans said. They use that data to set up a tailored plan for reentry into society. The next day, participants could be going to job workshops or 12-step recovery programs under the shelters roof.

The program is successful, he said, with more than 80% of participants not returning for more services. He said its because they approach each person with a holistic view of how trauma and lived experiences shape where they are.

It worked for him, Evans said. He was homeless for more than 25 years after living through sexual and physical abuse as a child, he said, adding he ran away from the foster care system and by age 13, he was addicted to methamphetamine.

People would tell me, all you need to do is quit using drugs and your life would change, he said. People didnt understand that if I wasnt self-medicating, what I had to live with that was between my ears was unmanageable because I didnt understand a whole lot of things about life.

Jackson County officials said they think the need for this kind of program is urgent. The county could see a significant rise in housing insecurity as the COVID-19 pandemic ends because of its economic effects, John Willis, Jacksons chief equity officer, said. United Ways shelter would go beyond short-term stays in hotel rooms and emergency shelters.

If I put a person up for two or three days, whats going to happen on that fourth or fifth day? Willis asked. A setting like this would be totally different. It would benefit a lot of families. These are hardworking people that have been displaced because of COVID, that are taking care of families. These are working people that want to be better. They dont want to be in these situations.

MORE JACKSON NEWS:

Barn fire kills animals, longtime store demolished: Jackson top headlines Feb. 20-25

Jackson County working through COVID vaccinations for eligible residents

Jackson woman looks to rebuild after barn fire kills her many beloved animals
Botswana, which saw COVID-19 deaths surpass 300 this week, has lifted a ban on alcohol sales and eased curfew restrictions. But President Mokgweetsi Masisi extended an existing curfew.

In a televised address, Masisi said rising COVID-19 cases mean the curfew will continue until the end of March. Botswana introduced a nine-hour curfew in December, but Masisi announced Friday the hours have been reduced to six.

"The curfew period restricting the movement of people will be extended from the 1st to the 31st of March 2021 and will begin at 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. daily. The government has decided to lift the suspension of the sale of alcohol with effect from 1st March, 2021. Alcohol will be sold to consumers on weekdays only," he said.

Masisi said in lifting the alcohol ban, the government took into consideration the impact on the economy.

"Studies both scientific and anecdotal, have shown that alcohol consumption impairs judgment making it difficult in some cases to adhere to set health protocols. Although necessary at the time, the government has nonetheless been worried by the effect of the temporary ban on the sale of alcohol on the industry, and by extension, the countrys economy," Masisi said.

The countrys alcohol industry employs more than 50,000 people.

Botswana Alcohol Industry Association president Masegonyana Madisa welcomed the decision to lift the ban.

"As the alcohol industry, we have always maintained a certain position, that is government should find a more sustainable approach to this problem that we have, which involves curbing the spread of the virus, which we have in Botswana, and at the same time balancing it with protecting the lives and livelihoods of those in the alcohol industry, including its extensive value chain."

Meanwhile, the countrys COVID-19 Task Force team vice chairperson, Mosepele Mosepele, expressed concern over the rising death toll.

The unfortunate report that we would like to share is the sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 fatalities. The last time we reported we stood at 254, and unfortunately today we report cumulative 300 total number of COVID-19-associated fatalities, Mosepele said.

The southern African country has recorded 28,371 COVID-19 cases and 310 deaths.

President Masisi has urged the nation to adhere to COVID-19 protocols as the country awaits the arrival of the first batch of vaccine doses in March.
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Trade Finance and Investments PLC amalgamates into Commercial Credit and Finance PLC View(s):

Trade Finance and Investments PLC (TFI), in existence for over 35 years, has been amalgamated into one of Sri Lankas pioneering finance companies, Commercial Credit and Finance PLC (CCF).

The amalgamation, which came into effect from 31st December 2020 was subject to the shareholders of both companies approving the said amalgamation at Extraordinary General Meetings held on 09 November 2020, the company said in a media release.

The amalgamation was driven by the financial sector consolidation plan initiated by the Central Bank in 2014, where CCF acquired majority control of TFI. Further to the request made by the CB, the Boards of Directors of both companies resolved to the amalgamation in line with the consolidation plan.
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.
TRIP REPORT



I travelled on Austrian Airlines this Friday (two days ago) to Vienna. I later had a connecting flight to Hamburg, but I will share with you the first part of the journey since it involved an EX-YU airport/route. I travelled on Austrian Airlines this Friday (two days ago) to Vienna. I later had a connecting flight to Hamburg, but I will share with you the first part of the journey since it involved an EX-YU airport/route.





Check in at Belgrade was simple. It was performed jointly with the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt which departs within twenty minutes of the Austrian flight. Even before check in for all Lufthansa group airlines was conducted jointly at Belgrade Airport. After passing passport control, I had a seat at the new cafe on Tesla Square and waited for boarding. Lufthansa and Austrian were parked next to each other. My flight was a bit over half full. Considering most Serbian citizens who dont have residency in Austria or elsewhere in the EU cant enter any EU country, I guess it wasnt bad.





The aircraft used was an Embraer E195. Upon boarding all passengers were given a disinfectant wipe. I think the Embraer is a very comfortable aircraft. At each seat there was a safety card and a duty-free magazine. We pushed back right on time and headed to Vienna. It was a relatively short flight. There was limited service on board but it was still offered. The crew passed through the cabin offering tea, coffee and water. For comparison, Lufthansa currently just offers all passengers on short haul flights a bottle of water and nothing else, so this was more generous.













After the drinks service the crew passed with duty free items and some passengers actually made purchases.





Before you knew it, we were already descending into Vienna. The flight was very short. In terms of Covid documentation, it was checked in Belgrade (PCR test and right of entry into EU) and the same was done in Vienna (I had to pass passport control since I was connecting onto a flight in the Schengen Zone).





Overall, the flight was uneventful but the crew was pleasant, the aircraft was comfortable and the service was OK in comparison to their mother company.





Share your travel experience by submitting a trip report to exyu@exyuaviation.com


A major drug dealer who survived a gangland murder bid has identified his attempted killer as convicted UDA gunman Dee Coleman.

Cocaine baron David 'Dee' Jenkins, who runs a huge online drugs supply network under the pseudonym 'Mr P', narrowly survived being shot at seven times last weekend.

A friend, who is innocent of involvement in the drugs feud, was standing at the rear of his home in the Shankill estate in Belfast and was struck with bullets in the torso. The 29-year-old remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Expand Close Jenkins claims rival Dee Coleman is the man who ordered the attack / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jenkins claims rival Dee Coleman is the man who ordered the attack

CCTV images obtained by Sunday Life show the would-be killer approach his target seconds before opening fire. Recordings made by Jenkins in the wake of the gun attack identify Dee Coleman as having masterminded the shooting.

He said: "Send who you f*****g want. Come and look me in the eye. I'll look you in the eye. Just remember you're f*****g nothing. Feeding people coke (cocaine) and getting them to do stuff, if you had the balls you'd do it yourself."

Expand Close SINISTER: CCTV images captures the gunman who left a man critically injured in Hopewell Crescent last week / Facebook

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Whatsapp SINISTER: CCTV images captures the gunman who left a man critically injured in Hopewell Crescent last week

Jenkins and Coleman were once close pals but fell out when the latter was jailed for UDA membership in 2018. While he was behind bars Jenkins took over his lucrative drugs rackets.

Since being released last year Coleman (35) has tried to regain control of the cocaine supply network which brings in more than 100,000 per month. But with the backing of elements of the West Belfast UDA, Jenkins has managed to hold firm.

The 40-year-old is now blaming Coleman on trying to have him killed last weekend, saying in a rambling audio recording: "You doubted one of the people that was actually loyal to you. That's when I seen a different side to you, that's when I called you out."

Last month Jenkins, who is on bail charged with supplying cocaine, received an official death threat from the PSNI warning that he is being targeted by dissidents.

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Whatsapp The official death threat delivered to Dee Jenkins

There is a strong belief in loyalist circles that Coleman used drug dealers in republican areas of Belfast who he once supplied to issue the threat.

According to UDA sources this gave him cover to organise last week's murder bid on Jenkins and allowed him to initially blame it on dissidents.

But the plan backfired when a gloating Coleman could not resist putting images on social media of a champagne bottle in his hands in the hours after the attack. This confirmed to Jenkins that his old drug dealing pal was responsible, leading him to warn of retaliation.

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Whatsapp Dee Coleman holding a bottle of champagne

"See your wee cheap bottle of champagne that you put on Instagram celebrating, you're celebrating f**k all," added Jenkins.

"Do you know what you're celebrating? Your downfall.

"What makes me and you different is I'm loyal, I'm straight and you hate that. Enjoy you're drink cause I'm going to have a better drink than you kid."

In his audio recordings Jenkins also criticised Dee Coleman's convicted cocaine dealer brother Gary 'Goof' Coleman, and threatened to close down online drug networks he controls if anyone on them is friends with the pair.

While the former friends feud over a criminal empire, it is ordinary residents of the Shankill who are left suffering. Locals say that Hopewell Crescent - the street on which Dee Jenkins and Dee Coleman live - has been nicknamed 'Dopewell Crescent' because of the amount of cocaine being sold there.

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Whatsapp SEARCH: Forensics comb the scene on Hopewell Crescent last week

They are also questioning how the warring drug bosses are still walking the streets as they are both facing serious criminal charges.

Jenkins has been on bail since last October after being arrested in raids by the Paramilitary Crime Taskforce which it said were directed against the West Belfast UDA. He is accused of supplying cocaine and cannabis, and possessing criminal property.

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Coleman was in court in January charged with dealing cocaine and cannabis, possessing criminal property and breaching counter-terrorism notification orders. He was arrested after his Hopewell Crescent home was searched by Taskforce officers in an operation targeting the West Belfast UDA. Despite Jenkins and Coleman being the subject of strict bail conditions, locals say that they continue to sell drugs with impunity. Both their cases will be heard before Diplock non-jury courts because of paramilitary links.

"It's business as usual for the pair of them, they are both still supplying dealers all over Belfast," said an angry neighbour.

"Someone is going to end up dead unless they are taken off the streets.

"We've already one fella lying in hospital with bullets in his body.

"Is it going to take another before the police do something?"

Images provided to this newspaper by Shankill residents show Jenkins advertising cocaine for sale online, along with mobile phone numbers to arrange purchases.

He has been heavily involved in the drugs trade for years, serving a previous 16 month prison sentence for operating a cannabis factory. Last year furious parents of addicted teenagers on the Shankill held a protest outside Jenkins' home, but this failed to end his dealing.

His drugs rival Dee Coleman has an even worse criminal record which includes being part of a UDA gang that shot up the Rex Bar during a feud with the UVF.

Other offences he has been convicted of include extortion, UDA membership, multiple assaults and drugs.

Until 2018 Coleman was second-in-command of UDA 'C Company' but lost the leadership role after being jailed on membership charges.

Last month graffiti appeared on the Shankill Road threatening him over claims he was given a gun stolen from a UVF arms dump as payment for a drugs debt.

Paint was also thrown at Coleman's heavily-fortified home, leading him to publicly threaten a young man who he falsely accused of being responsible.

cbarnes@sundaylife.co.uk
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Israel, UAE sign tax treaty

Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal

Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor"

Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections

Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS)

Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win

Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy

EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU

Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head

EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior

Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman

Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit

Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections

Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control

Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents

Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree

Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge

Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation

Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21

Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan

Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels

Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

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
A man with 256 previous convictions pleaded guilty to burglary of the Parochial House in Annaduff in 2019 and was sentenced to three years to run concurrently with a six year sentence he is already serving.

Appearing before Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit Court last week was 39-year-old Michael O'Leary, from 2 St Matthew's Park, Ballymahon, Co Longford, on a plea of guilty to burglary at the Parochial House, Gortinty, Aughamore, Co Leitrim on March 13, 2019.

The court heard the defendant was a chronic heroin addict at the time of the offence.

Garda Tom Currid, Carrick-on-Shannon, gave evidence of investigating the break-in that occurred between 3pm and 3.30pm on March 13, 2019 while Fr John Wall PP was away from the property. Entry was gained through a bedroom window. No property was taken but a wooden bedroom door was broken and an architrave was damaged.

The defendant was identified through CCTV footage. He was in custody in Longford Garda Station on March 25, 2019 and was questioned on the Leitrim matter. He offered no comment throughout the interviews.

Garda Currid then outlined Mr O'Leary's 256 previous convictions  67 of which are for burglary, 54 for theft, 9 for criminal damage, 10 for possession of stolen property, 32 for the unauthorised taking of a vehicle, 2 for dangerous driving, 2 for drink driving, 4 for possession of knives or other articles, 8 for simple possession, and a number of others.

His first conviction was recorded in 1996 with the first conviction for burglary in 2000 and the most recent being in 2020.

Garda Currid said the trend of the burglaries appeared to be churches, parochial houses and hospitals and there was never any issue of violence.

In reply to counsel for the defendant, Niall Flynn BL, instructed by Baxter Mimnagh Solicitors, Garda Currid agreed there was nobody on the premises at the time, Mr O'Leary did not have any implements on him, he didn't try to conceal his identity and he did not ransack the property.

Mr Flynn said Mr O'Leary has been in and out of custody his entire adult life. He received his first detention order at the age of 15 and all his offences were attributable to a chronic heroin addiction. He said all were relatively minor offences, breaking in to properties to try to feed his habit.

Michael O'Leary apologised for being on the premises but said he was in the middle of a serious addiction at the time and didn't care about himself never mind anyone else. He accepted it was a traumatic experience for the people involved.

He explained the offences took place because he got involved in drugs and, in his own words, it got out of hand. He injected and smoked heroin from a young age but said it wasn't an excuse and he deserved to go to prison.

Mr O'Leary said he has spent 16 years in prison since he was 21.

He is now 39 and has two children and is hoping to build a relationship with them. He has a good relationship with his mother.

I think what's made me open my eyes is that my mother is not well and I know by the time I get released she will pass away. I've been sentenced to 6 years with 18 months suspended. There's no way she's going to live for four and a half years, he said.

Mr O'Leary said he hopes to engage in residential treatment in Coolmine Drug Rehab Centre in Dublin after he is released from prison. He said he is addiction free now and is 'clean'.

He is currently serving a sentence imposed by Judge Melanie Greally last December in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin for burglary at four hospitals in Dublin between November 2018 and March 2019, including the theft of two laptops from Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.

He was further sentenced by Judge Keenan Johnson at Longford Circuit Court for burglary offences and given two 3-year concurrent sentences, consecutive to the sentence imposed by Judge Greally but suspended in its entirety.

Mr O'Leary is also due to appear before Judge Francis Comerford in Roscommon Circuit Court this week.

Judge John Aylmer said the offence before the court in Carrick-on-Shannon came at the tail end of a bout of similar offences between November 2018 and March 2019.

He said they were of a very similar nature, burglaries of hospitals or church property with no question of violence and most were dealt with by Judge Greally in the Central Criminal Court last December.

Judge Aylmer said the most aggravating feature of the case is the fact that Mr O'Leary is such a recidivist and has such an appalling history of this type of offending and said the offence before the court merited four years imprisonment.

However, in mitigation, he noted Mr O'Leary cooperated and pleaded guilty and was a chronic heroin addict at the time.

Judge Aylmer said Mr O'Leary is in serious need of rehabilitation and every encouragement has been given to him by his colleagues in that regard.

He said that to remain consistent the appropriate order was for him to deal with it in the same way as Judge Greally dealt with it and he imposed a three year sentence concurrent with Judge Greally's sentence and backdated it to March 27, 2019.

In effect, he said the sentence will run entirely concurrent with Judge Greally's sentence.

Donal Keane BL, appeared for the State, instructed by Noel Farrell, State Solicitor.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been slammed for attending an event at a restaurant while indoor dining remains banned across most of the state.

Newsom claims he did not dine while visiting with the owners of the Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant, who received a relief grant - despite a TikTok video filmed of the event appearing to show a table full of drinks.

Chef Andrew Gruel, a prominent restaurateur who owns Los Angeles eateries Slapfish and Big Parm posted on Twitter alleging that Newsom ate inside the restaurant.

'California is the only state where indoor dining is banned. Industry gutted. Its an explosive topic,' Gruel said on Saturday.

He continued: 'Newsom holds an event INSIDE a restaurant, posts video, and group is "dining/drinking" (see pic) - people are actually saying this is OK? If its ok for them then open it all up.'

In Newsom's video, comedian George Lopez asks the governor how residents can find their COVID-19 vaccination eligibility.

'It's wonderful to be of service, George,' Newsom says in the video after Lopez thanks him for the information.

It was not immediately clear why Lopez was with Newsom inside the restaurant.

Scroll down for video

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, has been criticized after posting a video to TikTok in which comedian George Lopez asks a him how residents can find their vaccination eligibility

In another video, George Lopez endorsed the restaurant's food while Newsom watches in the background

Chef Andrew Gruel slammed the governor on Twitter for allegedly dining inside the restaurant

In a photo posted to Twitter, Chef Andrew Gruel alleges Gavin Newsom was inside the restaurant dining

In another video posted to the Los Amigos page on Facebook, Newsom is seen in the background while Lopez endorses the Mexican restaurant's food.

Gruel, who has previously criticized the governor for lockdown restrictions, called on Newsom to resign 'ASAP' and slammed the governor for the 'cringe-worthy' bit.

'This is a slap in the face to every restaurant worker. Every citizen,' Gruel said.

He added: 'If restaurants cant be open indoors, they shouldnt be indoors. Its that simple. Its a horrible message at best, but by his standards, rules broken. We cant even hold employee meetings inside.'

'I dont care if he was in there taking a nap, its bulls**t. Of all the places to do this. And dont tell me they didnt eat or drink. You know damn well they did,' Gruel said.

Fresno is in the state's purple tier for coronavirus restrictions, which carries the most extensive closures - only allowing restaurants to provide outdoor dining with modifications.

Gruel came under fire last year when he said he would keep his restaurants Slapfish and Big Parm open despite Newsom ordering outdoor dining to close in the state, The Sun reported.

'Ive got everybody blowing up my replies saying Im a grandmother killer so Im just going to address it all right here,' Gruel said at the start of the video, which he posted to Twitter in December.

'Heres the situation  do we take the pandemic seriously? Of course we do! Am I saying we shouldnt close outdoor dining? Yes, I am.'

KTTV exclusively obtained photos of Gavin Newsom dining inside the ritzy French Laundry restaurant in November

Gruel, who has appeared on multiple Food Network shows, said that restaurant owners spent money into meeting demands from politicians throughout the pandemic and repeatedly faced shut downs.

'We shut down indoor dining  no problem. I got a warehouse full of Plexiglas right now. We went outdoors. Now thats getting shut down,' Gruel said in December.

'I just put thousands of dollars into outdoor heaters.'

In November, Newsom was caught dining indoors at the ritzy French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California one night for the birthday of lobbyist Jason Kinney when indoor dining was not allowed.

A witness who took photos told KTTV that Newsom's group was so loud that the restaurant had to close its sliding doors.

Newsom later called it 'a mistake' after receiving backlash for violating his own restrictions, Fox News reported.

EXCLUSIVE: We've obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he's in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed. 10pm on @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/gtOVEwa864  Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) November 18, 2020

'I should have stood up and ... drove back to my house,' Newsom said, according to the outlet.

'The spirit of what Im preaching all the time was contradicted.'

He added: 'I need to preach and practice, not just preach.'

California residents have since launched efforts to recall the governor that appears to be gaining steam.

Recall effort organizers need to collect at least 1.5 million signatures by March 17 to get a recall on the ballot - but have collected more than 1.8 million signatures, Fox News reported.
Trump to Criticize Biden for Having Most Disastrous First Month in CPAC Speech

Former President Donald Trump is expected to say that President Joe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history.

We all knew that the Biden Administration was going to be badbut none of us imagined just how bad they would be, and how far left they would go, excerpts of his speech obtained by The Epoch Times say.

The former president will issue a blunt critique of his successor during his first public speech since leaving the White House at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, according to the excerpts.

This is the first time Trump will comment publicly on Bidens policies after the Democrat was inaugurated on Jan. 20.

Trump expected to single out Bidens immigration policies as illegal and immoral.

They are heartless, and they are a betrayal of our nations core values, the transcript says.

The White House didnt respond to a request for comment.

Biden, in just over a month after entering the White House, took 57 executive actions, including 35 executive orders, targeting his predecessors conservative agenda.

Nineteen of those executive actions were signed on the first day of Bidens presidency.

Biden replaced Trumps America First agenda with a globalist approachrejoining the WHO, the Paris Agreement, and United Nations Human Rights Council. He also reversed Trumps strict border control via executive action.

Meanwhile, Biden appears to have also borrowed some policy ideas from Trumps agenda. He signed an executive order to tighten Buy American rules in government procurement on Jan. 25.

Biden also is expected to continue confronting the Chinese communist regime in some areas and cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in others, such as handling the CCP virus pandemic and climate change.

Hes also expected to keep tariffs as an important part of his foreign policy, which began under Trump most recently, according to his U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) nominee Katherine Kai.

READ: Excerpts of Trumps CPAC Speech
Union Home Minister will attend public and organisational programmes in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu on Sunday, informed an official statement.

"Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah's to attend public and organisational programmes in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, tomorrow February 28, 2021," Office of informed in a tweet on Saturday.

At 10:30 AM, the Union Minister will hold a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Puducherry Core Committee meeting. The meeting will take place in Karaikal.

At 11.30 AM, he will address a public meeting in Karaikal. At 1:30 PM, he will attend a Puducherry Mandal and Office bearers meeting in Karaikal, Puducherry.

Later, he will travel to Tamil Nadu.

At 3:45 PM, he will attend a Tamil Nadu Core Committee meeting at Theivanai Ammal College for Women in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu.

At 5 pm, he will address a Vijay Sankalp rally in Jankipuram, Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu.

At 7 pm, he will attend a Tamil Nadu Mandal and Office Bearers meeting at Theivanai Ammal College for Women in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu.

A total of 824 assembly constituencies shall be going for polls in four states--Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam-- and the Union Territory of Puducherry, said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Friday.

Tamil Nadu assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2. The term of the fifteenth legislative assembly in Tamil Nadu is ending on May 2, 2021. As many as 6,28,23,749 electors will choose candidates for the sixteenth legislative assembly in Tamil Nadu.

Polling for 30 assembly seats in Puducherry will be held on April 6. Of the 30 Assembly seats, five are reserved for the Scheduled Caste candidates. As many as 10,02,589 electors will choose the candidates for the 15 legislative Assembly of Puducherry.
Stringent precautions to reduce the spread of coronavirus in hospitals will not be scaled back 'for a long time', according to senior doctors.

Families are not expected not be able to visit sick relatives until 'well into next year', despite tumbling hospitalisation rates.

And virtual appointments will likely continue into the near future before outpatient clinics are phased back very gradually, they warned.

Stringent measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus in hospitals will not be scaled back 'for a long time', according to senior doctors

Professor Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), said hospitals will not revert to how they were pre-pandemic until 2022.

'We will still have to restrict visitors and retain social distancing, doing as much as we can virtually, for at least the rest of the year and beyond,' he told the Sunday Telegraph.

Professor David Oliver, a seasoned consultant, agreed: 'There's no way that out-patient numbers will return to the volumes of before for quite a while.'

Most hospitals have stopped all visits from loved ones except in extreme circumstances, such as the patient dying.

The number of Covid patients admitted to hospital has halved in just a month, falling from 38,839 on January 19 to 14,808 on February 24.

Cases and deaths are also both trending downwards as the pincer movement of vaccines and lockdown suppresses the spread of disease.

Virtual appointments will also continue until outpatient clinics are phased back very gradually

Yet scientists have warned of a potential resurgence if restrictions are lifted too soon, informing Boris Johnson's cautious road map to end lockdown by June 21 at the earliest.

However despite this 'big bang' moment in the summer when ministers do away with all remaining restrictions, the doctors said hospitals will continue to tread carefully.

Prof Goddard said: 'The days of simply walking into a busy hospital outpatient waiting room won't be back for a long time.'

Figures from last April to December showed their were 18million fewer outpatients in hospitals and 2.7million elective operations.

Proceeding uber-cautiously has fanned fears that vital appointments and surgery, particularly cancer treatment, could be delayed even further.

NHS bosses also say staff are also feeling both emotionally and physically drained after a torrid year for hospital deaths.

Prof Goddard recently said: 'I've cried more at work this [past] year than I have ever in my entire life.

'I've had good friends and colleagues die from Covid and that will stay with me forever.'

Against this backdrop, the RCP said staff must be given time off to rest and recover from the pressure of the pandemic, to enable them to tackle the backlog of non-Covid care.
Portland police Saturday identified the victim of a fatal shooting in North Portland two days earlier as 25-year-old Curtis D. Smith.

Police say the medical examiner determined Smith died by homicide from gunshot wounds. Police say Smith was shot at Farragut Park, 7736 N. Kerby Avenue, shortly before 10:45 p.m. Thursday.

Arriving officers found Smith, who died at the scene.

Smiths family was notified and provided for public view a photo of him with two smiling young children.

Police have shared no suspect information and are asking the public for help in identifying the person or persons responsible. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Det. Michael Greenlee at Michael.Greenlee@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0871, or Det. Brad Clifton at Brad.Clifton@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0696.

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee
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The Moroccan Daughter by Deborah Rodriguez is engaging and evocatively depicted womens fiction with substance. Read on for my review.

The Moroccan Daughter Synopsis

Morocco: a captivating country of honor and tradition. And, for these four women, a land of secrets and revelations.

From the twisted alleyways of the ancient medina of Fes to a marriage festival high in the Atlas Mountains, Deborah Rodriguezs entrancing new bestseller is a modern story of forbidden love set in the sensual landscape of North Africa. Author of The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul and The Zanzibar Wife.

Amina Bennis has come back to her childhood home in Morocco to attend her sisters wedding. The time has come for her to confront her strict, traditionalist father with the secret she has kept for more than a year  her American husband, Max.

Aminas best friend, Charlie, and Charlies feisty grandmother, Bea, have come along for moral support, staying with Amina and her family in their palatial riad in Fes and enjoying all that the city has to offer. But Charlie is also hiding someone from her past  a mystery man from Casablanca.

And then theres Samira, the Bennises devoted housekeeper for many decades. Hers is the biggest secret of all  one that strikes at the very heart of the family.

As things begin to unravel behind the ancient walls of the medina, the four women are soon caught in a web of lies, clandestine deals and shocking confessions . . .

(Penguin Australia, February 2021)

Genre: Drama, Romance, Mystery

Disclosure: If you click a link in this post and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.

The Moroccan Daughter Review

The Moroccan Daughter is warmhearted womens fiction exploring the perils of secret-keeping, the value of and tug-of-war between ancient customs and modern thinking and the enduring love and loyalty of family (and friends that feel like family!).

Amina had always felt as if life with her sister was a context in which she had absolutely no interest in competing. She had thought things would have changed with time, that her sister might have mellowed with the security of a successful marriage in her future, but now she feared she was wrong.

Aminas sisters grand wedding may be the catalyst that brings the four distinctly different women  Amina, Charlie, Bea and Samira  together amidst the hustle and bustle of Fes, Morocco, but that event plays second-fiddle to these ladies strong personalities and complicated backstories.

Strong, mature female friendships

The banter and good-natured squabbles between the colourful and eccentric Bea and her ostensibly more level-headed granddaughter Charlie injects light and humour to the many sticky cross-cultural situations they find themselves in.

Bea sometimes wished her granddaughter would lighten up. She had hoped this trip would do the trick, seeing as Charlie was such a wanderer. She was like a shark: perpetually in motion just to stay alive. That girl had a restlessness that she wore like an itchy sweater.

But for me, it was the friendship that blossomed between the elder pair, Bea and Samira, that shone in The Moroccan Daughter. The way Samira, having lived a life of sacrifice, saw her world anew by explaining the sights and sounds to blind Bea and how Beas joie de vivre rubbed off on and emboldened those around her, sure gave me the warm and fuzzies.

Appetising and satisfying substance

Oh, and this book should come with a warning not to be read when hungry such is the large role food plays in many of the customs so evocatively depicted.

All in all, I wish I had experienced Deborah Rodriguez writing sooner. Just like her feisty and independent leading ladies, her prose exudes an appealing directness, and the storyline is punchy, fast-paced and advocates a glass-half-full perspective.

The Moroccan Daughter is a satisfying light weekend read; one that entertains while raising awareness about matters of substance, such as the plight of the Amazigh people, freedom of speech and police corruption.

BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 4 / 5

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About the Author, Deborah Rodriguez

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Deborah Rodriguez is the author of the international bestsellers The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, The Zanzibar Wife and Island on the Edge of the World. She has also written two memoirs: The Kabul Beauty School, about her life in Afghanistan, and The House on Carnaval Street, on her experiences following her return to America. She spent five years teaching and later directing the Kabul Beauty School, the first modern beauty academy and training salon in Afghanistan. Deborah also owned the Oasis Salon and the Cabul Coffee House, and is the founder of the nonprofit organization Oasis Rescue, which aims to teach women in post-conflict and disaster-stricken areas the art of hairdressing. She currently lives in Mazatlan, Mexico, where she owns Tippy Toes salon and spa.

* My receiving a review copy of The Moroccan Daughter from the publisher did not impact the expression of my honest opinions above.
Its all about the food on the next episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. In part 3, Tucci explores the place many consider to be the food capital of Italy, Bologna.

HOW TO WATCH: LIVESTREAM CNN via Sling by clicking here (Free 3-day trial). Episode 3 airs on Sunday, February 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is a six-part CNN original series following Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci as he travels across Italy to explore regional cuisines and Italian cooking. While there, he will immerse himself in the countrys rich history and culture.

My family is Italian, both sides. My grandparents came to American many years ago, said Tucci in a recent interview on CNN. There was so much influence on food and culture in my family and a great respect for our heritage. In 1972, we went to Italy for a year. My dad was an art teacher. As I got older, I just got more and more interested in the culture of Italy, the history and its food. This is an idea Ive had for years. CNN came to me and asked, do you have any ideas for a show? I said I thought youd never ask.

VIDEO PREVIEW:

LIVESTREAM CNN via Sling by clicking here (Free 3-day trial).
The Cubs are designating right-hander Robert Stock for assignment, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter link). The move clears 40-man roster space for left-hander Kyle Ryan, who was activated from the COVID-19 list, per Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago claimed Stock off waivers from the Red Sox last December.

A former Cardinals second-round pick as a catching prospect, Stock washed out as a position player but clicked after a conversion to the mound. The hard-throwing reliever earned a big league job with the 2018 Padres and showed some promise, pitching to a 2.50 ERA/3.61 SIERA over 39.2 innings.

Stock wasnt able to carry that success over in the following seasons, though, thanks largely to difficulty throwing strikes. He has a 7.13 ERA across 24 innings over the past two seasons with San Diego and Boston. Stocks 24.6% strikeout rate in that time is adequate, but hes issued walks at an untenable 15.3% clip.

Despite his control issues, its easy to see why Stock has continued to attract interest from teams with space available at the back of the 40-man roster. Stocks four-seam fastball sits in the mid-high 90s. He has gotten swings and misses at a near league-average rate and has induced ground balls on a strong 50.8% of balls in play over his big league career. Perhaps theres still some hope the late-blooming Stock could develop adequate control and stick in a teams middle relief mix.

The Cubs have a week to trade Stock or place him on waivers. He hasnt yet reached arbitration and still has a minor-league option year remaining, so hed represent a rather flexible depth piece for potential acquiring clubs.

Hong Kong: Hospital staff virus case reported

A Patient Care Assistant working in a medical ward in Tseung Kwan O Hospital has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Hospital Authority said the assistant was arranged to undergo testing for COVID-19 as her family member tested positive for the virus.

The staff member is mainly responsible for patient care.

She did not perform any high-risk clinical procedures and was equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment at work. No patients were identified as close contacts.

Eight staff members who had meals or stayed in the same room overnight with the assistant were identified as close contacts and will be quarantined.

As a precautionary measure, the hospital has arranged viral tests for the staff and patients of the ward concerned. So far, all available results have been negative.

The ward has suspended admission and thorough cleansing and disinfection have been conducted.

Additionally, one more administrative staff of the Hospital Authority Head Offices Information Technology & Health Informatics Division tested preliminarily positive for COVID-19.

He works in the adjacent office on the same floor of the staff member who was infected earlier.

All staff members of the division working on the first floor of Block R at Kowloon Hospital will be quarantined.

Those who work on the ground floor of Block R are required to get tested and work from home.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Five student-built satellites also



rode into space on board ISRO's PSLV-C51 rocket from Sriharikota spaceport on Sunday, giving wings to dreams of young minds.

The rocket lifted off with Brazil's Amazonia-1 as primary satellite and 18 co-passenger payloads.

These small rideshare payloads included "Satish Dhawan Satellite" (SDSAT) built by Chennai-based Space Kidz India, a combination of three satellites "UNITYsat" and technology demonstration satellite "SindhuNetra".

The three satellites (UNITYsat) were designed and built as a joint development by Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, Sriperumpudur (JITsat), G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur (GHRCEsat) and Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore (Sri Shakthi Sat).

"UNITYsat is intended for providing Radio relay services", an official of Bengaluru-headquartered said.

SDSAT is a nano satellite intended to study the radiation levels/space weather and demonstrate long range communication technologies.

SindhuNetra was developed by students of Bengaluru-based PES University, which was awarded the Rs 2.2 crore contract by the Research Centre Imarat, part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

"This project by DRDO will help in identifying suspicious ships through satellite imaging", an official 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.)
Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye Wests marriage has been making headlines since the latters controversial Presidential rally and Twitter outbursts last year. The SKIMS founder has finally filed for divorce earlier this month after remaining married for seven years. Ever since Kanye openly discussed their marriage last year, the duo tried marriage counselling and spent months reconciling with each other. But it appears, nothing worked out for the two and the celebrity couple decided to split ways with agreeing to joint custody of their kids.

Ever since the divorce rumours were confirmed by the couple, fans had something interesting to tell Kim Kardashian. Twitterati in abundance flooded the micro-blogging site requesting Kim to start wearing colours again. It is not a hidden fact that The Keeping Up With The Kardashian star is often spotted donning dull colours. Now, along with divorcing Kanye, fans want her to divorce her staple grey, white and black attires.

ALSO READ| Kim Kardashian Left infuriated As Kanye West Tells Pals She Is Not Serious About Divorce

Netizens want Kim to fill her life with colours so that the star could bring a vibrant aura to her life once again. A user also expressed that she is eagerly waiting to watch Kim slay in colourful ensembles post-divorce. The user believes it is Kanye who had stopped his wife Kim from opting for colours. Many feel that the best thing that will come out of their divorce is that they will again witness Kim dazzling in strappy heels and neon hues. Check out some of the fan reactions below:

the best thing that could happen in the kimye divorce is kim ditching the drab neutrals and grays and going back to full glam, bright colors, big sunglasses, and strappy heels  Laura (@laura4syth) January 6, 2021

Kim bouta start wearing colors again soon as her and Ye sign them Divorce papers  LEX (@LexxGabrielle_) January 6, 2021

Now that Kim has filed for divorce, I want her to divorce these tan, black, brown clothes. Bring the colors back sis.  cold girl chas. (@smplyfanchastic) February 19, 2021

I am SO ready for Kim's post divorce slay when she's finally allowed to wear colors again. https://t.co/h0mLbheHkA  AIIegedly Yves (@AdamantxYves) November 20, 2016

also good for kim finally getting a divorce. girl can start wearing colors again  pobrecita yarita (@yara_zayas) January 6, 2021

Kanye and Kim getting a divorce she bout to start wearing colors again yall   Chanel (@chanellmilan) January 13, 2021

ALSO READ| Kim Kardashian Files For Divorce From Her Husband Of Six Years, Kanye West; Read On

What went wrong between Kim & Kanye?

After dating each other for two years, Kim Kardashian and Kanye decided to tie the knot back in May 2014. The couple has four children namely North, Chicago, Saint and Psalm. The trouble in paradise began last year when Kanye opened up about their marriage during his presidential campaign. The rapper expressed that he wanted to abort daughter North and claimed that Kim brought North into the World when the rapper did not want to.

ALSO READ| Kim Kardashian Feels Kanye West Was Not Ready To "compromise" For Their Marriage

Soon after, Kanye issued a public apology for discussing their private matter publicly. This was followed by Kanyes Twitter meltdown, which saw him revealing that the rapper wanted to divorce Kim after she allegedly met rapper Meek Mill at the Waldorf Hotel. Kanyes Twitter rampage included him calling his mother-in-law Kris Kardashian as Kris Jong-Un. Although Kim supported Kanye stating that the rapper suffers from bipolar disorder, the two couldnt work it out and eventually decided to file for divorce.

ALSO READ| Kim Kardashian Soaks Up In Sun Amidst Divorce Rumours With Rapper Kanye West

(Promo Image Source: Kim Kardashian & Kanye West's Instagram)

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.

Egypt is giving priority to children and youths in order to create a new generation of innovators, Intisar El-Sisi, the spouse of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, said in a brief speech screened during a press conference to launch the Young Creators State Award on Sunday.

The Egyptian Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem launched the first-ever session of the young creators award earlier today, under the auspices of the president's spouse.

Mrs. El-Sisi added that Paying attention to children and the rising generation is one of the priorities of the Egyptian state to create a new innovative generation capable of making our aspirations and ambitions come true in a shining future.

The Young Creators Award is our childrens dream [that] will become a reality and our children are our future, she concluded.

Last year, Egypts cabinet approved a new state award for young creators and intellectuals, as well as a bill modifying an intellectual property law which also addresses the younger generation of innovators.

The award will be granted yearly to youth under the age of 18 who create innovative products.

Since 1958, Egyptian creators, intellectuals, and innovators with a significant portfolio of achievements have been eligible for four state prizes: The Encouragement Award, the Appreciation Award, the Excellence Award, and the Nile Award.

The changes to the law on intellectual property would allow those under 21 years of age to register their intellectual contributions for EGP 100, a reduction from the previous EGP 1,000 fee.

Short link:


For instance, Northrop Grumman announced earlier this month it has received an initial operating capability (IOC) declaration from Supreme Allied Commander Europe for the RQ-4D Phoenix Global Hawk drone. The machine will become part of the so-called NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) force after it became the first large drone to get the military type certification from the Italian Directorate of Aeronautical Armaments and Airworthiness (DAAA).AGS is made up of five aircraft, plus the supporting ground facilities and sensors. It will operate from the Sigonella Air Base in Italy, and it will be tasked with deploying drones in support of ground troops and civilian populations, border control, crisis management and humanitarian assistance.NATO AGS will help the Alliance with persistent regional defense and deterrence, said in a statement Jane Bishop, vice president and general manager, autonomous systems, Northrop Grumman.The commitment of the entire AGS team partnership  both government and industry  has shown incredible dedication, working across cultures, time zones and languages, all aiming toward one goal  providing the Alliance with this critical capability.The RQ-4D Phoenix Global Hawk first flew in 1998. It is powered by a Rolls-Royce turbofan engine that can take it to speed of 357 mph (575 kph). The thing can go for extreme distances in a single outing, as its range is rated at 10,112 miles (16,113 km), being capable of staying in the air 32 hours at a time.Because it is a surveillance aircraft, it lacks strike capabilities, but can aid other military hardware by helping with targeting.
After its festival debut last year, the film Minari has finally been released. Actor Steven Yeun has been earning critical acclaim for the movie, but in an interview, he spoke about one part of the film that was scary for him.

Steven Yeun | Gonzalo Marroquin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

What is the plot of Minari and who stars in the film

Minari is a family drama film from director Lee Issac Chung that stars former The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun.

Per A24s official description of the film:

A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

Yeun stars in the film with Yeri Han, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Scott Haze, with Yuh-Jung Youn, and Will Patton.

When Minari premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, it won both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. The film joined an elite group of seven films that have won both the grand jury prize and the audience award. The other films that have done the same are Ryan Cooglers Fruitvale Station, Lee Daniels Precious, and Damien Chazelles Whiplash.

RELATED: Minari: How to Watch the Korean Immigrant Drama Dominating Awards Shows

I wanted to shape the narrative to have different pockets of how this family might not make it, might not survive, said director Issac Lee Chung in an interview with the Associated Press. Those were the tensions I was playing with. Each family member kind of has their turn, their shot at growth and maturation. It wasnt a traditional narrative of one hero but more: How do I make the whole family the hero?

Minari was an important story that actor Steven Yeun wanted to tell

Minari is one of the biggest film roles for Yeun since his starring role in Burning. That film was primarily in Korean, but Minari is a mix of both Korean and Englishh. In a W Magazine interview, Yeun spoke about it being scary to go back and forth speaking in both languages for a film liike this.

Going between languages is always scary for me, especially as someone whos re-tapping into the Korean language portion of myself, he said. But in Burning, the benefit was that I was in Korea, so I was speaking Korean all the time. The difficulty for this one was that tension of living in Oklahoma, speaking English most of your day, and then while youre on set, just speaking in Korean. So I had a lot of help from wonderful people.

Overall, the actor hopes that the film presents this sort of universal experience that many people can relate to.

The beauty of the film, too, is when [director] Lee Isaac Chung and I spoke about it, we really tried not to create any barriers to entry, Yeun explaniied. We just examined the humanity of these characters. The culture was just embedded into the movie, and the rest of the things that we talked about or acted in, or showed with the camera from Isaacs point of view, was like, these human beings trying to live a life. And I think a lot of people can relate to that experience.

Minari is available everywhere you can rent and download films, as well as select theaters.
Weather Underground bombing, Puerto Rican nationalists: 5 other times the US Capitol was attacked

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has called for a commission to investigate the attack at the U.S. Capitol last month. Democrats and Republicans are debating how to proceed, including the political composition of the commission and whether to broaden the scope to include the deadly riots that took place last summer or only look into Capitol security on Jan. 6.

On that day, while Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, hundreds of Trump supporters and others stormed the Capitol building ahead of a scheduled rally that was meant to start that afternoon following a separate event where then-President Trump spoke at the Ellipse.

Several people were injured in the melee and five people died, including Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed woman who was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer as she attempted to climb through a smashed door pane into the House chamber, another woman who died from injuries she sustained after being trampled on by the crowd, one individual who suffered a heart attack, and another who had a stroke. Capitol police officer Brian D. Sicknick, who had responded to the riot, died hours later.

In response, fencing with razor wire was erected around the Capitol and 25,000 National Guard soldiers were deployed to Washington, D.C., ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration. Some 6,000 soldiers are expected to remain in the District at least through March and possibly until the fall.

Although the violent riot could be considered unprecedented in some respects, the Capitol has seen its share of politically-inspired violence since the district's founding.

Here are five times when the Capitol was the scene of armed attacks by gunmen and domestic terror groups. These include the invasion of British troops during the War of 1812, a bombing by the Weather Underground, and a mass shooting of congressmen by Puerto Rican nationalists.
The pandemic  both the spread of the virus and the vaccination programme  demonstrates how we live in a world that is more interdependent and interconnected than at any time in human history.

Just as the financial crisis in 2008-2009 spread from the United States to affect every part of the global economic system, Covid-19 has shown that a new health threat in one part of the world can quickly become an issue for us all.

From ski resorts in Austria to a religious cult in South Korea, the virus found multiple ways to spread out in the global population.

With, in normal times, more than a million people flying on aeroplanes at any given moment and an estimated 1.2 million on the high seas, viruses are given the opportunity to be ultra-mobile.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of politicians to protect the public. However, this is made more difficult when governments refuse to admit mistakes and oppositions indulge in infantile attempts to start finger-pointing.

Crass mistake: The picture posted by Shadow Health Minister Rosena Allin-Khan was in fact taken in Spain

Let's be frank. At a time of a complex global emergency, errors will be made. The public understands this. That's why those trying to play the blame game have failed. Indeed, such crass behaviour can backfire.

For example, last week, Shadow Health Minister Rosena Allin-Khan posted on social media a picture of a nurse dressed in a bin bag as part of improvised PPE (personal protective equipment).

Her aim was to show how bad things were in the NHS. In fact, the photo was taken in a Spanish hospital in April 2020, unintentionally making clear that the dash for PPE was a global problem.

Of course, with hindsight, the Government might have made different decisions  such as not moving NHS patients into nursing homes at the beginning of the crisis.

But this needs to be set against the success of the strategy to stop the NHS becoming swamped, and the world-beating triumph of the UK's vaccine programme.

Now, we need to build on this and work on an exit strategy  both here and in the wider world.

Britain has proved to be a global leader with our vaccination programme. Not only has the rollout been a huge logistical success story domestically, but almost 600 million of taxpayers' money has been made available to support affordable and equitable access to vaccines and treatments around the whole world.

Shadow Health Minister Rosena Allin-Khan posted on social media a picture of a nurse dressed in a bin bag as part of improvised PPE (personal protective equipment).

As well as being in stark contrast to the very slow rollout across the EU, our vaccine programme has delivered to all parts of the United Kingdom and proved the dangers of separatism. How many Scots might have had to wait for a vaccine if an independent Scotland was part of the EU, as the SNP wants?

Not only has the EU been beset with bureaucratic bungling but also by the juvenile posturing of some politicians, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, in claiming that Britain's Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine seemed 'quasi-ineffective' on people older than 60.

I fear such comments as these have cost lives. With Britain in the vanguard of the effort to make vaccines universally available, this is not about philanthropy or altruism but mutual self-interest.

The pandemic will not end until it is over for the whole world. The longer the disease continues spreading, the greater the likelihood of viral mutations producing new variants. In sum, our response depends on where common sense and moral duty meet.

In the UK, as a greater proportion of the population is vaccinated, the likelihood of the NHS being overwhelmed by Covid-19 cases becomes ever smaller. We have already moved down a risk level, confirming this trend.

As we move forward, it is essential the Government continues to make decisions on the basis of objective evidence rather than arbitrary timetables. But data can be used in two directions  to extend lockdowns, or to shorten them.

Such flexibility will give the British people the vaccine dividend they deserve.

Meanwhile, we also have to address the potential use of so-called 'Covid-19 passports'.

Some of the issues they raise are clear-cut, but others less so.

Before Covid-19, many countries required visiting travellers to have specific vaccines, such as against yellow fever and hepatitis. This is a sensible measure to control health risks that might be brought into their countries.

Boris Johnson has ordered a review of potential passports outlining vaccination records

We should have similar rules, especially given the sacrifices our people have made.

Indeed, many people already have little, yellow NHS cards setting out their personal vaccine record. It should be simple to add a record of the Covid-19 vaccine.

However, I think it would be unacceptable to introduce a law that requires citizens to carry proof of immunisation with them. It would encounter the same political opposition as the idea of compulsory identity cards.

If such a proposal is being considered by Ministers, they should drop it straight away. Nevertheless, private operators such as cinemas, restaurants or airlines may decide independently to require customers to prove their immune status before allowing them to access services.

They would be within their rights and, I believe, the State should not intervene.

An illustration of an example of a Covid-19 vaccination certificate which could be used

Also, while it is a long-standing convention that no one can be required by law to have an immunisation, anyone who refuses must accept the consequences.

For the truth is that a national health service dealing with those who are not immunised will be a more complex challenge.

On a global scale, it is imperative that international cooperation is co-ordinated  rather than the ad-hoc and incoherent response we have sadly seen during the pandemic.

There must be global protocols and standardised measurements to deal with threats to human health using all the IT tools available.

Unfortunately, there will be future pandemics  and possibly more lethal ones than Covid-19.

With the success of our vaccine programme, Britain is well-placed to lead global efforts. I believe it is both a wonderful opportunity and our duty to do so.

Dr Liam Fox MP is a former International Trade Secretary, Defence Secretary and NHS doctor. He was the UK's nominee to be the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation in 2020.
Britain's biggest teaching union has been urged to show its 'collective strength' by threatening to strike over schools reopening next week.

Martin Powell-Davies, who is running for deputy general secretary of the National Education Union, has branded Boris Johnson's plan 'completely reckless'.

The hardline activist is instead demanding a gradual reopening of schools  and only when case rates drop dramatically.

He is calling on the NEU, which has more than 450,000 members, to back his calls for industrial action if these conditions are not met.

Union activist Martin Powell-Davies (pictured) has branded Boris Johnson's plan to reopen schools next week as 'completely reckless'

The intervention comes after the Prime Minister announced schools would return on March 8.

Mr Powell-Davies said it was 'completely crazy' to think this was safe when infection rates were still over 150 per 100,000 in parts of northern England.

He added: 'Wait until more people are vaccinated. Wait until infection rates are lower and have a gradual return of pupils.'

Wider opening should only occur when local rates fall below 100 cases per 100,000, he argued, and even then reduced class sizes should remain until it is under 50 per 100,000.

He added: 'If those rates and those steps are not met then we have to say we ballot... so that if a spike does occur by Easter, we will be there with an industrial action ballot ready to protect our members and our communities.'

Militant teachers are calling for a strike to disrupt the plan for all children to return to school on March 8

Last night Tory MP Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons education committee, said: 'I say to this individual: Less of the class warfare.

'The first thought in mind should be about the kids, whose life chances have been damaged, both in terms of mental health, learning, and safeguarding by being away from school for so long.

'I call on [the joint general secretaries] to immediately disassociate themselves from any call to strikes.'

The Government's Sage advisory committee has warned opening schools all at once could push the R rate, which tracks how quickly the virus spreads, above 1.

But chief medical officer Chris Whitty has said there are huge advantages for children to be in school 'from a health point of view, mental and physical, as well as from educational and a life-course point of view'.

The NEU's joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said the executive had agreed to continue making the case that the Government should have followed Sage's advice of a phased return.

The NEU said Mr Powell-Davies was not a member of the executive and it would not comment on the stances of candidates.
Wang Fuman, also known as "Frost Boy", with his family in Ludian in China's southwestern Yunnan province on Jan. 11, 2018. (AFP/Getty Images)

Experts and Citizens Skeptical About Chinese Regimes Poverty Eradication Claim

The Chinese communist regime recently put out high-profile propaganda claiming success in Comprehensive Poverty Alleviation, resulting in public outcry. Experts and Chinese citizens expressed their skepticism with The Epoch Times.

On Feb. 25, the regime held a National Poverty Alleviation Summary and Commendation conference. Xi Jinping, the leader of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), claimed at the conference, Our country has achieved a comprehensive victory in the fight against poverty. Under the current standards, 98.99 million rural poor people have all been lifted out of poverty. All impoverished counties and villages have been lifted out of poverty. He called it a miracle on earth.

However, the poverty line set by China is in question.

Hu Ping, a well-known U.S.-based China research expert and political commentator, said in an interview with The Epoch Times on Feb. 26, [The CCPs] poverty alleviation standards are actually lower than the internationally recognized poverty alleviation standards. Li Keqiang [Chinas premier] also said that China still has 600 million people with an average monthly income of 1,000 yuan [$155] or lower. So according to this standard, in fact, strictly speaking, China is still far away from removing poverty.

According to mainland Chinese media reports, the CCP defines its poverty alleviation standards as one, two, three. One means one income of about 4,000 yuan ($617) annually. Two means two things that people dont need to worry anymore, which are food and clothes. Three means three guarantees which refers to the compulsory education, basic medical care, and housing guarantees.

The 2020 poverty line in the United States is an annual income of $12,760 per person.

Mr. Zhou, a retiree in Shanghai, told The Epoch Times, An annual income of 4,000 yuan ($617) is equivalent to a bit more than 300 yuan ($46) a month. How can it be considered above poverty? He revealed that a person in Shanghai needs at least 500 yuan ($77) to buy food every month. There is also at least 200 yuan ($30) for transportation and at least 2,000 yuan ($300) to rent a place to live each month.

People eat dinner on the streets of a migrant village on the outskirts of Beijing, on Aug. 17, 2017. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

Mr. Wu, a resident in Wuhan city, told The Epoch Times that even if the income standard set by the government is reached, according to the current prices, it will not be able to meet the two no worries and three guarantees that the government promised. He recalled that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said last summer that 600 million Chinese have a monthly income of only 1,000 yuan ($155), which makes it hard to afford rent in cities.

While the CCP claims to eradicated poverty completely, CCPs central policy of the year Document No. 1, which set the prime focuses of the regime each year, stated that poverty alleviation and food shortages are the top concerns for 2021. It also sets a five-year transition period for the counties that have been lifted out of poverty to stay out of poverty.

Hu Ping commented that on the one hand, authorities are praising themselves and claiming that they have ended poverty; on the other hand, they have to issue some warnings that reveal the actual situation in China, especially in rural areas.

Chinas food reserve is not abundant, including some agricultural products, China has a significant shortage, coupled with last years pandemic and floods, and the negative impact on Chinas agriculture is considerable, Hu said.

Feng Chongyi, a professor at the University of Technology Sydney and an expert on China, told The Epoch Times, All poverty alleviation in China now involves temporarily transferring money to give to [the people in poverty] and making the books look decent. Next year, the people will return to poverty. This is what they [CCP officials] have been doing for decades to deceive the outside world.

A man preparing beans outside his house in a village near the Yellow River in Lankao County, Henan Province, on Sept. 28, 2017. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

Hu Ping said that the problems in Chinas rural areas are still very serious. Many areas in the countryside are very poor. Current serious social problems such as returning waves of migrant workers and left-behind children are parts of a phenomenon that has not been seen in other countries.

He explained that many mainland peasants have moved to cities to seek work as migrant workers, but because of Chinas discriminative household registrations, various restrictions, and the gap between urban and rural and wealth disparity, they have to leave their children and elderly parents behind in the countryside. The Chinese government has not resolved these problems.

Ms. Wang, who lives in a mountainous area in Taohe Township, Xichuan County of Henan Province, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 25, You cant believe the CCPs words, you cant believe anything it says. She said that the area is still extremely poor.

They dont even have enough money to go out the mountain. They are very frugal. They eat the vegetables they grow. Basically, they dont have any meat to eat. My dads house cant even afford electricity, let alone sanitation facilities, bathing, etc. They cannot even meet the basic living conditions, not to mention having internet. Ms. Wang added that the locals cannot afford to go to a hospital to treat diseases, and just stay at home to wait for the illness to disappear or die of it.

Luo Ya and Zhang Yujie contributed to the report.
The man fatally shot earlier this month by a Clark County sheriffs deputy was remembered by his mother and older brother as a loving man who struggled to overcome the long-term and debilitating effects of a learning disorder.

Jenoah Donald, 30, died Feb. 12, eight days after his lawyer said he was shot once in the head by Deputy Sean Boyle. Deputies responding to a neighborhood call had stopped Donald in Hazel Dell for a bad taillight.

He was the second Black man fatally shot by Clark County deputies in Hazel Dell in the span of several months.

Donalds mother Sue Zawacky, 57, and his older brother, Joshua, held a memorial service Friday that drew old friends and neighbors and both spoke to media Saturday.

They say it takes a village, Zawacky said, her older son at her side. He had that village.

She recalled how Donald was included on camping trips and outdoor adventures with other families when he was a kid and how when she wanted to find him, all she needed to do was drive around the little neighborhood and find the pile of bicycles and we knew where the boys were.

A single mom raising two sons, she said the trio shared a tight bond.

It was just the three of us forever, you know? she said.

She said her younger son loved to tinker and dream up mechanical projects, like the time he modified a bike using a motor scooter.

He was wonderful, Zawacky said.

Donald was diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in elementary school, his mother said. She said medication was a last resort -- and one that didnt work.

Later, he was diagnosed with two types of dyslexia.

What he saw and heard were confusing and overwhelming, she said.

She said he struggled to get his ideas out of his head. He fell through the cracks at schools in the Evergreen and Vancouver school districts.

By middle school, he was trailing behind his peers in academics. He continued to struggle in high school, she said.

The sense of failure was devastating and haunted him well into adulthood, his family said.

Zawacky said her son had a history of mental illness and substance abuse. She said she doesnt know where he was living in the days before he was shot and wondered if he had been living in his car.

Boyle, a K-9 handler, fired twice at Donald during the Feb. 4 traffic stop. Investigators said Donald, Boyle and another deputy struggled inside Donalds Mercedes sedan and Boyle fired when Donald ignored commands to let go of Boyle.

Investigators have said deputies responded to the area of Northwest Jordan Way because a neighbor called to complain about a drug house and reported two suspicious vehicles circling the area.

The shooting remains under investigation by Vancouver police.

Donald was shot less than a mile away from the Oct. 29 shooting of Kevin Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old Black man from Camas. Clark County deputies fatally shot Peterson as he ran from an undercover Xanax pill sting.

Zawacky said Donald was in sporadic contact with her and his brother in the final months of his life.

She said he was a father himself, though she declined to discuss that aspect of his life.

She said as a boy her son was involved in a mentorship program that paired youths with police officers.

He maintained those connections into adulthood, making the circumstances surrounding his death even more painful, she said. She doesnt know if Donald knew any of the officers who were involved in the traffic stop.

I feel like someone that we trusted did this to our family, she said.

It wasnt like he dropped out of the air, she said. He grew up in Clark County, in Battle Ground and Hazel Dell, Orchards. They knew him.

She said shes reeling from her sons death.

Never in a million years could you convince me that I would be sitting here having this type of conversation, she said.

-- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie
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More than 300 people joined some of New York's top elected officials and community leaders on Saturday afternoon to speak out against the increase in anti-Asian violence in the city and nationwide.

The Rise Up Against Asian Hate rally, organized by the Asian American Federation (AAF), took place at Foley Square in downtown Manhattan, two blocks from where a 36-year-old Asian man was stabbed on Thursday night.

Among the speakers was a recent victim: 61-year-old Filipino-American Noel Quintana, whose face was slashed on the subway earlier this month. "I called for help, but nobody came to help," he said. "If they took a video of this, the perpetrator would be identified easily." He urged people to be safe and aware, and to record and report incidents. As he walked off the stage, the crowd chanted his name.

Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng, who represents New York's 6th District and authored a resolution in the House last September to denounce hatred against Asian-Americans, said, "We need to make sure that we are not fighting racism with more racism. That we are fighting racism with solidarity. That we are not ever, ever pitting one group against the other. It is everyone against racism. We are American, too."

Noel Quintana, whose face was slashed in on the subway in early February, speaks at the Anti-Asian Hate Rally on Saturday, February 27, 2021. / Credit: Anokha Venugopal / Asian American Federation

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer harshly criticized former President Donald Trump, whose use of terms like "Chinese virus" and "kung flu" for the coronavirus helped fuel anti-Asian sentiment over the past year. "Bigotry against any of us is bigotry against all of us," Schumer said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio promised that "anyone who commits an act of hate against the Asian-American community will be found, will be arrested, will be prosecuted."

Attorney General Letitia James, who AAF Executive Director Jo-Ann Yoo referred to as an "ally," urged the community to report incidents to authorities. "Come to my office so that we can do something about it. Come to my office, so that we can go after those individuals who hate us, and shut them down," she said.

Story continues

Representative Grace Meng speaks at Saturday's rally. / Credit: Anokha Venugopal / Asian American Federation

James and many others shared messages of unity with the AAPI community. They also endorsed Yoo's calls for more directed action, saying, "We need a patrol which is staffed by police officers. A full-time, dedicated bureau ... that patrol the streets, patrol the subways and keep the Asian community safe from harm." The AAF and a larger group of organizations have called for community-based solutions to combat bias incidents and hate crimes against Asian-Americans, including recovery programs, language services, mental health services and more.

According to data collected by AAF, Stop AAPI Hate, the NYPD and the NYC Commission on Human Rights, nearly 500 Asians in New York were targets of bias incidents or hate crimes in 2020, ranging from verbal to physical assaults, including acid attacks. The community has suffered a significant rise in unemployment since the pandemic began. Nationwide, at least half of Asian Americans continued to experience cases of direct racism, nearly 1 in 5 of which were physical assaults.

Demonstrators at Saturday's rally holding signs. / Credit: Anokha Venugopal via Asian American Federation

Celebrities have also gotten involved. Actor William Lex Ham, who has been leading marches and rallies across the country since last summer, made an appearance on Saturday. Actress Olivia Munn tweeted out a video of an attack on a woman in Flushing, New York. Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu put up a $25,000 reward for the identification of a suspect who fatally shoved 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee to the ground in Oakland, California.

Governments have made an effort to stand with the community, passing resolutions at the state and federal levels. But these, and President Biden's executive order in February denouncing anti-Asian hate, are largely symbolic, and more concrete action is needed, activists say.

Late last year, the NYPD established an Asian Hate Crimes Task Force. In California, another state that has seen an exponential rise in attacks against the AAPI community, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will devote nearly $1.5 million to tracking anti-Asian hate crimes.

Gottlieb says Americans "should be confident" about taking Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Face The Nation: Ronna McDaniel, Adam Kinzinger, Andy Beshear, Scott Gottlieb

McDaniel says GOP voters "overwhelmingly" agree with Trump's record in office
They faced arrest and expulsion from school for their actions, but to Harold Long, a young, socially conscious undergraduate who began studying the United States Constitution as a teenager, the cause for which he and 13 other University of Miami Black students were fighting was worth it.

They wanted the University of Miami to enroll more Black students, to increase the number of minority scholarships, create a curriculum focusing on African American history, and hire Black professors to teach those courses.

So, mirroring the peaceful civil rights protests of that era, Long and the students marched into then-University President Henry King Stanfords office on May 17, 1968, and quietly sat on the floor, demanding that the administration take action on their demands. They were prepared to go to jail for their cause. There comes a time to stand up for what you believe in, Long said back then. If I dont do it now, when would I? What type of man would I be, or lawyer?

Long, a champion for the rights of underrepresented students at the University of Miami during the late 1960s, who founded the institutions United Black Students organization before going on to graduate from the School of Law and become a successful private attorney, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, Feb 24. He was 73.

Harolds passion for service and commitment to justice were honed right here in Coral Gables, and the U is forever changed for his transformative role as a student leader on our campus, said President Julio Frenk. His love of the University never waned, and we will all miss his frequent visits, especially the way he shared his inspiration with the next generations of Canes.

Frenk called Long a trailblazer in every sense of the word, noting that even today, the University still relies on the strong foundation of student involvement he modeled.

In no other instance was that involvement more evident than at the sit-in Long staged in Stanfords office back in 1968. His passion led him to do things that were risky and career threatening in terms of the means by which he carried out his leadership, said George Knox, a prominent Miami attorney, School of Law alumnus, and close friend of Longs.

But even knowing the risks that were involved, Long felt he was obligated to take on such challenges, realizing that students who followed in his footsteps would one day benefit from his actions, Knox said.

And subsequent classes of students did gain from Longs efforts, as Stanford, who maintained a lifelong friendship with Long, became sympathetic to the students agenda and met repeatedly with the leadership of United Black Students (UBS).

Harold got into good trouble, necessary trouble, for racial justice and equality for UM Black students in the 60s and 70s, said Denise Mincey-Mills, an alumna who spearheaded the UTrailblazers-First Black Graduates initiative. Today, were standing on Harolds shoulders.

A pillar for civil rights and racial justice for the University of Miami and surrounding community is how current UBS President Landon Coles described Long. His name was synonymous with good trouble as he demanded the very best of this community. It was his efforts that have paved the way for so many, including myself, to thrive here at the University.

Long earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University in 1968 and graduated from the School of Law three years later, eventually becoming Justice of the Peace for the City of Opa-Locka. And as a successful private attorney, he often defended the underserved.

Knoxwho at only 32 years old was appointed Miamis city attorney, serving in that role from 1976 to 1982practiced law with Long for five years, operating an all-purpose firm that litigated everything from criminal to civil to financial cases. He described Long as a miracle worker in the courtroom. It was pretty clear that there was some special gift that Harold had been endowed with, he said.

Knox recounted how in the early days of their law practice, he and Long sometimes struggled to sustain their firm financially. It was not easy for Black attorneys in private practice during that time to make a fortune, Knox said. There were numerous occasions when Friday afternoon would come, and we were not sure how we would pay our associates and assistants.

But Long, recalled Knox, would often save the day, taking on a new client and acquiring the funds they needed to satisfy pressing obligations. We almost came to expect it, Knox said. These are the kinds of things that happened almost as a matter of course with Harold.

It was University of Miami Board of Trustees member H.T. Smith, a Miami Law alumnus, who bestowed on Long the moniker miracle worker.

The two practiced law together for seven years, renting office space out of a Miami high-rise on Biscayne Boulevard. Smith recalled a day in 1983 when he and Long, facing a one-day deadline to file an appeal on an important case, walked into their firms library, and how Long pulled a book from the shelf and opened it to the very page of a former case that was crucial to their appeal. We ended up winning, Smith said.

On another occasion, Smith recounted, Long, while representing a client facing life in prison, took the risky move of forgoing a closing argument, winning that case as well. For me, that solidified that he was a miracle worker, Smith said.

Their law partnership was like a marriage. We often spent long nights and weekends together working on cases, Smith said. And what kept us together for so long was that Harold was loyal. Whether we were law partners or not, I could always count on Harold Long.

William Harold Long, Jr. was born June 7, 1947, in Daytona Beach, Florida, a graduate of Campbell High School and the son of longtime educators.

The injustices and inequities of his time inspired him to become a lawyer, said his widow, Leslie Long, who described her late husband as a fighter for justice, liberty, and the rights of all people.

If anyone had him as a lawyer, he was going to study and work their case religiously and fight to the very end, she said, noting that Long became a Pentecostal minister later in life. He loved people, and he loved life and justice. As a husband and a father, he was the best, she added.

The University, she said, was one of the loves of his life, the only school to which he applied after graduating high school. It was the logical choice, Long once said. Predominantly white universities were just beginning to accept Black students, and UM was the most notable school to be open to the change.

Over the years, Long had amassed a large collection of scrapbooks filled with newspaper and magazine clippings about the University. He was planning to write a history book on the institution, which Leslie Long, who became just as passionate about the University after the many years of marriage, said she intends to finish.

We will continue honoring Mr. Longs legacy by educating the campus community, advocating for diversity and inclusion, and by celebrating the vast contributions of the African diaspora, said Renee Dickens Callan, executive director of Student Life, who often communicated with Long when she led the office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
"support any political or social issues they are passionate about and that's what led to a "misunderstanding" '



oh shut thee fuck up! you didn't like it and didn't like the backlash more

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yikes.



I'm sure ppl are usin this incident (in good faith!) to raise money for blm. Always make sure to send money to individual chapters or small, grassroots org. Not BLM national...

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or individual mutual aids

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Last time there was a list of mutual aid orgs where you could donate, so I kept alternating between the different ones

I wish I could find that tweet, but I lost my bookmarks when my account got lost

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https://www.canadahelps.org/en/black-solidarity-fund/ considering this is Canada perhaps the Black Solidarity Fund would be apt:

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I wonder how that producer feels now knowing they were on the wrong side of history.

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is there any info on who is directing the movie and who's starring in it? it's awesome that the rest of the cast, and crews on other productions showed their support for BLM and for the crew on Gone Mom

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Google has zero info about what Gone Mom even is, who is in it, etc. Is that the real title?

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https://www.acfcwest.com/current-productions/gone-mom/ Not much; based on who the director is, it sounds kind of Lifetime-y.

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it looks like the director has done a bunch of hokey hallmark-esque stuff. ugh. but even then i'm more impressed with the cast for standing by the crew considering how conservative those networks are

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since it's filmed in vancouver i wonder if it's a hallmark/lifetime like movie since they make them like a machine here.

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Saying BLM is definitely a political stance tho. I know theyre alluding to the fact that it should be the norm and not "controversial", but it's def political. Can't believe it's approaching a year since the protests began and yt ppl got overwhelmed by the canva infographics lmaooo

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the way the yts got tired QUICK, jokes!!!!

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BLM is a human rights issue not political, it's fundamentally fucked up that people consider it a political issue.

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Aren't human rights issues inherently political tho?





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We're not talking bout the same politics then ???



Fighting for human rights is evidently political. Human rights is all about the existence of laws protecting those rights or the inexistence of it. If you want to fight for human rights without wanting to change or create new laws and make a stand for the importance of the existing law protecting human rights, then you're not fighting for human rights.



People nowadays associate politics with dirty tactics, with people fighting for cause only to gain voters and it's understandable the want to be as distant as they can from the dirty tactics of the political game, but saying that fighting for human rights is not political is the stupidest thing i might have ever heard.

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For real?



Get over it, black lives matter.

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I mostly understand that when white people are talking about not bringing politics, they are just saying don't talk about things that make me uncomfortable

BLM is a political movement as well, and I'm tired of why we suddenly don't like political things. Not being political is a privilege most of us don't have. We gotta be political to survive

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I hate when BLM is called a political movement when its largely and significantly a human rights movement. There shouldn't be anything political about saying our lives matter.

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But aren't human rights issues political also? Since you engage in politics to make a change?

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It's only because the white-majority mainstream decreed that everything is equal and both-sided the fuck out of human rights groups, putting them on the same ideological and moral level as hate groups, so that the BLM movement is suddenly equivalent to the Proud Boys, that wehave this fake bullshit where saying something "isn't political" is actually code for "doesn't make the white majority have to deal with their shit".

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When someone says they dont care about politics they just out their privilege.





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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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I think the erasure of human/civil rights issues from "political" discourse is either a cause or effect of meaningless activism culture. It blunts any possible meaningful change by divorcing these issues from their contexts. It's a huge pet peeve of mine.

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whites whiting

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He didn't just put his foot in but said goodbye all up to his thigh.

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The thing is that a lot of clear people see "Black Lives Matter" as an organization and not individual people with hundreds of years of valid reasons for saying it.



Right before the election I went to my friend's bday party at her inlaws house with a Black Lives Matter shirt and they had a Trump 2020 sign in the yard. Felt like a raisin in a ricebowl but dared a motherfucker to say anything the whole time.



Edited at 2021-02-28 06:56 am (UTC)

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Glad this got posted bb! I hope they see some consequences for this bullshit but also in this fucking industry whocanneverbesure.gif

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i actually found out the name of the producer in question and debated posting it here but i don't want to risk getting ontd in trouble lol.

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Glad that so many people stood up for him and had his back, but fucked up it even reached a point where he was told he couldnt wear attire with BLM. White people really cant handle anything that isnt centered on their whiteness.



At my last (very white and racist) job, I wore my tshirt I got at a John leguizamo show that said Latin Women Are Mad Strong in the Supreme-logo style. One of my coworkers came up to me and asked me what was with the political shirt I was wearing. POLITICAL. Because I wore a shirt stating Latin women were strong. Unsurprising, though, from a company who refused to hire black people but loved to play music with the n-word

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Does he sell that merch online? I would def rock that shirt!

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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 male in his late teens who was shot in the leg in Londonderry was subjected to a "callous" and "particularly repugnant" attack, a PSNI detective has said.

The incident occurred in the Curryneirin area of the city just after 9pm.

Police said the male was shot in an alleyway at Milldale Crescent.

He has now been taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries.

A PSNI spokesperson said on Sunday that the victim's injuries were "not life threatening".

Detective Sergeant Richard Donnell said: "Our officers are continuing with their enquiries into this callous attack and we are urging anyone with information to get in touch with us.

These type of attacks are simply unacceptable and there can never be any justification for them. Carrying out attacks like this during a global health pandemic is particularly repugnant.

"We know the majority of people are working hard to keep their community safe and to protect the NHS, yet these violent criminals are endangering lives and increasing pressures on our emergency services and frontline workers."

He added: "We want to hear from anyone who was in the area at around 9pm and saw what happened, or has information about this attack, to call our detectives at Strand Road on 101, quoting reference number 2092 of 27/02/21/02/21."

Information can also be given on the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/

A report can also be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.

Why so much work for kids?: 6-year-old's adorable appeal to PM Modi

Restaurant owner's son dies days after being shot by terrorists in Srinagar

India

pti-Deepika S

Srinagar, Feb 28: The son of the owner of popular eatery Krishna Dhaba, who was shot at by terrorists on February 17, died at a hospital here on Sunday, officials said.

Akash Mehra was undergoing treatment at the SMHS Hospital for the past 10 days.

Mehra succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of Sunday, the officials said.

He was shot at by terrorists from a close range and critically wounded, the police had said.

The Muslim Janbaz Force, a terror outfit which was active in the early 1990s, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti re-elected PDP President

Krishna Dhaba, which is famous for serving vegetarian food, is located in Durganag, a high-security area of the city. Several high-profile installations like the office of UN Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan and the residence of the Jammu and Kashmir chief justice are located within 200 metres of the food joint.

The police have arrested three persons allegedly owing allegiance to a shadow terror outfit of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba for their involvement in the attack.
The Sunday Read: Sigrid Johnson Was Black. A DNA Test Said She Wasnt The surge in popularity of services like 23andMe and Ancestry means that more and more people are unearthing surprises in their ancestry.

Produced by Tracy Mumford and Aaron Esposito; music by Aaron Esposito; edited by John Woo; written and introduced by Ruth Padawer; and narrated by January LaVoy.
DSI signs MoU with SLMAs special shoe project View(s):

D. Samson Industries recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) for the production of a Beta Brand-Diabetic Shoe Range under the NIROGI LANKA project.

Dr. Padma Gunarathne, President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association, Dilshan Rajapaksa, Director at D. Samson Industries (Pvt) Ltd., Dr. Chathuranga Ranasinghe, Chairperson of NIROGI Lanka project, Dr. Thusitha Kahaduwa, Oshini Jayasooriya, Business Development Manager at DSI and Janaka Bandara, Assistant Business Development Manager at DSI were present at the signing of the MoU.

Recognising the gap in the market for diabetic shoes and the necessity to produce footwear that is tailored to the comforts of diabetic patients, D. Samson Industries (Pvt) Ltd. has decided to collaborate with SLMA as well as the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Colombo (FOMUOC).

Being involved in the production and marketing of footwear in Sri Lanka and on an international level, D. Samson Industries is motivated to provide the best service for their consumers. NIROGI LANKA is a project under the Sri Lanka Medical Association, which provided technical expertise to DSI in developing diabetes ulcer prevention shoes during 2016/2017 as NIROGI Diabetic footwear. This collaboration further extended towards the development of beta diabetic prescription shoes in accordance with the objectives of this project, DSI said in a media release.

Beta diabetic shoes are specially designed shoes intended to offer protection for diabetic feet by increasing comfort and reducing irritation. With a protective interior made with soft material and with no stitching, and soft and stretchable material these beta diabetic shoes cater to the tenderness of diabetic feet. The special insoles that provide support and reduce pressure on the bottom of the foot coupled with the specially designed lightweight soles are for optimum comfort of the diabetic patients.

With technical advice, research and support from the FOMUOC and NIROGI SLMA, the Beta brand diabetic footwear will be continuously modified and improved to ensure that it caters to the requirements of patients. NIROGI will inform, in due course, the availability of the footwear to doctors and allied healthcare professionals to facilitate an awareness of the product in the market.
At least three people were shot Sunday afternoon during a road rage clash in a parking lot outside a busy northwest Houston strip of businesses, according to police.

The shooting, reported around 11:30 a.m., happened when someone opened fire on a car full of men in the 13700 block of the Northwest Freeway feeder road, Houston police officials said. Police found at least seven bullet casings.


Over the past few years we've watched smartphone chipsets go from having a lonely CPU core to having ten. Display resolutions broke the HD barrier and currently top out at 4K. But progress has slowed down on both the chipset and display fronts. High refresh rate displays made things exciting again for a while, but that excitement is dying down too.

Cameras, however, seem to keep getting better and better (and more numerous). And more often than not they are the reason to upgrade before your old phone is on its last legs. A Snapdragon 855 may be a couple of years old at this point, but it's still pretty zippy. However, a 10x periscope lens will crush any phone camera from 2 years ago in a zoom shootout.

So, let's rewind the tape and pay tribute to the phones that introduced revolutionary camera technologies.

We should start at the beginning. The first phone with a built-in camera was the Kyocera VP-210 from 1999. It had a 110,000 px sensor (yes, 0.1MP), and could take photos. You could store up to 20 photos on the phone and send them over email. The phone supported video calling too, transmitting video over Japan's PHS network at 2 fps.

This was a front-facing camera, by the way, making it the first selfie camera too.



The Kyocera VP-210 was the first camera phone and it had the first selfie camera too

The first 10MP or higher phone camera belongs to the Samsung Pixon12 that hit the market in August 2009. As the name suggests, it had a 12MP sensor. As did the Sony Ericsson Satio that arrived a few months later, but we're only looking at the first to make it to the market.

It took a full decade to add another zero to the resolution number - the first 100MP or higher phone camera was mounted on the Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro, which was launched as the Mi Note 10/10 Pro in the West. It packed a massive 1/1.33" Samsung HMX sensor with 108MP resolution and quad binning technology.



Samsung M8910 Pixon12  Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro  Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro

We've seen bigger, though. The Nokia 808 PureView from 2012, which did have a larger sensor at 1/1.2" optical format. Its reign was short-lived, however. The largest sensor on a phone ever was inside the Panasonic Lumix Smart Camera CM1 from 2014. It had a 1" 20 MP sensor and a Leica lens with f/2.8 aperture.



Panasonic Lumix Smart Camera CM1

The Nokia 808 PureView was the first phone to use pixel binning, however. Nokia's whitepaper called it 'oversampling', but the idea is the same - several tiny pixels can be better used as one big pixel. Besides offering stunning per-pixel detail, this technique enabled lossless digital zoom, something that is quite common today.



Nokia 808 PureView  Details on 808's amazing sensor

The first phone with optical zoom came many years earlier - the Sharp 902 had lens that offered up to 2x optical zoom for its 2MP camera. As far as we can tell this was also the first periscope lens on a phone. It had a single camera, so that periscope had to adjust its focal length, that is true zoom. You can read more about the early days of optical zoom on mobile, if you're curious.

A fun fact for Flashback regulars: yes, of course there was a Sharp 902 Ferrari edition.



Sharp 902

We have a tie for the first dual camera - the LG Optimus 3D and HTC EVO 3D both came out in July 2011. These two were failed attempts to capitalize on the 3D craze that Avatar started in 2009. The phones had two identical camera modules so that they can shoot stereoscopic photos and videos that could then be viewed on the paralax barrier screens.



LG Optimus 3D P920  HTC EVO 3D

The first useful dual camera came later with 2016's LG G5. It was equipped with the first ultrawide angle camera. The main 16MP camera had a 75 field of view, the wide lens stretched out to 135 FoV. That's actually quite impressive as if you check recent ultrawide cameras, you'll find many of them have 120 or so lenses.



LG G5  A comparison in the field of view captured by LG G5's wide and ultra wide cameras

Another dual camera first came in 2014 with the HTC One (M8). It had two 4MP sensors - one shot in color, the other acted as the first depth sensor. The phone used the depth information for various effects, none of which were exactly impressive.



HTC One (M8)  Effects enabled by HTC One (M8)'s depth sensor

This is the end of Part 1. Having looked at the important milestones of still cameras on phones, we'll focus on the video recording side of things next week.
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The Food and Drug Administration authorized Johnson & Johnson's vaccine for emergency use Saturday, a day after a panel of advisers to the agency voted unanimously (22-0) in its favor.

"The authorization of this vaccine expands the availability of vaccines, the best medical prevention method for COVID-19, to help us in the fight against this pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States," said a statement by Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock.

The Single Shot COVID-19 Vaccine Is Coming Soon. How Many Doses Will LA County Get?

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was tested in an international study of about 40,000 people, half of whom got the vaccine and half of whom got a placebo. The study found the company's vaccine to be 66% effective overall in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 disease. For disease judged severe or critical, the effectiveness was 85%. The study was conducted in the U.S., South America and South Africa.

The main study included in the company's application found that 28 days or more after immunization, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine prevented hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19.

The overall efficacy figures are lower than Pfizer's 95% in preventing COVID-19 disease and 94% for Moderna. But direct comparisons are challenging because of differences in the clinical trials and emergence of new strains of the coronavirus.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine "is very effective ... at preventing severe disease after a single dose and it induces the kind of response, so-called cellular immune response, that looks like it's going to have fairly long-lived memory, which is all good," Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA's advisory panel, told NPR's Scott Simon on Weekend Edition Saturday. "This certainly provides protection against what you care about, which is hospitalization, ICU admission and death. It's virtually 100% effective at doing that." Offit is also director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

As the pandemic has drawn on, the coronavirus has mutated. Variants first seen in South Africa and Brazil, where the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was tested, developed mutations that help them evade the immune response prompted by previous infections with the original form of the virus and vaccines designed against it. Some of the variants, including one first identified in the U.K, are more contagious.

In the South African portion of the Johnson & Johnson study, the company's vaccine was 64% effective in preventing moderate to severe disease. In the Latin American region, the vaccine was 61% effective.
THE Irish Chamber Orchestra is releasing a new three part series of I Create Online in the coming months.

I Create Online is an initiative by the ICO where they showcase creative disciplines such as contemporary mime, illustration & print, and marine film production.

Each of these disciplines takes their inspiration from the music performed by the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Each of the three parts will be released monthly until April.

The first part of the series, Still, Hope, was made available to audiences on Thursday. This piece showcases contemporary mime artist Simon Thompson. This episode is meant to be an emotive return to Limerick which is infused with a sense of longing, of loss, as hope lingers in the background.

STILL, HOPE traces one man's soulful journey through the streets of Limerick City. A harmony of music and movement that is sure to touch your soul  Simply Sublime!#ICreateOnline@clownnoir @artscouncil_ie @UL



https://t.co/aQXxxwQ0lP



https://t.co/VGnU7e6jwU  Irish Chamber Orchestra (@ICOrchestra) February 25, 2021

The second piece that will be released as part of I Create Online is called Fiadhs Voyage which will take the stage on March 25.

Lastly, the third piece will grace our eyes and ears on April 29 under the name of Eternal Blooms.

Each piece is carefully made with beautiful artistic talent surrounding each of the projects and highlights how the Irish Chamber Orchestra is adapting itself online during a pandemic.

Be sure to catch this online series which is available for all on several social media platforms.
Virginia recently became the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. Its an enlightened public policy decision that should inspire Pennsylvania to do the same.

Death obviously is irreversible, yet death penalty prosecutions are no less immune from errors, and worse, than any other type of prosecution. Over the last 50 years, 182 people awaiting execution have been exonerated, often after serving decades in prison. These are not cases of procedural errors, but cases in which the convicted person did not commit the crime.

Some of those cases were resolved by advances in DNA analysis. In several cases, key prosecution witnesses against the accused turned out to the murderers. In many cases, intrepid work by volunteers proved misconduct by prosecutors, often involving withheld evidence.

Given that an average of four death-row inmates a year are exonerated, it is probable rather than likely that innocent people have been executed  the ultimate miscarriage of justice.

The death penalty cannot be equitably enforced as required by the U.S. Constitutions mandate for equal justice under the law. Different prosecutors in different jurisdictions have varying policies about its application. Poor defendants are particularly susceptible because they cannot afford their own lawyers. That is a particular problem in Pennsylvania, shamefully the only state that does not help counties pay for public defenders.

And there is no evidence to suggest that the death penalty fulfills the reason for its existence  deterrence.

Pennsylvania has executed three men since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, and has not executed anyone since 1999, while 149 men remain on death row. Gov. Tom Wolf placed a moratorium on executions in 2015.

The death penalty is a barbaric anachronism, putting the United States and Pennsylvania in league with some of the worst regimes on the planet.

This isnt a question of whether a particular criminal deserves to die for a heinous crime. Its a question of a moral and just society.

Pennsylvania lawmakers should prove that the commonwealth is one of those by ending the death penalty in favor of life imprisonment without parole.
Ill never forget the message I received after the last column I wrote on the complexities of gender dysphoria and transgender youth. It was from a friend of more than 25 years. He shared with me that he and his wife have a child who suffers in this way. He thanked me for speaking about the issue with compassion.

You could have knocked me over with a feather. When I wrote the column, I had no idea. My friends had managed to keep their childs struggle very private. My heart broke for each of them.

It also drove home this point: the explosion of gender-confused young people is very real, and it is all around us. Its not happening out there somewhere.

The prevalence of adolescent gender dysphoria has skyrocketed in the west in recent years. For decades, the typical child with gender dysphoria was more often born male and presented with symptoms well before puberty. But a dramatic shift has occurred: in just one year between 2016-2017, the number of gender reassignment surgeries for individuals born female quadrupled. An alarming number of adolescent females are experiencing what is known as rapid-onset gender dysphoria, meaning they had no symptoms in childhood but began to consider themselves transgender in adolescence, often very suddenly.

Brown University researcher Lisa Littman noticed that these young women often declared their new gender identities in tandem with friends. Their parents reported that their daughters began to spend increased amounts of time online immersed in gender transition stories and content before coming out as transgender.

Littman theorized that the meteoric rise in the number of transgender teens is rooted in something other than an organic psychological or physiological predisposition toward gender dysphoria. Perhaps, she suggests, its a coping mechanism for young women who suffer from concurrent depression or anxiety. In our day, they might have developed an eating disorder or resorted to behavior like cutting to cope with the psychological pain they experience.

Today, young people can find a chorus of advocates online to suggest that the reason they feel so out of place in the world is all related to their gender identity.

Whats really going on here? One study doesnt hold all the answers, to be sure, but its clear that there is much we dont know. Given that reality, wisdom--and compassion--demands that we pump the brakes on treatments that have long-term consequences for struggling children and teens.

Members of the Alabama legislature are considering two bills limiting the types of treatment available to minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The bills, HB1 and SB10, have each advanced out of committee and may soon be voted on in their respective chambers.

The House bill, entitled The Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, bans the use of puberty-blocking medications, hormone therapies, and surgeries for children and adolescents under 18. The bill was amended in committee to allow psychologists to continue counseling minor patients about transgender therapies.

The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from physicians on both sides of the issue, along with the compelling story of a father who feels strongly that these therapies saved his teens life.

These stories matter, and we should listen closely, considering each one. But we must also remember that one can find anecdotal support for almost any point we want to make. Sound public policy that serves the best interests of many must be crafted based on broad knowledge, solid science, and reason.

For instance, we must discern why the prevalence of gender dysphoria among US teens has suddenly gone through the roof. No reasonable person could conclude that human biology/psychology and naturally-occurring GD increased that radically overnight. But cultural dialogue and access to highly-persuasive internet content did.

Do we want to allow hurting children and frightened parents to make decisions with damaging long-term consequences in a moment of confusion? Yes, there are doctors involved. But the science here is far from clear, and there is little consensus among medical professionals about the best treatment for gender dysphoria at this time. Additionally, doctors are humans, which means their clinical judgment can be influenced by the cultural narrative, as well.

We need to consider the stories of individuals who have undergone medically-aided gender transition only to regret it. A quick Google search reveals a Reddit group for people attempting to detransition with over 17,000 members. Thousands upon thousands of Americans have--while searching for answers in a season of pain--jumped off this high-dive and now wish they hadnt. They now deal with a host of medical and physical issues related to the treatments they took part in.

Its one thing to allow an adult to exercise his liberty to choose something so risky. Its another thing altogether to stand by while a child--a human being whose frontal lobe wont fully develop until age 23--attempts to assess the risks involved appropriately.

My Christian faith impresses upon me that we are to care for the vulnerable. To look out for them. To advocate for them in the public square. There are few more vulnerable than a depressed, anxious, confused child. They deserve mental healthcare and medical care rooted in only the best research and science--not solutions influenced by an of-the-moment cultural narrative and a desire to assuage psychological pain quickly at any cost.

For these reasons, restrictions on the kinds of medical interventions available to gender-confused minors are the right thing to do, and the Alabama legislature should pass these bills.

Dana Hall McCain writes about faith, politics, and culture for AL.com. You follow her on Twitter @dhmccain.

The 78th Golden Globes ceremony will be held virtually on Sunday night with presenters, special guests and nominees checking in from around the world as the traditional Oscars limber-up adjusts to the realities of the coronavirus pandemic. Another major difference in this years ceremony is the predominance of streaming services. Netflix bestrides the nominations in both the motion picture and television categories with 42 in total, followed by fellow on-demand platforms Amazon, HBO and Hulu after a seismic shift in distribution methods during the covid-19 crisis.

Follow the Golden Globes 2021 ceremony

Among the nights expected big winners, The Crown leads the television nominations with six overall, ahead of annual gong-magnet Schitts Creek and Netflix drama Ozark (4).

See the full list of Golden Globes 2021 nominees

Mank set to win big

In the film category, David Finchers Netflix feature Mank, a portrayal of Herman J. Mankiewiczs development of the script for Citizen Kane, leads the way with six nominations including best picture, best actor for Gary Oldman and best actress for Amanda Seyfried.

Ma Raineys Black Bottom, which features the final big screen performance from Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, is nominated in both the best actor (Boseman) and best actress (Viola Davis) categories.

The award for best director will be contested between Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), David Fincher (Mank), Regina King (One Night in Miami), Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago Seven) and Chloe Zhao (Nomadland).

Movie category: one to watch

The best supporting actress category is the very definition of heavyweight, with Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy), Olivia Colman (The Father), Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian) and Amanda Seyfried (Mank) in the running. Keep an eye out though for Helena Zengel, whose taciturn yet engaging performance alongside Tom Hanks in Paul Greengrass News of the World could see the 12-year-old score a surprise win.

Queens Gambit seeks to take The Crown

The television category is widely expected to be a straight duel between Netflixs blockbuster fictional chess drama The Queens Gambit and the fourth season of The Crown, also a beneficiary of Netflixs royal coffers.

Anya-Taylor Joys performance as troubled chess prodigy Beth Harmon secured the 24-year-olds status as the next big thing (and provided further redemption for Thomas lets kick the shit out of love Brodie-Sangster following his excellent turn in 2017's Godless). Taylor-Joy is a shoo-in for the cumbersome title of best actress in a limited series, anthology series or motion picture made for television category, although Shira Haas performance in Unorthodox would also be a worthy recipient.

The Queens Gambit will also scoop the best series gong in the same category, despite stellar competition from Small Axe and Unorthodox, the very existence of this peculiar sub-section paving the way for The Crown to expensively and inevitably assume its throne in the best television series, best actress and best actor categories. Olivia Colman and Emma Corrin will go head-to-head in the former after Colmans win last year, with Josh OConnor tipped to go one better than his screen father, Tobias Menzies, for his portrayal of Prince Charles.

Schitts Creek can be expected to get the nod in the best musical or comedy section after its critically acclaimed six-season run came to an end while Catherine OHara and Eugene Levy are widely tipped for the acting categories.

The big guns in the television running are concentrated in the limited series section where Bryan Cranston (Your Honor), Jeff Daniels (The Comey Rule), Hugh Grant (The Undoing), Ethan Hawke (The Good Lord Bird) and Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much is True) go head-to-head.

Hawkes performance as fire-and-brimstone abolitionist John Brown has been described as a career best turn from the 50-year-old - high praise given his body of work - but the award could go anywhere in a particularly strong field.

Television category: one to watch

Breaking free from the pigeon-holing of a long stint on a juggernaut US sitcom can be a daunting prospect, as a certain group of Friends can attest. Kaley Cuoco might have done enough in The Flight Attendant to break free of the Big Bang Theory mould though and it will be interesting to see if her boozy, scenery-trashing turn in the HBO Max comedy-thriller lands her the gong.

Anti-government protesters were detained on February 28 in Kazakhstan's capital, Nur-Sultan, and the country's largest city, Almaty. Security forces tried to surround smaller groups of protesters and push them into police buses. Rallies were called across Kazakhstan by two opposition groups -- the Democratic Party and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan. Protesters demanded the release of political prisoners and decried the continuing authoritarian influence of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev.

By Mark Peterson





Again, I really dislike this topic, but I dislike Harvard being besmirched in this situation even more. Thus, I feel compelled to enter the fray one more time with this article.



This opinion piece is in regard to the Harvard Law School professor who has written a paper that has been accepted for publication at the International Review of Law and Economics. He has written on the subject before  three years ago he gave a presentation at Harvard that had limited distribution.



But now, writing on the same topic, he has submitted the paper to an academic journal. In that setting, the fact that the paper will be published has hit the media in Korea and Japan. A large sector of the Japanese population, and it appears the government, too, have praised the paper. Much of the Korean population, on the other hand, feels they are opening up old and deep wounds.



One problem is that this paper is the work of one person, but that one person sits under the umbrella of a famous and respected university  Harvard. The opinions of that one person coincide with the large sector of Japan's population that can be called "conservative" or "right wing," in other words, those in favor of a revision of their history  to deny the ugliest parts of Japan's behavior during World War II.



The segment of Japan's population that wants to gloss over the atrocities committed by Japan and by Japanese soldiers is apparently large and growing, unfortunately. This phenomenon is quite different from that of Germany  the other major perpetrator of World War II.



Germany, too, committed massive war crimes, but the difference is that Germany "owns" its war crimes and has renounced them for all the world to see. Throughout Germany, there are monuments to its mistakes  in the hope and pledge that they will never allow that again.



Not so in Japan.



Japan is slipping more and more into denialism, trying to Koreans have a good word for it: "mihwa"  "to make beautiful" their ugly history. "Mihwa" literally means, "to turn into beauty," but the term is also glossed as, "to glorify" and "to embellish." It's the right word for what Japan is doing, thanks to the assistance of a HARVARD professor.



I've been dragged into the melee because several people have suggested that, as a Harvard Ph.D., I should respond. I don't think I would have if the intellectual apparatus of the paper had been well constructed. But upon reading the paper, I found so many flaws, that putting on my history professor's hat was adequate to critique it. I didn't even have to be a specialist in the Twentieth Century or the Japan Occupational Period to do so.



So, I've stepped into the fray to defend my alma mater, but Harvard should not in any way be blamed for this debacle. The blame should be on the heads of the professor, the journal and the reviewing process. They may have had only law school professors read the article, leaving it devoid of an evaluation of the historical or political context of the paper.



The "law school professor" aspect of the paper appears good. Good eyewash. But as a former journal editor, I know that when a paper is interdisciplinary, you need to have eyes from the concerned additional disciplines. Any historian would have reacted the way I did  no context, no use of Korean sources, shoddy research, biased presentation, flawed logic, and dishonest use of footnotes. That's a pretty heavy condemnation.



And that is what others are writing about. My good Korean history colleague at Harvard, Carter Eckert, has written that the paper is flawed in one major way  it is a paper arguing the use and applications of legal contracts in establishing services, prostitution. Yet not one contract is presented as evidence. Only the theory or the proclaimed law is cited. To claim a social practice on the basis of a written law is incredibly and obviously foolish. The speed limit on a highway is 75 mph, therefore no one ever drives over 75. Right?



Contracts were supposedly entered into by women over the age of 21. That was the law. However, if you believe that was the actual practice, be careful buying your next car or answering an email from a Nigerian prince who has money to give you  you will believe anything.



The other academic critiques of the paper are thorough in their condemnation of Ramseyer's sloppy and biased scholarship. Five "transnational" scholars who have all worked on Japanese history have written a 33-page indictment of the paper. The original paper was only 16 pages! A group of economists has also called for the journal to rescind publication of the paper.



It's unfortunate that the good name of Harvard is associated with this mess. Harvard holds to the principle of academic freedom, and in such a situation, it is the peers of the scholar who must critically acclaim or condemn the work of a scholar. It's not the school's job. Condemnation of this paper is rolling in from all quarters, and it seems that Harvard's name will ultimately remain untarnished. (But perhaps I am being a little too optimistic?)





Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.


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From the daughter of RFK, to a celebrity chef to his swooning army of self-described Cuomosexuals, the love life of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has long been tangled and - at times - down-right cringe-worthy.

Earlier this week, Cuomo, 63, was accused of sexual harassment by a former aide. It was the second allegation of harassment in three months.

Charlotte Bennett, 25, told the New York Times that Cuomo asked her questions about her sex life, whether she had monogamous relationships and if she ever had sex with older men  all during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Cuomo denies the accusations, theyre claimed to have occurred during a time in which he briefly became the heartthrob of thousands of adoring liberals  dubbed Cuomosexuals  who religiously tuned into his daily coronavirus briefings.

His apparent inappropriate advances also came just months after his break-up with girlfriend and celebrity chef Sandra Lee, whom he dated for 14-years until the fall of 2019.

And before dating Lee, Cuomo was married to a member of America's most famous political dynasty: Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of former Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy.

The pair were together for 15 years, however became embroiled in a bitter divorce in 2005, amid claims of infidelity and financial disputes.

The love life of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has long been tangled and, at times, down-right cringe-worthy

Cuomo was married to a member of America's most famous political dynasty: Kerry Kennedy (left), the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy

Cuomo pictured with his girlfriend of 14-years Sandra Lee, and his three daughters, Michaela (left), Maria (near right), Cara Kennedy Cuomo (far right) in 2018

Cuomo and Kennedy tied the knot in 1990, but the Kennedy family are said to have had reservations about Cuomo.

Andrew refused to do anything fun, anything without a clear benefit to his career, a family acquaintance of the Kennedys noted in a report by Vanity Fair.

Nevertheless, the wedding went ahead and the couple had three daughters together: twins Mariah and Cara in 1995, followed by Michaela who was born in 1997.

But just two months after Michaelas birth, discussions of divorce between the pair had reportedly turned from not if but when.

Kennedy suggested the couple seek marriage counselling, but Cuomo was said to be too consumed with work.

According to the New York Daily News, Kerry Kennedy decided she could be with Cuomo no longer following his failed governor bid in 2002.

Kennedy is said to have believed Cuomo didnt spend enough time with the family and was horrified when she heard the Rolling Stones song Sympathy for the Devil play during a campaign event  an insensitive score selection, considering its line: I shouted out, 'Who killed the Kennedys?' / When after all, it was you and me.

Kennedy also allegedly had an affair with a close friend, Bruce Colley, according to reports from the time.

The divorce was finalized in 2005, but more than a decade later they were reported to be still battling in court over child support for their daughters' education and healthcare costs, the NY Post reported.

In response, the couple issued a joint statement, denying any financial disputes, but a source told the outlet Kennedy only signed the statements because Cuomo had finally agreed to make certain payments and she hoped to shield her daughters from any drama.

Cuomo and Kennedy tied the knot in 1990, but they finalized their divorce 15 years later in 2005, with Kennedy accusing him of not spending enough time with their family, while she allegedly had an affair with a close friend

Kerry Kennedy decided she could be with Cuomo no longer following his failed governor bid in 2002 (pictured together in 1990)

Within months of legally separating from Kennedy, Cuomo began dating Food Network host Sandra Lee.

The pair first met at a cocktail party in the Hamptons after being introduced by a mutual friend.

Over the course of the 14-year courtship, they moved in together and regularly spoke lovingly of one another in the press.

Lee has been quoted as saying that she and Cuomo never fought and that he was especially laidback and mellow - a stark contrast to the way he was described during his bitter divorce from Kennedy.

However, in September 2019, the couple issued a joint statement to announce they were breaking up.

The end of their relationship came as somewhat expected, as for more than a year before, the media had speculated about the demise of their longstanding romance, with Lee skipping two major gubernatorial events in the months leading up to the announcement.

One of the skipped events was Cuomos State of the State address  the first time Lee was not by his side for an address since he was elected governor of New York.

Over the recent past, we have realized that our lives have gone in different directions and our romantic relationship has turned into a deep friendship, the pair wrote in their statement.

We will always be family and are fully supportive of each other and dedicated to the girls. Our personal lives remain personal and there will be no further comment.

Within months of his divorce from Kennedy, Cuomo began dating Food Network host Sandra Lee (above)

Lee has been quoted as saying that she and Cuomo never fought and that he was especially laidback and mellow - a stark contrast to the way he was described during his bitter divorce from Kennedy (Cuomo and Lee, to his immediate left, are pictured with his three daughters)

Cuomo and Lee reportedly ended on amicable terms, however the chef spoke out about her heartbreak in December last year, when hers and the governors home in Mount Kisco sold.

Today will be one of the saddest days of my life, she wrote on December 14. Today is the day that I do the final move out from Lily Pond. I love that house and I have a personal relationship with every single room of that home. I hope the new owners take care of it as well as I did and I will love it forever. #thehousethatbuiltme.

In a later posting she wrote, My last moments on Lily Pond were very BitterSweet. I walked around the outside of my beautiful home I wanted to drink in every angle and remember the beautiful moments that were spent in every place.

Despite their separation, Lee says the pair remain close. Lee is also still in regular contact with Cuomo's three daughters, she said.

Hes still my guy, she told the Today Show in April last year. Neither one of us, well as far as I know, has had a date.

Despite their separation, Lee says the pair remain close, and talk regularly (pictured 2014)

Cuomo and Lee reportedly ended on amicable terms, however the chef spoke out about her heartbreak in December last year, when hers and the governors home in Mount Kisco sold (above)

Since splitting with Lee, Cuomo has repeatedly intimated publicly since then that he was looking for love.

Do you think you are an attractive person now because youre single and ready to mingle? the governors brother, Chris, teased him on his CNN show, Cuomo Prime Time.

When asked by radio host Alan Chartock last summer whether he was dating anyone, Cuomo quipped: No. What happened to the women you are recommending?

Cuomo continued through laughter: Am in a serious relationship with anyone now? I am not.

When asked if he was in an unserious relationship, he responded: Depends on how you define unserious.

Cuomo has also previously attracted the attention of comedian Chelsea Handler, who joked last October that Cuomo ghosted her after she asked him out online.

While apparently flattered by her advances, Cuomo put down his lack of interest down to distance.

Im a big fan of Chelseas and she is great and we have fun, but on my dating life, you know, I am only dating at this point in-state residents, he said during an appearance on The View in October, making a seeming reference to the ongoing pandemic.

Cuomo and Lee first met after being introduced by a mutual friend during a cocktail party in the Hamptons

Among his army of admirers was LA-based comedian Chelsea Handler, who joked last October that Cuomo ghosted her after she asked him out online

Cuomo also joked to Daily Show host Trevor Noah the same month that, On a human level, on a social level  nobody wants to have dinner with me.

But his daily coronavirus briefings in the early months of the pandemic did land him a bevy of admirers, otherwise known as 'Cuomosexuals'.

The phenomenon, which regularly became a trending hashtag on Twitter, generated a cottage industry on Etsy of Cuomo-loving junk.

The e-commerce website found itself overloaded with pro-Cuomo memorabilia, including 'Cuomosexual mugs' with a topless cartoon image of the Governor; 'Future Mrs. Cuomo' emblazoned t-shirts; and other wears with logos that read 'mentally dating Andrew Cuomo.'

However, just months on, Cuomo is now facing accusations of on-the-job sexual harassment from two former aides, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett.

Cuomo's daily coronavirus briefings in the early months of the pandemic did land him a bevy of admirers, otherwise known as 'Cuomosexuals'

Etsy became overloaded with pro-Cuomo memorabilia, including 'Cuomosexual mugs' with a topless cartoon image of the Governor; 'Future Mrs. Cuomo' emblazoned t-shirts; and other wears with logos that read 'mentally dating Andrew Cuomo'

Boylan  a Democratic candidate for Manhattan borough president claimed in an emotional essay published to Medium that New Yorks top elected official kissed her on the lips without warning inside his Manhattan office in 2018.

She also claims he asked her to play strip poker on a flight in 2017.

'I should have been shocked by the Governor's crude comment, but I wasn't, Boylan wrote of the governors request. 'I tried to excuse his behavior. I told myself 'it's only words.'

But that changed after a one-on-one briefing with the Governor to update him on economic and infrastructure projects.

'We were in his New York City office on Third Avenue. As I got up to leave and walk toward an open door, he stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips. I was in shock, but I kept walking.

After that, my fears worsened. I came to work nauseous every day, Boylan wrote.

Lindsey Boylan (above) a Democratic candidate for Manhattan borough president claimed in an emotional essay published to Medium that alleging New Yorks top elected official kissed her on the lips without warning inside his Manhattan office in 2018

Charlotte Bennett then followed Boylans allegations with harassment claims of her own on Saturday.

Bennett, who was an executive assistant before she resigned in November, claims on numerous occasions, the governor asked her questions about her personal life.

The questions in early June included those that pertained to a romantic relationship between two people of different ages.

Bennett said Cuomo also made comments stating he was open to dating women in their 20s, which she took as overtures to a sexual relationship.

The former aide did state that Cuomo never made an attempt to touch her but added that he was lonely and 'can't even hug anyone'.

Bennett says she said she missed hugging her parents, to which she claims he said: 'No, I mean like really hugged somebody?'

Charlotte Bennett then followed Boylans allegations with harassment claims of her own on Saturday. Bennett, who was an executive assistant before she resigned in November, claims on numerous occasions, the governor asked her questions about her personal life

Bennett told the New York Times: 'I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared.

'And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.'

Cuomo, 63, said he 'never intended to act in any way that was inappropriate' with Ms Bennett and his press secretary said Ms Boylan's claims were 'false'.

The governor yesterday promised a review by former federal judge - appointed by Bill Clinton - Barbara Jones into the allegations against him.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  An Israeli-owned cargo ship that suffered a mysterious explosion in the Gulf of Oman came to Dubai's port for repairs Sunday, days after the blast that revived security concerns in Mideast waterways amid heightened tensions with Iran.

Associated Press journalists saw the hulking Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray sitting at dry dock facilities at Dubai's Port Rashid. Although the crew was unharmed in the blast, the vessel sustained two holes on its port side and two on its starboard side just above the waterline, according to American defense officials.

It remains unclear what caused the blast, but the incident comes amid sharply rising tension between the U.S. and Iran over its unraveling 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has sought to pressure President Joe Bidens administration to grant the sanctions relief it received under the accord with world powers that former President Donald Trump abandoned.

From the shore, AP journalists could not immediately see damage to the vessel. The dock blocked the view of the vessel's starboard side down to the waterline and the port side could only be seen from a distance. The blue and white ship was anchored near Dubais storied floating hotel, the Queen Elizabeth 2. An Emirati coast guard vessel was seen sailing behind the ship, with Dubai police and Emirati armed forces vehicles parked nearby.

Emirati officials did not respond to requests for comment on the vessel docking in the country.

Friday's blast on the ship, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo vessel, recalled a string of attacks on foreign oil tankers in 2019 that the U.S. Navy blamed on Iran. Tehran denied any role in the suspected assaults, which happened near the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil chokepoint.

Several Israeli officials hinted that they believed Iran was responsible for the explosion on the ship. In a speech at an army base on Sunday, Israeli military Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi accused Iran of carrying out operations against civilian targets," a charge the army later confirmed was in reference to the suspected ship attack.

Story continues

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz echoed concerns about Iran's threats against Israel, adding in a speech that the army was "working to build up our forces and is preparing itself for any scenario, including one in which we would need to take operative action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. In an interview with Israeli Kan TV the day before, he said the circumstances of the explosion pointed toward Iranian involvement but stressed it needed to be investigated further.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for firing a ballistic missile and nine bomb-laden drones at sensitive sites in Saudi Arabias capital Riyadh the night before. The groups military spokesman Yahia Sarei added that another six explosive drones targeted military positions in the southwestern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait. The Saudi interception of the missile set off an apparent explosion over Riyadh that startled residents and scattered shell debris, without causing casualties.

The Helios Ray had discharged cars at various ports in the Persian Gulf before making its way out of the Middle East toward Singapore. The blast hit as the ship was sailing from the Saudi port Dammam out of the Gulf of Oman, forcing it to turn to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, for inspection.

Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the ship. The country's hard-line Kayhan daily, whose editor-in-chief was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alleged the Helios Ray was possibly" on an espionage mission in the region, without offering any evidence to support the claim. The Sunday report speculated the ship may have been "trapped in an ambush by a branch of resistance axis, referring to Iranian proxies in the region.

Iran also has blamed Israel for a recent series of attacks, including a mysterious explosion last summer that destroyed an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at its Natanz nuclear facility and the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian scientist who founded the Islamic Republics military nuclear program two decades ago.

Irans repeated vows to avenge Fakhrizadehs killing have raised alarms in Israel, particularly as the Gulf sees an increase in Israeli traffic following the country's normalization deals with the UAE and Bahrain.

___

Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell and Malak Harb in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Ilan Ben Zion and Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
Alex Salmond will this week launch a devastating second attack on Nicola Sturgeon - in a move which could force her to resign as First Minister.

He will give evidence in private tomorrow or on Tuesday to a second inquiry, set up to establish whether Ms Sturgeon has broken the Ministerial Code.

Ms Sturgeon will face tough questioning from MSPs at the Holyrood inquiry on Wednesday - the same day the UK Budget is announced.

Last night, a source close to Mr Salmond said: 'He will be able to say things in private which he hasn't been able to mention up until now.

'It will likely be damning and devastating for Nicola Sturgeon.'

Appearing before a Holyrood inquiry on Friday, Mr Salmond launched an astonishing attack under oath on Ms Sturgeon's leadership - and accused her of multiple breaches of the Ministerial Code and of misleading parliament.

He disputed her account of their meetings at her home, saying she was aware beforehand that they were arranged to discuss complaints to the Government about him.

However, he said he was unable to talk about some aspects of the crucial meetings because of legal restrictions.

Now he will give evidence to the second inquiry led by James Hamilton, QC.

If this probe establishes Ms Sturgeon broke even one of the rules governing ministerial conduct, she will face calls for her resignation - just weeks before the crucial Scottish parliament election.

Mr Salmond's delivery of evidence to the Holyrood inquiry highlights the astonishing levels of bitterness that now exist between the former SNP leader and Ms Sturgeon - a pair who for many years seemed to have forged one of the most rock-solid partnerships in politics.

He also called for the resignations of Ms Sturgeon's chief legal adviser, the Lord Advocate James Wolffe, and some of those closest to her, including her husband, the SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans and her chief of staff Liz Lloyd.

Mr Salmond said some in the SNP and Scottish Government had been involved in a 'deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort' to put him in prison.

Last night, sources confirmed he will speak directly to Mr Hamilton, the former director of public prosecutions in Ireland, by video link tomorrow or on Tuesday.

They said it could be even more devastating than the evidence he gave to the committee on Friday.

That is because he will not be limited in what he can talk about by the Crown Office and Holyrood lawyers.

It is also understood Mr Hamilton has received evidence from Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond's former chief of staff, whose evidence to the Holyrood committee could not be published.

If that corroborates Mr Salmond's version of events, rather than Ms Sturgeon's, it could dramatically increase pressure on the First Minister.

The evidence is said to include claims she knew of harassment allegations 'weeks earlier' than she admitted.

It also suggests Ms Sturgeon's team leaked the identity of a sexual assault complainant against the former first minister - which Ms Sturgeon rejects.

In other developments:

Former First Minister Henry McLeish warns Ms Sturgeon may have to show 'humility' and consider her future - as he did;

MSPs are set to ask Mr Salmond to hand over bombshell documents, which he claims reveal the Government's plot against him;

Ms Sturgeon is likely to face tough questioning from MSPs as she prepares to give evidence to the Holyrood inquiry this week.

Alex Salmond (pictured on Friday) will give evidence in private tomorrow or on Tuesday to a second inquiry, set up to establish whether Ms Sturgeon has broken the Ministerial Code

Appearing before a Holyrood inquiry on Friday, Mr Salmond launched an astonishing attack under oath on Ms Sturgeon's (pictured on Thursday) leadership - and accused her of multiple breaches of the Ministerial Code and of misleading parliament

Mr Salmond finally gave evidence to the specially created harassment committee at Holyrood after a protracted wrangle over the publication of his evidence, which saw him twice pull out of appearances.

It was the first time he had spoken at length about the Government's probe into sexual misconduct allegations against him.

After he was cleared of 13 charges against nine women in March last year, he said evidence that he had not been able to lead during his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh would 'see the light of day'.

And after 11 months of silence, he is ready to deliver his second damning verdict on his successor in less than a week.

This time it is Ms Sturgeon in the dock over alleged Ministerial Code breaches, including over whether she misled parliament.

She initially said Mr Salmond first told her of the allegations against him at her home on April 2, 2018.

Months later she admitted she had been told by Mr Aberdein, who set up a meeting with her on March 29, at her office in parliament.

On Friday, Mr Salmond insisted this was not a mere slip, but a potentially career-ending breach of the Ministerial Code.

He told the Holyrood committee: 'Either the meeting on March 29 was not forgotten about and parliament was deliberately misled or, alternatively, it was forgotten about and parliament was not informed when Nicola was reminded of it.

'My submission says that those are, to me, clear breaches of the Ministerial Code.

What are the key issues in the row engulfing SNP? How and why did the Scottish government mishandle allegations against Alex Salmond? The Scottish government launched an investigation in 2017 after two women made informal complaints against Alex Salmond. He launched legal action against the government's handling of the investigation and won a judicial review in January 2019, receiving 512,000 to cover his legal fees. The parliamentary inquiry is examining how ministers and civil servants conducted the probe. Mr Salmond was charged with 13 counts of sexual assault, including attempted rape, but was acquitted of all charges in March 2020. Mr Salmond has claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy by senior SNP figures to end his role in public life. What did Nicola Sturgeon know and when? Ms Sturgeon originally told MSPs she learned of complaints against Mr Salmond on April 2, 2018, when the pair met at her house. That meeting is crucial as it is unclear whether it was SNP business, or government business - which should have been officially recorded. Peter Murrell, the chief executive of the SNP and Ms Sturgeon's husband, initially said he was not at home, but later revealed that he arrived home during the discussion. He insists he did not ask what they were talking about. Ms Sturgeon has also admitted she 'forgot' about a discussion with Mr Salmond's ex-chief of staff four days earlier where they talked about the issue. The ministerial code says that 'ministers who knowingly mislead the parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the First Minister'. Ms Sturgeon is facing a separate independent investigation led by James Hamilton, who has to decide if she broke the ministerial code. However, it is thought that she is the final arbiter of whether the code has been breached. Does Mr Salmond have evidence of a conspiracy against him? Mr Salmond has said he is the victim of a 'prolonged, malicious' conspiracy by senior SNP and government figures. He has suggested Mr Murrell was part of efforts to damage him. Ms Sturgeon has demanded he presents hard evidence that is the case. However, he insisted that he is not in the dock and the government has already conceded it acted illegally. Why was Mr Salmond's evidence to the inquiry redacted? Mr Salmond's submission to the inquiry was released online on Monday, but the Crown Office raised concerns with Holyrood about it, asking for redactions. He has raised questions about why the step was taken and whether it amounted to inappropriate interference. Advertisement

'What happens as a result is not for me. It is for this committee, for Mr James Hamilton and for others.

'All I can do is come here and tell you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.'

Ms Sturgeon also faces major questions over why she did not immediately provide an account of her meeting with Mr Salmond to civil servants, and over whether she wasted taxpayers' money pursuing a judicial review against the advice of government lawyers.

The Holyrood committee will look at whether she breached the Ministerial Code.

But it is Mr Hamilton's conclusion which will carry the most weight. He is expected to deliver his report to Ms Sturgeon next week.

Sources close to Mr Salmond believe his evidence to Mr Hamilton will be more devastating than when he faced the committee.

One said: 'Alex will be able to go further in his evidence, as he is not acting under some bar - as is the case with the committee - imposed by the Crown Office.

'Mr Hamilton has, of course, not redacted any of evidence (unlike the committee), or Geoff Aberdein's evidence, and Alex will certainly be happy to answer any questions he has to ask.

'But, as he said on Friday, it will then be up to Mr Hamilton and the committee.'

One committee source said: 'It comes down to whether the claims Alex Salmond makes can be corroborated. We know that James Hamilton has spoken to Geoff Aberdein and others.

'If they have corroborated Mr Salmond's claims, it's going to be very difficult for the First Minister to rebut allegations she breached the Ministerial Code. She can't be forced to resign for breaching the code, but it makes it very difficult.

'The whole SNP pitch has always been, ''We're better than those at Westminster'', contrasting Nicola Sturgeon with Boris Johnson.

'That goes out of the window if she's found to have breached the Ministerial Code and doesn't resign.'

Details of Mr Aberdein's evidence, obtained by the Sunday Times, was not published on legal grounds but has been shared with the Holyrood committee.

It hints Ms Sturgeon's administration knew about the allegations from as early as the start of March - weeks earlier than she has admitted.

It also claims the identity of one of the sexual assault complainants was leaked to Mr Aberdein, who passed it to Mr Salmond.

It was around the same time that the former first minister was told by the government there was a probe into the accusations.

Mr Salmond took legal action against the Government in the belief its investigation into him was unfair.

He won the judicial review, with a judge ruling the investigation was 'tainted by apparent bias'.

However, the Government has refused to publish the legal advice, which would prove whether it pursued the case against the judgment of its own lawyers.

Writing in today's Scottish Mail on Sunday, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross warns that Ms Sturgeon can no longer hide behind a wall of secrecy, after initially promising to 'co-operate fully' with the inquiry.

He writes: 'Her position is untenable if the SNP Government continues to obstruct crucial evidence.'

Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader and committee member, said: 'If the First Minister is found to have breached the Ministerial Code by misleading parliament then there is no doubt that she should resign.'

New Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said she should step down if she has misled parliament, saying she would expect the same of ministers in other parties.

'If there is a minister, forget who the minister is or what political party they are from, if a minister is found to have breached the ministerial code, I think people would expect that minister to resign,' the newly elected Scottish Labour leader told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday.

'That's what Nicola Sturgeon would say if it was a Labour politician, a Conservative politician or a Liberal Democrat politician, so let's take the party politics out of it - it's a point of principle.'

When pushed specifically on whether or not the First Minister should step down, Mr Sarwar said: 'Yes, I think Nicola Sturgeon herself would say that if an opposition politician was in government and they'd breached the ministerial code, they would be expected to resign.

'Let's take the party politics and the personalities out of it, it's a point of principle and respecting the office of First Minister.'

Speaking in his first broadcast interview since becoming leader on Saturday, defeating Monica Lennon with more than 57 per cent of the vote, Mr Sarwar said he believes the First Minister would not support touting a referendum on independence if it were not for the internal struggles of the SNP.

The Glasgow MSP said: 'The idea that we come through (the Covid-19 pandemic) and straight into a divisive referendum campaign, I just don't think it's the right thing to do - instead I think it's right that we focus on rebuilding our country.'

He added: 'I actually don't think even Nicola Sturgeon would be advocating a referendum right now, but I think she's more focused on healing the wounds in her political party than she is about healing the wounds in the country.'

However, Ms Sturgeon said in parliament earlier this month: 'I do not consider that I breached the Ministerial Code - I will make that case very, very robustly.'
ALBANY  At the end of a tumultuous day, state Attorney General Letitia James demanded and received a referral from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to oversee a full investigation of the sexual harassment allegations made against him in recent days by two female former staffers.

The shift occurred after Cuomo had initially proposed a "review" by an outside attorney, then floated the idea of having James and state Chief Judge Janet DiFiore select an outside attorney  both notions that James rejected as insufficient. In the end, Cuomo said his office would allow James to deputize a private lawyer or firm to investigate his alleged misdeeds, with full subpoena power under the law.

Cuomo's backpedling Sunday happened under intense bipartisan pressure from national and state politicians, and even from within his own administration, seeking a truly independent probe of the allegations.

Several Senate Democrats had also threatened Sunday afternoon that if Cuomo refused to refer the matter to James for a full investigation, they would support changing the law to enable James to open her own investigation. State Sen. Todd Kaminsky of Long Island said he would introduce a bill Monday, and Sen. Liz Krueger  who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee  expressed her support for such a measure.

Cuomo's concession came just before he released a statement apologizing for how some of his actions may have been "misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation."

Former Cuomo staffer Lindsey Boylan published an essay last week detailing her claims of harassment by Cuomo. Then the New York Times on Saturday night released a story describing the claims made by Charlotte Bennett, a second female former staffer who alleged workplace sexual harassment by him.

The governor's office initially said Cuomo had selected Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge, to handle a review of the matter  a plan that lawmakers of both parties quickly rejected as insufficient in part due to Jones' professional connection to Steven M. Cohen, a longtime Cuomo aide and confidant.

In response, Cuomo's office at midday Sunday pivoted in a statement that said it would ask the attorney general and DiFiore, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, to select "an independent and qualified lawyer in private practice without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review of the matter and issue a public report."

But that proposal also raised eyebrows: DiFiore was nominated to the state's top court by Cuomo, and she previously served as his handpicked chairwoman of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics, a body that has been roundly criticized for what many see as excessive influence by the governor. Others noted that the chief judge would play a key role in any impeachment proceedings that might be brought against Cuomo, which Republicans have already pushed for weeks over his administration's nursing home policies during the coronavirus pandemic.

DiFiore released a brief statement saying that she would be willing to take part in selecting the person to review the allegations.

James issued a statement asking for the formal referral she would need to investigate the sexual harassment allegations at almost the exact moment Cuomo announced the DiFiore proposal. Later in the afternoon, she released another statement shooting down the governor's initial fallback suggestion.

To clarify, I do not accept the governors proposal," James said. "The states Executive Law clearly gives my office the authority to investigate this matter once the governor provides a referral. While I have deep respect for Chief Judge DiFiore, I am the duly elected attorney general and it is my responsibility to carry out this task, per Executive Law. The governor must provide this referral so an independent investigation with subpoena power can be conducted."

Without that referral, any inquiry would be toothless. Cuomo staffers could not be required to testify, nor could documents be demanded.

Finally, Cuomo's legal advisor emailed a statement on Sunday evening affirming that the governor would refer the matter for investigation to an attorney of James' choosing, and the investigator would have full subpoena power, which was the main sticking point for Democratic leaders across New York.

Cuomos earlier proposals stood in stark contrast to the practice of his immediate two predecessors, governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson, both of whom empowered the attorney general to investigate allegations of wrongdoing involving either their top staffers or the governors themselves.

The attorney general at that time was Cuomo, whose office investigated allegations that Spitzers administration had used state resources to engineer a political attack on then-Senate majority leader Joe Bruno, a Republican. But Cuomo recused himself in 2010  shortly before formally launching his run for governor  from investigating ethical charges against Paterson, assigning the matters to an outside investigator, former Chief Judge Judith Kaye.

Saturday's Times story on Bennett's claims alleged Cuomo had made sexual advances to her, asking her if she'd ever been in a sexual relationship with an older man and telling her he'd like to date a girl who was her age. The 25-year-old said that she believed Cuomo had "groomed" her, offering her mentorship to ingratiate himself and test her boundaries, before he began making sexual comments. After she brought forth allegations to Cuomo aides, she was transferred to another part of the administration; Bennett subsequently left state government because "his presence was so suffocating."

Cuomo's overnight change in course was a sign that the governor's options were growing limited in the face of overlapping scandals, which now include the two sexual harassment allegations as well as a federal probe of the administration's handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes. James released an explosive report in late January alleging that Cuomo's administration had undercounted the deaths of nursing home residents by as much as 50 percent; her office only notified the governor's team shortly before the report went live.

Twenty-five Democratic Assemblywomen released a statement Sunday morning calling for "an independent investigation ... with unfettered authority to subpoena witnesses, to seek the production of documents, and to bring whatever charges are warranted. The governors proposal to appoint someone who is not independently elected, has no subpoena authority, and no prosecutorial authority is inadequate."

Democratic members of Congress from across the state  including representatives Antonio Delgado, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Grace Meng and others  also called for the investigation to be referred to the attorney general. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on CNN it "was hard to read (Bennett's) story as a woman," and that President Joe Biden believes there "should be an independent review looking into these allegations."

These allegations are serious and deeply concerning. As requested by Attorney General James, the matter should be referred to her office so that she can conduct a transparent, independent and thorough investigation with subpoena power," U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wrote later Sunday afternoon.

Others have gone further: Many Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, have called for Cuomo's resignation. They were joined over the weekend by a smattering of progressive Democrats around the state, such as state Assembly members Ron Kim  who recently alleged Cuomo threatened to end his career for criticizing his handling of nursing homes  Harvey Epstein and Yuh-Line Niou, as well as state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi of Westchester, who said Cuomo's alleged conduct was "the epitome of a hostile work environment."

"As a New Yorker, a legislator, Chair of the Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee, and a survivor of sexual abuse, I am calling for Gov. Cuomo to resign," she said.

The Vietnamese diaspora in Israel and the UAE are relieved at receiving Covid-19 vaccinations, but remain wary. Some want to return to Vietnam.

Israel is said to be the number one nation in the world in deploying Covid-19 vaccines, followed by the UAE.

Israel has administered at least one dose of the U.S.s Pfizer vaccine to more than 46 percent of its nine million population, and the risk of illness from Covid-19 has dropped 95.8 percent among people who received both shots, Reuters reported.

On February 21, Israel reopened large swathes of its economy with the government saying the start of a return to routine has been enabled by Covid-19 vaccines administered to almost half the population.

"I had two doses of vaccine at the end of January and mid February and it felt good," said Doan Thi Nga, a Vietnamese living in Jerusalem.

She said she suffered some tiredness and pain in the arm after receiving the shot, but these reactions disappeared the next day. She can return to normal life and has got the "green pass" from the authorities, meaning she can go to public spaces such as markets and restaurants; and travel to other places.

Nga feels safer now. Three months ago, when her family moved to Israel from Singapore, she was concerned about the way Israelis dealt with the pandemic, which "was not as good as" the Singaporeans.

Pham Thanh Lan, a spa owner in Ramat Yishay, a town in the Northern District of Israel, also said she felt fine after two vaccine doses. She too, experienced brief symptoms of fatigue and pain in the injected arm. She is happy now that she can get back to work normally and go anywhere she wants.

"I don't worry anymore. I hope that the vaccine will have the highest effectiveness."

Awaiting his second shot early March, Nguyen Thanh Long, a technician working on a smart farm in Israels Beit She'an City, said he had mild ache in the arm for a day after the first shot.

Long also said he believed vaccination was the best way for a country to contain Covid-19 and open the economy up. He said there was a minority in Israel who have doubts about the vaccine. The government has asked vaccinated people to continue wearing masks to limit transmission risks.

Nguyen Thanh Long receives the first Covid-19 vaccine jab on February 16, 2021. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Thanh Long.

Long and Lan felt that the small size of population was why Israel became the quickest country in carrying out vaccinations. A good relationship with the U.S. also helped Israel to speed up vaccine purchases, they felt.

Covid-19 positive after first jab

La Thi Hong Anh, a nail salon worker in Dubai, said she tested positive for the novel coronavirus after getting her first shot of the Sinopharm vaccine at the beginning of February. She had mild fever and had a negative result 10 days later. The second jab was administered several days ago.

"I will not have to take the Covid-19 test before traveling or quarantine anymore, which is good for me," she said.

Tina Do, another Vietnamese living in Dubai, also experienced some pain in the arm receiving the vaccine shots. The pain lasted three days.

Tina said she expected the vaccine can bring back normalcy if people remained vigilant, maintained prevention measures like wearing marks, washing hands and following social distancing rules.

Suffering no ache or fever after two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine at the end of January, Nguyen Hai Anh, a sales executive with a sugar company in Dubai, said he was living a normal life and had got an "E sign" from authorities, 28 days after the second jab. The E sign certifies that people have received two doses of the vaccine.

"I see no abnormal signs," he said, noting that UAE's leaders and billionaires have joined the vaccination program.

He attributed UAE's high ranking in the world vaccination plan to the country's early approval for China's vaccine and local airlines' capacity in vaccine transportation. The majority of people in the UAE welcome the Covid-19 vaccines, but he'd heard that people who registered late were finding it more and more difficult to get vaccinated.

Missing home

In Israel, Long expressed optimism that things can return to normal "in the short term," when the number of people getting vaccinated increases. As a result, Israel would do better in controlling the pandemic, leading to economic opportunities for citizens.

However, Lan said she was quite cautious about that prospect because there were still some groups of people who do not rigorously follow prevention measures.

Nga also said she felt individual awareness plays a crucial role in the collective effort to stop the pandemic from spreading.

"Unfortunately, we have not had a way to end Covid-19," she said.

Hong Anh in the UAE was more anxious, saying the country does not strictly quarantine people who test positive for the novel coronavirus. The possible reasons are that there is a high number of migrant workers and most people in UAE only suffer mild symptoms. Some stay at home, but some still go out and that makes her feel unsafe.

Hong Anh said she looks forward to returning to Vietnam.

Hai Anh concurred, saying the number of infections in the UAE keeps increasing because of "open activities," from malls to borders. Hospitals are only meant for severe cases.

He said he wants to return to Vietnam as hed planned before Covid-19 and hoped that the Vietnamese government would repatriate its citizens soon.

"Vaccinated people should be given priority," he said.
Congress leader on Sunday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "formidable enemy" who 'crushed' his opponents and vowed to send him to political oblivion by following the path of love and non-violence.

During an interaction titled 'Educators Meet' at the St Xavier College here, Gandhi, touring southern Tamil Nadu for the second day as part of his second leg of campaign for the April 6 assembly polls, also said he counted on the people's support to defeat the BJP.

When a participant wanted to know if Gandhi felt it was possible to nudge the Modi government to implement his 'good ideas' rather than waiting to assume power which seemed 'Utopian', he said it could be done with the 'powerful' and 'valuable' support of the people.

It was important to dream big, though some of it may not come true, he said in an obvious reference to snatching the reins of power from the BJP at the Centre.

Continuing, he said, "yes we are fighting a formidable enemy (Modi). We are fighting an enemy that is dominating the money in this country. We are fighting an enemy that is crushing its opponents. But we have done this before. We have defeated a much bigger enemy (British) than this new enemy that has come."



Recalling the country's independence movement, he said the Britishers were much more powerful than Modi would ever be.

"Who is Narendra Modi in comparison to the British empire? nobody. People of this country sent the British empire back and in the same way we will send Narendra Modi back to Nagpur (RSS headquarters in Maharashtra)," he said.

Apparently, he meant that Modi would go into political oblivion after defeat by the Congress with people's support.

Gandhi said this would be achieved without any hatred, anger or violence towards PM Modi or his party even if they may 'abuse' or unleash 'violence' against them.

Congress is an ally of the DMK in Tamil Nadu and BJP is a partner of the ruling AIADMK.

The Congress leader, replying to another participant, alleged the BJP-led Centre claimed to "represent Hinduism" in several ideas they espoused, but in reality it had nothing to do with that faith.

Hindusim does not preach insulting, killing or beating up people, Gandhi asserted, alleging "but they do it."



The essence of all religions was love but the Central government's 'whole game' is to 'steal' money of ordinary people, including farmers through initiatives like farm laws, and give it away to the biggest businesses in the country, he alleged.

To another question, he said he did not like the Centre's New Education Policy, 2020 either.

When a professor alleged the NEP was agenda driven, Gandhi said any policy on education should be an outcome of deliberations with learners and teachers.

"Unfortunately this was not done," he claimed adding it concentrated too much power in the hands of the Centre and it was set to damage the education system.

Though NEP had a positive aspect of flexibility, it was however, a "weapon to communalise, to push a particular ideology into the Indian system and that is why I do not like it."



He batted for more scholarship so that more and more poor students got education and underscored women empowerment.

To a demand on bringing back education to the state list of the Constitution from the concurrent category, he said, "I don't know we will look into it."



Centralising everything was a bad idea and decentralisation and facilitating access to education from all corners of the country were fundamental, he said.

In 1976, the then Congress government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi shifted education, which was previously a state subject, to the concurrent list allowing Centre to legislate on the matter besides the states.

(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.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 28)  Dozens of fishermen are seen to benefit from a donation of boats by San Miguel Corporation.

The company said in a statement that 36 fishing boats will help around 69 fishermen who have been relocated to a new sustainable, disaster-resilient community in Siriaya, Quezon. These fishermen used to live in at-risk areas that will form part of SMC's planned 352 million agro-industrial complex investment in the province.

"We are committed to helping our fishermen families in Sariaya build better lives for themselves by giving them their own homes, providing continuous skills training, resources, and building for them facilities that will enhance their livelihood. We consider them partners in bringing economic growth, jobs, and development to Sariaya and the whole of Quezon province," said SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang in an announcement on Sunday.

The donation is made up of 33 large fishing boats, to be co-owned by two fishermen, and three small ones for single owners.

Ang said the recipients of the boats are long-time fishermen who have been unable to buy their own vessels or had to sell them because of poverty or lack of resources.

Last year, SMC built the multi-purpose Fishermen's Dock on a 3.5-hectare property, which can secure more than 100 boats, particularly during typhoon season.

"Fishing is still one of the main sources of livelihood for many residents in our housing community. That is why we built them their own Fishermen's Dock last year and initiated the boat donation program, to help fulfill their dream of finally owning boats. This will enable them to earn more and bring their daily catch to their families and fulfill the food requirements of the housing community and surrounding areas in Sariaya," Ang said.
Vietnams Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy has called on the international community to assist ASEAN in preventing risks of violence

and helping millions of people in Myanmar who are bearing the economic brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnams Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy (Photo: VNA)

He made the call while addressing the United Nations General Assemblys informal meeting on Myanmar held on February 26 under the chair of its President Volkan Bozkir.

Quy underlined that the current developments in Myanmar are harmful to the stability, development and legitimate interests of its people.

He urged stakeholders to exert restraint, avoid escalating tensions and seek dialogues towards satisfying solutions which are in line with the Constitution and the law, as well as peoples aspiration and will.

The Vietnamese Ambassador also noted that the international community needs to support and create the best conditions for the democratic transition process in Myanmar, respect its independence and national sovereignty, and not interfere in countries interior affairs.

Safety, humanitarian access and essential services for Myanmar people, especially the vulnerable, are also needed to be ensured, he added.

The diplomat emphasised that Vietnam hopes Myanmar will soon become stable, for the sake of the country's development, as well as for peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the building of the ASEAN Community.



Vietnam supports the efforts and mediatory role of Special Envoy Burgener, he added, asking her to coordinate with ASEAN in stabilising the situation in Myanmar.

Regarding ASEANs role, Quy affirmed that ASEAN supports Myanmars efforts to bring peace, stability and the rule of law; foster harmony and reconciliation and ensure sustainable development.

He informed delegates on the ongoing endeavours of ASEAN in the issue, including the release of a statement by the Chair of ASEAN.

People must always be placed at the centre of all dialogues and trust-building measures in Myanmar, Quy stated.

The meeting was attended by UN Special Envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener and representatives of 50 members of the UN and eight regional organisations.

For her part, Burgener urged the international community to join hands in easing tensions in the Southeast Asian nation./.VNA
A former soldier who fell in love with Gina Rinehart's daughter as her bodyguard has released a drama series about his time spent protecting her - and says there's three more seasons to come.

Frenchman Alon Assouline turned to filmmaking and writing a book after parting ways with the Australian mining magnate's notoriously private middle daughter Hope, 35.

Assouline, 45, premiered the first season of 'Dangerous Protection' online this week, with the character based upon Hope, 'Nadia', played by the statuesque Russian actress Anastasia Ozog.

Assouline, depicted as a swaggering, gun-toting bodyguard, is portrayed by Parisian actor Kevin Levy. The four episodes hint at the beginning of a connection between the bodyguard and his soon-to-be protectee.

One features a lengthy montage where Assouline reflects upon moments where he and the glamorous brunette Nadia lock eyes over soft piano music.

Russian actress Anastasia Ozog plays 'Nadia' - the character based on Hope Rinehart - in the series Dangerous Protection. Parisian actor Kevin Levy plays Alon Assouline, her soon-to-be bodyguard, above

Assouline parted ways with Ms Rinehart (above) a few years ago and he has since penned a tell-all e-book and directed a four-part web series based upon events in his life

The series is based on an e-book Assouline previously published. In a previous interview, Assouline said that book was a true account of his life as a bodyguard to the super-rich - just with the identities of his charges changed 'out of respect'.

Hope Rinehart became 'Nadia'. The Rineharts became a 'Ukrainian' family, although one blessed with iron ore wealth and plagued by a court fight over a family trust.

The first season of his show appears to end before Assouline and Nadia's story kicks off in earnest.

However, Assouline is interested in making three further seasons of the show - which would perhaps explore an intriguing meal he claims to have had with mining magnate Mrs Rinehart in Paris and his time as Hope's bodyguard.

In his book, Assouline claimed he was instrumental in mending the businesswoman's relationship with Hope at a meeting at a ritzy Parisian hotel.

'It was the best lunch of my life,' he said. 'During that lunch I saw Madame Rinehart very touched and concerned about Hope's new life in Paris.

In his book, Mr Assouline tells how he had the 'greatest lunch of my life' with mining magnate Mrs Rinehart - pictured at state dinner the White House hosted for Australia in 2019

The pair apparently dined at Paris's George V hotel in Paris, France. Above, its sweeping view of the Eiffel Tower

'I had understood that I had not only the richest woman in the world in front of me but also a grandmother who cared about her daughter and her granddaughter, it touched me a lot, she was so sincere and I decided to do something risky to try and help them, without any superficiality.

'I told both of them that they missed each other a lot,' he said, apparently exaggerating, but leading them to meet up that day. (Mrs Rinehart did not respond to a previous request for comment).

Assouline wrote at length about his relationship with Hope and described how they travelled around the world together, from Paris to New York to Saint Tropez.

In December, Assouline told Daily Mail Australia he changed the Rineharts' names because, over time, he chose to focus the book on what his personal adventure instead.

Who's who in the Rinehart clan: From left: Gina Rinehart, the country's wealthiest person; her youngest daughter, Ginia, who has taken her side in the stoush; and Bianca, her oldest daughter who was appointed trustee of a multi-billion trust set up for the four siblings

A promotional poster for his web series, Dangerous Protection, which is 'based on a true story'

'It was a few years ago and I was angry and in a deep depression,' Assouline said of the writing process. 'I made some mistakes like many lost men have.'

He said of the Rinehart family: 'Let's let the Australian people recognise them, as you did, it will mean they read my book.'

In the publication, he wrote that parting ways with 'Nadia' saw him spiral into a deep depression that left him bedridden for a month, in the fetal position, unable to eat or sleep.

In his own words, he was being 'eaten away by this damn cancer, the cancer of love.'

Assouline filmed his entire show on an iPhone 11 and has pledged to enter his series into the Cannes International Series Festival. Hope Rinehart has never commented on the matter.
Press Release

February 27, 2021 Villanueva: COVID-19 vaccination program law leaves no more room for alibis in delays Senator Joel Villanueva is confident that the newly-signed COVID-19 vaccination program law will help end the lack of vaccines "and erase the shame of our being last in the ASEAN to get one." Because the measure increases the number of buyers, removes taxes, relaxes procurement rules, and creates an indemnity fund, "then it will make it easier for government to close vaccine supply deals," said Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee. "It will make us competitive in the global vaccine race," Villanueva said in a statement. He urged the executive branch to use "this law that Congress wrote and the budget Congress approved" to shore up the national vaccine inventory. "Kung meron pong 5 million vaccine doses before end of March and another 24 million doses then that would only cover 12 percent of the 110 million population at two doses per person. Kaya kulang pa po," he said. "Kaya gamitin po natin ang batas sa pagbili ng bakuna. Kung totoo pong meron na 161 million doses by the end of the year, well and good. If this bill is what is needed to firm up its delivery, then invoke its provisions," Villanueva said. Villanueva said this optimistic forecast will leave 30 million Filipinos still unvaccinated when the pandemic enters its third year. "If they would require 60 million doses, the authority and the guarantee to get these for them are in the law," the senator explained. "We've done our part. It is now their turn to do theirs. It is time for them to deliver. May pondo at polisiya na. Insurance sa babakunahan at indemnity fund na hiningi ng mga suppliers, isinama na po namin. Naglagay na rin po tayo ng vaccination list plus vaccination card. We also removed the taxes and the procurement restrictions," he said. "If they've asked ask to throw in the kitchen sink, we would have done it so there will be no more excuses for the delay. May batas na po, bakuna na lang kulang," Villanueva said.
The Easter Sunday commission and the indictment of a president View(s):

Can a President or a Prime Minister be indicted for gross criminal negligence in respect of his or her duties to the nation? A cynical wag may well remark that, on this same reasoning, virtually the entirety of Sri Lankas political leadership since independence may be criminally liable. And therein hangs the difficult tale of the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks, which has recommended (reportedly) that criminal proceedings be instituted against former President Maithripala Sirisena, under any suitable provision in the Penal Code for failing to take effective action in advance of the carnage.

No bar to legal action against a former President

The (conveniently) amorphous reference to any suitable provision as reported, assumes, of course, particular significence given that this now lands on the lap of the Attorney General. He will need to advise himself in a manner that does not seek refuge in a suitable provision. That amorphousness is a singular luxury permitted only to fact-finding Commissions as we may say, tongue-in-cheek as it were. Rather, the state law officer will be called upon to identify first, the exact criminal/penal provision in play and secondly, the satisfaction of the required criminal standard for indictment to ensue.

Of course, here, our self-same wag may cackle that the countrys prosecutors have been none too fastidious in insisting that high standards apply in issuing indictments. Witness therefore the long line of prosecutions compelled by political motives, including a former Army Commander, numerous journalists and now lawyers who have joined this unfortunately chequered list. Regardless, it is nonsense to assert as the Minister of Justice is reported to have done some days ago, that the Supreme Court must authenticate a prosecution of a former President for acts or commission or omission committed during the time of office.

Article 35 (1) is clear on this point. It states that, while any person holds office as President, no proceedings shall be instituted or continued against him in any court or tribunal in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him either in his official or private capacity. Thus, the legal position that a former President may be liable for such acts upon leaving office is firmly settled in our law and it does not really need grandstanding by party lawyers before television cameras to stress the point. This is evidenced on first principles, going by the literal meaning of Article 35(1) of the Constitution.

Precedents from the past

It also, emerges quite unequivocally from cursus curiae of the Supreme Court. Of these, one of the earliest was Karunatilleke v Dissanayake (1999) where the Court (per MDH Fernando) affirmed in crystal clear language that, Article 35 (1) only prohibits the institution of legal proceedings against the President while in office. Presidential immunity was also discussed more recently in the notable Dissolution Judgment of the Supreme Court (Rajavarothiam Sampanthan and Others v. Attorney General and Others, 2018), where the Court reiterated that, Article 35(1) only protected ..a President [so long as he holds office] from being sued in respect of any act or omission done by him in his official capacity qua President or in his private capacity.

The Court went on moreover to note the signal change brought about by the 19th Amendment where even a sitting President may be liable to a fundamental rights challenge. That, as we may recall, was retained in the 20th Amendment following a not inconsiderable struggle. So while this point surely needs no belabouring, we are on a more contested question here, namely whether criminal liability follows, inter alia, from the fact that the former President knew of a possible terrorist threat but proceeded to India and then Singapore from April 16 to April 21 without making any acting appointment for the post of Minister of Defense.

For those from the now pitiably decapitated Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) who are now throwing up their hands in horror at the possibility of the head of that party being indicted on this basis, it must be reminded that such conclusions on the part of a Commission of Inquiry are not some strange, new phenomena. Rather, we are well used to this, givem excellent precedents from the past. Two good examples that immediately come to mind are the Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry appointed to look into the assassinations of prominent political figures, Vijaya Kumaratunga and Lalith Athulathmudali in the nineteen nineties.

The unhappy context of the present

In these instances, the good Commissioners came to findings that former President Ranasinghe Premadasa was responsible for the two assassinations as he had the political motive to kill and could have done so. The Vijaya Commission concluded that a prima facie case was established against Premadasa for indirect involvement in Kumaratunges assassination as he was implicated by evidence of a motive for the assassination and by circumstantial evidence, of the suppression of the investigation. In turn, the Lalith Commission proceeded to find former President Premadasa implicated in the assassination due to the late Athulathmudali being a formidable political rival of Premadasas, whose death benefited his political persona and ambitions.

Both findings were suspect given that penal culpability did not arise in such circumstances.In fact, when intervening to strike down action taken against several persons, including former Minister Sirisena Cooray based on the Lalith Commission report, the Supreme Court took pains to point out that, mere suspicion cannot form the basis of disciplinary or criminal action. Fittingly quoting Francis Bacon, it was observed that, there were only suspicions in the minds of the Commissioners with regard to the commission of omission of various acts on the part of Cooray, but suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats among birds, they ever fly by twilight. Certainly, these are to be repressed or at least well guarded; for they cloud the mind.

And so we return to the unhappy context of the present. Sri Lanka witnesses report after report of Commission after Commission presented to the public much like the proverbial rabbit out of the magicians hat even as justice is not served to those who have been grievously wronged. Where this particular Report is concerned, its recommendations to rein in extremist Buddhist monks literally foaming at the mouth against religious minorities as well to its calling for a complete ban on wahabi ideology and regulation of madrassas are welcome. Its strictures on the laxity of the then Prime Minister in his unconcern to matters of national security and the dereliction of duties of senior law enforcement and intelligence officials are to be expected.

Our racist and militarised distractions

But in the final result, Catholic and Christian victims of the islamist-inspired jihadist attack on innocents praying in churches and holiday makers celebrating Easter in Colombos hotels almost two years ago are no more enlightened in regard to actual perpetrators of this attack than they were previously. Their plight echoes Tamil Hindu mothers who mourn the fate of their disappeared sons and Muslim parents who wail in memory of their covid-afflicted children cruelly cremated by virtue of a heartlessly racist policy. Shamelessly, the Government reversed that no-cremation policy this week, going on to reassure Muslim countries whose support they are seeking ahead of a hostile resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

One might well ask if this was not a game all along, to divert attention from the monumental failure of governance that we see, from covid vaccinations to the upending of Sri Lankas decades old legal order. The racist and militarised idealogy now runs the machinery of the Sri Lankan State to the discomfiture of even some segments of the Government itself is a distraction, as deadly and as crude as it may be. Its grand majoritarian, ethnocratic triumphalism has precipitated this country into the abysss of international scrutiny which gathers apace.

There is little left but to await the inevitable conseqences of what this entails.
A desperate search for an 18-year-old man who was swept from rocks off Western Australias rugged coastline near Albany continues for a third day, with rescue crews facing extremely dangerous conditions.

The search resumed at first light on Monday with rescue crews facing easterly winds up to 25 knots and strong gusts of about 30 knots. Waves in the area are expected to reach 2.5 metres and 3 metres in offshore waters.

The man had been fishing from rocks off Mermaid Beach, about 70 kilometres east of Albany, with two friends on Saturday when a large wave swept the teenager and one of his friends into the treacherous Southern Ocean.

Swells at the time were about 4-6 metres creating the extremely dangerous environment and treacherous conditions, Southern Police Superintendent Ian Clarke said.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said that the Dangote Refinery would sell refined petroleum products in Naira when it commences production.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Emefiele said this on Saturday during an inspection tour of the sites of Dangote Refinery, Petrochemicals Complex Fertiliser Plant and Subsea Gas Pipeline projects at Ibeju Lekki, Lagos.

The CBN governor said that the first shipment of Urea from the Dangote Fertiliser Plant would begin in March to help boost agricultural practice in the country.

The CBN governor noted that the 15 billion dollar projects being constructed by the Dangote Group would save Nigeria from expending about 41 per cent of its foreign exchange on importation of petroleum products.

Based on agreement and discussions with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the oil companies, the Dangote Refinery can buy its crude in naira, refine it, and produce it for Nigerians use in naira, Mr Emefiele said.

That is the element where foreign exchange is saved for the country becomes very clear. We are also very optimistic that by refining this product here in Nigeria, all those costs associated with either demurrage from import, costs associated with freight will be totally eliminated.

The apex bank governor explained that this will make the price of Nigerias petroleum products cheaper in naira.

If we are lucky that what the refinery produces is more than we need locally you will see Nigerian businessmen buying small vessels to take them to our West African neighbours to sell to them in naira, Mr Emefiele said.

This will increase our volume in naira and help to push it into the Economic Community of West African States as a currency, Mr Emefiele said.

Completion

Speaking on the refinery project, the CBN governor expressed optimism that it would be completed by the first quarter of 2022, adding that this would put an end to the issue of petrol subsidy in the country.

I am saying that by this time next year, our cost of import of petroleum products for petrochemicals or fertiliser will be able to save that which will save Nigerias reserve, he said.

It will help us so that we can begin to focus on more important items that we cannot produce in Nigeria today.

The apex bank governor said the CBN had given a N100 billion intervention to the projects, adding that the bank was ready to support Nigerian businesses set up to uplift the country economically.

In his remarks, Chair of Dangote groups, Aliko Dangote, said that the fertiliser and petrochemicals plants were capable of generating 2.5 billion dollars annually while the refinery would serve Nigeria and other countries across the world.

Mr Dangote said the projects would create jobs for Nigerians and build their capacity in critical areas of the oil and gas industry.

He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN governor for their support toward the completion of the projects.

I will like to thank the president personally for helping us and assisting us in making sure that we are now back on track, he said.

Mr President personally wrote a letter to the president of China and asked them to bring the expatriates that we dont have so that we can continue work.

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During the coronavirus, you will remember that we had one or two cases when it started and everybody ran away from site but right now we are beginning to bring people back and we have about 30,000 people now.

The good part of it is that we have learnt a lot also and there are a lot of Nigerians that just need small training and they are doing extremely well. So now we only need a small number of people coming from abroad just to give that training.

The businessman also called for the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill currently before the National Assembly to maximise the opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

Total dues owed by electricity distribution companies to power producers rose nearly 24 per cent to Rs 1,36,966 crore in December 2020 compared to the same month a year ago, reflecting stress in the sector.

The distribution companies (discoms) owed a total of Rs 1,10,660 crore to power generation firms in December 2019, according to the portal PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators).

The portal was launched in May 2018 to bring in transparency in power purchase transactions between generators and discoms.

In December 2020, the total overdue amount, which was not cleared even after 45 days of grace period offered by generators, stood at Rs 1,27,498 crore as against Rs 97,835 crore in the year-ago period.

Also Read: Rs 3 lakh crore lifeline to Discoms to perform or perish

According to the latest data on the portal, total outstanding dues in December dipped on a month-on-month basis. In November 2020, the total outstanding dues of discoms stood at Rs 1,40,741 crore.

The overdue amount in December 2020 has decreased from Rs 1,27,539 crore in November 2020.

Power producers give 45 days to discoms to pay bills for the electricity supply. After that, outstanding dues become overdue, and generators charge penal interest on that in most cases.

To provide relief to power generation companies (gencos), the Centre enforced a payment security mechanism from August 1, 2019. Under this mechanism, discoms are required to open letters of credit for getting power supply.

The central government had also given some breathers to discoms for paying dues to power generating companies in view of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The government had also waived penal charges for late payment of dues in the directive.

In May, the government announced Rs 90,000 crore liquidity infusion for discoms under which these utilities would get loans at economical rates from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC Ltd.

It was a government initiative to help gencos to remain afloat. Later, the liquidity infusion package was increased to Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

Also Read: Delhi's power demand picks up in January after COVID-19-hit 2020

Discoms in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu account for a major portion of dues to power gencos, the data showed.

Overdue of independent power producers amounted to 32.14 per cent of the total overdue of Rs 1,27,498 crore of discoms in December. The proportion of central PSU gencos in the overdue was 33.57 per cent.

Among the central public sector power generators, NTPC alone has an overdue amount of Rs 17,946.97 crore on discoms, followed by Damodar Valley Corporation at Rs 6,682.61 crore, NLC India at Rs 6,123.78 crore, NHPC at Rs 3,141.43 crore, and THDC India at Rs 2,022.23 crore.

Among private generators, discoms owe the highest overdue of Rs 16,878.25 crore to Adani Power followed by Bajaj Group-owned Lalitpur Power Generation Company Ltd at Rs 4,462.10 crore, SEMB (Sembcorp) at Rs 2,735.62 crore, and GMR at Rs 2,195.12 crore. The overdue of non-conventional energy producers like solar and wind stood at Rs 12,117.78 crore in December.
Months after facing international criticism over 'forced cremations of Covid-19 victims', Sri Lanka has now revised the controversial order that deprived Muslims in the island nation of their right to bury their loved ones. Since last year in April when Sri Lanka recorded its first Covid case, the government cited opinions of experts and had mandated cremation of Covid-19 victims.

Even as the World Health Organisation had clarified that the dead bodies of Covid-19 victims can be 'buried or cremated,' Sri Lanka forced its decision over cremation, as the government further claimed that 'burial of Covid victims would contaminate the water table that would then spread the pandemic.'

READ | Sri Lanka Approaches India For Support Ahead Of UN Human Rights Council Sessions In Geneva

Many rights groups including the UNHRC also condemned the forced norm implemented by Sri Lanka. However, now referring to the reversal of the order over cremation and burial, the head of a rights body asserted "This is a long-awaited but welcome move by the Sri Lankan authorities. Forced cremations, which should never have been carried out in the first place, have denied the Muslim community the right to say goodbye to loved ones in accordance with their religious beliefs."

READ | China Defends Sri Lanka's Human Rights Record At UNHRC, Cites 'internal Affairs'

Calling the regulation over cremation cruel, she further pointed "The ending of this cruel practice, which has not been scientifically proven to prevent the spread of the virus, allows Sri Lankas Muslim minority a dignified burial in line with Islamic burial rites. The decision is a testament to the tireless struggle of families of victims, activists, and members of the Muslim community."

READ | Sri Lanka Nixes China's Sinopharm Vaccines, Will Use India-made Jabs For Mass Inoculation

Cremation of bodies is forbidden in Islam. The reversal of order also comes after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Sri Lanka where he met Muslim minority leaders. The minority leaders were quoted by PTI as saying that 'the decision to allow burials was connected with Sri Lanka wanting the support of Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC),' at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

READ | Pakistan PM Imran Khan's Sri Lanka Visit Expense Out; Team Claims It's 1/8th Of Ex-PM's
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By Matt Spetalnick, Dave Graham and Frank Jack Daniel

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is expected to ask President Joe Biden to consider sharing part of the U.S. coronavirus vaccine supply with its poorer southern neighbor when the two leaders hold a virtual summit on Monday, U.S. and Mexican officials said.

Biden is open to discussing the matter as part of a broader regional effort to cooperate in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but will maintain as his number one priority the need to first vaccinate as many Americans as possible, a White House official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Lopez Obrador has been one of the most vocal leaders in the developing world pressing the richest countries to improve poorer nations access to the vaccines. He has called the current distribution system totally unfair.

We fully expect that to come up, the White House official said when asked whether Lopez Obrador was likely to raise a request for shared vaccines when the leaders hold their first virtual meeting since Bidens Jan. 20 inauguration.

A Mexican official said Lopez Obrador would ask for a loan of the U.S. vaccine supplies, to be paid back when vaccines that Mexico has contracts for are delivered later in the year.

Lopez Obradors office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to Mexican media outlet Proceso, Lopez Obrador raised the issue with Biden in a January call shortly after his swearing-in.

The agenda for the summit, to be held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns, is also expected to include migration, the thorniest bilateral issue, together with law enforcement cooperation and economic development plans for southern Mexico and Central America, the U.S. official said.

Mexico had a testy relationship with Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump, though Lopez Obrador, an often abrasive leftist, forged a mutually beneficial partnership with the Republican president as they worked to stem migration from impoverished Central America.

Story continues

Biden has been undoing what his White House has called draconian Trump-era immigration policies that closed off routes to asylum in the United States, while trying to curb an increasing flow of new undocumented arrivals until the system for legal migration is overhauled.

Seeking to turn the page on Trump, the White House official said Biden was determined to move away from the former presidents governing by tweet and re-establish more traditional contacts.

The official made clear that while Biden is focused on getting jabs in the arms of Americans, the United States recognizes the need to forge a strategy to assist its neighbors since national borders cannot seal it off from the pandemic.

Once we actually get the pandemic under control, the economic recovery is one where we're going to have to eventually open our borders, the U.S. official said. But we cannot open our borders if Canada and Mexico have not similarly addressed the pandemic. So collaboration with Mexico is a top priority.

While Biden has increased funding for international efforts to combat COVID-19, he could face political fallout if he moves too fast to ship vaccines to other countries when the United States is ramping up but still struggling to meet domestic needs.

Mexico's inoculation program has been delayed by slow shipments, despite agreements with international drugmakers meant to purchase doses for the country's 126 million people.

With Pfizer Inc deliveries running behind schedule, Mexico has scrambled to fill the gap, landing initial deliveries of Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinovac.

The government has given a first shot to just over 1.8 million people, or 1.4% of the population. Mexico has had more than 185,000 COVID-19 deaths and more than 2 million coronavirus infections.

Another source of U.S.-Mexican tension was a now-dropped U.S. drug investigation into former Mexican defense minister Salvador Cienfuegos. The U.S. arrest of Cienfuegos in October ruffled feathers in Mexico, which retaliated with restrictions on U.S. drug enforcement operations.

Asked whether Mexico had reduced security cooperation, the White House official said: What we have found is that our collaboration and communication with Mexican law enforcement continues."

Lopez Obrador has also told the United States not to meddle in Mexican energy policy, reflecting a view that the new U.S. administration would seek to defend investor interests as Mexico moves to change rules in favor of state power and oil companies.

Despite some investors view that the policy shift could violate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal, the White House official said its not clear whether theres been a violation of USMCA while insisting any differences could be worked out within a context of respect.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick in Washington and Dave Graham and Frank Jack Daniel in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; Editing by William Mallard)
A day after the Delhi Police nabbed two individuals over a conspiracy to assassinate Kashmiri activist Sushil Pandit, sources have reported that the special cell has recovered cell phones from one of the accused's relatives' residence which he used to communicate with his aides. Sources in the Delhi Police have also informed that Sushil Pandit was on their hit list for his speech favouring the revocation of Article 370 and advocating for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits. The case has been taken over by the Special Cell after reports of the involvement of foreign handlers emerged.

Speaking to Republic TV on Sunday, Sushil Pandit said, "I was very surprised to hear that two individuals have been nabbed by the Delhi police. They have recovered some automatic weapons from them. They have recovered a few pictures of mine, some contact details and they have confessed to the fact that they have been promised Rs 10 lakhs to kill me. They hail from Punjab and they are connected to a network that runs deep upto Dubai and there is a possible relationship with our friendly neighbour."

READ | Delhi Police Arrests 2 For Plotting To Assassinate Kashmiri Activist Sushil Pandit

"I was there in 1984 and the JNU campus has sadly been a hotbed of anti-India forces. Forces inimical to us as a society, democracy and polity. I have been going there because it has been my institutions," the Kashmiri activist said about his visits to the JNU.

Hitting out at Pakistan for continuing to fund terrorism, Pandit said, "I never thought the neighbouring state of Pakistan, instead of feeling the shame, and embarrassment of its misdeeds being exposed in the world arena, instead of correcting itself it would actually try and silence these voices. They are compounding their blunders even as they fight their grey list in FATF, they are walking into this swamp of criminal jihad unleashed on us."

"We have had a very troubled past in terms of colonial rulers and the invaders before that ruling over the country for over a thousand years. Kashmiri Hindu exodus from the valley 31 years ago was arguably the largest expulsion of a community since independence accompanied with unprecedented violence and great deal of bloodshed. Primarily because we were Hindus. Because there hasn't been any redressal to that, there hasn't even been an acknowledgment to that , we were victims of a genocide, there hasn't been a punishment to those who committed this henious crime," The Kashmiri activist said while speaking of the mass exodus.

Delhi Police arrest 2

The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested two persons for conspiring to assassinate Kashmiri activist Sushil Pandit. As per the Delhi Police, Sukhwinder (25) and Lakhan (21) were caught by the RK Puram Police after they received intel that the two were planning an assassination plot on social media networking appSignal.

READ | Farmer Protests: Kejriwal Alleges 'BJP Govt Worse Than Britishers' At Meerut Mahapanchayat

"The staff of police station RK Puram has arrested two persons Sukhwinder, 25 and Lakhan, 21, both acquaintances from Punjab and were sent to Delhi on the order of Prince alias Tuti. During interrogation, it came out that Prince is facing a murder trial and is a childhood friend of Lakhan. The duo were offered Rs 10 lakh to assassinate Human Rights Activist and CEO of Hive Communication India Sushil Pandit. There were provided with 4 pistols and 4 cartridges and a mobile phone containing a photo of Sushil Pandit," said DCP Ingit Pratap Singh while addressing a press conference.

An FIR has been filed by the Delhi Police under sections 120(B) and 115 of the IPC involving charges of criminal conspiracy and abetment of offense, punishable with death. The case has been transferred to the Delhi Police Special Cell with sources revealing that a foreign hand could be involved in the incident. As per preliminary intel, Pakistan-backed ISI is said to be a part of the assassination plot, with network links to a Dubai-based handler.

READ | Farooq Abdullah Breaks Silence On Azad's Praise For PM, Backs Rahul's 'North-South Remark'

READ | Puducherry Speaker Quits On Health Ground Days After Imposition Of President's Rule In UT
COLUMBIA  Theres a story the fostered children of Carl and Mary Brown like to tell.

At any given time, sweets and candy were hidden throughout their Elgin residence, setting up an irresistible treasure hunt for their intakes. Once discovered, the stash would be relocated.

It was an impromptu game that also revealed to these youths with upsetting pasts the innate kindness and loving nature of family.

They showed me who God is just by, like, their actions," the Browns' youngest son, Mackenzie, one of the 200 children the Browns fostered over 44 years, said in a 2016 video tribute to the couple.

Carl Brown, considered one of the state's fiercest advocates for child welfare who ran the South Carolina Foster Parent Association, died Feb. 26 at the age of 81.

Carl always was a man of example. He didn't just talk about it, he actually fostered for years and even adopted children from the system, said Enid Jenkins, director of the state Department of Social Services Lowcountry region. "Carl was all about helping to do what was necessary to keep children in the least restrictive setting possible, so this is a tremendous loss to us.

The path toward the Browns' calling began in the early 1970s, when they fostered siblings who would become their first adoptions. They would adopt six children, including Mackenzie, in addition to having three biological children of their own.

"It's been the greatest thing that we've ever done," Carl Brown told The Sumter Item newspaper about foster parenting in 2018. "It's become a part of our lives, almost our whole life."

Named Angels in Adoption by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in 2014, the Browns helped advocate for children. In 2018, they backed a measure signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster that gave adoptees 18 years and older access to their birth certificates.

McMaster appointed Brown to a 2018 advisory panel that recommended hiring Michael Leach to run DSS, which McMaster did.

State Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, served with Brown on that committee.

Carl and Mary have worked tirelessly with the Foster Parents Association and changed the lives of so many children," Shealy told The Post and Courier in a statement. Carl will be greatly missed by the many who knew him and the many children he brought into his home as his own."

One of them was Christopher Brown, another of their adopted children, who said growing up under the Browns roof not only gave a sense of personal value, but instilled in him what it meant to be family.

Going through these doors, for us growing up here and moving out, it changes you," Christopher Brown said in a tribute video. "Its not like growing up in any regular house. You learn there is a definition of family that goes beyond just blood."

Browns work wasnt limited to South Carolina.

In 1987 while serving as vice president of the International Foster Parents Association, he testified before a state House panel in Florida that was exploring how to solve a housing shortage for foster children in the Sunshine State.

We need to recognize foster parents are professional parents," Brown said according to a report from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper. "We tend to treat these homes as a cheap hotel.

Jenkins said the states foster care community was shaken by Browns unexpected death, but the legacy he built will continue through the hundreds of professional development and training courses he offered to prospective foster parents.

As of Jan. 1, some 3,937 children were in foster care statewide, and more than 2,300 family placements were needed, according to DSS data.

He opened up a whole new world for some of our older adults who realized they still had something they could give a child. I just cannot believe that Carl Brown is gone, Jenkins said. But when you have done all of the work that God has called you to do, he will touch you and say, sit down servant, job well done. That was Carl.

Carl Brown is survived by his wife, Mary. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
WINNIPEG - Manitoba Opposition New Democrats are promising to create a Crown corporation to improve internet and cellular service in northern and rural areas, if they win the next election in 2023.

Manitoba NDP opposition leader Wab Kinew speaks to media after Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba Janice Filmon read the Speech from the Throne at the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg, Wednesday, October 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

WINNIPEG - Manitoba Opposition New Democrats are promising to create a Crown corporation to improve internet and cellular service in northern and rural areas, if they win the next election in 2023.

The idea was one more than 20 resolutions passed at the party's annual convention Saturday, in addition to calls for a higher minimum wage, higher staffing levels in health care, and a ban on new pipelines and fracking.

"I hear about it time and time again ... everywhere, there's so many issues with connectivity," NDP Leader Wab Kinew told the convention, which was held online.

Some delegates spoke of spotty or non-existent cell service on northern roads. Shelley Wiggins, a delegate from Swan River, told the convention rural students in her area are hard-pressed to get internet access.

"The solution that the school division has for them ... is to drive 30, 40 (minutes), even an hour into town and park outside the school building to access the internet," she said.

Manitoba Hydro has an extensive fibre-optic network along its major transmission lines, and the Progressive Conservative government issued a request for proposals last year to connect that network to more homes and businesses in outlying areas.

"Our government has engaged in a fair and open process that is designed to bring reliable connectivity to rural and northern Manitoba," Blake Robert, media relations director for the Tory cabinet, wrote in an email Saturday.

"We look forward to sharing the results of that process in the near future," Robert said, adding the issue was not resolved when the NDP was in government between 1999 and 2016.

Kinew said he is concerned the Tories may privatize the network. Manitoba Hydro recently folded its telecom division into its general operations, and a recent review of the Crown corporation by former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall suggests Hydro should focus on its core responsibilities.

Exactly what a new Crown corporation would look like under an NDP government  and whether it might enter retail service, for example  remains to be seen.

"We'll start working on articulating this vision a little bit more as we head into the next election," Kinew said in an interview after the convention.

On the province's current $11.90 hourly minimum wage, NDP delegates passed a resolution that called for it to be raised to a living wage, "keeping in mind the living wage may exceed $15 an hour when the NDP forms government."

Kinew said he thinks $15 an hour is achievable "over a term in government".

Delegates also approved a resolution that calls on the federal and provincial governments to ban any new pipeline projects, fracking and the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The idea was resisted by some.

"We need to strategically plan where we're going to be three years from now and how the decision by this resolution may affect potential voters that support us," said delegate Ron Kostyshyn, who lost an attempt to have the matter referred to the NDP provincial council for further study.

Recent opinion polls have suggested the NDP have gained popular support as that of the governing Tories has dropped during the pandemic. A survey by Probe Research Inc. in December suggested the NDP had surpassed the Tories for the first time since 2016.

One political analyst said Manitobans seem to have become more comfortable with Kinew, who took over the NDP helm in 2017, and have been displeased with the Tory government's handing of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think, increasingly, people are probably familiar with Wab Kinew. They feel like they know him better than they did in the last election," said Royce Koop, who teaches political studies at the University of Manitoba.

"I think, increasingly, the NDP is in a good position to translate this (dissatisfaction with the government) into actual support, actual votes in the next election."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2021
Kildare Citizens Information Service answers some of your questions.

I clicked on a link in a text message that turned out to be a scam. What should I do next?

Scams target people of all ages and backgrounds. Scams are about tricking you into parting with your money and are becoming more and more sophisticated and difficult to spot. During busy seasons, such as Christmas, fraud and other scams increase.

If you suspect youve been scammed you should act immediately:

l Stop all contact with the scammer;

l Do not send any more payments;

l If you paid by credit or debit card, tell your bank or card provider immediately;

l Report the incident to your local garda station  scamming is a criminal matter;

l Gather any records you have about the scam (emails or other communications);

l Protect your devices by resetting your passwords and update your anti-virus software;

l Report the incident to consumer protection agencies such as the CPCC, for advice and to help stop other people being caught in the same scam.

You may be able to get your money back depending on what happened and how you paid the scammer.

You may get your money back if you:

l Notice money has been taken from your account without your authorisation, and you contact your bank immediately. In most circumstances, your bank must refund you for an unauthorised payment.

l Bought something from a scammer with your debit card, credit card or PayPal. You can ask your bank or credit provider to reverse the transaction through a process known as a chargeback.

Its unlikely you will get your money back if you:

l Paid by bank transfer. It can be harder to get money back, but the sooner you contact your bank the better.

l Paid by money transfer services such as MoneyGram, Pay Point or Western Union.

l Paid by vouchers or gift card.

To protect yourself in future, you should not share your personal information if you dont know who you are dealing with. Trust your instinct and always ask yourself is it safe?

You can read more about how to protect yourself from scams on citizensinformation.ie. We also have information on new scam warnings.

I ordered something online from a UK website  will I have to pay extra charges when it arrives because of Brexit?

From January 1, 2021, you may have to pay extra tax when having your online shopping delivered from the UK (this does not include Northern Ireland). This is because the UK has left the European Union (Brexit)and the transition period that was in place ended on December 31, 2020.

Depending on the items value and where it was made (place of origin), you may have to pay:

l Value Added Tax (VAT)

l Customs duty

How will I know if I owe these taxes?

If your package is valued at 22 or less (including the transport, insurance and handling costs), you do not have to pay any VAT or customs duty. However, if your package is valued at 23 or more (including the transport, insurance and handling costs), you have to pay VAT. The standard rate of VAT for most items bought in Ireland is 21%.

If the items were made in the UK and are valued at 150 or more (not including transport, insurance and handling charges), you do not have to pay customs duty.

However, if the items were not made in the UK and are valued at 150 or more (excluding transport, insurance and handling charges), you may have to pay customs duty. The amount of customs duty you pay depends on the type of product you buy.

You should be aware that the value limits are for the whole delivery, not just one item.

How do I pay these charges, and who do I pay them to?

You may have already paid Irish VAT and customs duty during the checkout stage of your online purchase. This is because some UK retailers are registered with Revenue and automatically charge the relevant taxes as part of the purchase. Check your receipt (this is usually sent to you by email) to see if you have already paid Irish VAT or customs duty.

If the UK business is not registered with Revenue, the postal service or courier will send you a bill before delivering your package. This is because the postal service or courier completes all the relevant customs declarations, including where the product is manufactured. You will usually be charged an administration fee for this service, which can be a minimum of 10 to 15.

Are there any other changes to my consumer rights when I buy from the UK?

As a result of Brexit, there are changes to your consumer rights when buying online from businesses in the UK. You will still have consumer rights but they will be set down in UK law and not EU law. It is very important to check the terms and conditions on the sellers website to find out your rights around:

l Returning the item if you change your mind;

l Cancelling the item before it is dispatched;

l Complaining if something goes wrong.

Citizens Information Centres are currently not open to drop-in callers. You can contact your local centre by phone or email for information and advice.

 Newbridge CIC Telephone: 0761 07 8300 newbridge@citinfo.ie

 Maynooth CIC Telephone: 0761078100 maynooth@citinfo.ie.
The United States allows more than 10 million American children to live in poverty, bereft of resources and opportunity. The wealthiest nation on earth does less than almost every other developed nation to help children who grow up in low-income families.

These millions of individual tragedies are particularly heartbreaking because there is an obvious solution that has proved its value in other developed nations. The corrective for child poverty is for the government to give money to people who have children.

The Biden administration is working with congressional Democrats on a plan to significantly increase federal aid for families with children as part of a $1.9 trillion bill that also includes money to confront the coronavirus pandemic and to ameliorate its economic consequences.

At a cost of $110 billion for one year, the proposed benefit would cut the number of children living in poverty by 45%, according to the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University.

The money is an investment. Children raised in conditions of deprivation develop more health problems and complete fewer years of school.

The old conservative line that government handouts inculcate dependence gets things backward. Deprivation produces dependence. Resources can help people to escape.

Teaching people to fish is a good idea, but it is important to feed them while they are learning.

A 2016 study examined the lives of children whose families received federal aid as part of an early 20th century federal program called Mothers Pension. The study concluded that these children stayed in school longer than their peers and found higher-paying jobs after graduating.

The new benefit could also help adults realize their dreams. American women have fewer children than they say they want, a gap that does not exist in Europe. One obvious explanation is that Americans, unlike Europeans, cant afford to have as many children as they want.

The Biden plan gets a bunch of big things right. It would provide the same amount of annual aid to most American families  $3,600 for each child under the age of 6; $3,000 for each child between the ages of 6 and 17. This is good policy because the need for help extends well above the poverty line. It is also good politics: Broad programs have proved effective in reducing poverty because they retain broad political support.

Theres another good reason to tie benefits to the number of children rather than the level of income. The federal program commonly known as welfare, which provided money to lower-income mothers until it was effectively shut down in the 1990s, was criticized for discouraging work by tying benefits to income. Earn more, get less. The Biden plan avoids this trap.

The main problem with the Biden plan is that it would last for only one year.

The one-year benefit is a political gambit. The Biden plan has not attracted any Republican support in the narrowly divided Senate, so Democrats can pass it only through the process known as reconciliation, which allows some fiscal measures to pass by a simple majority, subject to strict cost limits. Democrats hope that a taste of the new benefit will rouse public support for a permanent program.

It would be better to borrow a few pages from an alternative plan introduced by Sen. Mitt Romney, the Utah Republican.

Romney is proposing a permanent benefit along with a package of tax increases and spending cuts to pay for it. Analysts estimate that the cuts in existing spending programs would exceed the value of the new benefits for some families, but it would be straightforward to substitute other sources of revenue. The key point is that Democrats can pass a permanent change now by doing the hard but necessary work of figuring out how to pay for it.Romneys plan has another advantage that Democrats ought to incorporate, too.

The federal government currently allows parents to reduce their federal income tax payments by up to $2,000 per child. In some cases, lower-income households that owe less than $2,000 in taxes can instead receive a portion of the benefit in the form of a direct payment.

The Biden administration has proposed to increase the benefit to a minimum of $3,000 per child, and to make it fully refundable, meaning that lower-income families would receive in cash any portion of the benefit that they did not use to reduce their income tax obligation.

Crucially, under the version of the plan passed by the House Ways and Means Committee this month, the government would distribute the money in monthly chunks.

The problem is that parents would need to file tax returns to claim payments from the IRS, even if they did not owe any taxes. The evidence suggests that many will fail to do so. Only about 4 in 5 eligible workers, for example, claim the similarly structured earned-income tax credit.

The Romney plan, by contrast, would rely on the Social Security Administration to distribute monthly payments.

The average developed nation provides single parents with direct aid equal to about 14% of median income, and two-parent households with aid equal to about 5% of median income, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The United States sits at the bottom of that table. Only Turkey provides less aid to families.

Other kinds of aid, including requiring companies to provide paid family leave, and ensuring the availability of affordable child care, also are more common in the rest of the developed world.

When it comes to child poverty, its time to make the United States less exceptional.

 The New York Times
MASON CITY, Iowa  A man accused of crashing into a house has pleaded guilty to drunk driving.

Authorities say Trace J. Kessler, 22 of Manly, crashed his car into a home on the corner of Federal Avenue and 7th Street NW in Mason City on August 10, 2020.

Kessler has entered a guilty plea to OWI-1st offense and been ordered to spend two days in jail and pay a $1,250 fine. He must also pay $1,000 for damages.
Like most people, I found disquieting the rioting, looting, and arson we saw almost nightly across America last summer. The scenes of chaos, violence, senseless acts of destruction, and thievery struck a chord with many people because we saw that civilization is fragile. People protected by the anonymity of mobs and masks are free to behave as their nature dictates. Mobs are not constrained by limits of conscience or consequence. I know, for I had seen this all before.

On the evening of April 30, 1992, the second day of the Rodney King riots, I stood on the corner of Third and Normandie in Koreatown. Groups of gang members, mostly illegal immigrants from Guatemala and El Salvador, were running here and there with the products of their looting, although not all the looters were gang members. Women with young children were also helping themselves to the spoils of chaos. Convenience stores, restaurants, nail shops, even a pet store were looted and set ablaze. The Rodney King Riots were never about justice, and by April 30 they had devolved into an orgy of violence.

From the corner, I could see a liquor store that a husband and wife from Korea ran. At the stores entrance stood two Hispanic gang members, one on each side of the front door. Across the street, their crew was looting a building that housed a computer and business machine supplier and swiftly carrying the proceeds across the street, past the two gangbangers at the door, and into the liquor stores back storeroom and walk-in cooler.

This process was repeated dozens of times over the next twenty minutes and ended when the looters had removed everything of value from the computer store. They then put it to the torch. All the while, behind the liquor stores counter, stood the Korean shopkeeper, a nervous smile on his face.

The liquor store survived that night because local gang members used it as a warehouse. The shopkeeper preserved his property and livelihood by assisting them.

The shopkeepers dilemma and his choice echoed in 2020 with the mob violence. Absent structural order, what holds society together? What constrains the individual, either the illegal immigrant gang member or Korean shop owner, when there are no consequences for his negative actions. Historically, there have been two primary constraints on an individuals actions aside from the sanctions of the societal structure.

The first constraint is community. The looters and arsonists in Koreatown were not Korean, African American, Filipino, or Americans of European descent. They were almost exclusively illegal immigrants from Latin America, mostly young men without familial ties or connections to the wider culture.

No community constraints acted on them in any significant way. Instead, they were governed by the constraints of their immediate associations, their fellow gang members. The gang members voluntarily chose to exist outside the rules of civilized society and the anarchy of the riots merely provided an opportunity for material gain without consequences.

The second constraint is what Aquinas wrote about as synderesis or moral consciousness. We all possess a sense of what is right and what is wrong regarding an action, a sense that is innate and integral to being human. Knowing what is right is vastly different from acting in accordance with what is right. What also influences our decisions is what we perceive as our immediate interests.

If confronted with the choice of losing a business and livelihood or cooperating with the gangs, many of us might make the same choice as our shopkeeper. But the choice to assist the gang cannot be considered without also considering the moral implications of that choice. It is precisely these types of situations, where mob violence has negated obligations to the community and, therefore, its constraints, that we see constraints of conscience isolated and independent.

If our participation in society is solely transactional -- that is, we only make Hobbesian bargains in exchange for a degree of profit and protection -- it would make little difference whether the power with which we bargain is an illegal immigrant street gang or a duly elected political body. For a functional society, there must be (and, indeed, there is) much more at stake. Right and wrong are not transactional.

The stakes were extremely high that night, and the two subsequent nights but the stakes have no bearing on whether an act is right or wrong. There are, of course, always conflicting interests. Assisting the gangs in looting a neighboring business was morally wrong, but could the immorality be ameliorated by the shopkeeper saving the livelihood that gave his family security? Without question, he stood to lose most of his material possessions if he did not cooperate, but he stood to lose no more than his neighbors whose businesses and livelihoods were going up in smoke.

A powerful argument could be made that there was nothing the shopkeeper could do to save the business across the street from being burned to the ground and that he was making the best of an unbelievably bad situation. But consider how we would feel about a Nazi collaborator in occupied Europe. The term Quisling still has currency and meaning for a reason. To collaborate with evil is considered evil.

In the case of the shopkeeper, the fact that he is on the margins of the greater community could mitigate his collaboration with the gangs. Arguably, his outsider status means he did not betray anyone. However, in the collapse of order, there must be something that transcends immediate expediency. The shopkeepers actions betrayed more than the neighbor across the street. His actions betrayed a moral imperative not to collaborate with evil.

Last summer we saw an interesting parallel related to the BLM riots. Business owners in various cities across the country posted BLM or Black Owned Business signs in their windows, trying to curry favorable discrimination from the rioters. It may be possible, though dubious, to consider the motives and intents of BLM in a favorable light, but to ask for favoritism during a wave of destruction based on skin color or political leanings is to be complicit in evil.

Many large corporations, news networks, and political leaders were also complicit with this evil. Amazon, Unilever, and Gatorade were just a few of the multinational corporations donating to BLM. Many news outlets and politicians gave support in the form of portraying actions that were incontrovertibly evil, as something virtuous. Even our now-Vice President Kamala Harris supported the riots saying, It will go on; it should go on.

That night in the Koreatown liquor store, and in hundreds of shops across the country this past summer, moral choices were made with much hanging in the balance. However, while corporate leaders and politicians also made moral choices, they had nothing in the balance.

Kamala Harris could encourage the rioters and lose nothing. The corporate leaders and network pundits risked nothing when they supported looting and arson that destroyed dozens of communities and countless lives. And perhaps most heinously of all, our leadership class failed to call out the lies upon which BLM was founded thereby perpetuating the evil it spreads.

Chris Boland can be reached at cboland7@outlook.com.

IMAGE: Black Owned Business sign. YouTube screengrab.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Saturday called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean and Amraha forces from Ethiopias embattled Tigray region. At a state presser, Blinken said that the US was gravely concerned about reports of atrocities, human rights violations, and the worsening crisis in the northern Tigray. Appealing to the African Union and other international partners for intervention, Blinken denounced neighbouring Eritrea and Ethiopia, as he asserted that those responsible for the violence must be held accountable.

We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals and displacements, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations and abuses by several parties that multiple organizations have reported in Tigray," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. "The immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray are essential first steps," he added. Blinkers remarks come just a day after Amnesty International released a report alleging that the Eritrean troops eradicated hundreds of unarmed civilians in mass killing in the northern city of Axum. The agency interviewed at least 41 survivors and witnesses to mass killings in November.

Troops carried out extrajudicial executions, indiscriminate shelling, and widespread looting, the report alleged. It added, Eritrean troops fighting in Ethiopias Tigray state systematically conducted house-to-house raids and carried out a massacre as evidence of new mass burials near two of the citys churches emerged on the Satellite imagery analysis by the organizations Crisis Evidence Lab.

"The immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray are essential first steps. They should be accompanied by unilateral declarations of cessation of hostilities by all parties to the conflict and a commitment to permit unhindered delivery of assistance to those in Tigray. The United States is committed to working with the international community to achieve these goals. To that end, USAID will deploy a Disaster Assistance Response Team to Ethiopia to continue delivering life-saving assistance," a statement on situation in Tigray by the US State Department read.

[Eritrean forces target. Credit: Amnesty report]

Read: Ethiopia Seeks Investment From India In Priority Sectors

Read: Amnesty Report Describes Axum Massacre In Ethiopia's Tigray

This atrocity ranks among the worst documented so far in this conflict. Besides the soaring death toll, Axums residents were plunged into days of collective trauma amid violence, mourning, and mass burials, Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's Director for East and Southern Africa said in the report.

The United States is gravely concerned by reports of atrocities in Ethiopia's Tigray region. We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals, sexual violence, and other violations of human rights. The international community must work together to prevent further atrocities.  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 28, 2021

200,000 people displaced

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's federal army had launched a military offensive that ousted the former local ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), from the regional capital Mekelle in November, last year. n estimated 2.6 million people in Tigray and the adjacent regions of Amhara, Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, and SNNPR were left ravaged due to the armed conflict and needed humanitarian assistance, the Ethiopian Red Cross Society said in a press release.

In January 2021 alone, close to 200,000 people have been internally displaced in Ethiopia, and an estimated 60,000 fled into Sudan, Ethiopia Red Cross report revealed. Earlier, the President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Francesco Rocca, conducted a 5-day visit to the former capital of Tigray Mekele which Ethiopia has seized and expressed shock. I am very concerned about the conditions that I saw during my visit, he said in an official made following his visit. People were internally displaced by the fighting, especially children, their mothers, and the elderly, he said.

Read: Ethiopia's Tigray In 'grave' Situation, People Forced To Eat Leaves To Survive, Says UN

Read: 'We'll Be Left Without Families': Fear In Ethiopia's Tigray
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman prior to a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Feb. 20, 2019. (Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia Continues Neutrality Over Kashmir, Which Pakistan Seeks to Undermine

News Analysis

NEW DELHIWhile Saudi Arabia maintains its neutrality over the Kashmir issue in Indias favor, Indias archrival Pakistan is making all efforts to mend its relations with the Gulf country and woo it to change its stance on the territorial dispute.

These diplomatic moves are occurring in the context of India opposing terrorism in Kashmir, China seeking greater influence in the Middle East, and Iranand possibly Saudi Arabiaseeking nuclear weapons.

India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars over Kashmir, a Muslim majority region that before the partition of the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan was ruled by a Hindu ruler.

The region gained strategic importance after World War II as it shared borders with Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Tibet and was separated from the Soviet Union by a narrow stretch of the Hindu Kush mountains.

In a sharp turn of events, during and after the accession of Kashmir to India in 1947, the entire map around Kashmir changedTurkestan and Tibet were captured by Maos Peoples Liberation Army and became the Xinjiang and Tibet Autonomous regions, while Pakistan emerged to its west, a border that remains in dispute after multiple wars.

Abhinav Pandya, a strategic analyst and the CEO of the India-based think tank Usanas Foundation, pointed to three events in 1979 that had a direct impact on Kashmir: the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the Islamic Revolution of Iran, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. After that year, the Saudis sponsored Wahhabism across the globe. Wahhabism is an austere form of Islam that takes all those who dont practice its strict doctrines as heathens.

Muslim majority Kashmir became a natural choice for Wahhabi proselytization because of the deep penetration of Pakistan, which had historically close relations with the Saudis, Pandya said.

Since then, the Saudis have had ambiguous stands on Kashmir on various global diplomatic forums; theyve often supported Pakistans stance before recently taking to neutrality in Indias favor.

During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Riyadh in October 2019, Saudi Arabia maintained its neutrality over Kashmir and backed India on cross-border terrorism.

Pakistani residents watch the speech of Prime Minister Imran Khan as he addresses the nation after his visit to Saudi Arabia, at an electronic shop in Islamabad on Oct. 24, 2018. (Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images)

Spat Between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan

While Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share close economic, political, and military ties, relations hit a bump last year after the Saudis didnt heed Pakistans demand to call a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which Saudi Arabia leads, to discuss the revocation of Jammu and Kashmirs original political status by the Modi government, wrote Brookings Institution research fellow Madiha Afzal.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi asked the Saudis to show leadership and threatened to go to Iran, Malaysia, and Turkey for support if the Saudis didnt call a meeting of OIC foreign ministers over Kashmir, Afzal said.

Meanwhile, the Saudis also denied permission to the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah to organize Kashmir Black Day programs on Oct. 27 last year, much to Pakistans dismay, Indian media reported.

The ruler of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India on Oct. 27, 1947, and Pakistan observes that date as the Kashmir Black Day every year.

In recent years, Indias relationships with the Gulf Arab countries have significantly improved, particularly with Saudi Arabia, because India is an emerging economy and a key global market, Michael Kugelman, the deputy director of the Asia program at the Wilson Center in Washington, told The Epoch Times.

Riyadh, like many countries, sees India as an important player, as a key market and a country that it doesnt want to antagonize. Obviously, if you refrain from supporting the Kashmir cause publicly that certainly will help your cause with India, Kugelman said.

Saudi Arabia, like many other countries, has occasionally expressed support for the Kashmir cause backed by Pakistan, but this shouldnt be seen as sustained or substantive support, he said.

We shouldnt overstate Saudi Arabia support for the Kashmir cause. Yes, it has expressed its backing for the cause on a number of occasions over the years but, I dont think we should overstate that, said Kugelman, who noted that there are multiple geopolitical reasons that have influenced the Saudi stance over Kashmir.

Afzal said the Saudis didnt take kindly to Pakistans overt pressure last year and immediately called in a $1 billion loan it gave to Indias neighbor in 2018 as an installment of a $3 billion loan package.

The situation seems to have eased for Pakistan this month after the Saudis returned the $1 billion. A plan to build a $10 billion Saudi Aramco oil refinery in the Pakistani port city of Gwadar also appears to be in the works. But the Saudi stance on Kashmir is unchanged.

Saudis Inside Kashmir

Traditionally, the Saudis have been a big player in Kashmirthe Saudis have overwhelmingly funded the Ahl-i-Hadith or Salafi religious movement, Pandya said. The Ahl-i-Hadith clergy in Kashmir follows the Saudi royal family, and this movement has exponentially grown inside Kashmir in the past 15 to 20 years, he added.

There are about 1,000 Salafi mosques. They teach a very fundamentalist version of Islam, which is radicalizing local people on the lines of pan-Islamist movements, said Pandya, who is the author of the book Radicalization in India: an Exploration.

However, due to Kashmirs syncretic Sufi traditions, puritanical Wahhabism could not make much headway. But by the late 1990s, Wahhabism started to spread very fast, he said, adding that Wahhabism inside Kashmir was also supported by Pakistan.

Saudi-Pakistan have enjoyed great ties. Saudis have invested a lot in Wahhabism in Pakistan. Pakistan favored it because it thought that if fundamentalist Salafism replaces the Sufi Islam of Kashmir, it will be easier for Pakistan to radicalize more local boys on religious lines. After the Arab Spring, Kashmiris came more under the influence of Salafist doctrines.

Indian security agencies took a tough stance on Salafi clergy in Kashmir to curb this radicalization and also scrutinized the petrodollar funding that was producing a pan-Islamist mindset much in line with the ideology of al-Qaeda and ISIS-like transnational terror groups.

As a result, the Salafi clergy decided to focus on religious matters and stay away from political issues and militancy, said Pandya, whose next book is about the terror financing in Kashmir. In fact, some Salafi clerics were working with the government to discourage boys from joining militancy. One of them Maulvi Shaukat Ahmad was killed by militants in 2011- possibly by Lashkar-i-Taiba, a terrorist group that believes in Ahl-i-hadith or Salafi ideology.

Since Modi came to power in 2014, his government has had good relations with Saudi Arabia. For that reason, Pandya explained that no Salafi clerics inside Kashmir have any ties with terrorists today.

Salafi Ahl-i-hadith is functioning freely in Kashmir whereas Jamaat-i-Islami [backed by Pakistan] is banned because it was helping terrorist groups. Today, Salafis are, in a way, Indias friend in Kashmir, he said in explaining the complex geopolitical relations playing out inside Kashmir.

A Pakistani army officer (3L) briefs Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing (4L) and Pakistani army Major General Asif Ghafoor (2L) and foreign diplomats during their visit at a cross border shelling affected area in Jura, a village of Neelum valley in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Oct. 22, 2019. (FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Ambitions and the Asymmetric Camp

Hamid Bahrami, author and an independent Middle East analyst based in Glasgow, Scotland, told The Epoch Times over a chat platform that new and asymmetric blocks are emerging in the geopolitical arena, and the Saudis have lost some interest in their relationship with Pakistan, which affects the Saudi stance over Kashmir as well.

Since Pakistan has disappointed Saudi regarding the war in Yemen, and Pakistan took neutrality between Saudi and Iran, MBS [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman] has been convinced that the current Pakistani approach is not favoring him, Bahrami said.

Moreover, Pakistan political establishment has a positive view of MBSs political rival inside the Saudi royal family.

Bahrami said the Saudis close ties with the United States and Pakistans close ties with U.S. rival China also add to the dynamics of foreign policies in Kashmir.

The main threat is China, and unfortunately, Pakistan is paving Beijings way to access the Middle East through the port of Gwadar. This is a serious threat to the SaudiU.S. camp. I consider IranPakistanTurkeyChinaRussia as an asymmetric camp with different interests but the same rivals, Bahrami said.

The United States and Saudis are moving closer to India than to Pakistan to control China and the emerging asymmetric camp, he said.

If we want to get deeper, MBSs view about geopolitics and protecting Saudi interests is not based on a religious agenda of supporting Wahhabism. MBS seeks economic development under Vision 2030, and Pakistan does not have enough capacity for profitable bilateral relations with Saudi, Bahrami said.

Chinas links with Pakistan have complicated the situation, and MBS, according to Bahrami, is sending a warning to Pakistan.

If China accesses the Middle East, with Iran as an ally, the stability of the oil market will be at risk. Moreover, Pakistan has currently chosen to be in the asymmetric block, thus if Iran gets nuclear (I believe with Bidens current approach it is not impossible), Saudi will attempt to be nuclear through India, Bahrami said.

Pakistan, ideologically, is closed to Iran. As a significant percentage of the Pakistani population is Shiite, the anti-Israeli approach inside Pakistan is common, considering that the Saudi tendency to normalize relations with Israel has caused a negative view within Pakistans leadership.
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A crackdown on anti-coup protesters in Myanmar has left at least 18 people dead and more than 30 wounded, the UN Human Rights Office has revealed.

It is the highest single-day death toll among protesters who are demanding that the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi be restored to power after being ousted by a coup on February 1.

There were reports of gunfire as police in Yangon, the country's biggest city, fired tear gas and water cannons while trying to clear the streets of demonstrators.

Photos of shell casings from live ammunition used in assault rifles were posted on social media.

'Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku,' The UN body said in a statement, referring to several cities in Myanmar.

'Tear gas was also reportedly used in various locations as well as flash-bang and stun grenades.'

'We strongly condemn the escalating violence against protests in Myanmar and call on the military to immediately halt the use of force against peaceful protesters,' its spokesman Ravina Shamdasani was quoted saying.

Reports on social media identified by name one young man believed to have been killed in Yangon. His body was shown in photos and videos lying on a pavement until other protesters were able to carry him away.

A violent crackdown also occurred in Dawei, a much smaller city in south-eastern Myanmar, where local media reported that at least three people were killed during a protest march.

People gather to protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar with reports of at least 18 people being killed

It is the highest single-day death toll among protesters who are demanding that the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi be restored to power after being ousted by a coup on February 1

Protesters defend themselves with makeshift shields during clashes with riot police on Sunday in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city

There were reports of gunfire as police in Yangon, the country's biggest city, fired tear gas and water cannons while trying to clear the streets of demonstrators

Protesters attempt to put out a tear gas canister fired by riot police in Yangon on Sunday as demonstrations continued

Myanmar's military government has intensified a crackdown on protesters in recent days, using tear gas, charging at and arresting protesters and journalists

Protesters wearing masks depicting ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, flash three-finger salutes as they take part in a protest against the military coup in Yangon

The junta is battling to contain a massive street movement demanding it yield power and release ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with top political allies at the start of the month

Before Sunday, there had been eight confirmed reports of killings linked to the army's takeover, according to the independent Assistance Association of Political Prisoners.

The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.

Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party would have been installed for a second five-year term in office, but the army blocked parliament from convening and detained her and president Win Myint, as well as other top members of Ms Suu Kyi's government.

Sunday's violence erupted in the early morning when medical students were marching in Yangon's streets near the Hledan Centre junction, which has become the gathering point for protesters who then fan out to other parts of the city.

Videos and photos showed protesters running away as police charged at them, and residents setting up makeshift roadblocks to slow their advance.

Some protesters managed to throw tear gas cannisters back at police. Nearby, residents were pleading with police to release those they picked up from the street and shoved into police vans to be taken away. Dozens or more were believed to have been detained.

Sounds of gunfire could be heard in the streets of Yangon and there were what appeared to be smoke grenades thrown into the crowds.

'The Myanmar security forces' clear escalation in use of lethal force in multiple towns and cities across the country in response to mostly peaceful anti-coup protesters is outrageous and unacceptable, and must be immediately halted,' said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for New York-based Human Rights Watch.

'Live ammunition should not be used to control or disperse protests and lethal force can only be used to protect life or prevent serious injury.'

'The world is watching the actions of the Myanmar military junta, and will hold them accountable,' he said.

Three men were killed and at least 20 others injured when security forces moved on a rally in the southern coastal hub of Dawei, according to a volunteer medic and local media reports.

Rescue worker Pyae Zaw Hein told AFP the trio was 'shot dead with live rounds', while the injured were hit by rubber bullets.

Protesters take cover as they clash with riot police officers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar

Protesters hold posters with the image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Naypyidaw

Three men were killed and at least 20 others injured when security forces moved on a rally in Dawei according to a volunteer medic and local media reports

Items including spent casings and projectiles after security forces launched a crackdown on protesters taking part in a demonstration against the military coup in Dawei

A protester sprays a fire extinguisher as demonstrators clash with riot police officers on Sunday following weeks of demonstrations

Demonstrators clash with riot police officers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar on Sunday

A protester uses a slingshot as demonstrators clash with riot police officers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar

A riot police officer fires a rubber bullet toward protesters during a protest against the military coup which saw civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained

Protesters holding signs while taking part in a demonstration against the military coup in Dawei, capital of the Tanintharyi Region

Riot police officers fire teargas canisters during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar amid violent clashes Sunday

A protester running from tear gas fired by security forces in an attempt to disperse protesters taking part in a demonstration against the military coup in Dawei

Protesters make the three-finger salute while holding posters with the image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Naypyidaw

Police vehicles block a road during a demonstration by protesters against the military coup in Naypyidaw

The junta has ratcheted up its use of force over the weekend against the massive street movement demanding it yield power and release ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi

A demonstrator gestures as he speaks during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay. Security forces intensified their use of force to crack down on anti-coup demonstrations

Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in parts of Yangon. There have been unconfirmed reports of other deaths elsewhere in Yangon

'There could be many more casualties as well because more wounded people keep coming in,' he added.

Local media outlet Dawei Watch confirmed that three had died in the incident.

There have been unconfirmed reports of other deaths elsewhere in the country, including commercial hub Yangon.

Officers there began dispersing one downtown crowd minutes before the slated beginning of the day's protest, but it was unclear whether they used live rounds.

'Police started shooting just as we arrived,' said Amy Kyaw, a 29-year-old primary school teacher.

'They didn't say a word of warning. Some got injured and some teachers are still hiding in neighbours' houses.'

Elsewhere in the city, protesters took up positions behind barricades and wielded homemade shields to defend themselves against the onslaught, with police using tear gas to clear some rallies.

At least one journalist documenting Sunday's assaults by security forces was beaten and detained in Myitkyina, a northern city at the headwaters of the Irrawaddy river, according to local outlet The 74 Media.

Another reporter was shot with rubber bullets while covering a protest in the central city of Pyay, their employer said.

Live broadcasts showed security forces using water cannon against crowds in central Mandalay, the country's second-largest city and cultural capital.

Since the military takeover on February 1, Myanmar has been roiled by giant demonstrations and a civil disobedience campaign encouraging civil servants to walk off the job.

Protesters hold posters with the image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Naypyidaw

A protester holds a homemade shield with the words CDM for 'civil disobedience movement' during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon

Protesters take cover behind homemade shields during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar

Since the military takeover on February 1, Myanmar has been roiled by giant demonstrations and a civil disobedience campaign encouraging civil servants to walk off the job

Protesters erect makeshift barricades to obstruct security forces during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon

Security forces intensified their use of force to crack down on anti-coup demonstrations following weeks of unrest since the coup

Demonstrators set up barricades during a protest against the military coup which ousted Myanmar's civilian government

Demonstrators flash the three-finger salute during a protest against the military coup in Yangon as protests continue on Sunday

Demonstrators react as riot policemen fire tear gas during a protest against the military coup in Yangon on Sunday

A demonstrator wears a gas mask during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar on Sunday

Protesters erect makeshift barricades to obstruct security forces during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon

Demonstrators hold shields as they face riot police during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar

Protesters in Yangon took up positions behind barricades and wielded homemade shields to defend themselves against the onslaught

International condemnation of the coup has been fierce, with the United States, the European Union and other major powers denouncing violence against protesters

demonstrator pours water on a tear gas canister fired by police (not pictured) during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon

Security forces intensified their use of force to crack down on anti-coup demonstrations following weeks of unrest since the coup

Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since she was taken into custody during pre-dawn raids in the capital Naypyidaw as the coup was launched

Sunday's crackdown followed a similar wave of violent action against angry but largely peaceful anti-coup rallies around the country a day earlier.

Several journalists documenting Saturday's assaults by security forces were detained, including an Associated Press photographer in Yangon.

Near the city's main university, police fired several stun grenades to clear a crowd at a protest hotspot.

More than 850 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.

But the weekend crackdown was expected to raise that number dramatically, with state newspapers reporting 479 arrests on Saturday alone.

International condemnation of the coup has been fierce, with the United States, the European Union and other major powers denouncing violence against protesters.

Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since she was taken into custody during pre-dawn raids in the capital Naypyidaw as the coup was launched.

Demonstrators react as riot policemen fire tear gas during a protest against the military coup in Yangon on Sunday

Demonstrators gesture at riot police behind makeshift barricades during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay

Demonstrator take cover behind shields during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar on Sunday

A demonstrator runs during a protest against the military coup in Yangon. Myanmar has been hit by protests since the coup

Riot police break up a barricade during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, as clashes continue

Demonstrators stand behind a barrier of waste containers as they face riot police during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon

A member of Red Cross walks amid protests against the military coup in Dawei, Myanmar following weeks of clashes

Protesters erect makeshift barricades to obstruct security forces during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon

State media announced Saturday that the junta had sacked the country's United Nations envoy, who gave an impassioned plea for help on behalf of Myanmar's ousted civilian government

She is due to face court there on Monday under obscure charges for possession of unregistered walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions on public gatherings.

But her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP he had still been unable to meet with the Nobel laureate ahead of the hearing.

'As a lawyer, I put my trust in the court and... a fair trial,' he said. 'But in this period of time anything can happen.'

State media announced Saturday that the junta had sacked the country's United Nations envoy, who gave an impassioned plea for help on behalf of Myanmar's ousted civilian government.

The UN said there had been no official notice of the diplomat's firing and that he remained Myanmar's representative for the moment.

Before Sunday, at least five people had been killed since the army takeover -- four of them from injuries sustained at anti-coup demonstrations.

One police officer also died while attempting to quell a protest, the military has said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19, according to an analysis released Wednesday by U.S. regulators that sets the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic.

The long-anticipated shot could offer the nation a third vaccine option and help speed vaccinations by requiring just one dose instead of two. Food and Drug Administration scientists confirmed that overall the vaccine is about 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, and about 85% effective against the most serious illness. The agency also said J&J's shot is safe.

The analysis is just one step in the FDAs evaluation. On Friday, the agencys independent advisers will debate if the evidence is strong enough to recommend the shot. With that advice, the FDA is expected to make a final decision within days.

The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. topped 500,000 this week, and the vaccination drive has been slower than hoped, hampered by logistical and weather delays. So far, about 44.5 million Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna, and nearly 20 million of them have received the second dose required for full protection.

Tests showed the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 95% effective at protection against symptomatic COVID-19.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, is part of the FDA advisory panel that will scrutinize the J&J data on Friday and cautions that none of the vaccines have been directly compared. Still, he was encouraged that one dose of the J&J vaccine appears as good at preventing serious illness as its two-dose competitors.

This is a vaccine to prevent you from going to the hospital and dying at a level thats certainly comparable to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, he said.

J&J tested its single-dose option in 44,000 adults in the U.S., Latin America and South Africa. Different mutated versions of the virus are circulating in different countries, and the FDA analysis cautioned that it's not clear how well the vaccine works against each variant. But J&J previously announced that the vaccine worked better in the U.S.  72% effective against moderate to severe COVID-19, compared with 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa.

Still, South Africa recently began giving the J&J vaccine to front-line health workers on a test basis after deciding that a vaccine from rival AstraZeneca had not shown strong enough study results.

Across all countries, Wednesday's analysis showed protection began to emerge about 14 days after vaccination. But by 28 days after vaccination, there were no hospitalizations or deaths in the vaccinated group compared with 16 hospitalizations and seven deaths in study recipients who received a dummy shot.

The FDA said effectiveness and safety were consistent across racial groups, including Black and Latino participants.

All of the worlds COVID-19 vaccines have been tested differently, making comparisons nearly impossible. It would not be surprising if one dose turned out to be a little weaker than two doses, and policymakers will decide if thats an acceptable trade-off to get more people vaccinated faster.

J&J has another large study underway to see if a second dose of its vaccine works better, raising the prospect that countries could eventually add a booster if one turned out to be warranted.

Like other COVID-19 vaccines, the main side effects of the J&J shot are pain at the injection site and flu-like fever, fatigue and headache. No study participant experienced the severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, that is a rare risk of some other COVID-19 shots, although one experienced a less serious reaction.

The FDA said there were no serious side effects linked to the vaccine so far, although it recommended further monitoring for blood clots. In the study, those were reported in about 15 vaccine recipients and 10 placebo recipients, not enough of a difference to tell if the vaccine played any role.

J&J was on track to become the world's first one-dose option until earlier this month. Mexico announced it would use a one-dose version from China's CanSino, which is made with similar technology as J&J's shot but initially was developed as a two-dose option until beginning a one-dose test in the fall.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines now being used in the U.S. and numerous other countries must be kept frozen, while the J&J shot can last three months in a refrigerator, making it easier to handle. AstraZeneca's vaccine  widely used in Europe, Britain and Israel  is made similarly and also requires refrigeration but takes two doses.

If the FDA clears the J&J shot for U.S. use, it will not boost vaccine supplies significantly right away. Only a few million doses are expected to be ready for shipping in the first week. But J&J told Congress this week that it expected to provide 20 million doses by the end of March and 100 million by summer.

European regulators and the World Health Organization also are considering J&Js vaccine. Worldwide, the company aims to produce around a billion doses by the end of the year.

___

Associated Press video producer Kathy Young contributed to this report.

___

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.
Continues to Assess Impact of the Texas Extreme Cold Weather Event

TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just Energy Group Inc. (Just Energy or the Company) (TSX:JE; NYSE:JE), a retail energy provider specializing in electricity and natural gas commodities and bringing energy efficient solutions and renewable energy options to customers and carbon offsets, announced its third quarter results for fiscal year 2021 and updated its previous announcement advising that management is continuing to assess the impact of the extreme cold weather experienced in the State of Texas commencing on or about February 13, 2021 continuing through February 19, 2021 (the Weather Event).



The Weather Event resulted in the Company having to balance its power supply through the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) at artificially mandated high electricity prices and significantly increased ancillary service costs as described in the Companys Management Discussion and Analysis filed today. As at February 22, 2021, the Company reviewed the available information regarding the Companys customer load for the Weather Event and estimated that the Company may have incurred a loss of CAD $315 million (approximately USD $250 million). This week, the Company received initial settlement statements from ERCOT, which are subject to resettlements, that may be material, showing lower customer load. The initial statements from ERCOT, without any resettlement, would result in significantly lowering the Companys exposure to approximately CAD $50 million (approximately USD $40 million). Given the material differences between the load information, the Company continues to investigate the differences in load information. Under normal ERCOT protocols resettlements occur 55 days after the operating day. However, ERCOT has indicated that it may resettle earlier. The total financial impact may materially change due to ERCOT final settlement data as it becomes available, any government or regulatory actions or potential litigation with respect thereto, failure of other parties to pay amounts owing to ERCOT and the impact of customer credit losses.

Regardless of uncertainty created by the Weather Event, our customers of Just Energy, Amigo Energy, Hudson Energy and Tara Energy can be certain that we are committed to doing all we can to be there for them in this extraordinary time. If you have a residential or small business fixed rate plan, our customers can rest assured that your fixed energy rate is locked in for the duration of your contracted term. Variable rate (month-to-month) residential customers will not see their rates impacted by the high settlement prices of the Weather Event, said Scott Gahn, Just Energys President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Gahn added, We are also focused on supporting our partners and dedicated employees through this extraordinary event.

Third Quarter Developments

Base EBITDA increased by 47% to $55.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021 compared to $38.0 million in the year ago period, primarily driven by lower bad debt and lower expenses offsetting the lower Base gross margin and increased investment in digital marketing.





Base gross margin was $131.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, an 8% decrease as compared to $142.5 million in the year ago period.





Bad debt expense decreased by 83% to $3.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021 compared to $20.0 million in the year ago period, with lower expenses in all areas.





The Company ended the quarter with $91.2 million of total liquidity available, comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $66.6 million and available borrowing capacity of $24.6 million under the senior secured credit facility.





Loss from continuing operations of $52.3 million in the third quarter, inclusive of $71.6 million of unrealized losses of derivative instruments and other.



Fiscal Third Quarter Financial Highlights: As of December 31, 2020 $ in thousands, except customer data Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2020 Change Sales $ 540,067 $ 658,521 -18 % Base gross margin1 $ 131,608 $ 142,484 -8 % Base EBITDA2 $ 55,785 $ 37,950 47 % Unlevered free cash flow (Year to date) $ 27,813 $ 49,892 -44 % Total liquidity $ 91,200 $ 56,960 60 % Total net consumer (RCE) additions (18,000 ) (33,000 ) NMF3 Total net commercial (RCE) additions (105,000 ) 48,000 NMF3

1 Base gross margin represents gross margin adjusted to include the effect of applying IFRS Interpretation Committee Agenda Decision 11, Physical Settlement of Contracts to Buy or Sell a Non-Financial Item, for realized gains (losses) on derivative instruments and other. Base gross margin is a key measure used by management to assess performance and allocate resources. Management believes that these realized gains (losses) on derivative instruments reflect the long-term financial performance of Just Energy and thus has included them in the Base gross margin calculation.

2See Non-IFRS financial measures

3 Not a meaningful figure.

Sales : Decrease due to the smaller customer base resulting from the shift in focus to the Companys strategy to increase the credit quality of customers and to onboard higher quality customers; a reduction in customers in Ontario, New York and California due to regulatory restrictions; selling constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic; as well as prior competitive pressures on pricing in the United States.





: Decrease due to the smaller customer base resulting from the shift in focus to the Companys strategy to increase the credit quality of customers and to onboard higher quality customers; a reduction in customers in Ontario, New York and California due to regulatory restrictions; selling constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic; as well as prior competitive pressures on pricing in the United States. Base gross margin: Decrease was primarily driven by a decline in the customer base, partially offset by higher realized margins across several markets.





Decrease was primarily driven by a decline in the customer base, partially offset by higher realized margins across several markets. Base EBITDA: Increase was primarily driven by a reduction in bad debt expense and lower expenses, partially offset by lower Base gross margin and increased investment in digital marketing.





Increase was primarily driven by a reduction in bad debt expense and lower expenses, partially offset by lower Base gross margin and increased investment in digital marketing. Unlevered free cash flow: Decrease was primarily driven by the additional transaction costs incurred for the Recapitalization and payments to decrease commodity and supplier payables.





Expense Detail:

($ thousands) Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2020 Change Administrative expenses1 $ 30,408 $ 39,616 -23 % Selling commission expenses $ 30,485 $ 36,698 -17 % Selling non-commission and marketing expense $ 11,784 $ 14,572 -19 % Bad debt expense $ 3,358 $ 19,996 -83 % 1 Includes $1.6 million and $4.2 million of Strategic Review costs for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Administrative expenses: Decline was primarily driven by savings from the Canadian emergency wage subsidy and a reduction of expense related to the Strategic Review. Excluding expenses related to the Strategic Review, Administrative expenses decreased by 19% to $28.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020 compared to $35.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019 due to savings from the Canadian emergency wage subsidy and savings from cost containment efforts.





Decline was primarily driven by savings from the Canadian emergency wage subsidy and a reduction of expense related to the Strategic Review. Excluding expenses related to the Strategic Review, Administrative expenses decreased by 19% to $28.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020 compared to $35.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019 due to savings from the Canadian emergency wage subsidy and savings from cost containment efforts. Selling commission expenses: Decrease was driven by lower commission expenses from lower sales from direct in-person channels driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lower customer additions in prior periods.





Decrease was driven by lower commission expenses from lower sales from direct in-person channels driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lower customer additions in prior periods. Selling non-commission and marketing expenses: Decline was a result of cost reductions from the shut-down of the internal door-to-door sales channel and continued focus on cost containment, partially offset by increased investment in digital marketing.





Decline was a result of cost reductions from the shut-down of the internal door-to-door sales channel and continued focus on cost containment, partially offset by increased investment in digital marketing. Bad debt expense: Decrease was a result of enhanced operating controls and operational processes implemented in the summer of 2019 and release of previous credit reserves as the Company continues to see consistent payment trends and minimal impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.



Consumer Segment Performance Consumer Operating Highlights:

Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2020 Change Consumer gross margin on added/renewed $303/RCE $273/RCE 11 % Embedded gross margin1 ($ millions) $1,023 $1,271 -20 % Total gross (RCE) additions 42,000 55,000 -24 % Attrition (trailing 12 months) 23% 25% -8 % Renewals (trailing 12 months) 80% 72% 11 % 1See Non-IFRS financial measures

Average Consumer gross margin per RCE for the customers added or renewed: The increase in the average gross margin on Consumer customers added and renewed was a result of the Companys increased focus on profitable customer growth.



The increase in the average gross margin on Consumer customers added and renewed was a result of the Companys increased focus on profitable customer growth. Consumer embedded gross margin: The decline resulted from the decrease in the Consumer customer base and unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations.

The decline resulted from the decrease in the Consumer customer base and unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations. Consumer RCE additions: The decrease in customer additions was driven by selling constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the direct in-person channels offset by increases in digital sales channel. However, Consumer RCE additions increased by 24% from the three months ended September 30, 2020 due to increases in the digital and continued improvement in the retail sales channel.

The decrease in customer additions was driven by selling constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the direct in-person channels offset by increases in digital sales channel. However, Consumer RCE additions increased by 24% from the three months ended September 30, 2020 due to increases in the digital and continued improvement in the retail sales channel. Consumer attrition rate: The improvements in attrition reflect the benefits of focus on sales to higher quality customers and increased focus on the customer experience.

The improvements in attrition reflect the benefits of focus on sales to higher quality customers and increased focus on the customer experience. Consumer renewal rate: The increase was driven by improved retention offerings and increased focus on the customer experience.





Consumer RCE Summary:

CONSUMER 10/1/2020 Additions Attrition Failed to

renew 12/31/2020 Change 12/31/2019 Change Gas 285,000 1,000 -8,000 -3,000 275,000 -4 % 343,000 -20 % Electricity 820,000 41,000 -36,000 -13,000 812,000 -1 % 896,000 -9 % Total Consumer RCEs 1,105,000 42,000 -44,000 -16,000 1,087,000 -2 % 1,239,000 -12 %

Commercial Segment Performance

Commercial Operating Highlights:

Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2020 Change Commercial gross margin on added/renewed $70/RCE $65/RCE 8 % Embedded gross margin1($ millions) $360

$569

-37 % Total gross commercial (RCE) additions 41,000

165,000

-75 % Attrition (trailing 12 months) 11% 9% 22 % Renewals (trailing 12 months) 49% 54% -9 %

1See Non-IFRS financial measures

Average Commercial gross margin per RCE for the customers added or renewed: The increase was due to adding and renewing a larger proportion of lower usage, higher margin Commercial customers.

The increase was due to adding and renewing a larger proportion of lower usage, higher margin Commercial customers. Commercial embedded gross margin: The decline resulted from the decrease in the Commercial customer base and unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations.

The decline resulted from the decrease in the Commercial customer base and unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations. Commercial RCE additions: The decrease is primarily due to the selling constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the prior competitive pressures on pricing in the U.S. market. Commercial RCE additions increased by 46% from a low of 28,000 RCE additions for the three months ended June 30, 2020.

The decrease is primarily due to the selling constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the prior competitive pressures on pricing in the U.S. market. Commercial RCE additions increased by 46% from a low of 28,000 RCE additions for the three months ended June 30, 2020. Commercial attrition rate: The increase reflects a very competitive pricing market for commercial customers.

The increase reflects a very competitive pricing market for commercial customers. Commercial renewal rate: The decrease reflects a competitive market with competitors pricing aggressively and Just Energys focus on retaining longer-term, profitable customers rather than pursuing low margin sales.





Commercial RCE Summary:

COMMERCIAL 10/1/2020 Additions Attrition Failed to

renew 12/31/2020 Change 12/31/2019 Change Gas 407,000 - -11,000 -10,000 386,000 -5 % 448,000 -14 % Electricity 1,574,000 41,000 -62,000 -63,000 1,490,000 -5 % 1,828,000 -18 % Total Commercial RCEs 1,981,000 41,000 -73,000 -73,000 1,876,000 -5 % 2,276,000 -18 %

Outlook

As previously announced, the Company is withdrawing its Base EBITDA and unlevered free cash flow guidance for fiscal 2021 and is continuing to assess the financial impact of the Weather Event. As of the time of this press release, the Company estimates that the financial impact of the Weather Event on the Company could be a loss of between $50 million and $315 million. The total financial impact may materially change due to ERCOT final settlement data as it becomes available, any government or regulatory actions or potential litigation with respect thereto, failure of other parties to pay amounts owing to ERCOT and impacts of customer credit losses. The estimated substantial losses could be materially adverse to the Companys liquidity and its ability to continue as a going concern. The Company is in discussions with its key stakeholders regarding the impact of the Weather Event and will provide an update as appropriate.

About Just Energy Group Inc.

Just Energy is a retail energy provider specializing in electricity and natural gas commodities and bringing energy efficient solutions and renewable energy options to customers. Currently operating in the United States and Canada, Just Energy serves residential and commercial customers. Just Energy is the parent company of Amigo Energy, Filter Group Inc., Hudson Energy, Interactive Energy Group, Tara Energy, and terrapass. Visit https://investors.justenergy.com/ to learn more.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations that involve several risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks with respect to the financial impact of the Weather Event on the Company, the potential for government or regulatory action or litigation, the quantum of the financial loss to the Company from the Weather Event and its impact on the Companys liquidity, the Companys ability to continue as a going concern, the Companys discussions with key stakeholders regarding the Weather Event and the outcome thereof, the impact of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic on the Companys business, operations and sales; reliance on suppliers; uncertainties relating to the ultimate spread, severity and duration of COVID-19 and related adverse effects on the economies and financial markets of countries in which the Company operates; the ability of the Company to successfully implement its business continuity plans with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic; the Companys ability to access sufficient capital to provide liquidity to manage its cash flow requirements; general economic, business and market conditions; the ability of management to execute its business plan; levels of customer natural gas and electricity consumption; extreme weather conditions; rates of customer additions and renewals; customer credit risk; rates of customer attrition; fluctuations in natural gas and electricity prices; interest and exchange rates; actions taken by governmental authorities including energy marketing regulation; increases in taxes and changes in government regulations and incentive programs; changes in regulatory regimes; results of litigation and decisions by regulatory authorities; competition; dependence on certain suppliers. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect Just Energys operations or financial results are included in Just Energys annual information form and other reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities which can be accessed through the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions website at www.sec.gov or through Just Energys website at www.justenergygroup.com.

NON-IFRS MEASURES

The financial measures such as EBITDA, Base EBITDA, Base gross margin, Free cash flow Unlevered free cash flow and Embedded gross margin do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. This financial measure should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), cash flow from operating activities and other measures of financial performance as determined in accordance with IFRS, but the Company believes that these measures are useful in providing relative operational profitability of the Companys business. Please refer to Key Terms in the Just Energy Q3 Fiscal 2021s Managements Discussion and Analysis for the Companys definition of EBITDA and other non-IFRS measures.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the New York Stock Exchange has approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:



Michael Carter

Chief Financial Officer

Just Energy

mcarter@justenergy.com

or

Investors

Michael Cummings

Alpha IR

Phone: (617) 982-0475

JE@alpha-ir.com

Media

Boyd Erman

Longview Communications

Phone: 416-523-5885

berman@longviewcomms.ca

Source: Just Energy Group Inc.

Supplemental Tables:

Financial and operating highlights

For the three months ended December 31. (thousands of dollars, except where indicated and per share amounts)

Fiscal 2021 Change Fiscal 2020 Sales $ 540,067 (18 )% $ 658,521 Base gross margin1 131,608 (8 )% 142,484 Administrative expenses2 30,408 (23 )% 39,616 Selling commission expenses 30,485 (17 )% 36,698 Selling non-commission and marketing expense 11,784 (19 )% 14,572 Bad debt expense 3,358 (83 )% 19,996 Finance costs 17,677 (37 )% 28,178 Profit (loss) from continuing operations (52,327 ) NMF 3 20,601 Base EBITDA1 55,785 47 % 37,950 Total gross consumer (RCE) additions 42,000 (24 )% 55,000 Total gross commercial (RCE) additions 41,000 (75 )% 165,000 Total net consumer (RCE) additions (18,000 ) NMF 3 (33,000 ) Total net commercial (RCE) additions (105,000 ) NMF 3 48,000

See Non-IFRS financial measures on page 6 of the MD&A.

2 Includes $1.6 million and $4.2 million of Strategic Review costs for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively.

3 Not a meaningful figure.

4 Profit (loss) includes the impact of unrealized gains (losses), which represents the mark to market of future commodity supply acquired to cover future customer demand as well as weather hedge contracts entered into as part of the Companys risk management practice. The supply has been sold to customers at fixed prices, minimizing any realizable impact of mark to market gains and losses.

Balance sheet

(thousands of dollars)

As at As at As at 12/31/2020 3/31/2020 12/31/2019 Assets: Cash $ 66,635 $ 26,093 $ 17,988 Trade and other receivables, net 344,080 403,907 404,124 Total fair value of derivative financial assets 49,267 65,145 121,363 Other current assets 143,145 203,270 140,923 Total assets 1,069,042 1,215,833 1,294,205 Liabilities: Trade payables and other $ 472,763 $ 685,665 $ 523,650 Total fair value of derivative financial liabilities 246,495 189,706 199,731 Total long-term debt 518,768 782,003 774,600 Total liabilities 1,284,778 1,711,121 1,559,955




Israel, UAE sign tax treaty

Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal

Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor"

Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections

Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS)

Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win

Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy

EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU

Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head

EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior

Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman

Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit

Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections

Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control

Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents

Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree

Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge

Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation

Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21

Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan

Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels

Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

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

A horseback instructor has been found safe in Alabama after going missing and leaving her phone, wallet and car at the stables in Georgia where she works.

Abigail Toeneboehn, 22, told police she had left her West Creek Stables apartment on Thursday evening of her own accord, 11Alive reports.

Police had asked for help in finding Toeneboehn after calling her disappearance suspicious.

They confirmed she had been found alive on Sunday in Dothan.

Abigail Toeneboehn, 22, told police she had left her West Creek Stables apartment on Thursday evening of her own accord after she was reported missing

Austell Police Chief Bob Starrett described her as an 'avid equestrian'; a police spokeperson said it had not been 'typical behavior' for her.

They said in a statement: 'This is not typical behavior from Abi who adores her family and her animals.'

Toeneboehn is from Lee County, Alabama; she currently goes to Southern Union State Community College.

She stays at the stables three to four days a week to train the horses there, Fox 5 reports.

Austell Deputy Police Chief Natalie Poulk said she was found in Dothan.

Police had used the canine unit to search the stables.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 20:42:27|Editor: huaxia

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Women walk to a blueberry planting base for work at Laoji Village of Butuo County in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Which lessons have China learned from its successful battle against poverty? New China Research, the think tank of Xinhua News Agency, released a research paper on Sunday to shed light on the rationale for China's anti-poverty drive, including the following four conclusions:

OPTIMAL DISTRIBUTION MAKES DEVELOPMENT BETTER FOR POVERTY REDUCTION

The practice of poverty alleviation around the world has proved that economic development alone does not necessarily equate to poverty eradication. Wealth has been snowballing, but poverty has become increasingly like a fortress. How should we solve this huge imbalance? The answer is optimal distribution.

"You make a cake to divide it, and dividing it properly will promote the baking of a bigger cake." This clear logic runs throughout the history of poverty alleviation in China.

China's basic economic system sees public ownership play a dominant role with diverse forms of ownership developing side by side. It allows China to continuously explore new paths of "optimal distribution."

China has also benefited greatly in this process. By seizing the most important relationship between distribution and production, China has achieved a medium-high rate of economic growth in tandem with the elimination of absolute poverty, and has laid a solid foundation for future high-quality development.

GOVERNMENT AND THE ENHANCEMENT OF PRO-POOR TRAITS

Under the market economy, the market plays a decisive role in the allocation of resources and is an important force in poverty alleviation. However, the market allocation of resources is based on the principle of efficiency. Poor areas and poor people are often unable to participate in the market effectively or even excluded from the market altogether due to their remote geographical location, backward infrastructure and insufficient development capacity, and thus are in a weak position in the overall distribution pattern.

"Capable governments" are needed to adjust the primary distribution and create a more efficient redistribution. In addition to the advantages of top-level design to mobilize, organize and guide poverty alleviation, the government can also influence the allocation of resources by improving their mobilization and availability.

The main means are to increase the supply of public services, improve the precise allocation of poverty alleviation resources, introduce pro-poor policies, stimulate social investment, and promote the transfer of asset returns in order to increase opportunities for impoverished communities and individuals to access the factor and product markets and reduce risks and vulnerability.

Villagers sort out just-harvested mushrooms at an edible fungus growing base at Minjiachang Village, Minxiao Township in Jiangkou County of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Jan. 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

PRO-POOR MARKET ACTIVATES POTENTIAL FACTORS OF PRODUCTION IN POVERTY-STRICKEN AREAS

Under a pro-poor market mechanism, trading barriers are continuously broken, trading links are continuously ironed out, and transaction costs are continuously reduced, thus creating favorable conditions for production and unleashing productivity in poverty-stricken areas.

A "winning formula" in China's poverty alleviation efforts was holding onto positive dialectical thinking and improving the pro-poor market mechanism under the guidance of the government. Meanwhile, the "burden" of poverty has been turned into a source of potential, and human and natural resources in poor areas have become a means to achieve common development and prosperity. At the same time, the Chinese government, through funding, resources and services, among others, has implemented precise measures to help poor individuals who have the ability to work cross the market threshold and complete the transformation from a natural person to a "market person."

OPTIMAL DISTRIBUTION MAKES POVERTY REDUCTION BETTER FOR DEVELOPMENT

Poverty alleviation has helped the "unified national market" in China expand capacity, providing new drivers for the economic cycle. By improving infrastructure and technological innovation, poor areas are better able to integrate into the market, open up and accept market resources from outside regions, and increase their production capacity.

The participation in the market by those living in deep poverty has increased in depth and scope, their labor skills have improved, and their ability to reduce poverty has grown. Income growth has expanded, and those living in poverty have successfully achieved a higher rate of income growth than that of society as a whole.

Their increased consumption capacity and demand as well as income growth are directly projected into market activities, promoting production and exchange, and creating realistic conditions for optimal distribution. 
A trio of 'wheelie-bin bandits' are on the run after they stormed a Dior store in Melbourne's CBD and stole luxury items including handbags.

The designer brand's shopfront was smashed when a white 4WD reversed into it at about 3.20am on Monday.

Police said two men then exited the 4WD and entered the Collins Street store through the shattered glass window.

The pair were armed with crowbars and wheelie bins, which they used to load numerous luxury goods they pinched from Dior.

A Dior shopfront in Melbourne's CBD was smashed during the early hours of Monday morning

A white 4WD reversed into the designer store at about 3.20am on Monday and two men then entered the shop

The two men then returned to their vehicle and fled the scene with a third accomplice.

The trio, who all covered their faces with balaclavas, were last seen heading down Rathdowne Street.

Victoria Police have since set up a crime scene.

Investigators will begin to determine what was taken from Dior and its value.

The ram-raid follows a similar break-in at Bottega Veneta, also on Collins Street, just last week.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday on the successful launch of the Amazonia-1 satellite, the first one from Brazil to be launched from India, terming it as a "historic moment".

PM Modi took to Twitter after ISRO's launch and said, "Congratulations President Jair Bolsonaro on the successful launch of Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite by PSLV-C51. This is a historic moment in our space cooperation and my felicitations to the scientists of Brazil."

Earlier today, PM Modi congratulated ISRO on its first dedicated commercial launch of PSLV-C51/ Amazonia-1 mission, and tweeted, "Congratulations to NSIL and ISRO on the success of the 1st dedicated commercial launch of PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 Mission. This ushers in a new era of Space reforms in the country. 18 co-passengers included four small satellites that showcase the dynamism and innovation of our youth."

ISRO successfully completed its first launch of 2021 on Sunday. The headline payload was Brazil's 637-kg Amazonia-1 optical earth observation satellite. Amazonia-1 was placed in orbit seventeen minutes after its lift-off aboard the PSLV-C51 rocket and a minute after the rocket's PS4 engine cut off. India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C51 (PSLV-C51) carrying Brazil's Amazonia-1 as its primary passenger also facilitated the launch of 18-other student satellites as part of its mission under ISRO's National Space Promotion and Authorisation Center (IN-SPACe ). Amazonia-1 along with the other satellites will monitor deforestation and study the diverse agriculture of Brazilian lands. The rocket journeyed for two hours and eight minutes as it placed all its satellites in orbits, in approximately four minutes. ISRO immediately took it to Twitter and announced the successful completion of the mission and wrote, "All co-passenger satellites separated from PSLV-C51. Mission accomplished.."

READ | ISRO Successfully Launches PSLV-C51; Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite Injected Into Orbit

READ | Brazil Govt Ecstatic As ISRO's Rocket Places Its Amazonia-1 Satellite In Orbit; Hails Ties

Brazil's Amazonia-1 Satellite

The earth observatory satellite of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) will fetch remote sensing data to users that will be further utilized to monitor deforestation in the Amazon region and the diverse agriculture across the Brazilian territory will also be analyzed, said Marcos Ceaser Pontes, Brazil's Minister for Science, Technology, and Innovation at the launch event.

Pontes stressed that the successful placement of Amazonia-1 in the orbit was very important for Brazil's overall development. He added "It represents a new era for the Brazilian Satellite Industry. There could be no better place than to bein India with all our partnerships and this is one step for the partnership that will be going to grow. We are going to work together, a lot. Today is the beginning of stronger relations between both countries."

READ | ISRO To Launch PSLV-C51 On February 28 With 1 Brazil & 20 Indian Satellites Onboard

READ | ISRO Chief K Sivan Gets One-year Extension As Department Of Space Secretary Till 2022
Two ABBA stars worth a combined 413million used furlough cash to pay staff of Mamma Mia! the musical and other shows, according to reports.

Bjorn Ulvaeus, 75, and Benny Andersson, 74, are co-founders of production firm Littlestar Services - the company behind the stage musical version of Mamma Mia!.

Superstar pair Bjorn and Benny, who set up the company in 1996, have personal fortunes of 233million and 180million respectively.

But their London-based firm, which boasts on its website about being a 'successful global producer of theatre, film, television, publishing and music', received 100,000 of tax-payer's cash, according to the Sun.

The paper says that, according to official HMRC documents, Littlestar Services and Littlestar Services (Europe) were given up to 50,000 each to pay staff in December.

Bjorn Ulvaeus, 75, and Benny Andersson, 74, (pictured together in 2019) are co-founders of production firm Littlestar Services - the company behind the stage musical version of Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! the musical was premiered in 1999 and was later adapted into a film starring actress Amanda Seyfried (pictured with co-stars Dominic Cooper and Cher)

The furlough payment comes after the company paid out 1.3million in dividends to shareholders in the year to the end of March last year.

The company also made sales of 17.6million over the same period.

But, like other theatre shows across the UK, it was impacted by the Covid pandemic in March last year and was forced to stop staging productions due to lockdown rules.

In the HMRC report the company said it was 'taking advantage of available government support' during the pandemic, according to the Sun.

MailOnline contacted Littlestar and representatives for Bjorn and Benny for comment last night.

A spokesperson for the firm told the Sun that the group had 'not furloughed any of its company employees' but that employees of its theatrical productions had instead been furlough to 'keep them employed as long as possible'.

Theatres were forced to close after the outbreak of Covid in March last year.

They were allowed to reopen again when restrictions were eased in June, albeit with strict social distancing measures in place.

Mamma Mia!, written by playwright Catherine Johnson, is a musical (pictured: Cast of the show in 2019) based on the songs of ABBA

The musical, which premiered in 1999, is the seventh longest running musical on London's West End (pictured: Bjorn and Benny celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show in 2019)

They were then forced to close in November during the second national lockdown.

There had been hope of a pre-Christmas rush to panto shows, particularly in the London's West End, when lockdown ended at the start of December.

But hope was quickly extinguished when London and large parts of the south-east were plunged into Tier 4 restrictions ahead of panto season due to the identification of a new Covid strain.

Mamma Mia!, written by playwright Catherine Johnson, is a musical based on the songs of ABBA - a Swedish band Bjorn and Benny formed with Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad in 1972.

The musical, which premiered in 1999, is the seventh longest running musical on London's West End and features many of their greatest hits.

It was adapted into a 2008 film of the same name, starring Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan.

The film was followed by the sequel Mamma Mia!: Here we go again. Together, the films grossed more than 700million worldwide.
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Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is showing strong signs of effectiveness against new mutations of Covid-19, researchers have claimed.

The results of the trial in Russia testing the effectiveness of revaccination are expected to show a positive effect on protection against UK and South African strains of the virus, and will be published soon.

Denis Logunov, deputy director of the centre which developed the jab said: '(A) recent study carried out by the Gamaleya Centre in Russia showed that revaccination with Sputnik V vaccine is working very well against new coronavirus mutations, including the UK and South African strains of coronavirus.'

Last month Vladimir Putin ordered a review by March 15 of Russian-produced vaccines for their effectiveness against new variants spreading in different parts of the world.

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is showing strong signs of effectiveness against new mutations of Covid-19, researchers have claimed. It is being rolled out in several American countries includingVenezuela. Pictured: a Vaccination day in Caracas

The results of the trial in Russia testing the effectiveness of revaccination are expected to show a positive effect on protection against UK and South African strains of the virus, and will be published soon. Pictured: Elderly people queue in Mexico City, Mexico for the Sputnik vaccine

It comes after the President green-lit its approval for mass-use in Russia last August before any human trials had been rigorously analysed.

The 68-year-old has played down suggestions he should get the vaccine immediately to encourage public takeup, telling journalists that 'I don't want to monkey around' in front of cameras.

The jab was today being rolled out in countries including Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela.

Results of the trial are expected to be published soon, but this was the first indication of how the tests are going. No further details were available yet.

So-called viral vector shots - such as Sputnik V and a shot developed by AstraZeneca - use harmless modified viruses as vehicles, or vectors, to carry genetic information that helps the body build immunity against future infections.

So-called viral vector shots - such as Sputnik V and a shot developed by AstraZeneca - use harmless modified viruses as vehicles, or vectors, to carry genetic information that helps the body build immunity against future infections. Pictured: Nurse Sandra Vega gives Dr. Patricia Bracho a shot of the Sputnik V vaccine at Trinidad Maternity Hospital in Asuncion, Paraguay

It comes after the President green-lit its approval for mass-use in Russia last August before any human trials had been rigorously analysed

The revaccination used the same Sputnik V shot, based upon the same adenovirus vectors. The trial indicated this did not impact effectiveness, Logunov said in a statement to Reuters.

Some scientists have raised the possible risk that the body also develops immunity to the vector itself, recognising it as an intruder and trying to destroy it.

But developers of Sputnik V disagreed this would pose long-term problems.

Some scientists have raised the possible risk that the body also develops immunity to the vector itself, recognising it as an intruder and trying to destroy it

'We believe that vector-based vaccines are actually better for future revaccinations than vaccines based on other platforms,' Logunov said.

He said that the researchers found that antibodies specific to the vectors used by the shot - which could generate an anti-vector reaction and undermine the work of the shot itself - waned 'as early as 56 days after vaccination'.

This conclusion was based on a trial of a vaccine against Ebola developed earlier by the Gamaleya Institute using the same approach as for the Sputnik V shot.

Vector immunity is not a new issue but has come under renewed scrutiny as companies including Johnson & Johnson anticipate regular COVID-19 vaccinations, like annual influenza shots, may be needed to combat new variants of the coronavirus.

Annette Carlin feels trapped.

Before the pandemic, Ms. Carlin, who is 84, loved to go on walks in Novato, Calif., with her grandchildren and dance at the senior center. Since March, though, she has been stuck indoors. She has been eager to sign up for a vaccine and begin returning to normal life.

But booking an appointment has been a technological nightmare. Ms. Carlin cannot afford to buy a computer, and would not know how to navigate the internet in search of a shot even if she could. While members of her family might be able to help her there, she avoids seeing them as a safety precaution.

Its very frustrating, Ms. Carlin said on her flip phone. I feel like everybody else got the vaccine, and I didnt.

The chaotic vaccine rollout has come with a maze of confusing registration pages and clunky health care websites. And the technological savvy required to navigate the text alerts, push notifications and email reminders that are second nature to the digital generation has put older adults like Ms. Carlin, who need the vaccine the most, at a disadvantage. As a result, seniors who lack tech skills are missing out on potentially lifesaving shots.

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.
Feb. 28Port Huron police announced Sunday an Ohio man has been charged with making a terrorism threat against police officers and an elementary school.

Police in a news release identified the suspect as Dominik Hricovsky, 32. They said Hricovsky was arraigned Sunday on charges of threat of terrorism, discharging a firearm in or at a building, two felony firearm counts, being a felon in possession of a firearm, resisting and obstructing, and being a habitual offender.

The charges are tied to an incident reported Wednesday morning, according to the news release. Police said emergency dispatch for St. Clair County "received several calls from an unknown male making threats to burn down Cleveland Elementary School and shoot police officers." Officers responded to the school, which went into a "soft lockdown," police said.

Dispatchers traced the calls to an apartment in the 2700 block of Nern Street, where officers found Hricovsky visiting his girlfriend, police said.

"When he was placed under arrest, he attempted to run and fight officers who deployed a taser," according to the release. Police allege that Hricovsky provided officers with incorrect names before they identified him via fingerprint.

Police said an investigation also found that Hricovsky had fired one round out of the apartment's window.

Hricovsky was taken to the St. Clair County Intervention Center, where, according to police, he's being held on a $250,000 bond. A probable cause conference hearing is scheduled for March 9 and a preliminary exam is scheduled for March 16. Police said Hricovsky has a parole hold from Ohio.

A search of St. Clair County court records did not immediately turn up any additional information about the case.

The release noted that the school lockdown lasted about one hour before Hricovsky was arrested.

Police asked that anyone with information on the alleged threat call CAPTURE at (810) 987-6688, send an anonymous tip by texting the keyword CAPTURE and the message/tip to 847411, download the Port Huron PD app, or email by clicking on the CAPTURE link at www.porthuronpolice.org.

jgrzelewski@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @JGrzelewski
New Delhi:

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday attacked Uttar Pradesh government, alleging that the state police is involved in extorting money for the BJP-led government.

Akhilesh said police is doing injustice across the state.

"When I asked a police chief that why are you doing injustice to people, the officer replied that he did not get posting during Samajwadi partys regime, and it was the reason," he said.

The former chief minister questioned about law and order in the state, saying that a girl was stabbed to death in Ballia. He said all districts in the state are facing law and order problem in the state.

We speak of Digital India. Which other state used technology like '100 number' better than UP? They've ruined it: Akhilesh Yadav on UP Govt pic.twitter.com/HccoY9ALUw  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 10, 2017

Akhilesh said the government has itself accepted that corruption prevails in Dail 100.

27 August ki RJD rally mein hum jayenge Patna: Akhilesh Yadav pic.twitter.com/ZHfKV3gIIq  ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2017

When asked about his participation in Lalu Prasad's rally, the Samajwadi Party president gave his affirmation for the rally.

Also Read: Samajwadi Party leader Ashok Bajpai resigns as MLC

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As the assembly elections are getting closer in the poll-bound West Bengal, political violence in the state is only rising by each passing day. According to the BJP, the tableau launched by the BJP president JP Nadda at 'Lokkho Sonar Bangla' on February 25, was attacked by the TMC goons, on Saturday. BJP alleged that TMC goons entered its warehouse in Kadapara near Swabhumi and broke into the publicity vans and stole many valuable items as well from the premises. An FIR has been filed by BJP against TMC

BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said these goons cannot face people in the daylight, so they come out in the dark at night. These people beat up the poor driver, stole the laptop, mobile, broke the windshield of the tableau, broke the LED screen. So this is the attitude of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

READ | 'BJP Will Form The Next Govt': MP CM Chouhan Ahead Of Parivartan Yatra In Bengal On Feb 28

While speaking to Republic, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya said that Bengal hs always witnessed violence during the time of elections and assured that BJP will come in power this time.

"West Bengal is a state that has 294 Lok Sabha seats. The conditions between violence and elections have been continuous from the time of the communist government till the tenure of TMC. Be it the assembly or Lok Sabha elections, if any kind of widespread violence has taken place, then it has happened in West Bengal. I welcome the Election commission's decision, in order to make the election process violence-free EC has come up with the idea of holding the election in 8 phases. BJP will get a massive victory and will form the new government in Bengal," said Maurya.

READ | EXCLUSIVE: AIIMS Director Stresses On 'COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour' & Vaccination

BJP MP Roopa Ganguly said that Mamata Banerjee doesn't follow any rules in her state and lost all her control.

"It is very annoying, CM Mamata Banerjee every time utter this word 'Gantantra' in all her elections statement. She herself in her own state doesn't follow any rules. The opposition should have the liberty and opportunity to organise their political programmes. She has lost all her control over the state", Ganguly said.

READ | Kejriwal Hits Back At Gujarat BJP Chief, Says 'never Underestimate Power Of Common Man'

EC Announces Assembly Poll Dates

In a big development on Friday, the Election Commission of India announced the dates of the Assembly election for West Bengal and elections will be conducted in eight phases. The counting of votes for the polls will take place on May 2.

West Bengal (8-phase election)- 294 seats (68-SC, 16-ST)

1,01,916 polling stations

Assembly term ending on June 1

1st phase- 30 constituencies. Date of polling- March 27

2nd phase- 30 constituencies. Date of polling- April 1

3rd phase- 31 constituencies. Date of polling- April 6

4th phase- 44 constituencies. Date of polling- April 10

5th phase- 45 constituencies. Date of polling- April 17

6th phase- 43 constituencies. Date of polling- April 22

7th phase- 36 constituencies. Date of polling- April 26

8th phase- 35 constituencies. Date of polling- April 29.

READ | Eight-phase Bengal Polls Keeping In Mind Festivals, Deployment Of Forces: EC
A 31-year-old Trenton man was fatally shot early Saturday in Bensalem, Pennsylvania and a passenger in the vehicle in which he was found also suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head police said.

The passenger was listed in critical condition at a local hospital, a Bensalem police report said. He has not been identified.

The homicide victim, Johnnie Clark, was also shot in the head and was found in the drivers seat of the parked car. The incident was reported at 1:59 a.m. in the 4100 block of Old Lincoln Highway in the Trevose section of the township.

Police have no suspects but are requesting anyone with information about the incident contact them at 215-633-3719.
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WASHINGTON - Looking beyond the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, President Joe Biden and lawmakers are laying the groundwork for another top legislative priority  a long-sought boost to the nation's roads, bridges and other infrastructure that could run into Republican resistance to a hefty price tag.

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., right, speaks to President Joe Biden during a meeting with lawmakers on investments in infrastructure, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON - Looking beyond the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, President Joe Biden and lawmakers are laying the groundwork for another top legislative priority  a long-sought boost to the nation's roads, bridges and other infrastructure that could run into Republican resistance to a hefty price tag.

Biden and his team have begun discussions on the possible outlines of an infrastructure package with members of Congress, particularly mindful that Texas' recent struggles with power outages and water shortages after a brutal winter storm present an opportunity for agreement on sustained spending on infrastructure.

Republicans say if the White House approach on the COVID relief bill  which passed the House Saturday on a near party-line vote and now heads to the Senate  is a sign of things to come for Biden's plan on infrastructure and other initiatives, it could be a difficult road ahead in Congress.

A White House proposal could come out in March.

Now is the time to be aggressive, said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a former South Bend, Indiana, mayor who knows potholes.

At a conference with state and local highway officials Thursday, he referred to the often-promised, never-achieved mega-initiative on roads, bridges and the like from the Trump administration.

I know you are among those who are working and waiting most patiently, or maybe impatiently, for the moment when Infrastructure Week will no longer be a kind of Groundhogs Day promise  but actually be something that delivers generational investments, he said.

Much of America's infrastructure  roads, bridges, public drinking and water systems, dams, airports, mass transit systems and more  is in need of major restoration after years of underfunding, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. In its 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, it gave the national infrastructure an overall grade of D+.

Both chambers of Congress will use as starting points their unsuccessful efforts to get infrastructure bills through the last session.

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2021, file photo President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with lawmakers on investments in infrastructure, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. From left, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. Looking beyond the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, Biden and lawmakers are laying the groundwork for another of his top legislative priorities  a long-sought boost to the nation's roads, bridges and other infrastructure that could meet GOP resistance to a hefty price tag. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Democrats passed a $1.5 trillion package in the House last year, but it went nowhere with the Trump administration and the Republican-led Senate. A Senate panel approved narrower bipartisan legislation in 2019 focused on reauthorizing federal transportation programs. It, too, flamed out as the U.S. turned its focus to elections and COVID-19.

Biden has talked bigger numbers, and some Democrats are now urging him to bypass Republicans in the closely divided Congress to address a broader range of priorities urged by interest groups.

During the presidential campaign, Biden pledged to deploy $2 trillion on infrastructure and clean energy, but the White House has not ruled out an even higher price tag.

Pointing to the storm in Texas as a wake-up call" for the need to improve energy systems and other infrastructure, Gina McCarthy, Bidens national climate adviser, told The Associated Press that Biden's plan will specifically aim at green and other initiatives that promote job creation. She cited as an example federal investments to boost workers that have been left behind by closed coal mines or power plants, as well as communities located near polluting refineries and other hazards.

Hes been a long fan of investing in infrastructure  long outdated  long overdue, I should say, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday. But he also wants to do more on caregiving, help our manufacturing sector, do more to strengthen access to affordable health care. So the size  the package  the components of it, the order, that has not yet been determined.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, recently told the White House that he's ready to use the budget manoeuvr known as reconciliation to pass a broad economic recovery package with only Democratic votes. That drew stern warnings from Republicans, who have already closed ranks against Democrats COVID-19 relief bill.

They made a conscious decision not to include us, said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Sunday, calling the White Houses assertion that the views of Republicans were taken into account with the COVID bill a joke.

Cassidy, one of 10 centrist Republicans who met with Biden in early February about getting bipartisan support on that bill, said Biden so far has been about rhetoric when it comes to his pledge of seeking unity and bipartisanship. He called it worrisome for other legislative initiatives.

Republicans remain willing and are working on issues that require bipartisan co-operation," he told CNN's State of the Union."

West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican who will be helping to craft legislation on the Senate side, said theres bipartisan support for ambitious steps on infrastructure. But that should not extend to a multitrillion-dollar package that is stocked full with other ideologically driven, one-size-fits-all policies that tie the hands of our states and our communities, said Capito, the ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told the AP that he foresees a comprehensive House package that will go beyond roads, bridges and public transit. He also expects it to have money for water systems, broadband and the power grid  addressing a weak infrastructure laid bare after the crippling blackouts in Texas.

Hes not ready to talk overall costs yet. DeFazio, D-Ore., said it will be up to the Biden administration and the House Ways and Means Committee to figure out how to pay for it.

DeFazio said General Motors' recently announced goal of going largely electric by 2035 demonstrates the need for massive spending on charging stations across the country. Biden campaigned on a plan to install 500,000 charging stations by the end of 2030.

Im totally willing to work with (Republicans) if theyre willing to recognize climate change," DeFazio said, or if they dont want to recognize climate change, they can just recognize that electric semis and electric vehicles are a flood on the horizon and weve got to get ahead of it.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., expressed a similar sentiment, urging strong action on carbon emissions and the vehicle charging stations to help achieve a full transition to electric." She also wants states to have more federal grants for infrastructure repairs after natural disasters and extreme weather.

At the Senate hearing where she spoke, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland said there's bipartisan support among governors for relieving congestion, cutting red tape, leveraging private sector investment and ensuring projects can better withstand cyber attacks and natural disasters.

Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the new chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said his goal is for his committee to pass an infrastructure bill by Memorial Day.

In the House, Rep. Sam Graves, the top Republican on the transportation panel, said Republicans would be open to a larger package as long as it didn't greatly add to the national debt.

But many lawmakers oppose an increase in the federal gas tax, one way to help pay for the spending, while groups such as the Chamber of Commerce argue against increasing taxes on companies during a pandemic.

White House aide Cedric Richmond, a former congressman from Louisiana, told state transportation officials the president intends for most of the spending to be paid for, not added to the debt. In part, this would be by reversing some of the Trump administration tax cuts.

Ed Mortimer, a vice-president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said removing items in last year's infrastructure bill for renovating schools and low-income housing could lower the price tag, because the COVID relief measure passed by the House already has hundreds of billions of dollars for those purposes.

Affordable housing, school construction, very meritorious, but were not sure that thats a key focus thats going to get a bill signed into law," Mortimer said.

Yen reported from Austin, Texas. AP writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

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The national movement to eliminate exclusionary single-family zoning is picking up steam in the Bay Area as cities explore the benefits of getting rid of a land use policy designed to keep people of color and working class families out of certain neighborhoods.

Last week, the city councils in Berkeley and South San Francisco took steps to end single-family zoning, with Berkeley promising to get rid of it within a year and South City initiating a study as part of its general plan update. After the Berkeley vote, Council Member Terry Taplin, one of the authors of the resolution, called it a historical moment for us in Berkeley.

But while the movement to allow multifamily buildings in zones previously limited to single-family homes is being embraced as a correction of past discriminatory policies  Sacramento, Oregon and Minneapolis have passed such laws  the question of whether it will actually increase housing production is a lot more complicated, according to builders and architects.

In particular, building fourplexes  the four-unit building type that has been promoted as a more democratic, sustainable and affordable alternative to the single-family homes  is challenging in fully built out urban centers such as San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, where vacant land is scarce and expensive, construction costs high and lots are small.

In San Francisco, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman has proposed looking at allowing fourplexes in single-family zoned neighborhoods on corner lots and near transit stations. But builders say the city is home to a combination of factors that make fourplexes a tricky proposition. San Francisco has the third smallest lot sizes in the United States  averaging 2,700 square feet  which doesnt allow much room to shoehorn four units. And vacant lots are rare, as are tear downs, small and outdated homes that dont have much value.

Sean Kieghran, president of San Franciscos Residential Builders Association, said he supports getting rid of single-family only zoning but doesnt think it will result in many new units. Kieghran said that building fourplexes requires either two staircases or a staircase and an elevator, which takes up too much of the site.

And, unless the city streamlined the process of building a fourplex on a single-family lot, builders would run into too many bureaucratic obstacles, Kieghran said. With how long it takes to get through planning and fire and DPW and all the other red tape its not likely we are going to see anybody building fourplexes anytime soon, he said.

Before the late 1960s, San Francisco developers regularly built two-, three-, and four-unit buildings. Stacked flats were the bread and butter of San Franciscos housing stock. But in the late 1960s and 1970s a series of laws changed that, and the majority of the city, especially the west side, was rezoned to prohibit anything but single-family homes.

One of the few architects to design fourplexes on single-family sized lots in the last few decades is Daniel Solomon, who has worked on three such projects. One of those is at 247 27th Ave., a quartet of svelte townhomes that rise like matchsticks to a roof-deck with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond. The building blends into a block that is pretty typical of the Richmond District  there are single-family homes, stacked flats with two or three units, and larger apartment buildings on the corner.

These are nifty little projects, but they wont make a big dent in the housing need, Solomon said. That zoning is a tool to create housing production is a widely held and completely fallacious idea. Just because something is permitted doesnt mean it happens. Its very hard to find a vacant lot or tear down at a price that would work.

He said the fourplexes he designed and built were profitable, but barely. And they took as much time to design and execute as the 100-unit complexes his firm, Mithun, is known for.

You would need to find a developer willing to take a risk on a minuscule profit and an architect who enjoys brain damage, he said. They are complicated little projects. Its the absolute opposite of economy of scale.

While lots are bigger in the East Bay, there are still plenty of obstacles, according to Tom Anthony, a veteran Oakland builder. Land is expensive, neighbors unreceptive to development, and current requirements  12-foot driveways, open space requirements, parking minimums  would make four units impossible unless its a large lot.

And the projects would be expensive  four 1,250-square-foot units would likely cost more than $2.25 million, not including land, taxes, loan interest and other fees.

The key will be making it easy and not piling on fees, according to Victoria Fierce of East Bay For Everyone, a pro-housing group. She pointed to an Oakland developer who wanted to do a fourplex on a vacant lot, but the fees  $24,000 per unit plus a $50,000 administrative fee for doing a multifamily building  made it too costly.

Advocates of fourplexes argue that the buildings can help house the missing middle, households who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing. To hit the missing middle in San Francisco, the units would have to be affordable to households making between 80% to 120% of area median income, which for a family of four is between $102,500 and $153,700 a year.

Opponents to the upzoning fear that it could lead to displacement. South San Francisco Mayor Mark Addiego said developers could target small single-family rentals that provide some of the citys more affordable housing.

I am fearful that the first houses to be gobbled up by developers might be that 60- or 70-year-old little rental on a fair sized lot that can be had for $700,000 or $800,000, he said. The part of town that is under risk is downtown, the oldest housing stock we have and some of the best values for families.

The model might work best in more suburban communities with larger lot sizes and less expensive land, said Peter Cohen of the Council of Community Housing Organizations. He said cities getting rid of single-family zoning should focus on who these units will be serving and how they will help solve the regions affordable-housing crisis.

If the underlying premise of the movement around ending single-family zoning is that its going to make housing more affordable, my question is how? How is it going to make housing more affordable? What is the affordability strategy?

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
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Museums are keepers of history.

Each collection has a focus, yet the public only sees a small percentage of a museums permanent collection.

At the Albuquerque Museum, there are nearly 200,000 objects in the history collection.

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The art collection is 10,000 items strong, while the photo and digital archives is upwards of 3,000 images.

Like most of the museums, the Albuquerque Museum has a small percentage on display at any given time, says Andrew Connors, museum director. I was reading an article recently about the Louvre in Paris. The (museum) has more than 600,000 objects in its permanent collection. Yet there are only 38,000 on view. Its pretty typical for a museum. Were repositories for the future.

The Albuquerque Museum is currently hosting the blockbuster exhibit, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism in its main gallery.

Yet Connors has some suggestions for some hidden treasures throughout the museum.

1 Bruneau Mountain Belt by Yazzie Johnson (Navajo) and Gail Bird (Laguna/Santo Domingo)

Connors says each belt by Johnson and Bird features the sandhill crane, a river bird unique to the Southwest.

This is a really brilliant contemporary interpretation of a concha belt, Connors says. They usually name their belts after one of the materials and theres some Bruneau agate stone in it.

Connors says the pair found the stones and placed them in the landscapes inside the concha belt.

One of the challenges in getting visitors to see it is where its placed, Connors says. Its set down low so that its at a childs eye level. Adults have to crouch a little to see the magnificent interpretation.

2 Alvarado Hotel sign, February 1970 by Joe McKinney

Connors says McKinney is a local architect at the University of New Mexico, who documented the demise of the Alvarado Hotel.

The photograph he took shows the rubble where the Alvarado Hotel used to be and the neon sign all broken up, Connors says.

I find the portrait very powerful as a statement of what we give up, Connors says. Weve lost so much of New Mexican history because we havent quite been aware that we need to care. In Albuquerque, we tend to be so focused on looking forward and we forget to celebrate the great achievements of our past.

3 Portrait of Juan Jose Baca by Mrs. Franc Emma Luce Albright

Connors says the portrait is from the early 1880s, shortly after the railroad arrived in Albuquerque.

From a distance, it looks like a large format black and white photograph, Connors says. Its not. Its charcoal, pencil and gouache on paper.

The piece was created by Albright, who owned Mrs. Albrights Art Parlor in Albuquerque.

She was also the director of photography at the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Socially, Portrait of Juan Jose Baca confirms that wealthy clients lived in Albuquerque who could support the Mrs. Albrights Art Parlor.

My interpretation is that Juan Jose Baca wanted to be seen as modern, Connors says. He envisioned something that wasnt technologically possible. When the new technology of photography failed, Mrs. Albright resorted to the old technology of charcoal drawing and its stunning. Most visitors dont realize that its not a photograph. Its a very interesting object.

Connors says the piece will be on display until the end of March.

4 Picture frame by Jose Dolores Lopez

This picture frame is fairly nondescript and painted blue and gray. It is created by Lopez, who lived in Cordova and was a carpenter and sheep herder.

In 1917, Lopezs son, Nicudemos, was drafted to serve in World War I. Nicudemos sent a photograph of his company from basic training, along with a letter to his parents. Lopez carved and painted the frame in a Victorian style and hung it in the house.

Both the letter and photograph have been lost, Connors says. But the frame is a significant item because Lopez went on to innovate a new style of New Mexico Hispanic woodcarving. It is know as the Cordova style of woodcarving. The frame pre-dates his decision to stop painting the wood. Its a pretty early object by him.

5 Self-Portrait by Emmy Lou Packard

Connors says the work by Packard is included in the Kahlo exhibit.

Packard was a printmaker and fresco artists who grew up in El Centro, California. She studied with Kahlo and Rivera in Mexico from 1927-28.

She went back to California after that to study at UC Berkeley, Connors says. Diego was commissioned to do a fresco in 1940 and he asked Emmy Lou Packard to be his studio assistant. Diego included a picture of Packard in the piece.

Connors says the museum is excited to have the piece from the permanent collection as part of the Kahlo exhibit.

Its really fun that we have this self-portrait of a very little known artist, he says. We were able to finally showcase the brilliance of how her work is influenced by Frida and Diego.

Editors note: The last Sunday of each month, Journal Arts Editor Adrian Gomez tells the stories behind some of the hidden gems you can see across the state in Gimme Five.
SEBEKA, Minn. (AP)  Authorities say two suspects were killed and a sheriffs deputy was wounded in a shootout that began with a traffic traffic stop in northwestern Minnesota.

The Wadena County Sheriffs Office says the incident began about 8:45 p.m. Saturday after a struggle ensued between the deputy and motorist who was pulled over near Sebeka. The confrontation continued when a second suspect and a Sebeka police officer, arrived on scene At least one of the motorists began shooting at the officers, according to the statement. One of the officers returned fire.

All four people were struck by gunfire. The wounded deputy suffered serious, non-life threatening injuries, The Sebeka officer was struck in the protective vest and did not require treatment.
The longtime manager of Charleston's largest hotel left the job after a quarter century to take a position at a hospitality management firm across the harbor.

Paul Stracey, formerly managing director at the upscale Belmond Charleston Place, was named director of operations for Charlestowne Hotels where he'll be overseeing properties in the Mount Pleasant-based company's portfolio of about 50 lodgings.

Of Stracey's 35 years of experience in luxury hospitality, 25 of those were spent at Charleston Place, an anchor hotel complex on the peninsula with more than 430 guest rooms, a AAA Four Diamond-rated restaurant and the attached Shops at Belmond Charleston Place where the lineup of high-end retailers includes Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

When it opened in 1986 as The Omni, the property served a critical link between King Street and the tourist-centric City Market area.

During his tenure, Stracey oversaw a $35 million renovation that included complete makeovers for all guest rooms. At the time that project was completed in 2013, Stracey told The Post and Courier the improvements would help the hotel stay competitive as more and more luxury accommodations opened downtown.

The newcomers have included lodgings such as the Charlestowne-managed Spectator, which opened in the Market area in 2015.

Hotel growth on that part of the peninsula has continued, with projects like The Loutrel, a boutique hotel that's expected to open on State Street later this year and will also be managed by Charlestowne, and a 115-room full-service hotel with condominiums and retail planned across from the Market.

Stracey's former role has not been filled yet. Rui Reis, Belmond Ltd.'s managing director for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, is temporarily filling in as general manager, according to a spokesperson for Belmond.

Stracey will be working with "some of the most highly regarded hotels in Charlestownes portfolio," according to an announcement of his hire. The company was "selective about the talent," chosen for the operations team, chief operating officer Kyle Hughey said in a statement, describing Stracey's experience as "second to none" and crucial for the company as it "expands into additional competitive, high-occupancy markets.

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Charlestowne's portfolio includes 18 hotels in the Palmetto State  soon to be 19 with the opening of The Loutrel  and most are in the Charleston area. They range from a Best Western on Savannah Highway to the highly rated French Quarter Inn on Church Street.

Stracey wasn't available last week to discuss the new job due to travel, but said in a statement from Charlestowne's announcement that he is looking forward to flexing his "creative muscles" and "expanding (his) reach" in the role.

Hotel hiring

An Isle of Palms seaside getaway is holding its second hiring event for its newest addition.

Wild Dunes Resort will meet with candidates March 3-4 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. to fill a variety of jobs at Sweetgrass Inn. The 153-key hotel is set to start welcoming guests March 26.

Openings include hourly food and beverage jobs, guest services, culinary, valet, events and security.

Wild Dunes is owned by Los Angeles-based Lowe, which is beefing up its local lodging portfolio by building a luxury hotel next to Waterfront Park in downtown Charleston.

Hospitality workers have been the hardest hit in the Charleston region during the coronavirus pandemic. The latest metro-level data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the number of jobs in the industry were down 27 percent compared to the pre-COVID era.

Statewide, the recovery has been slightly better, with South Carolina hospitality employment down 16 percent.
 Flash

When a plane carrying Thailand's first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from China's Sinovac landed at an airport on Wednesday, people waiting on the tarmac cheered and applauded.

"Thank you to the People's Republic of China for delivering the first batch of vaccines this month and the following batches in the subsequent months," said Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, when he welcomed the vaccines' arrival at the airport.

Prayut expressed his gratitude while a refrigerated container, with a banner reading "COVID-19 vaccines, returning smiles to Thailand" written in Thai, was lowered from the plane.

The Chinese vaccines would be distributed to 13 provinces of Thailand to prioritize health care workers and those most at risk, while more vaccine shipments are expected to arrive in March and April.

Thailand, known as the Land of Smiles, is heavily reliant on tourism but it recently has seen a drop in tourism due to COVID-19. The country welcomed about 40 million foreign tourists in 2019, but only 6.7 million last year.

It is widely expected that the COVID-19 vaccines will be a game-changer. Prayut hopes the vaccine would contribute to the recovery of the tourism sector through easing restrictive measures, such as exempting vaccinated tourists from the two-week mandatory quarantine.

The arrival of the Sinovac vaccines marks a significant move to jumpstart the vaccination process in Thailand and thus catch up with other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Tang Zhimin, director of China ASEAN Studies at the Bangkok-based Panyapiwat Institute of Management.

Elsewhere in the ASEAN region, where COVID-19 has claimed more than 50,000 lives from over 2.4 million cases, countries are placing their trust in China as they have ordered, received or approved the emergency use of Chinese vaccines.

Among the biggest takers of the Chinese vaccines is Indonesia, which has ordered a large number of doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

"We should ensure the quality, safety and effectiveness. That's the first one. Then the second one is, of course, they have to be listed in the WHO (World Health Organization) recommendation," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, the Indonesian government's spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination.

In a livestream, Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Jan. 13 rolled up his sleeves to receive his first shot of the Sinovac vaccine, kicking off the nation's mass inoculation campaign.

The massive vaccination program would help Indonesia achieve herd immunity after 181.5 million people, or around two thirds of the country's population, are inoculated within 15 months, said Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono.

The largest economy in Southeast Asia is pinning its hope on the mass vaccination drive to curb its soaring cases, which have exceeded 1.3 million, and revitalize its virus-hit economy.

On Saturday, Malaysia also received its first delivery of the Sinovac vaccine, days after the country kicked off its inoculation program, which aims to inoculate at least 80 percent of the country's total population.

Viruses do not respect borders and only by cooperating in the spirit of solidarity can the international community overcome the pandemic, said Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.

As COVID-19 is still raging and countries around the world are scrambling to obtain vaccines, which are in short supply, China has promised to make Chinese COVID-19 vaccines a global public good.
Maldives Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) on Saturday said that it has inoculated close to 1 lakh population with the Indian manufactured COVID-19 vaccine Covishield dispatched under Indias generous Vaccine Maitri' initiative. At least 98,511 civilians have been immunized against the deadly coronavirus infection with jabs manufactured by the worlds largest Serum Institute of India (SII). In an official statement, HEOC spokesperson, Dr. Fathmath Nazla Rafeeq said that Maldives commenced the vaccination campaign across the entire island country except for HA Muraidhoo and V Fulidhoo islands, where resources are limited and the population is comparatively low. However, the country plans to dispatch mobile teams in these remote islands to get the civilians vaccinated against COVID-19 soon.

Maldives that started the mass inoculation campaign on February 1, has immunized at least 19 percent of its total 557,426 population, according to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), cited by ANI. Thus far, India has dispatched a total of 229.7 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines to countries worldwide, of which, 64.7 lakh doses were donated as grants, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a release. Indias generous efforts were started in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modis commitment to making the medicinal product available for all of humanity to combat the global pandemic and oppose vaccine nationalism.

#Livestream: Official ceremony held to launch Maldives Covid-19 Dhifaau vaccination campaign https://t.co/qxpH0n32mY  The President's Office (@presidencymv) February 1, 2021

Read: Pune Court Rejects 'Trademark-Violation Plea' Filed Against Serum SII Over 'Covishield'

Read: Pakistan To Receive 17 Million COVISHIELD Doses Via COVAX Route Amid 2nd COVID-19 Wave

Maldivian minister expresses gratitude

Earlier, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid received his first jab of the Indian manufactured 'Covishield' vaccine shot. The Maldivian minister expressed gratitude for Indias COVID-19 vaccination shipment and hailed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision that put vaccine nationalism far behind and made the vials available for the island nation. Government of Maldives begins COVID19 vaccination for all in the Maldives with no discrimination based on nationality, the Maldivian minister wrote on Twitter, addressing the government of India and Indian citizens. He thanked India in his heartfelt post for its generosity' in providing the vaccines, as he was being inoculated at a healthcare center. Shahid shared the footage of his vaccination, as he said a big thank you to the Indian administration for its efforts.

Read: Serum's Poonawalla Writes To Canada's Trudeau With Covishield Timeline Post PM's Assurance

Read: Madras HC Issues Notice On Plea Alleging Serious Side Effects During COVISHIELD Trial
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 22:42:54|Editor: huaxia

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by Olatunji Saliu

ABUJA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria is about to receive its first tranche of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, a global scheme set up to procure and distribute vaccines, as the country works to contain the pandemic.

The first shipment of four million vaccines is expected to arrive in the country on Monday, about one year after the most populous African nation recorded its index case on Feb. 27, 2020, said Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

Nigeria has recorded a total of 155,417 COVID-19 confirmed cases since the index case, an imported one, was recorded in Lagos, the epicenter of the virus here, according to data by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday.

"I can assure you that the vaccines are coming and they are coming very quickly. Barring any change in the delivery plan... we believe that our vaccines will be back in here on March 1 by 10:30 p.m. and arrive in Abuja on March 2 at about 11:10 a.m.," Mustapha told reporters at a regular briefing in Abuja on Saturday.

He said the country expects to receive about 16 million in the first quarter from the COVAX facility.

"Everything we are expecting from the COVAX facility is going to be the AstraZeneca which has a good ravage in terms of storage for us," he said.

According to Mustapha, Nigeria also has another source of more than 40 million doses vaccines coming in from African Union's African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT).

Nigeria's Health Minister Osagie Ehanire told media in Abuja earlier in the month that if all the projected vaccines are supplied, the country should have covered over 45 per cent of the population.

In the past year, out of the total confirmed cases, Nigeria has discharged 133,256 patients and recorded 1,905 COVID-19 related deaths across the 36 states, including the federal capital territory, Abuja.

Active COVID-19 cases in the country currently stand at 20,183, the NCDC said.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the NCDC said at the same press briefing that the country's national response in the past year has been led by "science".

Ihekweazu said there's a need for continued adherence to the public health and social measures as the country marks one year of the first case of COVID-19.

This, he said, includes physical distancing, wearing face masks, practicing hand and respiratory hygiene, and avoiding crowded indoor places.

With at least one public health laboratory for COVID-19 testing in each state, more than 70 public health laboratories have been established across the country, as part of efforts to scale up capacity for COVID-19 testing and surveillance activities, he said further.

"However, we must remember our resilience and strength as a country. We cannot afford to give up now and must continue to take responsibility -- whether as individuals, organizations, or governments," he added. Enditem

The last five years have been pretty bruising for Simon McKeon. The prominent board director, philanthropist and 2011 Australian of the Year has been caught up in some of the worst corporate scandals the nation has witnessed in decades.

McKeon  whose most recent major appointment was to the board of National Australia Bank  has enjoyed a glittering business career spanning four decades. After starting out as a lawyer, he spent over 30 years at Macquarie Group, advising major companies and becoming its most senior banker in Melbourne. He was named Australian of the Year ten years ago for his efforts supporting charities and non-profits such as World Vision Australia.

But more recently, he has had front row tickets to some stunning corporate crises. He was chair of financial services giant AMP in the years before it was named worst performer at the banking royal commission, and a director of Rio Tinto as the mining giant self-imploded over its destruction of 46,000-year-old caves.

NABs newest director Simon McKeon has long recognised the importance of corporate culture. Credit:Joe Armao

In an extensive interview with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, McKeon likens the experience of steering a company through a crisis to being in battle. Were now in war cabinet territory, this is all hands to the pump, he recalls of the moment a crisis reaches board level. Whether we like it or not, this is going to take up a huge amount of time and effort.

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Kinzingers new video, Trump rebuttal and appearance on CBS Face the Nation came as the congressman said he had expected Trump would use CPAC to declare Republicans were united around him as party leader. He said he believed after the CPAC appearance, its going to be really hard for him, I think, to maintain the kinds of crowds and energy and focus and attention that he has in the past without being even more and more crazy on the things he says, which is going to attract less and less people.
A few strong to severe storms will be possible overnight in parts of north and central Alabama, according to forecasters.

NOAAs Storm Prediction Center has maintained a slight risk for severe weather for the northern part of the state and a marginal risk farther south as of Sunday night.

Much of north Alabama, including the Huntsville area, has a slight risk for severe weather. A slight risk is Level 2 out of 5 and means scattered severe storms will be possible.

The SPC also has the rest of north Alabama and part of central Alabama in a marginal risk for severe weather. A marginal risk is Level 1 and means isolated severe storms will be possible.

The best chance for storms will be overnight as a cold front moves into the state, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters said damaging winds are the greatest concern, but a tornado cant be ruled out, either.

The threat for strong storms will shift eastward and southward through Monday morning.

[7:45 PM Radar Update] A slow moving line of storms will bring prolonged heavy rainfall to the TN Valley overnight. Gusty to damaging winds will be possible, but the greatest threat will be localized flooding from heavy rain. #TurnAroundDontDrown #HUNwx pic.twitter.com/OxnNretvsa  NWS Huntsville (@NWSHuntsville) March 1, 2021

The weather service in Huntsville said the threat for severe weather was still a low-confidence one. The Storm Prediction Center had an ongoing tornado watch to the north and west of Alabama but said it didnt anticipate issuing one for the state.

The weather service in Birmingham has adjusted its marginal risk area to include less of central Alabama as of Sunday night. Storms will be possible from 10 p.m. through the early morning hours on Monday:

UPDATE: We've made some slight adjustments to the severe threat tonight.



- Removed Pickens/Tuscaloosa Counties.

- Shortened time window



Overall, it still appears to be a low-end threat. We'll keep you updated. #alwx pic.twitter.com/CLnTNHu2vd  NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) March 1, 2021

The weather service is also concerned about the potential for flooding and has issued a flash flood watch for most of north Alabama and part of north-central Alabama.

The weather service in Huntsville said 1 to 2 inches of rain will be possible, with some areas getting even more.

This is coming on top of rain from Thursday and Friday in the same areas.

The north Alabama counties in the flash flood watch are Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan and Jackson. The weather service said the watch will be in effect through Monday morning. The heavier rain is expected to start later this evening and last into Monday morning.

There is also flood watch for Marion, Lamar and Winston counties in north-central Alabama.

It will be in effect through late tonight, according to the weather service in Birmingham.

An inch to 1.5 inches of rain will be possible in those counties, and that combined with rain on Thursday and Friday could cause some flooding in low-lying areas, the weather service said.
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Gurugram condominium declared containment zone after 20 residents test Covid-19 positive

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 28: At least 20 residents of a condominium in Sector 67 in Haryana's Gurugram have tested positive for coronavirus. The authorities have declared the condominium as a containment zone.

"At first, three cases were reported, after which testing camp was set up. Around 20 persons tested positive, so we declared it as containment zone. More tests being conducted," Gurugram health department officer J Prakash told ANI.

The COVID-19 death toll in Haryana rose to 3,047 on Saturday with three more fatalities, while 199 new cases pushed the infection count to 2,70,610, a health department bulletin said. One fatality each was recorded in Gurugram, Ambala and Karnal districts, it said.

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Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 9:46 [IST]
Some Chinese entrepreneurs still believe success depends on long working hours and scrimping on employee benefits. South China Morning Post





2020 was not an easy year for Chinese tech companies: many came under scrutiny and received queries from market investors and government officials. Yet these internet giants' difficulties hardly matched those faced by some of their employees.



The tragic deaths of white- and blue-collar tech workers alike triggered scathing questions on the labour conditions in some of China's most well-known tech behemoths.



Almost two years after the launch of "996 ICU", an online campaign protesting the overwork culture in China's Big Tech, the situation seems to have only got worse.



The declining welfare of workers has its roots in drastic changes taking place in China's tech scene: the golden era when internet platforms could easily gain millions of new users overnight has passed.



Over the past two decades, the arrival of over a billion new mobile internet users allowed China's Big Tech to grow and thrive, as government regulations freed them from foreign competition. However, years of freewheeling development has also given birth to a new kind of work value: the pursuit of sustained growth at all cost.



That goal is now getting harder than ever to realise in an increasingly saturated domestic market, even as the country's brightest talent works gruelling hours to try to replicate past success.





A booth at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2021 / South China Morning Post



For some company leaders, the new reality is hard to stomach, partly because their triumphs back in the days seemed to have been so easily achieved. Pressure from international investors does not help either: a halt in growth would discredit the narrative of uninterrupted success long championed by these companies.



It is not uncommon for me to hear from friends who hold entry- to medium-level jobs at so-called dachang - a Chinese word meaning "big factories" that is often used to describe tech giants - complaining about the absurdity of their day-to-day work. To meet unrealistic company targets, young people armed with gold-plated resumes and big dreams often ended up plagiarising content and fabricating numbers with bots.



Within the industry, it is no secret that companies have a strong recruiting preference towards naive fresh graduates in their early twenties. Tech companies lure high-achieving young people not only with competitive salaries, but also visions of life-changing career prospects. These factors, combined with a gloomy job market, have made a job at one of these big factories seem too precious to give up.



However, the recent death of a young employee at e-commerce company Pinduoduo, who collapsed while walking home from work during the wee hours, might be a sobering wake-up call.



Internet giants are certainly changing the world, but is it for the better when the basic welfare of their employees seems to be at risk? Anonymous online testimonies from former tech employees have offered a glimpse at the alleged working conditions in these big factories. At live-streaming company Kuaishou, managers have been accused of putting up timers at restrooms to keep tabs on how much time-off their employees are taking. At Pinduoduo, employees have allegedly been asked to work at least 300 hours a month, or 380 hours at some of its more competitive business units.





Pinduoduo, which grew to challenge e-commerce incumbents Alibaba and JD.com in China, was the subject of controversy after the death of a 22-year-old employee, renewing conversations about the tech industry's brutal "996" work schedule. South China Morning Post
Dony Garment continues the legacy of serving others with the special distribution of face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic with a special vehicle - gives back to communities with free masks.

Bus goes around HCM City supplying free face masks

Dony Garment continues the legacy of serving others with the special distribution of face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic with a special vehicle - gives back to communities with free masks.

Dony Garment continues the legacy of serving others with the special distribution of face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic with a special vehicle - gives back to communities with free masks.

Dony Garment

Free COVID cloth face masks to communities from leading Vietnam garment manufacturer

Free COVID cloth face masks to communities from leading Vietnam garment manufacturer

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Feb. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Continuing a legacy of service, Dony Garment, a leading Vietnam apparel manufacturer plans to continue operating the face mask bus, a bright yellow mobile donation station that has a plan to give out 100,000 face masks across Vietnam.

The local distribution is part of their larger charitable efforts to get these life-saving masks out across the globe for free, including a recent donation of 100,000 reusable antimicrobial community face mask to the U.S.

It is a part of being a good global supplier, that we happily provide masks for free through various ways, said Dony Garment CEO  Henry Pham It makes me happy to see this giant yellow bus, giving out masks in the safest way possible. The automation on this vehicle is incredible.

These masks are top of the line, Pham said. Theyre washable and reusable, made from three-ply 99.9 percent antibacterial cloth, and are water-resistant. They breathe well, but with our design using unique-nano-silver technology, they also offer extreme effectiveness. This is why our masks have been certified by some of the most stringent standards in the world.

And unlike so many other types of masks, the Dony Mask is washable and reusable, without losing effectiveness for up to 60 washes.

We also know how important it is that a face mask be comfortable, Pham said. So, we have designed our masks to be able to be worn for the whole day comfortably in any setting imaginable.

Story continues

Moving into 2021 Dony Garment hopes to secure even more distribution points, in order to get their masks out to the people in areas that need them the most. So far, their partnerships have been fruitful, shipping to wholesalers across the globe.

Our masks are available to wholesalers and distributors anywhere in the world, especially those based in the US, the Middle East, and the EU market, Pham said. And with our high-quality low-cost manufacturing process, we can offer those masks at a price point that ensures almost any business model can profit from selling them.

Dony Garment also offers direct distribution for business purposes and can offer exclusive partnerships. Dony Mask has Exclusive Distributors in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Malaysia, UAE, Canada.

We try to cover every base when it comes to ensuring each of our business partners has complete trust in our company, our product, and our ability to deliver an amazing product at bulk prices, Pham said. We offer free samples, trial orders, and branding opportunities with logo and label service available. Its great for corporate unity or to promote a brand.

With their one-size-fits-all design and variety of color options, when paired with a corporate logo or label, the masks can be customized to suit any business need.

It continues to be important to keep workers safe, and one of the few things known to work is a face mask, Pham said. We want to ensure that every business large and small across the globe has access to these incredible masks, to help make the most out of a bad situation, but also to help keep employees, customers, clients, families, and friends as safe as possible.

To find out more about Dony Garment visit their website garment.dony.vn.

A short video about the Dony Mask can also be found on their official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmcXNj569lA

Media contact: +84985310123

News by KISS PR Brand Story PressWire





This news has been published for the above source. Dony Garment Company [ID=17097]

Disclaimer: The information does not constitute advice or an offer to buy. Any purchase made from this story is made at your own risk. Consult an expert advisor/health professional before any such purchase. Any purchase made from this link is subject to the final terms and conditions of the website's selling. The content publisher and its distribution partners do not take any responsibility directly or indirectly. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the company this news is about.





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Two student leaders accused of organising a protest against police boss Godwin Matanga are spending the weekend in remand prison after a Harare magistrate delayed ruling on their bail application.

Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) president Takudzwa Ngadziore and secretary-general Tapiwanashe Chiriga were arrested on Friday after allegedly staging the protest outside the Harare magistrates court the previous day.

The duo appeared before magistrate Vongai Guwuriro yesterday and were remanded to tomorrow for the bail ruling. Prosecutors opposed bail.

Ngadziore and Chiriga were allegedly part of a group that held a demonstration demanding the release of pro-democracy campaigner Makomborero Haruzivishe.

Haruzivishe was arrested over a week ago on a slew of allegations that included taking part in anti-government protests during the lockdown.

Ngadziore and Chiriga allegedly demanded the resignation of Matanga while addressing journalists outside the courts.

Meanwhile, Chiriga and Nancy Njenge, a Zinasu member, were yesterday granted bail on charges of violating Covid-19 lockdown regulations after they allegedly participated in the demonstration.

The student leaders are being represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) members Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and Jeremiah Bamu. But Chiriga remains in custody for the other offence.

ZLHR communications officer Kumbirai Mafunda was also arrested on the same day while covering court cases, but was released without charge after Chinopfukutwa and Bamus intervention.

Another student leader, Alan Moyo, was released last week after spending 71 days in detention without trial following his arrest last year for allegedly calling for President Emmerson Mnangagwas ouster.

Mnangagwa has been accused by United Nations experts of using lockdowns to slow down the spread of the coronavirus to close the democratic space.

Several government critics have been arrested since the government first introduced lockdowns in March last year.

The activists were accused of violating Covid-19 lockdown regulations by organising protests. Standard
Egypts State Council rejected on Sunday two lawsuits that sought to stop the Journalists Syndicate midterm elections from being held on 5 March as scheduled.

As per the courts decision, the election will be held next Friday in the syndicates headquarters in Downtown Cairo, Khaled Miri, the undersecretary of the syndicate and the head of the elections committee, said on Sunday.

The Friday election will be held to elect a new syndicate head and six board members.

Last week, the election supervising committee announced that six journalists met the requirements to run for the post of the head of the syndicate and 55 others for the syndicates board.

One of the lawsuits called for suspending the election over coronavirus concerns, saying that the syndicates headquarters should not receive thousands of journalists, since this would endanger the lives of the members of the syndicate's general assembly.

The second lawsuit to postpone was filed by a journalist who accused the committee supervising the election of violating bylaws in rejecting his candidacy for a syndicate post.

The current head of the syndicate, Diaa Rashwan, was present during the court session, asking the court to reject the lawsuits and allow the election to be held on time.

In remarks to the states news agency  MENA  on Sunday, Rashwan said he would call on relevant authorities to carry out a sterilisation campaign at the headquarters of the syndicate throughout election day.

He noted that he would also call on the health ministry to contribute to ensuring all preventive measures against the coronavirus are applied at the headquarters and monitor the temperatures of all visitors on that day.

Rashwan said he would also urge the interior ministry to include a part of Abdel-Khaleq Tharwat Street, where the syndicate is headquartered, in the election plan on that day, in order to ensure social distancing is maintained.

Miri said earlier that the interior ministry rejected a proposal to hold the elections in tents outside the syndicates headquarters.

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A Russian helicopter made an emergency landing in Syria, RIA Novosti informed with reference to the Ministry of Defense, News.am reports.

The crew of the Mi-35 helicopter was promptly delivered to the airfield by the search and rescue service. Nothing threatens the lives of the pilots, the ministry's press service said.

The Ministry of Defense clarified that the incident occurred due to technical problems. According to the pilots' report, they did not shoot at the helicopter.
MACEDONIA, Ohio  Local FBI agents and Macedonia police are looking for the publics help to identify the person responsible for robbing a Key Bank branch Saturday morning.

The robbery happened about 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Key Bank on the 600 block of East Aurora Road, just off of Interstate 271, a news release from the Cleveland Division of the FBI says.

The male robbery suspect walked into the bank, slammed his hands on the teller counter and demanded cash in $50 and $100 bills, the news release states. The teller complied, and the robber left the bank, possibly in a blue Honda Accord.

Authorities did not say how much money the man had in his possession when he left the bank. The suspect did not threaten tellers with a weapon, and one wasnt seen either, the news release says.

The suspect, captured on surveillance footage, was described as about 5-feet, 9-inches tall and weighing about 220 pounds, the release states. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, black knit hat, black Gator neck cover, black gloves and tan boots.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the suspect should contact Macedonia police or Cleveland FBI. Tips can remain anonymous, and reward money is available.

Read more on cleveland.com:

Man with mental illness disappeared hours after release from Cuyahoga County Jail, family accuses jail of switching meds

Oath Keeper from Ohio charged in Capitol riot renounces militia group

Cleveland police arrest suspect in shooting on Case Western Reserve University campus, school says
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2021) The US food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Johnson & Johnson's single-shot coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.

"Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the third vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

The EUA allows the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the U.S for use in individuals 18 years of age and older," the FDA said on Saturday.

The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously during a livestream event on Friday to recommend the vaccine, which has now become the third to be authorized in the US (in addition to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines).
LANE COUNTY, Ore -- Lane County Public Health hosted two simultaneous mass vaccination clinics Saturday where health officials administered roughly 3,000 shots to eligible seniors and people in Phase 1A.

About 1,500 shots were given at each clinic on Saturday, Lane County Public Health spokesman Jason Davis said.

According to Kachina Inman, a volunteer at one of the clinics, operations ran smoothly.

"We strongly believe in quality improvement, so every time we do an event we get better and we learn those little kinks, but today's going really well," Inman said. "We've been practicing and getting ready to run two sites."

In total, health officials plan to administer about 4,500 first doses to people over the age of 70 during clinics on Saturday and Sunday and roughly 6,000 second doses to people who received their first shots about a month ago at the clinics from Saturday to Tuesday.

Many of those people were forced to reschedule their appointments to this week after Lane County postponed a booster clinic last week where roughly 6,700 people were originally supposed to receive their first doses.

RELATED: LANE COUNTY BOOSTER CLINIC POSTPONED DUE TO DELAYED VACCINE DOSES

According to health officials, about 80 percent of appointments that were postponed last week were rescheduled within 24 hours. The remaining 20 percent of people were able to reschedule their appointments throughout the week.

A small number of emails regarding the rescheduling process went to people's spam folders and in a few cases, eligible seniors who had already recently their first doses received the rescheduling link according to health officials. Those issues have been resolved.

Between Monday and Friday, Lane County Public Health will partner with PeaceHealth to give roughly 2,000 additional shots to eligible seniors.

In the future, Lane County Public Health expects to expand operations even more by opening up more clinics including one in Cottage Grove.

According to health officials, the amount of people eligible to receive the vaccine is greater than the supply of vaccines available. They are asking for patience from the public and are encouraging people to pre-register on Lane County Government's website if they have not done so already.
The campus and city news desks have compiled a list of events going on throughout the upcoming week that are open to the public. The list features art events, a dog-friendly concert and Georgia Beer Day events.
However, Kravchuk refused to call the situation in Donbas "escalation of the conflict."

A recent increase in the number of attacks by Russia-led forces on Ukrainian military positions in Donbas is linked with sanctions imposed by Ukraine on Viktor Medvedchuk, a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his TV channels.

Ukraine's envoy who heads the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group, ex-President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk said in an interview for the Russian bureau of Germany's DW.

Read alsoUkraine envoy Kravchuk on situation in Donbas: 'Call a spade a spade'

Kravchuk refused to call the situation in Donbas "escalation of the conflict," but admitted that an exacerbation is still taking place.

"I think this is precisely due to the fact that Ukraine has begun to be more active, that [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky has imposed sanctions on pro-Russian channels because of their propaganda, slapped sanctions on Medvedchuk," Kravchuk said. "That is, they felt how Ukraine had moved from words to deeds. Plus, how Europe assessed the actions of Russia, the situation with Nord Stream 2, statements by [U.S. President Joe] Biden and his team ... They realized that the situation was not in their favor, and began to demonstrate that they also had the power and could do something."

However, according to Kravchuk, it is incorrect to consider the aggravation in Donbas to be Russia's direct revenge for the sanctions against Putin's ally.

"I do not think so. This is not revenge. Because they have never stopped implementing the idea that Ukraine should be 'under Russia,' never ... They have never given up the idea. Therefore, to finally break ties with Russia, we need to really become a member of the EU, a real member of NATO, and really get the status of a distinctive partner of the United States," he said.

"We know that Russia's appetites will not end with Ukraine," he added.

Other related news reports

Reporting by UNIAN
A Garda has been hospitalised after an incident at a house party in Finglas in Dublin.

Gardai were called to a house at Glenties Drive following reports of a party occurring at the property.

During the incident, an altercation broke out and an 18-year-old woman was arrested at the scene under the Public Order Act.

The woman was taken to Finglas garda station, and has since been charged by gardai.

A 17-year-old girl assaulted a garda, and was also then arrested at the scene.

The garda was taken to the Mater Hospital to be treated for their injuries.

A Garda spokesperson said a number of Fixed Penalty Notices will be issued in due course.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing 'Mann Ki Baat', confessed that he missed out on the opportunity to learn the Tamil language. This response was to a question he was asked in the run up to Mann Ki Baat.

While addressing the radio programme, Prime Minister Modi said that he was recently asked if there was something he missed out on during these long years as Chief Minister and Prime Minister. He reponded to this saying that he could not learn the world's oldest language Tamil.

Talking about how a simple question can shake a person, he said, Sometimes, a simple question shakes you. A few days ago someone asked me did I ever feel that I could not pursue something. I told myself that I could not give enough efforts to learn the world's most ancient language Tamil.

Calling Tamil literature beautiful, he shared with his audience how he has not been able to pursue that interest.

Mann Ki Baat is PM Modis monthly radio programme through which he talks about current issues and also addresses a range of topics. This programme is released at the end of every month.

Live TV
A death threat has been issued against Sinn Fein Antrim councillor Ian Friary, the party has said.

North Antrim MLA Phillip McGuigan said "reckless and sectarian" graffiti had also appeared targeting the Bannside councillor in the east Antrim village of Ahoghill.

The graffiti features Mr Friary's name and Sinn Fein with the cross hairs of a gun beside them, along with the message 'no Irish Sea border' and the sectarian slogan 'KAT'.

Police have confirmed they are investigating an incident of criminal damage regarding the graffiti.

They discovered the graffiti on the wall of a building in the Brook Street area on Sunday morning

"The incident is being treated a sectarian hate crime and enquiries are ongoing," a PSNI spokesperson said.

Mr McGuigan said police had contacted Mr Friary, who serves on Mid and East Antrim Borouh Council, on Sunday "to warn him of a threat against his life".

The threat comes after reckless, despicable and sectarian graffiti appeared in Ahoghill Village targeting Councillor Friary over the weekend," the Sinn Fein MLA said.

Threats against public representatives are reprehensible and must not be tolerated."

Mr McGuigan said the threats and graffiti were "clearly an attempt by loyalist gangs to stoke up sectarian tensions in the area and instil fear into the local community".

"We need to hear those in positions of leadership within unionism, particularly the DUP, coming out and making it clear that these threats and this graffiti is wrong," he said.

Anyone with information on this graffiti should contact the PSNI.

DUP North Antrim MLA Mervyn Storey condemned the threat.

"There can be no place for threats or intimidation in our society. Any such incident is wrong and must be condemned," the Policing Board member said.

Alliance councillor Patricia O'Lynn also offered support to council colleague Mr Friary saying the graffiti was a "total disgrace".

"No place for this nonsense in society," she said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, and quote reference number 623 of 28/02/21. A report can be made on the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/

The DUP have been contacted in relation to this story.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 10:29:03|Editor: huaxia

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A nurse prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 28, 2021. Thailand on Sunday started its COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, with the first shot, using China's Sinovac vaccine, going to Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

BANGKOK, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Sunday started its COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, with the first shot, using China's Sinovac vaccine, going to Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha presided over the event at the country's infectious disease institute, where other officials, including deputy public health minister, agriculture minister, culture minister and deputy education minister, were also vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine.

"It's a historic day and a day to help the country rebuild confidence against the pandemic," Prayut told reporters after all the recipients of the vaccine ended their 30-minute observation period and had shown no adverse reaction.

Also on Sunday, 159 people in Samut Sakhon province, the epicenter of the country's new wave of an outbreak that erupted in mid-December, are scheduled to receive their first shot of the vaccine. These included local officials as well as representatives of at-risk groups such as medical workers and migrant workers.

On Wednesday, Thailand received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines, 200,000 doses from China's Sinovac, which were then distributed to 13 provinces, including the capital Bangkok. An additional 1.8 million doses are scheduled to arrive in March and April.

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Orlando, Florida: Even before you step inside the Conservative Political Action Conference, Americas largest annual gathering of right-wing activists, its clear who commands the hearts and minds of todays Republican Party base.

A cigarette-smoking man wearing a red Bikers for Trump hat is circling the conference venue on an oversized tricycle. His bike is emblazoned with a sign that reads: Trump was right about everything. A woman, wrapped in an American flag, waves a giant flag that says: F--- Biden and f--- you for voting for him.

Tommy Zegan with his golden Donald Trump statue at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. Credit:Matthew Knott

Inside four-star Hyatt hotel that is hosting the conference, the adoration for the former president is even more intense. The must-see attraction at this years event is a giant, glistening golden statue of Trump wearing thongs on his feet and holding a wand.

On Monday (AEDT) the conference-goers will be able to see Trump himself, when the three-day event culminates in Trumps first speech since leaving the White House.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 18:31:29|Editor: huaxia

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A mother and her children take a walk at the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France, Nov. 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

- Europe, including France, should strengthen cooperation with China to meet challenges for the good of humanity.

- France and China share special responsibilities in many fields.

PARIS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- After leaders of China and France talked on bilateral ties, French experts have said that Europe, including France, should strengthen cooperation with China to meet challenges for the good of humanity.

In a telephone conversation on Thursday with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two countries should cement mutual trust, respect and accomodate in earnest each other's core interests and major concerns, and effectively implement their major cooperation agreements.

With numerous global challenges, including those in health, climate, security, sustainable economy, populism and natural resources, it is the responsibility of the European Union (EU), including France, and China to coordinate, collaborate and unite for the good of humanity, said Leon Laulusa, executive vice president of Paris-based ESCP Business School.

The EU-China investment agreement, mentioned by the two heads of state during the conversation, was a big step forward, noted Laulusa, also executive director of the European Business Confucius Institute.

China and the EU jointly announced the completion of China-EU investment agreement negotiations at the end of last year. In his talk with Macron, Xi called for concerted efforts to enforce the agreement at an early date.

Aerial photo shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Helsinki, Finland departing from Putian Station of Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Nov. 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Hao Yuan)

"Its rapid entry into force will allow us to have expanded mutual access to our two respective markets for our enterprises, fairer conditions of competition, and a strengthening of sustainable development projects essential to our planet," said Laulusa.

"Its application will accentuate the creation of new development models which are fairer and more sustainable for our society," he added.

The EU-China investment agreement marks an important milestone, said Lyazid Benhami, founder of Mulan Road, a communication agency specialized in France-China relations, adding that the deal should be ratified quickly so that European and Chinese entrepreneurs will seize the opportunity for their mutual benefit.

In his conversation with Macron, Xi emphasized that as permanent members of the UN Security Council and responsible major countries, China and France should continue to champion multilateralism, and inspire global efforts to uphold equity and justice, coordination and cooperation, as well as openness and inclusiveness, so as to make due contributions to achieving an early victory in humanity's fight against COVID-19 and promoting world peace and development.

Benhami, also vice-president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship, added that France and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, must be two partner countries for the purpose of settling international conflicts.

Merouane Debbah (2nd R), director of the R&D Center of Huawei France, attends a ribbon-cutting ceremony of Huawei's sixth research center in France, in Paris, Oct. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

As China has been fully implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and France and other members of the international community increasing their involvement in Africa, Benhami said the debt reduction, which has weighed heavily on African countries for a long time and become even worse since the COVID-19 crisis, is a possible field for cooperation.

He recalled that Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in January said China-Africa cooperation has never been closed or exclusive, and that China stands ready to actively promote tripartite or multi-party cooperation with Africa, so as to jointly play a constructive role in promoting peace and development in Africa.

The China-France cooperation is very relevant and complementary in Africa, said Laulusa. "Two major axes of this Sino-French cooperation could be that of education and health, which Africa badly needs," he added.

The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines made by the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech is unloaded upon its arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Feb. 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

As for the cooperation in COVID-19 vaccines, Laulusa highly appreciated the initiative and solidarity of China in providing vaccines for developing countries.

"This is also the recent proposal of the French president as he asked Europe to give vaccine doses to developing countries for international solidarity," he said.

For Benhami, France and China share special responsibilities in many fields. "Our cooperation in the field of research has been very important in recent years, especially in setting up cutting-edge laboratories," he said. "It must be amplified."

"Our two countries must support the efforts to modernize the World Health Organization," he added. "We must remain united in the effort and in the face of health crises." 
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First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on March 2, 1981



Archibald should have been awarded - artists

Artists competing for the Archibald Prize feel that a prize should have been given for the best painting despite the trustees ruling that the standard was not high enough.

Charles Lloyd Jone, President of Art Gallery of NSW Board of Trustees, answers questions for the press as the eye of Xavier Herbert, painted by Geoff La Gerche, seems to peer over his shoulder. February 27, 1981. Credit:Julia Featherstone

The trustees of the NSW Art Gallery decided on Friday that they would not award the prize for this years competition because they felt the entries were below standard.

One of the artists, Brian Dunlop, said from Melbourne last night that he did not like the idea of competition painting because it prompted some artists to paint attention-seeking monsters, but he thought a prize should be given no matter what.
Photo: Pixabay

The Medical Board of California said it would investigate a plastic surgeon who appeared in a videoconference for his traffic violation trial while operating.

The Sacramento Bee reports Dr. Scott Green appeared Thursday for his Sacramento Superior Court trial, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, from an operating room. He was dressed in surgical scrubs with a patient undergoing the procedure just out of view; the beeps of medical machinery can be heard in the background.

Hello, Mr. Green? Hi. Are you available for trial? asked a courtroom clerk as an officer summoned to appear in trial raised her eyebrows. It kind of looks like youre in an operating room right now?

I am, sir, Green replied. Yes, Im in an operating room right now. Yes, Im available for trial. Go right ahead.

The clerk reminded Green the proceedings were being livestreamed because traffic trials are required by law to be open to the public, and Green said he understood. He appeared to continue working with his head down while waiting for Court Commissioner Gary Link to enter the chamber.

When Link appeared and saw the doctor on the screen, the judge hesitated to proceed with the trial out of concern for the welfare of the patient.

I have another surgeon right here whos doing the surgery with me, so I can stand here and allow them to do the surgery also, Green said.

The judge said he didn't think it was appropriate to conduct trial under the circumstances. He told Green he'd rather set a new date for trial when youre not actively involved or participating and attending to the needs of a patient.

Green apologized.

Sometimes, surgery doesn't always go as, he said before the judge interrupted him.

It happens. We want to keep people healthy, we want to keep them alive. Thats important," Link said.

The board said it would look into the incident, saying it expects physicians to follow the standard of care when treating their patients.

A call seeking comment from Green has not been returned.
Olivia Culpo appeared to be making the most of the last bit of the golden hour in a trio of snaps posted to her Instagram account on Saturday.

The former Miss Rhode Island was pictured spending time in the fresh coastal air as she took in the setting seaside sun.

After sharing the photos to her account, the 28-year-old model was seen walking to a dinner appointment at Elephante in Santa Monica.

California dreamin': Olivia Culpo shared a trio of photos to her Instagram account on Saturday showing her taking advantage of the lighting provided by the setting seaside sun

During the photo shoot and her subsequent outing, Culpo was dressed in a vintage white denim shirt that she paired with a set of matching Zimmerman shorts.

The influencer added a bit of contrast to her outfit with a knee-high pair of brown Jimmy Choo crocodile boots featuring short stiletto heels.

The social media personality accessorized with a small Fendi bag and a pair of simple gold earrings.

Culpo's gorgeous brunette hair was tied back with a sizable striped bow during her time outside.

Great outfit: The influencer wore a vintage white denim shirt and a pair of matching shorts, as well as a set of knee-high crocodile boots

Accessorizing well: The social media personality wore a small Fendi bag and a pair of gold earrings during the photo shoot

The model then shared a video to her Instagram Story showing her pulling apart a fresh piece of bread and being surprised at the steam escaping from the article of food.

After finishing up dinner, Culpo returned to her residence and was seen having a difficult time deciding between her choices for dessert.

The influencer's caption for the last video of the night simply read 'oops.'

In addition to her frequent social media shots, the model is known for her various forays into the fashion business.

Dining out: Later that night, the model posted a video to her Instagram Story showing her ripping apart a freshly baked piece of bread

Decisions, decisions: She later shared a video showing herself debating which dessert to go for after finishing up her meal

Last year, the influencer began releasing a series of collections with Macy's International Concepts, which was entitled Culpo x INC.

Culpo designed many of the products alongside her sisters Aurora and Sophia, who were both featured in promotional materials for the collaborations.

At the onset of the first collection's release, the model spoke to Shape about how the siblings wanted to design pieces that were multi-functional and eye-catching.

The influencer remarked, 'It was really important for us to create fashionable loungewear that people could wear to be cozy at home, but also dress it up if they wanted to go outside the house.'

Staying busy: Last year, Culpo collaborated on a set of clothing collections with her sisters Aurora and Sophia

She also noted that they were influenced by the circumstances of the global pandemic and aimed to create clothing that could be worn for long periods of time spent at home.

Culpo said, 'We were designing [the collections] in the middle of COVID, so there was a lot that went into this in terms of what could be most comfortable for people given our new norm.'

The model concluded by expressing that she understood the need for keeping a positive mental attitude in hard times.

'It's important to be comfortable these days...I think we just need to be kind to ourselves and treat ourselves in a way that makes us feel good,' she said.
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Horse trainer Gordon Elliott has apologised profoundly" after a photograph of him sitting on top of a dead horse was widely circulated on social media over the weekend.

In the photograph Elliott, who won back-to-back Grand National wins with Tiger Roll in 2018 and 2019 and has trained more than 30 Cheltenham winners, can be seen sitting on top of the horse and smiling at the camera and on his mobile phone.

The Longwood, Co Meath-based trainer is also displaying a peace sign with his left hand.

There has been some speculation online that the photograph was a fake or had been digitally manipulated.

However last night Mr Elliott confirmed that the photo, which is now the subject of an investigation by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IRHB), was taken some time ago.

In a statement he said: I apologise profoundly for any offence that this photo has caused and can categorically state that the welfare of each and every horse under my care is paramount and has been central to the success that we have enjoyed here at Cullentra.

"The photo in question was taken some time ago and occurred after a horse had died of an apparent heart attack on the gallops. I appreciate that an initial viewing of this photo suggests it is a callous and staged photo but nothing could be further from the truth.

"At what was a sad time, which it is when any horse under my care passes away, my initial reaction was to get the body removed from where it was positioned.

"I was standing over the horse waiting to help with the removal of the body, in the course of which, to my memory I received a call and, without thinking, I sat down to take it. Hearing a shout from one of my team, I gestured to wait until I was finished.

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"Such background information may seem trivial at this time and will not allay the concerns of many people both within and outside the world of horse racing.

"However, I feel it is important to provide people with some context surrounding this photo. To the racing community, to anyone who has worked with and loves horses and to anyone offended by this image I cannot apologise enough.

"Horse welfare and the care and attention to detail involved is absolutely at the core of everything we do here and both myself and all of my team pride ourselves on those standards.

"Again I apologise for any offence caused and ask people to consider this statement as opposed to the various falsehoods and misinformation being circulated on social media.

"At this time I would like to stress that I continue to extend my full cooperation with the ongoing IHRB investigation.

Mr Elliott (42) is one of Irelands most successful trainers.

An IHRB tweet confirmed the matter is undergoing investigation.

A spokesman said the investigation is ongoing and will be dealt with as quickly as possible.

Elliott is currently preparing for next month's Cheltenham Festival.

Tiger Roll is expected to run in the Cross-Country Chase at Cheltenham before trying for a record-equalling third Grand National triumph at Aintree on April 10.

In 2007 Gordon Elliott became the youngest ever trainer to win the Aintree Grand National, with the horse Silver Birch.
The House passed President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan Saturday morning, and now the ball is in the Senates court.

And Biden said Saturday he hoped for quick action by the Senate when the legislation comes before it.

We have no time to waste, he said, according to CBS. If we act now, decisively, quickly and boldly, we can finally get ahead of this virus. We can finally get our economy moving again. And the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long. We need to relieve that suffering. The American Rescue Plan is just that.

Saturdays news and Bidens urging was, surely, music to the ears of many Americans who limped through the end of last year in desperate need of cash and an economy that could always use a boost. But the big question, now, is: just how long will it take for folks to start seeing money? And, of course, just how much money might they see?

Accoding to CBS, the Senate is likely to take up the measure next week, and it said there are some wrinkles that will need to be negotiated. The biggest of those wrinkles appears to be in the inclusion of a $15 minimum wage by 2025. CBS said the Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that cannot be included in the relief plan that comes before the Senate.

If the Senate does iron out the wrinkles, and it is expected to, CBS said the legislation could be voted on late next week meaning that the House would cast a final vote over the weekend of March 6 or during the week of March 8.

And, it said, if it is passed by March 12, stimulus checks could begin hitting bank accounts anywhere from a few days to a week following that.

How much money might that mean for you?

Well, the CBS report said, individuals earning up to $75,000 could see payments of $1,400. Married couples making up to $150,000 could see payments of $2,800. Folks making more than that would see declining pay outs.

So, for those struggling, hang in there. It appears we are just weeks away from more money hitting your bank account.
When Boris Johnson was in charge of The Spectator, he ran an article accusing Roy Greenslade of being part of a secret 'Republican cell at the heart of The Guardian', whose members were conspiring to make it publish 'editorials that lean alarmingly towards the IRA'.

There followed an almighty stink. First, Mr Greenslade's editor Alan Rusbridger sent the future prime minister a furious eight-page letter of complaint, in which he vigorously denied the existence of any such pro-IRA group.

Then, in a more public rebuttal, the Guardian published an article suggesting The Spectator's claims were little more than 'half-baked gossip' and hinting that the author of the piece was in fact an 'MI5/6 asset' being secretly 'used' by intelligence sources to further a malevolent Right-wing agenda.

How foolish Mr Rusbridger looks now. And how terribly he must rue having ever chosen to employ Roy Greenslade, a man whose moral compass seems not to have been even slightly troubled by his knowledge that the newspaper which paid his wages was printing such certifiable nonsense.

That Mr Greenslade, 74, has spent the best part of 40 years delivering stern lectures on journalistic ethics to other people only adds to the delicious irony.

That Mr Greenslade was, in fact, every bit as biased as the colleagues he pompously attacked for their alleged agenda seems not to have ever trifled him. Pictured: Roy Greenslade with his wife Noreen Taylor, the former Daily Mirror journalist and mother of actress Natascha McElhone, in 2004

For as both the Guardian's media columnist and as a professor of journalism at City University, one of Britain's most prestigious media training grounds, he has built a career on high-minded articles accusing rival Fleet Street titles of being tainted by 'bias'.

Rarely was he more stern, during these lucrative sinecures, than when attempting to rubbish colleagues on other newspapers about their approach to his own area of expertise: the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In column after column, he would sanctimoniously accuse the Fleet Street establishment of peddling pro-Unionist propaganda.

'The undeniable truth is that newspapers in Britain have turned bias into an art form,' read one typical Guardian article. 'It is second nature. Every story is angled, every quote  often from an unnamed source  is selected to feed the paper's own political prejudice.'

That Mr Greenslade was, in fact, every bit as biased as the colleagues he pompously attacked for their alleged agenda seems not to have ever trifled him.

Another neighbour in Ireland was John Downey, the man later arrested on suspicion of carrying out the 1982 Hyde Park bombing (pictured: the aftermath of the bomb). Mr Greenslade helped pay for his bail

But why should it? For this is a man whose support for Republicanism now looks truly evangelical.

Back in 1994, he even used a column to compare Gerry Adams to Nelson Mandela, on the grounds that both were 'terrorists' who had chosen to 'silence their guns'.

After the Omagh bombing of 1998, in which 29 were killed and more than 200 injured, he published a column suggesting that the real villains of the affair included newspapers seeking to 'exploit' the tragedy by calling for the Blair government to now adopt a tougher line on Sinn Fein.

This, he claimed, was exactly what the bombers had wanted. Why so? Because 'the aim of terrorists everywhere is to sow discord in the ranks of the enemy, to foment over-reaction, to breed repression, to undermine democracy'.

If nothing else, Roy Greenslade was perfectly placed to write about what terrorists really wanted.

For as he has now belatedly admitted, he was at the time living a secret double life: for almost his entire career, as a newspaper editor, columnist, and influential pundit, he was what he calls a 'complete' supporter of the IRA's 'armed struggle'.

When the case came to court, it was reported that John Downey, pictured, (a shellfish farmer) supplied the Greenslade family with their regular supply of oysters. Over the years, as these and other friendships grew, Mr Greenslade's status as a sort of honorary Irishman became something of a running joke among friends and relatives. Pictured: John Downey arriving at the Old Bailey in 2014

He held such views even as the newspapers he ran were advocating the exact opposite. And he clung onto them even after the IRA began murdering fellow journalists, such as News of the World photographer Ed Henty, who died in the Bishopsgate bomb of 1993, and Daily Express reporter Philip Geddes, who died in the Harrods bombing a decade earlier. 'His [Geddes's] friends included former colleagues of mine, who told me he was a fine young man,' Mr Greenslade has now glibly admitted. 'But I knew people who had been killed by the security forces in Belfast and Derry too, also fine young men.'

During much of the IRA's reign of terror, Mr Greenslade was also using the pseudonym George King to secretly write for An Phoblacht, a propaganda sheet for the terror group which covered the murder of innocent civilians on page after page of what it called 'war news'.

In a flagrant breach of normal journalistic ethics, this pertinent fact was never disclosed to readers of his Guardian columns on Irish affairs until after Mr Rusbridger had left office (his successor Kath Viner insisted that a disclaimer was added after she arrived in 2015).

To lead such a double life, for so many years, must take quite an effort. Yet he was nothing if not a master of deceit.

Police officers and firefighters inspecting the damage caused by a Real IRA bomb explosion in Market Street, Omagh, 1998

Indeed, one former colleague at the Sunday Times, Liam Clarke, told how Greenslade had once boasted, in a rare moment of frankness during the 1980s: 'They call me Mr Kipper: two faces.'

Mr Clarke knew of what he spoke: for his own life was later placed in serious danger by Mr Greenslade.

In 1995, 'Mr Kipper' published a Guardian article accusing his former colleague (who was based in Ulster) of colluding with the security forces to publish false stories about the IRA's commitment to a ceasefire. 'It was a malicious attack, based on no more than tittle-tattle, yet the damage was real,' Mr Clarke later complained.

'The allegations were wild, wrong and, for me, dangerous. For a journalist living and working in Northern Ireland to be accused of collusion with the security forces is life-threatening. Once a lie has been printed, it is repeated with regularity. Greenslade was unrepentant.'

By then, he'd been a full-paid-up IRA supporter for more than two decades.

The beginning of Mr Greenslade's love affair with the IRA dates back to the early 1970s, when he met a glamorous divorcee called Noreen Taylor.

Mr Greenslade (right) is married to Noreen Taylor (left), the former Daily Mirror journalist and mother of actress Natascha McElhone (centre, pictured in 1988)

He was, at the time, a grammar school- educated Marxist (his parents were white-collar workers from Dagenham) cutting his teeth on Fleet Street; she was a working-class Daily Mirror journalist with two young children who supported the Trotskyist International Socialists.

Although Miss Taylor grew up in Glasgow, she had been born in Donegal. One of their first dates was spent selling a Left-wing paper called Clann na hEireann in the pubs of Kilburn, north-west London.

In 1971, the couple travelled to Ireland on holiday and became chummy with a man called Pat Doherty and his wife Mary. They were both committed Republicans: Pat would go on to become vice-president of Sinn Fein and was for many years a member of the IRA's army council.

So began what Mr Greenslade calls 'a close friendship that has endured for 50 years.'

On occasion, he even effectively served as his chum's PR man: in the early 2000s, for example, he went so far as to telephone Roger Alton, editor of the Observer, the Guardian's sister paper, to say that recent comments by Doherty about the IRA never disarming had been misconstrued. Mr Greenslade's affection for Ireland was cemented in 1989, when he'd grown wealthy enough climbing the greasy pole of Fleet Street to be able to purchase a grand holiday home next door to the Dohertys  Ballyarr House, a Georgian mansion with 14 acres. He and his wife lovingly restored it and holidayed there for 18 years.

When it was sold in 2008 (so the couple could 'downsize'), the asking price was 3million and the property section of the Irish Times waxed lyrical about 'powder blue walls, sea grass floor and a pair of decadent pink velvet couches'.

Pictured: Aftermath of an IRA terrorist attack in Belfast's city centre

That's quite a pile, for a man who in the 1980s was nicknamed 'Red Boy' by Fleet Street colleagues on account of his supposed hard-Left sympathies.

But Mr Greenslade's socialism has always been of the champagne variety. When he was made editor of the Mirror in 1990, completing his rise to the top of the trade, it was reported that the former Marxist now owned two other homes: a large townhouse in Islington, north London, and a property in Brighton, where they spent weekends.

Another neighbour in Ireland was John Downey, the man later arrested on suspicion of carrying out the 1982 Hyde Park bombing. Mr Greenslade helped pay for his bail. When the case came to court, it was reported that Downey (a shellfish farmer) supplied the Greenslade family with their regular supply of oysters. Over the years, as these and other friendships grew, Mr Greenslade's status as a sort of honorary Irishman became something of a running joke among friends and relatives.

Indeed, Miss Taylor's daughter (and his step-daughter) Natascha McElhone, who grew up to become a Hollywood actress, once light-heartedly told an interviewer that the Irish abroad 'become more Irish, more attached to the politics, the history, than the people living there sometimes'.

But we digress. He spent two years as editor of the Mirror, during which time he fixed a 'spot the ball' competition on behalf of the paper's owner Robert Maxwell so that no one could win the 1million first prize.

After joining the Guardian, he went on to become a noted mouthpiece for Tony Blair's spokesman Alastair Campbell, who had previously been his political editor. It is not known whether Mr Campbell was aware at the time of Mr Greenslade's IRA allegiance.

Declaring himself to be 'like many former Marxists, an unashamed admirer of Tony Blair', for years he used the Guardian's pages to attack other newspapers for running stories that had irked Mr Campbell, usually smearing fellow journalists in the process.

In 2002, to cite the most famous example, he waded into a high-profile row over a Mail on Sunday story alleging that Downing Street had tried to help Mr Blair muscle in on the Queen Mother's lying-in-state.

Greenslade declared the tale 'utterly false' and suggested that the journalist who wrote it, Peter Oborne, was 'stark, staring bonkers'. In fact the story would prove entirely true.

A few weeks later, Number Ten was forced to drop an official complaint after it emerged that Palace officials supported the newspaper's version of events.

As time wore on, commentators began to nickname him Roy Campbell-Greenslade on account of his status as Mr Campbell's favoured propagandist.

Explaining why he was only now coming clean about his 'covert political beliefs', he said he was answering the grandson who asked him why he became an Irish republican. Will he ever offer the unvarnished story  or will 'Mr Kipper' serve up only his one-sided version of the truth?
Its not just about creative writing; the Jaipur Literature Festival is a festival of ideas. And this years edition went on and lived right up to that definition.

So, even though the conversation between the worlds last great intellectual Noam Chomsky and TV anchor Sreenivasan Jain was rather underwhelming, and the chemistry between the two men frankly painful to watch, leaving, for the most part, the question built into the theme, who rules the world, unanswered, the one between philosopher Michael Sandel and Shashi Tharoor more than made up for it by nudging out into the open a host of exciting observations. Suffice to say, in the course of it, it was Tharoor who skewered the rockstar.

Sandels book, The Tyranny of Merit, has made waves in academia. His earlier book, What Money Cant Buy, on the moral limits of markets, had sealed his reputation as a formidable critic of free-market orthodoxy. In Tyranny, he posits a politics centred on dignity, arguing that pursuing meritocracy has betrayed, in many ways, the working classes. Sandel believes, radically, that merit is not an antidote but a justification for inequality. It is corrosive of the common good, Sandel said. If I believe that my success is my own do then I conclude that those who arent successful are responsible for their own distress. Emphasis on merit completely ignores the role of luck and good fortune, indebtedness to cooperation and collaboration and the joys of solidarity.

But Tharoor ably countered this point by saying that it is very well known that inequality of opportunity existed in the world. Also, it is not always the meritorious who are the most successful; for example, a hedge fund manager may not be where he is because of merit. With oligarchy and aristocracy alive and well, if not gaining in strength and influence, how fair is it to not reward talent and hard work was the question that came through, even as Tharoor argued that merit, in fact, had historically been the antidote to both the advantages of having inherited wealth and caste.

While admitting that he, personally, would prefer a surgeon who got his degree on merits, Sandel found himself unable to sufficiently answer Tharoors question on anti-intellectualism and the rise of Donald Trump. To start with, he set aside Tharoors suggestion that the working classes were co-opted into voting for him by racial tensions, thus taking a blinkered view on the reality of white supremacism. Instead, he said, Trump came because deregulation of education under the Democrats put a high premium on college fees. The progressive parties kept telling people to pull themselves up and fulfil the requirements of getting a university degree though they themselves are essentially comprising of the well-credentialed elite, even as the working classes had been their traditional base. And now they are seen rejecting them for voting Trump. That last statement rang a bell.

Can we not, by ensuring healthcare, universal education, equal opportunity and daycare, achieve your objectives of the highest common good without throwing out the baby of meritocracy with the bathwater of injustice, Tharoor summarised.

The iconic Ursula K. Le Guin, indeed, has made a far more powerful case against meritocracy than Sandel himself. Her 1973 story, Those Who Walk Away from Omelas, is about a dystopian city where the genetically less endowed are made an example of. On the other hand, Kurt Vonneguts Harrison Bergeron, on a different dystopia where the intelligent have their attention spans curtailed by the state and ballet dancers must wear handicaps so they are no more graceful than the less agile, is almost equally compelling a counter-argument, if not as emotionally affecting. For lovers of the short story, these two are must-reads.

Bill Gates How to Avoid a Climate Disaster is, per COP 26 chief Alok Sharma, a pretty upbeat book. Helpfully for viewers, Sharma asked Gates to highlight some technologies to mitigate it. Gates was more than forthcoming. The most mature would be electric cars with the lithium-ion battery. Kind of in the middle is the offshore wind and there the UK is the leader in saying who can give us this technology at the lowest premium. And that green premium has been coming down. For electric buses, China is doing a lot of pioneering work. Agriculture is a sector that has surprised. There are a lot of companies, like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, that are looking at ways to do away with slaughtering animals, production of methane and so on. However, there is essentially no green steel and no green cement today. Aviation fuel also remains a big problem area.
An Taoiseach Micheal Martin has condemned the protests in Dublin City Centre today and praised An Garda Siochana for their response in restoring order.

A number of people have been arrested as hundreds of protesters took part in an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin.

Protesters clashed with Gardai as they marched through the city centre and attempted to make their way to St Stephen's Green park.

There was a heavy garda presence around the city centre ahead of the protest, which started at around 2 pm.

Hundreds of people who were not wearing face masks took part in the demonstration.

An Taoiseach Micheal Martin has condemned the protests which he said posed an unacceptable risk to both the public and gardai.

The large gathering, in the face of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, showed a complete lack of respect to the people who have made huge sacrifices during this pandemic, he said.

Nor can we tolerate the thuggish behaviour or attacks on gardai, who have the publics utmost respect as they continue to protect and serve our society in difficult circumstances.

There can be no justification for the march or the violence that unfolded, and I pay tribute to members of An Garda Siochana who moved quickly to make arrests and restore order.

Protesters clashed with gardai as they marched on Grafton Street and attempted to make their way to St Stephen's Green.

Videos of the protest shows a demonstrator point a firework at gardai before it went off, while other missiles and items were thrown at gardai.

Protesters were prevented from gathering in the park after the Office of Public Works closed the gates to the public.

The city's tram operator said that its services would not be operating at the St Stephen's Green stop because of the protest.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris TD also condemned the anti-lockdown protest.

He tweeted: "Pure thuggery on the streets of Dublin today.

"It's not a 'protest'. It's an attack on our national effort.

"The abuse directed at the Gardai is sickening and shameful. Disgraceful.

"Thoughts with the Gardai and their families."

Gardai talks to protesters. Photo: Damian Eagers/PA Wire

Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond slammed the violent scenes.

"From the outset, this protest was ill-advised, fuelled by conspiracy theories and championed by individuals seeking to manipulate the genuine fears of many vulnerable individuals," he said.

"It was disgraceful to see this protest descend into violent scenes with brave members of An Garda Siochana subjected to intolerable physical and verbal abuse.

"Some of the eye witness footage circulating is extremely disturbing and every public representative should condemn these awful scenes.

"The footage appears to show a lit firework being thrown at members of the gardai by one protester, which is truly shameful.

"These brave men and women risk their lives every day in the service of the people of our State and what they were subjected to today is utterly appalling."

A spokesman for An Garda Siochana said: "A number of traffic diversions and other policing measures are currently in place in Dublin this afternoon, Saturday 27th February 2021 in response to a demonstration in the city centre area.

"A policing plan has been implemented and An Garda Siochana will provide a full update when this operation has concluded."
Atrocities in Ethiopias Tigray Region

The United States is gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals and displacements, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations and abuses by several parties that multiple organizations have reported in Tigray. We are also deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian crisis. The United States has repeatedly engaged the Ethiopian government on the importance of ending the violence, ensuring unhindered humanitarian access to Tigray, and allowing a full, independent, international investigation into all reports of human rights violations, abuses, and atrocities. Those responsible for them must be held accountable.

The United States acknowledges the February 26 statements from the Ethiopian Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promising unhindered humanitarian access, welcoming international support for investigations into human rights violations and abuses, and committing to full accountability. The international community needs to work collectively to ensure that these commitments are realized.

The immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray are essential first steps. They should be accompanied by unilateral declarations of cessation of hostilities by all parties to the conflict and a commitment to permit unhindered delivery of assistance to those in Tigray. The United States is committed to working with the international community to achieve these goals. To that end, USAID will deploy a Disaster Assistance Response Team to Ethiopia to continue delivering life-saving assistance.

We ask international partners, especially the African Union and regional partners, to work with us to address the crisis in Tigray, including through action at the UN and other relevant bodies.

The United States remains committed to building an enduring partnership with the Ethiopian people.

Here is original Press Statement on US Department of State Atrocities in Ethiopias Tigray Region
Police are desperately searching for 15-year-old Bailey

Police are desperately searching for a 15-year-old boy who has been missing for almost two days.

Bailey was last seen at his family's home in the small Victorian town of Ararat, 198km west of Melbourne.

Police said Bailey left home about 10pm on Friday and may be in Melbourne's western suburb of Melton.

His family are worried about his welfare as he is so young and has been gone for so long.

Police are also concerned for his safety and called for anyone with information to call Ararat Police.

Australian oil and gas giant Woodside Energy is facing rising pressure to rule out working in Myanmar until democracy is restored following a military coup that seized power from Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government.

The $24 billion ASX-listed company said on Saturday that it would pull its offshore drilling teams out of the south-east Asian country and had put all business decisions there under review until political stability has improved.

University teachers march with the images of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Credit:AP Photo

Woodside has one of largest offshore petroleum holdings in Myanmar and had been targeted by human rights groups after the military junta seized control on February 1, arresting Ms Suu Kyi and launching a violent crackdown on protesters.

Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility director Dan Gocher said that while Woodsides review was a welcome move, the company had left the door open to working under the military junta in the future.
R2D2 Distinguished - BHPian



Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 3,104 Thanked: 5,052 Times

Re: In a first, Toyota to partner with multi-brand workshops to service Toyota cars Quote: MunnabhaiMBBS Originally Posted by The partnership is a result of and a fantastic answer to DSK Toyota alike scenarios. Toyota owners from Pune, Satara etc. were hanging out to dry for considerable time after DSK, the sole dealer in the region, went bankrupt and shut shops.



Quote: SideView Originally Posted by Is this thowing existing ASC under the bus? ( Toyota had no major issues as ASC were good) Why advantage remains for people to use ASC after extended warranty is over? The gist of it is:



a) Very cooperative. I use my own brand of engine oil every time without a bit of resistance from the dealer. Even purchased some minor spares for my car. All they need is the VIN and some proof of ownership.

b) Reasonable labour charges

c) Reasonable consumable spare prices

d) TKM smacks a dealer with a baseball bat in case of any complaint.

e) Dealers are honest, no hanky panky. However they push small 'value added' services like 3M coatings etc to enhance earnings which you can turn down and they comply.

f) Near perfect job on the car, seriously. In this decade and a half I've had to complain only twice to the service manager and it was set right immediately.



Will I go to these independent workshops? Only in case I have no choice and possibly for urgent repairs. After DSK-T's failure in Pune TKM set up 3 dealerships in this city i.e. Kothari, Shaw and Sharayu making it unlikely Toyota owners will ever be stranded again. I think TKM is covering their bases in case some dealerships go out of business as DSK Toyota did in Pune or, less likely, shift loyalties to another brand. In my experience TKM holds customer satisfaction very high in their list of priorities and extending their outreach to Toyota owners can only mean better car ownership satisfaction.I think you need to own a Toyota to experience the difference between a TKM dealership and other dealerships. In my case it's 15 years and counting.The gist of it is:a) Very cooperative. I use my own brand of engine oil every time without a bit of resistance from the dealer. Even purchased some minor spares for my car. All they need is the VIN and some proof of ownership.b) Reasonable labour chargesc) Reasonable consumable spare pricesd) TKM smacks a dealer with a baseball bat in case of any complaint.e) Dealers are honest, no hanky panky. However they push small 'value added' services like 3M coatings etc to enhance earnings which you can turn down and they comply.f) Near perfect job on the car, seriously. In this decade and a half I've had to complain only twice to the service manager and it was set right immediately.Will I go to these independent workshops? Only in case I have no choice and possibly for urgent repairs. After DSK-T's failure in Pune TKM set up 3 dealerships in this city i.e. Kothari, Shaw and Sharayu making it unlikely Toyota owners will ever be stranded again. Last edited by R2D2 : 28th February 2021 at 10:40 . Reason: typos
Wife of shot noodle vendor appeals to court to refuse bail

PHUKET: The wife of 25-year-old noodle vendor Aroon Thongplab, shot by a drunken off-duty Phuket police officer on Bangla Rd, Patong, early on Tuesday, has filed an appeal with the Phuket Provincial Court to refuse the police corporal charged for the shooting to post bail.

policecrimeviolence

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Sunday 28 February 2021, 02:27PM

Kulthida Chananan and a lawyer who has volunteered to help her for free hold up the formal petition to the court yesterday (Feb 27). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Mr Aroons wife, Kulthida Chananan, 26, and a lawyer assisting her for free presented the appeal to the court yesterday (Feb 27).

The court on Thursday approved the police officer, Cpl Pornthep Channarong, to post bail of B600,000.

Ms Kulthida told reporters yesterday that she had learned that Cpl Porntheps relatives had yet to present the B600,000 surety to the court.

Representatives of the court formally received the appeal and said it would be taken under consideration.

However, it was not confirmed whether or not Cpl Pornthep remained in remand.

Ms Kulthida repeated to the press how her family felt unsafe with Cpl Pornthep free to walk the streets.

She also explained that she had been informed that she had been contacted by Bangkok lawyer Kerdphol Kaewkerd, saying he would arrive in Phuket before Mar 2 to provide her legal assistance.

Ms Kulthida said her husband remains in serious condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital.

Mr Aroons condition has not improved, she said.

The doctor said that dialysis is needed, which is expensive, and the bullet hit the spine, affecting his leg as well, she said.
London, Feb 28 : Another 7,434 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,170,519, according to official figures released on Saturday.

The country also reported another 290 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 122,705. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news reported.

The latest figures were revealed as more than 19.6 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine.

The Britain's coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, remains unchanged at between 0.6 and 0.9, the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) announced Friday.

The figures mean that on average, every 10 people infected with coronavirus will infect between six and nine others. If the R number is above one, it means the coronavirus outbreak is growing exponentially.

According to SAGE, the infection growth rate is estimated to be between minus 6 percent to minus 2 percent, which means the number of new infections is shrinking by between 2 percent and 6 percent every day.

However, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Jonathan Van-Tam has urged the British public not to "wreck this now" as infections rates remain high in certain parts of Britain.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since 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.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Hecame across it with a click of the mouse and his expert eye recognised not just the face, but also the background. It was Brigitte Bardot in a striking Andalusian setting which just had to be Malaga. It was the filming of The Jewellers of the Moonlight' (1957), one of those foreign films that found an easy passport to post-war Spain when the Franco regime wanted to show the world its apparent openness. The whole history of this film, as well as the iconic BB, was there on a French auction website, as a series of 400 photos which were taken at the time. Jose Luis Cabrero didn't hesitate to snap it up. Now, that unexpected treasure has been digitalised, restored, enlarged and studied and has ended up in the exhibition called Brigitte Bardot, Mito y Cliches en Malaga, (Myth and Cliches in Malaga) which is now on at La Termica. It is a chance to see the Torremolinos of old, in glorious black and white.

THE EXHIBITION Title: 'Brigitte Bardot, mito y cliches en Malaga'. 61 photos of the filming of The Jewellers of the Moonlight (1957). Curator: Jose Luis Cabrera. Where and when: La Termica, until 6 June.

"The pictures belonged to a French collector and when I saw them, I knew this was a great opportunity because the price didn't compare with their value," said Jose Luis, who is the co-creator of the Torremolinos Chic website, at the opening of the exhibition. He said the person who sold the collection denied afterwards that it was he who had done so, "maybe because he doesn't want it to be known that they are no longer in France".

He was reluctant at first to reveal how much he paid for this valuable acquisition, but finally admitted that it was over 1,000 euros. It is a lot of money, but when you see the collection, you realise it was actually a real bargain.

The display, which will continue until June, is a mixture of glamour, fascination, innocence and nostalgia, showing images of Bardot getting off the train at El Pinillo (near Arroyo de la Miel), walking with a script in her hand with film director and her then partner Roger Vadim, posing in a bra in a scene which does not try to hide its eroticism and the film's intention to be provocative (it was censored in Spain), and at El Chorro with Stephen Boyd (Mesala in Ben Hur) and the famous little donkey Romeo, which 'BB' loved so much that she took it to the cottage she was renting in La Carihuela and let it sleep on her bed.

Brigitte Bardot, getting out of the swimming pool at El Remo club in La Carihuela. / Nito Salas

Also off the set

The film The Jewellers of the Moonlight was not outstanding in quality but it brought an icon of "beauty, freedom and controversy" to a Malaga which was still only just becoming known as the Costa del Sol, and a collection of photos which, with the passing of time and because of their quality, have acquired artistic value.

"The film tried to bring out the most atavistic and antiquated part of the country, showing a region which was almost feudal, which is what foreign creators wanted to find in Spain at that time. They wanted to portray that image, that was inherited from the 19th century, says Jose Luis.

The exhibition also shows photos of the inevitable scene of the star fighting a young bull in Mijas bullring. This is particularly striking, "bearing in mind how anti-bullfighting Brigitte Bardot has been", he points out.

In the total of 61 photos and 27 other items in the display, including magazines, books, postcards and four sheets of original pictures, Vadim's film is not just the protagonist, as photographer Jorge Dragon pointed out at the inauguration. This piece of photographic history which can now be seen in public for the first time "also shows what we don't see on-screen", he explained, like the legendary actress in the swimming pool at Club el Remo, and chatting, surrounded by children, in La Carihuela.

Bardot seems comfortable in these photos. / N. Salas

Also at the opening were writer Alfredo Tajan; the director of La Termica, Salomon Castiel; and the president of the Malaga provincial government, Francisco Salado, who were all interested in the photos which had been taken off set, such as the series which portrays Bardot with two dancers, wearing a Cordoban hat and learning to play the castanets on the terrace of the Playa Montemar hotel, which was owned by Viscount Llanteno.

The images show a Torremolinos of little white houses and are obviously aimed to be artistic, although paradoxically we don't know who took them. In fact, it is believed that six photographers could have taken these 400 pictures in the collection, and one was probably Yves Mirkine, who was French but of Ukrainian origin.

The photos were originally miniatures measuring 6x6 cm, and were more than 60 years old. Now they are making a big impact on the walls at La Termica, for everyone to enjoy.
In 2020 an estimated 500,000 homes were destroyed by fire in the U.S., and $49 billion in property damage was caused by floods, hurricanes, and tornados. Responding to a dire need to help communities and families prepare for natural disasters, Rebuild Homes, a Washington-based non-profit corporation, is announcing a first-in-class Disaster Project Management (DPM) system of online tools and resources to assist communities before and after natural disaster strikes.

The mission of Rebuild Homes nonprofit corporation is connecting and empowering people and communities who have been severely impacted due to natural disaster by providing a free technology solution that helps those who are in critical need to rebuild their lives, homes, and communities.

Rebuild Homes is currently working with Malden, WA, to rebuild their town and their residents homes. Recovery and rebuilding efforts must be coordinated, organized, and effective, said Pine Creek Recovery Organization Executive Director Scott Hokonson. I am truly impressed with the efforts and product solution being created by Rebuild Homes. I believe Rebuild Homes nonprofit is absolutely crucial and necessary for effective recovery and rebuilding in any disaster environment.

Recognizing the global scope of need, Nagarro, a worldwide leader in digital engineering and technology solutions, has partnered with Rebuild Homes to create and build out the software platform. Manas Fuloria, Nagarros CEO, called the project a most noble mission. Law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is stepping in to provide legal assistance to obtain 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status for Rebuild Homes nonprofit corporation.

The DPM solution is free to all users and will help communities and public/private partnerships create and disseminate emergency evacuation plans, track financial and in-kind donations, and coordinate with non-profits, government agencies, and corporate donors to provide additional emergency relief. It provides a robust online toolset for scheduling rebuilding efforts, managing vendors and subcontractors, assisting caseworkers with families in need, accessing financial assistance, and integrating with other technology solutions.

Rebuild Homes is expected to deploy the DPM system to the western region of the U.S. by the 2021 wildfire season, with future plans for a global rollout.

About Rebuild Homes

Rebuild Homes nonprofit corporation will collaborate with exclusive founding partners, granting organizations, and supporting agencies. For more information on how you can sponsor this much-needed non-profit effort, please contact Rebuild Homes at info@rebuildhomes.org.

About Nagarro

Nagarro (FRA: NA9) is a global digital engineering leader with a full-service offering, including digital product engineering, digital commerce, customer experience, AI and ML-based solutions, cloud, immersive technologies, IoT solutions, and consulting on next-generation ERP. Nagarro helps clients to become innovative, digital-first companies through an entrepreneurial, agile, and CARING mindset, and delivers on its promise of thinking breakthroughs. The company employs over 8,400 people in 25 countries. For more information, visit http://www.nagarro.com.

About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

For nearly 60 years, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has offered a broad range of services and legal disciplines focused on serving the principal challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leader in the fields of corporate governance and finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities litigation, employment law, intellectual property, and antitrust, among many other areas of law. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has offices in Austin; Beijing; Boston; Brussels; Hong Kong; London; Los Angeles; New York; Palo Alto; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Shanghai; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington, DE. For more information, please visit http://www.wsgr.com.

About Ager Consulting

For over 40 years Ager Consulting has committed to fostering executive solutions that propel non-profits to their highest potential by bridging communication between organizations and their beneficiaries to create impact in communities through thoughtful philanthropy.
ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 28th Feb, 2021) Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) and Khalifa University of Science and Technology announced on Sunday the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for statistical cooperation and the exchange of data. This partnership seeks to enhance collaboration, integration and sharing of knowledge and expertise in the fields of statistics, data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

Through the MoU, SCAD and Khalifa University will create a framework to develop joint initiatives and projects that are in line with rapid technological developments in data provision and analysis. This partnership will also aim to address the needs of decision-makers, the business sector and the public through the provision of accurate and reliable statistical data.

In this context, the partners will focus on developing areas of mutual cooperation to utilise administrative records and big data. They will also cooperate in national capacity building and the exchange of knowledge from local and international studies.

The agreement was signed by Ahmed Mahmoud Fikri, Director-General of SCAD, and Dr.

Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice President of Khalifa University of Science and Technology, in the presence of several representatives virtually.

On the MoU signing, Ahmed Mahmoud Fikri, Director-General of SCAD, said, "SCAD looks forward to exploring new development horizons with Khalifa University. We endeavour to cooperate with leading academic institutions to advance the field of statistics and data by investing in national cadres to pursue the fields of research and development, innovation and artificial intelligence".

Dr. Al Hammadi said, "We are glad to entre into this partnership with Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi and consolidate our existing collaboration. The MoU will enable maximum utilisation of each others strengths, contributing to the integration of plans for building comprehensive national statistical capabilities. We believe this partnership will lead to the creation of more advanced futuristic systems that will help government and private stakeholders."
A transgender woman who sexually assaulted her step-son and threatened to break his arms and legs has appealed the severity of her six-year sentence.

The woman (32), who can't be named to protect the victim's identity, was convicted by a Circuit Criminal Court jury of ten counts of sexual assault contrary to section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1990. She was convicted of one count of child cruelty. The offences occurred between September 2011 and September 2013.

On December 9, 2019 a judge sentenced the woman to six years and six months imprisonment with the final six months suspended.

Roderick O'Hanlon SC for the woman argued before the Court of Appeal on Friday that the sentencing judge did not have sufficient regard to the difficulties his client, as a transgender woman, would have in prison. She is being held in a women's prison. He also said the judge should have suspended a greater portion of the sentence to allow for rehabilitation.

The trial heard that the offender was male at birth but started to recognise an issue with gender identity around the time of the offences.

Before she transitioned to a female she began a relationship with the victim's mother and moved into the family home where she took the role of a "step-father". The son was four years old at that time and in his complaint he described being abused over a two-year period whenever his mother wasn't looking. He said he was regularly slapped and that the offender threatened to break his arms and legs. He described various instances of abuse including having his trousers pulled down and being told to lie on a bed while he was being abused.

The family's neighbours first raised the alert after witnessing the step-father shouting at the boy and threatening him.

President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, reserved judgement in the sentence appeal.
Burma At Least 14 People Shot Dead by Security Forces at Protests Across Myanmar

Several people were injured when riot police and soldiers shot at anti-coup protesters in Mandalay. / The Irrawaddy

YANGONAt least 14 people were killed and scores injured by mid-afternoon as riot police and soldiers opened fire with live rounds and rubber bullets on anti-coup protests in multiple locations across Myanmar on Sunday.

Yangon: The city has been in chaos since early in the morning, with riot police and soldiers launching violent crackdowns on protesters just as they were taking to the streets.

At around 8:30 a.m., security forces moved in on thousands of doctors, nurses and students from the citys medical, paramedical, dental and pharmaceutical universities who were preparing to march in Yangons Yankin Township. Around 200 medical students among the group were detained.

A female photographer was also detained in Yangon.

In the hours that followed, dozens of protesters were shot as police cracked down at locations across the city. At least four peoplethree young men and a teacherdied of their wounds.

The detained doctors and medical students were released in groups at around 3:30 p.m. from where they were being held at a former COVID-19 quarantine center in Mayangone Township.

Security forces also moved early against protesters in several other cities.

Dawei, Tanintharyi Region: At least four people were shot dead and around 40 injured in a violent crackdown by riot police on anti-coup protesters in Dawei, Tanintharyi Region in the morning.

Bago: In Bago Region, two people were shot dead and around 15 injured in a similarly violent morning crackdown.

At least two people were killed in Bago region. / The IrrawaddyMandalay: At midday, a bystander on a motorcycle died after being shot in the head by police as they cracked down on a protest in Mandalay. Several people including a youth volunteer helping protesters were shot and injured.

In the evening, a woman who was just walking down the street in Mandalay, was shot into the head and died on the spot.

Pakkokku, Magwe Region: A man who was attempting to hide from riot police and soldiers was shot dead by the security forces as they confronted an anti-coup protest in Magwe Regions Pakokku. Dozens of protesters were reportedly detained.

Myitkyina, Kachin State: 50 protesters were reportedly detained in the capital of Kachin State. One local reporter was detained while covering the crackdown.

Despite using stun grenades and tear gas, police failed to disperse demonstrators taking part in a nationwide general strike against the military regime. Undeterred by the deadly shootings, protesters across the country reorganized and continued their marches in the afternoon.

Mawlamyine, Mon State: The 21yearold was fatally shot in the head by security forces during an anti-coup protest in the Mon state capital, Mawlamyine. Several hundred people attended his fu neral on Monday morning.

You may also like these stories:

Hundreds Arrested As Myanmar Security Forces Launch Nationwide Crackdown on Regime Protests

Myanmars UN Ambassador Wins Praise at Home for Condemning Regime

Myanmars Anti-Regime Protesters Urge Asian Counterparts to Unite for General Strike
Due to poor track conditions, Buffalo Raceway officials were forced to cancel the remaining nine races on the scheduled 11-race program on Saturday night (Feb. 27).

The first two races were contested as Billy Davis Jr. took the opener aboard Drunkonaplane ($2.60) while Holla At Ur Boy (Kevin Cummings) pulled off a $78.00 stunner in the second race to complete the $145.50 early daily double.

Racing is scheduled to resume on Wednesday evening (March 3) at 6 p.m. (EST) with a 12-race card set.

(Buffalo Raceway)

And now it is massive transformation in law and order! View(s):

Massive transformation of the Criminal Justice System/Law and order is the latest gimmick played on the people. The sale is by Justice Minster Ali Sabry.

Law and order reforms have been on the cards since independence. That is now enough, thinks the minister. This is true in a sense. How much reform as such has there been, and with what little result, to justify persisting with it? So, by changing tracks, Nidhas nidhos was brought in by Minister Sabry in an idea one year back, and Dhos sadhos just a week or so back. All this was to deal with law and order, but with not much end result either. There comes now the conjured grand idea of a massive transformation of law and order, as reported in the media just a few days ago.

All these ideas are but entwined inextricably  Reform, Transformation, Nidhas nidhos, Dhos sadhos, all for law and order. Clarification of these ideas is useful, but difficult.

Transformation is advertised for law and order, proposed by the minister. Whatever prescriptions one has had  Reform, Transformation, Nidhas nidhos, Dhos sadhos  are all done in the name of law and order, which too are inextricable. The underlying problem, however, even the minister does not seem to figure out is that law is for order, and order is from law. But that they must be dealt with separately, by different bodies, with dissimilar perspectives, is the thinking of the minister.

Devices and decoctions are resorted to in that approach of the minister. Is the decoction inspired, a la Kali amma? Is the transformation contrived, a la Cardinal Richelieu? The former is a matter of belief of a myth, the latter a calculation of power, as of old history, to crush dissidents and detractors.

The transformation is thus to be directed by Minster Sabry. The transformation is also to be realised through Justice Ministry committees dealing with different branches of the law. This includes criminal law directly relevant to law and order.

Transformation in law and order is then the ministerial direction. But transformation is much more than reform for law and order. Reform has been heard of, repeatedly over the years, ad nauseum, with little result. Will anything worthy still emerge from transformation, unheard of before?

Even if the ministers visions have some focus, the foresight and imagination of the ministry committees may not match up the new expectations. Over the years, the Justice Ministrys contribution to law and order has been dismally low. The criminal law processed by the ministry and sent to Parliament for legislation has been law for the lawyers, not for the people. Even the singular exception of law to directly serve the people, their effect was nullified through the ministry by amending law which served the lawyers than the people. Just one instance is cited as example: The effect law and practice for settlement of minor cases at police stations, avoiding prosecution, was served by the direct participation of the parties to the dispute. This law stood for over one hundred years but was nullified, in effect, by the 1983 Amendment through the Justice Ministry and Parliament, when its acquittal consequence was removed. The amendment served the lawyers, not the people. The Administration of Justice Law of 1973 was similarly negated by the Ministry and Parliament in 1978. Transformation for law and order by the same authorities may, therefore, not be more promising.

Further, the idea of transformation, instead of the old idea of reform, needs to be better understood. Guidance for meaning may, therefore, be availed of from the dictionary. The dictionary offers that transformation incurs a dramatic and radical change. The example of the transformation of the caterpillar to butterfly is cited in explanation. A similar idea cannot extend to law and order. The dictionary meaning also extends to a change is disposition, possibly of the law to the relevant parties in the process of law and order. Another meaning considers a means in law and order that adds value to the process. Yet another consideration is the dictionary meaning of transformation touching on genetic alteration. These shades of meaning spread, therefore, much wider over the idea of transformation that is not applicable to law and order.

Reform, too, of law and order has over the years meant little that was tangible. So, reform in the mouth of all and sundry was then with little idea of what development it entails. There is much doubt, therefore, whether the 2021 constitutional reforms likewise, currently being considered, will have any clearer idea of what reform or transformation or other change is contemplated. The public may well be left with transformation not much different from Nidhas nidhos, Dhos sadhos, not even for the revamping of the Police, the Minister of Police said in terms of reform or transformation he may have had in his own mind.

Transformation is then the word, if not the buzz word, not to be couched in yet more rant and harangue. Transformation also invokes some exhortation heard of even in churches. Then their range would even touch from the sublime to the secular. This may have been the calculation, that it has a more resounding effect as it is spoken. For surely such echo is possible against numbed silence of others around who may only yield, as perhaps the likes of Louis XIII and higher notables referred to in an earlier article of mine, or even among the lower tier as the Committees in the Justice Ministry. Transformation to such state of mind and habit in the ministry will be problematic for Sabry to steer through the ministry committees.

Transformation in the declaration by Minister Sabry is also to take place in two tiers: one political and the other by officials and professionals. Unfortunately, there is a serious problem Sabry may face in the experts empanelled by the Government. The strong criticism against these experts is that they are politically and in expertise bankrupt, such that it is doubted they can make a serious contribution to law reform. If the competence needed in the experts is not clearly spelt out, this declaration by the minister is only for its mesmerising tactical need, a la Cardinal Richelieu. Cardinal Richelieu did adopt this ploy at times as history tells. Such call is even a diversion, economic or legal or even public health. The strategy is then political as it lurks underneath. History is repeating itself.

Transformation can only be a superficial and cosmetic divergence. Sabry understands this connotation only too well and the fact that he can yet sell his idea among the dumb likes of Louis XIII above, below, and all around him, to crush a la Cardinal Richelieu, any dissenting faction prowling below, speaks to his cunning.

The real need is reform to bring about a radical change of disposition of courts, the law professionals, the AG, and the police in the larger interest of the public.

Unless the reforms are constructively lined with the real need of the public, as stated above, things may only return to profit business as usual.

(The writer is a Retired Senior Superintendent of Police. He can be contacted at seneviratnetz@gmail.com TP 077 44 751 44.)
New Delhi: Farmers protesting against the three Central farm laws have announced a series of Mahapanchayats in March as the stalemate between the farmers and the government continues over the withdrawal of the laws.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has released the list of Mahapanchayats to be held from February 28 to March 22 in various parts of the country. BKU leader Rakesh Tikait will be attending all the Mahapanchayats starting from February 28 at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

In March, Mahapanchayats will be organised in Rudrapur in Uttarakhand on March 1, in Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan on March 2, in Nagaur on March 3, in Etawah on March 5 and in Telangana on March 6. After this, Tikait will be attending a programme at Ghazipur on March 7 and the reach Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh on March 8.

On March 10, a Mahapanchayat was organised in Ballia in UP while in Jodhpur on March 12, in Rewa (MP) on March 14 and three Mahapanchayats in Karnataka on March 20, 21 and 22. The farmers have announced the series of Mahapanchayats with an aim to intensify their agitation against the contentious farm laws.

The 11 rounds of talks between the farmers and the government have been inconclusive as the farmers are adamant on their demand of withdrawal of the laws. When asked that if the farmers will not hold the discussion, then how will this stalemate end and the public will continue to face the problems because of the protest, Tikait said, "We are ready for the discussion. We have even sent messages regarding our issues but the government has not replied to them.

This protest is for everyone." Apart from the BKU, several parties are also organising their Mahapanchayats to show solidarity with the farmers protest.

Live TV
Consistent with city and county guidance for social distancing to limit exposure to individuals who may have contracted COVID-19 but may be asymptomatic, Doctors Hospital has updated its visitation policies to continue to help protect patients and their loved ones. The revised visitation policy is effective Monday, March 1.

Visitation will be allowed in the following areas:

One visitor (family member) is allowed in inpatient areas for limited hours from 9 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. with the exception of confirmed or PUI COVID-19 designated units/rooms. Children under age 18 are not allowed to visit inpatient rooms.

Immunocompromised patient - will need to get a physician order for visitation.

Cancer Center- no visitation will be allowed.

L&D one support person (family member) who may stay overnight (no hour restriction)

Post-Partum - one support person (family member) who may stay overnight (no hour restriction)

NICU - one support person (family member) - no overnight stay will be allowed (as per department policy)

Pediatrics - one support person (family member) who may stay overnight

ICU non-COVID - one support person (family member) no overnight stay

Medical/Surgical non-COVID - one support person (family member) no overnight stay

Patients with disabilities and special needs

Patients with disabilities, including cognitive and developmental disabilities, who receive care at the Hospital may have a designated support person present with them to support their disability needs at all times medically necessary where such does not interfere with their treatment.

One visitor (family member) may stay with ED patient (no hour restriction)

Outpatient (family member) surgery, one visitor may accompany the patient (no hour restriction)

Outpatient visits, one visitor (family member) may accompany the patient (no hour restriction)

Screening:

Anyone who enters the main hospital or one of the off-site locations will be screened for signs and symptoms. Screening can be a series of questions and temperature checks. Any positive responses to screening questions or any temperature above 100.4 and the person will not be allowed to enter. All patients who are direct admissions will be screened by the ER physician prior to going to an assigned unit. Everyone entering the hospital is required to wear a mask/face cover.

This policy is subject to change as needed to meet CDC, state or local governmental guidelines.

Doctors Hospital fully supports the use of FaceTime, cell phones and other means of communication between the patient and their family/loved ones throughout the patients stay at Doctors Hospital. Patient safety is a top concern at Doctors Hospital, and this visitation policy is being implemented to protect everyone at all times.

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.

Perth businessman John Poynton has made a strong defence of his role at Crown Resorts after the NSW casino regulator put pressure on him to resign as a director over independence issues due to his long association with James Packer.

The Bergin Inquiry made no findings against my integrity or performance on the Crown board or my status as a fit and proper person, said Mr Poynton in a statement that followed his resignation from Crown on Monday with immediate effect.

He said he believed resigning was the right thing to do given the advice from the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) about perceptions over his independence arising from his past relationship with Mr Packer.

Crown director John Poynton has resigned. Credit:AAP

This is despite Ms Bergin specifically noting that my commitment and contribution would be integral to Crowns future success, he said of the inquiry headed by former judge Patricia Bergin into Crowns suitability to hold its casino licence in NSW.
(Adds detail, background, quotes)

BUDAPEST, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor

Orban has been vaccinated with a coronavirus vaccine developed

by China's Sinopharm, Orban announced on his official

Facebook page on Sunday as the country tries to accelerate its

vaccination programme.

Hungary on Wednesday became the first European Union member

to start inoculating people with Sinopharm shots after rolling

out Russia's Sputnik V vaccine as well, even though neither has

been granted approval for emergency use by the bloc.

"Vaccinated," Orban said, with photos of him receiving the

shot and a doctor showing the vaccine's packaging box.

"I am working again, you can see I am perfectly fine, you

should not be afraid either. The third wave (of the pandemic) is

here and its going to be stronger than the previous two," Orban

said in a video, asking Hungarians to register for vaccination

and trust Hungarian experts with regard to the Chinese vaccine.

On Friday Orban had flagged a possible tightening of

lockdown curbs as the daily tally of new infections jumped to

its highest this year, which is expected to place the country's

hospitals under heavy strain in the next two weeks.

Hundreds of people took to a square in the capital Budapest

on Sunday to protest against the lockdown measures, ignoring a

ban on public gatherings, with most of them not wearing masks.

"We have had enough of politicians' games. We want to take

control over our own lives; we will not let ourselves be locked

up," said one of the organisers.

The protest ended quickly after police started to ask people

to show their documents.

The Russian and Chinese shots are being administered along

with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and shots

developed by U.S. company Moderna and Anglo-Swedish

drugmaker AstraZeneca, all of which have received the EU

green light.

Orban has said that all the 2.5 million to 2.6 million

Hungarians who have registered for COVID-19 vaccinations so far

would receive at least one dose by Easter, in early April.

All secondary schools have been closed since Nov. 11, as

have hotels and restaurants, except for takeaway meals. An

evening curfew has also been put in place.

Hungary, with a population of about 10 million, has reported

428,599 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 14,974

deaths. As of Sunday, 677,682 people had received at least one

dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than

Editing by David Clarke and David Goodman)
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief on Sunday congratulate the Brazilian team on the occasion of the launching of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C51 carrying Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite and 18 other satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

Sivan said that India and feel proud to launch Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite.

"In this mission, India and ISRO, feel extremely proud, honoured and happy to launch the first satellite designed, integrated and operated by Brazil. I congratulate the Brazilian team for this achievement. The satellite is in very good health and I congratulate all for this and compliment the entire Brazilian team," Sivan said after the launch event.

Amazonia-1, an optical earth observation satellite, which was launched at 10:24 am on Sunday, successfully separated from the fourth stage of PSLVC51 and injected into orbit, informed in a tweet.

Marcos Ceaser Pontes, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Brazil in his address at the launch event said, "We have been working on this satellite for many years. This satellite which was launched today has a very important mission fro Brazil. It will monitor the deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory."

Pontes termed the launch of satellites as the "beginning of stronger relations" between India and Brazil.

"It represents a new era for the Brazilian Satellite Industry. There could be no better place than to be here in India with all our partnerships and this is one step for the partnership that will be going to grow. We are going to work together, a lot. Today is the beginning of stronger relations between both countries," he said.

in its first launch in 2021, launched PSLV-C51 carrying Amazonia-1 and 18 other satellites on Sunday at 10:24 am.

A Brazilian delegation was present at Satish Dhawan Space Centre for the launch. ISRO chief K. Sivan was also present.

PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 is the first dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India company under the Department of Space. The NSIL is undertaking this mission under a commercial arrangement with Spaceflight Inc. USA.

Amazonia-1 is the optical earth observation satellite of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). This satellite would further strengthen the existing structure by providing remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C51), which is the 53rd mission of PSLV launched Amazonia-1 of Brazil as the primary satellite. A total of 18 Co-passenger satellites were also lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 10:24 am on Sunday.

The 18 co-passenger satellites include four from IN-SPACe (three UNITYsats from the consortium of three Indian academic institutes and One Satish Dhawan Sat from Space Kidz India) and 14 from NSIL.

(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.)
There are few more inspiring events than a major medical breakthrough. Almost overnight, a new discovery removes the fear of a previously terrifying disease.

Formerly vital precautions rapidly become obsolete. Life in general is easier and happier.

Again and again, over the past two centuries, human ingenuity and determination have conquered or driven back many scourges.

Those who have cast doubt on the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, especially among EU leaders jealous of British independent success, now look rather foolish as the research comes in

But amid any such triumph, there are also problems. Victory, even over a disease, brings its difficulties

While it is almost impossible now even to imagine the world before penicillin, there are people still living who remember when tuberculosis was a death sentence for many, or when smallpox still raged in many parts of the world.

Our defeats of sickness are events at least as great in world history as the military victories over tyrants and would-be invaders which we also rightly celebrate.

So the whole country should be feeling a glow of satisfaction over the amazingly rapid development of vaccines against the Covid virus, and the growing evidence that these immunisations are providing very high levels of protection.

Those who have cast doubt on the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, especially among EU leaders jealous of British independent success, now look rather foolish as the research comes in.

But even these scoffers will in the end be pleased to have been wrong. The liberation of the whole European continent from curfews, lockdowns, travel bans, school closures and the rest of the Covid miseries is now in sight, and this must soon spread to the rest of the world. Yet remember just a few months ago when almost every expert in the world said there was no guarantee that any such inoculation could be successfully developed at all, let alone with such rapidity.

But amid any such triumph, there are also problems. Victory, even over a disease, brings its difficulties.

One of these is the reluctance of some British citizens to accept the jab. Unscrupulous, foolish and irresponsible people have for months been spreading lies and misinformation about the alleged dangers of vaccinations.

It would be surprising if such propaganda had not found an audience in an age when falsehoods can hurtle around the internet before the truth has booted up its computer.

So how should we tackle this? The Mail on Sundays Deltapoll survey today shows very strong majority backing for the vaccine, and indeed for strong measures which might place pressure on those who are reluctant to be immunised.

One of these is the reluctance of some British citizens to accept the jab. Unscrupulous, foolish and irresponsible people have for months been spreading lies and misinformation about the alleged dangers of vaccinations

Some may find this attractive and there are certainly reasonable arguments for requiring vaccination for certain professions and certain types of travel.

Even so, experience suggests that people do not respond well to bullying or pressure in such matters.

If people are being asked to do something for their own good, or for the good of others, then it should be possible to persuade them into it.

Knowledge, persuasion and example, preferably at community level, are surely the best way to do this.

Where any group of people is reluctant to receive the vaccination, the most effective way of persuading them will be if locally respected figures, preferably known to them personally, give the lead, both in words and in action.

It is at the small-scale and personal level that the battle for maximum uptake will be won.

And those not immediately convinced in the first wave may well change their minds too, when they see the painless benefits spreading all around them among friends, colleagues and neighbours.

Patience, generosity, example  these are the best ways of getting people to do the right thing.
Sally Shannon always expected big life events such as weddings, pregnancies and babies would be very much a village experience, as they were while she was growing up her home country of South Africa.

Having moved to Melbourne with her Australian husband in May 2018, she felt confident she could have a smaller, but still lovely, version of this among her new family and friends after she became pregnant with their first child.

Sally Shannon and Max (left) and Romi Kaufman and Mila (right), met in online expecting-mothers groups during lockdown in Melbourne and have become very close in real life. Credit:Luis Ascui

But, as with so much community life in 2020, the long months of lockdown took away real-life access to all that.

As COVID suddenly hit, it was like I went from, OK, Ill have a mini-village experience, to being OK, my village is gone, said Ms Shannon, a physiotherapist whose son, Max is now eight months old.

Hello, my name is Michel. Ive been a local ever since I was 5, going on to be 18 now.
As part of the government-wide dry-run for COVID-19 vaccine transportation held at the Republic of Korea Special Warfare Command's air field in Echon, Gyeonggi Province, on Feb. 19, a participant moves a vaccine container to inside a CH-47D helicopter. The practice was prepared to transport vaccines to islands with difficult access to airports. Joint Press Corp



The defense ministry said Sunday it transported a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to Ulleung Island in the East Sea to help inoculate local residents, where access through commercial transportation is relatively time consuming and difficult.



The ministry said a batch of AstraZeneca's vaccine from the government's vaccine storage warehouse left Icheon, some 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and arrived at a Navy base on Ulleung via a CH-47D military transportation helicopter.



After its landing, the vaccine shipment was delivered to the Ulleung County's public health center escorted by police and Navy vehicles.



Authorities initially planned on delivering the vaccines via the sea but later opted to use a helicopter in consideration of the weather conditions and distance.




As a rule, I dont like surprises.

I am referring here to things like surprise parties or any sort of public celebration that catches one unawares. I also tend to cringe at practical jokes that are sprung on people and therefore loathe April Fools Day each year.

But I do delight when something positive surprises me when I was looking mainly for general information on a topic. Thats what happened as I was researching for this weeks beer column, which despite the happy unexpected nugget I found, is still mainly about the Michael James Jackson Foundation.

This foundation is a grant-making organization that funds scholarship awards to Black and indigenous folks and people of color within the brewing and distilling trades. It kicked off in November of last year and is chaired by the great Garrett Oliver, founder of Brooklyn Brewery.

But more on the foundation below. What I discovered while researching the topic was that Massachusetts own Tree House Brewing recently donated $40,000 to the foundation. It always puts a smile on my face when local beer makers (and since they started off in Western Massachusetts, I still consider them local) do a selfless good turn for others. Kudos to Tree House for their generosity and support of a great cause.

The foundation is named, of course, after the dean of all beer writers, the late, great Michael Jackson. With more than 3 million copies sold of his numerous books on beer and whiskey, he is regarded as not only the preeminent beer scribe, but also a prime force in the surge of craft brewing in the U.S. and elsewhere. Long before humble beer scribblers like myself took to writing about our favorite adult beverage, Jackson had been to beer writing akin to what J.S. Bach was to classical music: He already had done almost everything, one way or another.

And, as the Michael James Jackson Foundation puts it on its website: While not a person of color himself, Michael can only be described as actively and profoundly anti-racist.

The foundation hopes to accomplish its goals in two ways: funding scholarship awards to accredited brewing & distilling technical courses, and personalized mentorship of grantees by industry leaders. The program is open both to candidates who are just starting their careers, as well as people who are looking to further their education.

I am extremely glad that the brewing industry has one more tool for expanding its base to include people of color. The foundation should further help the similar goals of the Brewer Associations Diversity Committee, which started in 2017 and which has taken proactive steps to advance diversity and inclusivity among brewers and beer lovers.

Cheers to all.
Gardai have arrested 23 people after clashes broke out in Dublin as several hundred people gathered in the city centre for an anti-lockdown event on Saturday afternoon.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said he expects more arrests to be made.

A dense crowd filled South King Street from end to end. Hundreds of people who were not wearing face masks marched through the city centre and attempted to make their way to St Stephens Green park.

Protesters were prevented from gathering in the park after the Office of Public Works closed the gates to the public.

Gardai used batons as they pushed protesters down Grafton Street, while fireworks, cans, and bollards have been thrown at gardai.

Three Gardai were injured during the incident and one has been hospitalised.

Videos of the incident have been widely shared on social media.

Of the 23 people arrested, 13 - 12 men and one woman - have appeared before the Criminal Court and have been remanded in custody to appear before Cloverhill District Court at a later date.

Those charges include threatening or abusive words or behaviour, failing to comply with a direction from Gardai, resisting arrest and failing to provide the correct name and address to officers.

Seven of those arrested were charged with offences and released on bail while three juveniles have been released for consideration of inclusion in the Juvenile Diversion Programme.

Speaking this evening Drew Harris said there would be a full investigation into the events.

Very regrettably, people arrived intent on violence. They engaged in attacks on members of An Garda Siochana including the throwing of a firework type device," said Mr Harris.

Anti-lockdown protesters clash with gardai outside St Stephen's Green. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

There were some 23 arrests that we have made already and those arrests are continuing. This operation is not over as we pursue individuals who engage in protest and illegal activity.

They had no reasonable grounds for being there in the first place so we will pursue particularly those who formed a very hard core to deal with.

You dont carry a firework to a protest with any other purpose than to engage in violent conduct. We will follow through with an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Mr Harris said they were aware that momentum had been gathering on social media in the lead-up to Saturdays protest.

Mr Harris also said that garda officers were very lucky they were not seriously injured when a firework was fired directly at them.

It was directed at that individual and so we are fortunate they didnt suffer a serious injury, it was only the individuals quick thinking that saved him, Mr Harris said.

We will follow through with a serious crime investigation into that incident.

Mr Harris said the demonstrators was a collaboration of groups made up of anti-lockdown protesters, anti-vaccine and anti-facemasks.

This was groups working in concert together, as a mob, he added.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin condemned the protest saying it posed an unacceptable risk to both the public and Gardai.

"The large gathering, in the face of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, showed a complete lack of respect to the people who have made huge sacrifices during this pandemic.

"Nor can we tolerate the thuggish behaviour or attacks on gardai, who have the publics utmost respect as they continue to protect and serve our society in difficult circumstances.

There can be no justification for the march or the violence that unfolded, and I pay tribute to members of An Garda Siochana who moved quickly to make arrests and restore order.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said the Garda Commissioner has told her the disturbance is being brought under control.

MS McEntee said fixed charge notices has been issued to a number of people and a special court sitting is being arranged for those arrested during this afternoon's incident.

"I want to commend the courage and professionalism of the Gardai on duty ... in Dublin who responded with great control and discipline in an extremely challenging situation.

"This situation was completely unacceptable and was an insult to so many who have worked so hard in the fight against Covid-19 and to those who have died.

"This mindless thuggery showed a wilful and blatant disregard for the public health rules which are needed to help us all and keep us safe."

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors says scenes at protests in Dublin show a blatant disregard for members of An Garda Siochana.

General Secretary, Antoinette Cunningham says seeing missiles being deliberately directed at unarmed members is truly shocking.

Ms Cunningham said events show the very dangerous element that policing this part of Covid-19 has for members.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he was "horrified" to see protesters clash with police on the streets of Dublin during an anti-lockdown protest.

Mr Varadkar tweeted: "Irish people have spent last year fighting Covid. There is no excuse for violence to gardai or anyone.

"This behaviour on Grafton St by a selfish few undermines sacrifices that millions have made in the last 12 months."

Simon Harris called the scenes on Grafton Street sickening and shameful.

"Pure thuggery on the streets of Dublin... It's not a 'protest'. It's an attack on our national effort," the Minister for Further and Higher Education said.

"The abuse directed at the Gardai is sickening and shameful. Disgraceful. Thoughts with the Gardai and their families."

Gardai confronted by protesters at St Stephen's Green.

Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond also slammed the violent scenes.

From the outset, this protest was ill-advised, fuelled by conspiracy theories and championed by individuals seeking to manipulate the genuine fears of many vulnerable individuals, he said.

It was disgraceful to see this protest descend into violent scenes with brave members of An Garda Siochana subjected to intolerable physical and verbal abuse.

Some of the eye witness footage circulating is extremely disturbing and every public representative should condemn these awful scenes.

The footage appears to show a lit firework being thrown at members of the gardai by one protester, which is truly shameful.

These brave men and women risk their lives every day in the service of the people of our State and what they were subjected to ... is utterly appalling.

A spokesman for An Garda Siochana said: A number of traffic diversions and other policing measures are currently in place in Dublin this afternoon, Saturday 27th February 2021 in response to a demonstration in the city centre area.

A policing plan has been implemented and An Garda Siochana will provide a full update when this operation has concluded.

Luas trams are also skipping the stop there this afternoon.

The first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine that most Australians will receive has arrived in Sydney, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison hailing a new milestone in the fight against the virus.

The first 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine landed from overseas on Sunday, but 50 million doses of this type will be manufactured by CSL in Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration will now batch test the first shipment to ensure it meets Australias strict quality standards.

This is the next step as we ramp up the vaccine rollout,Mr Morrison said.

The rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine is due to commence from March 8, subject to the TGAs testing process.

Australia is in a unique position because importantly this vaccine gives us the ability to manufacture onshore Mr Morrison said.

Every Australian who wishes to be vaccinated will be able to receive a vaccine this year.

Australia started its vaccine program last week with the first injections of the Pfizer vaccine.

Almost 30,000 Australians had been vaccinated since last Monday, including 8110 aged care and disability residents throughout 117 care facilities.

However, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has again urged the federal government to keep states better informed of their vaccine rollout plans.

Ms Berejiklian told reporters state leaders are still unsure of how and when the general population will get access to a vaccine.

Ive made no secret of the fact that we would appreciate as much information in a timely way, but we also appreciate thats not always possible, she told reporters.

The federal government is rolling out a second $31 million public information campaign on the COVID-19 vaccination program from Sunday.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said both the state and territory teams, alongside the aged care in-reach teams, are ramping up their operations, with more vaccines being distributed across the country in the next week.

The governments initial advertising campaign launched in January focused on informing the Australian community about the TGAs world-leading independent approval process.

The advertising is important, so people understand how the vaccination program is operating, how they can find out when it will be their turn and answer any questions they have about the vaccines, Mr Hunt said.

He said a myth busting unit has also been quietly set up within Home Affairs in cooperation with the Health Department to stamp out information that is plainly ridiculous, like 5G theories.

We dont want to give too much air to some of the silliest ideas but we do want to provide public reassurance to combat in the marketplace on those ideas which would in any way falsely have some impact on public confidence, Mr Hunt said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has put in place a so-called a hotspot definition for the Auckland region, which will be reviewed every 72 hours.

The rest of New Zealand can continue to fly to Australia without the need for a 14 day quarantine.

There were no new virus cases reported across Australia on Sunday.
Get action! said Teddy Roosevelt. Do things, create, act. This impatient bundle of short syllables comes as close as anything to articulating the personal philosophy of the 26th president. He believed that naked willpower exercised with iron discipline could vanquish all of the mental and mortal enemies of man  that, by renouncing idleness and hesitation and by simply doing, human beings could bound up the steps of Jacobs ladder to newer, more-elevated worlds.

Roosevelts life reflected the advice he gave to others. He was, as his friend Henry Adams said, pure act, filling his days and his years with relentless activity until adversity fell by the wayside, unable to keep up with him. Unsurprisingly, many Americans have been inspired by his example and have taken to heart his gospel of the will.

But Roosevelts commitment to sleepless, unceasing action wasnt just his personal code. It was also his political program. He was a pioneer of the progressive movement and the leading advocate for an expansive and interventionist vision of the federal government. He had about as much time for the Constitution as the freezing cold and power-deprived people of Texas currently have for their junior senator.

According to TR, the Founders were ultra individualists, for at that time what was demanded by our people was the largest liberty for the individual. But, like most progressives, Roosevelt thought that the tides of time had washed away the conditions to which the wisdom of ages past had been amenable: During the century that had elapsed since Jefferson became president the need had exactly reversed. There had been a riot of individualistic materialism, under which complete freedom for the individual . . . turned out in practice to mean perfect freedom for the strong to wrong the weak. The idea of government as a framework for ordered liberty in which virtue can be exercised under the least possible coercion was retrograde and passe in Roosevelts eyes. As he saw it, the country needed government itself to be muscle by which the virtue of the people was exercised. His was a vision of government as a moral crusade.

Story continues

In light of all this, its hardly surprising that the populist-nationalist wing of the Republican Party has picked Teddy Roosevelt to be their mascot. If you were to line Republican presidents up on an ideological spectrum, Roosevelt would sit at the opposite pole to limited-government icons such as Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan. For conservatives who want to pivot away from the libertarian-inflected fusionism that has dominated the GOP since 1964, TRs presidency will always be a touchstone.

In fact, the attempt to found a viable alternative tradition in the GOP on Roosevelts legacy is not new. John McCain branded himself as a Roosevelt Republican in both of his presidential runs. If I recall correctly, McCain spoke about TRs influence on his own brand of national-greatness conservatism so often that Glenn Beck was about ready to set himself on fire in the manner of a Tibetan monk.

The politician who has thought the most about how and why the Republican Party should become a thoroughly populist, national-conservative movement is Senator Josh Hawley, of the coiffed hair and the raised fist. A decade before he ran for the Senate, Hawley authored Theodore Roosevelt: Preacher of Righteousness, an intellectual biography in which he analyzed TRs political and social thought. Much like Boris Johnsons biography of Churchill, the book is as much about the author as it is about the subject, with the former attempting to fasten his own reputation to the legacy of the latter. Hawleys treatment of his beau ideal statesman is revealing of how national conservatives might take a neo-Rooseveltian agenda forward during the Republican civil war of the post-Trump era.

The most attractive thing about Roosevelts politics that Hawley picks up on is the tone of moral elevation he brought to political questions. Conservatives in the Reaganite tradition are inclined to speak about government in a fairly prosaic, negative, and ultimately pessimistic way. According to that conception, the job of the statesman is mainly to stop government action from crowding out the activities of civil society, where the real moral drama of life takes place. But if youre inclined to see politics as the stage for this moral drama  the stage on which issues of good and evil are ultimately hashed out  then Roosevelt is a much more suitable lodestar than someone like James Madison.

Roosevelts belief that the federal government could and should legislate and regulate the good life into existence for the citizenry was driven largely by the fact that, for him, the line between the state and civil society, so prized by conventional conservatives, simply did not exist. The erasure of this line is undoubtedly one of the most controversial aspects of Roosevelts politics, right up there with his views on race and empire.

Roosevelt, as Hawley writes,

recognized no consequential distinction between government and civil society, as if the people of the nation arrived at their common, civic identity apart from the apparatus of the state. Instead, individuals came to know themselves as a unified body politic  they became a people, an ethnos, in the full political sense of the term  when they participated in the joint exercise of political power.

In other words, American society and the American government are, for TR, coextensive  theyre one and the same. We can see this idea coming through in what Roosevelt said after the Supreme Courts decision in U.S. v. E. C. Knight, which limited the reach of the Sherman Antitrust Act. He thought that the decision had left the National Government, that is, the people of the Nation, practically helpless to deal with the large combinations of modern business. This equivocation in the move from the National Government to the people of the Nation is the kind of rhetorical sleight of hand that would have conservatives of a libertarian bent flipping the safety on their rifles, but its instructive as to where the Right could be headed.

Most of todays post-liberal conservatives likely wouldnt endorse Roosevelts conviction that the nation and the state are strictly identical, but the line dividing the two is blurry on the nationalist Right. Its not always easy to see where the boundaries lie between community and government. Even so, the demolition of the conceptual wall between the state  which is nothing other than a geographic monopoly on violence  and the voluntary associations that make up community has led to a shift in how the idea of power is conceived on the right.

Traditional conservatives have tended to emphasize the qualitative difference between state power, which is always and everywhere coercive, and market power, which is persuasive and, as a result, much more humane. The national conservatives think about power along much different lines. Not long ago I spoke with Zachary Miller, a student at Baylor University and president of what used to be Baylors chapter of the Young Americas Foundation, a conservative student group. Earlier this year, Miller and his fellow members decided to formally disassociate themselves from YAF. Looking to take the group in a more nationalist direction, they renamed themselves the Baylor Bull Moose Society, after Teddy Roosevelts Bull Moose Party.

When I asked Mr. Miller about the viability of the traditional distinction that conservatives make between state power and market power, he was unequivocal. Corporations have come to rival the government in terms of political power, he said. It is now they, not the state, that pose the greatest threat to the liberty of the people. He said that private power is now more coercive than public power, summing up the animating spirit of the national-conservative movement. The truth or falsehood of the proposition is, in a nutshell, what the two main factions on the right are arguing over today.

Teddy Roosevelts crusade against the robber barons has a lot of analogical appeal for people who agree with Miller about the coercive nature of private corporations. But it also has to be said that TRs trustbusting remains one of the most ill-begotten and poorly understood policies in American history. Nevertheless, its conceivable that what was the wrong tool a hundred years ago could be the right tool today. Its certainly the case that the kind of power that big tech companies hold over the United States citizenry today defies easy categorization.

We cant close our discussion of Roosevelts relevance to practical politics today without talking about the election of 1912. Unsatisfied with William Howard Taft, whom we would now recognize as a traditional conservative, running on the Republican ticket, Roosevelt formed a new party, ran on his own ticket, and split the GOP vote. As a result, Woodrow Wilson, the most depraved man ever to occupy the White House, was elected. If the two wings of the Republican Party today cant come together over a single candidate and a single platform, they will suffer the same fate, of watching a Democratic candidate capitalize on an internally riven GOP. If Roosevelt had one trait that Republicans cannot afford to emulate in the future, its the sheer megalomania that got him into that 1912 race. But then, I wonder whether megalomania and demagoguery are at least to some small extent inevitable when populism is on the table.

Populism, as we learn from Shakespeare, is a mutually reinforcing dialectic that takes place between Caesar and the masses. It requires a charismatic leader to channel and champion the desires of the people. This relationship, when successful, tends to enervate mediating institutions that thwart the immediate desires of both the populist leader and the public. No successful populist movement in political history has ever had more than one leader at its head. That isnt an accident. Introduce plurality into the leadership and you would introduce a potential establishment: a group distinctively other than the group  the People. The powerful sense that the leader belongs only to the crowd would be weakened. Populism therefore tends toward a cult of personality. Roosevelts personality, for what its worth, certainly fit this profile. My father always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding, and the baby at every christening, his daughter Alice Roosevelt Longworth said.

The politics of personality are therefore particularly potent when it comes to populism. On both the left and the right, populist political thinking tends to proceed like this:

There is no real distinction between the state and the people.

Only [insert populist party here] speaks for the people.

[Insert populist leader here] best represents the people, so he should lead the party.

The leader is the party; the party is the people; the people are the state.

The leader is the state.

This is the logic of populism in its purest form. It can, of course, be mitigated, by context, contingencies, and circumstances, as I imagine it will be in the United States. Even so, the extent to which Donald Trump has turned the GOP into his own cult of personality is indicative of how powerful this logic of populism is, even in a country as politically civilized as the U.S. Something similar could be said for TRs Bull Moose Party, which had no real life after him because it was first and foremost about him. In countries with fewer established traditions of constitutional liberty  Italy, Russia, Germany, Cuba  the above syllogism has been followed through to conclusion. Were all familiar with its results.

Again, Americas attachment to freedom will likely take the roughest edges off populism, but dangers will remain. This is because populism, whether of the nationalist or of the socialist variety, isnt about policy in any fundamental sense. Its about who rules. Put simply, many Republicans felt that Donald Trump represented them not just in a political sense but almost in a sacramental one. He established an affinity with his supporters so intense that his rule felt like their rule, his power felt like their power. What he did with this power didnt really matter as much  note that he could hardly have been more of a dead consensus, zombie Reaganite president in policy terms if he had tried.

Once the populists have chosen their champion for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, they will accept no one else. Populists, whose allegiance to institutions is nonexistent, turn out only for their chosen one. For evidence, look no further than the Georgia Senate runoffs: Traditional suburban Republicans came out in force for Loeffler and Perdue, and a critical mass of Trump devotees stayed home. Something similar happened to the Democrats in 2016. Sanders supporters were so wounded at their candidates loss in the Democratic primaries that many didnt bother to come out and vote for Hillary Clinton on Election Day. To get a sense of the sway that populist leaders hold over their followers, one only has to read the journalist William Allen White on his first meeting with Teddy Roosevelt:

Roosevelt bit me, and I went mad. . . . He sounded in my heart the first trumpet call of the new time that was to be. . . . He poured into my heart such visions, such ideals, such hopes, such a new attitude toward life and patriotism and the meaning of things, as I had never dreamed men had.

This gushing fixation on individual strongmen is everywhere evident on the populist right today. The American Conservative, for example, recently ran two articles, Waiting for a Bull Moose, and Waiting for Our Salazar, that are essentially about the impending arrival of the One True King. In a contest to decide which individual leads the GOP into the next general election, the national-conservatives are bound to win simply because they behave toward their preferred candidate as a vassal would to his suzerain. Conservatives who are more moderate and mainstream will shop and shift between one candidate or another while the 30-odd percent of the Republican primary electorate who are populists will surround their man like a praetorian guard and see him all the way through Super Tuesday and beyond. If the traditional conservatives successfully rally behind a single candidate (as they did not in 2016), we can expect something like 1912: cries of betrayal from the populists, reckless disregard for the interests of the party, and a splinter movement. Theres nothing in the populist character or in the history of populist movements to suggest that a defeated national-conservative wing of the GOP would acquiesce and put their shoulders to the wheel during a general election. Its populism or 1912 for the Republican Party from here on in. Poor old Taft.

More from National Review
Republican Rep. Devin Nunes made a series of bizarre claims about Bay Area public transit during an appearance at CPAC, an annual conservative gathering hosted this year in Florida.

The comments came while Nunes was telling the crowd that he thinks President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion proposed stimulus package is a "slush fund" for Democrats. The package contains $20 billion in funding for public transit agencies across the nation, which is intended to help agencies like BART avoid layoffs or route cuts.

"We already know that part of this money is going to go to build a tunnel from Silicon Valley to San Francisco," Nunes said. "These tech oligarchs are the last people that need anybody's money, and they sure as hell don't need a tunnel from Silicon Valley to San Francisco."

Nunes also made fun of Bay Area commuters for worrying about COVID transmission. "I thought everybody's like, panicked with COVID," he said. "Who the hell's going to get into a train or a bus? I know they're not going to."

It is not clear whether Nunes is referring to an imaginary BART tunnel or perhaps a high-speed rail project. Neither of these options make much sense, as BART's Silicon Valley tunnel extension is between Berryessa/North San Jose station and Santa Clara, and the proposed high-speed rail connection between San Francisco and San Jose is not a tunnel.

That project will utilize preexisting Caltrain tracks so both high-speed rail and normal train traffic can use the same corridor. "Per the requirements of SB 1029 high-speed rail service along the San Francisco to San Jose corridor will be a blended service with Caltrain and high-speed rail service sharing tracks," the project site says.

It also would go down the peninsula  not across the bay  from the downtown San Francisco transit center to San Jose.

All of these points aside, Nunes' assertion that "tech oligarchs" would use a tunnel from San Jose to S.F. is dubious at best  Mark Zuckerberg is hardly known in the Bay Area for riding public transit to work.
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Premier Gladys Berejiklian says NSW is willing to help deliver the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine through its hospital hubs in a bid to avoid delays as the first doses arrived in Australia.

Australias coronavirus vaccine supplies more than doubled on Sunday with the first vials of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine landing at Sydney Airport.

The first of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca arrived at Sydney Airport on Sunday. Credit:Edwina Pickles

An Emirates plane carried 300,000 doses of the second vaccine to be approved for use in Australia and the one that is planned to be administered to the majority of the population.

General practitioners will be largely responsible for giving the AstraZeneca vaccine but Ms Berejiklian said NSW would be prepared to step in to help if delays to the rollout emerged.
The Methodist Church, Ghana, on Saturday inaugurated the Osu Circuit, giving it a mandate to direct and control the affairs of three societies as a distinct unit of the church and help them to execute their core mandate.



The societies are the Reverend Peter Kwei Dagadu Memorial Chapel, Osu, the head of the Circuit, where the inauguration ceremony was held, the Kuku Hill Society, and Labone Cantonment Preaching Post.



The Right Reverend Samuel Kofi Osabutey, the Diocesan Bishop of Accra, the Methodist Church, Ghana, who inaugurated the Circuit also inducted the Very Reverend Godson Nii Amu Akushie as the first Superintendent Minister.



He also introduced the Circuit Stewards and Coordinators including; Lay Women Council Executives, Coordinating Officers for Ministry, Education, Finance, and Development among others, who afterwards resolved to work to promote spiritual, financial and psychosocial development within the Circuit.



They also pledged to work in love to enrich themselves in the Lord to undertake religious tasks, to nurture children to grown in the love of Christ.

The Very Rev. Akushie on the other hand, affirmed faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and pledged to avail himself to be used by the Holy Spirit to win souls, to lead exemplary holy life for the children of God.



He also vowed to serve the church and the entire humanity in faithfulness bearing in mind that his life would be brought to light whether good or evil on the judgment day for all to witness.



The gown and garment of the Superintendent Minister were blessed by the Diocesan Bishop with other Ministers to serve as an adornment and give him spiritual authority.



The usual shaking of hands given by the Ministers to the inductee as a way of congratulating him was this time around replaced with a hand wave or a sign of prayer in the quest to observing the COVID-19 safety protocols.



The Rt. Rev. Osabutey advised the Supt. Minister to take charge of the Circuit and give it pastoral care and supervision, and encouraged the Lay members within the Circuit to receive him as a servant of God and the Gospel with honour and cooperation to achieve the mandate and purpose of the Church.

In an interview with the Superintendent Minister, he said being chosen for the position was by the grace of God, though it was a challenging one.



Even though it is a privilege to serve in Gods vineyard, I need grace to be humble to receive all the directions to take the circuit to where God wants us to go, he said.



The Very Reverend Dr. Samuel Dua Dodd, the Superintendent Minister of the Accra North Circuit, who delivered a sermon, said in the midst of chaos, loss of focus and discouragement, that was when God raised a leader.



He advised the Very Rev. Akushie to make the qualities in him as a Leader and a Shepherd of God visible to all, in order to teach them to live like Jesus Christ and give them directions to get them out of their trials and tribulations.



These, he said, would help to return church members who had been absent for a long time.



We are in a moment, where the commitment of members of the church is conditioned on their convenience, schedule, and free time or mood, however, it is during a moment like this that God brings up a leader to help to find the lost sheep, he said.



The Circuit needs to place its priorities right. Can you as a Superintendent Minister, take members of the Circuit back to the period where voice notes and text messages were used to remind children of God to be punctual at church and remain committed?



The Most Reverend Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, in a goodwill message, reminded the Circuit to bear in mind that evangelism was the core business of the Church and put in appropriate mechanisms to return former members of the Church and regain more souls.



He also asked the Circuit to draw attention of members to the reality that the COVID-19 pandemic still lived among the citizenry, hence the need to adhere to the protocols even when the nationwide vaccination exercise commenced.

Source: GNA









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Disney+ has acquired all five seasons of the show, with season four due to debut in summer 2021 and season five in 2022.

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir follows the adventures of two seemingly typical teens with secret identities, Marinette and Adrien, who magically transform into superheroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir. But in the daytime, Marinette is just a normal girl, living a normal life. Cat Noir will do anything to support and impress Ladybug, but does not know this is Marinette from his class. Marinette, the regular girl, in turn dreams of Adrien and simply gets little response. When evil threatens Paris, the superheroes defend it against the villains.

Jeremy Zag, founder and CEO of ZAG, said: Disney has been a key partner in bringing Miraculous Ladybug to audiences everywhere, and we are grateful for their creative support and trust for this next chapter. We are excited to be extending our relationship to Disney+ and to be part of their compelling new platform.

Added Aton Soumache, co-founder and CEO of ON kids & family: We have a particular history with Disney: they are the first partners of Miraculous, the most passionate and committed. Today, our success around the franchise allows us to strengthen our partnership, notably through Disney+, expand the Miraculous World thanks to the TV Events and many new superheroes who will come and surprise us; and to establish it proudly over time.

With a fan base of young adult Miraculers (ages 15-25), Miraculous has become a digital craze with more than 22 billion views on YouTube and over 150 million products sold during the past three years. The theatrical movie, Miraculous Ladybug And Cat Noir The Awakening, is due to debut in autumn 2021 or spring 2022. Miraculous is the winner of 17 awards, including the 2018 Teen Choice Award for Choice Animated Series and airs in over 120 countries.
Burma Myanmar Military Regime Dismisses UN Ambassador

U Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmars ambassador to the UN

The military regime has dismissed Myanmar Ambassador to the United Nations U Kyaw Moe Tun following his address to an informal UN General Assembly meeting on Friday in which he supported the democratically elected government and denounced the militarys seizure of power.

In an announcement signed by the regime-appointed Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it accused the ambassador of committing high treason for representing the elected parliamentarians Committee Representing the Union Parliament (CPRH) at the UN meeting in New York. (The Union Parliament is known as the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw in Burmese.) The CRPH was formed on Feb. 5; a majority of the MPs elected in the November general election swore themselves in this month after being prevented from taking their rightful seats in the Parliament in Naypyitaw by the military coup.

The ambassador sided with the toppled National League for Democracy government and spoke on behalf of the millions of people in Myanmar who oppose the military coup. He asked the international community not to cooperate with the regime and to help remove it so that power can be restored to the elected governemnt.

Deaf to the voices of the peaceful protesters, the regime launched even more brutal crackdowns on Saturday and Sunday, following growing nationwide protests as well as its humiliation on the international stage by the ambassadors speech.

As of Sunday morning a total of at least 18 people had been shot dead by police firing on peaceful protesters.

U Kyaw Moe Tuns speech on Friday brought hope to millions of citizens who oppose the regime and demand the restoration of the democratically elected government. He received rousing applause from the UN General Assembly and his speech was wholeheartedly welcomed by protesters at home.

The military detained Myanmars elected civilian leaders, including President U Win Myint and State Counselor and Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as it staged a predawn coup on Feb. 1, citing its claims of voter list irregularities. It has since brought charges against them.

The regime has also imposed an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew, reimposed draconian laws to restrict privacy and freedom of expression, and arbitrarily arrested anti-coup protesters every day.

Defying its unjust laws, millions of citizens nationwide including civil servants have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), staging demonstrations and calling for the release of the detained leaders. The CRPH enjoys widespread support among the protesters as their legitimate representatives and government.

The regime said on Saturday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had instructed all Myanmar missions abroad not to accept, reply and make any comments on communication such as e-mail and correspondence from the CRPH, accusing the committee of committing destructive acts.

The MOFA announced, Ambassador / Permanent Representative U Kyaw Moe Tun did not comply with the instruction from the ministry and committed the act of high treason.

The regimes governing body, the State Administrative Council, has also threatened to take action against elected lawmakers who do not disavow their MP status, saying any credentials issued by the previous Union Election Commissioners are invalid. The NLD won Novembers election by a landslide, taking 83 percent of the votes.

The SAC warned the MPs who do not want to participate in the CRPH can report in person to the respective governing councils from Sunday to March 6 and threatened those who failed to do so with serious action.

A few ethnic political parties that won seats in last years vote, such as the Arakan National Party and the Mon Unity Party, have joined hands with the SAC, as has the former leader of Kayah State Democratic Party and a former member of the NLD. Dozens of other parties who failed to win seats in last years election have also joined the regimes governing body.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Junta Leader Warns Media Against Using Junta or Regime

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Myanmar Police Fails to Probe Headquarters Raid: NLD
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(Bloomberg) -- Its nearly two months since turbulence erupted around China Huarong Asset Management Co.At the end of March, its 4% perpetual dollar bond was trading at 102 cents on the dollar as investors figured the January execution of former chairman Lai Xiaomin for bribery put a line under past wayward behavior. But the failure of the company to release 2020 results by a March 31 deadline, and a subsequent report by mainland media Caixin that the firm will restructure, sparked weeks of turmoil. The same bond is now at 57 cents.The heart of the matter is whether the central government will rescue a state-owned company thats integral to the smooth running of the financial system. While there are signs Beijing wants to ensure China Huarong can repay its debts on time, uncertainty prevails.Heres a look at the key events for China Huarong:May 28The company has wired funds to repay $978 million of notes maturing within the following week, according to Bloomberg News, the biggest bond payment since the 2020 results delay.May 27Liang Qiang, who currently heads another bad-debt manager, is on track to become president of China Huarong, reports Bloomberg News.May 24China Huarong dollar bonds climb after the managing editor of Caixin Media wrote in an opinion piece that the asset manager is nowhere near defaulting on its more than $20 billion of offshore notes.May 21Some of China Huarongs thinly traded onshore bonds slump after having held up better than the companys dollar-denominated notes, signaling broadening concern about the firms financial health.May 18China Huarong has transferred funds to repay a $300 million note maturing May 20, Bloomberg News reports, the first dollar bond to come due since the delayed 2020 results. Prices for the firms dollar bonds slump earlier in the day after the New York Times reports China is planning an overhaul that would inflict significant losses on both domestic and foreign China Huarong bondholders.May 17The company has reached funding agreements with state-owned banks to ensure it can repay debt through at least the end of August, by which time China Huarong aims to have completed its 2020 financial statements, according to a Bloomberg News report. That as at least two of its onshore bonds see big price declines in recent days, worrying some investors.May 13The firm says its prepared to make future bond payments and has seen no change in the level of government support, seeking to ease investor concerns after a local media report that regulators balked at China Hurarongs restructuring plan.May 6The company says it transferred funds to pay five offshore bond coupons due the following day, its latest move to meet debt obligations amid persistent doubts about its financial health.April 30China Huarong breaks its silence, with an executive telling media it is prepared to make its bond payments and state backing remains intact. The official also says the weeks rating downgrades have no factual basis and are too pessimistic.April 29Moodys Investor Service downgrades China Huarong by one notch to Baa1, adding the firm remains on watch for further downgrade. The cut reflects the companys weakened funding ability due to market volatility and increased uncertainty over its future, according to the statement.April 27China Huarong units repay bonds maturing that day. The S$600 million ($450 million) bond was repaid with funds provided by Chinas biggest state-owned bank, according to a Bloomberg News report.April 26Fitch Ratings downgrades China Huarong by three notches to BBB while dropping the companys perpetual bonds into junk territory. The lack of transparency over government support for the firm may hamper its ability to refinance debt in offshore markets, Fitch said.April 25China Huarong says it wont meet an April 30 deadline to file its 2020 report with Hong Kongs stock exchange because auditors needed more time to finalize a transaction the company first flagged on April 1. Securities and asset-management units said in the days before that they wouldnt release 2020 results by months end.April 22The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asks lenders to extend China Huarongs upcoming loans by at least six months, according to REDD, citing two bankers from large Chinese commercial lenders.April 21China is considering a plan that would see its central bank assume more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) of China Huarong assets to help clean up the firms balance sheet, according to a Bloomberg News report. Peer China Cinda Asset Management Co. was said to be planning the sale of perpetual bonds in the second quarter.April 20China Huarongs key offshore financing unit says it returned to profitability in the first quarter and laid a solid foundation for transformation. Reorg Research reports that regulators are considering options including a debt restructuring of the unit, China Huarong International Holdings Ltd.April 19Huarong Securities Co. says it wired funds to repay a 2.5 billion yuan local note.April 16The CBIRC says China Huarongs operations are normal and that the firm has ample liquidity. These are the first official comments about the companys troubles. Reuters reports Chinese banks have been asked not to withhold loans to Huarong.April 13Fitch and Moodys both put the company on watch for downgrade. The finance ministry, which owns a majority of Huarong, is considering the transfer of its stake to a unit of the countrys sovereign wealth fund, Bloomberg News reports. Chinese officials signal they want failing local government financing vehicles to restructure or go bust if debts cant be repaid.April 9China Huarong says it has been making debt payments on time and its operations are normal. Bloomberg News reports the company intends to keep Huarong International as part of a potential overhaul that would avoid the need of a debt restructuring or government recapitalization. S&P Global Ratings puts China Huarongs credit ratings on watch for possible downgrade.April 8China Huarong is preparing to offload non-core and loss-making units as part of a broad plan to revive profitability that would avoid the need for a debt restructuring or government recapitalization, Bloomberg News reports.April 6Selling gains steam in China Huarongs dollar bonds, following a holiday in China. Huarong Securities says there has been no major change to its operations, in response to a price plunge for its 3 billion yuan local bond.April 1China Huarong announces a delay in releasing 2020 results, saying its auditor is unable to finalize a transaction. Stock trading is suspended and spreads jump on the firms dollar bonds while China Huarong tells investors its business is running as usual. Caixin reports the company submitted restructuring and other major reform plans to government officials and shareholders.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
PC polls by June By our Political Editor President to meet former PC members before making announcement View(s): View(s):

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to announce that Provincial Council elections will be held by June this year.

With this in mind, he will meet former PC members from parties that form the ruling alliance for a discussion on Wednesday. He is to tell them to prepare the election machinery while assisting in the Governments development activities.

It is not immediately clear why the Government has been prompted to go for the PC polls. At present all provinces are being run by the respective Governors. The issue is also contained in the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Sri Lanka. It calls for the early conduct of PC polls  a position taken up by even neighbouring India. The PCs were the outcome of the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of 1987.

A high-ranking government source said yesterday that as a prelude to the polls, the Government would introduce legislation for the electoral process. This has remained a contributory factor for delays in the conduct of elections.

The Government is yet to pass amendments to the Provincial Council Elections (Amendment) Act to conduct polls under the previous proportional representation system.

The Supreme Court, from which the then President Maithripala Sirisena sought a determination, ruled that PC polls could be held either under the old one or on a new system only after amending legislation was passed.

All nine PCs are now non-operational after their five-year terms lapsed at various stages.

GLEN CARBON  Police responded to a call for a reported burglary at 8:40 p.m. Wednesday on Fox Meadow Lane.

The residents, who had not been home at the time of the offense, reported a theft and damaged property. Glen Carbon officers, who worked in conjunction with the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Team, collected evidence from the home and spoke with other residents in the area.

There were no injuries in this incident. There have been no other reported residential burglaries in this area, or in this time frame.

This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Glen Carbon Investigative Division at 618-288-7226 or the anonymous Glen Carbon Tip Line at 618-391-4470.

Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at 618-659-5735

The US$1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that the House just passed includes a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. While its chances in the Senate appear slim, the proposal has brought national attention to the minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009.

Supporters argue a higher minimum wage would translate into higher incomes for millions of low-wage employees, such as restaurant waiters, retail salespeople and child care workers, and thereby lift a lot of people out of poverty. Opponents claim it would hurt businesses and lead to a lot of job losses.

As an economist who studies labor markets and income inequality, I believe both claims exaggerate the impact and miss a key point of what the minimum wage is meant to achieve. The current debate offers a perfect opportunity to restore the wage floors original purpose, as laid out by FDR over 70 years ago.

Preventing employer abuses

The federal minimum wage was first implemented under the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 at a very modest 25 cents an hour  about $4.61 today  and applied only to employees engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce. Think manufacturing workers, miners and truck drivers.

It took 18 years before Congress raised it to a buck, and the wage was soon expanded to include lots of other workers, such as retail employees, gas station attendants and nursing home aides. The latest increase, in 2009, set the wage at $7.25. It now applies to almost all workers except the self-empoyed, small-farm laborers, teenagers and those who receive tips, as well as a handful of other exempted groups.

But the principal intention was not to provide a living wage sufficient to live on alone. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt included it as part of his New Deal legislation to prevent the abuse of an employers inherent bargaining power over employees. Setting a floor, even a low one, limited an employers ability to underpay workers, ensured a minimum measure of purchasing power and allowed for fair competition between businesses.

Although companies decried the 25-cent wage back in 1938, FDR explained how the new minimum was both deeply significant yet hardly the revolutionary act some portrayed it to be.

Except perhaps for the Social Security Act, it is the most far-reaching, the most farsighted program for the benefit of workers ever adopted here or in any other country, he told Americans in one of his popular fireside chats. Do not let any calamity-howling executive with an income of $1,000 a day  tell you  that a wage of $11 a week is going to have a disastrous effect on all American industry.

Analyzing the impact on jobs

Nonetheless, that hasnt stopped some businesses and advocacy groups from forecasting doom every time Congress has considered lifting it.

Many economists, think tanks and policymakers have measured the impact of raising the minimum wage over the years. Most recently, the Congressional Budget Office analyzed the latest bill and estimated that over 10 years it would cost about 1.4 million jobs by driving up businesss labor costs, while lifting 900,000 people out of poverty.

On the first point, past economic research is surprisingly clear: Raising the minimum wage doesnt seem to lead to many job losses. One of the most exhaustive studies of the employment effects was a 2009 review of 138 U.S. state and federal minimum wage changes over the past three decades. It found that the overall number of jobs essentially stayed unchanged after previous hikes.

Furthermore, the proposed reform will really affect workers in only a little over half the states in the near term.

The current proposal in the House version of the bill would increase the minimum wage immediately to $9.50 and then incrementally by $1.50 each year until it hits $15 in 2025. It would also end the exemption for tipped employees.

Eight states representing about a third of the U.S. population already require companies to pay workers at least $15  or will within a few years  while a few major cities have even higher minimums. A little over half of all states, representing just 41% of the U.S. population, set their wages at less than $9.50 an hour, with no plans for an increase.

Also, many major retailers, including Walmart, Amazon and Costco, beginning in March, already pay their workers at least $15 an hour.

So could it lead to a loss of over a million jobs? Possibly, but this projection is likely overly pessimistic. The experience with similar recent reforms on average suggests that the impact is less severe.

Incomes tell a similar story

As for its impact on poverty and actual incomes, the evidence also doesnt suggest lifting the wage will be as radical as its proponents might hope.

While the research cited above shows that minimum-wage hikes do increase incomes for poorer households  and the CBOs estimate of 900,000 people lifted out of poverty is plausible  the gains arent that much compared with the more than 30 million people currently in poverty. For one thing, the minimum wage is not the only source of income for many poorer families. Consider a household that receives half its income in benefits, like Temporary Aid for Needy Families, and half from a minimum-wage job. Even a doubling of the minimum wage would lead to a total income increase of just 25%.

Even more importantly, many benefits depend on earnings and are reduced when that income increases. As a result, part of the wage increase will be offset by less income from benefits, weakening the overall impact further.

How much workers can potentially gain from the higher wage will depend significantly on where they live. Living costs vary substantially across the U.S., as much as 20% above or below the average, which means the same federal minimum wage is worth a lot more in low-cost states than in high-cost ones. For example, $15 buys 35% more food, gas and other stuff in Mississippi, the least expensive state, than in Hawaii, the most expensive.

So in Mississippi, Arkansas and other low-cost states, the impact of the higher minimum wage will be substantial. But in many others that havent already raised their minimum wages to $15 but are costly to live in, like Hawaii and New Hampshire, the gains will be more modest.

Giving workers a share of prosperity

In other words, lifting the minimum wage to $15, on its own, isnt that radical a change.

Its not likely to lead to a large net reduction in jobs, and while it increases wages for low-paid workers, it is not a going to reduce poverty dramatically. Improving the minimum wage is nevertheless important for exactly the pro-competion reasons that FDR outlined.

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The bill does contain a very significant change in that direction and would make the minimum wage more effective in the long run. Currently the wage level changes only when Congress acts and passes new minimum-wage legislation, which is why the minimum wage now has a buying power 20% lower than when it was last set in 2009. The real value of the minimum wage peaked in the late 1960s, when it was worth around $11 in todays dollars.

The House legislation would index it to median hourly wages, which means it wouldnt require a political consensus to increase it. It would just happen, automatically, every year beginning once it reaches $15 in 2025.

Similar nonpolitical decisions about minimum-wage levels are common in other high-income countries, such as the U.K. and Germany, reducing partisan tensions around the issue.

I would make one change, however. Since the purpose of a minimum wage is to prevent employers from underpaying workers and to ensure that wages grow in line with the value workers bring to companies, I believe it makes more sense to index it to changes in productivity. This would ensure that the benefits of economic growth  including gains from increased automation  are shared more evenly with workers.

While Democrats narrow control of the Senate means its unlikely a $15 minimum wage will become law anytime soon, a less generous compromise, such as $11, is still a possibility. Whatever the compromise on the headline number, I mainly hope Congress can agree to keep the automatic adjustment in there. That way the minimum wage could better serve its intended purpose of giving workers more bargaining power with their employers.

Felix Koenig, Assistant Professor of Economics, Carnegie Mellon University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a missile attack over its capital on Saturday as well as bomb-laden drones targeting a southern province.

The attack marks the latest in a series of airborne assaults it has blamed on the Iran-allied Houthis rebels in Yemen's civil war.

Dramatic videos posted by the state-owned Al-Ekhbariya to Twitter which appear to show the ballistics missile being intercepted and detonated in the air above Riyadh.

The attack comes after a U.S. intelligence report found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Biden administration has faced some criticism that the president should have been tougher on the crown prince, who was not sanctioned for the 2018 murder.

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The attack comes after a U.S. intelligence report found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, pictured, approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that his administration will announce what it is 'going to be doing with Saudi Arabia' on Monday as former CIA Director John Brennan said Biden should not 'turn a blind eye' to bin Salman's actions.

Brennan, who served as the CIA chief from March 2013 to January 2017, called on Biden to prevent bin Salman from ever entering United States while still maintaining a 'longstanding strategic partnership' with Saudi Arabia.

'The United States and Saudi Arabia have had a longstanding strategic partnership that I think is very important to both countries,' Brennan said in an interview with MSNBC's Joshua Johnson.

'It runs the gamut from energy to security, counter-terrorism and economics. So therefore, I do think it's important we maintain the strength of that relationship.'

Brennan, who served as the CIA chief from March 2013 to January 2017, called on Biden, pictured, to prevent bin Salman from ever entering United States

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemens yearslong war announced on Saturday that the Iran-allied Houthis had launched a ballistic missile toward Riyadh and three booby-trapped drones toward the province of Jizan.

A fourth booby-trapped drone was fired toward another southwestern city, and other drones being monitored. No casualties or damage were initially reported. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The attack comes amid sharply rising tensions in the Middle East, a day after a mysterious explosion struck an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman. That blast renewed concerns about ship security in the strategic waterways that saw a spate of suspected Iranian attacks on oil tankers in 2019.

Social media users also posted videos, with some showing residents shrieking as they watched the fiery blast pierce the night sky, which appeared to be the kingdom's Patriot missile batteries intercepting the ballistic missile.

Col. Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the Houthis were trying in 'a systematic and deliberate way to target civilians.'

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a warning to Americans, calling on them to 'stay alert in case of additional future attacks.' Flight-tracking websites showed a number of flights scheduled to land at Riyadhs international airport diverted or delayed in the hour after the attack.

A civil defense spokesman, Mohammed al-Hammadi, later said scattered debris resulted in material damage to one house, though no one was hurt, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

As Yemen's war grinds on, Houthi missile and drone attacks on the kingdom have grown commonplace, only rarely causing damage.

Earlier this month the Houthis struck an empty passenger plane at Saudi Arabia's southwestern Abha airport with a bomb-laden drone, causing it to catch fire.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition has faced widespread international criticism for airstrikes in Yemen that have killed hundreds of civilians and hit non-military targets, including schools, hospitals and wedding parties.

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday. He is pictured stepping off Air Force One on Saturday

President Joe Biden announced this month he was ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, including 'relevant' arms sales. But he stressed that the U.S. would continue to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against outside attacks.

In 2019, Trump vetoed three resolutions passed by Congress with bipartisan support to stop several arms sales benefiting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Trump administration has been slammed by Democrats and human rights groups for backing Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Yemen's civil war.

The Houthis overran Yemens capital and much of the country's north in 2014, forcing the government into exile and months later prompting Saudi Arabia and its allies to launch a bombing campaign.
Boris has produced the roadmap out of lockdown and now we are about to see its mirror image for the economy when Rishi Sunak presents his Budget this week.

There are three stages to the economic response to Covid-19: emergency support, getting back to work and payback time.

A year on, we are still stuck in Stage One. Some crisis loan schemes are being scaled back. There are also indications that parts of the economy which can adapt to lockdowns have learned to do so.

The next stage: Chancellor Rishi Sunak needs to seize the opportunity and help Britain back to work

Auto-engine production came to a near standstill in the first lockdown but now runs at almost 70 per cent capacity.

There are sectors where this is not possible. Non-food retail and hospitality are stuck in the deep freeze and 4.5m workers remain reliant on furlough. We are a long way from an economy strong enough to contemplate Stage Three and payback.

The economy is far too fragile for the Chancellor to start raising taxes to tackle the 2trillion-plus debt mountain. Shifting to Stage Two will be hard but cannot be put off for much longer. Furlough has been hugely expensive and created a false sense of security. It risks marooning people in jobs that would not be viable without state support.

The Chancellor needs to start the transition to a post-pandemic economy, where we learn to live and work alongside Covid-19.

It means a focus on jobs: keeping them where possible, changing them if necessary, and creating them wherever we can. There will be measures building on the Plan for Jobs, as Sunak branded his quasi-Budget in the summer, including doubling the cash incentives for firms taking on an apprentice, 126m of new money for 40,000 new traineeships and a new flexi-job apprenticeship scheme. His 'Kickstart' scheme, launched last summer to incentivise firms to offer jobs to 16-24-year-olds, has generated 120,000 placements. It is due to end in December but could be extended.

Cutting employer's National Insurance Contributions or raising the threshold where they become payable would be an incentive to hire new staff.

The British Chambers of Commerce suggests a temporary increase in the threshold for employer NICs from 8,788 to 12,500 for at least 12 months after furlough ends. Green initiatives such as making batteries for electric vehicles should be pushed harder. Big electric van users would love to use UK-made vehicles and it would be fantastic for jobs. But we currently lack the battery production to make it realistic.

As for raising the rate of corporation tax, it would be bad for employment as it discourages investment and sends out negative signals to potential overseas investors.

The virus should prompt some wider thinking about employment taxes. The current system is predicated on an old-style model where most people worked in offices, shops or factories on defined hours and formal contracts. It needs to adapt for the gig economy and for working from home.

If WFH becomes the norm, there will be a lower tax take. Salaries of staff working at home tend to dwindle, and there will be less spending in the office supply chain, on sandwiches, suits and the like. That will need to be addressed at some stage.
Michael Ring has never been shy about letting people know how he feels. The former rural affairs minister had missed a number of Fine Gael parliamentary party meetings in recent weeks, but logged on last Wednesday to declare the Government had lost the trust of the people.

The veteran Mayo TD told the Sunday Independent this weekend the coalition has "made a mess" of communications in recent weeks. "You've got the Taoiseach going on the TV at night-time, the Tanaiste on the radio in the morning and Eamon Ryan out on the lunchtime news, and they've all got different messages," he said. "It is a consequence of the Coalition, one trying to outstep the other - and that's the problem.

"They'd better sit down and start putting some kind of a plan together."

Ring has also been increasingly frustrated by the 5km travel rule, saying it has a disproportionate impact on rural Ireland. "People have had enough, they are depressed," he said. "It's not reasonable and never was. I fought the battle in the last cabinet and I won it. I am not even sure if the 5km rule is constitutional at least when people could move in their counties it gave them a lot of freedom."

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Like a growing number of Coalition TDs, Ring believes the Government has not gone far enough on restricting overseas travel. "It was brought into the country at Christmas. The decision should have been taken last November to close down airports for a while," he said. "We're only penalising people who are obeying the law."

Ring was one of a number of former ministers to air their displeasure over recent events at the Fine Gael meeting. Former local government minister John Paul Phelan lambasted Micheal Martin's "appalling" performance in recent weeks. The Carlow-Kilkenny TD has previous with Martin, whom he described as "cowardly" and of having "a want in him" for media acclaim.

Senator Regina Doherty, who was social protection minister at the start of the Covid-19 crisis, also got in on the act at the meeting. "You could hear the anger in her voice," said one colleague.

Anger centred on a number of communications mishaps from Fianna Fail, including the Taoiseach saying last weekend that hospitality would be closed until mid-summer and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly incorrectly casting doubt on plans for some pupils to return to school from tomorrow. One TD said there is "a lot of simmering anger" at every level of Fine Gael. "There is a feeling that the good stuff that has been done by Fine Gael has been f****d away by these Fianna Fail bastards."

A senior minister in the current administration said last weekend had been "horrific" in terms of public reaction to the Government. "I could feel it in my community, I could see it in the inbox of my constituency emails," they said. "Part of this is just complete and utter fatigue."

Another Fine Gael figure said they feared the consequences of failing to keep the public onside. "The social cohesion that is slipping now will be totally lost and that will have far more dire consequences for the country than Fine Gael losing votes," they said.

Others noted the significance of Phelan leading dissent. Once considered a member of Leo Varadkar's inner circle, some colleagues observed he was almost triggered by the Tanaiste's warning earlier on in the meeting to hold back on criticism of government communications given such contributions were likely to leak - as they subsequently did.

Whilst no one targeted him directly on Wednesday night, Varadkar is no longer free of criticism from within Fine Gael and some colleagues have observed he has been shaken by the ongoing fallout over the GP contract leak controversy. Varadkar's leadership is not under any immediate threat, but as one party veteran observes: "Simon Harris is agitating behind the scenes, he's ringing up people now and emailing them."

At the Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting that same evening, a number of TDs criticised the slow and uneven roll-out of vaccinations. But it was backbencher James Lawless who raised eyebrows by declaring the Government had "lost the people". He also criticised Varadkar, saying the "Tanaiste needs to stop bloody talking about the Isle of Man" - a reference to Varadkar earlier that day questioning why someone from the Isle of Man should be put into hotel quarantine when there is no Covid-19 there. "If there's a good reason for some international travel, surely he can find a better and more convincing example than that," Lawless told colleagues.

The normally mild-mannered Lawless's remarks were noted by a few colleagues the following day in the Convention Centre. "You dropped a fair few grenades in last night!" one told him.

Backbencher frustration in a coalition is not a new phenomenon, but what is happening now in the ranks of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail is different. For decades, they competed against each other for votes in constituencies up and down the country. That was easy when one party was in government, the other was not, and that was made clear to voters on the doorsteps.

"Wait till Fianna Fail and Fine Gael go into the rural constituencies," one former minister ominously warned. "How, when you go to the door in the next election, can you ask for a vote for Fine Gael or Fianna Fail and distinguish between the two? It was never thought out.

"It means there is going to be an end to one or the other at the next election. TDs are beginning to realise it. Fellas are beginning to realise that when you were in government you were taking the sh**e, but there were a few good announcements. But even that's not happening. It's just not working."

The problem is more acute in Fianna Fail where a succession of polls show the party's support consistently below 20pc. Taoiseach Micheal Martin makes a virtue of ignoring polls, but they have spooked many in his party.

Martin's media blitz since the turn of the year has not gone unnoticed. Senior figures in Fine Gael, including the Tanaiste, believe Martin has done too many interviews in recent weeks, leading to the sort of confusion and anger that emerged last weekend. "Anytime the Taoiseach does an interview, it generates a headline," said a senior Fine Gael source.

But it could be argued that Martin's media strategy was as much about communicating on Covid as implanting in the public's mind the message that he - and not Varadkar - is Taoiseach. "We are in unprecedented times, there is an important job to communicate to the public, it wasn't about personalities," an ally of the Taoiseach's said. "It was about showing leadership and getting the message to the public across."

What was clear from his latest address to the nation on Tuesday is the Government now believes the only way out of the lockdown is through vaccination. Martin made a series of very clear and measurable commitments, including that by the end of June up to 82pc of adults who can be vaccinated will have received at least one dose.

The public will be slow to forgive the Government if these targets are not met. Ultimately, the Taoiseach's legacy rests on a successful vaccination programme. "Now we've literally taken the family silver and a second mortgage and chucked it all on vaccinations," says one coalition TD. "It's a big gamble."

While polling would indicate strong public buy-in for Covid vaccines, the Government is aware not everyone will be covered. "We always need to bear in mind 10-15pc won't want the vaccine and another group won't get around to getting it," says one senior Coalition figure.

All eyes are on Israel, where nearly half the population have received the first of two vaccine doses. It has begun to reopen its economy with a new 'green pass' scheme giving those who have a government-validated certificate - showing they have received both doses - access to gyms, swimming pools, theatres and hotels. Senior Coalition sources have indicated there will be discussions about introducing a similar scheme here, once more people are vaccinated, as a way of encouraging take-up. "That will be an added incentive when agreed," said one figure.

Vaccine passports were discussed by EU leaders last week, with Greece, Spain and other tourist destinations strongly pushing for the measure to save the summer. Ireland is lukewarm on the proposition right now, primarily because it wants the focus on actually vaccinating large cohorts of the population.

"The decision on what you are able to do potentially with such a vaccination certificate is to be decided, particularly within each country," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

One senior Coalition source said "that discussion will be had", but a second senior source said it would be "a few months away". On the general Covid-19 outlook, the second source added: "We'll reassess again before Easter, but I don't really think we'll be in a good space until May."

Asked about Israel's 'green pass' system, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told the Sunday Independent last night: "It's certainly an approach we can think through. The emerging evidence on the impact of vaccines, in preventing sickness and in reducing transmission, is encouraging and would lend itself to this way of thinking."
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Statehouse Reporter

Danny Jin is the Eagle's Statehouse reporter. A graduate of Williams College, he previously interned at the Eagle and The Christian Science Monitor. Danny can be reached at djin@berkshireeagle.com or on Twitter at @djinreports.
(@FahadShabbir)

Buenos Aires, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Feb, 2021 ) :Thousands of people demonstrated in cities across Argentina on Saturday to protest the "VIP vaccinations" scandal that forced the health minister to resign.

Gines Gonzalez Garcia quit a week ago at the president's request after it emerged that his friends had been able to skip the line for coronavirus inoculation.

Protesters carrying signs reading "Give me my vaccine" and "Stop wasting our money" gathered outside the government headquarters in Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires.

"They started by vaccinating friends of the government. It is not appropriate. They are stealing someone else's life," protester Irene Marcet told AFP.

Since Argentina began vaccinating its people, only healthcare workers had received the jab until Wednesday, when over-70s in Buenos Aires province were also invited to be immunized.

On Monday, the government released a list of 70 people who received the vaccine outside of the official campaign, which included the 38-year-old economy minister and former president Eduardo Duhalde, his wife and their children.

On the railings in front of the Casa Rosada, the seat of the government and the president's office, protesters hung mock black body bags with the Names of pro-government leaders vaccinated.

President Alberto Fernandez condemned their actions.

"The way to demonstrate in a democracy cannot be to display mortuary bags with names of political leaders in front of the Casa Rosada," he tweeted.

"This regrettable action only shows how many opponents see the Republic. Let us not be silent before such an act of barbarism." The demonstrations took place without incident apart from some friction between protesters and union activists in front of the president's official residence.

Protesters also rallied in other cities including Cordoba, Rosario and and Mar del Plata.

With a population of 44 million, Argentina has registered more than two million infections and about 52,000 deaths from coronavirus.

One million people have already been inoculated, according to the government.

Argentina has received 1.22 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, around 580,000 doses from Covishield, from India's Serum Institute, and 904,000 shots from China's Sinopharm.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 15:46:08|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported 41 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 2,907, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Sunday.

Among the new cases, 40 were locally transmitted, and the remaining one was a Mongolian citizen who returned home from Russia via Altanbulag border point, the NCCD said.

Over 77 percent of all the patients in the country have recovered from the disease, it added.

The disease has claimed six lives in Mongolia since it confirmed its first case in March last year.

The Asian country launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign across the country early this week, with the aim of vaccinating at least 60 percent of its 3.3 million population.

A total of 7,460 frontline workers have been vaccinated against the virus so far, according to the country's health ministry. Enditem
Courtesy of Gov. Andrew Cuomos Office A total of 16,100 people, or 8% of the total population, in the GLOW region have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For the entire Finger Lakes region, which includes Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties, nearly 9% of the total population of more than 1.2 million people has been fully vaccinated.
We're all nearly a year older than when we first went into lockdown. And its not only policeman who seem youthful to me these days.

When I heard Grant Shapps was the first Cabinet Minister to have the jab, at the age of 52, my first thought was: Gosh, the rest must all be so young.

Now thats ageing for you.

But my growing older is in slo-mo compared to whats happened to our poor house, which has been falling apart over the past 12 months.

Falling back on our own domestic expertise has taken its toll on the old place, as have the many more hours, days and weeks weve spent closeted at home

In normal times, I confess to having someone help with the cleaning once a week. She dashes around with a mop and vacuum, keeping the place professionally spruce.

But over the past year, her presence has been intermittent  it didnt seem fair to ask her to travel to us when the virus was raging, and even though she was officially allowed in the house, her presence was clearly an added risk factor.

Falling back on our own domestic expertise has taken its toll on the old place, as have the many more hours, days and weeks weve spent closeted at home.

Hence our floorboards, which with my immaculate eye for practicality (not) are all bare and painted white, have a new patina of ingrained dirt from so much more time spent traipsing up and down the stairs  spilling tea and coffee as we go.

Taps drip, limescale gathers and sofas sag. The dials on the hob have broken, and there is an unnerving crack in the sitting-room wall.

I know there are some who have used lockdown as an opportunity to get into DIY, alphabetise their spice jars and label the linen cupboard  but sadly I am not one of those. Unlike my own appearance, where I fear additional wrinkles and creases cant be reversed (at least not without the cosmetic interference I dont subscribe to), most of our homes signs of age can hopefully be dealt with quickly, once life opens up.

Technically we are already allowed what are quaintly termed tradespeople inside, so there is nothing to stop home rejuvenation taking place right now.

But its hard to get the enthusiasm for fixing things when we are still so many days from real freedom. Instead, I sit here spending hours looking at the scuffed skirting and discovering ever more evidence of wear and tear. A bit like my face.

Seven more weeks of hell for my hair

Generally, I have absolutely zero yearning for the days of Margaret Thatcher, but right now I wish she was back at No 10.

She would never, NEVER, have made us wait another seven weeks to get to the hairdresser.

Even though I have no doubt she was a whizz with the Carmen rollers, that rigid helmet of hers needed a professional hand kept on it. The Iron Lady would have grasped that hairdressers can easily be made Covid-safe and would understand that getting our hair done is not just vanity but an essential activity that gives self-esteem and confidence. Boris, with his Worzel Gummidge barnet, clearly doesnt get it. So instead, everyone around me is having surreptitious trims at home  particularly the men (like Boris).

And while Im on the subject, how has Nicola Sturgeon managed to maintain exactly the same hairstyle all year without a millimetre of change in that ginger pixie cut?

Were all rebels when we get to the park

The idea that on March 8, being allowed to perch with another person on a bench and drink a cup of something represents new liberation is ridiculous

Does anyone in Government ever go to a park? Or are they all blind?

The idea that on March 8, being allowed to perch with another person on a bench and drink a cup of something represents new liberation is ridiculous.

What on earth do they think is happening now, every day in every park and playground right across the country? Just as it has been for months

At last! Arresting TV is back on air

Sometimes it seems as if weve watched everything on Netflix, so thank heavens my favourites Line Of Duty and Unforgotten are either back on TV or about to return for a new series.

The success of these police dramas is certainly helped by terrific writers, but its the actors so many of us have come to love: Nicola Walker, Adrian Dunbar, Sanjeev Bhaskar and lets not forget Keeley Hawes and Stephen Graham.

These may not be globally recognised names, but I wouldnt be surprised if they didnt end up having longer careers than many big-screen idols. We invite them into our homes again and again, admiring their emotional range but also bathing in a warm sense of familiarity that only increases with time.

The Queens got a message for America

The Queens urging of vaccine take-up packs such a punch because she so rarely speaks out.

Never complain, never explain is her modus vivendi.

One that some of her family across the Pond would do well to consider

The Queens urging of vaccine take-up packs such a punch because she so rarely speaks out.

How can a free view cost us 35 million?

As a confirmed townie, a toddle around the local park with a flat white or an excursion to the comparatively open spaces of Hampstead Heath or Richmond Park was about the sum of my walks before all of this.

As the first lockdown kicked in, country dwellers began to rhapsodise about their ambles through the glorious fields and pathways  almost like they were partaking in some masquerade complete with shepherdesses crooks and milking pails.

Naturally, city dwellers started to compete, boasting about the joys of urban hikes, long walks along canal towpaths, little-known alleyways, or the empty streets of the City.

So I was delighted to learn that the Camden Highline, Londons version of New Yorks raised walkway, is now going ahead.

The capital needs bold, rejuvenating projects for rundown areas and an elevated park is exactly that. But can someone explain why the budget, for what will be less than a mile of pathway, is 35 million?

So many brilliant ideas neglect to keep it simple and hit the skids with costs spiralling when things get too fancy. After all, the view over the city, which is a huge part of the attraction, comes for free.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh early this week stated at the high-level segment of the 46th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, with its big achievements in ensuring human rights and desiring to further contribute to joint efforts in protecting and promoting human rights in the world, Vietnam presented its candidature for membership of the Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.

We are honoured to have been endorsed as the ASEAN candidate for this position and are looking forward to the support from UN member states, Minh said.

If Vietnams proposal is adopted, it will mark another milestone for the countrys further engagement and contributions to the international community, which is now particularly hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and straining public health and social security systems of all countries.

Vietnam is running for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council

As Secretary-General Guterres put it, the pandemic has been triggering and exacerbating various human rights challenges, Minh said. This should not, however, be a cause for despair. We can already see rays of hope. The world is moving towards a new normal.

The global economy is seeing signs of gradual recovery. Vaccines have been developed and made available for public use in record time. Digital transformation and the application of science and technology, particularly IT, will most likely help provide solutions to challenges in all aspects of life.

The pandemic has also offered the world a new pathway to go forward, based on adaptability, innovation, cooperation, and solidarity at local, national, and global levels.

Vietnam believes strongly that ensuring a safe society amid epi- and pandemics like COVID-19 is the best way to ensure that each and every member of the society can fully enjoy their human rights, Minh stated. Vietnam is grateful for the valuable support from its partners, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, and people around the world. Vietnam has provided medical masks and supplies to support more than 50 countries and international friends in their response to the pandemic.

As proposed by Vietnam, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus proclaiming December 27 as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness to help raise awareness on the importance of preventing and responding to epi- and pandemics.

Vietnam has joined the human development group based on the UNs Human Development Index, and risen one spot to 117th out of 189 economies in the index.

Vietnams score has risen by 45 per cent in the past 30 years, according to a report released this week by the United Nations Development Programme, ranking economies based on life expectancy, education, per capita income, gender gap, and poverty.

Since 1990, its score has grown at an average of 1.31 per cent a year, making it one of the worlds 20 fastest-growing ones.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-01 03:31:44|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's total number of COVID-19 cases exceeded 2.7 million on Sunday after 8,424 new infections were added. Meanwhile, Israel approved a plan to vaccinate Palestinian workers from the West Bank.

The tally of Turkey's COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,701,588, while its death toll surged by 66 to 28,569. The tally of recoveries in Turkey rose by 6,511 to 2,572,234, according to the Turkish Health Ministry.

So far, Turkey has vaccinated a total of 6.88 million people against the COVID-19 since it rolled out a national vaccination campaign on Jan. 14 after receiving the Chinese Sinovac vaccines.

Israel's government approved on Sunday a plan to vaccinate Palestinian workers from the West Bank who work in Israel or the settlements against COVID-19, said the office of the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories in a statement.

The Israeli government lifted on Sunday a three-night COVID-19 curfew, which has been imposed over the weekend to prevent the traditional costume parties during the Jewish holiday of Purim.

Israeli Health Ministry reported on Sunday morning a total of 774,479 COVID-19 cases and 5,738 deaths, while the total recoveries rose to 728,633.

Israel has also launched a program, which amounts to 95 million new shekels (29 million U.S. dollars), to help small- and medium-sized businesses adapt to the COVID-19 crisis, the Ministry of Economy and Industry said Sunday.

In Iran, the COVID-19 pandemic has so far claimed 60,073 lives, up by 93 in the past 24 hours, while the total infections surged by 8,010 to 1,631,169, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman of Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

A total of 1,393,125 people in Iran have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 3,732 remained in intensive care units, she noted.

In Iraq, the health ministry reported 3,248 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total nationwide tally to 695,489.

It also confirmed 23 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,406, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 2,933 to 635,931.

Morocco registered 244 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total tally in the North African country to 483,654.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco rose to 469,046 after 239 new ones were added, while the death toll rose by eight to 8,623.

Lebanon registered 2,258 new COVID-19 cases, raising the number of infections to 375,033, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported. Lebanon's total number of deaths from the virus went up by 40 to 4,692.

Lebanon will further ease the restrictions imposed to contain the virus, with most shops and businesses set to reopen Monday and schools to resume classes from March 8.

Kuwait reported 962 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 190,852.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced five more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,083, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,012 to 179,209.

The Qatari health ministry on Sunday announced 467 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total confirmed number in the Gulf state to 163,664.

The tally of recoveries in Qatar climbed by 402 to 153,621, while the death toll increased by one to 258, according to a ministry statement.

Oman's Health Ministry confirmed 908 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 141,496.

The total recoveries in Oman soared by 775 to 132,459, while eight deaths were reported, pushing the death toll up to 1,570, said the ministry in a statement.

Algeria reported 132 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the North African country to 122,092.

The death toll from the virus in Algeria rose to 2,983 after four new fatalities were added, while the total recoveries increased by 122 to 78,158. Enditem
Israel, UAE sign tax treaty

Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal

Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor"

Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections

Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS)

Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win

Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy

EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU

Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head

EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior

Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman

Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit

Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections

Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control

Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents

Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree

Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge

Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation

Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21

Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan

Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels

Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

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
.

Saudi Arabia's sovereignty is a red line, Saudi columnists said on Sunday, ramping up rhetoric in defense of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Prince Mohammed has denied any involvement in the 2018 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The U.S. administration on Friday imposed sanctions on some of those involved, but spared the prince. Washington released an intelligence report saying the crown prince had approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi.

"America does not have the right to bully a strategic regional ally and it is not in its interest to let domestic differences harm its regional interests and those of its partners," Khaled al-Malik wrote in local Al Jazirah newspaper.

Malik said Saudi Arabia, which has relied on the United States for its defence including during the first Gulf War and after 2019 attacks on its massive oil infrastructure, could look to China and Russia for weapons.

"But the kingdom prefers America due to their historic and strategic ties and common goals," he said, referring to Iran.

The US president Joe Biden, who has ordered a review of Saudi arms sales, said his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Abdullah al-Otaibi, writing in London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, said the kingdom, Washington's oldest Arab ally, was "not a banana republic to be shaken by threats".

The Saudi government has repeated previous statements that Khashoggi's killing was a heinous crime by a rogue group, for which a Saudi court jailed eight people last year.

"We want to strengthen deep-rooted ties (with the U.S.) but not at the expense of our sovereignty. Our judiciary and our decisions are a red line," Fahim al-Hamid wrote in Okaz newspaper.

Since the U.S. report was released, many Saudis have flooded Twitter with the hashtag "We are all Mohammed bin Salman".

Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority issued a statement on Sunday rejecting the report as "false and unacceptable". The head of the kingdom's morality police tweeted that it was a duty under Islam to defend the kingdom and its leaders.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

Short link:


Authorities in central Europe warned on Friday that they are seeing a surge in coronavirus cases across their region amid the discovery of new variants.

The Polish health minister, Adam Niedzielski, said the first case of a variant first found in South Africa had been discovered in Poland, and that some 10 per cent of all cases now involve the variant that emerged in England.

We are entering a crisis situation again. It is up to us where the peak of this third wave will be Niedzielski said. Responsible behaviour is key.

The Czech Republic, one of the hardest-hit countries in the 27-member European Union, moved Friday to further tighten restrictive measures amid a surge of the English variant. The government said the worsening situation has forced it to abandon its plans to reopen all stores as early as next week.

Neighbouring Slovakia is also badly hit. It became the country with the most Covid-19 deaths by size of population in the world this week amid a surge of the English variant.

The number of Covid-19 patients in Slovakia's hospitals reached a new record high of 3,900 on Thursday  a situation that has prompted leaders to appeal for outside help. So far, Austria, Poland and Hungary have agreed to deploy medical staff to Slovakia.

Read | Pandemic will not end until world is vaccinated, Merkel says

In Hungary, where a steady decline in daily infections and deaths from December reversed course early this month, there are now fears of a new surge even as the country began receiving shipments of Russian and Chinese vaccines.

We are clearly in the ascending phase of the third wave, Chief Medical Officer Cecilia Muller told an online press briefing Friday.

Czech Health Minister Jan Blatny said residents will also have to wear better masks in places where large numbers gather, including stores, hospitals and public transportation. He said cloth masks used so far by many will no longer be good enough and medical-grade masks, safety respirators or two surgical masks will instead be required.

We've agreed that it's necessary to do all we can to prevent the infection from spreading, Blatny said.

In Poland also a debate has opened about the need to require better masks. The health minister said there would only be recommendations for now, but the government wants to discourage the use of scarfs and plastic face shields.

The central European region saw very few infections when the virus first arrived in Europe a year ago, only to see a huge spike in infections and deaths in the fall of 2020.

Also Read | EU to double COVAX vaccine funding to 1 billion euros

In the Czech Republic, the three hardest-hit counties, on the border with Germany and Poland, are under a complete lockdown. The number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days there is around 1,000.

Further measures, including a complete lockdown of more counties, will be discussed over the weekend. The government is also planning to make Covid-19 tests mandatory for all employees not working from their homes.

The Czech government wants to go ahead with a plan to partially reopen schools, with the students of the final grade at high schools coming back on March 1. All students will have to get tested regularly, with the government providing all necessary tests, while teachers will be preferentially vaccinated.

Some Czech hospitals have been in a critical situation and have to transport Covid-19 patients to other clinics across the country. The number of patients needing intensive care was at a record high of over 1,200 this week. Only 14 per cent of all ICU beds remain still available.

Officials in Germany are also warning that a recent decline in infections could be reversing.
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These affordable stress relief products are perfect for your everyday life.

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Let's face it, this past year has been anything but relaxing. All that worrying can wreak havoc on our minds and bodies if we don't find a way to help us relax.

Between a global pandemic, work and getting used to a new normal, there are stressors around every corner. Regularly taking time to relax and recharge will help you in the long run without burning out or harming your health.

We're only human and there are only so many hours in a day so make sure to take time for yourself. That doesn't mean you need to spend hundreds of dollars at the spa or daydream about taking a beach vacation.

Sometimes all we need to do is put our phones away, calm down and relax. We've selected 23 products to help calm you down during times of stress.

The Human Being Journal, $48. (Image via HumanBeingJournal.com)

This journal was created as a direct response to the global pandemic to help people alleviate stress and anxiety and reflect holistically on their life. Therapy can be expensive so this journal was created as a cost-effective way to deal with anxiety and stress. It's a guided, monthly, non-dated journal that will help you go inward, reflect and gain much-needed perspective during these unprecedented times.

The Human Being Journal has guided questions rooted in the fundamental pillars of a happy life, including health, career and relationships. It helps bridge the gap between our human selves and the deeper sense of being so many of us are craving right now.

SHOP IT: Human Being Journal, $48

Bundle Set of 1 Lava Bracelet + 1 Anti-Anxiety Oil, $27. (Image via Big Drip Jewels)

This locally sourced, vegan essential oil was created to combat anxiety and prevent panic attacks from sparking up. Apply a small drip to the black lava beads and rub into the bracelet. Give the bracelet a sniff every time you're feeling overwhelmed, followed by a deep, conscious breath.

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Big Drip Jewels is a Black-owned business and all of its products are made by hand. The products are cleansed with incense to remove any negative energy lingering and help attract positive energy back in.

SHOP IT: Big Drip Jewels, $27

Fitbits Mindful Method with Deepak Chopra, $13.49 per month. (Image via FitBit)

Taking care of ourselves is more important now than ever, but health is defined as so much more than being exercise fit. Fitbit has unveiled a new partnership with Deepak Chopra, which will bring Fitbit's Mindful Method with Deepak Chopra to Fitbit Premium members.

Fitbits Mindful Method with Deepak Chopra will look to help people with an exclusive wellness collectioncreated and curated for Fitbit and led by Deepak Choprafeaturing content across mindfulness, sleep, stress, mental wellness and the mind-body connection. There are 30+ audio and video sessions led by Chopra and a collection of seven sessions, including guided meditations, sessions to prepare for restful sleep and techniques to help cultivate happiness and optimism whenever you need.

SHOP IT: Fitbit Premium, $13 per month/$107 per year

Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, $60. (Image via Amazon)

This deep sleep pillow spray by This Works will add a relaxing fragrance to your pillow with essentials oils of lavender, vetiver and wild camomile to help soothe the body and mind. It will become your must-have sleep solution.

It always seems like when we're ready to go to bed, our minds decide to race and fill with thoughts. Spray this onto your bed linen and pillow every night to help calm your busy mind.

SHOP IT: Amazon, $60

Speks, $25. (Image via GetSpeks.com)

Speks are the perfect, therapist-approved gift for stressed-out people. Speks mini magnetic balls can be endlessly manipulated into strands, shapes, structures or just smashed into magnetic putty for fidgety fingers.

They are made from neodymium rare earth magnets and these micro-sized balls bring a new dimension of creativity to desks and home offices nationwide.

SHOP IT: Speks, $25

Endy weighted blanket, $195. (Image via Endy)

Endy's Weighted Blanket is designed to provide a deeper, more relaxing sleep by distributing deep pressure across your body resulting in the feeling of being held for deep relaxation. Weighing in at 15 pounds, this blanket will envelop you like a warm, soothing hug.

SHOP IT: Endy, $195

Body Wash and Foam Bath, $15.50. (Image via Bath & Body Works)

This body wash and foam bath is made with aloe and bamboo extract. It's a nourishing, fast-foaming body wash that will leave your skin feeling clean, soft and refreshed. It comes from Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy line.

SHOP IT: Bath & Body Works, $16

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Gratitude: A Day and Night Reflection Journal, $22. (Image via Amazon)

This guided journal will help you reflect on what your grateful for every day through the exercise of mindfulness and journaling. It will help you centre each day around positive feelings and gratitude. This is a 90-day journal that gives you a path to creating a habit of practicing daily gratitude that you can carry with you throughout your life.

SHOP IT: Amazon, $22

Natural Wellness Candle, $22. (Image via Indigo)

This soothing calm candle from Indigo is made with a soy wax blend and fragrance oils. This natural wellness candle comes in five different scents, including Calm/Lavender, Detox/Charcoal, Balance/Himalayan Salt, Cleanse/Palo Santo and Bliss/Cannabis.

SHOP IT: Indigo, $22 (originally $30)

Veryvell Drops - Exhale, $65. (Image via OSC.ca)

These Veryvell Drops - Exhale is for the CBD lover in your life. It is a CBD-dominant, water-soluble cannabis extract with a subtle hint of passionflower extract. The built-in dosing cap means that you are in control of the experience youre looking for.

SHOP IT: Ontario Cannabis Store, $65

Owlet Smart Sock, $399. (Image via Owlet Care)

This is the perfect product to help relieve some stress for new parents. Sleeping is so important to our overall health and to help reduce stress, and for new parents, this can be pretty tough with the new parent jitters. With the Owlet Smart Sock, 94 per cent of parents report having a better sleep.

The Owlet Smart Sock is a baby wearable that sits inside a washable sock that tracks the babys heart rate and oxygen levels and will notify the parents if the babys levels fall outside safe zones.

SHOP IT: Owlet Care, $399

Essential Oil Blend & Scent Pebble Set, $46. (Image via LOHN)

The Ruhe essential oil blend and pebble set from LOHN is designed with the intention to encourage self-love and self-care, which are both very important when it comes to relieving stress. Soothe yourself with this soft tranquillity by adding 5-15 drops to your scent pebble.

Ruhe is a German word meaning peace and quiet, which is perfect for this oil that smells like a fresh burst of grapefruit and roses, with a touch of cedarwood.

SHOP IT: LOHN, $46 (originally $48)

Sugar Scrub, $19.50. (Image via Bath & Body Works)

Relax and reground yourself with this essential oil blend, made with nourishing oils, such as jojoba oil and almond oil. It has exfoliating sugar crystals that gently buff and condition your skin.

The Aromatherapy Stress Relief collection from Bath & Body Works is infused with essential oils that help relieve stress. Made with eucalyptus and spearmint, these essential oils help clear the mind while soothing and uplifting.

SHOP IT: Bath & Body Works, $20

20 Seven chakras incense sticks, $3. (Image via House of Moses)

Incense sticks help alleviate your mood and calm down your mind. They also activate your senses and relax your nerves while making you less anxious and cleanse the air around you.

These 20 Seven Chakras Incense Sticks from Hose of Moses are hand-rolled using natural ingredients from India and do not release harmful fumes into the environment. Each stick burns for around 45 minutes to one hour.

SHOP IT: House of Moses, $3

Circadian Optics Lumos 2.0 Light Therapy Lamp, $70. (Image via Amazon)

Lack of natural light can make us feel sluggish during the workday but light therapy can help solve that problem. This light therapy lamp will help you concentrate, improve your mood, boost your energy and help maintain a healthy sleep cycle.

Place the lamp on a flat surface, turn the light on, adjust the brightness as needed and let the light shine all day long.

SHOP IT: Amazon, $70

General Supply Goods + Co Terra Cotta Candle - Orange Citrus, $9. (Image via Staples Canada)

This candle has a blend of citrus, patchouli and sweet orange essential oils to create a warm, positive atmosphere on busy days. It's also hand poured in Canada.

SHOP IT: Staples Canada, $19

Plum Berry Hand Care Basics Set, $8.50. (Image via Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day).

Mrs. Meyers Clean Day has launched its personal care product line. The launch included body wash, body lotion, hand lotion and bar soaps in three new scents, including the fruity and earthy plum berry. All scents are cruelty-free and contain essential oils. They have everything you need to unwind with a Mrs. Meyer's spa day.

SHOP IT: Mrs.Meyer's Clean Day, $9

100 Affirmations Card Deck, $36. (Image via Affirmicious)

If this past year has taught us anything, its that there is no harm in manifesting something good. As we continue into almost a full year of the pandemic and move onto (hopefully) better things, its important to continue on the right foot and find ways to manage stress.

Nows the time to draw on the power of our astrological signs and get into the habit of reciting positive, daily affirmations to help ease anxiety and daily stress. A small brand called Affirmicious has created 100 affirmations card decks that will help you define yourself, be more genuine and stop overthinking.

SHOP IT: Affirmicious, $36

hayu, $5.99 per month. (Image via hayu)

Sometimes it's helpful to destress by watching someone else's life instead of dealing with our own. Let us introduce you to hayu, a subscription-based video streaming service that has an impressive reality show library, with thousands of episodes from your favourite reality series like Below Deck, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Vanderpump Rules, and every Real Housewives series that you can think of.

SHOP IT: hayu, $6 per month

Wayfarer Meditation Pillows, $198. (Image via Wayfarer)

Wayfarer Meditation Cushions can transform the smallest of spaces into a perfect reprieve, in a time when its important for our environment to feel conducive to both productivity and relaxation. Sustainable home decor brand Wayfarer designs a selection of hemp meditation cushions ethically handmade by artisans in Turkey.

They are available colours include natural/cream, golden brown, blush, chocolate grey, slate, charcoal, and a trio of different blues.

SHOP IT: Wayfarer, $198

Little Victory Sparkling Blood Orange, $5.95. (Image via OSC.ca)

This blood orange, naturally sweetened, fruit-forward sparkling beverage has 2.5 mg CBD + 2.5 mg THC. It is best served over ice and garnished with a slice of orange.

SHOP IT: Ontario Cannabis Store, $6

NEWGOEye Gel Mask, $15. (Image via Amazon)

This ice pack cooling eye mask is perfect for those who get headaches, migraines, sinus pains and deal with a lot of stress. You can easily heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds for heat therapy or chill in the freezer for two hours for cold therapy. It will fit snugly to your eye area or your forehead and it comes with a resealable bag for storage.

SHOP IT: Amazon, $15

Just Add Colour Tattoos, $10. (Image via Amazon)

Colouring can be very relaxing, and it's similar to a form of meditation. While you colour, your mind relaxes and you focus on filling a white sheet with colours. This is your time to be creative and use whichever colours you want.

This tattoo colouring book will help anyone live out their dreams of being a tattoo artist and show off their artistic expression. It has 120 different illustrations ready to be brought to life.

SHOP IT: Amazon, $10

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HOBOKEN  Residents at the Hoboken Community Center are being encouraged to relocate after a COVID-19 outbreak at the center caused at least one death and 20 positive cases, HCC Board Member Juan Melli said.

Out of 44 HCC residents and staff, 20 tested positive for COVID-19, Melli said in a statement. There were two additional deaths last week, but Melli said they have not been confirmed as COVID-related.

We remain in close contact with the City of Hoboken and Hudson County to identify options for any of its residents  whether they have tested positive or not  to voluntarily temporarily relocate if they choose to, Melli added. HCC will continue to take all possible measures to protect our residents and staff.

The community center was informed late last week, by residents and family members, that there were several positive COVID-19 cases in the building, including the death of one resident.

Melli said on Feb. 19, HCC and the City of Hoboken Health Department encouraged COVID-positive residents to relocate to the countys facility, which temporarily relocates and isolates COVID-positive people who are unable to isolate on their own.

The city brought in Medicine Man pharmacy to test any staff and resident that wanted to be tested. They tested a total of 44 people. Of those, 20 came back positive, Melli said.

Then, the county visited the rooms of all 20 who tested positive to offer them the chance to relocate. Only 12 of those answered their door, while eight did not.

HCC requested wellness checks on the eight units out of concern. The fire department assisted the building management to knock on the rooms of those residents and ask if anything was needed. All residents said they were fine and did not have any needs at the time, according to the community center board member.

The following day, Feb.23, HCC was notified that a significant number of residents tested positive for the virus. Those residents were informed by the citys health department of their test results, Melli said.

Since that time, HCC, Hudson County, Hoboken OEM and Health Department have worked to encourage all positive residents to relocate to the Countys facility including providing transportation, he added.

But Hoboken Ward 2 Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher told The Jersey Journal on Sunday that she feels theres still more than needs to be done.

These men are my neighbors and are some of Hobokens poorest and most at-risk, living with the challenge of shared bathrooms, Fisher said in a statement. Ive been heartbroken all week by what has happened and have asked Mayor Bhalla for more help as I dont believe his administration is doing enough.

The Hoboken Community Center, formerly the North Hudson YMCA, has offered low-income affordable housing units for single men since 1927. It was refurbished in 2013 with 96 furnished single occupancy units. The center currently has 85 residents, Melli said.

These men deserve all lifesaving resources in NJ to help reduce further spread and to save lives within this vulnerable community, Fisher said.

As of Thursday, there were 3,369 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic along with 43 confirmed COVID-19 related fatalities, said Hoboken spokesman Vijay Chaudhuri.
Mann ki Baat: Second wave of COVID has shaken country; we will soon come out of crisis, says PM Modi

It was Mann Ki Baat, not business: Jharkhand CM on PM Modis call to him

'Mann Ki Baat': Self-reliance invokes national spirit, says PM Modi

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to the nation on Mann Ki Baat asserted that the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan (campaign on self reliance) is not just a government policy but also a national spirit. This is the 2021's second address through the radio programme.

"Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan not just a government policy, it's a national spirit...Today Aatmanirbhar Bharat has become a sentiment growing in the hearts of common man," PM Modi said duringin his 74th edition of his monthly radio program.

He said that India has to launch Made in India's products in every field to raise the heads with pride.

'Catch the rain': PM Modi pitches for water conservation ahead of summer

"Many people from across the country are contributing to 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. Like, Pramodji, from Bettiah, who was working in a LED blub factory in Delhi, understood the process of blub production & started a small LED blubs manufacturing unit at this native place," said PM Modi.

"Silu Nayak, popularly known as Nayak sir, from Arakhuda, Odisha, is a man on a mission. He trains in all aspects youths for free who want to join security forces. He has mentored many for service of the nation," said PM Modi in 'Mann Ki Baat'.

"We need to take science forward with the mantra of 'Lab to Land'. For example, Ladakh's Urgain Phuntsog is working with innovative techniques to organically grow 20 different crops in a cyclic pattern," he said/

The contribution of science is huge in Atmanirbhar Bharat, the primeminister added.
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A sad spectacle of elder abuse, done in the name of power for left-wing Democrats, is unfolding almost daily, as the cognitive impairment of Joseph Robinette Biden, the 46th President of the United States, becomes impossible to hide. Yesterday, in a belated visit to Texas, he stumbled through a script written for him, butchering names of prominent local politicians, unable to speak coherently, and finally asking, What am I doing here? in frustration.

Twitter video screengrab

Former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino laid out four nights ago the worst-kept secret in the White House  that after less than 2 months in office, Bidens cognitive decline is real.

Democrats already are asking Biden to give up the sole power to order a nuclear strike. This illustrates the grave peril for America and the world of a POTUS not in full possession of his faculties. It also demonstrates what a grave, irresponsible move it was for a conspiracy of Democrats and media/social media figures to normalize hiding Biden in his basement during the presidential campaign, so that he could serve as a reassuring front man for a leftist cabal that is really running the show, and has the option of installing Kamala Harris as president via the 25th Amendment.
Maharashtra minister Sanjay Rathod, facing flak from the opposition BJP after being linked to a woman's death, on Sunday resigned from the state cabinet.

Rathod made the announcement after submitting his resignation to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the president of his Shiv Sena party.

"There has been a lot of dirty politics over the issue of the woman's death," Rathod told reporters, adding he has quit the ministry so that the truth can come out.

Rathod, who holds the forest portfolio, was facing allegations of complicity in the death of Puja Chavan (23), a resident of Beed district, who was found dead in Pune on February 8, apparently after falling off from the building in which she lived.

Talking to reporters after meeting the chief minister at his official residenceVarsha, Rathod said he had resigned to facilitate a free and fair probe.

"Attempts were made to tarnish my image and destroy my reputation I had built after 30 years of socialwork. I was saying that let the probe happen before taking any decision. But the opposition threatened to disrupt the budget session," Rathod said.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis said the resignation of the minister wasn't enough and demanded that an FIR should be filed against him.

The BJP has accused Rathod of having links with the woman after his purported photographs,audio and video clips with her went viral on social media.

Also read: Post-Budget cheer: FPIs on buying binge, invest Rs 25,787 cr in equities in Feb

Also read: M-cap of 9 out of 10 top firms plunges by Rs 2.2 lakh crore; Reliance Industries lone gainer
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Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (L) during a press conference in the Bahraini capital Manama and a file photo taken on April 12, 2018 of Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman poses at La Moncloa palace in Madrid. (AFP)

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday for the first time publicly accused Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of approving the gruesome murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but stopped short of targeting the powerful heir apparent.

The prince, who is de facto ruler of the US ally and oil provider, "approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," said an intelligence report newly declassified by President Joe Biden's administration.

The report said that given Prince Mohammed's influence, it was "highly unlikely" that the 2018 murder could have taken place without his green light. The killing also fit a pattern of "the crown prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad."

Khashoggi, a US resident and critic of Prince Mohammed who wrote for The Washington Post, was lured to Istanbul's Saudi consulate in October 2018, then killed and cut into pieces.

The Treasury Department announced it was freezing assets and criminalizing transactions with a former intelligence official as well as the Rapid Intervention Force, an elite unit the report said "exists to defend the crown prince" and "answers only to him."

Biden said Friday that "we are going to hold (Saudi Arabia) accountable for human rights abuses. This report has been sitting there, the last administration wouldn't even release it... it is outrageous what happened."

But the United States stopped short of directly targeting the 35-year-old crown prince, known by his initials MBS.

In honor of the slain writer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the "Khashoggi Act" that will ban entry into the United States of foreigners who threaten dissidents or harass reporters and their families and immediately placed 76 Saudis on the blacklist.

"We have made absolutely clear that extraterritorial threats and assaults by Saudi Arabia against activists, dissidents and journalists must end. They will not be tolerated by the United States," Blinken said in a statement.

- Not seeking 'rupture' -

Blinken, questioned by reporters, said "this is bigger than any one person," explaining Biden was trying "not to rupture the relationship, but to recalibrate to be more in line with our interests and our values."

An advocacy group founded by Khashoggi, Democracy for the Arab World Now, called on the president to impose sanctions on Prince Mohammed -- with a number of lawmakers from Biden's Democratic Party also pushing for more action.

"We must also ensure that there are real consequences for individuals like MBS; if not, autocrats around the world will get the message that impunity is the rule," said Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Saudi foreign ministry in a statement denounced the "negative, false and unacceptable assessment" and rejected "any measure that infringes upon its leadership."

The Saudi government, which initially said it had no information on Khashoggi, says it accepts responsibility for the killing but casts it as a rogue operation that did not involve the prince.

Biden's decision to release the report -- first completed under Donald Trump -- was a sharp departure from his predecessor, who had vowed to keep working with Saudi Arabia due to the kingdom's lavish purchases of US weapons and shared hostility toward Iran.

Biden spoke late Thursday with 85-year-old King Salman after the White House made clear he had no intention of speaking to the crown prince, who by contrast had formed a friendship with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

- Fatal consulate appointment -

A veteran Saudi journalist who had gone into self-exile, Khashoggi was told by Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States to go to the kingdom's Istanbul consulate if he wanted to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage to a Turkish woman, Hatice Cengiz.

Within minutes of entering the building on October 2, 2018, the 59-year-old was strangled and his body dismembered by a 15-member team allegedly sent from Riyadh under the direction of a top aide to Prince Mohammed, Saud al-Qahtani.

The intelligence report said seven of the 15 Saudis came from the Rapid Intervention Force, which it said had earlier acted to suppress dissent in the kingdom and abroad.

The Central Intelligence Agency had quickly concluded that Prince Mohammed ordered the assassination but Trump refused to release the report.

A US official said it was "obviously reality" that the new administration will still have to deal with the prince, who is also defense minister, on issues including oil, Iran and Yemen, where Biden has cut support for Saudi's devastating offensive.

Few observers of Saudi Arabia believe the murder could have taken place without the knowledge of Prince Mohammed, a calculating strongman who has jailed critics and locked up competing factions in the royal family.
Bidens trans nominee for HHS dodges Rand Paul's questions about sex changes for kids

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President Joe Bidens nominee to serve as assistant secretary in the Department of Health and Human Servicesrefused to answer whether minors have the capacity to make life-changing decisions about their gender when questioned during a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Dr. Rachel Levine, a man previously named Richard who identifies as transgender and currently serves as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, was questioned by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Paul began his questioning of Levine by discussing the topic of genital mutilation and repeatedly asked him to opine on whether minors should have the power to decide to undergo life-altering elective procedures in an attempt to look more like the opposite sex.

Genital mutilation has been nearly universally condemned. Genital mutilation has been condemned by the WHO (World Health Organization), the United Nations Childrens Fund, (and) the United Nations Population Fund, Paul explained as he questioned Levine.

According to the WHO, genital mutilation is recognized internationally as a violation of human rights. Genital mutilation is considered particularly egregious because as the WHO notes, it is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children, the senator added.

Paul lamented the fact that American culture is now normalizing the idea that minors can be given hormones to prevent the biological development of their secondary sexual characteristics and expressed concern that Levine had supported allowing minors to be given hormone blockers to prevent them from going through puberty as well as surgical destruction of a minors genitalia.

After explaining that hormonal interruption of puberty can permanently alter and prevent secondary sexual characteristics and that the American College of Pediatricians reports that 80% to 95% of pre-pubertal children with gender dysphoria will experience resolution by late adolescence if not exposed to medical intervention and social affirmation, Paul asked Levine: Do you believe that minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision as changing ones sex?

Levine replied: Transgender medicine is a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care that have been developed. If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed as the assistant secretary of Health, I will look forward to working with you and your office and coming to your office and discussing the particulars of the standards of care for transgender medicine.

Paul reiterated that his question was about minors, urging Levine to be a little more specific and then asked, Do you support the government intervening to override the parents consent to give a child puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and/or amputation surgery of breasts and genitalia?

Before allowing Levine to answer, Paul told the story of 23-year-old Keira Bell, who was confused with her identity and was prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in addition to having her breasts amputated.

As Paul noted, Bell later decided that she had made a brash decision as a teenager, as a lot of teenagers do, describing the medicalized gender transitioning as a very temporary, superficial fix for a very complex identity issue.

Paul expressed alarm at Levines failure to explicitly agree that minors shouldnt be making decisions to amputate their breasts or to amputate their genitalia before asking the nominee to make a more firm decision on whether minors should be involved in these decisions.

After Levine reiterated his earlier response to Pauls previous question, the Kentucky senator requested that the record indicate that the witness refused to answer the question.

Paul concluded his questioning of Levine by explaining that sterility is a consequence of medicalized gender transitioning along with the fact that the puberty-blocking drugs are being used off-label.

Paul also accused his Democratic colleagues of hypocrisy for expressing outrage at the use of Hydroxychloroquine as an untested coronavirus treatment while not having a problem with the use of untested puberty-blocking drugs.

Theres no long-term studies," Paul declared. "We dont know what happens to them. We do know that there are dozens and dozens of people who have been through this who  regret this happened and a permanent change happened to them.

If confirmed, Levine would become the first openly trans-identified individual to serve in a presidential cabinet. Levines confirmation hearing came as the confirmation vote for another one of Bidens cabinet nominees, Neera Tanden, was postponed due to an increasing number of senators speaking out against her confirmation.

Bidens nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, has also received intense criticism from pro-life groups due to his abortion advocacy. Last week, more than 60 pro-life organizations sent a letter to Biden urging him to withdraw Becerras nomination.
Opalesque Industry Update - Peregrine Capital (Pty) Ltd will start marketing its Peregrine Capital Global Equity Fund, following its launch on 18 November 2020. The fund, which sits on the Prescient Global Funds ICAV platform and is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland, will initially be distributed to investors in South Africa, and subsequently to investors in other key European markets. Peregrine Capital was founded in 1998 and is the longest running hedge fund manager in South Africa. Since inception, Peregrine Capital's mission has been to create wealth for its clients by delivering superior risk-adjusted long-term returns through the rigorous application of its time-tested investment process. Its exceptional track record is demonstrated by Peregrine Capital's recent achievement as South Africa's first fund manager to reach 100x initial investment in its flagship High Growth mandate (R1m invested with Peregrine Capital in 2000 is worth R100m today*). Peregrine Capital's investment team has spent much of the past five years building its detailed proprietary knowledge of many global businesses, spanning different sectors and geographies. "Our investable universe has expanded rapidly over this period and our expertise across various sectors has vastly improved. Given the manner in which our offshore investable universe has increased and considering the high concentration of offshore positions we now have in our local funds, we believe that launching a standalone Global Equity Fund is a natural extension of our business," said Jacques Conradie, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Peregrine Capital. The goal of the Peregrine Capital Global Equity Fund is to achieve medium to long-term capital growth by investing in Peregrine Capital's best ideas across global equity markets. The fund aims to deliver industry-leading returns for its investors while assuming risk in-line with the overall equity market. "We are confident that we can deliver a high-quality global product, that we have an appetite to invest in personally, and can ultimately deliver strong investment returns for our investors over the medium to long term," Conradie commented. "We are thrilled to have partnered with Prescient on the launch of our first UCITS fund. Their team of highly skilled and knowledgeable staff made our transition into the UCITS space effortless" said Tania Formilan, CFO at Peregrine Capital. "Peregrine Capital is a well-respected name within the South African asset management industry, and we are very excited to be partnering with them as they expand their fund range," said Rob Childs, Head of Business Development at Prescient Fund Services Ireland. "The Prescient Global Funds ICAV is the fund platform of choice for investment managers looking for institutional-quality UCITS infrastructure, enabling them to focus on their clients and their performance, while benefiting from the structuring and operational expertise that Prescient offers." The Peregrine Capital Global Equity Fund is approved for marketing and distribution in Ireland and the UK under the UCITS passporting regulations and Temporary Permission Regime as well as South Africa where the Financial Sector Conduct Authority has approved the fund in terms of Section 65 of the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act. *Source: Peregrine Capital (Pty) Ltd, as at 31 January 2021. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Additional information can be found on www.peregrinecapital.co.za

Press release

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YMCA of Greenville will hold its annual Day of Giving campaign March 1 as it works toward its goal to raise $1.1 million this year to support ongoing COVID relief and its usual outreach programs.

The nonprofit organization, which includes eight locations in Greenville County, will use the money to focus on its food distribution program and childcare services. Both became critical during the pandemic as food insecurity increased and as working parents navigated their children's remote schooling hours.

"The main goal of the campaign is to raise enough funds so we don't have to turn anyone away for an inability to pay," said Brad Lucas, annual campaign chair.

The needs brought on by the pandemic mean the community is relying on the YMCA and other nonprofits heavily at a time when revenue is down. The YMCA of Greenville's membership is down 17 percent to about 30,500 members, said CEO Scot Baddley. Revenue is down about 28 percent.

"$1.1 million is a reasonable goal, but it's one that's essential because we need to raise at least that much to keep our charity programs going, to keep costs down and to not deny anyone access because of cost," Baddley said.

The YMCA of Greenville brought in $25.2 million in revenue in 2019, with $1.3 million coming from contributions and grants, according to its latest audit. Its largest revenue stream is its memberships, which brought in $10.2 million. Memberships will need 2021 and part of 2022 to fully recover, Baddley predicts.

The YMCA of Greenville is serving about 250 food bags a week in Greenville County, which equates to between 800 and 1,000 people, said Diana Watson, chief philanthropy officer. Each bag contains 12 to 14 meals that can be kept on a shelf and are simple enough to be made in motel kitchens. The initiative started last year as COVID-19 increased food insecurity in the area.

"Many families we serve live in local motels and are among the most vulnerable in the county and considered homeless," Watson said.

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Recently, the food program has expanded to serve families in the Taylors area and more than 100 residents in the downtown Greenville Summit Apartments, which is used for housing seniors.

"It's neat because we started the food bag program because of COVID and now plan to keep it going," she said.

This time last year, the YMCA of Greenville was embarking on its 2020 Day of Giving campaign, not knowing what lay ahead. It was also Lucas's first time as the annual campaign chair. Shortly after, the branches were closed for two months as the area came to grips with the pandemic.

The organization started offering free childcare for essential workers. Each day, it serves hundreds of children at four locations. As parents return to the workplace, the YMCA expects the need for childcare to increase.

Baddley emphasized that this year's fundraising campaign is especially important with memberships down.

"We've never denied anyone access for an inability to pay and want to be sure 2021 is no different," he said.

Those interested in donating to the campaign can do so at ymcagreenville.org/give or by texting ever to 41444. For those who cant give financially, Watson said the food bag program is always looking for volunteers on Thursdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Bernard Lown, who has died aged 99, developed the first direct-current (DC) defibrillator, which can restore heart rhythms in patients with erratic or irregular heartbeats. He was also known for his anti-nuclear activism, establishing an organisation that won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.

The idea that electricity could correct ventricular fibrillation - where the heart's lower chambers contract in a rapid, unsynchronised way, with often fatal results - is not a recent one. By the early 1950s it was possible to restore a human heart to its normal rhythm by cutting open the patient's chest and shocking the exposed heart with paddle-type electrodes.

In 1956 Paul Zoll, a physician at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, tried applying an alternating current (AC) to the patient's chest without the need to operate first.

However, Zoll only treated patients in full cardiac arrest. Lown's concern was with a patient whose heart was still beating, but doing so much too fast. Drug therapy had proved useless, so in a last-ditch attempt at treatment, Lown borrowed an AC defibrillator from the surgical department of his hospital and set the machine to deliver a shock of 400 volts.

"To this day I am mystified why I chose 400 volts," he later recalled. Amazingly, his patient's heart resumed its normal rhythm and the man left the hospital the next day - only to collapse and die while on holiday three weeks later.

Determined to learn from this experience, Lown concluded that the use of AC caused too much damage to the heart. Moreover, the defibrillator had been very large and heavy, making it difficult to use. He eventually hit on the idea of a DC defibrillator that could be charged by a battery.

This solved the portability problem, and by timing when the patient received the shocks, Lown found that specific types of irregular heartbeat could be restored to normal. He called this technique "cardioversion". Today, ambulances and a wide range of public places have cardioverter-defibrillators on hand in case of emergency.

The son of a rabbi, Bernard Lown was born in Utena, Lithuania, on June 7, 1921. When he was 14, he and his family fled to the US to escape persecution. His grandfather remained, and was burned alive inside his own synagogue.

Bernard graduated in Classics from the University of Maine in 1942, and went on to study at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

When the Korean War began, Lown was drafted into the army but mustered out on an "undesirable" discharge - later changed to "honourable" - over his refusal to sign an organisation-affiliation statement. Returning to Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, he became director of the cardiovascular research laboratory in 1956.

In 1964 he demonstrated that lidocaine - best known as a local anaesthetic - could also be used to control irregular heart rhythms: it became a standard drug treatment.

Lown was heavily involved in peace activism. In 1980 he helped to set up International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, serving as co-president until 1993.

The citation for the Nobel Peace Prize praised the organisation's "considerable service to mankind by creating an awareness of the catastrophic consequences of atomic warfare".

His 1996 book, The Lost Art of Healing, lamented the decline of pastoral care in the modern medical profession. The ideal doctor, he wrote, is someone "for whom a patient is never a statistic".

Bernard Lown married Louise Lown, his first cousin, in 1946. They had three children.
The woman who accused the cabinet minister told NSW Police early last year she had been raped by the man in January 1988, when she was 16. She had not made a formal statement when she returned home to Adelaide, where she took her life in June, leading the police to suspend their investigation. South Australian Police are preparing a report for the state coroner amid an intense debate over the publicity given to the woman and her claims after the ABC revealed an anonymous letter about her case on Friday. Labor leader Anthony Albanese said Mr Morrison faced a test over whether to hold an investigation or ask the minister to step aside. Its his responsibility  he solely appoints the cabinet. He must assure himself that its appropriate that the current make-up of the cabinet can continue, he said. The Labor leader did not say the cabinet minister should step aside, resign or be removed.

Loading Mr Bradley, who founded Marque Lawyers and acted for the woman at the time she made her complaint to police, said the minister should step aside during the investigations due to questions of integrity, not necessarily the law. I think he will have to stand aside, at the moment at least, because hes been accused of such a grave crime, Mr Bradley said. Its untenable for him not to, I would think. Its not really a legal question, its a question of propriety. It goes to his ability to do his job. Its necessary that his integrity is not under serious question.

And its about the integrity of the entire government  whether it can carry on with a cloud this huge hanging over it. With the NSW Police investigation on hold after the womans death, defenders of the cabinet minister argued he could not get a fair hearing given the case would not go to trial. An independent investigation would also encounter problems because NSW Police do not have a formal statement from the woman, the usual step when a complainant is interviewed and signs the document. The cabinet minister has not been named by police nor the media and his office did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. The debate over the ministers past began after the ABC reported on Friday night that friends of the woman had sent an anonymous letter that day to Mr Morrison, Labor Senator Penny Wong and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw wrote last week that disseminating allegations in the media risks prejudicing any police investigations. Mr Hunt said this meant public commentary on the 1988 case was strongly discouraged and not an appropriate pathway under the AFP advice. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age asked the Prime Ministers office whether the cabinet minister would be stood aside and, if not, what the grounds were for keeping him in his job while inquiries continued. Mr Morrisons spokesman said the ministerial code of conduct said ministers should stand aside if and when they are charged with a crime. The code, however, also gives the Prime Minister discretion on the matter.

Loading Ministers must accept that it is for the Prime Minister to decide whether and when a minister should stand aside if that minister becomes the subject of an official investigation of alleged illegal or improper conduct, it says. Ministers will be required to stand aside if charged with any criminal offence. Greens leader Adam Bandt called for a federal inquiry into the matter and for the minster to step aside. If the Prime Minister doesnt at least stand this man aside while he conducts his own inquiry, then hes sending the terrible message there is space in his cabinet for someone with an unresolved rape accusation, he said.
Coinbase Global Inc.s filing to become a publicly-traded company provides a glimpse into the remarkably small circle of mostly men who command the incredibly lucrative digital landscape.

This U.S.-based power list starts with Brian Armstrong, the now billionaire chief executive officer of Coinbase, and his co-founder, Fred Ehrsam, who went on to create Paradigm Operations. Fellow billionaire Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitzs Chris Dixon, are among the original venture capitalists that will reap large windfalls from the direct listing of the exchange.

Even though verified users of Coinbase, the largest U.S. digital-asset exchange, jumped 34% to 43 million last year as Bitcoin more than quadrupled, control of the largest cryptocurrency remains narrow.

Included in the influential group of U.S. holders is Dan Morehead, who founded Pantera Capital Management in 2003 and launched the first U.S. crypto fund in 2013. Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert has created an empire that touches every corner of the crypto world. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss bought their first Bitcoin stake in 2012 when it traded as low as $8 and then co-founded Gemini Trust Co., the first crypto firm to be regulated by New York state as a trust.

Like many within this select circle, Ehrsam seemed perfectly poised to adopt the new digital world. He played video games professionally in high school, then studied computer science at Duke University before becoming a foreign-exchange trader at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York. Yet he grew bored at the bank and as he looked for things that interested him after work, he discovered Bitcoin through a Georgetown professors blog. He was instantly fascinated.

I would literally trade Bitcoin in the bathroom on my phone at Goldman, Ehrsam said in an interview. Bitcoin was going for about $6 at the time, compared with a record $58,000 last week. Back then, the main way to buy it was on the now bankrupt exchange Mt. Gox or through intermediaries, and Ehrsam realized there needed to be an easier way to buy and sell crypto.

After meeting Armstrong on the Bitcoin subreddit forum, they started Coinbase in 2012 out of an apartment in San Francisco. Armstrong declined to comment.

Morehead remembered the early days of Coinbase as he was creating the Pantera Bitcoin fund in 2013. Hed been an investor for a while, taking huge macro risks on things like Russian privatization and farmland in Argentina, bets with very steep downside potential but that could also pay off enormously if successful.

I was first attracted to Bitcoin as an investment, it was something really interesting to learn about, Morehead said. In 2013, however, amassing a large stake in the new digital currency wasnt easy.

I sent $2 million to Coinbase, and I started trying to buy $2 million of Bitcoin, Morehead said. My daily trading limit was $50. Pantera has grown into one of the largest holders of cryptocurrencies and has invested in over 50 startups, including Circle, Bakkt, Polychain Capital, Shapeshift and Zcash, according to its website.

In the early days, though, Morehead had to contend with the drugs and criminals narrative that dogged Bitcoin. He went to every major university endowment in 2015 when Bitcoin was at $100 to tell them they should have it in their portfolio.

The conversation was all Silk Road, drugs, whatever, he said, referencing the early black-market exchange shut down by U.S. authorities.

That dark element to Bitcoin didnt deter Wilson at Union Square and DCGs Silbert, both of whom were series A investors in Coinbase. The companys shares changed hands in recent private transactions at levels that would value Coinbase at close to $100 billion, a person familiar with the matter have said.

Union Square has focused its cash on about 15 firms in two main areas, infrastructure providers like Protocol Labs and Helium and in other crypto investment funds like Polychain Capital and Autonomous Partners. Wilson declined to comment.

Thats a far cry from what Silbert has created at DCG. Among its nearly 300 investments and acquisitions it touches upon every part of the crypto market. Among them, it has stakes in Etherscan, the block explorer used for the Ethereum blockchain; Coindesk, a crypto news service; Genesis Global Trading, one of the largest over-the-counter crypto dealers and lenders; Chainalysis, a blockchain forensics firm; Decentraland, a virtual world built on Ethereum that sells plots of digital land and has its own cryptocurrency Mana.

Silbert also created the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust in 2013, which is the largest crypto investment product with assets of about $31 billion. Silbert declined to comment.

A lack of a career on Wall Street helped the Winklevoss twins approach Bitcoin with an open mind, Cameron Winklevoss said.

Tyler and I didnt have 20 years of capital markets experience when we came to Bitcoin, he said. We were very open to this possibility and thats how weve always been, driven by curiosity.

The brothers famously battled Mark Zuckerberg over the early fate of Facebook, an experience that left them with lessons about Bitcoin.

Its a money network, Winklevoss said. What happens when you put an economic incentive around that network? Thats possibly the most effective network in the world.

For Paradigms Ehrsam, the size of Bitcoin and crypto in general has exceeded his wildest dreams. If youd told him in 2012 that Bitcoin would top $1 trillion as it did at one point last week, people would think you were absolutely insane, he said.

The idea of a new digital money seemed very strange to most people because a new money has never come about in our lifetimes, at least as Americans, Ehrsam said. So youre not used to seeing a phenomenon youve never seen before. That will eventually change.

It just takes time for a powerful new idea like that to permeate society and build trust in it, he said.

By Matthew Leising
Livestock ship "Karim Allah" carrying nearly 1,000 Spanish cattle stranded on the ship with suspected bluetongue disease is docked at Escombreras port in Cartagena, Spain, on Feb. 26, 2021. (Juan Medina/Reuters)

Spanish Report Calls for Killing of More Than 850 Cattle on Pariah Ship

CARTAGENA, SpainMore than 850 cows that spent months aboard a ship wandering across the Mediterranean are not fit for transport anymore and should be killed, according to a confidential report by Spanish government veterinarians seen by Reuters.

The cows were kept in what an animal rights activist called hellish conditions on the Karim Allah, which docked in the southeastern Spanish port of Cartagena on Thursday after struggling to find a buyer for the cattle during the past two months.

The beasts were rejected by several countries over fears they had bovine bluetongue virus. The insect-borne virus causes lameness and haemorrhaging among cattle. Bluetongue does not affect humans.

The veterinarians report concluded that the animals had suffered from the lengthy journey. Some of them were unwell and not fit for transport outside of the European Union, nor should they be allowed in the EU. Euthanasia would be the best solution for their health and welfare, it said.

The report did not say if the cattle had bluetongue disease.

It is not even mentioned, which is very surprising, said Miquel Masramon, a lawyer representing the ship owner Talia Shipping Line. The ship is registered in Lebanon, according to VesselFinder.

My impression is that they will definitely go ahead with the slaughter and destruction of the animals and itll be difficult for us to prevent it, he said.

Masramon said he would push for the return of blood samples taken from the animals and impounded by authorities on Thursday to be released and tested to prove if there is any bluetongue.

The Agriculture Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It said earlier on Friday that it would make appropriate decisions after analyzing information from the inspection.

The vessel originally left Cartagena to deliver the cattle to Turkey. But authorities there blocked the shipment and suspended live animal imports from Spain, fearing bluetongue infection.

That rejection turned the ship into an international pariah. Several countries refused it entry even to replenish animal feed, forcing the cows to go several days with just water.

The cows likely have severe health problems after their hellish crossing, said animal rights activist Silvia Barquero, director of the Igualdad Animal NGO.

What has happened to the waste produced by all these animals for two months? We are sure they are in unacceptable sanitary conditions, Barquero told Reuters.

The Agriculture Ministrys experts counted 864 animals alive on board. Twenty-two cows died at sea, with two corpses still aboard. The remains of the others that died were chopped up and thrown overboard during the journey, the report said.

Ownership of the cattle is unclear. The exporter, World Trade, said it is not responsible because it sold the animals, Masramon said. Reuters has been unable to reach World Trade for comment.

A second ship, the ElBeik, also set sail from Spain in December with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows. It is currently moored off the Turkish Cypriot port of Famagusta.

By Emma Pinedo and Nathan Allen
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The Bachelor's Matt Agnew kept a relatively low profile in the year following his split from 'winner' Chelsie McLeod in February 2020.

Having had time to shed his squeaky-clean TV look, the 32-year-old now looks worlds away from his time in the mansion.

The astrophysicist unveiled his shock 12-month physical transformation on Instagram on Sunday, and explained it was only the beginning.

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Flashback: Bachelor Matt Agnew says he feels 'more himself' after shock 12-month physical transformation... but claims he can still be both 'daddy and dorky' without his clean-cut TV look. Pictured on The Bachelor in 2019

'Achievement unlocked: Grow hair out for 12 months,' he proudly captioned a photo showcasing his luscious locks.

Offering a second photo taken 12 months prior to show the difference in length, he wrote: 'Honestly though, feels good to just do what feels more "me".'

Matt then hinted he has plans to grow his hair even longer, writing: 'Lets see where its at in another 12!'

'Achievement unlocked: Grow hair out for 12 months': The astrophysicist unveiled his shock 12-month physical transformation on Instagram on Sunday

'Still a dork': Matt claimed while fans called his new look 'daddy', he was still a dork at heart

'I'm enjoying long hair': Some fans claimed they preferred his short hairstyle, but Matt defended his decision to grow it

Earlier this month, the scientist shared a photo in a horse paddock with his hair tied up into a small, hipster ponytail.

Only a few weeks earlier, fans had expressed excitement at the prospect of Matt soon being able to rock a man bun.

He hinted that he was growing his hair at the time by referencing the famous 'Let It Go' song from popular animation film Frozen, with his caption: 'Let it grow, let it growwwwww [inner Elsa intensifies].'

Getting long: Earlier this month, the scientist shared a photo in a horse paddock with his hair tied up into a small, hipster ponytail

New Year, new Matt! After keeping a relatively low profile throughout 2020, the 32-year-old thrilled fans in January when he debuted his hunky new look

Matt, who is believed to be single, first shared a glimpse at his new look in January.

He posted a picture of himself spending New Year's Day at the beach with his dog, and looked hardly recognisable with his long dark hair and buff physique.

Matt's Instagram followers were quick to comment on the post, with many noting how good he was looking these days.

He rose to fame on The Bachelor in 2019, and chose chemical engineer Chelsie McLeod at the finale to become his girlfriend.

Case of the ex: Matt rose to fame on The Bachelor in 2019, and chose chemical engineer Chelsie McLeod (left) as his winner. Sadly, they broke up after just six months of dating

The pair shocked fans when they announced their split in November that year, just six months after filming ended.

Matt said at the time: 'Our relationship hasn't translated from filming to the real, everyday world as we had hoped.'

He hasn't publicly dated anyone since the break-up, but Chelsie recently debuted her new model boyfriend Ricki Dehaan.

president J P Nadda on Sunday said power is not the goal of his party but a medium to reach out to the last man in the line.

Inaugurating a newly built party office in Varanasi, Nada said this was only the hardware. "The software which we have to install in this is our workers. This office will become a medium to inculcate best values," Nadda said.

He also inaugurated another office in Allahabad through video conferencing.

Addressing party workers, Nadda said, "Power is not our goal but a medium and our target is the development of the last person in the line."



"We have not entered for power but to take India to the pinnacle of glory. After coming to power, our target is to change fortune of India, change its image and take it forward towards development," the chief added.

Nadda, who is on a two-day visit to Varanasi, said to run an organisation, "karyakarta"(worker), "karyakarni" (executive body), "karyakram" (programme) and "karyalaya" (office) are needed.

"Those who got an opportunity to join the BJP, I consider them as fortunate. The party has become a medium to bring transformation in the country," he added.

Taking a dig at the Opposition, the said all parties in the country have become parties of families.

"But in the BJP, it is the party that has become a family," he said.

Nadda also claimed that the BJP has never seen a downfall since the days of the Jana Sangh. "We transformed adversity into opportunity in the time of crisis," he said.

Recalling his college days, the BJP chief said, "People used to say that Nadda, you are a right person in the wrong party. I used to say that there is nothing right or wrong. If principles are right, then we will prove to be right today or tomorrow. Today, I ask them who is right? who is wrong?"



In a reference to the Left parties, the BJP chief said, "Our Comrade friends used to say Nadda, there will be a revolution. I used to tell them that India is a country of saints. Evolution takes place here, not revolution. This thing has to be understood."The BJP chief told party workers that they aim to build 80 offices in the state, of which 53 have been built and by October, the rest will be ready.

The Union government has worked to bring farmers to the mainstream, he said, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has honoured farmers.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also addressed the gathering.

UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey and state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh were also present on this 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.)
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NEW DELHI: Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grovers Instagram account are filled with stunning pictures of their recent vacation in the Maldives. The celebrity couple had visited the tropical paradise about a week ago to celebrate the 'Qubool Hai' star's 39th birthday. Since then, the duo have been teasing their fans with envy-inducing photos, flaunting their tanned yet toned bodies from the island.

And continuing the trend, Bipasha shared another series of loved-up sunkissed selfies with her hubby dearest with her fans on Instagram on Saturday. Bipasha and Karan can be seen hugging each other tight, sharing kisses and enjoying each others presence as if nobody else existed in the photos.

While Bipasha was seen wearing a white bikini with tropical leaves printed on it, Karan went shirtless showing off his impressive biceps and cool tattoos. The couple looked absolutely stunning together! She captioned the photo writing, "Sunset vibes #monkelove" and many of her actor friends such as Neelam Kothari and Vivan Bhathena left compliments for the hot couple.

According to reports, the couple jetted off to the Maldives to celebrate Karans birthday on February 23. On the special day, Bipasha had posted an adorable picture of the two on Instagram with a birthday wish saying, "My 2nd most favourite day of the year is here.. @iamksgofficial birthday I love you."

For the unversed, the lovebirds met at the sets of their film 'Alone' (2015) and felt a connection soon after. After dating for a while, the two got married in April 2016 after Grover proposed to his ladylove during their trip to Koi Samui. Both have finally settled down and found true love in each other after their past heartbreaks.

On the work front, Bipasha and Karan were last together in a crime drama web series 'Dangerous' in 2020. Karan will soon be seen in the web series 'Qubool Hai 2.0', which is a reboot of the 2012 Zee TV soap opera 'Qubool Hai'.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2021) A Mi-35 helicopter of the Russian Aerospace Forces made an emergency landing in Syria on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding that the incident was not caused by an enemy attack.

"On February 28, 2021, during a scheduled air patrolling flight over the territory of the province of Al-Hasakh (Syria), a Mi-35 helicopter made an emergency landing for technical reasons," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the helicopter was not attacked, and the crew was unhurt.

"The crew of the Mi-35 helicopter was promptly taken to the airfield by a rescue team. Nothing threatens the lives of pilots," the ministry added.
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MBABANE  Government has estimated that it might end up spending an additional E144.92 million more on the failed Nhlangano-Sicunusa road project.

Even though nothing is currently taking place on site as the contractors abandoned work before it was completed, government says the estimated cost for this failed project is set to reach E793.62 million by March 31, 2021. This is against the actual expenditure incurred by government as at March 31, 2020, which stands at E532.70 million. To kickstart the aborted project, government has set aside E116 million.

Adding the new amount of E116 million, which will be ready for use in the next financial year beginning April 1, 2021, to the actual expenditure of E532.70 million does not add up to E793.62 million. The sum of E793.62 million is an estimated cost for the project by March 31, 2021.

The amount of E116 million actually increases the expenditure to E648.70 million  not E793.62 million. It therefore, means that there is a shortfall of E144.92 million. In the current financial year, government had only indicated that it owed Gabriel Couto/Kukhanya Joint Venture a sum of E80 million.

It is not clear if part of the E144.92 million was paid to these contractors or this is money set aside for the clearance of the old account.

Inyatsi Construction has been engaged to start the project afresh. It is stated in the budget estimates that the sum of E116 million should be released from the Consolidated Fund to facilitate road design reviews, supervision and construction. In fact, it is mentioned as money to be used for the commencement or resuscitation of the project.

The current status of the project will be discussed in Parliament when Auditor General Sipho Matsebula and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meet with controlling officers to give clarity on public expenditures.

It is reflected in government financials for the financial year 2013/2014 that the initial total cost of the project stood at E298.22 million.

It was in the 2015/2016 financial year when the project escalated to E465 million. It must be said that E33.72 million had already been utilised by March 31, 2014.

In fact, government financial records indicate that E8.5 million had already been spent on road designs and resettlement project by March 31, 2012. The initial planned duration of completion was two years. However, the project is still incomplete eight years later.

According to the Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan, government budgeted an additional E500 million for the continuation of the construction of the Sicunusa-Nhlangano road. The SicunusaNhlangano road is part of the main network of Eswatini, which provide an important connection between agricultural areas and urban centres.

The initial contractors were contracted to carry out some of the following -

Upgrading the gravel SicunusaNhlangano road with a bitumen surface, designed to accommodate speeds of 100 km/hour;

Installation of culverts; and

Construction of bridges over the Mkondvo and Ndlotane Rivers.

It had been planned that both rural and urban populations were to benefit from enhanced local, intra-regional and international exchange of goods, as well as from improved access to social amenities.

Additionally, owing to the scenic nature of the region, tourism was expected to rise, thus increasing employment and business opportunities.

Govts justification

Justifying the continuation of the project, government said the completion of the Nhlangano-Gege-Sicunusa road would facilitate growth in the tourism industry. Government understands that this project is significant because they will improve the standard of living in the country.

In his previous audit report, Matsebula, the AG, raised serious concerns that the contractor, Kukhanya / Gabriel Couto Joint Venture suspended works, with the project resembling a drought stricken grazing area.

He said the project would be of compromised quality if ever it was to be completed by the current contractor.

Of major concern to Matsebula was that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport had been flouting and contravening loan requirements, rules, criterion, contractual obligations and construction standards from the first day of the project.

There were irregularities during pre-qualification of suppliers for construction works as the main contractor in the project, Gabriel Couto / Kukhanya Joint Venture was recommended for tendering stage despite not meeting prequalification requirements, according to the AG.

It must be said that Gabriel Couto/Kukhanya JV was among the disqualified contractors highlighted in a Prequalification Evaluation Report (PER).

The PER, which contained recommended contractors for the tendering stage and those that were disqualified from prequalification stage because they did not meet minimum criterion, was submitted to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

It was mentioned that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (Employer) issued a directive to the consultant to redo the prequalification process, a revised report, which was done and submitted in December 2012.

Gabriel Couto/Kukhanya JV made it into the list of recommended contractors for the tendering stage after a second prequalification process was carried out by the project consultant.

Another cause for concern was that the main contractor in the project, Gabriel Couto / Kukhanya Joint Venture was awarded a contract without approval by funding agencies, the AG stated. The funding agencies were the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and Opec Fund for International Development (OFID).

loan agreement breach

This was a breach of the loan agreement, which had specified that the borrower should submit for BADEAs prior approval all proposed contracts and orders for items to be procured out of the proceeds of the loan.

It must be said that Gabriel Couto demobilised from site and suspended their works. This was done in spite of the fact that a Joint Venture Agreement between Gabriel Couto and Kukhanya Civil Engineering had been legitimised by both parties on August 9, 2013 for the sole purpose of tendering for the Nhlangano-Sicunusa construction works.

The Portuguese civil construction pulled out of the project despite the fact that it was a lead partner in the project. It held a majority shareholding of 70 per cent in the JV while Kukhanya Civil Engineering settled for the balance. Funders expressed intention to withdraw the financial support after they discovered the concerns the AG raised on the contractor selection by government.

It has to be said that the shareholding in the JV referred to plant and machinery, technical and financial capacity each partner brought to the project.

Therefore, it meant that only 30 per cent capacity was available to complete the project, which has now being given to Inyatsi Construction.
Congress collapsing across India due to dynasty, says Amit Shah

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Karaikkal (Puducherry), Feb 28: Lambasting the erstwhile Congress government in Puducherry, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleged that V Narayanasamy, who headed it, gave "cut money" to the "Gandhi family" from Rs 15,000 crore Central funds.

Merit had no place in Congress and Narayanasamy was made Chief Minister in 2016 though the party fought the then polls under A Namassivayam, now in BJP, for the former''s ''servitude,'' Shah said.

Addressing an election rally of BJP here, an enclave of the union territory,Shah claimed that the Congress government, which collapsed earlier this month after losing majority, indulged in "petty politics" over Central schemes meant for the union territory. With the aim of making Puducherry a ''model'' UT, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave more than 115 schemes for its overall development, "but there was a government which wanted to do petty politics."

"They were afraid that if the projects become popular in Puducherry, it may become detrimental (to Congress'' prospects). They did not allow the projects and the (then) Narayanasamy government is responsible for this," Shah said.

Seeking a mandate for the BJP, he assured to make the small UT "the jewel of India and take it across the world," if voted to power in the April 6 polls. Shah also charged Narayanasamy with focussing more on serving the "Gandhi family" in Delhi and giving "cut money".

"So many senior leaders (form Congress) are joining Puducherry BJP -- Congress is collapsing due to dynasty and family not just in Puducherry, but across the country," he said. Over the years, the Centre had granted around Rs 15,000 crore funds to Puducherry, Shah said and asked if the money had reached the people in the villages here, to which the audience responded in the negative.

Rahul Gandhi dubs PM Modi a ''formidable enemy,'' vows to defeat him

"So where did the Rs 15,000 crore given by Narendra Modi go? Narayanasamy made cut money out of it and sent it in service of the Gandhi family in Delhi," Shah alleged. Even SC/ST funds were not spared, he charged. Referring to Narayanasamy recently wrongly translating translation of a woman''s grievance against his government to Rahul Gandhi, Shah said the former CM "lied" even to his party''s top leader.

"You made such a liar your Chief Minister. Narayanasamy can be given an award for lying," he said, taking a swipe. Shah also ridiculed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for saying there was no ''dedicated'' fisheries ministry and pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set it up two years ago. He took a swipe at the Wayanad MP, saying "you were on vacation (then)."

"Rahul Gandhi came here some time back and asked why the Centre had no ministry for fisheries. Rahul, you were on vacation. Modi had established two departments in 2019 itself. You don''t know," he added. "I want to ask the people of Puducherry-- a party''s leader in the Lok Sabha for four terms doesn''t know that there is a fisheries department for two years in this country. Can this party (Congress) do any good for Puducherry?" he asked.

Targeting Narayanasamy, he said he had not kept up any promises like setting up IT, Electronic parks and asked why the local body polls were not held, despite a court direction. The Congress government did not hold the polls, last conducted in 2006, fearing that the "lotus will bloom in Puducherry," Shah said.

"But you can''t stop the lotus from blooming in the assembly polls," he said in reference to the BJP''s symbol. Highlighting the Modi government''s commitment for the UT, he referred to initiatives in various sectors like aviation and fisheries and also at the PM laying the foundation stone for and inaugurating various projects here earlier this week.

Seeking a mandate for the BJP-led NDA, he assured to bring down unemployment from 75 percent to 40 percent in the UT, if voted to power. Shah also expressed regret over being not able to speak in the "great Tamil" language and pointed out at Modi sharing similar views in his ''Mann Ki Baat'' episode today.

Earlier, functionaries from other parties, including former Congress MLA A John Kumar, also once a confidante of Narayanasamy and ex-DMK legislator K Venkatesan, joined the BJP in Shah''s presence. Both Kumar and Venkatesan had resigned as MLAs earlier, two among a spate of resignations, including Namassivayam, even as the minority Congress government fell on February 22 before facing the trust voted mandated by Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.

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At least 18 people were killed during protests, according to the United Nations, with security forces opening fire on crowds.

Feb. 28, 2021

Military forces in Myanmar opened fire on crowds of peaceful demonstrators in several cities on Sunday, killing at least 18 people, the United Nations said, in a violent escalation of the juntas efforts to suppress weeks of mass protests against its month-old coup.

Videos and photographs captured images of bodies in the street and people running from the police as tear gas and smoke filled the air. The sheer ferocity of Sundays crackdown  soldiers appeared to shoot at unarmed people at random and rounded up groups of demonstrators before marches could begin  drew sharp rebukes internationally.
Smith Colleges handling of claims of racial discrimination landed not just the college but also Western Massachusetts in the national spotlight this week.

No one should put much stock in anything commentator Tucker Carlson says on Fox News. He spews right-wing rhetoric with no apparent respect for the truth.

His comments Thursday in a diatribe, suggesting Springfield is a tragic place and a living metaphor of the racial injustice and class warfare he says is happening 18 miles north at Smith in Northampton were based on anything but facts.

The city of Springfield is not unlike hundreds of mid-sized cities across the United States, struggling to chart a course forward in the face of not uncommon challenges. With aging housing stock, high unemployment and many residents who still live in poverty, yes, Springfield does have more homeless people, more incidents of crime and more of all of the problems associated with those challenges than Northampton.

It is also, however, a city that is taking remarkable steps forward to address all of these issues.

The Springfield we know is on the rise, with the return of manufacturing, a strong base of emerging entrepreneurship, revitalization of aging buildings as new and affordable housing, gems of culture and the arts, educational opportunities, world-class health care facilities and a downtown very much in a state of transformation for the better.

The few miles that divide Springfield and Northampton might as well be a chasm of misunderstanding. As much as Smith has done to nurture young women from the Springfield Public Schools through a mentorship and scholarship program, Northamptons residents still are often guilty of perpetuating misconceptions about the City of Homes. These misconceptions arent going away easily, and Carlsons conservative venom does nothing but fan the flames of negativity and, in some ways, mirror the misconceived notions that truly do exist here at home.

The handling of the Smith College situation is best left in the hands of those who oversee the institution.

How our two communities perceive each other and are perceived by those who dont live here, though, should not continue down a path of division, but rather take a new course which brings us together.

Like all communities in our region, our cities and towns must work together, respecting and understanding our differences, to ensure the collective social and economic health of the region. Western Massachusetts must be united. We can all rise stronger together.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 17:22:41|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) on Saturday reported 1,006 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, taking the national count to 158,053.

The ministry also said the COVID-19 death toll stood at 2,354, including 14 new fatalities recorded over the same period.

With 175 more recoveries registered, the total number came to 134,736, said the ministry.

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 recently started a campaign to encourage face mask wearing in the public as part of COVID-19 precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus.

The east African nation has so far conducted 2,128,036 COVID-19 tests, including 6,759 new tests during the last 24 hours, said the ministry.

COVID-19 tests conducted in Ethiopia are among the highest in Africa, mainly next to South Africa and Morocco, according to recent figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Enditem
The Biden administration on Saturday moved to expand the government's capacity to house migrant children as it scrambles to respond to a sharp increase in border crossings of unaccompanied minors, according to an internal memo obtained by CBS News.

State-licensed U.S. shelters and foster homes for migrant children were directed to "review their ability to open up additional beds" by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) branch responsible for housing unaccompanied minors.

According to the refugee office's memo, the primary objective of reactivating bed space is to prevent unaccompanied children from staying for prolonged periods of time in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) holding facilities, most of which were built to detain adult migrants for short periods of time.

"With increasing numbers of children being referred to ORR for care, ORR must take steps to increase the number of available shelter beds in order to minimize the risk that children remain in CBP custody," the memo said.

Apprehensions of unaccompanied migrant children along the southern border, which have been rising steadily since last year, spiked this month, straining the U.S. government's limited capacity to house these minors during the coronavirus pandemic.

About 97% of the roughly 8,000 beds the refugee office has available for unaccompanied children are currently full, with the agency housing 7,777 minors as of Friday, an HHS official told CBS News.

This month is on track to be the busiest February in the history of the refugee agency's program for unaccompanied youth, said the HHS official, who requested anonymity to speak freely.

U.S. officials along the southwest border took roughly 2,000 migrant children into custody this week, according to government data reviewed by CBS News. Nearly 400 children were taken into custody on Friday alone. In January, the last month with available statistics, the U.S. refugee agency received more than 4,000 unaccompanied children from immigration officials, a 19% increase from December.

Story continues

A sign outside of a Influx Care Facility (ICF) for unaccompanied children explains what the facility is on Sunday, February 21, 2021, in Carrizo Springs, Texas. / Credit: Sergio Flores/The Washington Post via Getty Images

While ORR has more than 13,000 beds for migrant children, its current capacity stands just below 8,000 beds because of social distancing and other measures taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The HHS official said ORR is asking shelters to reactivate bed space reduced by "very conservative COVID-19 procedures."

"During the pandemic, care providers have taken beds offline in order to maintain social distancing standards at all times. However, there is currently a critical need to bring many of these beds back online," Saturday's memo said.

The HHS official said the new instructions will not lead to "overcrowded conditions whatsoever." The official also maintained that COVID-19 mitigation protocols will continue to be rigorously enforced, saying all newly arrived children will continue to undergo a two-week quarantine period, as well as testing.

Through its memo, ORR also instructed shelters to implement "enhanced" measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid the expected reduction in social distancing stemming from the activation of new beds. The measures include expanded rapid coronavirus testing, having shelter staff double mask, improving ventilation inside housing facilities and encouraging personnel who work with migrant children to get vaccinated.

One shelter official who works with ORR said the Biden administration should help shelter staff obtain coronavirus vaccinations.

"Although they are eligible in certain states, many are unable to obtain an appointment," the shelter official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told CBS News. "Staffing is one of the main reasons capacity is offline, so ensuring staff can be vaccinated would really help open up additional beds."

Saturday's directive is one of several steps the Biden administration has been forced to take to respond to the rising number of unaccompanied minors being taken into U.S. custody along the southern border.

Earlier in the week, the refugee office authorized its shelters to pay for the travel expenses of migrant children who are ready to be placed with approved sponsors in order to expedite their release, according to separate internal memo obtained by CBS News. The refugee office has a mandate to release unaccompanied minors in its custody to vetted sponsors in the U.S., who are typically the minors' family members.

The Biden administration also reopened a temporary influx holding facility for unaccompanied children at Carrizo Springs, Texas, last Monday.

Artwork made by previous residents hangs inside a welcome center at a Influx Care Facility (ICF) for unaccompanied children on Sunday, February 21, 2021, in Carrizo Springs, Texas. / Credit: Sergio Flores/The Washington Post via Getty Images

An HHS official said no final decision has yet been made on whether to reopen a second influx facility in Homestead, Florida.

"Nobody wants to open another influx facility," the official said. "We are only going to open another influx facility if we have to, and the way that the numbers look, we are likely going to have to do that to make sure the kids stay out of Border Patrol stations."

The HHS official said the refugee office is also hoping to start a new system in the summer that will speed up the process of conducting background checks of prospective sponsors.

A 2008 Bush-era law passed with bipartisan support generally requires all government agencies to transfer unaccompanied minors to the U.S. refugee office within three days of taking them into custody. That process was largely suspended by the Trump administration last March, when it invoked a little-used public health law to start expelling most border-crossers, including unaccompanied minors, to Mexico or their home countries without a court hearing or an asylum interview.

The Biden administration continues to rely on the public health authority to expel most single adult migrants and families with children, but it made a policy decision to shield unaccompanied minors from the expulsions following a court ruling allowing the practice.

The HHS official said the Biden administration is fully aware of the current situation at the southern border and the "humanitarian concerns" of processing migrant children, noting the government is trying to mitigate the "damage as much as possible."

"They have a right to seek humanitarian protections and asylum," the official said of migrant children.

White House urges Congress to pass $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill soon

Biden administration to expand housing space for unaccompanied immigrant children

Lady Gaga's dog walker recounts being shot in Los Angeles
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 27)  An official from the Philippine General Hospital, one of the first institutions to receive Chinas Sinovac vaccine, said only 12% of their personnel are willing to receive the shot.

As of last night sa mga 2,000 employees, healthcare workers, support staff ng PGH mga 12% lang po ang pumapayag na magpabakuna ng Sinovac, PGH Spokesperson Dr. Jonas del Rosario told CNN Philippines Newsroom Weekend.

[Translation: As of last night, of about 2,000 employees, healthcare workers, support staff of PGH, only 12% agreed to be inoculated with Sinovac.]

He added that rollout will still push through for these workers, while the remaining 88% will still be prioritized once another set of vaccine arrives.

Del Rosario said plans for the implementation of the program are still being finalized, and that a ceremonial vaccination will be held at the PGH on Monday. This may involve hospital personnel and members of the administration, he added.

On Sunday, 600,000 vials of CoronaVac are expected to arrive in the country that will be first administered to health workers in COVID-19 referral hospitals.

Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to the said vaccine but warned that this may not be the best vaccine for health workers, especially those exposed to COVID-19 patients, given its 50.4% efficacy rate.

After further evaluation, the countrys health experts have agreed to recommend the use of the Sinovac vaccine for the said group since this will be the first ones to be available and to already give them the protection they need. However, they are given the chance to decide whether to receive it or not based on their risk assessment.

RELATED: Only health care workers can refuse Sinovac vaccine without losing priority status  Roque

Del Rosario assured that those who declined to receive the said vaccine will still be prioritized once another batch of vaccine arrives.

Moreover, he noted that those previously infected by the virus will not be prioritized in the administration of the vaccine since there is still no data on its possible effects to recovered patients since Sinovacs clinical trials did not involve such group.
New Delhi: The final phase of the trial of the contactless ticketing system will begin in the around 3,000 cluster buses run by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) through the 'Chartr' app from Monday (March 1), a transport department statement said.

The trial of the app is already underway in all 3,760 buses operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), it said. Approximately, four lakh tickets have been booked using the app so far. The pink tickets for women passengers, who travel free of cost in public transport buses, comprise 67 per cent of the total tickets booked through the app, it said.

"The total daily ticket booking through 'Chartr' app is around 10,000. In the last 10 days, the ticket count through this app has witnessed around a 10 per cent increase on a daily basis," it said. The app has seen a progressive increase in the number of users since its trial began and over two lakh people have downloaded it since its release, it said. The trial of the app was launched in August last year amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in the city.

The one-month trial would cover all the routes of DIMTS buses. In the last week of February, the trial of this app was extended to all 3,760 DTC buses till March 31.

Chartr has been developed with the technical support of the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi). E-ticketing in DIMTS was started in August last year on route number 473. The total number of buses increased to 550 thereafter in a phased manner.

In DTC, the trial of this online ticketing app was started in September last year on route 534 in Ghazipur and Hasanpur depots. It started in a total of 35 buses from both depots.

The transport department in collaboration with IIIT-Delhi trained all the depot managers and the staff of around 50 depots who trained bus conductors as they play a crucial role in the whole system, the statement said.

The passengers can take an e-ticket through the app after boarding the bus. A user can also view all stoppages of a bus and the expected time of arrivals (ETA) at a bus stand for the next half hour.

A user can buy up to three tickets for a journey.

The app automatically suggests a pink ticket for female passengers based on the gender entered by the user. A female passenger can buy one pink ticket for each journey.

More features such as the option to buy a monthly pass, pre-booking, postpaid ticketing are likely to be included in the app in near future, added the statement.

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Hong Kong: Some sat down for one last long meal with their partners. Another went to a tattoo artist to ink a Buddhist mantra on his forearm. One purchased new pink-rimmed glasses to replace her contact lenses, dropped off her two cats to a friend, and swapped sneakers for wool slip-on shoes.

Then, on Sunday afternoon, the Hong Kong pro-democracy activists fanned out to police stations across the territory, where more than 40 of them were officially charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law, according to police. They were detained ahead of court on Monday. They face life in prison if found guilty.

Former legislator and District Council member Gary Fan, who was arrested under Hong Kongs national security law, prepares to walk into a police station to be detained. Credit:AP

The charging of such a large group represents the harshest and widest use of Beijings national security law in Hong Kong to date, dramatically increasing the number of people taken under the draconian legislation. Friends and family fear they will be denied bail and instead remain in detention before trial, like the five previously detained under the law  a significant departure from Hong Kongs common law system.

The charges now mean that every prominent  and even moderate  opposition voice in Hong Kong is either now in jail or in exile, crushing the citys democratic aspirations as Beijing tightens its grips around the citys core institutions.
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A view of the "Police Line- Do Not Cross" tape marking the parameter of a temporary field hospital to treat covid-19 patients set up in Central Park by "Samaritans purse" a charitable organization working with Mount Sinai. on April 07, 2020 in New York City, United States. COVID-19 has spread to most countries around the world, claiming over 80,000 lives with over 1.4 million infections. Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

A cemetery worker in Long Island, New York, died after a grave collapsed on him on Thursday, police said.

Rodwin Allicock's co-workers attempted to dig him out of the seven-foot grave, but ultimately couldn't.

Suffolk County Police are investigating this incident.

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A 42-year-old cemetery worker was killed while working in a seven-foot grave in Long Island, New York.

The incident happened to Rodwin Allicock at Washington Memorial Park in Mount Sinai at about 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 25, according to a press release from the Suffolk County Police Department. Police said Allicock was working in a grave when it collapsed on top of him.

"His co-workers attempted to dig Allicock out, but were unsuccessful," the press release said.

Allicock, a native of Coram, New York, was pronounced dead at the scene "by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Center," police said.

Authorities who responded to the scene include the Suffolk County Police Emergency Service Section, Suffolk County Fire Rescue coordinators, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works, the Middle Island Fire Department, Hagerman Fire Department, Selden Fire Department, and Setauket Fire Department.

The Suffolk County Police and Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the incident.

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The county health department, meanwhile, announced Friday that with the decrease in COVID-19 cases, it would reduce the number of situational updates on community infections, hospitalizations and deaths. Those public reports will be released on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays instead of daily.

The county report from Friday said there were 145 county residents with active coronavirus cases, down from 147 the prior day and 176 a week earlier. The number of people admitted to Auburn Community Hospital with COVID-19 remained unchanged from Thursday at three.

Cayuga County continues to provide free COVID-19 testing clinics, with two scheduled for next week.

The county health department and Auburn Community Hospital are hosting the no-cost drive-thru clinic from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, March 3, at the hospital. Visitors should use the helipad entrance on Lansing Street and will be given instructions on how to get results from an online portal.
He's well known for his portrayal of the loveable PC Reg Hollis for over 24 years in the TV police drama.

But Jeff Stewart looked almost unrecognisable on Sunday as he picked up a sandwich and tomato soup from a deli in Hampstead, London.

The Bill actor, 64, displayed his wiry grey locks and silver beard as he wrapped up warm in a brown check coat and wandered down the high street.

Change: Jeff Stewart looked very different from his character PC Reg Hollis in The Bill as he picked up a sandwich and tomato soup on Sunday from a deli in Hampstead, London

He placed a green striped scarf around his neck while sporting grey trousers and khaki trainers.

The acting veteran kept a low-profile in sunglasses as he tucked into his delicious lunch.

Jeff stopped outside a local estate agents to window shop for new properties available in the area.

The Scottish native looked distinctly different from his lovable character Reg, who was Sun Hill's police federation rep.

Outing: He displayed his wiry grey locks and silver beard as he wrapped up warm in a brown check coat and wandered through North West London

Keep it casual: He placed a green striped scarf around his neck while sporting grey trousers and khaki trainers

Though he didn't appear in the pilot episode, he featured regularly from the first regular installment onwards and appeared in a total of 872 episodes.

The star played Reg for 24 years, before the character was sadly axed in January 2008.

Speaking in 2011 about the decision, Jeff told The Sun: 'I felt I had been badly let down.'

After hearing the plans from the show's producers Jeff went back to his dressing room and still dazed by the news, attempted to take his own life.

Tasty: The acting veteran kept a low-profile in sunglasses as he tucked into his delicious snack

Browsing: Jeff stopped outside a local estate agents to window shop for new properties available in the area

As he began to black out he changed his mind and rang the front desk for help.

Luckily he was found in time and was rushed from the studios in Merton, South West London to hospital.

'I didn't see a counsellor, it was evident I was OK and I never worried how it would affect my career.

'I thought, "I have a choice, you can either stagnate or blossom"', he added.

Transformation: The Scottish native looked distinctly different from his lovable character Reg, who was Sun Hill's police federation rep

Dedicated: Though he didn't appear in the pilot episode, he featured regularly from the first regular installment onwards and appeared in a total of 872 episodes before being axed in 2008

Meanwhile, when pictures at the time emerged on the internet of him sporting a full beard, fans presumed he was still suffering depression.

However, Jeff defended his scruffy appearance as a way to distance himself from the clean shaven Reg with whom he had become synonymous.

He said: 'I didn't cut my hair for three years. It was a thought-out, deliberate choice.

'I thought, "I have to look as different as possible".

Missed: The Bill ran for a total of 26 years, with the popular series ending in 2010 after being axed - much to the dismay of staunch fans

The Bill ran for a total of 26 years, with the popular series ending in 2010 after being axed - much to the dismay of staunch fans.

Though The Bill was his biggest role to date, Jeff has appeared in a number of other programmes including Crossroads, Doctor Who and Hi-De-Hi!.

He has also starred in independent films and won a Best Actor award for his role in Under Jakob's Ladder at the Manhattan Film Festival in 2011.
Cairo Steps released a new video of the performance of their original composition InFerag on YouTube and Instagram on Sunday.

InFerag is one of the most recent compositions by Basem Darwisch, composed during the lockdown period due to COVID-19.

As Darwisch explains under the video, InFerag means Breakthrough in critical crises reflecting the difficult times imposed on people around the world by the pandemic.

Performing with the Cairo Opera Orchestra, the Cairo Steps concert took place as part of the Arabic Music Festival (1-10 November 2020) at the Nafura stage, Cairo Opera House.

With the Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted by Nayer Nagui, the concert features: Basem Darwisch (oud and composition), Sara Ahmed (clarinet), Wael El-Sayed (accordion), John Sami (nay), Hany El-Sawaf (req and duff), Rami Attallah (piano), Azeema (percussion), Kareem Hossam (e-bass), Mohamed Labib (saxophone), Ragy Kamal (kanoun), Jan Boshra (cello), and violins: Emad Azmy , Shereen Azmy, Shady Abdel-Salam, Nehad Gamal El-Din

On 27 January, Cairo Steps released another track from the same concert, one of Darwischs best known original compositions titled Siwa, followed by the release of Bokra (Tomorrow) three days later.

The band brings together numerous music genres  traditional Egyptian and Oriental grooves, Sufi traditions, Western classical music, European ethnic music, and jazz improvisation  into one melting pot.

Founded in 2002 as a collaboration between Darwisch and German pianist Matthias Frey, Cairo Steps has performed extensively in Egypt and Germany, and on many other international stages.

The band brings together numerous music genres -- traditional Egyptian and Oriental grooves, Sufi traditions, Western classical music, European ethnic music and jazz improvisation -- into one melting pot.

The final blend is a unique combination of compositions from Eastern and Western musical cultures.

In 2018, their album Flying Carpet was awarded the German Jazz Award Gold.

One of the past Cairo Steps concerts held at the Cairo Opera House was among the most popular videos released by the culture ministry on its YouTube channel in April 2020.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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Sulara; Classical violin teacher who dreams to create a world class next generation By Susitha Fernando He says the more he teaches more learns View(s): View(s):

Sulara Nanayakkara who started to play the violin at the tender age of five has now became a master violinist playing for international orchestras. He is also a teacher and has inspired a large number of classical violinists.

Though he has received international fame reaching world standards as a Grammy nominated recording artiste, Sularas dream is not to be a star and reach the sky but to create a several generations of violinists who would shine in this country and worldwide.

Having started to learn the violin from Lal Perera, the son of the late J. K. S. Perera who composed a large number of hymns in the Catholic Church, Sulara was trained under Sri Lankas leading violinists Lakshman Joseph de Saram and Ananda Dabare.

In 2001, at the age of eight, Sulara won a Gold Medal and was adjudged the overall, All Island, winner at the finals in the Violin category at the Sri Lanka Festival of Music, Dance and Speech. This was conducted by the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music. Sulara held this title for ten consecutive years, from 2001 -2010 obtaining ten God medals and All-Island awards. In 2006 at the Young Musician of the Year competition (organized by the Institute of Western Music and Speech), he won the Intermediate category, in playing the violin. He was awarded special trophies for Best Strings Performance All Island, in 2007, 2008 and 2009, by the Sri Lanka Festival for Performing Arts. Sulara is an Associate and a Licentiate (ATCL, LTCL) in Violin Performance of the Trinity College of Music, London.

In 2012, Sulara was chosen, by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, to go on a musical study-tour to the United Kingdom. There he played First Violin in the Sidcup Symphony Orchestra for Symphonic Americana, conducted by Dr. James Ross at St. Johns Smith Square in London.

One of the youngest music lecturers in the country, Sulara was invited to be a visiting lecturer for Violin performance at the University of Visual and Performing arts from 2012  2017. He was a Co-leader of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL), and was the Principal Second Violinist of the Chamber Music Society of Colombo (CMSC).

In 2019, Sulara, earned a Master of Music Degree (M.M) in Violin performance from the Esther Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University at Philadelphia in the United States. He was studying under Professor Meichen Liao-Barnes (the associate Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) who was a student of the great violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay. He also studied under Dr. Eduard Schmieder, a student of the great Russian violinist David Oistrakh. Dr. Schmieder is the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Violin, Artistic director of Strings at the Esther Boyer College of Music and renowned juror of many International violin competitions.

Under Dr. Eduard Schmieder, Sulara studied Violin Pedagogy,Performance and Chamber music and under Professor Lambert Orkis he studied chamber music. Prof. Orkis is a multi-Grammy award winning renowned collaborative pianist of the famous violin soloist, Anne-Sophie Mutter.

In his letter of recommendation Dr. Schmieder wrote about Sulara, Mr. Nanayakkara has presented himself as an attentive, intelligent, highly motivated and active participant. I am confident about his ability to share his acquired knowledge in position of a teacher. He will be an outstanding teacher as he has a great and a pleasant character.

Sulara specliased in analytical techniques of pieces of music, research of music covering various periods of music. Dr. Alexander de Varon who taught Sulara analytical techniques stated Sulara was far and away the best student in my graduate theory class. Whether we were analysing a fugue, sonata form movement or anything else, he consistently ventured deep into the piece, thoroughly examined it and accurately described it.

Having realised inborn talent for violin performance, Sulara got opportunities to participate in master classes conducted by luminaries such as Prof. Gottfried Schneider, Professor for Violin and Chamber music at the Dusseldorf Musikschule, Andrew Sherwood, Professor for Violin at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, Leo Phillips, ex-Leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra[LPO],Stefan Milenkovich, Associate Professor for Violin at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Ashan Pillai, professor for Viola at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya (ESMUC) and the Conservatoire Superior del Liceu in Barcelona.

While in the US, Sulara was able to participate in violin performance and masterclasses conducted by David Kim (Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra) and American violin soloist Stefan Jakiw and chamber music masterclasses by the famous Harlem String Quartet, American String Quartet, Dover String Quartet, Takacs Quartet and the Horszowski Trio.

Sulara recently recorded a composition that was dedicated to himself by the Sri Lankan young composer Sachiththa Fernando. Memories from a diary, the piece of music composed based on Anne Franks diary and it is now available on all international music streaming services like spotify, apple music, amazon music and others.

However while being a performer; Sularas main aim is to share his knowledge and gift a new generations of classical violinists to Sri Lanka.

To be frank, as a teacher more I teach more I learn. As a teacher I am satisfied if I could produce both talented students and help students who have potential to reach high standard,.

I want a next generation of violinists of international standard. Where I could humbly say that he or she is a student of mine, says Sulara with an unassuming smile.

Sulara volunteered to work as a teaching assistant at Esther Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia. It was not compulsory but I wanted to understand their mentality and potential. More students you teach more you understand, he said.

I want to see that my students excel in violin and bring honour and glory to their teacher and country by winning in the musical world. I want them to be better than me, said Sulara.

This internationally qualified violinist says the biggest challenge in teaching classical violin to students in Sri Lanka is mainly due to the little exposure they have for western classical music. It is only limited to the people in the capital city and it was often difficult for me to make them understand the style of playing western classical music. Sometimes they mix it with just Western music (playing English songs of popular genres), said Sulara. He said live classical music was not available and we hardly hear of it through the media.

He lectured at the university and has been privately teaching students of ages ranging from six to 50 years. Sulara has been a violin teacher for more than ten years now. A renowned teacher of classical violin himself now, Sulara is grateful to all his teachers and specially three teachers from whom he started learning violin in Sri Lanka; Lal Perera, Lakshman Joseph de Saram and Ananda Dabare.

As a teacher I believe students need a lot of discipline and patience to learn western classical violin. This is an art which needs detailed work, hours of concentration when practicing and lot of focus. I advise students to practice daily, for at least three to four hours. Some students are keen to practise for more hours but I do not recommend that because I feel there should be more time to appreciate and admire the nature and surrounding and also they should have more time with their families and loved ones, says Sulara stressing that music should help us to enjoy life deeply.

With the aim to promote classical violin, Sulara has plans to start masterclasses for advance violinists who want to learn important tips, give advice on pieces of music and certain styles of playing classical violin. He said that masterclasses could be done in few hours and if properly organised could go for few days.

Sulara also wants to teach young beginners as it is important to inculcate the habit of enjoying classical music. He teaches individually as he thinks an instrument like the violin needs closer attention of the teacher.

Sulara could be contacted on 0779935625.
The police arrested the Black youths on a minor charge. But when deputies questioned two white women who had been on the train, the women accused the boys of raping them. Accounts differ, but the women were facing their own charges of vagrancy and illegal sexual activity stemming from an unrelated incident and apparently thought that by accusing the boys they could avoid being arrested themselves.

The defendants were all tried swiftly in separate trials in Scottsboro, a small city on the banks of Guntersville Lake in northeastern Alabama, and attracted widespread attention; by her account, Harper Lee later drew on the case as inspiration for To Kill a Mockingbird.

All-white juries in Scottsboro convicted each of the youths, and all but the youngest of the nine were sentenced to death. After appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the convictions, which led to more appeals, trials and retrials. Along the way, one of the white women, Ruby Bates, recanted her story, but the defendants remained behind bars.

The cases led to two landmark Supreme Court civil rights rulings  one that opened the door to allowing African Americans to serve on juries, the other ensuring that defendants had the right to adequate legal representation.

The sentences were eventually reduced or dropped entirely, and the defendants were freed; most of them had been incarcerated on and off for several years. But they were not declared innocent, and their names were not cleared.

Ms. Washington and others spent years planning how to honor them, and decided that the best way to tell their story would be through a museum. But they faced ardent objections.

A lot of people didnt want Scottsboro to be remembered for this tragedy, in both the Black and white communities but especially in the white, Ms. Tolliver said in an interview. It was pulling the scab off the wound.

Kiwis are also worried Auckland's march will be cancelled for the third year

Anzac Day marches will go ahead in Melbourne despite Covid fears, but services overseas have been canned.

RSL Victoria has backflipped on its plan to cancel annual marches across the state on April 25 following talks with government officials.

The veteran service organisation said the initial decision was made in the interests of public health, but had a change of heart after public uproar.

It said the march will be socially distanced and 'as close to normal as possible', but Anzacs and other Australians overseas will be forced to stay home.

Veterans parade through the streets of Melbourne on April 25, 2019, after thousands of people attended the Anzac Day dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance

Veterans' Affairs Minister Darren Chester said the annual dawn service on the WWI battleground in Turkey could not go ahead, based on health advice.

'Obviously it's disappointing for a couple of main reasons  one is because it means that the conditions on the ground in Turkey are not of a level where people could feel safe gathering in large numbers,' he said.

'So for the resident populations, the host populations, that's very sad to know that the pandemic is still causing enormous problems there.'

Turkey has almost 99,000 active cases of Covid-19, with 28,503 deaths in total.

Mr Chester urged Australians living overseas to pay their respects from the safety of their homes.

Kiwis also fear their Anzac Day march in Auckland could be cancelled, as Jacinda Ardern announced a snap lockdown in the city due to a single case of Covid.

Pictured: Members of Australia's armed forces perform during a ceremony at the Lone Pine Cemetery, in Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey

RSL Victoria has backflipped on its plan to cancel annual marches across the state on April 25 following talks with government officials

If the Auckland march is cancelled this year, it will be the third consecutive year that all regions in New Zealand's largest city have not commemorated Anzac Day.

The 2019 march was cancelled over fears of a terrorist attack after the Christchurch mosque shooting, and the event in 2020 could not take place due to Covid-19.

On Sunday evening it was confirmed that the one case in Auckland is linked to the highly-infectious UK strain, prompting fresh fears the lockdown could last longer the the initial seven days.

Angry Kiwis took to Twitter to vent their frustrations.

'Better not cancel ANZAC Day for the third time,' one person wrote.

'Third ANZAC Day,' another wrote, adding a despair emoji.

Others said their ancestors 'didn't fight' for their country to be locked down.

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern (pictured) announced Auckland will go into lockdown for one week, after just one new local case of Covid-19

Marches in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are set to go ahead, but the event in Hobart will be scrapped.

'You do have situations where there's narrower streets people have to go through  to have people 1.5 metres apart, it would extend the march for a great length of time and it would be very hard to police,' RSL Tasmania president Robert Dick said.

'We're disappointed, however the safety of our veterans and the public is foremost in our minds.'

This is despite Tasmania not having a single community case of coronavirus since the end of Australia's first wave in mid-2020.

Marches in Canberra, Perth, Darwin, and Adelaide are yet to be confirmed.

About 300,000 doses of the AstraZenaca version landed in Sydney on Sunday.

Scott Morrison has announced a Covid-19 milestone, as 300,000 doses of the AstraZenaca version land in Sydney on Sunday

The Therapeutic Goods Administration will do batch test on the vaccines to ensure they meet Australia's strict quality standards.

'This is the next step as we ramp up the vaccine rollout,' Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

Most Australians will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine with the rollout due to commence from March 8, subject to the TGA's testing process.

'Australia is in a unique position because importantly this vaccine gives us the ability to manufacture onshore' Mr Morrison said.

'Every Australian who wishes to be vaccinated will be able to receive a vaccine this year.'

Australia started its vaccine program last week with the first injections of the Pfizer vaccine.

Almost 30,000 Australians had been vaccinated since last Monday, including 8110 aged care and disability residents throughout 117 care facilities.
Peter Nordens first experience of navigating the byzantine aged care system was after he had an operation last year.

The 71-year-old founder of Jesuit Social Services, prison reform advocate and honorary fellow at Deakin University is no intellectual slouch, but he says the process of organising support in his home was confusing and bureaucratic.

Ive been working at a fairly high level  teaching and writing and research  and I couldnt understand what it was all about, Dr Norden says.

Peter Norden found the aged care system difficult to navigate. Credit:Justin McManus

When I started trying to change providers, there were so many barriers and hoops to jump through that you almost felt it was a waste of time; you make so many damn phone calls. I found it bureaucratic, complex and difficult to feel any sense of control or that I was a partner in this.
ROXBURY  State Police are investigating a fire they said was intentionally set at the Roxbury fire department Saturday evening.

State police spokesman Trooper First Class Pedro Muniz said the agencys Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit was requested by the towns fire marshal to assist the investigation into the blaze.

There were no reported injuries. This incident is still in the beginning stages of investigation. Once we receive more information we will disseminate it appropriately, Muniz said in an email Saturday.

Television station WFSB Channel 3 in Hartford reported authorities are searching for a man throwing Molotov cocktails at emergency medical services. Citing Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael Spera, the outlet reported a man threw one of the incendiary devices on the ground at Hunters Ambulance Headquarters on Saturday, before targeting ambulances in Meriden and Roxbury.

A spokesperson for Old Saybrook police services could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday night.

He said another fire reported in Washington is not believed to be connected.

Firefighters from multiple towns were called to the Roxbury Fire Department at 27 North St. shortly before 6 p.m., according to dispatch reports.

Initial dispatch reports said a vehicle inside the station was on fire.

Fire units from New Milford and Bridgewater were called in. An ambulance was also dispatched from Washington.

An organisation named Jaish-ul-Hind has claimed the responsibility of placing an explosives-laden SUV near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's house in south Mumbai, police said on Sunday.

A senior police official said that all possible angles were being investigated in this connection.

The outfit claimed the responsibility by posting a message on social messaging app Telegram, which went viral on social media and came to the notice of Mumbai police, the official said.

A Scorpio with gelatin sticks was found parked on Carmichael Road near 'Antilia', the multi-storey residence of Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, on Thursday evening. The registration number on the vehicle's number plate was the same as that of an SUV in Ambani's security detail, police 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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This book is a disquieting, even distressing, journey into how India has reached the place we are today. It is called Our Hindu Rashtra but Aakar Patel sets it against the backdrop of Indias neighbourhood. He briefly examines how independence from colonial rule and the foundations of democracy were set in the subcontinent. India stands out because it was not established as a Hindu majoritarian state nor as a theocratic democracy.

But before we congratulate ourselves, Patel reminds us of all the steps we have taken in the last seven decades to undo what our founders and our Constitution had set up for us.

Many people, even those who claim admire it, are unaware of the origins of the Hindu majoritarian movement, how it began, how it insinuated itself into everyday politics and what exactly it stands for. Just for that knowledge itself, this is a worthwhile investment. Who are these heroes of Hindutva, the ideologues of the RSS, the creators of this thought process of Hindu supremacy and exclusion of all others?

From Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the inventor of Hindutva to Guru Golwalker, the stalwart of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, and his Bunch of Thoughts, they are all here. And Patel has read through (a task which requires immense valour and patience) and provided the reader with salient features of their arguments, their vision for India and sectarian principles.

Most of which, as Patel ably demonstrates, are hollow and incoherent. He finds no exact declaration of what this large shadowy movements wants and what they stand for. Except that the RSS wants religious minorities to be subdued and persecuted and for Hindus to be supreme. For everything else, from foreign affairs to the economy, all we have is waffle and changing positions.

He says of Savarkar: His convoluted rules for Hindutva mean that even a Muslim who lights a lamp on Diwali, who shoulders the corpses of Hindus abandoned by relatives, who knows more about the Hindu faith and custom through scholarship than most Hindus, can never be acceptable as an Indian.

These anti-Muslim expressions by Savarkar define Hindutva and the ethos of the RSS. I quote Patels summary of Golwalkars Bunch of Thoughts: India is special in the world because it offered something nobody else could and that was Hindu thought. Whatever that means.

This is the basis of the RSS, later the Jana Sangh and eventually the BJP. The rest, as Patel discovers, was a reaction to whatever was happening in India in the early years. As he amusingly points out, if the ruling government, usually Congress, promised to do X, the Jana Sangh manifesto would promise to do X even better. This did not do much for them electorally, until LK Advani picked up from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad the idea of building a temple at the site of a mosque in Ayodhya. We have travelled from the 1920s to 1983 and the beginning of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. As Patel says, Advanis success was built on the corpses of Indians and cemented with their blood.

Through this book, even as he traces the political history of Hindu majoritarianism, Patel reminds us that much of this sectarianism already existed within Indian society. It took immense effort by the framers of the Constitution, as is evident in the Constituent Assembly debates, to keep India on track to become a secular democracy with fundamental rights for all.

The judiciary comes in for particular scrutiny as judgments by our venerable Supreme Courts over the years allowed this underlying feeling of Hindu supremacy to gain prominence. The book also examines the bogus claims of Muslim appeasement which is what causes the maximum resentment in the minds of Hindu voters and of supporters of the BJP.

We meet current Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, the culmination if you will of almost a century of Hindu supremacist hopes and dreams. Patel looks at ghettoization of Muslims, at methods of persecution like anti-conversion and anti-cow slaughter laws, at the bogey of love jihad and even at the protests against the Modi governments contentious citizenship laws.

Having presented with historical evidence of a depressing past and a worse future, for all Indians who want a democratic India that is, Patel then ends on a note of hope. He uses the citizenship protests to look at how young people, activists and citizens came together to make their voices heard.

The book was written before the ongoing farmers protests, which have also used civilian anger to push for democracy. Patel is a journalist but although this book sources some of his experiences, Our Hindu Rashtra is more a presentation of our recent history from the perspective of democracy. It is also a warning and a reminder of where we are headed.

Our Hindu Rashtra: What It Is. How We Got Here By Aakar Patel

Published by Westland, Hardcover, 344 pages, 799
The drumbeat for the abolition of direct provision reached a crescendo this past Friday, as the Government finally published its long-awaited White Paper on the issue.

The much-maligned system, in which asylum seekers are housed together and kept in a dehumanising legal and social limbo, will be fully dismantled by 2024 , the expert report says.

In the first phase, locations for new reception and integration centres which will be spread throughout the country.

Own-door accommodation will be provided in phase two and the aim will be to integrate asylum seekers into the community. Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman has said that it will take "a whole-of-society approach".

That approach will have to centre on the basic aim of unlocking potential within human beings who have fled war and persecution in their own countries, and it will have to draw on the experiences of those who have navigated the system in Ireland. Perhaps nobody is a better representative of the good that can come of decent people being given a chance than Lye Ogunsanya.

After moving here in the early 2000s with his family, Lye was educated in Ireland, and in 2011 became a citizen. Today, the 38-year-old heads up a company called Didean (meaning shelter in Irish). It is chaired by Ed Dunne (who runs Nua, the biggest residential care provider in the country) and aims to tap into the emerging, and potentially lucrative market by providing community-based social care alternatives to direct provision and own-door accommodation for asylum seekers.

Lye grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, a city which was rife with mismanagement and corruption, hangovers of colonialism. His father was a printer and Lye was immersed in media. He had aspirations of going to college, and emigration wasn't on the agenda. "We weren't raised to think that opportunities lay elsewhere," he explains. "I had no desire to leave."

For his family there was a serious issue which affected everything they did, however. His youngest sister was severely autistic and Lye says the family knew there would be "zero quality of life" for her in Lagos. "She effectively couldn't function by herself," he says. "People had no understanding of what was required in autism care and people didn't look kindly on her. There were cases of people with autism being lynched in Nigeria. People still don't understand the full extent of what it means for parents."

In 2000, the decision was made that he would travel to Dublin with his mother and younger sister, leaving his older sister, another brother and their father back home in Lagos. "For a young guy it was exciting, but for my mother I can't imagine the distress of not knowing what lay ahead." The hardest part, he tearfully recalls, was leaving his grandmother, who died three years later. "I couldn't go back because we didn't have the right to travel back. It was a Muslim burial, so she was buried effectively the same day. So that was the toughest part of everything."

At Dublin Airport, he, his mother, and his sister presented themselves at the International Protection Office. "We were brought into an office as a unit to be interviewed. We were minors so my mother bore the brunt of the interrogation. She's a strong woman and she knew what she was getting into. Nothing is tougher than raising an autistic child every single day."

They ended up in the old schoolhouse in Dun Laoghaire but, because of his sister's condition, Lye's family was quickly moved from there to their own house in Dundalk. His mother took night classes in nursing and social care and his little sister got the care she needed. Lye went to school in Newry and did his A-Levels in Media and IT, but was not allowed to go on to third level because his family's asylum application was still being processed.

"That was super painful because the guys in my class went on to university. They were telling me how they were doing and I felt left behind."

He was permitted to work part-time and got a job selling mobile phones. A manager noticed how well he was doing and put him forward to become a marketing development management manager in 2007. He went on to work with LG electronics.

By then the asylum process had taken its course and he was allowed to stay in Ireland and to go on to study marketing, innovation and technology at DCU.

While there, he created a brand, House of Akina, which offered clothing and accessories made by women who have been through the Irish direct provision system. Profits were used to facilitate workshops to support and educate marginalised migrant women in Ireland and facilitate better integration of new communities.

In 2013, Lye won the Enactus award, the biggest start-up competition among universities.

Declan Ryan, the former Ryanair CEO, then asked him to work with the One Foundation, a private philanthropic fund which Ryan had set up to provide, among other things, education for children in the camps.

This work brought Lye to the coalface of the migration crisis, where he worked closely with Unicef.

"The most vivid memory was one of the operations we carried out in the Mediterranean. You would see bodies of men, women, including pregnant women, floating at sea. It was a hell zone. The Irish Navy was there. I'm very proud of what they did, they really went for it when other countries were shying away."

The experience, he says, "made really clear we need to take the best care of the people who do make it. It's about giving a leg up, giving a step up".

He moved to Dublin in 2016 and has lived since then in the Liberties with his partner, with whom he has two children, Geordan, who was born late last year, and Aran (3).

He has made his presence felt in the capital. In 2016 he became an attache to John O'Mahony, Fine Gael spokesman on Transport, Tourism and Sport, and in 2018 he was part of the US Department of State's professional exchange programme.

Since last summer he has been the CEO of Didean, and is now poised to capitalise on the new developments the company has. Given his experience, Lye is the perfect representative.

"We have the properties already, we are ready to go," he says.

"I came through direct provision myself, so I feel I'm the right person to become involved in this, and I know how to make a difference. Ireland has given me so much and now I want to give back."
Vietnam has no COVID-19 case to report on February 28 morning

Vietnam saw no new COVID-19 case over the past 12 hours to 6am February 28, making the national tally unchanged at 2,432, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.



Among the total, 1,530 were locally infected, including 837 cases since January 27.

Hanoi disinfects schools to welcome back students (Photo: VNA)



A total 1,844 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far, and the death toll remains at 35.



Among those still under treatment, 32 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 50 twice and 100 thrice.



By February 27 afternoon, 10 provinces and cities had gone through 14 consecutive days without new locally-infected cases of COVID-19.



As many as 63,054 people who had close contact with confirmed patients or returned from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantine across the country.
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.

The United States on Thursday carried out an airstrike in eastern Syria against structures belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militias responsible for recent attacks against U.S. and allied personnel in Iraq.

The strikes were authorized by President Joe Biden in response to the recent attacks in Iraq and to continuing threats to U.S. and coalition personnel, said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, who spoke with reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in California.

A rocket attack on the airport in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil this month killed a civilian contractor with the American-led military coalition and wounded six others, including a U.S. service member and four American contractors.

U.S. officials said the military response was essentially a tiny demonstration strike: one bomb dropped on a small cluster of buildings on the Syria-Iraq border used to transit militia in and out of the country.

The strike was just over the border in Syria to avoid diplomatic blowback to the Iraqi government. The Pentagon offered up several larger groups of targets but Biden approved the smallest option, U.S. officials said.

The American airstrikes Thursday specifically destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militia troops, including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Kirby said.

This proportionate military response was conducted together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners, Kirby said. The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel.

Kirby said the American retaliation was meant to punish the perpetrators of the rocket attack but not to escalate hostilities with Iran, with which the Biden administration has sought to renew talks on a nuclear deal that President Donald Trump had shelved.

We have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq, Kirby said.

Biden authorized the strikes Thursday morning, as his defense secretary was at a hotel in San Diego, preparing to visit the aircraft carrier Nimitz, which was returning from the Persian Gulf.

Austin expressed confidence that the facilities targeted were used by militia groups responsible for the attacks.
Executives who engage in so-called "vaccine tourism" show both an ethical disregard for those less fortunate and a surprising lack of business acumen, experts argue.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Machin waits to appear at the Standing Committee on Finance on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Tuesday, November 1, 2016. Executives who engage in so-called "vaccine tourism" show both an ethical disregard for those less fortunate and a surprising lack of business acumen, experts argue. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Executives who engage in so-called "vaccine tourism" show both an ethical disregard for those less fortunate and a surprising lack of business acumen, experts argue.

Their comments came after the head of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Mark Machin, stepped down after admitting to travelling to Dubai to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

"The reputational damage  the lasting scar of you being caught, outed and tarred and feathered in the public square over your decision to engage in vaccine tourism  will linger," said Wojtek Dabrowski, managing partner of Provident Communications.

He said it will likely be some time until Machin, once a highly respected money manager, lands a new gig, as most companies will be loath to have their names associated with his.

"You have to think about what kind of organization would take on a leader with this in their background," Dabrowski said.

Decisions to travel abroad for COVID-19 vaccines also raise questions about the culture a person expects to cultivate in their company, he added.

"As the CEO, the buck stops with you every time," Dabrowski said. "Whether that's on business performance, whether that's on culture, or whether that's on modelling the behaviour that you want to see elsewhere in the organization."

In this case, he said, the Canada Pension Plan itself is likely to come out unscathed, in part because Machin left his post so quickly.

But if the company is not so well-known or highly regarded to begin with, and doesn't act swiftly to rectify the situation, the executive's actions could have broader implications, he said.

Some regions have also clamped down on vaccine tourism, not wanting to be associated with the practice.

In January, the Florida government changed its vaccination rules to prevent non-residents from flying in, getting jabbed and flying back out. The state now requires would-be vaccine recipients to provide proof of at least part-time residency.

And while Dabrowski noted that executivrs may find it desirable  though unadvisable  to combine vaccination with a vacation, that's not always how things play out.

In late January, the head of the Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and his wife were ticketed after allegedly flying to a remote Yukon community to get vaccinated.

Dabrowski said the consequences of travelling to hop the vaccine line are perhaps even greater now, in a time when many people believe corporations should consider more than just profits.

"This whole idea that a corporation has this broader social imperative that's not just focused around making money, but rather, improving and bettering and serving the communities in which these companies operate, is emerging as a very pressing imperative for a lot of organizations," he said.

And there's little question about whether vaccine tourism betters the community, he added.

Bioethicist Kerry Bowman said he was shocked to learn that a prominent figure would travel abroad to get a COVID-19 vaccine, especially after the furor that erupted in late December and early January over jet-setting politicians defying public health advice to avoid international travel.

"You're really jumping the vaccine queue," he said. "We've got elderly people in this country, and particularly the province of Ontario, that have still not even received a preliminary dose."

Vaccine tourism also erodes trust in a health-care system that should ideally, treat everybody equally, Bowman said.

"It feeds into what a lot of people already know: That people with privileges and connections are going to find a way through the system."

The phenomenon differs, Bowman said, from other forms of medical tourism in which people cross the border to pay for quicker access to treatment.

"If you're going abroad for surgery, the secondary effect on other people from a point of view of justice is very different," he said, noting that the pandemic makes everything more complicated.

"If a person is coming back from overseas, even if they've been vaccinated, the vaccine is really not coming up to strength for a few weeks," he said. "So you've also got a potential health risk that's being introduced."

Bowman said the costs of vaccine tourism far outweigh any benefits.

"Critics will say vaccine tourism is just taking pressure off the system, and it's no big deal," Bowman said. "But, you know, fairness is very, very important."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2021.
In the later months of 2020, Canada started experiencing a crisis: Their butter sucked. Specifically, they found that their butter no longer softened to the degree necessary for baking or spreading on toast when left out at room temperature without turning it into a sad pile of the worst breadsticks.

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After one reporter for the Canadian Globe and Mail joined the thousands who tweeted about their stupid hard butter, however, they got a tip from someone on the inside who painted a picture of an industry-wide lapse in judgment, a controversial cow feed ingredient, and a possible national cover-up.

It started, as everything bad in 2020 did, with the COVID-19 pandemic. When schools and restaurants closed, demand for milk dropped, which is concerning enough on its own. Calcium still strengthens your bones at home, people. But Canadian dairy farmers are working under a unique set of regulations that prohibit them from producing any more output than domestic consumption demands, so they killed off a bunch of their livestock to prevent a flood of spoiled, undrunk milk. What they didn't anticipate, for some reason, was that everyone was going to start cooking at home. Specifically, the home baking craze struck, and demand for butter soared. Unless they wanted to starve, dairy farmers had to scramble to satisfy a butter-hungry populace with a totally inadequate supply of butter providers.
Spatial, a global manufacturing leader in aviation training equipment, has recently announced its relocation to a bigger facility in RAKEZ.

The newly acquired 12,775 sq m land is 73% larger than its previous location, in which the company is set to increase its production capacity by more than 50% and to serve its global customer base, including blue-chip airlines such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and British Airways. The new facility will be fully operational by the end of Q1 2021, a statement said.

We take pride in servicing global aviation leaders from our base in Ras Al Khaimah; specifically, in RAKEZ. The transport of our goods in and out of the facility has been made quick, easy and cost-effective; and the accommodating team at RAKEZ made our expansion decision an easier one, said Marc Van den Broucque, Managing Director, Spatial.

With this new expansion, we are well placed to satisfy the increase in demand for our products, which has persisted through the pandemic, as well as to cater for future expansion. We are optimistic to what the future holds for Spatial, and we are certain, we are on track to hold a larger market share within the aviation training industry, he added.

Commenting on the expansion, Ramy Jallad, Group CEO of RAKEZ said: We are thrilled to witness this phase of development for Spatial. For over a decade, their products have been supplied to some of the worlds biggest aviation brands, all manufactured from their facility here at RAKEZ. The decision to increase their space is the natural next step to the companys ambitious plan to double their production capacity.

At RAKEZ, we have taken it as a mandate to facilitate the growth of all our valued clients. Our efforts are geared towards offering an environment thats easy to do business in, second-to-none services, seamless processes, and state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure, to support our ever-growing multinational business community, he added.TradeArabia News Service




Haiti - News : Zapping...





SWAT : Moving funeral of Agent Anozard

Moving funeral this Saturday February 27, 2021 at the National Police School of Agent Patrick Anozard of the elite SWAT corps killed in the performance of his duties on Friday February 5, 2021 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32964-haiti-flash-bloody-clash-between-police-officers-and-fantom-509-5-dead-and-several-injured.html . The deceased was raised to the rank of agent 3, posthumously by Leon Charles, Director General a.i. of the PNH, very affected by this loss for the institution.



VISA Brazil : New dates for applicants

The Brazil Visa Application Center (BVAC) informs of the new dates assigned to applicants for the month of April 2020. You will need to come with a complete file, valid criminal record. Wearing a mask is required due to the Covid-19 pandemic.



Date you should come

April 6-7, 2020 ==> March 1, 2021

April 8-9, 2020 ==> March 2021

April 13-14, 2020 ==> March 2021

April 15-16, 2020 ==> March 2021

17-20 April 2020 5 ==> March 2021



BVAC telephone (509) 2817 5900/2817 5901



EDH: Management and installation agreement for smart meters

Friday February 26, 2021, in the presence of Nader Joaseus, Minister of Public Works, Electricity of Haiti (EDH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with "Atlantic Bridge Developments" for the installation and management of smart meters as a replacement old mechanical counters.



Hurricane season could change date

The National Hurricane Center is studying the possibility of bringing the start date of the hurricane season in the Atlantic basin forward to May 15 (instead of June 1st). The decision will be taken around mid-March at the next hurricane committee of the World Meteorological Organization.



Taiwan : Donation for the disabled

On Thursday February 26, Ambassador Wen-Jiann Ku met with Ms. Soinette Desir, Secretary of State of the Office of the Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities and presented to her, on behalf of the Puhsein Buddhist Foundation and the Cao Zhong Zhi Foundation in Taiwan, a 20-foot container of adapted equipment allowing people with reduced mobility to find more autonomy and comfort.



HL/ HaitiLibre



















Political unrest continues in Armenia. Another reason for them was the dismissal from the post of First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Tiran Khachatrian, who sharply criticized the statement of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about "non-working Russian Iskander". On February 25, in response to Pashinyan's dismissal of Khachatryan, the General Staff demanded in writing the Prime Minister's resignation, stating that the political leadership was not able to adequately carry out its professional activities.

The General Staff's statement had a significant political resonance, since the initiative to remove Pashinyan from power was personally made by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan, whose dismissal proposal also soon appeared on the table of President Armen Sarkissian.

The topic of the army in Armenia has remained closed for the last quarter of a century - it was customary to idealize the Armed Forces for dubious achievements during the First Karabakh War. But the Second Karabakh War put everything in its place, dispelling the myth about the invincibility of the army. Pashinyan's current criticism was intended to change public opinion. The Armenian prime minister does not want to take responsibility for the defeat in the war for an infinitely long time, especially since the army has never been inclined to closely cooperate with his "revolutionary" government. The months of grief and mourning have passed, and the authorities, who have found themselves in the status of an outcast, have a need to draw people's attention to the actions of military structures, which have receded into the shadows in anticipation of a stabilization of the political situation. This is due to Pashinyan's uncertain remarks regarding the Iskander, whose purpose was not to expose the allegedly faulty Russian weapons, but to hint at the incompetence of the generals. The ruling bloc has demonstrated its unwillingness to single-handedly assume full responsibility for the military failure in Karabakh, especially for those military structures to which the "revolutionaries" have nothing to do.

The immediate reaction of the General Staff is a predictable response to the likely campaign of the political leadership. Sooner or later, the public had to put the issue squarely in relation to the Armenian generals who failed to protect the interests of Armenian separatism. The defeat of the army implies its speedy reformation, which will inevitably be accompanied by investigations, dismissals, and even the initiation of criminal cases. Taking into account such a prospect, the question arises who will carry out the reforms of the army: the current authorities, which will pursue the goal of rehabilitating themselves in the eyes of the public, or another political force, whose actions towards the generals will be superficial and nominal.

Pashinyan fears the military, since there are many supporters of the former authorities among them. The backbone of the top military leadership was formed during the presidency of the Karabakh separatists Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan. Kocharian's recent return to politics could be a signal for senior military officials to get involved in political processes. Pashinyan himself indirectly confirmed this, speaking to supporters in the center of Yerevan. But Kocharian does not hide his sympathy for the General Staff, which has appealed to the Armenian public to rally around the army and generals.

The crisis in relations between the authorities and the generals demonstrates an acute behind-the-scenes struggle between the political blocs of post-war Armenia. The pseudo opposition forces, the army and other suddenly activated patriots of Armenia are trying in every possible way to topple Nikol Pashinyan, who saved the "true patriots" from signing the peace statement on Karabakh so hated by them. The prime minister did all the "dirty work" and, paradoxically, the de-occupation of the territory of Azerbaijan and the peacekeeping mission of the Russian Armed Forces in Karabakh created more comfortable conditions for the political forces of Armenia rushing to power. An acute political struggle is being waged for this power under the new conditions, the participants of which are ready to plunge Armenia into the abyss of even greater chaos.

Vadodara: A crocodile measuring about 10-11 feet long crocodile was rescued from a construction site in the Kelanpur area of Vadodara in Gujarat. The crocodile had got stuck in a ditch and was spotted by construction workers.

According to Arvind Pawar, President, Wildlife Rescue Trust, they received a call from a builder asking them to rescue the crocodile. On reaching the site they found that it was about 10-11 feet long.

"We received a call from a builder that a crocodile was spotted in a ditch at one of his construction sites. We rescued it and have handed it over to the forest department," said Pawar.

He added that after a medical checkup, the crocodile was released in its natural habitat.

Gujarat: An 11-feet long crocodile was rescued from a construction site in Kelanpur area, Vadodara. "We rescued the crocodile and have handed it over to the forest department," said President of Wildlife Rescue Trust (27.02) pic.twitter.com/0V3JOIuVxx  ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2021

This sort of incident is not a rare occasion for the people of Vadodara as they have seen crocodiles being rescued every year, especially during the rainy season.

The most recent incident in which a crocodile had to be rescued was in September 2020. The crocodiles enter the residential areas when floods take place and the residents only notice them once the water recedes.

The Wildlife Rescue Trust is swift to provide aid to the people and make sure the crocodile is taken back to its habitat safely after a medical check up.

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US drug regulator clears Johnson & Johnsons vaccine

The US drug regulator (FDA) approved Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine against for emergency use, making it the third shot for the country as it races against time to vaccinate as many people as possible. In clinical trials across the world, J&J's vaccine showed showed 85 per cent efficacy against severe forms of Covid-19 and 100 per cent efficacy against hospitalisation and death. The company said it would provide the United States with 100 million doses by the end of June. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics Global infections: 113,784,837 Global deaths: 2,525,409 Nations with most cases: US (28,554,445), India (11,096,731), Brazil (10,517,232), United Kingdom (4,187,166), Russia (4,182,772). Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Indonesia to allow companies to buy vaccines for employees

In a first in the world, Indonesia has allowed private companies to purchase vaccines to inoculate their workers and families. This can co-exist with the government vaccination programme, according to the new rules. The government hopes it will enable the country to reach herd immunity faster and speed up reopening of the economy. The rules say that the vaccines private firms buy should be different from those available in the public programme like Sinovac. This means the private players need to buy shots from different firms like Johnson & Johnson and Moderna. Read here

Ireland's anti-lockdown protesters clash with police

Hundreds of demonstrators hit the streets in Dublin protesting against lockdown steps and clashed with the police. Over 20 were arrested during the clash. Irelands premier has slammed the thuggish behaviour and attacks on Irish police. After the arrests, authorities are speeding up prosecutions. Fixed charge notices were issued to a number of people. As Covid infections rise, Ireland is in its ninth straight week of level-5 curbs, which have been dubbed the strictest. Read here

Risk of catching Covid from surfaces overblown, say experts

When the news of a mysterious virus causing pneumonia began emerging and started spreading across the world, authorities, people and experts were paranoid about touching surfaces. People began cleaning everything and kept at it for months. Disinfection was the buzz world. Just over a year later, experts say the risk of virus spread from surfaces isn't as big a factor as once feared. Although surface transmission is not impossible, people can be less anxious about cleaning something 20 times a day, they say. Close-contact aerosol spread is the driver in Covid-19 transmission, primarily when an infected person is in close contact with another person and transmits small liquid particles [droplets and aerosols] containing the virus, especially when they cough and sneeze. Read here
From: Albert Goldson -- Cerulean Council For Immediate Release: Dateline: New York , NY Sunday, February 28, 2021



Apple Pie Origins The Made in America Weimar Republic-like chaotic violence lastspring and summer reached a crescendo of intensity with the dramatic assault andoccupation of the US Capitol building in early last month with the temporaryplanting of the Confederate battle flag. Notwithstanding the followingweek the Inauguration was held, a lawful and peaceful transition but under apolice state level of security underscoring the present-day brittleness ofAmerican democracy. Because the impossible has become the plausible, certain present-daygovernments must be shaking in their boots fearing a surge of social upheavaland threat to their control. If the US, a beacon of political stability andcivilized democratic practices, can come to the brink of implosion with theurging of elected political figures at the highest levels, then such aninsurrection is not only likely, rather inevitable elsewhere. Think of thissituation as the 21st century domino effect with its genesis originatingin the US. France and Germany | Turning Point Elections The US, a democratic empire with respect to dwarfing everyother nation in economic and military might and a longer and deeper runningdemocracy, fissures are appearing in its socio-economic-political model. Europeandemocracies such as Germany and France have their respective growing legitimatelyelected ultra-conservative political parties which are making dramatic gains ingovernment representation and have gained a certain level of respectabilitywith the mainstream. For ultra-conservative and perhaps radical politicalelements, Americas beacon of light has a darker and more sinister hue that hastacitly legitimized the next level of political aggressiveness because it iseither silently supported or not challenged by their well-educated mainstream demographic. And like their American counterparts who reach back to a delusionalrevisionist past chanting the mantra, Make American Great Again, European homegrownradicals and sympathizers espouse their own version of an undemocratic,ruthless and racist era such as the Third Reich and Frances colonial empire. The political crossroads for Germany and France are loomingon the horizon. Germany has major federal elections this fall. Frances presidentialelections are scheduled to take place in May 2022. With the departure ofGermanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, there is no dynamically strong incumbent toserve as an anchor for democratic principles against ultra-conservative partieslike the Alternative for Germany. In France Marine Le Pens popularity is surging andaccording to several highly regard polls, shes within striking distance ofseriously challenging President Macron to whom she lost in a landslide in 2017.Keep in mind that President Macron was an unknown who came from nowhere informing his own party and within a year of its formation had captured theElysee. The ultra-nationalists in both countries are gainingtraction because of the pandemic-induced recession and deteriorating economies notto mention draconian lockdowns. Without a strong and noticeable economicrecovery in the near future public sentiment will doubt the ability oftraditional centrist parties and seek the alternative light, albeit a dark one,in the form of torches. Russia | Krashing the Kremlin Although many illiberal democracies and autocratic governmentsmight be reveling in glee over the siege at the US Capitol building thatcounters the US pro-democracy advocacy, only the most near-sighted of themcant ignore that those mob scenes may be a preview that could occur amongtheir own citizenry. If such an insurrection could occur in Washington, DC onlarge scale and come within a whisker of harming high-level governmentofficials, then anything is possible. In the past weeks protests have swelled across a wide political-socio-economicdemographic swath in 100 cities from Moscow to Vladivostok despite brutallycold weather. This has compelled Russian law enforcement to arrest and detain thousands,more than the usual suspects including over 80 journalists. Nonetheless its not the thousands unarmed protestors thatkeeps Putin & Company up at night. Though visually impressive, the numberof protestors doesnt come close to threatening the present-day leadership. RatherPutin fears the erosion of political power in the upcoming legislativeelections in September 2021 for the 450 seats in the State Duma of which UnitedRussia the ruling party has 343 seats. Strangely Putin is manifesting his own Twilight Zone deja vudemise in the potential disintegration of his personal empire in the same wayhe witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union. The sentencing of his political nemesisAlexi Navalry for 2 years makes it difficult to determine how this will playout with future protests. But like all ultra-nationalists, the tighter thegrip, the more brittle the control. With respect to security, five years ago Putin had CassandraComplex-like foresight to establish special National Guard as a counter-measurefor such contingencies. My article entitled PutinsSS  The Kremlins Bodyguards published 30 December 2016 described theconsolidation of several security services to form a 350,000 man force based exclusivelyin Moscow under his direct command. Turkey | Overlooked and Under-Appreciated The country that the mainstream media frequently overlookswith respect to their socio-economic situation is the crushing poverty that thepandemic has caused the general population, pushing many in the middle classinto poverty for the first time in generations. This situation is creating andstoking a potential social unrest tinderbox that Erdogans government isill-equipped to resolve economically with some form of relief funds. According to a 2019 Income and Living Conditions Survey of the TurkishStatistical Institute (TUIK) 17million Turks live below the poverty line in a population of 81 million. Thesurveys definition of poor is when incomes are 60% less than the medianincome. In Turkey that translates to 21.5 million poor families. The 2020 survey, whichwould encompass pandemic related issues, wont be released until this upcomingSeptember. For this reason the present-day economic suffering is anecdotalrather than quantitative. Although Turkeys presidential and generalelections for the 600 member Grand National Assembly arent scheduled until2023, popular discontent is growing rapidly and can boil over well beforehand. Instability in Turkey is a critical concern for the rest ofEurope because Turkey is a buffer between Europe and the anarchistic situationin the Middle East not to mention the hundreds of thousands of refugees. Copycat Chaos The burning questions is, What are we in for? The clumsy, uncoordinated,haphazard and incompetent efforts by vaccine manufacturers and governments to distributethe vaccine and continued imposition of draconian lockdowns serve as a catalystfor conspiracy theories of a masterplan orchestrated by a shadowy elite. Itsperfect public relations fodder for opposing political groups who realize thatthey wont have a better opportunity than now to challenge and replace thepresent-day governments whether at the ballot box or otherwise. The depth of the discontentment among a wide & deepswath of the mainstream demographic in many countries is articulated in The Atlanticsarticle entitled TheCapitol Rioters Arent Like Other Extremists, published 2 February 2021. Insum the majority of the protestors are first-time protestors, middle age professionals,with no affiliation with ultra-conservative or radical groups. Similarly in Russia the demographics of the protestorsinclude many first-time protestors who are middle age across the politicalspectrum from Stalinists, nationalist and urban professionals, not the stereotypicalnarrowly defined reckless youth. Worldwide discontent occurring simultaneously in keycountries that will compel these governments to batten down the hatches andfocus their efforts domestically making international cooperation moredifficult. Finally international cooperation on a myriad of issues will beexacerbated should there be a dramatic change in political parties in theaforementioned countries.  Copyright 2021 Cerulean Council LLC The Cerulean Council is a NYC-based think-tank that providesprescient, beyond-the-horizon, contrarian perspectives and risk assessments ongeopolitical dynamics and global urban security. The Fifth Column Arises An extremely dark historical deja vu reenactment is beingplayed out present-day in real time that is recreating events in the tumultuousyear of 1968. Thousands of American extras are engaged throughout the country insowing violence & mayhem in a reenactment of the Tet offensive but onAmerican soil potentially at the Inauguration and certainly post-Inauguration. Already the FBI is vetting members of the National Guard broughtin from numerous states who are assigned to support local law enforcementagainst violent protests and any other threats during the Inauguration.  Firstly, it seems an impossible task tovet every one of the thousands National Guardsman thoroughly enough to passwith a high degree of certainty that a member poses no threat during theceremony.  Secondly, is the FBI vetting local lawenforcement from which several members were alleged to be sympathetic to thepro-Trump protestors who laid siege on the Capital building?  Thirdly, and not least, following the oldsecurity adage, whos vetting the FBI? Disturbingly neither the National Guard nor local lawenforcement in any part of the country have the training and experience inriot-control or have sufficient riot-specific equipment. For this reason tocompensate, the temptation to use excessive force, particularly if they feelthat their lives are in danger, is extremely high. This is why the alleged pro-Trump plan to protest at 50state capitals regardless of the size or even non-violent protest is a deviousquantitative gambit. The odds of any protest, anywhere devolving into violentconfrontation is high and can trigger a cascade of escalations elsewhere thanksto social media. US Homeland Tet Offensive The Vietcong (VC) launched the infamous Tet Offense  theVietnamese New Year  on January 30, 1968 with simultaneous attacks on 100towns and cities throughout the country. Their objective was to provoke apopular uprising against the South Vietnamese government. Although despite theferocity of their efforts the VC failed militarily but won politically in thelong run because it decisively turned the American public against the USgovernments involvement in Vietnam. Jumping off the pages of a Twilight Zone script, adisturbing historical parallel is unfolding domestically in which, according tothe FBI, a determined and well-supported armed anti-government movement isthreatening 50 state capitals. January | Historical Deja Vu The following are the astonishing historical parallelsbetween the Tet offensive in 1968 and the present-day violence in the US 53years later in the same month:  The US was deeply divided politically andracially during the 1960s and present-day with violent protests that led up tothe furious assault on government buildings.  The VC assault took place during Tet - their LunarNew Year - while the assault on the US Capitol building took place near ourpolitical New Year called The Inauguration in the same month of January.  In Vietnam and the US extremist elementssurprised governmental forces.  Anti-government forces, VC and pro-Trump extremists,assault the US Embassy in Saigon (then South Vietnams capital) and the USCapitol building in Washington, DC, respectively.  In each assault the VC and extremists breachedthe outer security perimeter and had the opportunity to breach the innersanctum to kidnap, or perhaps worse, the US Ambassador and Congressionalmembers, respectively but never did.  In each assault on US territory exactly 5Americans died.  Throughout Vietnam assaults against US and SouthVietnamese forces raged. Present-day potential violent forces are targetinggovernment, corporate and other important buildings. Seizing power through physical confrontation and reversingthe election results is impossible. However like the VC, politically pro-Trumpsupporters can gain more sympathizers by planting the seeds for the GOPseventual return to the White House in 2024. Because the venues for Inauguration Day are alreadypredetermined pro-Trump supporters may encounter counter-protests at many ofthese venues. In other words, all hell could break loose throughout the weekwith the National Guard, law enforcement and citizens caught in the middle of endlessriot firestorms. The following chart entitled DCTroop Levels Five Times as High as Iraq & Afghanistan provided by theUS Department of Defense, Task & Purpose, The Drive and provided byStatista, an online statistical firm, embarrassingly shows the overwhelmingforce required to maintain the peaceful transfer of power in the nationscapital. Smile! Youre On Candid Camera! | Citizens With Nothingto Lose It may seem odd and ludicrous that the many pro-Trumpsupporters who stormed the US Capitol building not only didnt wear masks butenthusiastically took selfies, were easily identifiable afterwards. This meantthat the rioters absolutely knew beforehand that their images would be recordedby security cameras in and around Capital building but didnt care that itwould lead to criminal charges, loss of jobs or become nearly unemployable whenidentified. The aforementioned is the unsettling part because it signifiesthat these are people who feel that they have nothing to lose and, as the adagegoes, makes this group extremely dangerous. Just as the Western media isbefuddled about the religious true believers in emerging and developingcountries who are willing to risk everything against their respectivepresent-day governments or join violent groups in failed states, the same is beingplayed out domestically. Similar to the Tet offensive, it also means that theseprotests will not simmer down or burn out over the course of several weeks ormonths, rather during the entire Biden administration until the climax of the2024 US presidential election with the tacit support of likeminded powerfulelements at the highest levels of every industry. Interestingly theres a stupefying weird perspective of thepresent-day violent surge of pro-Trump protests. During Trumps 2016 inaugurationthere was a paucity of these same pro-Trump supporters to celebrate hiselection victory. Yet theyve emerged from every nook & cranny in thethousands as Trump is about to leave office to fervently support him at hisunabashed urging and continue the fight against the Biden Inauguration. Who Are Those Guys? | Mainstream Citizens Going Mad The following chart entitled Anti-GovernmentExtremist Groups in the US provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center andprovided by Statista, underscores the continued anti-government groups in theUS. Although the number of groups have declined since the Obama administration,many of these present-day extremists  a cross-section of American society fromstruggling blue workers to highly-paid white collar professionals areradicalized with an unabashed willingness in committing violent acts.

The ominous coalescence of the present-day groups is thatthey bring a dangerous cross-section of skill sets, experience and insiderknowledge from a wide variety of professions to more effectively undermine theincoming administration which makes them far more dangerous than the earlier streetthuggish, anti-government groups. Bright Light in a Narrow Tunnel The urgency of the Biden administration is to avoid a DarkWinter 2 in 2021-2022 at all costs. If this spring through early fall Covidcases and deaths fail to abate and supersede inoculations, and medicalpersonnel burn-out with hospitals running out of supplies, equipment &medicine, the US could become a struggling faraway emerging country withenormous resources blocked but by incompetence and corruption. The realpolitik is that Covid has become a sideshow,a political lightning rod for the opposition. Defeating Covid is a matter ofscientific power which is slowly being accomplished. The real issue is the faltering real economy which has enslavedmillions of Americans into debt and poverty. The citizenry is infuriated becausethey believe that the decades-old socio-economic-political structure has failedthem over the course of many administrations and caters exclusively and rather openlyto the elite. To put it bluntly these citizens have many valid points. Thegovernment and corporations have the power yet lack the will to make fundamentalstructural changes for the public good. With opposing sides digging in their heels unwilling to evendiscuss these matters in earnest, as the song goes Somethings gotta give butmay be increasingly decided on the streets, not at the ballot box.  Copyright 2021 Cerulean Council LLC The Cerulean Council is a NYC-based think-tank that providesprescient, beyond-the-horizon, contrarian perspectives and risk assessments ongeopolitical dynamics and global urban security. Political Civil War In a Twilight Zone deja vu there are fascinating yet disturbinghistorical parallels as Inauguration Day approaches. The shot that killed theUS Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt trying to enter the US Capitol building and whonow serves as the martyr rallying cry of the pro-Trump extremists, can beeerily compared to the first shot that ignited Americas Civil War at Fort Sumterin 1861, both occurring during a period of a nation deeply divided. For some historical perspective in July 1864 Confederate Lt.General Jabal Early led a battle-hardened, grizzled military force towardsWashington DC known soon to be called the Battle of Fort Stevens and almostsucceeded in breaching its defenses. Fortunately for the Union, Earlys longmarch towards the capital under blistering summer conditions and the need torest for several days upon arrival delayed the main assault by several days.This fortuitous delay enabled the Union Army to frantically muster enough men tocarry out a canon bombardment which discouraged a main assault. In January 2021 pro-Trump supporters had far more success withless personnel than Lt. General Early in breaching the Capitol buildingsunder-manned security, entered the building and came within a hairsbreadth ofcapturing members of Congress.as hostages Ironically, despite pro-Trump supporters having far lessfirepower than Lt. General Early, the National Guard will post 20,000 in &around the city for the upcoming 2021 inauguration, slightly less than the23,000 troops that defended Washington DC in 1864, which powerfully underscoresthe seriousness of the crisis. Warlord Trumps Werewolves Theres no doubt that this 21st century politicalcivil war is just getting started that will regularly go beyond heated verbalrhetoric. This third surge is undoubtedly a man-made political plague instigatedby the proverbial presidential stamp of approval to not only continue ratherescalate the fight well after he leaves office. The pro-Trump supporters votedwith their military surplus boots in storming the Capitol. They may not havecaptured members of Congress but their mission was a success beyond theirwildest dreams. This has only emboldened and galvanized this new movement. More disturbingly is that this event represents a far-deeperbreach into the minds of Americans and despite all its democratic laws and militarymight, exposes the fragility and vulnerability of Americas democracy. Although Biden clearly won the election with the ElectoralCollege and popular vote it was far from decisive. For this reason thisnon-decisive victory provides pro-Trump supporters fodder to pursue thestolen election claim, one that was not won beyond a reasonable doubt, a phrasethat cannot be defined quantitatively. Only a Biden landslide would have beenthe coup de graceand pre-empted mass violence at the Capitol. Interestingly the election resultsindicate considerably more about the weakness of Bidens victory than of Trumpsdefeat. In war there are often a handful of violent diehard holdoutsafter a formal surrender encouraged by the defeated or deposed leadership. Asimilar situation might occur in the aftermath of Trumps election defeat. Trumpmay be censored on social media yet a multitude of pro-Trump groups havealready arisen to communicate his gospel to those who consider our constitutionallaws as mere guidelines. In an oft-repeated historical pattern, after regimes weredefeated militarily, the ousted government still held powerful political swayin present-day democracies. The US is no exception. The Trump administrationand subsequent scorched earth tactics at the US Capitol building is justifiablyalarming and reveals the breath & depth of his influence. Trumps charismatic powers run far & deep among hisdiehard constituency. He received over 74 million votes amongst a wide range ofcitizens from the unemployed, blue collar disaffected workers to the hidden,albeit wealthy and powerful, not to mention millions of sympathizers all ofwhich represents a daunting demographic. The dramatic violent maelstrom on theCapitol building is confirmation that these 74 million strong voters have hisback. One doesnt have to read between the lines of Trumps publicstatements before, during or after the storming of the US Capitol that hell relishassuming the role of a post-presidential warlord and take advantage of anAmerica, physically, economically and psychologically weakened by the pandemic. The Two Front War The present-day devastating pandemic surge throughout thecountry is a drain on the economy that threatens to blow past stress testparameters and triggers an economic seizure and possible collapse. The incoming Biden administration, along with the goodmembers of the GOP who support our democratic institutions, face a daunting twofront war each of which has equal top priority:  The first is international, the continuingexternal threat primarily from the emerging troika of China, Russia andnon-states, who now smell blood in the water, and intensify theircyber-intrusions.  The second is domestic, the internal threat fromthe pro-Trump continency who, aside from the violent shock troops, has hidden andpowerful supporters at all levels of business and society that could undermine socio-economicrecovery efforts. The Biden administration is in an unenviable lose-losesituation that serves merely as a paper stop-gap until the decisive presidential2024 election that will indelibly determine Americas path in the 21stcentury. The Sequel | The Security Nightmare The overwhelming attention is focused on a potential replayof violence by pro-Trump supporters not only at the inauguration rather atcities throughout the country and during the rest of this dark winter. What isoverlooked or perhaps rarely mentioned, are the equally violent extreme leftistcounterparts that are just itching for a pitched battle whether before, on orafter inauguration day in any city or town in the US in a perverse re-enactmentof the urban pitched battles during the Weimar Republic. These unfolding events were articulated in my article published on 7 August 2020 entitled TheUpcoming Phases of Turmoil specifying the intensity of violence before theelection, the period between the election and inauguration andpost-inauguration. Furthermore the catalysts of violence are the newly inspiredlone wolves and anarchists whose sole objective is violence and mayhem> Theyrepresent the accelerant that fuels the hatred by hiding under thesocio-political banner of either side as they did with the nascent BLMmovement. If violent clashes escalate well past the inauguration period,theres the potential for the state or federal government to declare a state ofemergency and lockdowns. Further along should these emergency measures fail toquell the violence, they may become codified America. This step of last resortwill trigger Americas descent down the slippery and often politically unrecoverablepath towards a dak democracy whose constitutional rights are interpreted asprivileges to be taken away selectively at the whim of the public/private,corporate/governmental masters in an organically produced domestic real-life versionof the dystopian series The Man in the High Castle.  Copyright 2021 Cerulean Council LLC The Cerulean Council is a NYC-based think-tank that providesprescient, beyond-the-horizon, contrarian perspectives and risk assessments ongeopolitical dynamics and global urban security. As approved vaccines are distributed as a priority to essentialworkers worldwide and soon to the general population, the decimated hospitalityindustry, many of whom are holding onto their fingertips at the edge of a financialabyss, will try to meet the pent-up demand by travelers whose disposable incomeduring the lockdowns were not adversely affected and who can afford to travel. However there are unique factors in the industry that setsit apart that will make its recovery will be extremely asymmetrical due tonon-economic, non-quantitative factors. The Travelers Perspective Vacation plans for tourists, and to a lesser extent forbusiness travelers, are heavily based on word-of-mouth references andrecommendations from friends, acquaintances, and business associates. Despitethe cutting-edge, marketing cyber-sophistication of the hospitality and related& supporting industries, the core fundamentals of tourism will continue to almostalways be grass roots oriented through face-to-face conversations. Travelersuse technology as a post-decision tool to secure the cheapest and mostconvenient way to travel, not to confirm their destination decision. This process was brilliantly articulated in the movie TheMatrix Reloaded in which Neo consulted the Oracle face to face. Imagineyourself as Neo talking to your friend the Oracle with respect to where youwant to go. In the scene the Oracle explains to Neo, You didnt come here tomake a choice. Youve already made the choice. Youre here to understand whyyou made it.  Firstly because of the extended lockdowns and travelrestrictions no one has traveled in almost a year making references andrecommendations impossible to come by.  Secondly, because of Covids fury, even olderreferences are suspect because the status of many venues has changeddramatically, many of which have closed permanently. Everything has changed. Once freedom of travel becomes a reality there will belimited travel choices, nothing that all the time and money can overcome whichmeans that theres no way to accurately predict the new tourism landscape. Feast or Famine The vaccines uneven distribution has begun with richercountries getting priority because of money, logistical distribution whiledeveloping and emerging markets, highly dependent are at the back of the line.The latter rely almost exclusively dependent on tourism for revenue. Like the dynamics of a funnel vaccinated tourists from richcountries will have difficult traveling to developing and emerging countriesmay still be banned or have limited access because of on-going high publichealth risks in developing and emerging countries. For this reason domestictourism will rebound, even flourish, well before international travel. Furthermore an economy that is opening up is defineddifferently in each country and open to interpretation such as freedom ofmovement. Tourist may enter a country but will be restricted to specific resortsthat are prison-like, gated-community. For this reason the global hospitalityindustry recovery will be asymmetrical and contingent on location. Business Travelers Business road warriors are hospitalitys revenue and profitmargin bread & butter. Nonetheless even domestically there will be farfewer business travelers all of whom will be on limited budgets with shorterstays and lower entertainment expenditures. The business traveler demographic will probably consist of thebusiness core essentials: C-suite executives and technical/sales personnel.During the lockdowns the effectiveness of teleconferencing has been proven toresolve most issues which eliminates future business travel for mid-levelpersonnel. Present-Day State of Global Tourism Global tourism is a critical component of the worldseconomy. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council there are 330million hospitality jobs worldwide which represent one-tenth of the global workforce and 10.3% of the global GDP in 2019. The United Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO) chart entitledCovid-19sCrushing Impact on International Tourism provided by Statista, an onlinestatistical service, articulates how the pandemic has adversely impacted theglobal hospitality industry: Domestically, according to the US Travel Association UStravel spending is down 45% from 2019. Already 3.5 million or 40% of the traveljobs have been lost with an additional one million by years end. Theirforecast is that pre-pandemic levels wont return until 2024. Even with limited international openings, domestic tourismwill far outstrip international tourism because in an increasingly unstable geopoliticalworld notably Americans will be more comfortable traveling in their own countrywith the same language, culture, and rapid ease of return travel to theirhometowns in case of sudden full lockdown mandates. With respect to the hospitality industry financially, thepandemic has been a crushing blow. The following chart developed by UNWTO andpresented by Statista entitled TourismBack to 1990 Levels as Pandemic Halts Travel powerfully underscores thisreality and the difficulty in recovery:

Zero Hour | The Re-Set Of all the components in international tourism airlines arebest suited to adapt to the uneven recovery. Historically airlines are farbetter prepared and adaptable in adjusting to demand with fewer flights,smaller aircraft, re-routing through hubs, etc. maintain competitive pricingwhile securing a reasonable profit. On the other hand geographically fixedservices such as hotels have a fixed costs and fixed number of rooms and do nothave the means to reduce the cost of those unfilled rooms. With respect to the international and domestic hospitalityindustry, the logistical challenges and manufacturing to scale of the vaccinewill continue to be problematic and delay global economic recovery through mostof 2021. Furthermore the continued global economic recession will depresstravel & leisure demand which means that the hospitality industry recoverywill be arduously slow and painful.  Copyright 2021 Cerulean Council LLC The Cerulean Council is a NYC-based think-tank that providesprescient, beyond-the-horizon, contrarian perspectives and risk assessments ongeopolitical dynamics and global urban security. The FDA and British government approvals of Covid-19vaccines marks the beginning for the upcoming Herculean logistical effortrequired to inoculate billions of citizens worldwide. For this reason a robustglobal supply chain will be required at each stage from manufacturing to finaldelivery. This global inoculation effort is unprecedented. Pastinoculation efforts have been country-specific or regional to combat epidemics,not pandemics, and not without its share of complexities and inevitabledifficulties. Even if one uses those earlier efforts as operational templates,the sheer depth & breadth of the forthcoming global distribution effort isfar more overwhelming logistically, economically and politically. Its onething to have an approved and safe product, its another to manufacture it toscale and safely distribute it globally requiring the most stringentrequirements. Just imagine trying to supply vaccines to one city, akin tothe 1947 Berlin airlift which took place over many months and saved Germancitizens from starvation. A similar logistical effort but on a global scalewill be required to save the world from economic collapse. For this reason thisis why air cargo is a key component in the critical path of this supplychain/distribution process. Investment Opportunities in Air Cargo Transport The major airlines will play a major role in the transportof vaccines worldwide and investment in any specific airline stock will providea good return on investment based on a growing and long-term sustained demandfor worldwide distribution. The following are the types of air companies thatwill literally do the heavy-lifting: Airlines The following three major US airlines at the forefront totransport the vaccine worldwide are: 1. American Airlines [NASDQ: AAL] 2. United Airlines [NASDQ: UAL] 3. Delta Airlines [NYSE: DAL] Airfreight Cargo The three major airfreight cargo companies who alreadyspecialize in transporting pharmaceuticals but now must do it at scale as apriority are: 1. Fedex [NYSE: FDX] 2. UPS [NYSE: UPS] 3. DHL [OTC MKTS: DPSGY] Myinvestment preference is Air Transport Services Group (ATSG: NASDAQ)because of their broad-based worldwide provider of air cargo. According totheir website, ATSG is a leading providerof aircraft leasing and air cargo transportation and related services todomestic and foreign air carriers and other companies that outsource their aircargo lift requirements. ATSG, through its leasing and airline subsidiaries, isthe world's largest owner and operator of converted Boeing 767 freighteraircraft. Their services encompass four tenets: (1) leasing, (2) operating,3) maintenance, repair and overhaul and (4) flight & ground support. Furthermorebecause of their wide range of services they have more aviation logisticpartners. However the following are present-day aviation logisticalchallenges against the background of a strong demand that far exceeds supply: Air Cargo Freighter Shortage Securing the numerous mothballed aircraft configured andcertified for air cargo (cargo freighters) is easier said than done. Even ifall the available air cargo freighters were in operation right now, theirnumbers fall far short of what is required for the global transport of thevaccine. To offset this shortage air companies are convertingpassenger jets to cargo freighters, the best suited being wide-bodied, longhaul models. One such example is the conversion of the new but economicallydisappointing passenger A-380 which has a 50-ton cargo capacity. Furthermore these large aircraft can only fulfill cargoflights between major hubs with long runways that can handle this typeaircraft. Smaller air cargo aircraft will be required to transport the vaccineto secondary urban areas, non-urban areas and more remote areas. Qualified Pilot Shortage Another challenge is the severe shortage of pilots. Becauseof lockdowns and an almost cessation of air travel, many pilots were eitherfurloughed, let go (younger pilots) or offered early retirement packagessenior pilots). The next step is to (re)hire pilots who are experiencedflying air cargo freighters and train those who havent. Unlike a truck driverwho can learn quickly on a different model truck without passing aregulatory-mandated check ride, pilots must be certified on the particular typeof air cargo aircraft. The shortage of air cargo freighters andqualified/certified pilots compounds the problem to distribute the vaccine atscale. The following chart entitled Thousandsof US Pilots Face Furlough This Fall provided by CBS News and presented byStatista, an online statistical firm, highlights the challenge of pilotcallbacks to meet the surge in demand for vaccine air delivery. What should notbe overlooked are the critical support services required including maintenancepersonnel who are also on furlough. Stress Test for Global Supply Chain Air cargo comprises less than one percent of transportedgoods with pharmaceuticals being one of those goods that are usually airshipped. Pharmaceutical companies have established supply chains but they arenot designed for mass global distribution. For this reason its architecturalstructure must be heavily modified, expanded and made a priority over theshipment of regular prescription drugs such as those for high cholesterol, highblood pressure, and anti-depressants. Early Pandemic-RelatedCompany Investment Recommendations With respect topandemic-related products & services and stock recommended track record, myearlier SA article entitled SA article 25 March 2020 entitled USA:A Brutal Coronavirus Economic Reset published 25 March 2020, I wasextremely bullish and recommended a strong buy for Moderna Inc. [MRNA: NASDAQ]in the biotech section who had just begun developing a vaccine. Present-daytheir vaccine is on the cusp of FDA approval and their stock price has explodedfrom $27.13 on 25 March 2020 (the publication date of my article) to $125.73 on22 December 2020. The logistics and air transport are unlikely to provide theexplosive returns as Moderna, I believe that its immediate to long-termprospects for steady growth are excellent. Outlook Because of the aforementioned aviation logistical challengesI forecast that these air transport equipment and professional servicesshortages will push back the overly ambitious mass distribution and inoculationschedule well into the late summer and fall of 2021. I project that thistransportation demand will continue unabated well into 2022 particularly tolesser developed countries and geographically difficult to reach regions. Ironically the approval of additional vaccines in latewinter and spring will not ease the distribution problem because they willoffset the difficulties in the mass production of upcoming newly-approvedvaccines. This will create an even larger ready-to-ship inventory which willoutstrip the increased availability of air cargo transport equipment andprofessional services not to mention the stockpiling of vaccines. For thisreason the need for air cargo transport services will continue well into 2022.  Copyright 2020 Cerulean Council LLC The Cerulean Council is a NYC-based think-tank that providesprescient, beyond-the-horizon, contrarian perspectives and risk assessments ongeopolitical dynamics and global urban security.







It is an open secret of the extreme disconnect between thesurge in the stock market erroneously labeled as an economic recovery thats underwayand the brutal suffering and reality of the common working man and woman. Indeed there is a psychological pent-up demand, a nostalgicdesire to return to the old normal in a new normal era. For this reason oncethe vaccine is widely distributed there will be an economic spike fueled byconsumer demand but it will be short-lived as the reality of a continued brokeneconomy and broken personal finances set in. Even your currently employedconsumer will realize his limited post-pandemic financial resources because ofthe changing work dynamics and even pay cut if he decides to continue to workremotely. Small Business Last Stand Some vigilante small businesses, particularly the lowprofit margin eateries and bars, remain open in defiance of government mandateswith respect to indoor and outdoor dining restrictions. Then there are thelucky ones in some municipalities in which the restrictions are on the booksyet unenforced. Understandably from the small business perspective itsprofits over pandemics for the purposes of survival  for the owners, not justthe business - because the governmental restrictions, not the virus, representan existential threat. They know that the cavalry is not coming because governmentbailouts are only for big businesses. In fact the government is seen not as therescuing and protective cavalry of the small business owner, rather as rapturousraiders who have historically decimated their profits through capricious regulationsand high taxes. For the little guy there are no parachutes. Its go for brokeand go down swinging. How It Plays Out The emergence from the Dark Winter of 2020-2021 will ignorethe economic rubble with the brief spurt in consumer spending that will give themainstream media the illusion of a V-shaped recovery underway. This ultra-short-term jump in consumer spending is just that, V-shaped spendingbut not V-shaped recovery. Recovery is sustainable over manymonths or years. The mass inoculation gives consumers freedom of movement butbecause of continued mass unemployment, will be still imprisoned by debt. For this reason the markets will push further into recordterritory as the black-clad Pied Piper leading investors merrily over the edge becauseof this misread, and for others who do recognize it, pure greed thinking theycan exit before it crashes. As Ive always stated, regardless how quickly youexit is meaningless when the entire building is collapsing. The following chart entitled ServiceSector Struggles to Recover Lost Jobs provided by the US Bureau of LaborStatistics and presented by Statista, an online statistical firm, shows thedire situation of the leisure & hospitality sector which has lost almost3.5 million jobs. The sectors that have suffered the most are the ones that arelabor-intensive, difficult to automat and the last ones to make considerablerecoveries.

These job losses are far too severe for even the most robustV-shaped economic recovery to bring it back close to pre-pandemic levels evenby end of 2021. Mass unemployment, corporate reconfiguration and overhauling2021 budgets to adapt to a less intense work environment, robotics/automation,high level of flexibility indicate a cautious, uneven, drawn out economicrecovery. Corporate financial projections beyond 3 years are not better thanusing a dart board. Time Compression | Short-Term is the New Long-Term Not only immediate (or near) post-pandemic rathermedium-term consumer behavior during unprecedented times. Weve endured threecatastrophes in the 21st century in less than a generation: 9/11,the Great Recession and Covid-19, all of which has directly or indirectlyaffected most of the worlds population. These aforementioned catastrophes mirror the more oftenoccurring once-in-a-century occurrence which has now become a misnomer. Becausethe intensity of these oft-occurring catastrophes are uncontrollable andunpredictable, its near impossible economically and psychologically to prepareproperly for every type of catastrophe. Imagine the possibility of a future far worse pandemic (Covid-19sease of transmission with Ebolas lethality) or a market crash occurring inshort order and longer lasting than their predecessors. For these reasons it may prompt a redefinition of how short,medium and long-term are defined. In broad terms, when people think oflong-term one imagines 10, 15 or 20 years. Using the first 20 years of thiscentury as a baseline, short-term may now be one year, medium term 2-5 yearsand long-term 5-10 years  in other words a time compression outlook. As the impossible has become the plausible, personal,business and government expenditures may take on a new dynamic with a radicallydifferent projections and risk assessment models.  Copyright 2020 Cerulean Council LLC The Cerulean Council is a NYC-based think-tank that providesprescient, beyond-the-horizon, contrarian perspectives and risk assessments ongeopolitical dynamics and global urban security. The pandemic has exiled many workers into the cloud  a de factodigital Off-World colony as in the dystopic movie Blade Runner which hasredefined how workers communicate. The parallel to the movie, which ironicallywas released in 2019, the same year in which Covid appeared, is unerring to thepresent-day crisis. In the movie those who were could not pass the medicalremained in a hyper-dense, environmental petri dish. In 2020 those whoseprofessions require hands-on work such as essential workers in the medicalfield and support services as well as those in retail and blue-collar jobs,must also toil in a viral toxic environment. During the carefree pre-pandemic era, the visual cues atwork with respect to body language determined whether the workers bodylanguage was (in)congruent with their words. Since the digital world has dominated communications sinceMarch and will continue well into 2021, the ability to accurately read bodylanguage has greatly diminished. With far fewer visual tells remote work hasbecome literally remote communication in the non-technical sense. We Are All Digital Ambassadors Since March those fortunate to work remotely have communicatedvia Zoom or similar software. Regardless of their title or positions, theworker has seized the initiative to take advantage in becoming their own moviedirector and producer by leveraging their home as their Hollywood studio withcomplete control of what viewers see. Human contact is paramount and provides a modicum of warmth eventhe most austere and sterile designed office space. Remote work offers a psychologicalsabbatical for many workers with respect to having total control over theirwork environment for several reasons. Job satisfaction has been declining foryears as management imposes greater demands, longer work hours, greaterresponsibility but stagnant pay, and limited promotional opportunitiesparticularly for middle age workers who are trapped under the invisible glassof age-discrimination. In other words the digital workplace provides a certain albeittemporary level of empowerment. Inception Meets The Matrix The virtual cloud allows the ability to merge the visualspecial effects of the movies: The Matrix meets Inception. As a creator theworker creates and customizes his own environment and reality to get ready forhis close-up. Because video meetings are usually pre-scheduled, theyprovide the worker more time to literally set the stage and prepare his workand personal presentation which eliminates the sudden impromptu face-to-facemeeting. This allows the worker to gradually develop an Academy Award worthy performancein a familiar and customized setting. Off-screen is out of sight, out of mindbut beware the hot mic. In this era of the split screen, a split-personalityis the only way to go. Putting this same high-level, on-screen performance inperson at the office all day, every day is exhausting. Murphys Law dictatesthan any slip-up will occur at the wrong place, at the wrong time in thepresence of the wrong person or group. Digital Body Language | The New Baseline Determining the new body language baseline in the digitalworld is far more challenging for several reasons. The primary difficult isthat many workers are reinventing themselves on camera because of their remotelocation in their fortress home and can confidently establish new personas. Although one can use vocal cues such as inflections,tonality, and cadence as a guide, some people verbally communicate somewhatdifferently in person vs on the phone vs teleconferencing in which older quirksare not visible or suppressed and new ones are accentuated. With respect to visual cues, a considerable component ofbody language has been removed because one only views the upper body or perhapsonly the head of the person on screen. Nervous tics, gestures, and tells canbe more easily hidden by creative camera angles, lighting and positioning or simplyfilling the screen with the persons face. Because of the aforementioned reasons, the digitalarrangement forces reading body language far more challenging because thebaseline has shifted dramatically. Group View vs Group Think Body language is an important component in the face-to-facebusiness world. However the present-day necessity and convenience of digitalcommunications has eliminated a critical element  the collective group bodylanguage - whether internally (in-house) or externally in negotiating with anoutside firm. Face-to-face meetings often feature several members ofvarying seniority of a specific unit, department or division. Each individualprovides his own unique specific body language baseline signature. Using these behavioralbaselines, tells determine whether everybody in the unit is onboard with anidea. An example could be a managers effusive proposal genuinely supported byhis body language yet betrayed by his underlings body language that conveyprofound reservations. However in remote meetings, theres only one view of eachmember of a group as separate individuals, not as a collective as it would bein person. To the untrained eye in remote viewing its impossible to determinewhether the groups body language moves in harmony or independently. Because of this digital silo effect, monitoring the screensin which this group appears and correctly ascertaining the group dynamic isdifficult by the highly controlled environment each person has created for himselffor purposes of career/job self-preservation. Remote meetings eliminate the power dynamics of the seatingarrangements which provide a strong signal as to which persons have the mostinfluence regardless of official title. On the bright side for workers, remote meetings prevent asenior member from using psychological leverage (aka intimidation or bullying) notonly in physical space but also in power settings like their office or anexecutive conference room. The C-Suite Dilemma | Lost in Translation Executives get paid the big bucks because they are thedecision-makers. However because they rely heavily on face-to-face visual cuesto determine the level of certainty on information provided, remotecommunication makes this much harder to assess despite state-of-the-art,computer-driven data. The C-suite needs to know in their gut whether theirunderlings genuinely believe the figures theyve presented, particularly withgroup presentations. Because of a fragile economy theres far more at stakethan market share and profitability to the point that their decisions will determineif the firm survives. This is why face-to-face meetings are more invaluable furtherup the corporate command chain. In-Person Meetings On-Demand Some firms in professions that can easily operate profitablywith a large portion of their staff working remotely will begin to re-think whetherimportant meetings are best held in-person rather than remotely. In particularin high stakes, highly competitive fields, the savvy C-suite executive may insistthat his direct reports be in the office full-time and insist that they in turndo the same for their important internal meetings. The post-pandemic economiclandscape is about to get rougher and seeing whether someone sweats or stayscool, calm and collective may make the biggest difference.  Copyright 2020 Cerulean Council LLC The Cerulean Council is a NYC-based think-tank that providesprescient, beyond-the-horizon, contrarian perspectives and risk assessments ongeopolitical dynamics and global urban security.


This Sunday marks the internationally-observed Rare Disease Day. It is estimated that 30,000 people in Luxembourg are suffering from such a condition.

A disease is classed as rare if fewer than 1 in 2,000 people have it. A large majority are genetic conditions, which can either be chronic or acute. Diagnosing them correctly is often tricky and slow; in several cases there is no treatment.

Due to the pandemic, very many people suffering from rare diseases have been asked to shield as they are particularly vulnerable to Covid. This week, the health ministry and the organisation Alan launched the campaign Light It Up to highlight the predicament of those people.

Chateau deau du ban de Gasperich /  MSAN  MSAN  MSAN  MSAN  MSAN

Since Wednesday several buildings have lit up in various colours, including a water tower in Luxembourg City, the Colonnes des Nations monument in Schengen and three hospitals.

Each day is a challenge

Eve Peters is one of those people. She suffers from Hereditary angioedema, a genetic condition that results in recurrent attacks of extreme swelling. It took 12 years to diagnose her correctly. A blood test eventually brought the condition to light.

She remains in good spirits. Sulking is not an option for her, she says. She tries to approach each day in the same way, which also involves working for her parents business.

Eve recently celebrated her 30th birthday. Unfortunately, it was not a happy celebration for her. The disease caused yet another attack on her special day, she describes.

The pandemic is also taking a heavy toll. During the first wave she shielded completely from her family for three months. Vaccination is not an option either; the vaccines are not safe for people with her condition.

Yet, Eve refuses to give up. Each day is a challenge for her but she says that does not stop her from trying to enjoy life.

RTL Today's Lisa Burke covered Rare Disease Day in the latest edition of her podcast - catch up here.
Recent weeks has seen healthcare workers spare no effort in tracking down, quarantining, testing, and treating people infected with COVID-19 to slow the spread of the virus among the community.

A healthcare worker taking a short nap between shifts. (Photo: HCDC)

On February 23, Ho Chi Minh City decided to lift its last lockdown on Carillon block of flats in Tan Binh district, therefore enabling local people to live in the new normal. Upon welcoming this decision, Pham Do Le, a healthcare worker of the Tan Binh District Medical Centre, left his office for a lodging house in District 8 where he lives.

Le recalls that he had assumed a position to work at the centre after a virus infection was detected several days ahead of the Lunar New Year, known locally as Tet. Indeed, he had stayed there together alongside his colleagues over the Tet holiday, launching epidemiological investigations and taking nasal swabs as part of COVID-19 testing.

There was so much work at the centre that we almost did not have time to sleep. We took turn to have a nap and got down to work immediately shortly afterwards, Le said. We had to race against time to early detect and quarantine suspect cases. We even did not have time to talk about how people were celebrating Tet outside.

Tan Binh district is home to Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the largest transportation hub nationwide. When clusters of infection cases were initially detected, the airport became a COVID-19 hotspot in Ho Chi Minh City, with the southern metropolis deciding to test all of the airports employees and their relatives.

Healthcare workers taking turn to sleep while at work. (Photo: HCDC)

According to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trang, director of the Tan Binh District Medical Centre, he mobilised all staff of the centre in order to undertake the task at Carillon as it is the location that many of the airports employees and their relatives live.

We collaborated with the local administration to knock at every door for field investigations and sample taking to ensure no one was missed out, Trang recalled. Normally we stayed overnight working on samples those days even without dinner.

For Dr. Le Hong Nga, head of the Infectious Diseases Division of the HCM City Centre for Disease Control (HCDC), the latest COVID-19 outbreak was markedly different in comparison with the previous ones.

A swift testing strategy has been adopted to early detect and quarantine suspect cases, Nga confided. Besides F0 and F1 cases, we were required to test all F2 cases and those living in the vicinity of affected areas. All employees of the centre were mobilised to work and none of them complained about the mission. They all expected that the outbreak would soon be brought under control.

Over the week before and after Tet, local healthcare workers collected more than 5,400 samples of all employees of the airports Ground Service Company (VIAGS), along with approximately 10,000 other samples at related sites. Shortly after the conclusion of the festive period, they were once again deployed at high-risk locations, lodging houses, bus stations, large wholesale markets, and wet markets in order to undertake a new task.

Local people are overjoyed following the lifting of the lockdown order.

Without spending Tet with her family, Do Thi Tan, deputy director of the District 1 Medical Center, felt sad about the situation. However, she received many messages from local residents living in the Ma Lang living quarter that thanked local healthcare workers for their all-out efforts in successfully containing the disease.

The living quarter had been cordoned off after an infection was detected, affecting the life of approximately 2,000 residents, Tan recalled. Many people did not feel at ease and our task was conducting quick testing and announcing the results in order to play down their worry. Four days after Tet, the lockdown was lifted. Their joy was ours.

Though no new community cases have been detected in Ho Chi Minh City over the past two weeks, frontline healthcare workers in personal protective suits are still working hard to take samples in high-risk areas. They are working silently in order to protect the community from virus transmission, with each worker deserving to be named as a hero taking action on the frontline against COVID-19.

VOV
The bid to make kindergarten mandatory in Louisiana, which has been tried before and failed, is about to spark controversy again.

Backers say the requirement would dovetail with state efforts to expand early childhood education, and that it could help get the state off the bottom of many rankings for public school achievement.

"It just makes basic sense," said Senate Education Committee Chairman Cleo Fields, who has filed a bill to require kindergarten attendance for debate during the 2021 regular legislative session.

+2 Louisiana could see first overhaul in school scrutiny in more than 20 years State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley on Monday outlined potential sweeping changes in public school operations to tackle shortcoming

Critics contend that any such mandate would be an intrusion on an issue best left up to families.

"That decision should be made by parents on an individual basis as a matter of educational choice, not by the Louisiana Legislature," said Gene Mills, president of the influential Louisiana Family Forum.

State law requires all 69 public school districts to offer kindergarten classes. However, enrollment is not required. Children are required to attend school from the ages of 7-18 years, unless they graduate from high school early.

Under Fields' proposal, children who turn five years old by Sept. 30 would be required to attend kindergarten starting with the 2022-23 school year.

Fields said studies show that children who skip kindergarten do not fare as well in the first grade.

He said it goes along with the urgency to educate children early, especially since research shows how fast their brains are developing. "And it is necessary, if we are going to effectively address lack of preparation for first grade and our chronically low reading scores," the Baton Rouge Democrat said.

A report last year said 43% of kindergarten students were reading on grade level, 54% of first graders, 56% of second graders and 53% of third graders.

The study set off alarm bells among state education leaders, including plans for a new push to scrutinize student performance in kindergarten, first and second grade since reading on grade level is vital to education success.

State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said he agrees with the aims of the bill.

"Fundamentally I support anything that illuminates early childhood education in Louisiana," Brumley said. "In a state where only 40% of Louisiana students begin school kindergarten-ready, I appreciate the opportunity to have additional conversations around the need to support our youngest learners."

Reading woes in students' early years are setting off alarms, 'This is unconscionable' After years of neglect, state education leaders are launching plans to improve reading skills for students in kindergarten, first and second g

One of the unknowns is how many children the mandate would affect.

The state Department of Education does not track how many children are eligible for kindergarten but not enrolled. Some families believe they can better prepare their children, both academically and socially, by keeping them home for another year.

A total of 50,423 students were attending kindergarten classes in October, 2020, according to state figures. The head count for first graders totaled 53,225.

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That means the mandate would affect about 2,800 students, according to some state officials.

Others say there are a variety of reasons for that 2,800-student gap, not just families opting not to send their children to kindergarten.

Whether the change would have a big impact on state finances is also unclear.

The state spends $5,545 per student today, which means 2,800 more would cost about $2 million per year.

A total of 19 states and the District of Columbia require children to attend kindergarten, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That list incudes Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Also, 39 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to offer kindergarten, like Louisiana.

Mandating kindergarten has been tried in the Legislature for years, including 2012, 2008 and 2005.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education prepared a report on the issue at the request of the Legislature after the 2008 session.

That study said kindergarten is especially helpful for students from low-income families, which is two-thirds of the state's public school population, and noted that it was long touted as a way for children to learn numbers, shapes, sounds and how to play together.

"Children who attend kindergarten perform better in subsequent grade levels and are more likely to graduate from high school than those who do not attend kindergarten," according to the report.

However, the BESE study said other questions were unresolved and it recommended that lawmakers not make kindergarten mandatory.

BESE President Sandy Holloway said the 11-member board will review a variety of bills for the 2021 session before staking out a position.

Aside from how many children would be affected the debate may turn on philosophical arguments.

The Louisiana Family Forum says it advocates for traditional family values. "This high-stake idea is misguided because it usurps parental discretion in determining their child's academic readiness and the parent's authority to guide educational decisions for their child," Mills said in a text message.

"Children and families are struggling with disruptions brought by COVID and existing government mandates, which make class attendance nearly impossible to fulfill," he said.

Fields' proposal is backed by the Louisiana School Boards Association. "The LSBA agrees that making kindergarten compulsory is a needed first step toward moving toward universal pre-K," said Janet Pope, executive director of the group.

Brigitte Nieland, director of government affairs for the advocacy group Stand For Children, noted that many people are surprised to learn that kindergarten is not mandatory in Louisiana. "Obviously, if kids are going to be prepared and we emphasize early childhood education kindergarten would be a necessary step," Nieland said.
The legendary F-15 E-Strike Eagle, an old warbird flies again in a long career of striking America's enemies. One of the best legacy fighters that have proven to be a successful design even against 4th gen ++ fighters.

It was chosen to lead airstrikes where American air superiority is guaranteed, with long-range and with a diverse choice of bombs or missiles for ground or air-to-air. The dual jet engine fighter is one of the most powerful multi-role attack aircraft that travels at Mach 2.5.

Why the Strike Eagle is popular

The Strike Eagle is used by other Air Forces other than the US like those in Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, as many as 220 F-15E. Making its first flight in 1986, the fighter has missiles for shooting down enemy planes. Its missiles can track and hit even if the target is not seen, and has bombs to hit ground targets. It is designed to carry enough bombs for tactical strikes, with excellent air support for troops.

The 2001 Boeing has an order to build 10 of the Strike Eagles that would add about 227 of them. Initially, USAF wanted 392 of them reportedly for procurement. The first delivery was for the 405th Tactical Training Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona in 1988 April. It was first operated on September 30, 1989.

The fight was dubbed a multi-mission fighter for long-range and used for precision. It can work better with improved night vision and better displays. Advanced program delivers weapons like joint direct attack munition (JDAM), joint stand-off weapon (JSOW), and the wind-corrected munition dispenser (WCMD). The displays in the cockpit show the status of the instrumentation to the pilot and copilot.

Also read: The New F-15EX Eagle Flies for the First Time, to Replace Older Variant

The F-15 got good reviews and Singapore had an order for 12 F-15SG aircraft. Another 12 of the SG variants were ordered later on, with the first rollout in 2008. Another delivery came from 2009 to 2012, until all orders were completed. It was the first US fighter using a blend of synthetic fuel and JP-8 in 2008. Soon the USAF intends to make the entire fleet use the fuel by 2011.

Weapons used for the Strike Eagle

One of most armed planes that carry 23,000 lbs. of weapons on its underside mounts, it is equipped with AIM-9LM infrared-guided Sidewinder, and AIM-7F/M radar-guided Sparrow, or AMRAAM radar-guided, medium-range air-to-air missiles. It gives an edge to engage more enemies at several distances, with 50 km. as the longest standoff range.

For destroying ground targets, it has GBUs, AGM-65 Maverick infrared-guided missiles to engage ground targets at 25 km. Improved targeting with Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance equipped F-15. New mounts can carry Lockheed Martin AGM-158. Since dogfighting is the staple of F-15s, it has an M-61A1 20mm Gatling gun to shoot down planes with 4,000 to 6,000 rounds a minute.

Finding targets

It can look for targets in achieved with the Raytheon APG-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar that is improved to sight and tracks with new components. Initially tested in 2006 September and is now in equipped since, more systems are added to make it a capable combat system.

Aerial bruiser

It has two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 that give a total of 29,000lb of thrust for each engine. This is the most powerful engine that gives the F-15 E Strike Eagle its phenomenal record.

Related article: F-15EX offered to India by the US, Even Better than F-35s in Dogfights

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tory heavyweights Jeremy Hunt and Damian Green have urged Boris Johnson to use the Budget to produce a long-awaited plan to pay for social care as they warned it is 'now or never'.

Mr Hunt, a former health secretary, and Mr Green, a former first secretary of state, said the PM should use the Budget to announce a commitment to publish a plan in the autumn of this year.

They admitted that 'any long-term solution will be costly' but warned 'the alternative of failing our elderly generation in their final years is not worthy of a civilised society like Britain'.

The Tories promised in their 2019 general election manifesto to 'urgently seek a cross-party consensus' on the issue of social care reform and to bring forward the required legislation to make the changes happen.

Jeremy Hunt and Damian Green have urged Boris Johnson to use the Budget to produce a plan for social care reform

Mr Johnson and the Tories promised in their 2019 general election manifesto to 'urgently seek a cross-party consensus' on the issue of social care reform

They also said the 'prerequisite of any solution will be a guarantee that no one needing care has to sell their home to pay for it'.

However, it remains unclear when a plan could be brought forward, with the issue of social care reform having proved too difficult for successive governments to tackle.

Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Hunt and Mr Green said: 'We have a 10-year plan for the NHS.

'But two years after it was published there is still nothing similar for the social care system, even though the NHS plan will fail without one because the two systems are totally inter-dependent.

'This Budget is the time to announce that such a plan for social care will be developed and published ahead of the Spending Review in the autumn.

'Any long-term solution will be costly but the alternative of failing our elderly generation in their final years is not worthy of a civilised society like Britain.

'If we dont do it now, after the horrors of the pandemic, when will we? It really is now or never.'

The pair said that the social care sector had 'borne the brunt' of the coronavirus crisis 'in many different and terrible ways'.

But they argued that 'many of the problems faced by the sector pre-date the pandemic' and the Budget represents a 'chance to start sorting them out'.

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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.
A private members bill introduced in the House of Commons on Feb. 26 seeks to ban medical practitioners from performing an abortion sought solely because of the childs genetic sex. (Peter Schulzek/Shutterstock)

Private Members Bill Seeks to Ban Sex-Selective Abortion

Theres no law against sex-selective abortion in Canada, and a Conservative MP is hoping to change that.

Sex selection does happen in Canada, and our physicians and our College of Physicians and Surgeons across the country have indicated that this is a concern to them, and they dont believe it should be taking place, Cathay Wagantall told The Epoch Times.

The Canadian [Medical] Association as well has indicated that theres a growing concern.

Bill C-233 would amend the Criminal Code to ban medical practitioners from performing an abortion sought solely because of the childs genetic sex. Those convicted of an indictable offence under this provision could face up to five years in jail, while those with a summary conviction could be jailed for up to 18 months.

Introduced by Wagantall on Feb. 26, the bill also requires the federal minister of health, after consultation with the provinces, to establish guidelines on what information a medical practitioner is to provide regarding this offence if a patient requests an abortion.

Were the only democratic country in the world with no regulations, Wagantall says.

A Simon Fraser University study defines sex selection as an act of discrimination against females that is motivated by son preference, the belief that male children are superior to female children.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia has recommended against sex-selective abortion for non-medical purposes on the grounds that it is socially repugnant, and it is unethical for physicians to facilitate such action.

In 2012, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported statistical evidence for sex-selective abortion in some first-generation immigrant groups. The natural male-to-female birth ratio at the time was 1.05 males for every female. However, if parents already had two daughters, the third child of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese immigrants to Canada was 1.39 times more likely to be male than female. For Indians in that situation, the ratio was 1.9almost two boys born for every girl.

A February 2020 Dart & Maru/Blue poll found that 84 percent of Canadians oppose legalizing abortion if the family does not want the baby to be a certain sex. The amount of opposition varied at most 8 points from this percentage regardless of the region, age, education, or sex of those polled.

Wagantall says the poll result represents the desire of all Canadians  to see this bill move forward and sex selection to be clearly identified as something that we do not agree with in our society. Thats an incredible opportunity that I believe the House needs to listen to and respond to.

House of Commons e-petition 3161, launched on Feb. 9 in support of Bill C-233, had received more than 1,350 signatures by Feb. 28. The petition will conclude April 10, four days before the bill receives second reading.

Scott Hayward, co-founder of pro-life group Right Now, also launched a petition in support of the legislation.

The bill is supported by a broad swath of Canadians right across the country from coast to coast, Hayward said in an interview. Were very happy to see it being introduced in the House. And we hope that there are enough members of Parliament that support it that it can go to committee.

Other pro-life groups are also trying to mobilize support for the bill, which has been endorsed by the Vedic Hindu Cultural Society of B.C. and the United Sikhs.

However, Wagantall says the governing Liberals are less clear.

The Liberal response is quite interesting. It says, The Government of Canada condemns all practices that are motivated by discriminating discriminatory views of women and girls, including sex-selective practices, so theyre agreeing with the premise of my bill, she explains.

However, they do go on to say that the administrating and funding of health-care services is a provincial responsibility.

Nelson Wiseman, political science professor at the University of Toronto, doubts the MPs will pass the legislation.

This bill, or private members bill, is absolutely not going to pass. Very few private members bills pass  unless the government wants to support them, Wiseman told The Epoch Times.

My feeling is the Criminal Code never gets changed unless the government is in favour of changing the Criminal Code.

In 2016, Wagantall introduced Bill C-225, also known as Cassie and Mollys Law, to make it an additional crime to cause injury or death to an unborn child while committing a crime against the pregnant mother. It was inspired by the death of Cassie Kaake, a Windsor woman who was murdered in 2014 weeks shy of her expected date to give birth to Molly. The legislation was defeated 20976.

It didnt pass because of the apprehension of the other parties to even discuss anything related to womens pregnancy. This wasnt an abortion bill at all, it was a public safety bill, and [the issue] continues to be ignored because of this ridiculous inability to have a debate, Wagantall said.

Wagantall said the pandemic makes it more difficult to discuss Bill C-233 with MPs in person, but believes the passage of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act by the Liberals in 2004 helps her case.

She notes that sex selection is prohibited in Canada for those receiving in vitro fertilization.

If a couple is struggling to get pregnant, and they go the route of implanting an embryo, the law says that that embryo cannot be chosen on the basis of sex.
An Australian chef has revealed he uses duck instead of beef or pork mince in his luxurious $52-a-slice lasagne, and claims the secret ingredient takes the dish to the next level.

Modern Australian restaurant Lollo, part of Melbourne's new luxurious hotel W Melbourne, opened its doors on February 4.

The all-day dining restaurant curated under the culinary creative direction of leading chef Adam D'Sylva offers an eclectic, creative menu that celebrates the chef's Italian-Indian heritage.

Of the selection of dishes, diners can order a delicious pot of freshly baked lasagne made to share, but it'll set you back $52.

Unlike other lasagnes, Mr D'Sylva uses one secret ingredient that separates his signature dish from others - duck.

The all-day dining restaurant curated under the culinary creative direction of leading chef Adam D'Sylva offers an eclectic, creative menu that celebrates the chef's Italian-Indian heritage

Of the selection of dishes diners can order a delicious pot of freshly baked lasagne made to share, but it'll set you back $52

Mr D'Sylva uses one secret ingredient that separates his signature dish from others - duck

Mr D'Sylva developed the recipe during one of Melbourne's COVID-19 lockdowns and was taught how to make lasagne by his grandmother and aunt.

The dish is freshly baked in a pizza oven to caramelise the lasagne.

'People often go with beef and pork, or beef and veal, but duck makes it really luxurious. And then I realised it would make a really good lasagne  and that's how it came to be on this new menu,' he said.

'I've changed the way it's served  it comes in a clay dish and it's made for sharing. There's mozzarella in it, and buffalo mozzarella on top. It's not pretty, but it's tasty  it's one of those ugly delicious dishes.'

Modern Australian restaurant Lollo, part of Melbourne 's new luxurious hotel W Melbourne, opened its doors on February 4

Rather than layering the lasagne, Mr D'Sylva uses the rotolo method to create rolls of pasta and maximise crispiness when cooking.

The pasta is cooked with tomato pasta sauce and topped with chunks of buffalo mozzarella cheese.

The end result tastes superb and is packed with flavour, which will satisfy the hunger of diners.
BANGKOK (AP)  An Associated Press journalist has been detained by police while covering protests against the military coup in Myanmar.

The journalist, Thein Zaw, 32, was taken into custody with a number of others on Saturday morning in Yangon, the countrys largest city.

The arrest happened as police charged toward protesters gathered at the Hledan Center intersection, which has become a meeting point for demonstrators who then continue protesting elsewhere in the city.

He remained detained Sunday and was believed to be in Yangons infamous Insein Prison.

The Associated Press calls for the immediate release of AP journalist Thein Zaw, who was detained in Myanmar while doing his job, said Ian Phillips, AP vice president for international news. Independent journalists must be allowed to freely and safely report the news without fear of retribution. AP decries in the strongest terms the arbitrary detention of Thein Zaw.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar also condemned the arrest.

The FCCM calls for immediate and unconditional release of Thein Zaw and other detained journalists, and urges all relevant authorities to ensure the safety and security of the journalists who are performing their professional duties covering the ongoing protests in the country, it said.

Authorities have dramatically intensified their crackdown on protesters in recent days.

Security forces carried out further sweeping arrests Sunday and opened fire on protesters in the deadliest day since the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The U.N. Human Rights Office said it had credible information that at least 18 people were killed and 30 were wounded.

The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party would have been installed for a second five-year term in office, but the army blocked Parliament from convening and detained her and President Win Myint, as well as other top members of her government.

In December 2017, two journalists working for the Reuters news agency were arrested while working on a story about Myanmars Rohingya minority. They were accused of illegally possessing official documents, although they argued that they were framed because of official opposition to their reporting.

Although their case attracted international attention, they were convicted the following year and were sentenced to seven years behind bars. They were freed in 2019 in a mass presidential pardon.
Surviving day by day used to be the main focus for Bob Davis.

The 59-year-old Army veteran had been homeless for two years when he met Mike Kravitz, a Moscow resident who helped him get off the streets and into a Spring Brook Twp. home.

Ive got big plans that I want to do now. I really do. Seventy days ago, my plan was to survive, to get firewood to stay warm, Davis said.

Kravitz founded Fun Raiserz Inc. last year, after a climb up the corporate ladder left him feeling unfulfilled. Davis and another homeless man, Dennis Carosi, are his first big success stories.

I realized that money doesnt buy happiness and Id much rather spread positivity and kindness and love and hope, so I decided to quit my job altogether and started a nonprofit organization, Kravitz said.

He met Davis late last year while passing out bag lunches in Scranton and eventually offered to get him a hotel room. He didnt hesitate to say yes when Davis asked if Carosi could come along.

Carosi, a 47-year-old Navy veteran, spent the last 21 years in and out of homelessness. With Kravitzs help, the pair stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Dickson City for 38 days.

I was pretty surprised because up until this point, Ive hit brick walls with anybody I went to for help, Carosi said.

Kravitz raised enough money through GoFundMe and other donations to rent them an apartment, but it was a challenge to find a place that would accept them. Few places offered short-term leases, no proof of income was a disqualifier, and some landlords were hesitant to rent to someone with a homeless background, he said.

In late January, Kravitz set up Davis and Carosi with a rental home in Spring Brook Twp. Donations will cover their living expenses for more than six months, Kravitz said. Hes helping them start their own snow removal and lawn care business so they can eventually cover the bills on their own.

They also started an Etsy store, PayitforwardDesignCo., which sells homemade artwork.

Justin Behrens, CEO of the faith-based nonprofit Keystone Mission in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, said its wonderful to see another organization stepping up for the homeless. Hes interested in partnering with Kravitz.

I think this is truly what this city needs, he said. It shows the community is coming together to help those in need.  It takes a community to make this happen. This pandemic of homelessness is all throughout the area and we need all hands on deck.

In 2019, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Point-in-Time Count recorded about 124 homeless people in Lackawanna County, Behrens said.

This only provides a snapshot, he said, as it leaves out populations that are more difficult to count like people who stay with friends or family temporarily. The true number could be at least triple whats reported, he said.

Moving forward, Kravitz set a goal to raise $50,000 to launch a transitional housing program in the area that prepares people to live independently again.

My plan is to get 20 people off the street this year, he said.

When the pandemic ends, Kravitz hopes Fun Raiserz can live up to its name by working with other community organizations on joint fundraising events like kickball tournaments.

Carosi thanked everyone who donated and said he hopes to be in a position one day where he can pay it forward. Davis said its been amazing to have complete strangers hear their story and want to help.

It changed my life for the better, and now I want to do what Mikes doing, Davis said. I want to help.

For information about Fun Raiserz and how to donate, visit funraiserz.org.
New Delhi: Maharashtra Lonavala district love birds received a special rose from the police force at the Kumar Chowk area.

The police along with the city Mayor Surekha Jadhav, distributed red roses and masks to couples, who were flouting Covid-19 rules by not wearing masks in public spaces.

This innovative tactic was used to humiliate couples for their irresponsible actions, which could lead to spread of the dreaded Covid-19 virus.

Apart from this, the couples also had to pay a penalty of Rs 500.

Lonavala is a famous tourist destination, which is packed with visitors even during the Covid-19 times. In Lonavala, it is often observed that the tourists defy the Coronavirus restrictions and roam about carelessly in the city.

What do you think about the unconventional route taken by Lonavla mayor and police of distributing red roses and masks to shame the offenders ?

Will it lead them to realize that their negligence and irresponsibility, can lead to grave consequences for everyone?
A statue by a German sculptor celebrated by the Nazi Party during World War II has been removed from display at St. Marys College in Moraga after three students circulated a petition demanding its ouster.

The metal statue of a boy and a falcon by sculptor Fritz von Graevenitz, who also sculpted Nazi-era works in the 1930s and 1940s, was taken down from the courtyard of the campus art museum and placed in storage at the order of college administrators.

We have removed it temporarily to give us an opportunity to learn more, college interim Executive Vice President Margaret Kasimatis said in a letter Friday to the campus community.

The online petition, posted Tuesday by students Sara Mameesh, Melanie Moyer and Venessa Ramirez, called the sculpture Nazi art and demanded the college get rid of it and apologize. It maintained that von Graevenitz comes into direct contradiction with the colleges core values.

As of Sunday, the petition had gathered more than 1,200 signatures.

The sculpture, titled Falcon Boy, was bought for the college half a century ago by a former art professor, Kasimatis said.

We intend to use this moment as an opportunity to hold community conversations about the artist and the historical and political context in which he lived, as well as broader ethical questions about public art, including those of context, intent, and impact, Kasimatis said.

Von Graevenitz, who created Falcon Boy in 1953 and died in 1959, sculpted images of animals and people, but his works included busts of Hitler and a large eagle with a Nazi insignia. He was on what the Nazis called the God-favored list of artists whose works were approved by the party and who were exempted from military service.

Signers of the online petition expressed outrage over the presence of the sculpture at the 158-year-old Catholic college.

Among the comments were: Saint Marys should be ashamed and Antisemitism has no place at St. Marys.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF
Chaos reigns at vaccination centres By Kumudini Hettiarachchi, Ruqyyaha Deane & Meleeza Rathnayake Systems break down as queue jumping becomes the norm View(s): View(s):

Some chaos reigned as a vaccination saga gripped mainly the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area, with reports from other areas within the Western Province indicating a slightly more organized approach in Phase I of the community vaccination programme from around February 17 to 25.

The preventive measures that the Health Ministry has been stressing on went unheeded with people thronging the vaccination centres, not keeping even a few inches distance, let alone a metre distance, with many joking about the danger of a vaccine pokura (vaccine cluster) emerging from the CMC area.

Adding to the confusion and frustration in the CMC area, people complained that lists with the names of favourites were ignoring people who had stayed in the queue for hours on end. These lists were also circulating on social media.

The Sunday Times saw firsthand the mayhem at the Torrington Housing Scheme on Monday, after numerous calls by irate people summoned us there.

There was finger-pointing, shouting and booing as a foreign couple squeezed through the tiny gap between the desk where two girls were registering those to be vaccinated and the wall, giving scant regard to young and old (some even on insulin and on the verge of fainting) who had been in the queue since 8.30 a.m. in the hot sun. They were still in the queue at 12 noon.

Many people said that they heard through word-of-mouth that vaccines were to be given to those living in the Kirula Road Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area and a coupon had to be collected from the MOH office.

So many rushed there over the weekend and got the coupons with numbers and a time-allocation and were asked to be at the Torrington Praja Shalawa at 8.45 a.m. the next day (Monday). When they went there, nothing was happening and they were told to go to the Torrington Housing Scheme which they did.

Once the two girls registered the people after looking at the coupons, most rushed into the vaccination area which was chock-a-block, while some just barged in without registering.

It seems as if who you are, is what matters when getting the vaccine. Influential people can just walk in, said one, as many in the queue nodded vigorously.

Other vaccination centres in the CMC area reported similar problems, with many critical that locals were being turned away for whatever reason, while foreigners waltzed in on a priority basis and got the jab without any hassle, smacking of an apartheid-like situation.

People were bypassing the system and accessing the limited vaccine doses available, a source said, adding that it was really wrong but they got away with it and were also allowed to get away with it.

It was also a free-for-all and whoever had the power just went for it and got vaccinated, she said.

This was while strong protests continued from within the health sector to rectify the situation forthwith.

The COVID-19 vaccination programme began on January 29, with a donation of 500,000 doses from India of the COVISHIELD vaccine which had been produced under AstraZeneca licence by the Serum Institute, and a strong priority list in place.

Around 250,000 doses had been given to frontline health workers and frontline security forces personnel.

The trouble began when public vaccination began with the priority list being discarded on February 17 (Wednesday). Those next on the priority list  the high-risk elderly over 60 years and those in the younger group with co-morbidities  were abandoned and a vaccination spree of any and everyone in the 30-60 age-group began with the then available balance of 250,000 doses.

With strong protests from clinicians and the National Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases (NACCD)  the respected technical committee of the Health Ministry which had come up with the priority list which had also been sent to the global vaccine initiative COVAX  at a meeting on February 17 (Wednesday), the ministry had attempted to damage control by including the elderly in the programme by the evening of February 19 (Friday).

Critical about the maldistribution of the vaccine to adults in the 30-59 age-group, the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Forum of Sri Lanka stated that our opinion and the opinion of the World Health Organization (WHO) are entirely different. According to the WHO protocol, the first priority is healthcare workers and the next people over 65 years and people with co-morbidities.

The Forum stated: Countries such as Israel have vaccinated the elderly over 65 years and people with comorbid features first, before giving the vaccine to healthcare workers. The reason was to bring down the mortality. In fact, Israel has seen the results within three weeks with a significant reduction of deaths. New Zealand has decided to follow Israel by giving the elderly first before giving to healthcare workers. In fact, the primary purpose of this vaccination is to avert deaths.

The vaccine efficacy ranges from 70-84% signifying a possibility of getting COVID-19 infection despite vaccination. But with the AstraZeneca vaccine (COVISHIELD), it is observed that the mortality reduction is almost 100%. That is the primary aim of this vaccine programme. Therefore, the ministry decision to give the remaining vaccines to the public between 30-59 years is meaningless. The number of doses left would be only 2-3 hundred thousand and with such a limited number of doses, how can you cover the population between 30-59 years, it adds.

Dr. Haritha Aluthge of the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) told the Sunday Times that globally vaccine stocks are limited. No one can predict when Sri Lanka would be able to cover even the 20% of our population (4 million) through COVAX. There itself, we will need 8 million for the double doses.

With regard to the vaccine rollout, he said the initial decision that was agreed upon should be followed. The country prepared a comprehensive National Vaccine Deployment Plan in early January with the consensus of everybody. This was what was sent to the WHO as well.

Around 190,000 frontline healthcare workers and security forces were vaccinated in the first step but the target was 150,000 and 100,000 respectively, but we understand that there is a gap of 60,000 and this should be clarified by the Epidemiology Unit. A majority of our target, however, was covered fundamentally and it was done smoothly, he said, adding that the second step under which the next target group (elderly and those in the younger age-group with co-morbidities) has hit a snag.

Dr. Aluthge pointed out that no one knew how or why it was changed and that is how it became disorganized.

Where is the detailed Guideline for COVID-19 vaccination that needs to be drawn up by the Epidemiology Unit? This is a requirement which has not been fulfilled yet, he added.

Voicing concerns over the same issues, the Joint Secretary of the Peoples Movement for the Rights of Patients (PMRP), Christine Perera, has written to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa seeking his intervention to ensure equitable distribution.

The movement has strongly requested that the health authorities should adhere to the guidelines laid down by the NACCD; establish a registration process as they see thousands of people flocking to sites with the possibility of spreading the virus; they also find the influential receiving priority; and that since this is a new vaccine still in the process of ongoing trials, vaccination should be given in a hospital setting at least for the elderly and patients with co-morbidities to avoid any adverse effects.

The Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes (APHNH), meanwhile, commending the governments decision to prioritize private sector healthcare workers in the ongoing vaccination drive, pointed out that the private healthcare sector is yet to receive its full quota of doses.

The APHNH remains hopeful that the remaining doses will be provided as the countrys vaccine stock grows by the end of February, its President Lakith Peiris said.

What was the basis on which areas were selected for the vaccination programme, others grumbled, with a person from Colombo 15 pointing out that her area was under the longest lockdown.

There were several reports of large numbers from other areas such as Battaramulla, surreptitiously getting themselves vaccinated at CMC centres. Nobody checked our identity cards to establish where we were from. There were no protocols and no systems in place, many said.

A father and daughter who got the vaccine at Campbell Park on Thursday said that they heard on Tuesday about the programme on the grapevine. They joined the queue at 5.30 a.m. with about 12 people before them. The staff involved in the vaccination began registering people and then there was a run into the room where the injections were being given.

There were 300 people in there, awaiting the vaccines. When the vaccines came at about 8.15 a.m. the efficient staff gaththa, haruna, gahuwwa to anyone who was seated, the father said, explaining that he was feeling sorry for the staff.

The mess-up began when all the people who were registered were allowed into the vaccination area, it is understood. That is where the system failed.

(Please see more stories on our website sundaytimes.lk)
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LUXASIA aims to lead luxury beautys growth in Sri Lanka View(s):

Sri Lanka is land renown for stunning natural beauty. Yet, LUXASIA still managed to usher in a different kind of beautiful to the market through its expertise in luxury beauty retail and omni-distribution.

In November 2019, LUXASIA unveiled its inaugural classy beauty counters at Odel, One Galle Face. Since then, it has brought enchanting fragrances from luxury brands such as Burberry, Calvin Klein, Gucci, and Marc Jacobs, as well as trendy skincare from KORA Organics to beauty-lovers in an exquisite and captivating retail format.

Now, having successfully overcome the challenges in 2020 imposed by COVID-19 and related lockdowns, LUXASIA is ready and excited to thrill Sri Lankan consumers again. This time, it is with the launch of both skincare and make-up collections from the prestigious Japanese beauty brand, Shiseido. Arriving with a glamorously magnificent pop-up at One Galle Face from 8 to 14 February 2020, LUXASIA promises to bring memorable consumer experiences and a feast for the eye that showcases the best in Japanese beauty.

Leading up to this pop-up, LUXASIA partnered the Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and top influencers of Sri Lanka to excite the beauty community with a sneak peek of what Shiseido have to offer. This campaign garnered more than 100,000 social interactions, with over 1.2 million social media impressions, piquing consumers fascination in Shiseidos award-winning and best-selling serum, The Ultimate Power Infusing Concentrate.

Looking ahead into 2021, LUXASIA aims to continue delighting consumers with even more fresh retail innovations to spice up the luxury beauty scene in Sri Lanka. Soon, fragrance enthusiasts can expect a unique pop-up of all the scents that Luxasia carry, featuring new launches from Davidoff and Calvin Klein, as well as other interesting novelties. Beauty-lovers can also expect more limited edition products and gifts-with-purchases, interesting workshops, as well as seasonal offerings in the coming months. Concurrently, LUXASIA also aspires to continue grooming the Sri Lankan beauty community through more entertaining collaborations with KOLs throughout 2021.
Millions in private nonprofit money went to 474 local clerks offices in Michigan to operate elections in 2020.

Its raised ethical questions for some observers, often Republicans, who feel the difficult-to-track money, granted by a nonprofit funded with $400 million from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, taints the Democratic process.

Clerks themselves mostly praised the funds as necessary during a year with record absentee voting and turnout, unique circumstances presented by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and a lack of state funds to offset new costs.

Most local election administrators didnt second guess the source of the private money stream; they didnt have time or reason to, said Ellen Bragg, the Romulus city clerk of 21 years. There was a pandemic requiring unprecedented safety precautions and a statewide push for more absentee voting than Michigan has ever seen. And local and state governments werent offering enough extra funding to offset the costs.

Its not like this was my first presidential election, Bragg said, but it was the first of this magnitude.

You had to hire some additional help. You needed the resources not yesterday, but today. It was the perfect storm.

Most spent grant funds on additional personnel needed to sort, verify and count the influx of ballots that tripled for some election offices due to relaxed absentee voting restrictions and a statewide push by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to promote remote voting.

Some used their money for get-out-the-vote campaigns, ballot dropboxes, surveillance cameras, safety and personal protection equipment, postage, sorting and counting machines, advertisements to inform voters on absentee voting and in one case, a trailer that allowed city employees to travel to neighborhoods and deliver absentee ballots in person.

Bad optics

Private money, usually reserved for politically motivated campaign efforts and ballot initiatives, has never entered Michigan elections this way, at the ground floor of democracy to pay for the mechanics.

It doesnt smell good from the outside, said University of Michigan political science Professor Ken Kollman, who teaches about the election process. I mean, the optics arent good. The state should fund election administration adequately, period.

Kollman said a lack of government funding allowed room for private money to slip into a process almost always funded with public money, but hes seen absolutely no evidence the grant funds were misspent in a partisan or inappropriate way.

The funds came to clerks through a Chicago nonprofit, the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which is founded by former employees of the New Organizing Institute, a noted liberal nonprofit focused on digital organizing efforts.

Inadequate public funds and a global pandemic have led to unprecedented challenges for election administrators throughout the country, and we are doubling down on our commitment to ensuring that every qualified jurisdiction has the resources it needs to allow every eligible citizen to vote safely and have their vote counted, Chan and Zuckerberg said in a statement issued by the group on Oct. 13, after the couple had just committed another $100 million to the effort.

Michigan election officials received more than $23 million in federal grant money to address new election costs. The Secretary of States office said $12 million was divvied up among local election clerks, but most who spoke with MLive with said little trickled down to them.

About $5 million remains of the federal grant money and is expected to be spent on election activities this year. Based on figures provided by Benson spokesperson Aneta Kiersnowski, federal grant funds were spent in 2020 as follows:

$2 million to reimburse local jurisdictions for ballot return postage.

$1.5 million for local jurisdictions to purchase USPS-designed ballot envelopes.

$3 million for local jurisdictions to purchase dropboxes, automatic letter openers and other equipment.

$2.5 million in matching funds for local jurisdictions to purchase additional vote-tabulation machines (including high-speed devices).

$2 million for personal protection equipment for local jurisdictions - masks, gloves, face shields, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.

$6.5 million for voter education (including mailings of absentee applications with instructions and reminder postcards)

Several clerks said the state offered to provide for one ballot dropbox per election office, supplied personal protection equipment and hand sanitizer and reimbursed a portion of absentee ballot mailing and postage costs. But in most cases, the assistance was dwarfed by the Tech and Civic Life money.

We got $65,000 from the state between the August and November election, said Lansing Clerk Swope, whose office received $488,000 from the Center of Tech and Civic Life. Plus, they paid for (a) ballot drobox. They did provide some envelops and PPE supplies.

Swope said usually, the amount of funding from the state is zero, unless its a presidential primary election, which the state covers.

The Bureau of Elections, which operates under the Secretary of States office, promoted the Tech and Civic Life grant program in newsletters sent to clerks across the state, but did not track which clerks applied for or received the private money.

Bensons office doesnt have any plans to issue guidelines for local clerks regarding the acceptance of private grant money in the future, a spokesperson said, and the topic has not been a subject of public discussion among legislators in Lansing.

The Democrat-led Secretary of States office blamed the need for private money on the Republican-majority Legislature.

Election offices are often under-resourced at the local level, have not been supported by the state Legislature, and many were eager for additional funding in 2020, when they were implementing new voting rights amidst a global pandemic, said spokesman Jake Rollow. Federal funding, though beneficial, has been sporadic and also insufficient.

Grants were crucial in filling the gaps in 2020, but in the future, local officials need an adequate, reliable public funding source to conduct elections.

Simon D. Schuster, director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a nonprofit that tracks and investigates the influence of private money on candidates, issues and policy, said there is some history of public-private partnerships and contributions from major foundations at all levels of government, including to local municipalities.

I believe the reason you might be hearing so much about this (at this time) is because these are private foundation dollars that are given from very wealthy individuals to something that is part of inner-working of democracy, Schuster said. And unfortunately, this past year, its a particularly fraught topic.

Generally, the intent of these foundation grants ... is to boost organization and (an) entitys capacity to the best of its ability. With private foundation dollars, the follow-up questions is: What is the foundation trying to accomplish? What is it trying to shape?

Nevertheless, Shuster said this last election cycle was riddled with conspiratorial musings.

People who are particularly conspiratorially minded are looking to hold onto anything that might even draw an appearance of outside influence, he said. That said, if youre giving a local jurisdiction money to buy election equipment. Youre not selling anything. Youre not giving them your election equipment. I think itd be a pretty big logical jump to even try to insinuate that the Center for Tech and Civic Life had any electoral influence in mind.

Republican factions have accused big tech companies and especially Facebook of censoring their views by deleting or placing disclaimers on unsubstantiated or false political speech posted to their platforms.

While the Secretary of State was not itself a recipient or administrator of the Tech and Civic Life grant funds, an Antrim County Circuit Court judge as part of a lawsuit ordered the agency to provide any communications staff had with big tech companies, including Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon.

The Secretary of State denied MLives initial request for a copy of any communications submitted to the court. A Freedom of Information Act request for those records was filed with the state.

Clerks from both major parties accepted the private grant money.

Theres always potential risk (in accepting private money) if there are strings attached, said Garland Doyle, who serves as interim clerk in Pontiac. But with this grant, there were no strings attached and it was nonpartisan, which is the purpose of the Clerks Office.

Without the private funding, Doyle said his budget wouldnt have covered his 2020 elections costs. After the $405,000 bump from the Tech and Civic Life grant Pontiac received, the city had a surplus.

Lawsuits

While theres been scant public discussion regarding the private election money, its the focus of two ongoing lawsuits in Michigan.

Both were initiated prior to the election with the initial aim of blocking the grant money from reaching clerks, but requests for emergency court intervention were denied.

In the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, the Election Integrity Fund is suing Lansing and Flint, two cities that were early recipients of the grants.

The Election Integrity Fund in August previously sued Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over claims that emergency coronavirus orders at the time violated Constitutional freedom of speech protections in regard to grassroots political movements. The lawsuit was dismissed after the state Supreme Court overturned Whitmers initial emergency coronavirus orders as unconstitutional.

A second lawsuit from registered voters in Oakland, Livingston and Macomb counties was filed on Oct. 2 against Benson in the Court of Claims. Among the demands, the lawsuit is calling on a state judge to bar Michigan from allowing local election jurisdictions to accept private funds from CTCL or any other special interest group.

The lawsuit claims municipalities violated state election law when they purchased absentee ballot drop boxes with private grant funds. When presiding Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray issued an order denying a request to block grant funds prior to the November election, he remarked that its certainly true (Michigan laws) require public sources of funding for ballot boxes.

Multiple cities have admitted to purchasing absentee ballot dropboxes with Tech and Civic Life funds.

In a subsequent order, Murray wrote: Allegations in the lawsuit warranted further discovery and litigation.

Murrays ruling in the case could carry significant weight.

It may determine whether private funding of election operations without state oversight is a one-off phenomenon, or the new status quo.

More on MLive:

Michigan ordered to turn over communications with big tech

AG claims wins in election fraud cases

Software isnt good at detecting human error

Election recount, legal challenges unlikely to overturn Bidens win in Michigan

Republicans pushed election lies and armed protests, but say their rhetoric didnt spur U.S. Capitol chaos

Michigan Democrats support Trumps removal as House moves to start impeachment

Domestic terrorism represents growing threat to United States
RTHK: Thai police fire rubber bullets at demonstrators

Thai police shot rubber bullets and used water cannon and tear gas against pro-democracy protesters in Bangkok on Sunday at a rally outside a military barracks housing the prime minister's residence.

A youth-led protest movement calling for the resignation of Prayut Chan-ocha's government had lost steam in recent months following a second wave of coronavirus infections in Thailand.

But the recent detention of four prominent protest leaders on royal defamation charges has given it a shot in the arm.

The four are among 58 protesters facing lese majeste charges and the prospect of up to 15 years in jail per charge if convicted of insulting the monarchy.

An estimated 2,000 demonstrators marched from the major Bangkok intersection Victory Monument on Sunday to a nearby military barracks where Prayut lives.

Among the protesters were scores of migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar rallying against the coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

Some Thai protesters marched wearing hard hats and carried red flags.

Hundreds later pushed through shipping containers and barbed-wire barricades, leading to a confrontation with riot police guarding the entrance of the barracks.

Scuffles broke out between riot squad officers and protesters, while some demonstrators were seen pushing a police truck.

"They are preparing everything, shields, baton, water with some chemical and rubber bullets," one protester at the front line told Thai media.

Amid the tense stand-off, officers used water cannon trucks and let off tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd  the first use of force, albeit non-lethal, at a Bangkok rally for several months.

Protesters shouted for water and saline as they were sprayed. Some wore raincoats while others held their bare hands in the air or raised three figures  a symbol of resistance.

Officers later shot rubber bullets, according to a journalist on the ground.

"It doesn't hurt too much," a protester told Thai media, showing a red mark on his arm

Some protesters threw glass bottles, rocks and bricks at officers while others took refuge inside a nearby Shell petrol station, which later closed early. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-02-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Araliya Group launches Galle hotel amidst environmental protests By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

The politically-powerful Araliya Group of companies is expanding its hotel chains room capacity to 1,014 rooms following the planned opening of the 304 room Unawatuna luxury beach hotel in Galle on March 20, amidst environmental protests.

The 14 storied new luxury beach resort and spa was built at a cost of US$17.12 million in the backdrop of the Rumassala sanctuary, Unawatuna beach and exotic coral reef with the aim of becoming the number one iconic hotel in Asia, Araliya rice brand business tycoon Dudley Sirisena and brother of former President Maithripala Sirisena, told the Business Times.

Unawatuna is one of the 10 best and most charming seashores in the world, he said. The company also has a hotel in Nuwara Eliya.

Environmentalists and politicians are vehemently protesting against these mega hotel projects by Mr. Sirisena claiming that environmentally exotic and highly receptive areas in the South and Upcountry were being severely devastated by these initiatives.

Rejecting allegations of environmental destruction, Mr. Sirisena noted that these projects had been carried out following all environmental conservation guidelines with the clearance and approval of relevant government institutions including the coast conservation department.

He said COVID-19 will continue to figure in Sri Lankas future of the hospitality industry amidst zero tourist arrivals for eight consecutive months since end March last year.

Somebody should come up with positive mind set pinning hope for the initial rebound in travel demand to pick up slowly, but surely in many destinations including Sri Lanka within a month or two, he said.

Therefore, hoteliers should take necessary measures to be well prepared for a recovery, while also devising proper revival strategy with positive expectations, he added.

Providing an upscale, luxury hotel experience while implementing safety measures during COVID-19 pandemic is no minor matter, he said adding that he has already opened Araliya red hotel in the picturesque surroundings and the natural beauty of Nuwara Eliya and its race course.

The Araliya group continues its hotel network expansion with the plan of building a 40 room extension to Milton hotel in Unawatuna Galle with a day-night food court and Irish pub especially for the benefit of local travellers.

The modern food court with all facilities will cater to the needs of travellers using Galle road to visit their home villages and towns in the South, Mr Sirisena said adding that this will be most probably his last project before bidding adieu to his business empire  handing over the reins to his senior management.


Press Release

February 27, 2021 VILLAR CITES BATAAN LOCAL LEADERS FOR MODERNIZED AGRI Senator Cynthia Villar acknowledged the initiatives of Bataan local leaders led by Dinalupihan Mayor Gila Garcia and Governor Abet Garcia for launching their pilot project "Sampung Magsasaka, Sampung Ektarya Tungo sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita." In a video message, Villar lauded the mayor and governor for turning Dinalupihan into a community focused on agriculture food production. This project intends to benefit directly their farmers and indirectly the rest of the population of Bataan as well as to establish food security. Sen.Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on agriculture and food, also expressed her appreciation to Agrilever Israel for sharing their technology to the province. "We can adopt the best practices of others and we calibrate them for our own requirements or circumstances.," said Sen.Villar. The senator emphasized that this is the winning strategy of many leaders and businesses, "so we can do the same in developing our own agriculture." "We all have the natural resources, we just have to utilize them to fulfill our people's needs and aspirations," the senator added. Sen. Villar also took pride for partially influencing the Bataan mayor in coming up with this project, which was part of their study tour in Israel together with some governors and local government officials. In fact, during the deliberation of the said project in the Bataan Sanguniang Panlalawigan, Atty.Joey Angeles of PPP Office Capitol stressed the agri project was actually a product of the said Israel visit where they saw the successful agriculture in the Jewish country. Gov. Garcia saw the very promising agricultural program and wanted it for the entire Bataan. Mayor Garcia related that the vision to be a model agropolis in Central Luzon also aims to counter the global trend of farmers shrinking in number and their children seeking other means of livelihood. The project envisions to help small farmers to achieve high profit, attract the youth in agriculture, and allow the youth to lead in innovation and excellence. It also wants to encourage job opportunities for professionals in the region, attract investors into the value chain, and stimulate cost-effective funding while reducing lenders' risks. The pilot project is under the 1Bataan Agriculture Innovation and Technology Center (AITC), a technological concept of agriculture. The 1Bataan (AITC) was made possible through a joint venture agreement among the Provincial Government of Bataan, Municipality of Dinalupihan, and Agrilever Israel under the Public-Private Partnership signed in December 2019 to introduce modern technology and precision farming in producing high value crops in the Province. In line with the AITC, 10 one-hectare farms were established in the different barangays of Dinalupihan. These model farms demonstrate the proof of concept by using modern technology such as drip fertigation and precision agriculture in growing high-value vegetables during the dry season, and after rice in the wet season.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have often shared glimpses of their mansion with their fans on social media. Recently, a real estate page on Instagram shared a series of pictures of Kim K house before and after they bought it. After Kim and Kanye had bought the house, they had renovated it with a minimalistic theme and their mansion was seen having tones of white and grey only.

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Kim Kardashian and Kanye Wests mansion

The Instagram page HouseofCelebs shared a post in which showed how Kim Kardashian and Kanye transformed their $ 60 dollar mansion, as claimed by the page. In the caption of the post, it was revealed that the mansion was spread in 16,000 square feet and in 2014, it cost the couple $ 20 million. Further, it was stated in the post that the couple spent about 4-5 years renovating the house. The caption further reads, Kanye worked with Axel Vervoordt to design the interiors for the home, which Kim has described as a "minimal monastery" in its style. The pared-back decor is white, cream and grey throughout, with wooden accents, including in their open-plan kitchen, dining and living room. Check out the pictures in the post below.

From windows to the colour pallet, one can see in the post that Kim and Kanye changed everything about the mansion when they got it renovated. The walls and the furniture, everything is inclined towards minimalism and simplicity.

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Why did they design their mansion in a minimalistic way?

In an old interview with Architectural Digest, Kim and Kanye revealed why did they design their mansion the way they did. Kim explained in the interview that she loves having such a minimal house and that there is a place for everything even if it is hidden in the wall in a cabinet. Kim further stated in the interview that they do have a lot of stuff.

She further explained that the design of the house helps lower her anxiety. Kim also explained that since their lives are so hectic, "so crazy with so much going on", she loves to come home to full simplicity. The celebrity claimed that it is very calming to her to just lay in bed in her mansion.

Kim Kardashian divorce

In January 2021, CNN reported that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were discussing divorce after living separately for months. On February 19, 2021, The Keeping Up With Kardashians star filed for divorce from West after nearly seven years of their marriage.

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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.
President Donald Trump gestures during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 21, 2019. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Republican Voters Overwhelmingly Agree With Trumps Record as President: Ronna McDaniel

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), said Sunday that Republicans overwhelmingly agree with the actions former President Donald Trump took while in office and that she believes he will play a major role in the party going forward.

McDaniel made the remarks in an interview with CBS Face the Nation, in which she was asked about the impact Trump has had on the Republican party and its future.

The voters are saying overwhelmingly they agree with what President Trump did in office, McDaniel told the outlet, adding that while she does not know if Trump intends to run for office in 2024, he is committed to helping us win back majorities in 2022.

She said President Joe Bidens administration is chipping away at Trumps legacy with actions like canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that Trump reinstated after it stalled when former President Barack Obama was in office.

As you see Joe Biden say, Im going to prioritize opening our borders over opening our schools, opening our economies, when you see the vaccine rollout that started under Operation Warp Speed in less than a yearthese are the types of things that voters are saying they saw happen in the Trump administration and now theyre seeing the Biden administration strip those things away, McDaniel said.

But while Trumps presidency is over, his brand of America First politics is here to stay, according to Richard Grenell, former Acting Director of U.S. National Intelligence.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 27, Grenell credited Trump for successfully realigning U.S. foreign policy with the interests of the American people and argued that this realignment was so well-received by the public that it is bound to live on through the actions of the current administration.

The doctrine of America First is here to stay, Grenell said. Even in the first month of a new administration, America First electoral popularity and strategic accomplishments ensure that it no longer belongs to a single party or politician, he added, presumably referring to some of the America First-flavored actions taken by the Biden administration.

Just days after taking office, President Joe Biden signed a Made in America executive order seeking to increase purchases of products made in the United States, chiefly by tightening rules around federal procurement and giving the government a bigger role in supporting U.S. businesses. The action makes it harder for federal agencies to buy imported products by raising local-content requirements, cracking down on waivers that allow exemptions to current Buy American Act rules, and tightening implementation of the new efforts.

Besides the likely continuation of at least some aspects of the Trump doctrine, the former presidents grip on the Republican party remains intact, according to Jason Miller, a senior Trump adviser said in a recent interview.

to former President Donald Trump, said Sunday that Trump is fully committed to the Republican Party and will work to have it retake the House and Senate in 2022, adding that Trump embodies both the present and future of the GOP.

Miller was asked in an interview on Australias Sky News last week about the future of the Republican party and about rumors that Trump may be seeking to establish his own party.

The Republican Party is now torn in terms of whether to have Donald Trump in its future. Is Donald Trump committed to the Republican Party? asked host Sharri Markson, in the context of a rift in the GOP between those who want Trump to play a major role in the partys future and those that want to purge him from its identity.

Miller confirmed that Trump is absolutely committed to the GOP and that he has his sights set on helping it win back majorities in both the House and Senate. He added that not only does Trump see his political future as part of the GOP, but Trump is the Republican Party.

What a lot of folks are starting to realize here in the States is that President Trump really is the Republican Party, Miller said, adding, He not only is the current aspect of the party, hes the future of the party.

Jason Miller, adviser to former President Donald Trump, carries a witness list to the Senate Chamber during the fifth day of the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 13, 2021. (Greg Nash  Pool/Getty Images)

Millers remarks came as some prominent Republicans called on the GOP to firewall Trump.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told CNNs State of the Union last Sunday that it would hurt the GOP if its members let him define us.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, in a Feb. 19 interview with Katie Couric, former host at CNN, CBS, and NBC, said that the Republican Party is at the beginning of what is going to be a long and, you know, difficult battle for the soul of the Republican Party and argued that a GOP that embodied Trumpism would lack the broad appeal needed to win general elections.

Recent polls show that Trumps grip on the GOP remains strong. A Quinnipiac University poll showed that three-quarters of Republicans want Trump to play a prominent role in the GOP. Meanwhile, a Suffolk University-USA Today poll found that nearly half of Republicans said they would abandon the party and join a new party if Trump was its leader.
The state government is planning to privatise a NSW TAFE facility with an independent valuation putting the reserve price at less than what it cost more than 25 years ago.

The government will sell Scone TAFE in the Hunter Valley after last year telling a parliamentary inquiry it had no plan to do so.

The 17.9 hectare site has been advertised for sale with the advertisement noting substantive well-presented improvements selling below replacement cost. The real estate agent cited confidentially agreements in not revealing a market price range.

TAFE NSW is selling its equine training facility in Scone. Credit:Nine

Coalition government ministers George Souris and John Fahey announced in 1991 Scone would get a new $3.2 million TAFE college. It opened in 1996 and operates as a specialist equine training facility.
A pair of NHS workers who fell in love after meeting on the ICU have revealed how they used their eyes to communicate over their face masks.

Nurse Ollie Foster, 43, met operating department practitioner Helen Birch, 33, when she was transferred to the same ward at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Despite not being able to see each other clearly while dressed 'head to toe' in heavy PPE, the pair hit it off straight away, with Ollie revealing the pair 'communicated through their eyes' behind their visors.

After weeks of catching moments together during work breaks, the pair are now in a happy relationship and are looking forward to having their first date and holiday together once lockdown is over.

Nurse Ollie Foster, 43, had been single for over two years before meeting orthopaedic specialist Helen Birch, 33, when she was transferred to the same ward at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

After weeks of catching moments together during work breaks, the pair are now in a happy relationship and have formed a social bubble together

'We were dressed head to toe in PPE so at first, we didn't even know what each other properly looked like, said Ollie. 'All we could see were one another's eyes. She has amazing eyes. They drew me in.'

Single mum Helen usually works at a specialised orthopaedic hospital, but was volunteered to work in the ICU when the pandemic began.

'Helen was helping out in ICU in our hospital because of her critical care background', explained Ollie, 'She was assigned to be my 'buddy'.

'We were total strangers and had never come across one another before. But we connected immediately and could communicate so easily, even non verbally.

Single mum Helen, pictured with Ollie, is an operating department practitioner who usually works at a specialised orthopaedic hospital, but was volunteered to work in the ICU when the pandemic began

Ollie, pictured at work, told that while working in the hospital throughout the pandemic has been 'harrowing', he has found some 'light and positivity' after meeting Helen

'It was like we were communicating through our eyes, behind our visors.We worked so well together as a team, we bounced off each other straight away.'

Their gradual romance began when they shared the same break at work, meaning they were able to see each others faces more clearly while wearing smaller face masks.

'After a long day at work, when we were eventually able to take our break, we decided to take it together. We sat down, had a coffee and something to eat.

'We were out of what is called the 'red zone' in the hospital, which meant we could remove the majority of our PPE and just wear a simple mask. So, this was the first time we had to chance to see each other a bit better.

'We chatted for a while, it was kind of like a debrief to what had just happened. It was really nice and refreshing to hear her perspective and view on life.

Despite not being able to see each other clearly while dressed 'head to toe' in heavy PPE, the pair hit it off straight away

Their gradual romance began when they shared the same break at work, meaning they were able to see each others faces more clearly while wearing smaller face masks

'This is also the first time we had properly had a chance to sit down and talk, as while we are on shift we are very work focused and there isn't time for socialising.'

After their initial conversation, Ollie and Helen added one another on social media but were soon hit with the cold reality of their working hours, and struggled to communicate much over the phone.

'I wanted to know more about her as I was intrigued', said Ollie, 'I started asking some of her colleagues about her to try and find out more.

'The word eventually got back to Helen that I was asking about her and that's when we started communication on social media.

'We got talking and we decided we would meet up before we started our shift and have a coffee together in the hospital canteen. Our relationship has continued to develop since then.

'We have recently formed a support bubble with each other, which now means that when we meet up we don't have to stay two meters away from each other, which has been amazing.'

Ollie had been single for over two years before meeting Helen and says that he had given up on love after being previously hurt in past relationships

Ollie had been single for over two years before meeting Helen and says that he had given up on love after being previously hurt in past relationships.

He added: 'I guess you find it when you're least expecting it. Helen also wasn't actively looking for a relationship, so it has taken us both by surprise.'

Ollie told that while working in the hospital throughout the pandemic has been 'harrowing', he has found some 'light and positivity' after meeting Helen.

'We think having the same career has helped our relationship as we are going through the same things and we know what the other is going to do without talking about it.

'It has been harrowing working in the hospital during the pandemic, but it has been wonderful to find some light and positivity through it all.

'It eases the anxieties at work and makes going to work that little bit more pleasurable. It has had a very positive effect on my professional and personal life.'

While the couple are still in the infancy of their relationship, they are positive for the future and are looking forward to being able to live their life together once lockdown has ended

While the couple are still in the infancy of their relationship, they are positive for the future and are looking forward to being able to live their life together once lockdown has ended.

Ollie said: 'I have promised to take Helen out for an Italian meal as soon as we are able to.

'We have also found that we both love medieval history and we will be exploring sight and attractions when they are open.

'Dating during lockdown has been difficult, but we are excited that we still have all of the nice things to come such as our first date and holidays together.'

Helen added: 'Ollie is such a kind and caring person with a huge heart. He can make any day brighter even in the middle of all the chaos. I feel so lucky to have met him.

'We make the perfect team and I think we will be able to tackle anything that life throws our way as long as we are together. I'm so looking forward to our future adventures.'
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Texas wines pair deliciously with barbecue at the Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood. (Courtesy of Texas Fine Wine)

Fine Wine Is the Pride of Texas

I love Tannat! Ive never tasted wine from this grape before, I excitedly commented to Jennifer McInnis, general manager at Bending Branch Winery in historic Comfort, Texas.

But I wasnt at the bar with a tasting flight before me. I was at home and taking part in a Zoom webinar about off-the-radar winemaking in the Lone Star State thats turning heads and winning international awards.

Webinar participants received a bottle of wine from a member of Texas Fine Wine (our host) and shared our impressions of the fabulous vintages.

COVID times have corralled travelers temporarily, but wine consumption has not waned, with virtual wine tastings as popular as curbside pickup. During the program, I learned from wine educator Denise Clarke that Texas is the countrys fifth-largest wine-producing state after California, Washington, New York, and Oregon and the fifth-largest in the number of wineries with more than 400. Clarke is also director at Texas Fine Wine, a private group comprised of Texas five most esteemed wineriesBending Branch Winery, Brennan Vineyards, Pedernales Cellars, Duchman Family Winery, and Spicewood Vineyards, who were also at the webinar.

Hearing it straight from the horses mouth was almost as good as being in Texas.

Texas, which is larger than France, is graced with landscapes formed by plains, plateaus, mountains, and hills. The diversity of soils and climates explains why Texas can cultivate more than 50 grape varietals, including those less commonly knownsuch as Tannat.

Texas has eight AVAs (American Viticultural Area), but the webinar focused on the two largest: the High Plains in the north near Lubbock and Hill Country in the south, 30 minutes from San Antonio.

Eighty percent of Texas wine grape production comes from the vast High Plains, Clarke said.

At 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level, this region has alkaline-rich red sand and clay, and the continental semi-arid climate provides warm weather so the grapes can ripen during the day and rest during cool nights. Spring freezes were once a challenge, but investments have been made in hail netting and innovative wind-fan technology to protect the vines against frost.

Texas Hill Country is hilly and lush with trees. Elevation is between 400 and 2,400 feet, and soil types range from limestone, granite, and clay to gravel, alluvial soil, and sandstone. Summers are hot, winters are cold, and humidity is this regions challenge.

Six generations of Pedernales Cellars sprawling vineyards are located in the heart of Texas Hill Country. (Courtesy of Texas Fine Wine)

This wide-open viticultural playground of creative possibilities has even inspired some California winemakers to resettle here and create anew their craft with a Texas twang, so to speak.

When a question popped up about how so many varietals can grow in the terroir and semi-arid climate of the High Plains, Julie Kuhlken, sixth-generation co-owner of Pedernales Cellars, where she and her brother produce Spanish- and Rhone-style wines, explained Texass out-of-the-box way of thinking.

One of the misperceptions of Texas, Kuhlken said,  is limited climate for growing grapes.

But Texas has enormous geographic diversity. Rather than relying on rain, the High Plains has made investments in innovative irrigation technology to ensure that the plants get enough water.

Also, because people already know the popular international varietals such as cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and pinot grigio, Texas winegrowers decided to stop growing things that people already know the names ofbut that dont grow well hereand instead grow lesser-known Mediterranean varietals from France, Italy, Spain, and Greece that grow well in Texas and then get wine-drinkers to learn their names. These include Tannat, Grenache, Mourvedre, Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, and many more.

Another difference between the two largest AVAs?

Tourism is in Hill Country, and the High Plains is all about winemaking, said Dave Reilly, winemaker at Duchman Family Winery in Hill Country. With a strong focus on Italian varieties, a majority of Duchmans grapes are sourced in the High Plains. Duchmans flight wines are made from vermentino, trebbiano, montepulciano, and aglianico.

Rebecca Conley, head of operations at Brennan Vineyards in the 1860s frontier town of Comanche between Hill Country and the High Plains, introduced Ellas Pine, a new white wine.

This is the first time in 16 years of making wine to bring Semillon to bottle at 100 percent Semillon, Conley said.

Typically used for blending with viognier, the grape is now a special line for Brennan Vineyards, thanks to this pet project of vineyards manager Travis Conley (Rebeccas husband).

I was curious about sparkling wines, which a few Texas wineries make. But whats taking off here are pet-nats, a naturally sparkling wine. Short for petillant naturel, its a rustic version of champagne and other sparkling wines because its bottled during the first fermentation (whereas champagne goes through two). Petillant naturel is an ancient minimal-intervention method practiced in France and rediscovered in the 1990s.

Ron Yates is the owner of Spicewood Vineyards, the oldest estate vineyards in Texas Hill Country. (Courtesy of Texas Fine Wine)

Born in Austin, Ron Yates, owner of Spicewood Vineyards, grew up in the Hill Country before it was cool. One of the oldest estate vineyards in this AVA, Spicewood specializes in growing the Spanish Tempranillo grapea result of Yates living in Spain with a winemaking family during his college years and unexpectedly developing expertise in growing Tempranillo.

Leaving behind careers in law and music, he followed his winemaking instincts. Now, Tempranillo thrives all over the state. In his eyes, Tempranillo is the grape of Texas.

And while Texas winemaking dates back to the Spanish missionaries, Texas sells its wine almost exclusively within the state.

After all, it is the size of a country.

When You Go

Texas Fine Wines: TexasFineWine.com

Texas Hill Country: Hill-Country-Visitor.com

Texas High Plains: HighPlainsWinegrowers.org/high_plains_vineyards

Visit Texas: TravelTexas.com

Athena Lucero is a freelance writer (AthenaLuceroTravels.com). To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at Creators.com. Copyright 2021 Creators.com
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New Delhi, Feb 28 : "One of my shortcomings was that I could not make much effort to learn Tamil," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his 'Mann Ki Baat' monthly radio programme on Sunday.

Expressing regret that he could not make himself learn Tamil, the oldest language in the world, Modi said he realised about his shortcomings on a question asked by one Aparna Reddy from Hyderabad a few days ago.

The Prime Minister said "she asked me 'you have been PM for so many years and were CM for so many years. Do you ever feel that something is missing?'" "Aparnaji's question seems simple but is equally difficult," the Prime Minister said.

"I pondered over this and told myself that one of my shortcomings was that I could not make much effort to learn Tamil, the oldest language in the world. I could not make myself learn Tamil! It is such a beautiful language, which is popular all over the world." "Many people have told me a lot about the quality of Tamil literature and the depth of the poems written in it. India is a land of many languages, which symbolises our culture and pride," Modi said.
Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trump Mulls White House Bid in CPAC Speech: I May Even Decide to Beat Them for the Third Time

Former President Donald Trump delivered his first major speech after leaving office, charting a path forward for the Republican Party and conservatives but suggesting that he might run in 2024.

Democrats should suffer withering losses in the midterms and to lose the White House decisively four years from now I may decide to beat them for a third time, Trump said, asserting that our movement of hard-working American patriots is just getting started and in the end, we will win.

Trump said the conservative movement he created is far from being over but did not declare that he would try to run again for president in 2024. Theres never been a journey more successful, he remarked, adding that conservatives will be victorious and stronger and greater than ever before.

The future of the Republican Party is as a party that defends the social, economic, and cultural interests and values of working American familiesof every race, every color, and every creed. Republicans believe that the needs of everyday citizens must come first, he said on Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida.

Republicans over the next four years have to be the bulwark against socialism, communism, and Biden administration policies, Trump added.

Im going to continue to fight right by your side, he said, adding that he wont create a brand new party, adding: I am not starting a new party.

Trump has discussed privately running again for president in 2024, according to advisers. The former president has only delivered a few interviews to news outlets since he departed office in January.

Thats going to be a decision he makes down the road, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told CBSs Face the Nation.

Supporters of former President Donald Trump stand outside of the Hyatt Regency where the Conservative Political Action Conference is being held in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

I think without question the Republican Party remains the Trump party, his son Donald Trump Jr., told Fox News on Saturday. I think you hear it from the voices. I think you see it in the speeches of others that are in government. I see in the backtracking that you see from some of those who went opposite of that the last few weeks. I think its pretty clear. And it should be. Putting America first shouldnt be controversial.

Trumps base at the four-day CPAC event has been so strong that Trumps son Donald Trump Jr. declared it T-PAC and participants rolled out a golden statue of the former president.

Trump in the short term is planning to use his influence to support candidates during primaries, according to a statement he sent out earlier this month that also criticized Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Opinion polls suggest that Trump is still the most popular figure in the Republican Party. For example, in a recent poll from Rasmussen Reports, about 73 percent of GOP voters stated that leaders should be more like Trump.

Trumps speech also included attacks against President Joe Biden, including on immigration and security along the U.S. border with Mexico as well as the slow reopening of schools closed due to the pandemic.

Our focus is certainly not on what President Trump is saying at CPAC, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said to reporters.

Reuters contributed to this report.
If you know nothing about us  Indigenous peoples, First Nations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders  you at least know that the word community is a commonly applied term. Im a trawlwulwuy woman from Tasmania and a Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology. I belong to this community that is known as Indigenous Australians.

Dr Emma Lee, at Sisters Beach in north-west Tasmania. Credit:Mike Rutherford

In 2016 I was a key architect for sweeping reforms to the Tasmanian governments Aboriginal Affairs strategy, called Reset the Relationship. This strategy included achieving state constitutional recognition in 23 months  from the Liberal government raising the idea to the Governors royal assent to make it so. The extinction myths about Aboriginal Tasmanian peoples  learned mostly at school as a fact of history that we were exterminated as a group of people upon the death of Trucanini in 1876  were made redundant in that magnificent recognition.

I have firsthand knowledge of what it takes to negotiate change in the way a government deals with Aboriginal affairs. I have seen a parliament act in good faith towards Aboriginal Tasmanians in constitutional recognition and beginning to heal long traumas of our exclusion. Reset was built upon good dialogue from our Elders and communities to the Tasmanian government. Relationships were key: the mutual, beneficial and welcoming environments established by our Elders and communities to advise government on our experience and ways of meshing care for our places and communities that included all Tasmanians, but especially us.

In May 2020, I was invited by the federal governments National Indigenous Australians Agency to join the National Co-Design Group, co-chaired by Dr Donna Odegaard, and contribute to the design of the Indigenous Voice as an instrument of formal advice to the parliament on Indigenous Affairs  by us, for us, about us and with us. I joined 51 other people in three groups  Senior Advisory, National and Local & Regional  to advance the models and principles of how Indigenous Voice works with government and the Parliament. After all, Indigenous peoples own or manage almost 50 per cent of the Australian land mass  we are not a silent investor in our nation.
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A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel voted on Sunday to recommend Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 shot for widespread use, a final clearance for the vaccine after it was authorized by US regulators on Saturday.

State and local public health authorities will use Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC guidance as they administer the first 4 million doses.

The federal government, through distribution partner McKesson, plans to ship the first shots Sunday night or Monday morning.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has played a major role in guiding states on how to allocate scarce doses, though states themselves have the final say in how they allocate shots.

One of the panelists noted during a presentation on Sunday that there are not yet any studies comparing J&J's vaccine directly to the other approved vaccines from Pfzier-BioNTech and Moderna but that all vaccines were highly effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel voted on Sunday to recommend Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 shot (file image) for widespread use, a final clearance for the vaccine after it was authorized by US regulators on Saturday

The federal government, through distribution partner McKesson, plans to ship the first shots Sunday night or Monday morning. Shipments of Johnson & Johnson were delivered to South Africa on Saturday

The panelist also said there was insufficient data to know if the vaccines' safety or efficacy could be compromised by pre-existing conditions that compromise a person's immune systems.

The CDC's director is expected to approve the recommendations by the panel.

J&J's shot will be the only one-dose COVID vaccine available in the US. It is also the easiest to ship and store, as it can be kept in a refrigerator rather than a freezer.

J&J expects to ship more than 20 million doses by March and 100 million by mid-year, enough to vaccinate nearly a third of Americans.

On Friday, US health advisers endorsed the one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from J&J.

The acting head of the FDA said in a statement that the agency will move quickly to follow the recommendation, which makes J&J's shot the third vaccine authorized for emergency use in the US.

Vaccinations are picking up speed, but new supplies are urgently needed to stay ahead of a mutating virus that has killed more than 510,000 Americans.

After daylong discussions on Friday, the FDA panelists voted unanimously that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for adults.

'There's an urgency to get this done,' said Dr Jay Portnoy of Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

'We're in a race between the virus mutating  and new variants coming out that can cause further disease  and stopping it.'

J&J's shot will be the only one-dose COVID vaccine available in the US. It is also the easiest to ship and store, as it can be kept in a refrigerator rather than a freezer. Crew members receive the second delivery of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in South Africa on Saturday

More than 47 million people in the US, or 14 per cent of the population, have received at least one shot of the two-dose vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which the FDA authorized in December.

But the pace of vaccinations has been strained by limited supplies and delays due to winter storms.

The J&J vaccine can be stored up to three months at refrigerator temperatures, making it easier to handle than the previous vaccines.

One challenge in rolling out the new vaccine will be explaining how protective the J&J shot is after the astounding success of the first US vaccines.

'It's important that people do not think that one vaccine is better than another,' said panelist Dr Cody Meissner of Tufts University.

The two-dose Pfizer and Moderna shots were found to be about 95 per cent effective against symptomatic COVID-19.

The numbers from J&J's study are not that high, but it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

One dose of the J&J vaccine was 85 per cent protective against the most severe COVID-19. After adding in moderate cases, the total effectiveness dropped to about 66 per cent.

Some experts fear that lower number could feed public perceptions that J&J's shot is a 'second-tier vaccine'.

But the difference in protection reflects when and where J&J conducted its studies.

J&J's vaccine was tested in the US, Latin America and South Africa at a time when more contagious mutated versions of the virus were spreading.

That wasn't the case last fall, when Pfizer and Moderna were wrapping up testing, and it's not clear if their numbers would hold against the most worrisome of those variants.

Importantly, the FDA reported this week that, just like its predecessors, the J&J shot offers strong protection against the worst outcomes, hospitalization and death.

While J&J is seeking FDA authorization for its single-dose version, the company is also studying whether a second dose boosts protection.

Panel member Dr Paul Offit warned that launching a two-dose version of the vaccine down the road might cause problems.

'You can see where that would be confusing to people thinking, "Maybe I didn't get what I needed,"' said Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 'It's a messaging challenge.'

J&J representatives said they chose to begin with the single shot because the World Health Organization and other experts agreed it would be a faster, more effective tool in an emergency.

Cases and hospitalizations have fallen dramatically since their January peak that followed the winter holidays. But public health officials warned that those gains may be stalling as more variants take root in the US.

'We may be done with the virus, but clearly the virus is not done with us,' CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky, said during a White House briefing Friday. She noted that new COVID-19 cases have increased over the past few days.

While it's too early to tell if the trend will last, Walensky said adding a third vaccine 'will help protect more people faster'. More vaccines are in the pipeline.
New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation on Sunday (February 28) launched 'Sindhu Netra', a satellite developed by the DRDO to monitor the activities of military and merchant navy ships in the Indian Ocean Region.

ISRO chief K Sivan told PTI the satellite was part of the PSLV-51 launch on Sunday (February 28).

In the first dedicated mission of its commercial arm NSIL (NewSpace India Limited), the ISRO successfully launched Brazil's earth observation satellite Amazonia-1 and 18 co-passengers, including five built by students, onboard a Polar rocket from the spaceport at Sriharikota.

Sivan said 'Sindhu Netra' was part of the satellites launched.

Sources added that the Defence Research Development Organisation developed satellites that can also monitor military and merchant navy ships in the Indian Ocean Region, critical to India's strategic and commercial interest.

India and France have also signed an agreement to build constellations of satellites for maritime surveillance intended to identify and track ships in the Indian Ocean.

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California Man Indicted for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering

Fresno, California - A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment Thursday against Oscar Armando Orellana Guevara, 23, of Mendota, charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, on Aug. 28, 2020, Guevara and others assaulted a man by punching, kicking and stabbing him with a straight-blade knife. They stabbed him in his chest, thigh, abdomen, and arm. During the confrontation, Guevara announced the groups affiliation with Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 and threatened to kill him and a companion. The assault occurred in and around an area of Mendota over which MS-13 claims control, and before assaulting him, Guevara and others told the victim he could not be there.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI, Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), the Fresno County Sheriffs Office, and the Mendota Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Sanchez and Stephanie Stokman are prosecuting the case.

If convicted of the assault with a dangerous weapon, Guevara faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for the conspiracy charge is three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Departments renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorneys Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Illegal aliens are in for some gravy.

Unlike legal immigrants who must pay their own way to their final destinations in this 5,077-mile span country, the Biden administration has introduced free flights for illegals to their destination of choice. Want a free trip to Hawaii? Off you go, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers but only if you arrive in the U.S. illegally and can name someone (legal or not) there who will take you in.

According to this report from Hot Air:

Since January, according to the Washington Post, the number of [illegal immigrant] minors in federal custody has more than tripled to 7,000 and that Health and Human Services has instructed ICE to purchase airplane tickets and cover other transportation costs for minors whose relatives are already living in the United States. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is getting ICE to help transport migrants northward so they can be processed and released. I hope Mayorkas is at least negotiating a discount price on those airline tickets. The Trump administration purchased discounted tickets when it deported illegal migrants back to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The idea is to move them away from the border and further north, into other states for processing and release. Biden is moving a catch and release mandate outside of Texas as border towns are complaining of increased burdens of accomodating increasing numbers of illegal migrants, often just released into towns and cities without the ability to take care of themselves

It all may sound humane, it may temporarily relieve pressure on Texas border towns (who surprised all by voting for Trump), but it's loaded with unintended consequences.

As Hot Air noted, this whole free-flights bennie for foreigners who break U.S. immigration law is a public relations move. Not to serve illegals exactly, but to cover up news of a failed policy and humanitarian disaster from ever reaching the public.

Biden, recall, has already abolished President Trump's Remain in Mexico policy and promised amnesty to 30 million illegal immigrants currently in the country. He claimed it was only for those here up to Jan. 1, but the foreigners know better. The ones entering illegally will be in on this coming amnesty through easily created trails of fraud, or else wait on the platform for the next one. This Biden stuff for them is like the subway.

And for Biden, that means news pictures, stories of "kids in cages," expressions of public opposition (among conservatives, illegal immigration has risen to a top public concern and don't think it's not bleeding into independents as news of this gets out).

Yet all his administration can do is the exact thing that makes such pictures much more likely. Instead of stop illegal immigration surges, they incentivize them further in the name of this cover-up. That's because in so doing, they create a public relations message of a very different kind: Effectively an ad, to entice in more illegals.

Free flights for illegals without so much as even a faint effort at means-testing is essentially a taxi-service for the human-smuggling syndicates and Mexican drug cartels to cut their cost structures further.

Biden's free flights to illegals to any place in the U.S. takes considerable cost pressure off the cartels who must otherwise provide it themselves. It's an offer so good it will likely drive smuggling fees down, particularly as Central America empties out and new markets are sought. These criminal rackets, whose love for humanity is known (/s), in turn, are bound to grow fat from the vast incentives offered and eventually threaten Mexico's and Central America's governments, and quite possibly ours.

As for migrants themselves, well, who wouldn't take advantage? The Central American countries supplying the illegals are likely to be left empty of their workforces in their prime working years with all the free stuff up north, available only to those who enter illegally. People are sane and go where their best prospects are. Legal entry to America is now for suckers.

Worse still, Biden's taxi service for cartels is only a part of the vast illegal alien support structure that keeps expanding, yet benefits only the cartels. Breitbart reports that the United Nations has set up a migrant registry for illegals to put their names on, including those who've already been thrown out. (Funny how these supposed poor all seem to have cell phones and computers when they need them). The UN bureaucrats are also identifying places in the U.S. in which to place these unvetted foreigners and preparing to arrange their transport:

Hundreds of migrants signed up on Friday within hours of the launch of a U.N. website that allows migrants with active cases to register remotely to be processed at the U.S.-Mexico border, Reuters reported. The United States and the United Nations are evaluating the locations of migrants and costs associated with possible flights and land transportation within Mexico.

All of this infrastructure, created to keep the matter from dominating the news, is going to fail, because news of free flights, free hotels, free meals, free vaccinations, free medical care, is only going to incentivize more people to illegally come to the U.S.

And who wouldn't take advantage? U.S. citizenship is being handed out cheaply now. Children brought with their parents get automatic green cards. Amnesty for all is in the offing. Smuggling networks are developed and illegals even post Yelp-like ratings for which rackets offer the best customer service. Kid you not.

The free flights are expected to go out, but as murders and mayhem spread with the admission of all comers, including the cartels and gangs who benefit, any coverup is going to fail. Like the Hamburg bombing described here, too many people will know.

As Bob Gates famously said about Biden: He's been wrong on every foreign policy front.

Image: Screen shot from camera aimed at television set. Image filtered with FotoSketcher.
Former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins says she is disappointed that 'politicking' has replaced action on the 'fundamental problems' at Parliament House.

Ms Higgins, a former adviser to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, came forward a fortnight ago claiming she was raped by a senior colleague in Parliament House after a night out in 2019.

Three other women have since accused the same man of molesting or raping them, prompting an investigation into workplace culture at Parliament House.

This is why people dont come forward.



The politicking, the blame shifting - none of which address the fundamental problems evident in the culture at Parliament House.



Im not surprised, just disappointed. pic.twitter.com/ws5m9MJbzQ  Brittany Higgins (@BrittHiggins_) February 28, 2021

Ms Higgins posted on Twitter a clip from ABC Insiders where a panel discussed the issue.

'This is why people don't come forward,' Ms Higgins wrote.

'The politicking, the blame shifting - none of which address the fundamental problems evident in the culture at Parliament House.

'I'm not surprised, just disappointed.'

In the clip, Australian Financial Review political editor Philip Coorey said the alleged rapist's defence lawyer would likely be combing the heavy media coverage.

'If I was that guy's defence lawyer, the perpetrator, I'd be going very carefully over everything that has been said and written in the last 10 days looking for some way you can torpedo any potential trial,' he said.

Australian Financial Review political editor Philip Coorey (second from left) said the alleged rapist's defence lawyer would likely be trawling the media for ways to torpedo a trial

Ms Higgins lodged a formal complaint on Wednesday, triggering an active police investigation into her alleged rape.

Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw sent a letter to the Prime Minister warning politicians that delays in reporting crimes can damage investigations and risk a perpetrator re-offending.

Rosie Lewis, federal politics reporter at The Australian, told the Insiders panel there was a warning implicit in the police letter to victims not to talk to media.

'There was also a warning in that letter... to the alleged victims: don't go through the media,' she said.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (pictured) confirmed Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw told him about the alleged assault on February 11

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured right with alleged rape survivor Brittany Higgins) said he is confident Linda Reynolds will keep her job.

'Now, you can put two and two together. Was he talking to anyone in particular? No. But, in the case of Brittany Higgins she did go to the media.'

Ms Reynolds has been under fire for her handling of the incident and for not telling the Prime Minister.

Ms Lewis said the main concerns were not how Ms Reynolds handled the rape allegation in 2019 - but about the political consequences now.

'It's more the fact you've had pretty bad political fallout over the past fortnight,' she said.

Ms Reynolds has been released from hospital and is expected to take two weeks' leave in the wake of the alleged rape scandal.

She was taken to a hospital in Canberra last week as a 'precautionary measure' relating to an existing condition on the advice of her cardiologist.

'As a precautionary measure, Minister Reynolds has this morning been admitted to a Canberra Hospital,' a statement said last week.

Ms Reynolds came under scrutiny for her handling of the matter and her treatment of Ms Higgins.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has been released from hospital and is expected to take two weeks' leave in the wake of the Britany Higgins alleged rape scandal

She will return to her office in mid-March.

Scott Morrison said he was confident she would keep her job despite copping criticism over her handling of Brittany Higgins' alleged rape allegations.

'I have great confidence in the work that she's doing. I thank those colleagues, whether from the government or elsewhere, that have expressed their support for Linda and she certainly has mine,' he said.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has taken over Defence duties while Ms Reynolds is on leave.

Ms Higgins, who has said she was not supported well enough after her alleged rape, wished Senator Reynolds a speedy recovery

Mr Morrison's comments came just hours after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton admitted he knew about the alleged rape but chose not to tell the prime minister about it to avoid compromising a potential police investigation.

Mr Dutton confirmed Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw informed him about the alleged assault on February 11, four days before Mr Morrison says he was told.

Ms Higgins spoke to police on February 5, with the AFP then informing Mr Dutton because it was a politically sensitive investigation.

Alleged rape survivor Brittany Higgins

Since Ms Higgins made her allegation public last week, three other women have come forward to accuse the same man of sexual assault or harassment.

The man was sacked after the alleged rape for breaching security rules by entering Ms Reynolds' office at night.

The allegations have prompted another former intern to share intimate details about her experiences with the man on a couch in the office of a Nationals senator at Parliament House in 2014.

While she says their encounters were consensual, she claims she felt 'pressured' to have sex with him on other occasions.

'Nothing 'rapey' happened. But that makes me feel really ill. I feel like he wanted to [take me there] because he wanted to show off his power. He was obviously much more important than I was,' the woman told news.com.au.

'There was one time I kept saying, 'No, I am really tired, I don't want to do anything' and he kept being like, 'Oh, come on. Come on'.'

She also shared Facebook messages which refer to the couch in the senator's office, which the man insists is 'comfortable' as he invited her there.

'The lounge in his office is really comfy, good for doing readings. Haha,' he wrote.

The woman replied: 'mmm, depends, do you tend to talk a lot whilst studying?'

The man adds he's usually 'a good boy' and has an essay to write.

The former intern shared an exchange of Facebook messages, where the man claims the couch in the senator's office is 'really comfy'

Brittany Higgins with partner David Sharaz, who quit his job amid her rape allegations against a former male colleague

She claims the encounter occurred five years before the staffer allegedly raped Ms Higgins.

The woman was a university student at the time and interning for a Labor MP.

The man, whom she described as 'ambitious' with dreams of becoming Prime Minister, was also an intern at the time for a Nationals MP.

She first met him at drinks where she got 'very drunk' and went back to his house.

'We kissed that night. I was very drunk and he was totally sober,' the woman recalled.

'I never felt weird about that but there were other instances where he definitely pressured me. We never had proper sex.'

The woman says she will come forward to police to make a statement if it helps with their inquiries.

Brittany Higgins, then 24, has alleged she was raped by a colleague inside Parliament House in March 2019

Pictured: Prime Minister Scott Morrison during Question Time in the House of Representatives on February 22

Ms Higgins pictured with Senator Micahela Cash (left) former Liberal Party deputy leader Julie Bishop (right)

Ms Higgins previously said she did not immediately report the alleged rape to police out of fear that she would lose her 'dream job', but resigned earlier this month before making the allegations last Monday.

Her alleged rapist has checked himself into a private rehabilitation clinic after losing his job at a large corporation.

Two more women accused the former government worker of rape after Ms Higgins went public last week, and now a fourth alleged victim has taken her story to Canberra police on Sunday.

The fourth woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the ABC the 'really sleazy' alleged rapist stroked her thigh on a night out in 2017.

Ms Higgins' claim, which was formally stated to police on Wednesday, opened the floodgates for others to share their stories.

The latest woman to come forward was with colleagues at Canberra's Public Bar in 2017 when the alleged rapist touched her thigh uninvited.

She said it was not the first or last time she received unwanted advances from male colleagues.

'By that time, I was just so used to sexual harassment I just brushed it off,' she said.

Since Ms Higgins made her allegation public last week, three other women have come forward to accuse the same man of sexual assault or harassment

After speaking to officers from the local police station on Sunday afternoon, the woman said she received a call from the Australian Federal Police's Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team.

The third woman said she was assaulted while working as a coalition volunteer during the 2016 election campaign.

She was barely out of school at the time of the attack, which allegedly occurred after a night out drinking with the then-political staffer.

During the night out, she claims he bought her several rounds of 'double strength' vodkas and three tequila shots.

The boozy night prompted the young volunteer, who had never been drunk before, to vomit in the nightclub bathroom.

When everybody else had left, the woman said she told him she was going to catch an Uber home, and he suggested they go back to his hotel room 'around the corner' instead, and he would 'look after her', she told The Australian.

After they arrived, she passed out while laying on his bed and allegedly woke up with her clothes undone and the staffer allegedly lying on top of her.

The woman, who was a virgin, said she was uncertain as to whether he was conscious or sleeping, but she bolted from the room into the hotel lobby toilet, where she discovered she was 'bleeding'.

Feeling embarrassed and ashamed, the woman made her way home and did not tell police, her family or friends.

Scott Morrison said he is confident Linda Reynolds will keep her job despite copping criticism over her handling of Brittany Higgins' rape allegations

Prime Minister Scott Morrison alongside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud at Parliament House

'I believe his actions on the night of June 29 and the morning of June 30 constitute sexual assault, because he performed or tried to perform sexual acts on me whilst I was severely intoxicated and unable to provide valid and informed consent,' she told The Australian.

'I later realised I was so drunk, I was not able to give any consent'

'Hearing Brittany Higgins' story, it was so eerily similar, it made me think this person has a pattern of behaviour.'

The second alleged victim claimed she met the ministerial advisor in 2016 when he was working for Ms Reynolds during the election campaign.

'We went back to my place and we were kissing we were going to have sex and I said he had to wear a condom,' she said.

'He refused and we argued and I told him five or six times that we couldn't have sex unless he wore a condom. I was drunk and he just got on top of me, I said no, and then he was inside of me and I kept saying no.'

She frequently highlights her lithe physique in trendy garments.

And Sunday was no different for Bella Hadid as she flashed her toned stomach in a skimpy white tee at the airport in Italy before revealing her pert cleavage in a burnt orange shirt.

The model, 24, put on a stylish display in a brown suede co-ord as she strutted through Milan ahead of Fashion Week.

Wow! Bella Hadid displayed her toned stomach in a white tee at the airport in Italy before revealing her pert cleavage in a plunging shirt as she strutted through Milan for Fashion Week

Her flared trousers featured white stitching and were cropped to reveal her timeless black boots.

Proving she has expensive taste, Bella clutched a small Louis Vuitton handbag while decorating her decolletage and ear lobes with gold jewellery.

The brunette Hadid sister made sure to protect herself from the novel coronavirus with a complementing brown face mask.

She also partially concealed her identity with gold-rimmed shades.

Racy display: The model, 24, put on a stylish display in a brown suede co-ord which featured a belt cinched at the waist to accentuate her slender curves

Wide-leg: Her flared trousers featured white stitching and were cropped to reveal her timeless black boots

Touch of glamour: Proving she has expensive taste, Bella clutched a small Louis Vuitton handbag while decorating her decolletage and ear lobes with gold jewellery

Staying safe: The brunette Hadid sister made sure to protect herself from the novel coronavirus with a complementing brown face mask

Bella brushed her brunette tresses back in a chic updo and she enhanced her visage with natural make-up.

The star was joined by her model sister Gigi Hadid and Irina Shayk as they sauntered through the city ahead of MFW.

Her sister, 25, looked sensational as she flashed her very taut midriff five months after having her baby daughter Khai.

Gigi rocked some wide-leg grey jeans paired with a plunging cardigan which boasted white floral detailing.

Supermodel outing: The star was joined by her model sister Gigi Hadid and Irina Shayk as they sauntered through the city ahead of MFW

Svelte figure: Her sister, 25, looked sensational as she flashed her very taut midriff five months after having her baby daughter Khai

Pop of colour: Meanwhile supermodel Irina, 35, sizzled in a pair of skin-tight black skinny jeans and a turquoise blue cardigan

Stunning: All three stars rocked natural make-up and shades, partially concealing their identities

She accessorised her quirky ensemble with a bright green beanie hat and a selection of gold jewellery as well as some patent leather boots.

Meanwhile supermodel Irina, 35, sizzled in a pair of skin-tight black skinny jeans and a turquoise blue cardigan.

The stunning trio were also seen leaving the airport earlier in the day, with Bella teasing a glimpse of her washboard abs in a tiny tee emblazoned with 'I love Bahamas'.

The fashionista paired this with black joggers with a red stripe and white and red trainers, making sure she was comfortable for the journey.

Jet-setter: The stunning trio were also seen leaving the airport earlier in the day, with Bella teasing a glimpse of her washboard abs in a tiny tee emblazoned with 'I love Bahamas'

Relaxed look: The star paired this with black joggers with a red stripe and white and red trainers, making sure she was comfortable for the journey

Taking precautions against COVID-19, the models all wore face masks once more as they jetted into Italy.

Gigi was unrecognisable as she donned a woollen hat and large shades, together with a black face mask, after the flight.

The new mother wrapped up in a fluffy black coat and joggers as she followed her sister out of the airport.

Meanwhile Irina, wowed in a chestnut leather coat and grey tracksuit, with her tresses in a sleek updo as she exited the airport.

Airport chic: Taking precautions against COVID-19, the models all wore face masks as they jetted into Italy

Although many models keep their haircare routines under wraps, Hadid spoke to British Vogue and revealed that she typically uses various products to give her hair its signature glow.

'My secret? A lot of hairspray. And a lot of gel. I used to use my brothers mousse that he used on his hair, so I stole it and hes probably mad at me that I did that,' she said.

The supermodel also noted that, due to the fact that she is constantly working, she is not usually able to take time out to undergo many beauty treatments or procedures.

'I dont really have a lot of time to do real pampering  I dont get facials or anything like that...its hard with my schedule,' Hadid remarked.

Low profile: Gigi was unrecognisable as she donned a woollen hat and large shades, together with a black face mask, after the flight
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has called on Australia to increase its emissions reductions goals after a United Nations report showing that despite new commitments the world is still on track for devastating global warming.

Well be watching major players like the US, China, and Australia with bated breath, Mr Bainimarama told the Herald and The Age.

Low-lying countries such as Kiribati are threatened by climate change. Credit:New York Times

Strong commitments will make strong friendships among climate-vulnerable Pacific Islanders ... To anyone who may think that Australia is too small to make a real difference, there are a number of small island states in your backyard that beg to differ, he said, adding that renewed climate ambition by the US was an opportunity to increase global action.

He said that over the past four years, the United States climate apathy had been contagious and had stalled global climate momentum.
Reiterating that only a two-state solution will deliver enduring peace that the people of and deserve, India has said this should be achieved through direct negotiations between both sides on final status issues and any unilateral action which could prejudice these issues must be avoided.

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu said on Friday at the UN Security Council meeting on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question' that New Delhi reaffirms its support to the Palestinian cause and the establishment of a sovereign, viable and independent State of living side by side in peace and security with

We firmly believe that only a two-state solution will deliver enduring peace that the people of and desire and deserve. This should be achieved through direct negotiations between both sides on final status issues. Both sides must avoid any unilateral action which could prejudice these final status issues, he said.

Naidu termed the recent diplomatic efforts to revive the stalled peace talks as encouraging and added that the meeting of the Quartet's Special Envoys is timely. India urged the Quartet to initiate engagement with the Israeli and the Palestinian leadership.

India welcomes all efforts, which are aimed at strengthening the collective commitment of the international community to resume direct negotiations and facilitate the peace process, Naidu said.

Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General Tor Wennesland told the Council meeting that the global community is focused on helping the parties return to the negotiating table.

Earlier this month, the League of Arab States reiterated its support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State based on the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Envoys of the Middle East Quartet Russia, United States, European Union and United Nations - met virtually on February 15 to discuss the political developments, with all agreeing to meet on a regular basis.

Naidu also added that India is pleased to note that preparations for the Palestinian elections are moving forward. The Cairo agreement between the Palestinian parties on the conduct of parliamentary and presidential elections - to abide by the electoral timetable, accept the results of the election and on other election related arrangements - is a positive step in the right direction, he said.

Noting that the commitment undertaken by all parties to release political detainees will also help build trust between them, India acknowledged Egypt's efforts in facilitating this agreement. The high percentage of Palestinians, who have registered to vote in the elections, reflects their desire to take part in the democratic process, he said.

Wennesland said the holding of free and fair elections in the Palestinian Territory will help clear the path for restoring a legitimate political horizon to realise a long sought two-State solution.

The elections will provide a crucial step towards re-establishing Palestinian unity and renewing the legitimacy of institutions, including a democratically elected Legislative Council and Government in Palestine, he said.

Naidu added that the opening of Rafah border crossing is a significant development, which will ease the humanitarian and health situation in Gaza.

India stressed that the pandemic's impact on the people of Gaza has been particularly severe due to the fragile health-care infrastructure.

Noting that COVID-19 vaccines are being made available to the people of Palestine, including in Gaza, Naidu said India strongly believes that equity in access to vaccines across the world is important for mitigating the impact of the pandemic.

India has provided critical medicines and medical equipment to Palestine as COVID-19 assistance and is now in the process of sending a second batch of medicines as a grant to the Palestinian people in the coming weeks.

We will also facilitate an early supply of vaccines to Palestine, Naidu said.

On COVID vaccination prospects, Wennesland welcomed the announcement of the Palestinian vaccination strategy and the initial allocation to the Palestinian Ministry of Health of 37,440 doses of vaccines by the COVAX-AMC facility.

(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 Jersey doctors are now offering coronavirus vaccines to people struggling homelessness as part of an effort to assist those at high risk who also may lack medical care.

The Secaucus-based Riverside Medical Group announced Sunday a new partnership with shelters around North Jersey.

The inequities that were seeing in vaccination administration is a problem, and we want to be part of the solution, Zeyad Baker, a doctor and the groups CEO, said in a statement.

Gov. Phil Murphy praised the cooperation.

This partnership will undoubtedly help those most in need, he said in a statement.

The organization will be working with nonprofits like Evas Village, which runs shelters and serves meals in Paterson.

17 COVID vaccinations for homeless population

New Jersey had more than 8,860 residents classified as homeless in 2019, according to a federal report. While that was a decrease from the previous year, the pandemic has exacerbated many of the problems that drive people into the streets.

Living in a homeless shelter puts one at risk of severe COVID-19, much in the same way nursing homes or prisons can pack together people who are already sick, according to New Jerseys vaccination plan. Part of the questionnaire you fill out to schedule appointments asks if youve recently been homeless.

At the same time, registering online and traveling to vaccination sites can be high hurdles to clear.

Riverside is both helping residents sign up at shelters and in some cases providing shuttles to get people the Moderna Vaccine, said spokeswoman Stacey Goldberg.

The medical group will also be working with the nonprofit Eden Autism in Princeton, which helps children and adults with autism, according to a press release.

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Blake Nelson can be reached at bnelson@njadvancemedia.com.

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If you were looking for a leader in Australian politics, whose primary role in government is to oppose the will of the God who created the universe and in so doing exalt himself, then Danny Andrews wins hands down.

His actions of late (his Margaret Court hate-speech outburst, and the Gay Conversion Law) have launched him to the dizzy heights of national infamy (some people will do anything to win an election).

Lies, and then more lies

Evidently, Margarets radical view on marriage, namely its exclusivity between a man and woman, and (it gets worse) that gender is biologically defined as male and female is responsible for hurt feelings and suicide.

Here we have it, straight from the horses mouth, You might want to speak to others, about why those views (Margarets), which are hurtful, disgraceful, and cost lives, should be honoured.

Dictator Dans reason for rejecting Maggies Invasion Day award, oops! I mean Australia Day award, is that the expression of her views costs lives.

So according to Daniel, Margaret Courts opinion has caused the death of a number of LGBT people hmm. Unsurprisingly, he didnt and couldnt cite one death caused by these alleged radical views, because there are none.

This is one of the favoured tactics employed by the media and fawning politicians. Tell a few porkies, contend that they are irrefutable facts, then allow the snivelling media to disseminate the lie, unchallenged.

If a statement affirming male to female marriage costs lives, then imagine the carnage visited upon the LGBT community that male-female displays of affection could cause. I think we need a law banning heterosexuality immediately to prevent any more deaths.

Dangerous gay conversion therapy

Ms Court has been a prominent critic of same-sex marriage in Australia and a supporter of the dangerous practice of gay conversion therapy. (News.com.au)

Heres the thing. LGBT people in the past have suffered at the hands of medical practitioners, therapists and religious bigots (aka known as your local pastor). Evidently, in our benighted past, same sex attraction and gender dysphoria were classified as mental illnesses and were treated as such (including electro compulsive therapy by doctors, not religious bigots), but these primitive forms of treatment belong to the last century and havent been practiced for decades, and no one, including Margaret Court is calling for their return.

So, what exactly are these dangerous conversion therapies menacing LGBT people today? What extreme forms of torture might they suffer should they seek help to break their sexual addiction? Maybe the medieval rack, or something more akin to George Bushs waterboarding?

No! Its something far worse (drum roll please). Its talking. The depths of humanitys propensity for inflicting pain, has now been extended, beyond our wildest thoughts.

There you have it; a repentant homosexual or transgender victim will need to be protected from the appalling practice of talking. Yes, I think youd agree, talking is definitely dangerous, and needs to be banned by the full force of the law, nothing less than 10 years imprisonment for talking would be suffice.

Forget the mandatory masks, lets wear duct tape instead.

Conversion Therapy equals Talk Therapy

Do a Google search, on Conversion Therapy and youll find thousands of articles and quasi scientific studies acknowledging the damage talk therapy does to LGBT people. It causes everything from planter warts to suicide. We of course know with absolute certainty that these scientific studies conducted by LGBT professors and advocates are totally trustworthy. Just as surely as we know pigs can fly.

Sadly, it gets worse, the real enemy is not your local pastor, or some bigoted Christian praying, its a child parents. The primary cause of suicide and mental health issues among LGBT people is the family withholding affirmation at home, according to biased LGBT research.

The words of Jesus chilling prophecy children will betray their parents and parents their children has been given life by this legislation.

This dangerous law casts aside the God ordained role of parents to nurture and protect their children. Its not difficult to imagine a situation where a young child coming home from school after being force fed LGBT propaganda, affirming they are no longer their biological gender or are now same-sex attracted. The parents then responding, constrained by love and concern, seeking to dissuade their child, find themselves losing custody of their kids and/or imprisoned and/or heavily fined.

Courtesy of Daniel Andrews tyranny.

Light has come into the world & the darkness has not overcome it.

Although the consequences of this law constitute an imponderable calamity, the scale of which defies all that is virtuous, and is an ugly stain on the character of our Nation. And although it bears the hallmarks of its author, Satan, nonetheless, Truth inevitably and always vanquishes lies.

Regardless of the number of studies offered in support of Gender Theory, God has written the Truth into our biology, every cell in a male body bears the XY signature and in a female XX. Likewise, LGBT sophistry cant annul scientific fact that female genitalia were purpose built for the male genitalia and as a consequence life is created in the womb. The same cant be said of the rectum. As always God has the final word.

Moreover, no law of man can derail the divine plan. God has the power to deliver every gender confused, and same-sex attracted person on the planet. The annual Freedom March held in the US is just one monument to the power of the Holy Spirit, who can break the bondage of sexual addiction, in order to set men and women free. And there are tens of thousands like them, which the media choses to ignore.

The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it. - John 1:5

The deserted dormitory where the schoolgirls were kidnapped (AFP or licensors)

Pope Francis joins the Bishops of Nigeria in appealing for the release of 317 schoolgirls who were abducted in northwest Nigeria on Friday.

By Devin Watkins

Speaking at the Angelus prayer on Sunday, Pope Francis forcefully condemned the vile kidnapping of 317 girls in Nigerias Zamfara State.

He invited everyone to pray for them, so that they might return home soon.

I am near to their families and to them, said the Pope. Let us pray that Our Lady might keep them safe.

And he led the faithful in the recitation of the Hail Mary.

What happened?

The incident took place on Friday morning in the town of Jangebe, in Nigerias Zamfara State.

Unidentified gunmen entered Jangebe Government Girls Secondary School around midnight, shooting sporadically.

The states Information Commissioner said they carried the girls off in vehicles and on foot. Security forces launched a search for the abducted schoolgirls.

Two attacks in quick succession

Fridays attack follows on the heels of a similar kidnapping earlier last week.

One student was killed and 42 people were spirited off from a boarding school in the north-central state of Niger in the earlier incident. They were released on Saturday, according to the Zamfara State governor.

Nigerian Bishops sound alarm

The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria have decried the deteriorating situation in the country.

They released a press statement on 23 February, following on the heels of the first kidnapping but before this most recent attack.

We are really on the brink of a looming collapse, from which we must do all we can to pull back before the worst overcomes the nation, wrote the Bishops.

They said insecurity and corruption have put into question the very survival of the nation.

Host of threats

The Bishops also called on the government to step up to the challenge of seriously governing, especially as armed groups threaten to take the law into their own hands.

And they list a host of crises afflicting Nigerians, including assassinations, Covid-19, kidnappings, murders, banditry, and armed robberies.

We, of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, with members from all parts of Nigeria, are very highly disturbed about the present state of instability in the land, read the statement. This must not be allowed to continue to fester and degenerate.
(TNS)  Federal officials said they seized 27 websites linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for allegedly posing as news outlets to spread disinformation.Wednesday's actions follow the seizure of 92 Iranian domains in October, part of the U.S. government's ongoing efforts to combat foreign disinformation in U.S. elections. The sites were targeted at American audiences, though some of the sites listed in the affidavit are entirely in Arabic or focused on news in the Middle East, according to archives seen by Bloomberg."The anti-U.S., anti-Saudi and anti-Israeli material being promoted is in line with Iranian foreign policy and similar to previously identified Iranian covert influence campaigns," according to a federal affidavit. "Also consistent with known Iranian covert influence campaigns, the network accomplishes Iranian propaganda objectives by manipulating U.S. public discourse and sowing discord in the American people through use of U.S. social media platforms and inauthentic news media outlets."The 27 sites, with names including jordan-times.com, yemenpress.org and criticalstudies.org, appear to recycle articles and claim them as their own, according to archives of the sites viewed by Bloomberg. For example, criticalstudies.org claimed U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders among its "writers," but the article supposedly written by Sanders was cut and pasted from an op-ed he had written in USA Today in 2018.The takedown was done in coordination with U.S. technology companies."Thanks to our ongoing collaboration with Google, Facebook, and Twitter, the FBI was able to disrupt this Iranian propaganda campaign and we will continue to pursue any attempts by foreign actors to spread disinformation in our country," FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair said in a statement. According to the affidavit, cybersecurity firm FireEye first surfaced the Iranian disinformation sites in August 2018.The Justice Department said it was able to seize the websites because they were purchased from domain registration companies based in the U.S. The sites lifted content from legitimate news sources, according to the affidavit, including Politico, RawStory and CNN.The sites also used fake personas claiming to be Americans. "Many of the personas used by the network appear well-crafted and detailed," the affidavit says. "For example, persona 'Liam Jay Campbell' claims to be "a journalist and English MA graduate from Sacramento,' claims to have attended California State University, and maintains social media accounts on Twitter and Reddit."One website, libertyfrontpress.com, supposedly contained original content, albeit in "poorly written English," according to the affidavit. That website maintained a social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, but was connected to an Iranian phone number, despite claiming to operate in the U.S., according to the affidavit.
Press Release

February 27, 2021 DELA ROSA: ENCROACHMENT OF POWER POSSIBLE IF JUDICIARY MARSHALS CAN INVESTIGATE Senator Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa raised concerns over the granting of investigative powers to the proposed Office of the Judiciary Marshals, saying that such move might result to encroachment of power between the executive and judicial branches of the government. The Mindanaoan Senator raised the issue on Wednesday, February 24, during the period of interpellation on Senate Bill No. 1947 which seeks to create the Office of the Judiciary Marshals, a measure co-sponsored by Dela Rosa. Under the proposed measure, the judiciary marshals shall have investigative powers over various crimes involving members of the judiciary which is currently a mandate of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), both under the executive department. The measure stated that the judiciary marshals, whose main task is to protect and secure judges, justices, courts and other court personnel, will be under the Judiciary. "We also established that investigation involving crimes committed in our country is well within the mandate of the executive department. Kung bibigyan natin ng investigative power ang Office of the Judiciary Marshals para mag-imbestiga ng mga kaso involving judges, justices at court personnel, hindi ba posible na magkakaroon ng encroachment of power ang judiciary at executive?" Dela Rosa asked. The former Chief of the Philippine National Police acknowledged the low crime solution efficiency of the law enforcement agencies at present, but said that granting investigative powers to the judiciary marshals will compound the problem. "I share with you in your frustrations over what is happening right now. Yung mga judges natin ay pinapatay at very low yung crime solution efficiency na pinapakita ngayon ng ating mga law enforcement at investigating agencies. But it is my humble opinion na maybe kung nakikita natin na ang problema ngayon is somewhat maku-consider natin na parang behavioral or attitudinal ng police or NBI in conducting such investigations, siguro we cannot solve this problem by compounding to the problem. By adding additional structural or systemic problems na mangyayari dito kung magkakaroon ng overlapping functions between and among law enforcement agencies," he said. Dela Rosa, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, stressed the issue of overlapping of functions and the possible undue influence on the court's decision on cases considering that they will be also handling the probe. "Di ba sa ating criminal justice system we have the police, we have the prosecution, we have the courts, we have the corrections and we have the community. Itong police at saka prosecution, they are under the executive department kasi itong courts ay under the judiciary," Dela Rosa said. "Ang problema ngayon, ang judiciary marshals under the judiciary. Sila na nag-imbestiga at ang court sila rin magde-decide, so hindi ba magkakaron ng undue influence yung magiging decision ng korte sa kaso na kanilang bibigyan ng desisyon?" he further explained. "Parang magkaka-problema tayo dyan na sila na nag-imbestiga, sila pa magbigay ng desisyon sa kaso," Dela Rosa stressed. In efforts to resolve the issue of encroachment of power, Dela Rosa said that it will be better to place the proposed judiciary marshals under the supervision of the Department of Justice which is under the executive branch. "Baka pwede natin ituloy itong judiciary marshals pero meron silang protective powers over the judges and justices, sila magse-secure ng courts at the same time meron silang investigative powers, pero baka pwede natin ilagay sa executive under the DOJ?" Dela Rosa said. The senator also suggested another option to Senator Richard Gordon, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the removal of the investigative powers of the judiciary marshals if it will remain in the judiciary. Dela Rosa expressed that aside from the issues of the encroachment of power and undue influence, he fully supports the protection of our judiciary, which he highlighted earlier as the last bastion of democracy. One of the bills tackled by Gordon's committee is Senate Bill 1237 or An Act Creating the Judicial Marshal Service authored by Dela Rosa.
[February 28, 2021] bfound Announces UAQ Free Zone Partnership, With 1 day eCommerce Setup Service

The all-inclusive service includes a full payment gateway and the setup of an eCommerce ecosystem, which forms part of bfound's one-stop shop for SME online solutions. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- bfound is actively working to help SMEs adapt to post-Covid market dynamics and a large part of this activity is focused on helping businesses establish a sustainable capability to sell and market their businesses online. This includes working with new technology partners across a range of digital marketing services, while collaborating with channel partners to bring that technology to the region. According to a recent report and survey by Kearney, many SMEs have yet to adopt online sales channels and will need to in order to survive. According to the survey only 4 percent plan to sell online showing a disconnect in consumer behavior and the response from SMEs[1]. bfound's latest innovation, EcomExpress, is a service specifically designed for SMEs looking for an all-in-one eCommerce solution that promises to have businesses setup to sell online within 1 day across social media channels and website, while offering end-to-end setup convenience. EcomExpress is being rolling out as an added highlight to bfound's partnership with UAQ Free Trade Zone and will also be available as a publicly accessible product in bfound's portfolio. "We have launched quite a few products and services in the last few months and we plan on continuing to do so," said Erik Bjerlestam, bfound's CEO. "Every produc is an attempt to bring the latest innovations in digital business development technology to the region and EcomExpress is yet another step in that direction. With the ability to have a business' eCommerce store up and running in 1 day, the applications, benefits and sheer value of the product is absolutely indisputable."



In addition, the partnership opens up bfound's exclusive partner discounts to UAQ Free Zone's current business clients. These discounts are applicable on all bfound's digital marketing services including search engine marketing, social media marketing and website development as well as design and content development services. "As a leading SME hub in UAE, we are completely aligned with bfound's initiative to nurture the sustained growth of SMEs. The EcomExpress platform will open up endless opportunities for our clientele who can set up an ecommerce company without any hassles, to explore fresh business models," said Johnson George, General Manager of UAQ Free Trade Zone.

About bfound

bfound is one of the UAE's leading providers of digital marketing solutions for SMEs. Using a subscription based model, bfound allows SMEs of all sizes to benefit from the latest technology and growth opportunities that digital marketing platforms (such as Facebook, Instagram, Google, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etc.) have to offer. Some of bfound's most popular services include eCommerce websites, digital marketing campaigns and content creation. About UAQ

Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone is a fast-growing logistics and business hub in the MENA region which offer a host of benefits that include 100% foreign ownership, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, zero currency restrictions, 100% import and export tax exemption within the free zone, simple and fast registration process, excellent customer support, no restrictions on hiring foreign employees, and many other modern and investor-friendly rules & regulations. [1] https://www.middle-east.kearney.com/consumer-retail/article/?/a/gcc-e-commerce-unleashed-a-path-to-retail-revival-or-a-fleeting-mirage For media enquiries, please contact:

Richard Foulkes, Head of Business Development

+971 50 559 8675 (richard@bfound.io)

www.bfound.io For any licensing related enquiries, please contact:

Kevin Fernandes, UAQ FTZ

+971 56 177 4779 (k.fernandes@uaqftz.com)

www.uaqftz.com

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(Newser)  Security forces in Myanmar opened fire and made mass arrests Sunday as they sought to break up protests against the militarys seizure of power, and a UN human rights official said it had credible information that at least 18 people were killed and 30 were wounded, the AP reports. That would be the highest single-day death toll among protesters who are demanding that the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi be restored to power after being ousted by a Feb. 1 coup. About 1,000 people are believed to have been detained Sunday. Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago, and Pokokku, the UN Human Rights Office said in a statement referring to several cities, adding that the forces also used tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and stun grenades.

story continues below

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the crackdown, calling the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters and arbitrary arrests unacceptable, and expressed serious concern at the increase in deaths and serious injuries, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Before Sunday, there had been eight confirmed reports of killings linked to the armys takeover, according to the independent Assistance Association of Political Prisoners. The Feb. 1 coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party would have been installed for a second five-year term in office, but the army blocked Parliament from convening and detained her and President Win Myint, as well as other top members of Suu Kyis government.

(Read more Myanmar stories.)
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Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Showers and a few thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 77F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.

Is corporate governance the panacea for finance company ills? By Delrene Seneviratne Feature View(s): View(s):

The downfall of several licensed finance companies (LFCs) in recent years and the arrest of its directors earlier this year created fresh ripples of anxiety amongst the public as to the stability and sustainability of finance companies.

In January 2021, the State Minister of Finance, Money and Capital Markets and Staten Enterprises Ajith Nivard Cabraal announced that nearly Rs. 62 billion had been deposited during the last six years in six failed finance companies.

It was merely months ago that a notice of cancellation of the licence under the Finance Business Act, No. 42 of 2011 was issued to Sinhaputhra Finance PLC by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank (CB) which was later extended an opportunity to implement the proposed capital augmentation plan within the timeframe stipulated.

In addition, public notices published in national newspapers in October last year by the Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions cautioned that as at end September 2020, a further nine out of the 38 LFCs were non-compliant with the minimum capital adequacy requirement and had been given time extensions to rectify the non-compliance.

As cautioned by the CB via public notices in newspapers from time to time, the CB does not have a legal authority to guarantee deposits of LFCs. However, all LFCs are required to insure their deposit liabilities with the Sri Lanka Deposit Insurance and Liquidity Support Scheme (SLDILSS) established by the CB. Currently, the maximum compensation of Rs. 600,000 per depositor, per institution will be paid by SLDILSS in the event of a suspension/cancellation of any LFC. The public has been further informed that no other instruments other than deposits will be covered under SLDILSS.

Accordingly, CB cautions that regulation and supervision of the CB does not necessarily prevent the failure of any financial institution, including LFCs since the management of LFCs are vested with the ultimate responsibility to operate them in a safe and sound manner while complying with regulatory and supervisory requirements of CB.

The above situation leads to some very interesting questions:

Is the public duly advised to exercise due care when making deposits in LFCs to ensure the safety of their funds and also to refrain from depositing funds in unauthorised institutions/persons?

Does the current disclosure requirements imposed on LFCs suffice to assist the public in making informed decisions?

Will the tightening of capital thresholds of LFCs be a risk mitigation to save the depositors?

Is the general public financially literate to understand the disclosures/ announcements made by LFCs to ascertain their credibility and sustainability?

It is in this backdrop that a Consultation Paper on Proposed Direction on Corporate Governance was issued by the CB in December 2020 for public comments.

The rationale to introduce the New Direction, according to CB, was to articulate sound principles of good Corporate Governance among LFCs in order to keep pace with the latest developments of best practices of good governance.

Further, according to CB, existing directions on Corporate Governance applicable for LFCs and SLCs provide some forbearances when compared to the Corporate Governance principles applicable to banks. Therefore, the proposed direction envisages to strengthen the corporate governance principles among the non-banking sector.

At present, four Directions

relate to the corporate governance aspects of LFCs:

Finance Companies (Corporate Governance) Direction No. 03 of 2008 Finance Companies (Assessment of Fitness and Propriety of Directors and Officers Performing Executive Functions) Direction No. 03 of 2011 Finance Companies (Corporate Governance- Amendment) Direction No. 06 of 2013 Finance Business Act (Amendment to Corporate Governance) Direction No. 04 of 2020 In these circumstances, it is noteworthy to examine the provisions of the Consultation Paper and some of the key changes proposed therein.

Board Charter

As per provisions contained in section 2 of the Consultation paper, heavy emphasis is placed inter alia, on the composition, role, responsibilities, limits on related party transactions and managing conflict of interest which shall be developed and implemented through a Board Charter.

In this regard it should be noted that the matters to be covered in the Board Charter have more or less been prescribed by the directions currently in force. Hence ensuring compliance (or rather monitoring) to the same by the responsible stakeholders is of paramount importance rather than merely adopting a manual of best practices.

The Consultative Paper plays a thrust on the composition of the Board of Directors and the independence of Directors and mandates an increase in the number of independent Directors for a minimum of one fourth in the current directions to three or one third of the total numbers of directors, whichever is higher.

It also stipulates the Chairman of the Board Audit Committee and Integrated Risk Management Committee to be an independent director as against a non-Executive Director mandated under the current directions.

The Consultation Paper also makes specific reference to cooling off periods for directors, CEOs or Key Management Personnel (KMPs) of LFCs.

Role and Responsibilities of the Chair and CEO

The Consultation Paper further emphasises on the division of responsibilities between the chair and CEO to ensure a greater balance of power and authority with specific focus on the role of the CEO.

Sub Committees of the Board

A significant change referred to in the Consultation Paper is the enhancement of requirement for board sub committees based on the asset base of the LFC. For the purpose of specifying the requirements for board committees, LFCs are divided into two categories based on their asset base:

Category A  more than Rs. 20 billion

Category B  less than Rs. 20 billion

LFCs falling within Category A shall establish a Board Audit Committee (BAC), Integrated Risk Management Committee (IRMC), Nomination Committee, Human Resource and Remuneration Committee and Related Party Transactions Review Committee and ensure that a monthly meeting shall be held for BAC and IRMC.

Further common chairmanships are not allowed in the BAC and IRMC in case of category A LFCs. In case of category B LFCs, at least the BAC and IRMC shall be established and at least quarterly meetings for all sub committees. Chair of BAC and IRMC shall be independent. Common chairmanships are allowed in sub committees.

Compliance function

A very welcome change proposed in the Consultation Paper is the importance and independence assigned to the compliance function. As per the proposed amendments, it would be necessary for the Integrated Risk Management Committee to establish an independent compliance function to assess the LFCs regulatory compliance and appoint a dedicated compliance officer with sufficient seniority who is independent from day-to-day management shall carry out the compliance function to ensure that there shall not be dual hatting in case of category A LFCs.

Group governance

Group governance has also been given much emphasis in the paper under consultation setting out separate detailed responsibilities for both holding and subsidiary companies.

Ethics and whistleblowing

Another interesting provision in the Consultation Paper is the requirement to adopt a Code of Ethics which provides guidelines on appropriate conduct and disallowing activities such as fraud, money laundering, bribery and corruption, etc. Emphasising the need for a corporate culture with strong governance focus, LFCs have also been mandated to establish a whistleblowing policy to ensure that legitimate concerns can be objectively investigated and addressed.

Conclusion

As set out in the preamble of the Consultative Paper issued by CB, effective Corporate Governance is critical to the proper functioning of the financial institutions. Governance weaknesses at financial institutions play a significant role in the failure of financial institutions as evidenced globally during the global financial crisis and in Sri Lanka during recent failures of LFCs. Hence the primary objective of any corporate governance initiative should be to safeguard stakeholders interest and with respect to financial institutions shareholder interests are secondary to depositors interests.

It is no doubt that Sri Lankas finance and leasing sector will face added pressure for consolidation as deadlines for the implementation of tougher capitalisation requirements approach in 2021 coupled by a challenging operating environment. It is predicted that post moratorium, Non- Performing Loans may reach an astronomical high of 20 per cent.

Hence tightening the loop holes and streamlining the internal processes particularly to safeguard the public is crucial at this juncture although it would add additional pressure of compliance to LFCs.

Nevertheless, as already quoted, good corporate governance, on its own, will not protect finance companies from fraud or excessive risk taking. However, only good corporate governance can ensure that finance company owners and managers are not hiding skeletons.

A concerted and focused financial literacy initiative encompassing all sectors of the public to educate them on the exercise of due care when making deposits to ensure the safety of their hard earned investments may be the need of the hour to supplement the efforts of the CB in promoting good governance.

(The writer is an attorney-at-law with over 30 years banking experience with NDB Bank PLC and SDB Bank PLC).
For many people, he represents the refreshing face of politics, a man who is passionate about public service, driven by conviction, practical, level-headed, and one who hardly allows partisan considerations to cloud his judgement.



In a society where politicians face trust issues and struggle to carry almost everyone along, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum hardly ruffles a lot of feathers and earned his stripes over the last four years to be entrusted by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with, perhaps, the most strategic sector of his government -- education.



Dr Adutwum, the NPP Member of Parliament for the Bosomtwe Constituency in the Ashanti Region, is the minister designate for Education the President is counting on to provide the right leadership to deliver the government's human capital development agenda, which is by far critical to the giant developmental leap Ghana dreams of.



And who is better placed to head the ministry which gets the lion's share of the national budget than a man who could be described as a consummate educationist, one who left his comfort zone in the USA in response to a call to serve his motherland.



Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum is minister designate for Education and Member of Parliament for the Bosomtwe Constituency in the Ashanti Region



If approved by Parliament, Ghana's next Minister of Education would be a man who holds the conviction that education is one of the most important investments a country can make in its future. This is the reason why Dr Adutwum is very passionate about issues concerning education in the country.



In March 2017, Dr Adutwum was appointed by President Akufo-Addo as the Deputy Minister for Education. And just two years on he has distinguished himself in that role to be voted as the Best Performing Deputy Minister of the Year by two research bodies: Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) and FAKS Investigative Services.



He gives practical meaning to leadership by example mantra. Even as a deputy minister, he would occasionally make time for the classroom to teach students his pet subject, Mathematics, and also the distant learning television channels.



Dr Adutwum is noted also for his unannounced teaching visits to schools just to ensure that the institutions are observing the COVID-19 protocols, as well as making the school environment a safe haven for both teachers and students. It comes as little surprise that he indicated during his vetting in Parliament that as education minister, he would remain a chief servant and a strong advocate for teachers because he belongs to their stock and understands the importance and dynamics of the profession.



In an interview with The Mirror, Dr Adutwum said he found teaching to be full of fun and explained that there was nothing more fascinating than interacting with schoolchildren to know their needs.



Education is what has brought me this far and afforded me all the opportunities I have had. Born in the deprived town of Jachie in the Ashanti Region, my only lifeline was education. For me, it is important to bridge the gap among students across the board. For instance, children in the north should be able to perform just like those in the south since it is the same curricular.



We must begin to recognise that the gap is there and fix it by breaking the cycle of poverty and let the children know they stand the chance to be better than me in future, he stated.



Eliminating subject phobias

A Mathematics teacher in his past life, Dr Adutwum opens up on the need for teaching to be done in a manner that eliminates certain subject-related phobias among schoolchildren.



Maths is fun and we use it in our everyday life, therefore, I find it strange when this interesting subject is made a daunting task for students to rack their brains.



It is time to break such phobia for subjects such as Maths, French and other science-related subjects such as Physics. Sometimes, as teachers, it is good to make subjects such as Maths very practical for children to follow. You can use the building at home or in the school to teach a child simple topic such as measuring length and breadth, or bowls, tables and other pieces of stuff around to teach the child shapes such as circle, square, triangle and rectangle. This will definitely remain on their minds forever, he indicated.



 Dr Adutwum teaching some schoolchildren Mathematics



He explained that for the fourth industrial revolution, getting children to appreciate such subjects would be helpful to produce a lot of engineers, scientists, medical doctors, among others.

It is good to have General Arts or Visual Art students who can also boast that they know science. Visual Arts students, for instance, are very smart and creative yet we look down on them in our part of the world. How can we refer to people who create as dumb?



I know French is another subject some students have a phobia for. This is why there is a need to start learning at the lower primary level.



Can you imagine the number of French-speaking countries Ghana is surrounded by and yet we find it very difficult to express ourselves in French? he queried.

He, however, used the opportunity to refute the rumour making rounds that Ga as a subject had been stopped in schools due to the lack of teachers to teach the subject.



"Our attention was drawn to a private school named Valley View University Basic School which wrote to parents of their pupils that they had stopped teaching Ga in their school. This does not extend to all our public schools. Indeed, there is the need to get more teachers for the subject but it has not been cancelled as speculated," he emphasised.



Mentoring future engineers

Dr Adutwum does not just talk about his passion for mentoring the next generation of scientists; he puts his money where his mouth is.



He is currently sponsoring over 40 underprivileged students from his constituency to pursue courses in engineering at the university.







 The Minister-designate with some of the underprivileged students from his constituency he is sponsoring to pursue courses in engineering at the university



The MP explained to The Mirror that he sponsored the students from his own pocket and not through the MP's share of the Common Fund in order to bring to life his vision to ensure that the Bosomtwe Constituency got 100 engineers within the next 10 years.

Engineers are critical thinkers. A country such as Vietnam produces about 100,000 engineers a year and it didnt take place overnight, so it is a journey I am embarking on to make sure we also get a lot of engineers as the year roll by, he noted.



USA factor

Having stayed in the USA for about 26 years, Dr Adutwum left his thriving educational institution to return home to be part of President Akufo-Addos team to help execute the Free SHS policy, which is one of the biggest ideologies of the New Patriotic Party.



He founded the New Designs Charter Schools, a tuition-free public charter school dedicated to providing a career-based, college-preparatory programme. With a population in excess of 2,000 students, his schools serve students in the sixth grade through the 12th grade who reside in urban communities located in southern Los Angeles in the USA.



Prior to setting up his own school, Dr Adutwum worked as a Mathematics and Information Technology teacher at the Manual Arts High School for 10 years and within this period, he founded the International Studies Academy, which served as a small learning community for students to thrive academically and socially.



Early life/education

Dr Adutwum was born to a cocoa farmer on April 9, 1964, at Manso Amenfi in the Amenfi Central District. He explained that his father was not a poor person per se, but during the off-season for cocoa, money became a challenge for the family.



Because of the nature of the cocoa season, when I passed the Common Entrance Examination, my big brother Thomas had to sell his pig for 40 at that time for me to go to the Jachie-Pramso Secondary School in the Bosomtwe District in the Ashanti Region. From here, I gained admission for the Advanced Level at the Kumasi High School.



 Young looking Yaw Osei



He had his first degree in Land Economy/ Business Administration with a major in Real Estate from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.

Growing up, Dr Adutwum appeared to have enjoyed a strong family bond with his siblings, revealing that it was his younger brother who sponsored him to sojourn in the USA after his first degree.



It was while in the USA that he pursued a Master's degree in Education Management from the University of La Verne and was awarded a PhD in Educational Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Southern California.



 Dr Adutwum and his wife



When asked to assess his performance as the Deputy Minister of Education, he spoke about his satisfaction with many important interventions made but maintained that a lot more work needed to be done to fix the education sector.



From creche to the tertiary level, the implementation of several reforms has not been in vain. The successes achieved and the changes made in the education sector are enormous.

"As I look back into time, through these pictures, I agree that I came, I saw and I am on course.



 Dr Adutwum going through the voting process in his constituency at Bosomtwe in the Ashanti Region



He dreams of a Ghana where every child, regardless of the background -- poor or privileged -- would be afforded equal opportunity to access education. And as Minister of education, he hopes to champion Access, Equity, Equality and Reliance as the important pillars to drive the country's education sector.

Source: Graphiconline.com









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Auden Buffalo will be more than a place for students to reside. The community is customized and designed to enhance the learning experience and offer residents a place to grow, lead and inspire.

Student housing provider Auden Living is unveiling their newest community: Auden Buffalo. Located at 2915 North Forest Road in Getzville, NY, the property sits just minutes away from the University at Buffalo and other local colleges and universities.

The Auden Living brand delivers an unconventional approach to student housing with an emphasis on community. Auden Buffalo will offer a Resident Experience Program where students can enjoy a positive living environment and be actively supported in both their learning experience and friendships. The property will support resident activities that engage students capacity for intellectual, social and interpersonal growth.

Along with an engaging community, Auden Buffalo will offer unparalleled amenities. Featuring an ice-skating rink, movie theater, swimming pool, jacuzzi and multiple hot tubs, Auden sits apart from other student housing living in the Buffalo area. The apartments range from one to four-bedroom units and boast high end finishes and appliances. Residents will have access to private parking as well as a shuttle bus service to and from University campuses.

Auden Buffalo will be more than a place for students to reside. The community is customized and designed to enhance the learning experience and offer residents a place to grow, lead and inspire.

To learn more about Auden Buffalo, visit http://www.audenbuffalo.com.

About Auden Living

Auden is a collection of luxury student housing developed by New York-based real estate developer DMG Investments. Their portfolio of student communities are located across the US and serve universities including SUNY Albany, Cornell University, University of South Carolina, University of Houston, Rice University and Texas Southern University. Learn more about them at http://www.audenliving.com

About DMG Investments

Headquartered in New York City at 100 Wall Street, DMG Investments LLC ("DMG") was established in 2013.

DMG focuses on real estate acquisitions, development and management as well as financing. Leveraging the expertise of a team of dedicated real estate professionals with decades of experience creating and adding value for investors, DMG has amassed a portfolio of best-in-class assets across the US in dynamic markets in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and South Carolina.

As the portfolio continues to grow, DMG is dedicated to providing amenities and services that enhance the livability of each project be it in the student housing, traditional multifamily or condominium sector. In the years to come, the goal of DMG is to become a global real estate enterprise with a world-class reputation for sustainable development and a business philosophy that emphasizes the importance of delivering value for investors, owners and residents.
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Malaga. A provisional date has been set for British holidaymakers to travel abroad again. As part of the UK government's roadmap out of lockdown, on Monday prime minister Boris Johnson announced 17 May as the day when leisure travel could resume. The UK government's Global Travel Taskforce will also reconvene to issue a report by 12 April recommending exactly how international trips can resume safely.

Naturally this news from the UK has come as a boost for the tourism industry on the Costa del Sol. President of the Tourism Council of the Andalusian Business Confederation (CEA), Miguel Sanchez, said that this has generated "enthusiasm and hope that companies can begin to recover activity and employment".

Raul Gonzalez, CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the Barcelo Hotel Group, also welcomed the news with cautious optimist: "My initial reaction was that having to wait until 17 May was bad news. However, the fact that they've put a date on it is good news. And if the UK takes off from there it will be very significant. We hope that the revival in the British market will be swift."

For Malaga airport, British tourism represents almost 30 per cent of travellers. A similar proportion applies for the hotel sector, which has been suffering since the end of July from the restrictions on British travel.

To this must be added the closure of Spain's borders with the three-month lockdown which last year sank the market. Data from the Costa del Sol tourist board shows that in 2020, 81 per cent fewer travellers from the UK arrived at Malaga Airport - a loss of 2.3 million visitors to the destination.

The vice-president of the Junta de Andalucia and the regional minister for Tourism, Juan Marin, was also positive this week.

He said there are "more than enough means" thanks to technology to promote safe tourism in the coming months despite the pandemic.

Vaccine passports

In an interview on Canal Sur Television, Marin went on to say, "The reasonable thing is that all those immunised with two doses against Covid-19 - and have a certificate to prove it - can travel."

He pointed out that within the European Union "we are working on a health card or certificate" and "we really have that possibility of reactivating tourism."
IN the space of one month, the families of 326 people were left in shock and heartbreak after losing their loved ones to the Covid-19 virus.

May 2021 was the deadliest month of the pandemic in Trinidad and Tobago and the month with the highest number of Covid-19 cases.
Karl Stevanovic says Scott Morrison must respond to allegations one of his senior cabinet ministers allegedly raped a woman who then took her own life.

A fired-up Today host demanded the Prime Minister address the matter as federal parliament is engulfed in a number of rape allegations involving either politicians or political staffers.

He said Mr Morrison making a statement would send a message alleged victims are being heard when currently they feel they are unable to speak out.

'The problem is that these things, they become political. At the centre of it are victims. The victims are the ones who have been through it,' he said on Monday.

'They don't have a voice. They see they're not being heard. They see that politically speaking that they become a pawn. I mean, why would you speak out as a victim?

'He (Mr Morrison) can seize the day here. He can do something positive here.'

Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie agreed there must be a response from Mr Morrison and urged him to 'stand up and start being a leader'.

Today host Karl Stevanovic (pictured) said on Monday alleged victims of sexual assault 'see they don't have a voice' while discussing fresh allegations a woman was raped by a current cabinet minister

Senator Jacqui Lambi (pictured) said the Prime Minister must respond to the latest allegations, urging Scott Morrison to 'start investigating this to where it needs to be investigated'

'The Prime Minister should respond. These allegations are not going away. I imagine there will be more to come over the next month. There's no doubt about that,' Senator Lambie said.

'This is not something he can just chuck under the bridge and say "nothing to see here. I'm not doing anything". He now needs to stand up, start being a leader and start being the Prime Minister and start investigating this to where it needs to be investigated.'

But Senator Lamibe was she was not convinced Mr Morrrison had the 'emotional intelligence' to address the rape allegations against the senior cabinet minister.

'When it comes to Scott Morrison, I'm not sure if he has the actual emotional intelligence to deal with that. I'm trying to say that politely,' she said.

'When it comes to dealing with these things of the heart, especially when you're dealing with those people that have those rape allegations out there and the hurt they've been through, I'm not sure he knows actually how to... come out there and speak to their intelligence level.'

Mr Morrison is facing calls to stand aside the senior cabinet minister accused of raping a woman before entering politics.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Labor's Penny Wong and the Prime Minister were sent a letter detailing the complaint last week.

The incident is alleged to have occurred in 1988 when the woman was 16.

The woman went to NSW police last year but the investigation was suspended when she took her own life after telling authorities she didn't want to proceed.

The letter included a detailed statement prepared by the woman for her lawyer, ABC's Four Corners has reported.

However, Dhanya Mani, a friend of the woman took to Twitter to urge members of parliament not to politicise her trauma and slam Four Corners for their reporting.

'The woman whose historical allegations are now news is/was one of my most loved friends. PLEASE don't politicise her trauma. She would not want that. PLEASE consult w/ loved ones about decisions. We are still mourning. This is beyond distressing,' the friend posted to Twitter.

Labor senator Penny Wong (pictured) received a letter about the alleged 1988 rape by a now senior federal government minister

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) was notified of the letter and confirmed the allegations had been referred to the Australian Federal Police

A friend of the woman who alleged she was raped by the current cabinet minister took to Twitter to urge parliamentarians not to 'politicise her trauma'

CALLS FOR MINISTER TO STAND ASIDE Senator Hanson-Young believes the minister must stand aside pending an independent investigation by a an eminent former judge. 'It is just not right to suggest that this type of allegation could linger, hang over the heads of the entire cabinet,' she told ABC radio on Monday. 'Sitting around that table erodes the trust the integrity and belief that this government takes sexual assault seriously.' Marque Lawyers managing partner Michael Bradley, who represented the woman when she took the complaint to police, questioned whether the minister could do his job with his integrity under question. 'I think he will have to stand aside, at the moment at least, because he's been accused of such a grave crime,' Mr Bradley told Nine newspapers. 'It's untenable for him not to, I would think. It's not really a legal question, it's a question of propriety.' Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the allegation needed to be investigated appropriately and not politically managed. Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull received a letter from the woman in late 2019 asking for his advice. 'She described a pretty horrific rape that she said had occurred at the hands of this person, a person she said is now in the cabinet,' he said. 'One of the things she noted, I might say, is that she'd kept extensive diaries. She mentioned that she had a lawyer and was talking to the NSW police.' Advertisement

'It is my understanding that her family has previously - and specifically - objected to Four Corners telling her story.'

A spokesperson for Mr Morrison on Friday evening said any allegations should be referred to the Australian Federal Police.

'As per the AFP Commissioner's instruction, any complaints or allegations of this nature made to anybody - whether they're parliamentarians or journalists - should be referred to the AFP,' the statement said.

As outlined in an Australian Federal Police letter to parliamentarians on Thursday, 'reporting to the police is the way to ensure any alleged crimes are properly investigated', the spokesperson said.

Senator Hanson-Young said the information she had received regarded a 'disturbing and a very serious allegation of a criminal nature against a senior member of the government'.

She said she referred the letter to the AFP commissioner on Friday.

Senator Wong said it was her understanding the complainant, who was 16 at the time of the alleged attack in Sydney, reported the assault to NSW Police and South Australia Police.

Ms Wong said she had forwarded the letter to both police forces as well as the Australian Federal Police to assist with any investigations.

'I have also written to the Prime Minister and Senator Hanson-Young to outline the steps I have taken following receipt of this anonymous letter,' she said.

'It is my hope that appropriate action is taken to examine the allegation.'

Four Corners says the woman reported the alleged rape to NSW police in February 2020, but took her own life in June after informing them she no longer wanted to proceed with the complaint.

The explosive revelations come a fortnight after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins's rape allegation engulfed parliamentary sittings, prompting Australia's major political parties to back a cultural overhaul.

The Morrison government has been under intense pressure over its response to the 2019 incident, in which Ms Higgins alleges she was sexually assaulted by a former colleague in Parliament House.

There are four inquiries under way including a multi-party investigation aimed at ensuring parliament is a safe working environment.

That will take in reviews of culture around the treatment of women in the Liberals and Nationals.

Senator Hanson-Young (picured) said the letter she had received regarded a 'disturbing and a very serious allegation of a criminal nature against a senior member of the government'

Labor's national executive on Friday adopted a code of conduct and three policies dealing with sexual harassment prevention and response, harassment and bullying, and complaints handling.

The party's working group on the issue will report back in June on feedback from members, proposals for additional training and support, and a 'roadmap' to harmonise policies and procedures across all state and territory branches.

Labor MP Sharon Claydon, who chairs the group that has drafted the new policies, raised the prospect of having an independent third party investigate allegations about the party.

'There is I still think room for a broader discussion in Labor about whether there are times where you would want to also engage a complete independent outside source,' she told the ABC.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne discussed the issue with members of the Liberal Women's Council of NSW in an online forum on Thursday.

The explosive revelations come a fortnight after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins' (pictured) rape allegation engulfed parliamentary sittings

Ms Higgins is pushing for change after feeling she wasn't supported when she first made the allegation, leading to her withdrawing her police complaint out of fear for her job.

She reinstated the complaint on Wednesday and an investigation is under way.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds was released from hospital on Friday after being admitted on advice of her cardiologist.

Senator Reynolds, who was Ms Higgins' boss at the time of the incident, was under extreme scrutiny about her handling of the complaint.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton defended referring to details of Ms Higgins' case as 'she said, he said' earlier in the week.

He said he was pointing out that police hear different evidence before deciding whether a prosecution would take place.

'That is not to detract from a victim, not to detract from the seriousness of this matter,' Mr Dutton told the Nine Network.

For 24/7 confidential support in a crisis call Lifeline on 13 11 14
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alfapump DSR study in Heart Failure patients with persistent congestion Ghent, BELGIUM  1 June 2021  Sequana Medical NV (Euronext Brussels: SEQUA), an innovator in the treatment of diuretic-resistant fluid overload in liver disease, malignant ascites and heart failure, today announces that the first patient has been enrolled in the SAHARA DESERT study. Interim results are expected at the end of 2021 and top-line results in H2 2022. Building on the strong results from RED DESERT1, SAHARA DESERT is conducted in heart failure patients with residual congestion for whom oral diuretics are no longer effective at preventing fluid overload. The study will enrol 20 patients and will evaluate the ability of alfapump DSR therapy to eliminate residual congestion, restore correct fluid status (euvolemia) and improve cardio-renal condition for up to 22 weeks. Dr Oliver Godje, Chief Medical Officer at Sequana Medical, commented: We have been bold in developing our proprietary DSR (Direct Sodium Removal) therapy and the recent RED DESERT study results lead us to believe that DSR therapy, as long-term and short-term treatment, could be a breakthrough for the large number of heart failure patients with diuretic-resistant congestion. The SAHARA DESERT study will now assess alfapump DSR therapy in decompensated heart failure patients, our intended patient population, for whom there are limited alternative treatment options. Ian Crosbie, Chief Executive Officer at Sequana Medical, added: As pioneers in the development of treatment options for diuretic-resistant fluid overload, we are very excited to start SAHARA DESERT. This study will enhance our understanding of how rapidly intensive DSR therapy can remove persistent congestion, improve diuretic response and cardio-renal function and how long these effects last whilst on maintenance DSR therapy. The removal of persistent congestion and improvement of cardio-renal function is a clear unmet clinical need in this large and growing patient population and we look forward to reporting interim results before year-end. For more information, please contact: Sequana MedicalLies VannesteDirector Investor RelationsTel: +32 498 05 35 79Email: IR@sequanamedical.com LifeSci AdvisorsGuillaume van RenterghemTel: +41 76 735 01 31Email: gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com About SAHARA DESERT  alfapump DSR study in decompensated heart failure patients SAHARA DESERT is a multi-centre, prospective, randomised, open-label study to evaluate the safety and feasibility of alfapump DSR therapy in heart failure patients with persistent congestion and resistance to loop diuretic treatment. Twenty patients will be implanted with the alfapump DSR system. Following alfapump DSR implantation, patients will undergo a diuretic challenge to quantify their response to diuretics, which will be repeated at specific time points throughout the study. At the start of the study treatment period, loop diuretics will be withheld and patients will be randomised 1:1 to DSR therapy with or without SGLT2-inhibitor to evaluate their impact on DSR therapy. Patients will undergo intensive DSR therapy with DSR D10% infusate for two weeks (phase 1) which can be repeated up to two times depending on their euvolemic state, diuretic response and stable DSR dosing at the end of phase 1. Patients who have achieved euvolemia and have adequate diuretic response will enter into the maintenance DSR treatment phase with monthly DSR dosing for 16 weeks (phase 2). The primary safety and tolerability endpoints include the rate of treatment-, device- or procedure-related serious adverse events through the end of the maintenance phase. Secondary feasibility endpoints include the ability of DSR therapy to restore and maintain euvolemia without the need for additional loop diuretic treatment. Additional exploratory endpoints will evaluate the potential impact of SGLT-2 inhibitors on DSR therapy. The study is being conducted in up to three clinical centres in the Republic of Georgia. For more information about the study, please visit clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04882358). About alfapump DSR in heart failure patients with diuretic-resistant congestion alfapump DSR is in clinical development as potential long-term treatment for heart failure patients with diuretic-resistant congestion. Congestion, also known as fluid overload, is the driver of more than 90% of the one million heart failure hospitalisations in the U.S. each year (which in total account for $13 billion in costs). The treatment options are severely limited in those patients for whom diuretics are no longer effective, which is evident from the 24% hospital re-admission rate at 30 days from discharge. Persistent congestion and worsening renal function is a key indicator of increased mortality in acute decompensated heart failure patients. Sequana Medicals proprietary DSR therapy is a unique approach that removes sodium from the body using diffusion in the peritoneal cavity with the use of a sodium-free solution known as DSR infusate. Once the sodium has been removed, the body eliminates excess fluid naturally through urination to restore the serum sodium concentration. alfapump DSR combines DSR therapy with the proven alfapump to deliver a fully implanted system for long-term DSR therapy. Strong top-line results from the RED DESERT study showed that repeated dose alfapump DSR therapy in diuretic-resistant heart failure patients is highly effective at managing the fluid and sodium balance and improves cardio-renal status. Following the six-week study, there was a dramatic improvement in patients diuretic response and a meaningful long term reduction in their oral loop diuretic needs. About Sequana Medical Sequana Medical is a commercial stage medical device company utilizing its proprietary alfapump and DSR (Direct Sodium Removal) technologies to develop innovative treatments for fluid overload in liver disease, malignant ascites and heart failure where diuretics are no longer effective. Fluid overload is a frequent complication of many large diseases including advanced liver disease driven by NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis)-related cirrhosis and heart failure, with diuretic resistance being widespread. The U.S. market for the alfapump resulting from NASH-related cirrhosis is forecast to exceed 3 billion annually within the next 10-20 years. The heart failure market for DSR and the alfapump DSR is estimated to be over 5 billion annually in the U.S. and EU5 by 2026. The alfapump is a unique, fully implanted wireless device that automatically pumps fluid from the abdominal cavity into the bladder, where it is naturally eliminated through urination. DSR is Sequana Medicals proprietary approach to managing sodium and fluid overload through use of a sodium-free infusate administered into the abdominal cavity. In the U.S., the Company's key growth market, the alfapump has been granted breakthrough device designation by the FDA for recurrent or refractory ascites due to liver cirrhosis. Interim data from the ongoing North American pivotal study (POSEIDON) showed positive outcomes against all primary endpoints of the study. This study is intended to support a future marketing application of the alfapump in the U.S. and Canada. In Europe, the alfapump is CE-marked for the management of refractory ascites due to liver cirrhosis and malignant ascites and is included in key clinical practice guidelines. Over 850 alfapump systems have been implanted to date. Sequana Medical has combined its proven alfapump and proprietary DSR therapy, and is developing the alfapump DSR, a breakthrough approach to fluid overload due to heart failure. RED DESERT, the repeated dose alfapump DSR study in diuretic-resistant heart failure patients has demonstrated that repeated DSR therapy is able to both manage the fluid and sodium balance of these patients as well as restore their diuretic response and improve their cardio-renal status. Sequana Medical is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. For further information, please visit www.sequanamedical.com. Important Regulatory Disclaimers The alfapump system is not currently approved in the United States or Canada. In the United States and Canada, the alfapump system is currently under clinical investigation (POSEIDON Study) and is being studied in adult patients with refractory or recurrent ascites due to cirrhosis. For more information regarding the POSEIDON clinical study see www.poseidonstudy.com. The DSR therapy is still in development and it should be noted that any statements regarding safety and efficacy arise from ongoing pre-clinical and clinical investigations which have yet to be completed. The DSR therapy is not currently approved for clinical research in the United States or Canada. There is no link between the DSR therapy and ongoing investigations with the alfapump system in Europe, the United States or Canada. Note: alfapump is a registered trademark. DSR and alfapump DSR are registered trademarks in the Benelux. Forward-looking statements This press release may contain predictions, estimates or other information that might be considered forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements represent the current judgment of Sequana Medical on what the future holds, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Sequana Medical expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release, except if specifically required to do so by law or regulation. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of Sequana Medical only as of the date of this press release. 1 Press release Top-line data RED DESERT - 11 May 2021 Attachments Press Release_FPI SAHARA_1 June 2021_DUTCH_vF Press Release_FPI SAHARA_1 June 2021_ENGLISH_vF
In this environment, whatever you can get  get, said Dr Arnold Monto of the University of Michigan, who chaired an FDA advisory panel that unanimously voted on Friday that the vaccines benefits outweigh its risks. Data is mixed on how well all the vaccines being used around the world work, prompting reports in some countries of people refusing one kind to wait for another. In the US, the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna shots were 95 per cent protective against symptomatic COVID-19. J&Js one-dose effectiveness of 85 per cent against severe COVID-19 dropped to 66 per cent when moderate cases were rolled in. But theres no apples-to-apples comparison because of differences in when and where each company conducted its studies, with the Pfizer and Moderna research finished before concerning variants began spreading. NIHs Collins said the evidence shows no reason to favour one vaccine over another. What people I think are mostly interested in is, is it going to keep me from getting really sick? Collins said. Will it keep me from dying from this terrible disease? The good news is all of these say yes to that.

Also, J&J is testing two doses of its vaccine in a separate large study. Collins said if a second dose eventually is deemed better, people who got one earlier would be offered another. The FDA cautioned that its too early to tell if someone who gets a mild or asymptomatic infection despite vaccination still could spread the virus. There are clear advantages aside from the convenience of one shot. Local health officials are looking to use the J&J option in mobile vaccination clinics, homeless shelters, even with sailors who are spending months on fishing vessels  communities where its hard to be sure someone will come back in three to four weeks for a second vaccination. The J&J vaccine also is easier to handle, lasting three months in the refrigerator compared to the Pfizer and Moderna options, which must be frozen. Were chomping at the bit to get more supply. Thats the limiting factor for us right now, said Dr. Matt Anderson of UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin, where staffers were readying electronic health records, staffing and vaccine storage in anticipation of offering J&J shots soon.

The FDA said studies detected no serious side effects. Like other COVID-19 vaccines, the main side effects of the J&J shot are pain at the injection site and flu-like fever, fatigue and headache. An FDA fact sheet for vaccine recipients says there is a remote chance that people may experience a severe allergic reaction to the shot, a rare risk seen with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Such reactions are treatable, and vaccine recipients are supposed to be briefly monitored after the injection. The vaccine has been authorised for emergency use in adults 18 and older for now. But like other manufacturers, J&J is about to study how it works in teens before moving to younger children later in the year, and also plans a study in pregnant women. All COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognise the new coronavirus, usually by spotting the spikey protein that coats it. But theyre made in very different ways. J&Js shot uses a cold virus like a Trojan horse to carry the spike gene into the body, where cells make harmless copies of the protein to prime the immune system in case the real virus comes along. Its the same technology the company used in making an Ebola vaccine, and similar to COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Chinas CanSino Biologics.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are made with a different technology, a piece of genetic code called messenger RNA that spurs cells to make those harmless spike copies. The AstraZeneca vaccine, already used in Britain and numerous other countries, is finishing a large US study needed for FDA clearance. Also in the pipeline, Novavax uses a still different technology, made with lab-grown copies of the spike protein, and has reported preliminary findings from a British study suggesting strong protection. Still other countries are using inactivated vaccines, made with killed coronavirus by Chinese companies Sinovac and Sinopharm. Factbox: the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Results from a trial of about 44,000 participants show the J&J vaccine was 66 per cent effective in preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 globally. A review of available data by an independent safety monitoring board indicated that a single-dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was generally well-tolerated.

Loading Data in South Africa

In South Africa, where 95 per cent of the cases in the trial were due to infection with the highly contagious B.1.351 coronavirus variant, the vaccine was 64 per cent effective in preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 28 days after inoculation. About 6000 people in South Africa took part in the trial. Data in the US

The level of protection from the vaccine against moderate-to-severe COVID-19 infection was 72 per cent in the United States after 28 days. Data in Latin America

The shot was 66 per cent effective at stopping moderate-to-severe cases in Brazil after 14 days and 68 per cent after 28 days. It was 66 per cent effective in Latin America overall, which involved nearly 18,000 people in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Demographics

About 34 per cent of trial participants were over age 60. 17.2 per cent of participants in the trial were Black, 8.3 per cent were American Indian or Alaskan Native, 2.5 per cent were Asian and 45 per cent were Hispanic or Latino. Side effects

The FDA said the most common reactions were injection site pain at 48.6 per cent, headache at 39 per cent, fatigue at 38.2 per cent and aches and pains at 33.2 per cent. Other side effects included a fever in 9 per cent of participants and a high fever in 0.2 per cent of those who received the vaccine. How does it differ from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines?

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use new messenger RNA technology to create an immune response and both require two shots. The one-shot J&J vaccine involves a more conventional approach, using a common cold virus to introduce coronavirus proteins into cells to trigger an immune response. J&Js vaccine remains stable for at least three months at normal refrigerator temperatures, while the Moderna vaccine must be shipped frozen and the Pfizer/BioNTech option must be shipped and stored at even colder sub-Arctic temperatures.

These factors make it easier to vaccinate larger numbers of people, even in areas with poor transportation and storage infrastructure. Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were about 94 per cent-95 per cent effective in trials conducted in the United States where variants were not circulating. How does it rank next to the others?

Both mRNA vaccines showed higher efficacy rates in their trials than J&Js vaccine, but experts cautioned against drawing too much of a distinction between the vaccines because the trials had different endpoints and J&Js was conducted while highly transmissible new variants of the virus were circulating. Novavax Inc, which is testing its vaccine in South Africa, said it was 60 per cent effective at preventing mild, moderate and severe COVID-19 in patients who did not have HIV. It said about 90 per cent of cases in the study involved the new South African variant. The mid-stage South Africa trial included 4400 patients. The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca with Oxford University provided only minimal protection against mild-to-moderate COVID-19 from the South African variant in a relatively small trial. There was no data yet on its effectiveness in preventing severe disease in people who were infected by the variant because the study involved mostly young adults not considered to be at high risk for serious illness.

SLSI to standardise beauty products By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):

The genies in jars and tubes may have to step up their game with new edicts round the corner. The Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) will be setting the standards for all cosmetics entering the Sri Lankan shores.

SLSI Chairman Nushad Perera told the Business Times in a recent interview that the SLSI will be setting new benchmarks for cosmetics entering the country  ruling out heavy metals elements in them.

In cosmetics, high mercury levels are common in products that promise to fade dark spots, blemishes etc and is used by cosmetic manufacturing companies as its also a cheap skin-lightening ingredient which effectively removes dark spots and lightens the skin tone.

Its rapid results offset the benefits. So far the cosmetic manufacturing companies and their marketers have been minting money with this fact oblivious to the masses, but SLSI will be issuing standards prohibiting such beauty products. Lipsticks, hair dyes, baby hair oils and baby shampoos will be set higher standards by the SLSI, Mr. Perera explained, noting that 28 standards on cosmetic will be issued.

Resistance will be high as cosmetic manufacturing companies costs will effectively rise but it must be done, was what SLSI officials joining the discussion said in unison.

The technical committee on cosmetics ISO/TC 217 which is the key ISO body for the beauty sector has set a standard for measuring traces of heavy metals in cosmetics; and two standards on testing for mercury in beauty products. The SLSI guidelines will also be in line with these requirements, the officials said noting that the worlds standards organisations offer a collective database of good practice and expertise that no real personal care product company can ignore.
President Joe Biden on Saturday said his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday, following a US intelligence report that found Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Biden administration has faced some criticism, notably an editorial in the Washington Post, that the president should have been tougher on the crown prince, who was not sanctioned despite being blamed for approving Khashoggi's murder. Asked about punishing the crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, who is also known as MbS, ...
They may seem harmless at first glance but the North American red-eared slider turtle is spreading across Sydneys water basins and threatens the biosecurity of our native turtle populations.

Known as one of the worlds worst invasive species, the red-eared slider turtle breeds rapidly and often carries exotic diseases. To combat its spread, the NSW government has unleashed a specialised dog squad to sniff out the turtles that hail from Mexico and the United States.

The red-eared slider turtle is being imported illegally. Credit:Justin McManus

As well as preying on our native turtles, the pests compete for their food, nesting areas and basking sites as well as often spreading salmonella bacteria to people, pets and other animals.

Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall says theyve been detected all over greater Sydney, from Centennial Park to Camden, and says hundreds have been found so far.
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan's interior and justice ministers were fired on Sunday for attending a dinner party at a restaurant that violated the coronavirus restrictions that their own ministries are supposed to enforce.

Prime Minister Bisher al Khasawneh accepted the resignation of Interior Minister Samir Mobeideen and Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni, days after the announcement of new rules intended to stem a month-old surge of infections driven by a more contagious variant of the virus.

Their appearance in a public banqueting room, disregarding social distancing rules, added to widespread outrage at the hefty fines slapped on ordinary people while officials go unpunished for attending functions with far more than the 20 guests allowed.

Police have arrested dozens of people for breaking stay-at-home orders in recent weeks and shut hundreds of shops and businesses in one of the toughest crackdowns in a year of lockdowns and restrictions.

The government has also deployed more military personnel at hundreds of checkpoints to enforce last Thursday's decision to bring forward a curfew from midnight to 10 p.m.

Officials say the latest wave of infections has been driven by people flouting restrictions on movement.

Under the new rules, anyone not wearing a face mask in public can be fined up to 100 dinars ($140), a punitive sum in a relatively poor country where the pandemic has pushed unemployment to record levels.

The kingdom, with a population of around 10 million, has recorded 380,268 coronavirus infections and 4,627 deaths.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
John Magnier's Ashford Stud is one of the plaintiffs in the complaint

Three US stud farms, including the American arm of Irelands Coolmore Stud, have filed a lawsuit against The Jockey Club, which registers Thoroughbred horses there. They are challenging a rule to restrict thoroughbred stallions from breeding with more than 140 mares each year  the so-called Stallion Cap.

The complaint argues that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has unlawfully delegated power to The Jockey Club, and that the new rule breaches the Constitutions of Kentucky and the United States as well as federal and state antitrust laws.

The plaintiffs in the complaint are John Magnier's Ashford Stud, Spendthrift Farm and Three Chimneys Farm, who claim that the Stallion Cap is a blatant abuse of power by The Jockey Club.

The suit argues that the rule change is arbitrary and anti-competitive and will reduce access or drive up prices for many owners of mares looking to access top stallions.

In a statement to the US racing press on the cap The Jockey Club said it stands by the rule and its purpose, which is to preserve the health of the thoroughbred breed for the long term. A KHRC spokeswoman said that its legal team looked forward to addressing the issues in the litigation process.
State House Deputy Director, Information, Attah Stephen, has been lavished with praise and commendation after attaining the 60-year statutory age of retirement from the Federal Civil Service.

Mr Attah, a Knight of John Wesley (KJW) in the Methodist Church Nigeria, will disengage from the Civil Service on Monday, March 1, 2021.

In a momentous career that spanned 25 years in the Presidential Villa, he served nine Chief Press Secretaries, Special Assistants, Senior Special Assistants and Special Advisers on Media and Publicity to six Heads of State and Presidents.

In a well-attended send-off ceremony organised on his behalf by the State House management at the weekend, the Permanent Secretary, Tijjani Umar, praised Attah as an unassuming and noiseless performer, who is very efficient in everything he does.

The Permanent Secretary noted that for the 25 years Mr Attah worked in the Presidential Villa, he was very formidable, helping the media department to make appreciable progress and transformation under several administrations.

Mr Attah started his civil service career here in the State House and is also ending it here after spending almost a quarter of a century. He was an extremely good officer and a team player, he said.

Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President, Media & Publicity, narrated Mr Attahs transition and perfect fit into the job after the sudden demise of the former Director of Information, Justin Abuah, in 2016.

When I was appointed SA Media to the President, I reached out to former occupants of the office, including Segun Adeniyi.

He told me if Mr Abuah is still there, you will not have any problem and he (Abuah) turned out to be very efficient.

But sadly somewhere along the line we lost Mr Abuah and the next person to assume that position was Sir Attah. If Abuah was very efficient, Sir Attah was no less efficient. He fitted perfectly into that position, he said.

Turning to the family of Mr Attah, Mr Adesina thanked Kate Esa and children for giving Sir Attah peace and support at home to be efficient in the office.

On his part, Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, described Mr Attah as an excellent editor and a very reliable person.

On the outgoing media directors style on the job, Mr Shehu added that usually editors should have an orderly mind and a cool head. Most editors have one and they dont have the other. Mr Attah has both and I congratulate him.

Speaking on behalf of State House Press Corps, Sunday Odeh of Peoples Daily Newspaper, commended Mr Attahs personal qualities of humility and kindness.

He had utmost respect for the press corps and will always attend to your complaints. The press corps will always celebrate him and we thank God that he is retiring in good health, he said.

More commendations also came from outside the media department with the State Chief of Protocol, Lawal Kazaure, saying that the outgoing Director of Information deserves praise for ensuring a seamless working relationship between the protocol and media departments as well as the battery of journalists covering the Presidential Villa.

I congratulate you on meritoriously serving your country and I wish you all the best in retirement, he said.

A retired Director of Information, State House, Musa Aduwak, who worked with Mr Attah for 16 years, offered some useful advice to his colleague on navigating life after retirement.

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Dont slow down immediately, slow down gradually. You will think you have plenty of time and you will take all kinds of load. If you do that, you will be overwhelmed. Also ensure you keep busy, keep your brain working and also keep social interactions active, he said.

The leadership of the Methodist Church Nigeria, ably represented at the event by a delegation led by the Bishop of Nyanya Diocese, the Kehinde Adeyemi, praised the retiree for bringing honour to the church through his dedicated and meritorious service to the nation.

The cleric described Mr Attah as a very committed member of the church who was elected some years ago as the Lay President of the Diocese of Nyanya.

One of his works as a lay president is to be an adviser to the bishop and this role he played meritoriously, leading to his election as arch-diocesan lay president of the arch-diocese of Abuja, he said.

Responding, Mr Attah thanked God Almighty for the honour of being recognised especially by the State House management as a retiree.

I want to specially thank the Permanent Secretary for this special honour and privilege.

I want to thank the first Director of Information, Mr Aduwak and his wife for honouring the invitation. You laid a very good foundation in the department and we thank God we are keeping the flag flying.

It is unfortunate and sad that your successor Mr OJ Abuah is not alive and I pray that God will grant him peace in eternity.

I want to appreciate my colleagues in the office and staff of the State House.

I want to also specially appreciate my wife and family for bearing with me. Let me say that in almost the 25 years I served here, this is the first time my wife is stepping into the State House.

My daughter was very little when she came here during the tenure of President Obasanjo when the First Lady hosted a Christmas Day party for children at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa.

I thank my family for recognising and understanding that in our work, we dont always have time for ourselves as we can be called upon anytime to respond to national emergencies and issues.

I also appreciate the Methodist Church Nigeria for upholding me in prayers and for understanding that my absence from some church events was as a result of the exigencies of work and office.

I want to thank you all for your prayers because it is one thing to join the service and another to retire in good health, and I want to thank God for his mercies upon my life, he said.

Abiodun Oladunjoye

Deputy Director (Information)
The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has observed that without good governance, West Africa will find it difficult to achieve its social and economic goals.



He said the enormous opportunities in the sub-region had been hampered by persistent gaps in education, health and skills, "and most importantly bad governance, which has left the sub-region short on reaching a minimal 40 per cent of its estimated potential".



The Okyenhene said this at a consultative meeting of religious and traditional leaders on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Vision 2050 at the Ofori Panin Fie at Kyebi in the Eastern Region last Thursday.



The meeting discussed opportunities for sustainable development and environmental preservation.



The ECOWAS Vision 2050 envisions a borderless, peaceful, prosperous, cohesive region, built on good governance, where the citizenry will have the capacity to access and harness the regions enormous resources for sustainable development.



It was adopted in June 2007 by the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS as the development blueprint for the transformation of West Africa.



The Okyenhene said the horrific scenes of "our young men losing their lives in the Mediterranean in attempting to reach Europe brings into question the need for the examination of the structures and effectiveness of the governance system and approaches to public policy planning and implementation of programmes in our various countries".



Chieftaincy



Osagyefuo Ofori Panin said chieftaincy was the primary source of political socialisation that integrated all aspects of religious, economic, environmental, traditional medicine, marriage, self-identity and public peace.



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He said in Ghana, for example, 95 per cent of marital and inheritance conflicts were resolved in the palaces of chiefs, with over 80 per cent of all disputes and 70 per cent of all legal issues being addressed, and that "this attested to the indispensability of the chieftaincy institution in modern governance".



"With regard to public order, the police presence in the rural and peri-urban areas is virtually absent. Public order is maintained by the age old time-tested and accepted traditional system of control and observance of supervision by chiefs," he added.



Focus



Osagyefuo Ofori Panin expressed concern about the perennial conflicts between nomadic cattle owners and settled agricultural economy which cut across the sub-region.



He said politicians must be forced to commit to institute legislative measures to ensure the inclusiveness of traditional actors at all levels of governance in the spirit of decentralisation and popular participation".



He said it was gratifying to note that such a historic occasion to map out strategies for long term developmental challenges in the sub-region placed unique emphasis on the involvement of traditional rulers.



It is a solid and glorifying tribute to the positive role that traditional authority can play in the social and economic uplift of our people, and the many ways it can contribute towards the goal of national progress and prosperity, he said.



Attainable objectives



The Minister designate for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said the meeting and subsequent engagements with other stakeholders would lead to outcomes which would contribute to the formulation of attainable and relevant objectives for the sub-region.



She said the ECOWAS Vision 2050 had come as a natural successor to the ECOWAS Vision 2020 which expired in December 2020 and necessitated the development of a roadmap for the preparation of the post-2020 Vision.



Ms Botchwey noted that the processes to fashioning the Vision 2050 commenced in January 2019, with the meeting being part of that ongoing process.



The realisation of this noble vision depends, to a large extent, on local actions taken by our community citizens, with the support of our traditional and religious leaders who are the custodians of our societal norms, she said.



To effectively support the local actions, it was important to forge partnerships with relevant stakeholders, including traditional and religious leaders, in view of their extensive outreach and presence in the region, she indicated.



She said the government was aware that hitherto ECOWAS had been seen as a community which had lost touch with the citizenry, adding that it was basically viewed as a community of bureaucrats and politicians without the involvement of the grassroots.



I am happy that collectively we are taking commendable steps to correct this wrong impression about ECOWAS, she said.





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.

Featured Video
A minister in the federal cabinet has been accused of committing rape. Since Friday evening, this fact has been public knowledge. Its shocking and its impossible to unhear or unknow.

But which minister? His identity is not public knowledge. Yet.

In the meantime, the accusation has the potential to taint all 16 male federal cabinet ministers, although several are too young to have committed a crime alleged to have happened in 1988.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has endured a tumultuous fortnight in politics. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Worse, it taints Australia. The Prime Minister and his government can be accused of sheltering an alleged rapist. In the room where our best people are supposed to decide the greatest matters of state sits a man who is alleged to be one of our worst.
Ginny and Georgia is one of the most-talked-about shows on Netflix. Released in February 2021, the series follows a teenager and her mother after they relocate from Texas to Massachusetts to start anew. However, there are secrets from Georgias past that pose a threat to her close-knit bond with her daughter. At the end of season 1, Ginny (Antonia Gentry) did something drastic after learning the truth about her mom (Brianne Howey), setting the stage for more drama in Ginny and Georgia Season 2. But how exactly?

Find everything we know about Ginny and Georgia Season 2 here  from plot details to the release window.

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the first season of Ginny and Georgia.]

Diesel La Torraca as Austin, Brianne Howey as Georgia, and Antonia Gentry as Ginny from Ginny & Georgia | Netflix

Ginny and Georgia Season 2 has not yet received the green light

So far, Ginny and Georgia has not been renewed for a second season. As Screen Rant notes, the decision to either continue or cancel the show could come as early as April 2021. It ultimately boils down to the shows popularity and viewership numbers. But the hope is that itll get a chance to continue the story.

Season one really did feel like a season one. We just started uncovering some of the layers for all characters, across the board, that we want to dive into. [Showrunner] Deb [J. Fisher] and I are hoping we get the chance, creator Sarah Lampert told Oprah Magazine.

RELATED: Ginny & Georgia: Why Maxine Looks So Familiar

What the plot of the second season of Ginny and Georgia would be

If the show does earn a second season, season 2 has lots of questions to answer, such as where Ginny went when she ran away with her brother Austin and what impact that decision will have on her relationship with her mom. While Ginny might not want to be anything like Georgia, the move she pulled is right out of her moms book. Shes doing exactly what her mother does: Always running, Lampert noted.

RELATED: Is Ginny and Georgia Ripping off Gilmore Girls?

Lampert also talked about the evolution of their relationship throughout the series. The relationship between Ginny and Georgia is the third character in the show, she continued. It lives on its own. Its constantly changing and evolving. There are so many scenes where the two of them are communicating with each other over everyones head. Theyre intrinsically wound.

With that, its hard to imagine that Ginny has left home for good. The question is just when shell return and what thatll look like when she does.

Like many viewers, we hope to have answers soon. But even the show does earn a renewal, it could face challenges due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has forced delays and shutdowns on a number of shows and movies over the past few months.

Then again, other Netflix shows such as Ozark and The Witcher have been able to circumvent difficulties by taking certain precautions, so perhaps we could actually have it sooner than later. Until then, stream Ginny and Georgia Season 1 on Netflix now.
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In Chicago, more than 1,400 people were carjacked in 2020-- a crime that is also spiking in cities across the U.S. One Chicago car dealer is trying to lessen the devastation by donating cars to carjacking victims. Charlie De Mar has more.

Video Transcript

ADRIANA DIAZ: A year of COVID has led to a surge of violent carjackings in several cities. Here in Chicago, the frequency of the crime more than doubled in 2020 to about four a day. As CBS's Charlie De Mar reports, one man is trying to help victims four wheels at a time.

CHARLIE DE MAR: In Chicago, more than 1,400 people were carjacked last year, a crime that spiked in cities across the country.

EDWARD PADILLA: And then the guy told me not to turn around, to give him the keys.

CHARLIE DE MAR: Edward Padilla knows the pain. His car was stolen at gunpoint. His life put on hold.

EDWARD PADILLA: I felt the gun behind my back, and the guy telling me to get out the car.

CHARLIE DE MAR: You know, I got to ask you why.

JERMAINE JORDAN: Man, I just-- me being a victim of being carjacked, you know, my heart went out to him.

CHARLIE DE MAR: Jermaine Jordan says he's been carjacked three times. He owns a car dealership, a car wash--

JERMAINE JORDAN: You're waiting on free food and groceries?

CHARLIE DE MAR: And runs a charity that feeds and houses the homeless on Chicago's West Side.

JERMAINE JORDAN: There's, like, a new empathy, man, of kindness. It's just like, man, flooding your heart to be able to want to help someone else. And it feels good. The trauma of being a victim never left Jordan, so he decided charity might be the best medicine. He's given away 15 cars to other carjacking victims so far, all of them complete strangers. The cars are paid for with a combination of his own money and funds he raises on social media.

EDWARD PADILLA: Tires are brand new, brakes, everything.

CHARLIE DE MAR: Edward Padilla drove off in a Chevy.

EDWARD PADILLA: And he's like, well, that's your car. You know, I think Jermaine's like an angel to help us out.

Story continues

CHARLIE DE MAR: An angel?

EDWARD PADILLA: Yeah. That's right. I consider him an angel.

CHARLIE DE MAR: That new car did more than get that father of four back on the road.

JERMAINE JORDAN: Like, you don't have to worry about anything. Just get in and pull off.

CHARLIE DE MAR: You wanted to help?

JERMAINE JORDAN: Yes, I wanted to help.

EDWARD PADILLA: I appreciate you, man.

JERMAINE JORDAN: Thank you.

CHARLIE DE MAR: Along the ride, friendships forged through the bond of shared trauma. Charlie De Mar, CBS News, Chicago.
The Ministry of Health in the Syrian opposition's self-styled interim government announced July 10, 2020, the first COVID-19 case in northern Syria  a doctor who had recently returned from Turkish territory. After symptoms appeared, he isolated himself in Bab al-Hawa Hospital on the Turkish-Syrian border. The Ministry of Healthy then called for an emergency meeting of the coronavirus crisis unit in order to activate the emergency plan in the area.

In late 2020, the oppositions Ministry of Health submitted an official request to the COVAX Initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine and distribute it to the residents of northwestern Syria. As the region is expected to receive vaccines in late March, the concerned parties  namely WHO, UNICEF and the Syria vaccination team  are coordinating methods and drawing up plans to vaccinate residents while waiting for final approval from the COVAX platform.

Maram al-Sheikh Mustafa, minister of health in the opposition's self-styled interim government, told Al-Monitor, The WHO has agreed to initially grant us 1.7 million doses of the British AstraZeneca vaccine to cover 850,000 people. The vaccination process will be divided into three stages: The first will be implemented in 2021, and it should cover 20% of the entire population of the area, estimated at 4.2 million people. This stage targets medical workers, people with chronic diseases and the elderly over 60 years old.

He said, The first batch of vaccine doses  amounting to 134,000 doses intended for 60,000 people  is expected to arrive late March. We will first target the health sector employees and humanitarian workers who are more likely to contract the virus. Since the outbreak, 10 front-line workers have died, eight of whom are doctors, one nurse and one laboratory technician. They were among the 2,713 front-line workers who had tested positive in the area.

Mustafa noted, The second batch of the vaccine will arrive a few weeks after the first, and will target approximately 90,000 residents of the liberated areas, who are over 60 years old, as each person will be given two doses. The third and fourth batches will arrive during the third and fourth quarters of 2021, and the targeted category will be determined after these batches arrive.

He added, The vaccine must be stored at a very low temperature so as not to spoil its validity and this is something that we are currently working on by setting up special centers to receive the vaccine. I would like to stress that we refuse to supply the vaccine through the regime-controlled areas.

Mustafa explained, During the last four weeks, we have had a significant decline in COVID-19 cases  only one case was documented in the past few days. However, this does not mean the virus no longer exists; there might be some untested cases. This is why residents must abide by the preventive measures and remain very alert, as well as cooperate with the vaccination teams to take the vaccine in order to protect themselves and those around them.

Mohammad Hallaj, director of the Syria Response Coordination Group, an organization operating in northern Syria, told Al-Monitor, We have documented 21,136 cases of COVID-19 in cities and towns in northern Syria as of Feb. 19. There have been 18,022 recoveries and 408 deaths. The displacement camps have had 2,299 positive cases so far, distributed over 143 camps on the Syrian-Turkish borders and within the random camps adjacent to cities and towns in the liberated areas.

He said, There are 45 medical centers dedicated to COVID-19 cases in northwestern Syria, divided into 14 hospitals, nine of which are for severe and above-average cases, and 31 centers for isolation and quarantine. All of the doctors are working hard to monitor the condition of patients and fight battles to save their lives, in an area exhausted by war, lack of resources and deteriorating living conditions. Medical organizations are working to identify the target groups for the vaccine, determine the necessary doses, review and develop safety standards for the preservation and distribution of vaccines, and improve the capabilities of medical personnel.

All the cities and towns of northern Syria, which have become the largest residential community hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people, are barely adhering to individual means of prevention such as wearing face masks or using sanitizers in public places. The markets are crowded and the movement of pedestrians and cars does not reflect the presence of the pandemic that is still threatening humanity and killing thousands around the world. People are too concerned about securing their livelihood to think about infections and diseases.
All thats required is the passage of time, an inner calm, began a sentence in Warren Buffetts annual letter to his followers Saturday. He was talking about the essentials of investing in a farm or business, but it felt like a metaphor for the collectively lonely and despairing moment that the world found itself in during the past year. With his own 90-year perspective, Buffett reminded his readers that a moment is all this is.

The bar was high for Buffett this time, given all thats happened since last years letter: a public-health crisis; lockdowns; social unrest; worsening wealth inequality; a new U.S. president; extreme political divisiveness that led to insurrectionists storming the Capitol; climate disasters such as the tragic freezing conditions and blackouts in Texas last week; the resurgence of Bitcoin; and the recent market tumult brought on in part by a boiling over of frustrations with the state of the world.

Did he clear that bar? Perhaps thats the wrong question. Anyone looking to hear his thoughts on todays issues may feel let down  he didnt directly address any of them  but I doubt his devotees were surprised by this or disappointed. Buffett met the occasion by doing what he always does: explain his decisions, take his lumps and victory laps, offer up his musings on investing. If you wanted something different, you didnt get it, and you dont know Buffett.

The last time the chairman and chief executive officer of Hathaway Inc. spoke publicly was at the virtual shareholder meeting in May, an uncharacteristically somber event at which he sat in an empty auditorium normally filled with his adoring fans and left listeners wondering whether he was still the Oracle of Omaha. New icons with investing philosophies arguably antithetical to the Buffett way have since filled the void, such as Tesla Inc. billionaire Elon Musk, futuristic stock picker Cathie Wood and so-called SPAC king Chamath Palihapitiya  especially as Berkshires stock continues to lag the market.

But Buffett has his story and hes sticking to it. And as if to remind readers of exactly that, the letter takes time to recount the history of and how it came to be: a state-by-state discovery of ordinary Americans building extraordinary businesses  Sees Candies, Nebraska Furniture Market, Clayton Homes, Pilot Travel Centers  that Buffett and his now-97-year-old partner, Charlie Munger, couldnt help but acquire and continue to admire. Some are still run by descendants of the families that started them. If this were to be Buffetts last letter, it would be a relatively eloquent signoff.

Heres a notable passage:

There has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our countrys economic progress has been breathtaking. Beyond that, we retain our constitutional aspiration of becoming a more perfect union. Progress on that front has been slow, uneven and often discouraging. We have, however, moved forward and will continue to do so. Our unwavering conclusion: Never bet against America.

There was no mention of Bitcoin, Robinhood or Reddit, but Buffett did write glowingly of the million-plus individual investors who own stock. He and Munger feel a special obligation to this group because their earliest investors when they began managing money  before acquiring Berkshire Hathaway in 1965  were just regular people. Partners is what they call Berkshire shareholders, and the company says its happy with the partners it has, not needing to court Wall Street the way other publicly traded companies might. That Berkshire never holds earnings calls with analysts or attends investor conferences apart from its own annual event is the somewhat controversial proof.

On the topic of the day-trading phenomenon, Munger put it a bit differently this week, telling the Wall Street Journal: I hate this luring of people into engaging in speculative orgies. And while taking questions during the shareholder meeting Wednesday for Daily Journal Corp., which he chairs, Munger had choice words for SPACs, too. I think the world would be better off without them, he said. It's just that the investment banking profession will sell s--t as long as s--t can be sold. He is truly the yin to Buffetts yang.

The biggest omission from Buffetts letter was any rumination on and valuations, nor were there signs that maybe hed come to accept higher prices as the new normal. In fact, it seems to be just the opposite. Berkshire had to write down the value of its last major acquisition, Precision Castparts, by $11 billion. The aerospace-parts manufacturer was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic as travel stopped. I paid too much for the company, he wrote. Doesnt sound like hes eager to make that mistake again.

Instead, Berkshire has been buying back stock. Share repurchases tallied almost $25 billion in 2020. Speaking to his partners, he wrote, That action increased your ownership in all of Berkshires businesses by 5.2%, and added that buybacks have continued since yearend. Last week, Berkshire also revealed large stakes in Chevron Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. The companys cash stockpile  so large it has become part of Buffett folklore  did come down a tad last quarter to $138 billion.

The topic of succession didnt come up in Saturdays memo either, but Buffett did reveal that the virtual May meeting will be held not in Omaha as usual but in Los Angeles, where a wheelchair-bound Munger lives. Vice Chairmen Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, who have been given more authority in recent years, will also take part in the Q&A. Perhaps more succession is in store.

Nobodys going to listen to Buffett. Buffett doesnt have the energy to say what he said 30 and 40 years ago in 2021. And thats OK, hes earned the right to basically chill out and be the GOAT. But there has to be other folks that take that mantle, take the baton and do it as well to this younger generation in a language they understand. This was Palihapitiya speaking in a Bloomberg TV interview earlier this month.

Maybe Buffetts style doesnt fit the current moment, but a moment is all it is. Value investing has cycled in and out of fashion, and as fad securities sold off this week, theres talk that it may be back in again. In any case, energy isnt what earned Buffett his celebrity. It was patience, conviction, a sense of duty to his partners and a rejection of complex profit adjustments that are so often used to obscure and confuse. That philosophy should never go out of style.
People have taken to the streets in cities and town across Kazakhstan to press for democratic reforms.

Police were reported to have detained dozens of people at the rallies on February 28, nearly all of which were not officially sanctioned by authorities.

The ruling Nur Otan party has dominated the political scene in Kazakhstan for almost three decades while opposition movements, sidelined and with no seats in parliament, mostly make themselves heard through public protests.

Rallies were held in several cities including the capital, Nur-Sultan; Almaty, the country's biggest city; as well as Atyrau, Aqtobe, Semey, Oral, and Shymkent.

Several hundred people gathered in Oral, which was the only demonstration permitted by authorities.

WATCH: Police detained protesters in Aqtobe, while a rally in Oral that had been sanctioned by local authorities took place without detentions.

Elsewhere, police detained many who turned out. A Reuters correspondent reported seeing police detain at least 50 people near a park in central Almaty.

Dozens of people who rallied in another location in Almaty could be seen completely surrounded by police in black balaclavas and riot gear.

"Nazarbaev, go away," chanted some protesters, referring to influential ex-President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who has retained sweeping powers after resigning almost two years ago and helped to ensure the election of a hand-picked successor.

The rallies were organized by two opposition groups, the Democratic Party and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, who said among their demands would be land reforms.

President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev on February 25 proposed a ban on the purchase and renting of farmland by foreigners ahead of the expiration of a moratorium on land sales.

Toqaev said that "in order to stop rumors" he had ordered the drawing up of an outline of a law "banning the buying and renting of Kazakhstan's farmlands by foreign persons and companies."

"The land issue has always been very important for our nation. It is a fundamental and sacred symbol of our statehood.... I also ordered to form a commission on land reform by March 25," Toqaev said.

The government's moratorium on farmland sales to foreigners is set to expire later this year.

The five-year moratorium was introduced in 2016 after thousands demonstrated in unprecedented rallies across the tightly controlled Central Asian state, protesting the government's plan to attract foreign investment into agriculture by opening up the farmland market.

The protests stopped after the government withdrew the plan, but two men who organized the largest rally in the western city of Atyrau, Talghat Ayan and Maks Boqaev, were sentenced to five years in prison each after being found guilty of inciting social discord, knowingly spreading false information, and violating the law on public assembly.

Ayan was released on parole in April 2018, and Boqaev was released earlier this month.

With reporting by Reuters
WOOD RIVER  Nearly 50,000 COVID-19 vaccinations had been given in Madison County as of Sunday morning, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The IDPH reported Sunday that 49,420 COVID-19 vaccinations have been given in the county. There were 39,062 first vaccine doses  or 13.6% of the population  given, as well as 10,358 second vaccine doses, or 3.92% of the population.

The IDPH also reported that 10.62% of Macoupin County had received both doses of the vaccine. Other fully vaccinated rates included Calhoun County at 9.5%, Jersey County at 12.64% and Greene County at 9.45%.

On Sunday the IDPH reported 2,740,105 doses of vaccine had been delivered to providers in Illinois. About 443,700 doses have been allocated to the federal governments Pharmacy Partnership Program for long-term care facilities. This brings the total Illinois doses to 3,183,805.

A total of 2,705,934 vaccines have been administered, including 315,416 for long-term care facilities. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 79,140 doses.

On Sunday the IDPH listed no additional Madison County deaths among 22 additional COVID-19 related deaths in the state.

Late Saturday Madison County reported one additional COVID-19 related deaths, a man in his 40s, taking the countys death toll at 459.

More Information Vaccinations 1st Dose: 39, 062 (13.6%) 2nd Dose: 10,358 (3.92%) Source: IDPH COVID-19 cases by county Madison - 27,478 (459 deaths) Jersey - 2,483 (45 deaths) Calhoun - 491 (5 deaths) Greene - 1,314 (47 deaths) Macoupin - 4,498 (108 deaths) Montgomery - 3,495 (68 deaths) St. Clair - 25,440 (466 deaths) Clinton - 5,571 (89 deaths) Bond - 1,909 (24 deaths) Monroe - 4,065 (83 deaths) Randolph - 3,963 (78 deaths) Washington - 1,583 (23 deaths) Source: IDPH & Madison, Greene, Macoupin, Jersey and Calhoun county health departments See More Collapse

There are sometimes discrepancies in the number of cases and deaths reported at the state and local levels, in part because of the volume of cases, and also as each local department forwards the information and it is verified. Local health officials have said the cases eventually reconcile as the reporting catches up.

The county health department reported 26 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases on Thursday, along with 1,073 tests. To date the county has reported 27,478 cases within the county and a total of 260,687.

There were 24 COVID-19 patients reported in Madison County hospitals Saturday night, four on ventilators. The three-day positivity rate on Saturday was 4.56%. The seven-day rate was 5.11% and the 10-day rate was 5.93%.

The IDPH reported Sunday that the preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests Feb. 21-27 was 2.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity for the same period was 2.7%.

Statewide Sunday the IDPH reported 1,249 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19. To date, the IDPH has reported 1,186,696 cases, including 20,516 deaths.

As of Saturday night, 1,265 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 303 were intensive care unit patients and 150 were on ventilators.

For move COVID-19 information, visit https://coronavirus-response-madcoil.hub.arcgis.com/, www.madisonchd.org or Facebook @madisonchd. Also visit www.co.madison.il.us or Facebook @madisoncountyil for more vaccination news and daily updates.

For The Telegraphs online vaccine tracker, visit https://www.thetelegraph.com/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-alton-illinois/. For additional vaccine locations visit https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location.

Local and statewide information also is available at www.dph.illinois.gov. Click the coronavirus banner.

For health-related questions about COVID-19, people also can call the IDPH hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.
The drawdown at Candlewood Lake is almost done.

But the answer to the question on everyones mind  did it stop the lakes nascent zebra mussel population in its tracks?  is still up on the air.

Divers, docks and mussel motels may answer it by fall. Now, its wait-and-see.

Its too early to tell, said Neil Stalter, the Candlewood Lake authoritys director of ecology and environmental education.

Heres what is known. Last year, people found 39 zebra mussels  small, striped, seemingly innocuous  along the lakes shoreline.

Stalter said hes confident that the winters deep drawdown  which lowered the lakes level by 11 feet  exposed any other shoreline zebra mussels to air, killing off the non-native, profoundly invasive mollusks.

What no one knows is whether other mussels anchored themselves on rocks in deeper water, readying to infest the lake, with its thousands of offspring producing thousands more.

If thats the case, look south to Lake Lillinonah.

In 2010, divers found exactly one zebra mussel in the lake. The ones the divers didnt find did the damage.

Within three years, they were everywhere, said Greg Bollard, a member of Save the Lake, the nonprofit organization supporting environmental efforts at Lillinonah.

Shannon Young, chairman of the Lake Lillinonah Authority, said that now, the weight of zebra mussel encrustations make some docks too heavy to haul out of Lillinonahs water to repair.

Bollard said some lake residents have now built lifts to raise their boats hulls out of the water, lest mussels begin to glom onto them after a few days sitting dockside.

Young said to avoid contaminating any other lake with the mussel-contaminated bilge, he sticks to boating on Lillinonah.

I never use any other water body, period, he said.

When zebra mussels multiply in sufficient numbers, they feed voraciously on plankton and algae. Filtering out all that organic matter leaves the water very clear.

Thats not a good thing. Bollard said the clear water lets sunlight penetrate deeper into a lake. That means invasive aquatic weeds like Eurasian watermilfoil get extra sunlight and grow tall and thick  something thats happening now at Lillinonah.

Watermilfoil is the other invasive species the drawdown at Candlewood Lake could knock back. The retreating water leaves the weeds exposed to winters frigid air, killing them.

But Februarys heavy snows may have stymied that effort this year. The snow provides the watermilfoil with a nice insulating blanket, letting it survive until spring.

The snow also ended any attempt by volunteers to walk the lakes 60 miles of shoreline, looking for zebra mussels on shoreline rocks and crevices.

Clearly, the snow put the kibosh on that, said Steve Kluge of New Milford, and a member of the Candlewood Lake Authority.

Now, Candlewood on the rise.

First Light Power Resources maintains the lakes level via the Rocky River power plant in New Milford  it lets the lakes waters flow down through the plants turbines in the fall to lower the lake, then pumps water from the river back up into the lake in the spring.

First Light spokesperson Len Greene said this year, the company dropped the lakes level from its working level of 429.5 feet above sea level to 418.5 feet. But it now has to return the lake to the working level by mid-April for the start of the fishing season.

In the next month and a half, well be pumping up quite a lot, Greene said.

Full or drained, there is still hope Candlewood will be spared a zebra mussel-infested future.

Because people found Candlewoods 39 zebra mussels scattered in different spots along its shoreline, theres the thought that the mussels arent concentrated in a clustered colony.

Theres no pattern to it, Kluge said.

Stalter said 2020 water quality samples showed no evidence of zebra mussel veligers  the microscopic larval stage of the mollusks  swimming in the lakes waters.

But there is this.

Zebra mussels  natives to the Caspian and Black Seas  showed up the Great Lakes in 1988. In 32 years, they invaded waters as far south as Louisiana. Theyre in all the Great Lakes, in Lake Champlain and the Hudson River.

And the Housatonic.

Kluge said the zebra mussel threat shows the need for more scientific study  especially on how Candlewoods waters move.

It really highlights the need for further exploration of how Candlewood Lake works, he said.

Contact Robert Miller at earthmattersrgm@gmail.com

While an impressive 76% of manufacturers in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) region are currently engaged in, or about to start, a formal digital transformation (DX) program, a significant proportion risk limiting their efforts by failing to connect key elements including DX initiatives, data, and technology environments, according to a recent info brief by market intelligence and advisory company IDC.

The info brief, which was sponsored by Infor, refers to Islands of Innovation as a key challenge, with siloed DX initiatives, siloed data, and siloed technology environments highlighted as three particular challenges for manufacturers to be aware of and fix.

In total, 44% of organizations said their DX initiatives are not integrated, undermining the perception of DX as being everyones responsibility, and that their digital roadmap focuses on the short term and fails to factor in the long-term transformation of their industry.

About 51% of organizations pointed to siloed data as a challenge, driven by limited understanding of existing data assets, and a lack of enterprise-wide data management. This is often exacerbated by unintegrated decision-making based on small subsets of data using rudimentary analytic models.

Meanwhile, 62% of organizations worry about siloed technology environments. Indeed, in many organizations, multiple digital technology environments exist separately from core IT. Some organizations have consolidated this into two separate technology environments  core IT and digital innovation  connected via APIs, the info brief states.

The good news is that organizations can overcome these challenges and improve their chances of successful DX by adopting a cloud-based integrated digital platform to connect the islands and break the silos.

To achieve this, manufacturers need to extensively restructure, placing data at the center of their processes to increase speed, agility, efficiency, and innovation, according to IDC. Enterprise applications need to be powered by an intelligent core that analyzes different types of data from a myriad of sources.

Its vital for manufacturers to achieve successful digital transformation due to rapidly changing customer profiles, business models, and the proliferation and growing use of apps and digital devices, said Jebin George, IDC program manager. By adopting an integrated digital platform, manufacturers can increase their chances of successful digital transformation, which can help them automate, add value to their business, and position them to prosper as we move into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This message is especially pertinent in the Middle East, where 75% of the population is Millennial or Gen Z, providing a growing base of digital consumers. Moreover, national industrial development plans across the region are focused on digitalization of the manufacturing sector, and a high volume of digital-native enterprises are creating business models that could present new opportunities to manufacturers.

Khaled AlShami, Infor senior director of solution consulting for the Middle East and Africa, said: Manufacturers in the region face numerous challenges, but with the right approach, adversity can always be turned to opportunity. It is important for manufacturers to take a step back and ensure that they develop the right DX strategy with an integrated platform at the core. Were excited to help manufacturers transform successfully and take manufacturing into the digital era.TradeArabia News Service

Looks like Google Discover is getting more useful than ever. The company has been spotted testing YouTube Shorts and other short-form video content for its Discover section. As pointed out by 9to5Google, Google Discover started showing short videos last year in August, along with regular videos and AMP-based web stories. However, at that time, the short videos were shows from other services like Tangi and Indian TikTok competitor, Trell. Now, ahead of its beta coming to the US next month, the company seems to have brought YouTube too in the mix.

You will know that the short video is from YouTube when you see the YouTube logo on the top left corner in the Card. The title of the video will appear below. It has been mentioned that tapping on the card will immediately open the YouTube app along with a new fullscreen player, letting you like/dislike, see comments, share, and see More  Description, Report, or Send feedback.

YouTube Short videos in Discover. (9to5 Google)

Unfortunately, there is no seek bar, so you cannot jump to a particular moment in the video, or play/pause the video. However, you can swipe up and see the next short video on YouTube.

Google has been testing YouTube Shorts in India for months now and looks like it is ready to bring it to the US as well by highlighting them in Discover. The firm has already confirmed that it is coming to the country in March.

Last month, Google said that in five months of testing in India, YouTube Shorts are now receiving 3.5 billion daily views. The first official figure for YouTube Shorts was disclosed by YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki in a blog post detailing the companys plans for 2021.




By Lee Hyo-jin







Controversy is rising over maximizing COVID-19 vaccine doses per bottle by using domestically developed syringes.







A low dead space (LDS) syringe, developed by a local company, minimizes the dead space between hub and needle, thereby increasing the number of doses that can be drawn from each vial.







The syringe will be able to increase the number of Pfizer's vaccine shots per vial to seven from six. A bottle of AstraZeneca's shots, which provides shots for 10 people, can be administered to up to 12 recipients using the syringe.







The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has allowed their use at vaccination sites by issuing a guideline to the vaccine centers nationwide, Saturday.







But it adopted an ambiguous stance later stating that no official review has been conducted of the syringes' usage.







"It is difficult to make a one-size-fits-all decision on whether to use one Pfizer bottle for seven doses as it depends on the proficiency of medical workers administering the vaccine," Jeong Gyeong-sil, a KDCA official, said at a briefing, Saturday.







Maximizing the number of doses from each vial will speed up the nationwide vaccination program as it minimizes wasted fluid. However, there are concerns that drawing up such measures to simply increase the number of recipients may result in ineffective immunization.







"The usage and dosage amount is fixed for every medication. It is worrisome that the authorities are changing the guidelines on vaccine doses without thoroughly reviewing the efficacy," said Kim Woo-joo, an infectious disease professor at Korea University Guro Hospital in Seoul.


Algiers, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Feb, 2021 ) :Algerian authorities have released a total of 59 pro-democracy activists from jail under presidential pardons issued earlier this month, the justice ministry said on Saturday.

The Hirak protest movement, which swept strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power in 2019, marked its second anniversary on Monday, with thousands marching in the capital Algiers and other cities.

The movement has gathered momentum in recent days after a year-long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday, thousands of anti-government protesters were back on the streets across Algeria. Rights groups said 700 were detained but later released.

On the eve of the Hirak's anniversary, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced he would pardon dozens of detainees held over acts linked to "the use of social media networks".

In line with that decision, "the number of detainees released following the completion of legal procedures had by Thursday reached 59", the justice ministry said on Saturday.

Among those pardoned was prominent journalist Khaled Drareni, a correspondent for French-language TV5 and press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

He was jailed for his coverage of the Hirak protests and, like many other detainees, was accused of incitement.

Following his release, he told AFP: "I hope that my time in prison will contribute to strengthening press freedom in Algeria and making it a sacred, untouchable freedom."Tebboune, who was elected in December 2019 on a very low turnout in a poll boycotted by the protest movement, has made several bids to head off renewed anti-government rallies.

Announcing the pardons on February 18, he has also signed a decree dissolving parliament to clear the way for early elections and said there would be a limited government reshuffle.
Vaccine is safe, stress 2 experts By Kumudini Hettiarachchi, Ruqyyaha Deane & Meleeza Rathnayake View(s): View(s):

With some people expressing concern over the side-effects after the COVID-19 vaccine, the Sunday Times spoke to two experts.

The vaccine is safe, stressed Consultant Physician Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama attached to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Angoda, who was the first to get the jab symbolically on January 29.

He said that there could be side-effects, which could commonly arise with any kind of vaccine. These include fever, body aches, sometimes a little vomiting and a little diarrhoea. These pass within a day or two. The severity of the side-effects would vary from person to person, like what parents would see when children are vaccinated with the other usual vaccines.

Pointing out that Sri Lanka has given more than 300,000 vaccines already, he says that there have been no serious side-effects.

When asked whether a person who is hoping to get the vaccine should take any measures before and after, Dr. Wijewickrama said no special preparation is needed. If after the vaccine, there is fever, etc., then paracetamol should be taken and the person should rest. If a person is feeling unfit after vaccination he/she should not engage in exercise until completely fit.

The answer to: Are people with allergies at an increased risk of developing allergies after being given the COVID-19 vaccine, was provided by Prof. Neelika Malavige, Head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

No, there is no danger of developing allergies with AstraZenecas COVISHIELD vaccine, she said.

Explaining that when looking at people who have suffered anaphylaxis (a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death), the AstraZeneca vaccine based on an adenovirus, has had no such incidents reported. The mRNA vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna, however, have been associated with 10 times more chances of developing severe allergies.

It has to be remembered that any vaccine even those against tetanus, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Mumps-Measles-Rubella (MMR) usually has an anaphylactic rate of 1 in 1 million. It has been found that in Pfizer and Moderna with regard to the COVID-19 vaccine, there is a slightly increased risk of 10 in 1 million in connection with anaphylaxis. There have been no reports of such incidents with AstraZeneca. Therefore, it is deemed that it is safe for people with allergies to take this vaccine, she added.

Having said that though, all precautions should be in place such as emergency trays etc., during the COVID-19 vaccine programme, as in other vaccination programmes. In Sri Lanka, one instance of possible anaphylaxis had been reported so far and had been dealt with efficiently.

Addressing other concerns, Prof. Malavige said that none of the COVID-19 vaccines or any other vaccines would lead to sub-fertility or impotence. There is also no possibility of the COVID-19 vaccines changing anybodys DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid or genetic material) or the vaccine components being incorporated into a persons DNA.

She also stressed that due to patients with kidney or cardiovascular disease and those who are obese being at higher risk of getting COVID-19 and being severely ill, they should take the vaccination without fail.
Its a shocking image: two young girls, skinny teenagers in brightly coloured salwar kameez, hang from opposite branches of a tall mango tree, suspended from their necks by their own pink and green dupattas. Their eyes are closed. Their heads, bent by gravity, appear bowed in reverence towards one another. Sari-clad women sit in a circle around the tree, several clasping their faces with their hands. A few hold small children.

It's a snapshot of the scene in the village of Katra in Budaun, Uttar Pradesh, on 28 May 2014, the morning after the girls  Indian law requires that their names be withheld, so journalist Sonia Faleiro calls them Padma and Lalli, cousins alike as two grains of rice  went missing in the fields behind their homes after heading out for a final squat for the night.

Recommended India introduces new rules to regulate online content

Just two days before, newly elected prime minister Narendra Modi had been sworn in with promises of prosperity. Achhe din aane waale hain  good days are coming soon  he said. The national mood, Faleiro notes, was predominantly one of triumphant ascendancy. India had been poor for so long; but now, rather than being dismissed as a lumbering elephant, it was a tiger, she writes, and as people's vanities were stoked, their appetite for news stories about girls like Padma and Lalli shrank. The world was watching India, but no one was more bewitched by the transformation than Indians themselves.

It may not have fitted the prevailing narrative, but back in Katra, it was hard to ignore the spectacle of the girls deaths. In the hours after they were discovered in the mango grove, Padma and Lalli's distraught families refused to let the police bring the bodies down. As videos and photos of the dead cousins went viral (They looked like dangling puppets, one local recalled), tourists lined up to see them, blocking the road to the village with their horse carts, motorbikes and tractors. Village children dug a makeshift helipad in the dirt for the arrival of high-profile politicians. Family members gave news conferences, demanding justice.

Who or what had killed the girls? Initial accounts from relatives indicated that 16-year-old Padma and 14-year-old Lalli had been abducted by a group of men from a neighbouring village; a hasty post-mortem suggested that the cousins had been raped before they died. In the aftermath of the brutal 2012 Delhi bus rape case, the story, at first, seemed horrifying but familiar: Two girls found gang-raped and hanged in India, a matter-of-fact Washington Post headline from 29 May declared. The truth, as London-based writer Faleiro gradually discovers in The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing, was considerably more complicated.

The girls were often seen clutching a mobile phone  an obvious threat to their honour. In some villages in Uttar Pradesh, unmarried women are forbidden from using mobile phones

For a previous book, Faleiro immersed herself in the underworld of Mumbais secret dance bars. Here, she takes a more forensic approach, starting in Katra and patiently working her way across the region over the course of four years. In her search for answers, Faleiro interviews more than 100 people and combs through some 3,000 pages of records from Indias Central Bureau of Investigation. It's a remarkable feat of reporting: what she finds reveals as much about the failings of Indias law enforcement, media and politics as it does about the girls deaths.

Right away, its apparent that caste and clan politics are central to this story. Lalli and Padmas families are Shakyas; the chief suspects, a 19-year-old named Pappu whom the girls knew from the neighbouring village, and his brothers, are Yadavs. The Shakyas and the Yadavs both fall into the category of Other Backward Classes, or OBCs  historically oppressed low-caste groups. But there is a key distinction: in Uttar Pradesh, Yadavs wield political power. In 2014, the states chief minister was a Yadav with a reputation for corruption, backed by numerous Yadav law enforcement officers. The Shakyas mistrust of the Yadavs, and more generally of the powerful, ran deep, Faleiro explains: It was easy to point to earlier acts of grave malfeasance  by police officers, even the prime minister  to show that in India anything was possible, and nothing was what it seemed.

As Faleiro probes the case, an extensive supporting cast emerges: meddlesome uncles, drunken police officers, hopelessly unqualified coroners, sensationalising TV newsmen, a sneering intelligence officer and grandstanding politicians, all with a part  however undignified  to play in this story. (Faleiros prose is restrained, but she allows the occasional colourful simile, as when one unreliable witness is described as coming apart like overripe fruit.) Everyone agrees that the girls deaths are a tragedy; no one knows quite whom to blame. Or, as Faleiro puts it: Everyone agreed the system was rotten but no one knew how to fix it. That same year, one child went missing in India every eight minutes.

Faleiro discovers that women in parts of India are subject to a powerful code of honour that binds and afflicts them from an early age (Handout)

The Good Girls isnt the first non-fiction book to make a close study of the fates of Indias most destitute citizens; in recent years, there has been a steady stream of them. Aman Sethis A Free Man: A True Story of Life and Death in Delhi; Katherine Boos Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity; and Faleiros own Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombays Dance Bars  among others  each applied a similar rigour to their explorations of the lived experience of poverty on the subcontinent. But as Faleiro explains in an authors note, The Good Girls was supposed to be something else. The book she set out to write was intended to be an investigation of the nature of sexual violence in India.

Instead, what she finds is a story of the constraints placed on ordinary girls lives from an early age. Its the story of the girls larger-than-life honour  a disembodied thing that hangs about them menacingly, threatening to fall away at any moment, ruining the whole family. The girls were often seen clutching a mobile phone  an obvious threat to their honour. In some villages in Uttar Pradesh, unmarried women are forbidden from using mobile phones. (Undoubtedly the girls were romancing someone, one neighbour concluded.) The day they disappeared, the girls attended a local fair, where they ate greasy pakoras and bought nail polish  again, risking their honour (after all, it wouldn't do for girls to be seen enjoying themselves in a public place).

That word  enjoy  takes on a dark shade in this book. Its a word that can be heard on a short recording of one of the last phone conversations Lalli had, with Pappu, on the day the girls died. But what enjoyment meant, really, to Padma and Lalli is something Faleiro cant entirely uncover. After their bodies were found, the men of their families hid, and then destroyed, the very items that could crack open the case: the mobile phones the girls used, which, thanks to software requested by Lallis father, held recordings of their calls. Who knows what's in the phone, Lallis father says  but whatever it was surely should be deleted.

Faleiro lets the suspense build as she carefully uncovers the villagers competing motives. Gradually, it becomes clear that in Katra, ultimately one thing is more binding than police codes, medical codes or penal codes: a retrograde but resilient code of honour. This is the force, above all others, that stunted the girls lives and hastened their deaths. In the end, Faleiro writes, it became apparent that an Indian womans first challenge was surviving her own home.

The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing By Sonia Faleiro. Bloomsbury Publishing, 16.99

 The Washington Post
ICQPodcast - Progressive changes at the ARRL In this episode, Martin (M1MRB) is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in this episodes features is in an interview with ARRL David Minster NA2AA, and the President, Rick Roderick K5UR as they discuss changes for the ARRL with Frank Howell K4FMH.



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News stories include: -



 Concord Student Wins Congressional App Challenge

 ARRL Reject Additional VEC's

 ARRL to consider covering young members license fee

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 UK Amateur Radio Operator Celebrates 100th Birthday

 The Royal Australian Air Force - 100 Year Centenary. VK100AF & VI100AF

 Light Up 2 Meters Night, an FM Simplex Event

 ARRL CEO David Minster (NA2AA) to keynote QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo



The ICQPodcast can be downloaded from http://www.icqpodcast.com
A former elementary school teacher in Monmouth County who earlier this month was accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl is now facing charges of assaulting multiple schoolchildren, authorities said Saturday.

Gustavo Barrientos, 53, of Tinton Falls, was initially charged on Feb. 14 with aggravated sexual assault against the 10-year-old and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly showing her pornography. On Saturday, prosecutors expanded the charges, saying Barrientos assaulted multiple children.

They did not release a specific number of alleged victims or provide any additional information about the circumstances that led to the new charges.

Last September, at a school board meeting, Barrientos was introduced as a third-grade teacher at the Red Bank Charter School for the 2020-21 school year, with a salary of $57,000. The school could not be reached immediately to clarify what Barrientoss current status is.

State pension records in late 2019 show Barrientos had been a teacher since 2007, and earning about $66,500 annually.

Barrientos was listed as a fourth-grade teacher at George L. Catrambone Elementary School in Long Branch during the 2016-2017 school year. And in September 2018, he was listed as suspended with pay in the minutes of a school board meeting.

Currently, Barrientos is awaiting his detention hearing in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold. The case has been assigned to Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Joseph Cummings of the Offices Special Victims Bureau.

The Long Branch Police Department and the Monmouth prosecutors Special Victims Bureau continue to investigate Barrientos. They are asking anyone who may have information for investigators to call Long Branch Detective Todd Coleman at 732-222-1000 or prosecutors Detective Sgt. Shawn Murphy at 732-431-7160, ext. 7032.

Tips can also be reported anonymously through Monmouth County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-671-4400 or through the agencys website, www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Kevin Shea contributed to this report.

Josh Axelrod may be reached at jaxelrod@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
A plastic surgeon attended his traffic court hearing over Zoom from the operating room as a patient went under the knife.

The California Medical Board is investigating after video emerged of the bizarre moment Dr. Scott Green appeared on video call from the operating theater on Thursday.

Green appeared before Sacramento Superior Court Commissioner Gary Links virtual traffic courtroom in his surgical scrubs with the beeping of surgical machines behind him.

'Are you available for trial, it kind of looks like you're in an operating room right now?' a clerk of the court asks in the video posted by The Sacramento Bee.

'I am sir,' Green replies. 'Yes, I am available for trial.'

Scroll down for video

The California Medical Board is investigating after video emerged of the bizarre moment Dr. Scott Green appeared on video call from the operating theater on Thursday

The court clerk first appears in the wild Zoom, immediately noting Scott Green's location

All the while, doctors and medical equipment can be seen in the background of Green's video.

Once the judge appears and the proceedings begin, Link quickly realizes where Green is standing.

'So, unless Im mistaken, Im seeing a defendant thats in the middle of an operating room appearing to be actively engaged in providing services to a patient. Is that correct, Mr. Green?'

'Yes, sir,' Green responds, as the commissioner notes he should be referring to the defendant as 'Dr. Green.'

'I do not feel comfortable for the welfare of a patient if youre in the process of operating on that I would put on a trial notwithstanding the fact the officer is here today,' Link continues, noting the officer from Green's alleged traffic incident is present.

When the court commissioner arrives, he immediately decides the proceedings can't continue

Green is a plastic surgeon in Northern California. It's unclear what he was in traffic court for

'I have another surgeon right here whos doing the surgery with me, so I can stand here and allow them to do the surgery also,' Green says.

Link quickly replies, 'Not at all.'

He continues, 'I dont think so. I dont think thats appropriate. Im going to come up with a different date when youre not actively involved or participating and attending to the needs of a patient. Let me see if I can get a different date here.'

'I apologize Your Honor to the court,' Green says. 'Sometimes surgery doesn't always go as...' before he trails off.

'It happens,' Link says. 'We want to keep people healthy. We want to keep them alive, that's important.'

'Im concerned about the welfare of the patient based on what Im seeing,' Link says as he tries to confirm a rescheduled court date of March 4 at 3pm.

Someone else temporarily commandeers Green's phone before they give it back to he can finish the court process in a breakout room.

At one point, a person unrelated to the case even managed to pop into the Zoom

The video was streamed live on the Sacramento Superior Court's YouTube page because traffic court proceedings are open to the public.

The bizarre incident did draw the ire of the Medical Board of California, which controls licensing in the state and suggested that they received a complaint.

'The Medical Board of California expects physicians to follow the standard of care when treating their patients,' a spokesperson said to Law & Crime.

'The Board is aware of this incident and will be looking into it, as it does with all complaints it receives.'

Zoom court proceedings have provided strange moments since the star of the pandemic.

Earlier in February, a Texas lawyer went viral after a filter covered his face during a court case.

'I'm not a cat,' the lawyer clarified.

In Peru, there was also an incident of a lawyer caught having sex during a Zoom after leaving his computer camera on.
Former President Donald Trump is set to speak this weekend at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC.

Trump is set to take the stage in Orlando, Florida at 3:40 p.m. ET (2:40 p.m. CT). The address marks the first major appearance by Trump since he left Washington, D.C. as President Joe Biden took office.

The speech is set to air on major news networks such as Fox News, CNN, C-Span and MSNBC and will be livestreamed on CPACs website and on CSpan.

Trump is expected to address the upcoming midterm elections, Republican strategy for taking back the House and Senate and the 2024 presidential election.;

I stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we began together four years ago is far from over. We are gathered this afternoon to talk about the future  the future of our movement, the future of our party, and the future of our beloved country, Trump says in a pre-released portion of the speech.

USA Today reports Trump is not expected to announce his candidacy for 2024 though he has indicated he plans to run again.

You can watch live below.
Theres a motorcade of political and legal heavies heading down the Hume Highway bound for Canberra and the High Court of Australia on Monday. This time the crowd is headed for the swearing in of NSW senior counsel Jacqueline Gleeson to the courts seven-member bench.

Gleeson has been a judge of the Federal Court in NSW since 2014 and was announced in October alongside Melbourne-based silk Simon Steward as a replacement for retiring justices Geoffrey Nettle and Virginia Bell. Steward was sworn in, in a low-key COVID-safe ceremony in December with another session held on February 1 where family and friends could attend. Gleeson - whos father is former High Court chief justice Murray Gleeson - will get the full shebang on Monday. And a good thing too given the crowd scheduled to attend.

Swearing in: New High Court Justice Jacqueline Gleeson. Credit: Peter Braig

Former banking royal commission boss Kenneth Hayne - who is also a former chief justice of the High Court - was en route to Canberra on Sunday for the ceremony, as was NSW Governor Margaret Beazley who was the first female president of the NSW Court of Appeal before being appointed to the states top ceremonial post. Not that Beazley was prepared to talk to CBD about the trip. And then theres Gleesons actor brother-in-law Eric Bana, who has loyally attended the legal eagles other investitures. Given he was last spotted attending the premiere of his latest thriller The Dry in Sydney, odds are he will bring star power of the likes the institution has never seen before.

Its also worth noting Gleesons appointment has been a cause for celebration in Government House in Sydney. On February 13, Beazley together with her husband Dennis Wilson hosted a dinner for the High Court justice-to-be ahead of her official start date on March 1. Lovely.
Egypt expressed on Sunday "categorical rejection and dennunciation of continued terrorist attacks by the Houthi militia against the Saudi territories," the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The foreign ministry reaffirmed in the statement "Egypt's full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and the measures it takes to protect its security, stability and the safety of its citizens and residents to face those terrorist acts, which are considered an flagrant violations of international law and represent a clear threat to regional security and peace."

On Saturday, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked the southern region of the Kingdom using bomb-laden drones and the capital Riyadh with a ballistic missile.

The Saudi-led military coalition, which supports the internationally-recognised government in Yemen, said that it succesfully thwarted the attack, destroying all attacking missiles and drones.

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A minister in the federal cabinet has been accused of committing rape. Since Friday evening, this fact has been public knowledge. Its shocking and its impossible to unhear or unknow.

But which minister? His identity is not public knowledge. Yet.

In the meantime, the accusation has the potential to taint all 16 male federal cabinet ministers, although several are too young to have committed a crime alleged to have happened in 1988.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has endured a tumultuous fortnight in politics. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Worse, it taints Australia. The Prime Minister and his government can be accused of sheltering an alleged rapist. In the room where our best people are supposed to decide the greatest matters of state sits a man who is alleged to be one of our worst.
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We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve.
The billionaire founder of easyJet has refused to invest any more money in the budget airline amid speculation that the FTSE250-listed company plans to tap investors for more cash.

There is speculation that the firm  in which Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's family vehicle is the largest shareholder  will ask investors for new funds for the second time within 12 months to secure its financial position.

City sources said some investors may have already been sounded out about a potential share fundraising. In January, analysts at Citigroup said the airline could need another 300million of equity to keep its debt to earnings level at a sustainable level.

Standing firm: Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's family vehicle is the largest shareholder in easyJet

Haji-Ioannou, who last week made millions by selling shares and reducing his family's holding in the airline to 27.7 per cent, told The Mail on Sunday: 'At the rate that the scoundrels [what he calls the management team] are destroying the equity of the company, it is inevitable that more equity will have to be raised from investors.

'They lost 1.5billion in the year to September 2020 and my guess is that they will lose a similar sum this year. For as long as the scoundrels squander the company's money on more Airbus planes, I am not going to invest any of my money with them.'

EasyJet, which is completing a 4.5billion order of 107 Airbus planes, raised 420million last summer by placing new shares with investors after its fleet was grounded.

Early in the pandemic, easyJet borrowed 600million from the Government. The unsecured loan must be paid back next month. Last week, it raised 1.2billion (1billion) by issuing a bond to be repaid in 2028.

A spokesman for easyJet said: 'We will continue to review our liquidity position and to assess further funding opportunities should the need arise.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 22:30:37|Editor: huaxia

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by Olatunji Saliu

ABUJA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria is about to receive its first tranche of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, a global scheme set up to procure and distribute vaccines, as the country works to contain the pandemic.

The first shipment of four million vaccines is expected to arrive in the country on Monday, about one year after the most populous African nation recorded its index case on Feb. 27, 2020, said Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

Nigeria has recorded a total of 155,417 COVID-19 confirmed cases since the index case, an imported one, was recorded in Lagos, the epicenter of the virus, according to data from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday.

"I can assure you that the vaccines are coming and they are coming very quickly. Barring any change in the delivery plan... we believe that our vaccines will be back in here on March 1 by 10:30 p.m. and arrive in Abuja on March 2 at about 11:10 a.m.," Mustapha told reporters at a regular briefing in Abuja on Saturday.

He said the country expects to receive about 16 million in the first quarter from the COVAX facility, while "by the time they supply all the range, we are expecting that they will supply 84 million doses from the COVAX facility which is free of charge and will cover about 20 per cent of the Nigerian population".

"Everything we are expecting from the COVAX facility is going to be the AstraZeneca which has a good ravage in terms of storage for us," he said.

According to Mustapha, Nigeria also has another source of more than 40 million doses vaccines coming in from African Union's African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT).

Nigeria's Health Minister Osagie Ehanire told media in Abuja earlier in the month that if all the projected vaccines are supplied, the country should have covered over 45 per cent of the population.

In the past year, out of the total confirmed cases, Nigeria has discharged 133,256 patients and recorded 1,905 COVID-19 related deaths across the 36 states, including the federal capital territory, Abuja.

Active COVID-19 cases in the country currently stand at 20,183, the NCDC said.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the NCDC said at the same press briefing that the country's national response in the past year has been led by "science".

Ihekweazu said there's a need for continued adherence to the public health and social measures as the country marks one year of the first case of COVID-19.

This, he said, includes physical distancing, wearing face masks, practicing hand and respiratory hygiene, and avoiding crowded indoor places.

With at least one public health laboratory for COVID-19 testing in each state, more than 70 public health laboratories have been established across the country, as part of efforts to scale up capacity for COVID-19 testing and surveillance activities, he said further.

"However, we must remember our resilience and strength as a country. We cannot afford to give up now and must continue to take responsibility -- whether as individuals, organizations, or governments," he added. Enditem

There are definite lessons to learn one year on from Waless first case of coronavirus, the countrys Health Minister has said.

Vaughan Gething said the country would definitely have done things differently if it had the knowledge about Covid-19 that is available now.

Since a year ago, 203,625 confirmed cases and 5,340 deaths of people with coronavirus have been reported by Public Health Wales.

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Mr Gething told BBC Waless Sunday Supplement programme: When I think about when coronavirus arrived in Europe, across Europe we plainly were shocked because we hadnt had the sort of significant impact that Sars and Mers had in other parts of the world.

You can see that in the way that northern Italy was overwhelmed and parts of Spain were overwhelmed, we saw real difficulties in France as well as here.

We didnt have the same level of response that other parts of the world did, who were much more rapid to take the sort of society-wide interventions that we eventually did.

Mr Gething said that at various points during the pandemic, he along with scientists and public health advisors had asked whether they did the right things.

Looking back, wed say with our knowledge today we definitely would have done things differently, he told the BBC.

Wed definitely have intervened more quickly but it was still the case that the advice to me was, with the knowledge we had at the time, we think we gave you the right advice.

A mass vaccination centre in Cardiff (Justin Tallis/PA)

Mr Gething said surveillance from China showed there was a problem coming, with Covid-19 more contagious than Sars and more deadly than the flu.

The UK had a lucky escape from Sars and I think thats part of the reason why we werent so geared up to take the significant interventions that have plainly been necessary, he said.

The Welsh Government would like to go further on current measures at airports, with an approach to all international travel, not just a red list.

Mr Gething said: I think with the learning we had now, looking back then yes, I think we would have taken different measures earlier.

I think we would have taken a more restrictive approach to international travel.

The minister said direct travel from China did not end up causing a significant amount of coronavirus to be introduced.

Instead, it was travel from China to other parts of the world and then more popular routes into mainland Europe.

It was really the February half-term that was the big event, with people travelling into Europe and then back that introduced lots of different entry points and lots of different spreading events, he said.

Health minister Vaughan Gething (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Mr Gething said significant community transmission after that point was inevitable but that was not known at the time.

If you look back, you can see points where we would have made different choices, he told the BBC.

Looking forward, there are definite lessons to learn.

Mr Gething said air travel was a significant factor, not just of the spread of coronavirus but also the exportation of the Kent variant from the UK.

On Sunday, First Minister Mark Drakeford posted on Twitter: Today marks a year since the first coronavirus case was reported in Wales.

The last year has been a long and extremely difficult one, where everyone has had to sacrifice so much. My thoughts are with the friends and family of all those weve lost to this cruel disease.

It was impossible to imagine then that we would still be living in a very different world a year on.

The vaccine offers hope for the future, but were not there yet. For now, we still need to stay home. Diolch for everything youve done and continue to do to.

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The Welsh Government announced on Saturday that more than one million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered in Wales.

Figures published by Public Health Wales on Sunday showed a total of 923,615 first doses and 96,408 second doses had been given.

Mr Gething told the BBC that the vaccines, which were first administered in Wales 12 weeks ago, offered renewed hope.

Wales entered Level 4 restrictions  a national lockdown  on December 20.

In December, the seven-day incidence rate was around 630 cases per 100,000 people but this has now fallen to 67 cases per 100,000 people.

The restrictions are due to be reviewed by the Welsh Government on March 12.
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Weekly poll: are the three Redmi K40 phones the kings of their price segments or not?

Xiaomi unveiled three Redmi K40 phones earlier this week. Or did it? If you look at just the screen and camera, theres only one phone. If you look at the chipset, there are two phones. And if you look at the cameras, there are three phones.

That may sound like a magic trick, but a quick run through the specs should clear things up.



Redmi K40 series highlight features and differences in infographic form

All three K40 phones use the same 6.67 Super AMOLED display (an E4 panel). It impresses with 360Hz touch sampling rate (one of the fastest weve seen yet) and 120Hz refresh rate (not the fastest, but still cool).

And it boasts HDR10+ and 1,300 nits peak brightness along with a perfect A+ score from Display Mate. The 1080p+ resolution and relatively old Gorilla Glass 5 are not as impressive, but are those deal breakers for you?



E4 AMOLED panel with DCI-P3 and HDR10+  S870 for the K40  S888 for the two Pros

All three models use the same 4,520 mAh battery, which can be fully charged using the supplied 33W charger in 52 minutes. Thats pretty fast, almost as fast as some 65W chargers based on Xiaomis testing.

Now things start to diverge. The two Pro versions are powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset, the vanilla K40 gets the Snapdragon 870 (an overclocked 865).

Where the Redmi K40 Pro+ really shines is the 108MP main camera, a 1/1.52 Samsung HM2 sensor with 9-in-1 binning for 2.1 m pixels. The K40 Pro is in the middle with a 64MP 1/1.7 sensor with 1.6m pixels after 4-in-1 binning. The vanilla K40 is at the bottom with a 48MP sensor.



Main camera comparison: K40 Pro+ with 108MP, K40 Pro with 64MP and K40 with 48MP

The remaining camera modules are the same, including the 8MP 119 ultrawide cam, 5MP telephoto macro and a 5MP selfie camera. Yes, the three are very similar, so it all comes down to the chipset and main camera.

And price, of course, heres how much each phone will cost. They will be available in China from March 4 and they might go global under the Poco brand.

6/128 GB 8/128 GB 8/256 GB 12/256 GB Redmi K40 Pro+ - - - CNY 3,700 Redmi K40 Pro CNY 2,800 CNY 3,000 CNY 3,300 - Redmi K40 CNY 2,000 CNY 2,200 CNY 2,500 CNY 2,500* * special edition (pre-order only)

Lets have a quick glance at the potential competition. If youre looking for a Snapdragon 888 and a 108MP camera, most of the alternatives are either Xiaomis or high end Samsung phones.

The Mi 11 (CNY 4,000 for 8/128 GB), for example, boasts a higher resolution 1440p+ display and slightly faster charging  55W fill the 4,600 mAh battery in 45 minutes. Not a huge difference with K40s 33W charger, is it? The upcoming Realme GT (March 4) is said to bring a Snapdragon 888 chipset at a CNY 3,000 price point, so that may provide stiffer competition.



Xiaomi Mi 11  Realme X7 Pro  Motorola Edge S  Realme GT 5G

What if youre willing to settle for a lower resolution main camera? Well, then youll find that most devices under $600/500 use Snapdragon 700-series chips and their screens usually top out at 90Hz.

Something like the Realme X7 Pro (CNY 2,200 for 6/128 GB) might split the difference between the K40 and K40 Pro. It has a 120Hz display and 64MP camera, plus its 65W charger is measurably faster (35 minutes to 100%). However, the Dimensity 1000+ is not on the same level as even the Snapdragon 870, let alone the 888.

The Moto Edge S is another option. This one has a Snapdragon 870, but the display refresh rate falls to 90 Hz (and its an LCD). Still, not bad for a CNY 2,000 phone (6/128 GB).

With no 1440p+ displays, telephoto cameras or mmWave 5G, the K40 trio are not flagships. But they cost half as much as a flagship (or even less). Looking at the premium mid-range segment, the K40 doesnt have a lot of competition. Did Xiaomi win the segment or do you have better options in mind?
SAGINAW, MI - John Pugh spent more than three decades working at Delta College. More than a decade after retirement, hes still working to mentor and grow Black youth in Saginaw County.

Working as both an administrator and professor at Delta for 36 years, Pugh split his time between the classroom and the community, setting up classes and programs for young people in Saginaw County. At Delta, he worked with the likes of Willie Thompson and Marshall Thomas, he said.

While hes been involved with many organizations, Pughs main avenue of mentorship is as chair of the Saginaw NAACPs ACT-SO program, or Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics. Through the program, young people are able to compete in local and national contests for STEM, poetry, dance and vocal performances.

MLive profiled Pugh for his work with ACT-SO in 2010, and hes still going in 2021, though conducting activities over Zoom takes some of the wind out of his sails. 2021 will be his 33rd year as chair of the program.

Its a very large number, Pugh said. I feel proud weve had a very large impact on this area.

Pugh communicates quite regularly with some of the programs decorated students, he said. One thing that inspires him to mentor is the impact it has on some kids who need the guidance, and the appreciation they show later in life when they find success, he said.

Sometimes you dont realize how often young people depend on you, Pugh said. Later in life, you find out that so many times you were in the right place at the right time. As they grow and be successful, its something that motivates you to go back and help others. You cant pull away from it, its just a part of life.

Pugh cant put a number on how many kids hes worked with over his years. One word hed use to describe the work is rewarding, he said.

Its very rewarding to see these young adults grow into these very positive positions and see how they appreciate it, Pugh said. I say that Ive been blessed... They appreciate it, and thats big. They come back and let you know how much theyve appreciated it.

When getting some kids out of tough situations, some appreciate the program not treating them like theyre down and out, but like theyre already where the program wants them to be, Pugh said. Pugh and others work hard to make sure the kids are given the same credit and responsibilities as anyone else, regardless of their incomes or backgrounds, he said.

Ive been blessed with my family, and as I grew up, I had people that had some interest in me, Pugh said. That interest was the motivation to me, just as much as being in the classroom, as people who helped me develop and supported me. Ive never forgot any of that.

Mentoring is a little different during the pandemic, now that everything is conducted virtually, Pugh said. Hes a people person and likes to come interact with students at their schools and during weekend sessions, something he cant do now. It also takes away some of the fun kids have as a group, which is key, but Pugh is trying not to make Zoom an excuse to stop developing, he said.

People know Saginaw because of that program, all over the United States, Pugh said. We do have some wonderful young people here... Im real proud of them.

Read more:

Making a Difference: Kids make John Pugh proud

Even in retirement, Marshall Thomas gives back to Saginaw community

Saginaws Mattie Thompson continues late husbands commitment to education, service
Beijing, Feb 28 : The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday delivered a batch of Covid-19 vaccines to the Philippine military.

The vaccines were delivered at the Philippine military's request and with the approval of the Central Military Commission, said China's Ministry of National Defence, Xinhua news agency reported.

The PLA previously delivered vaccines requested by the Pakistani, Cambodian and Mongolian armed forces earlier this month.
As about 600,000 more people can start registering Monday for the COVID vaccine, state officials are urging patience but remain optimistic everyone eligible will get an appointment within the next three weeks.

Starting Monday, those age 55 to 64, along with teachers, school workers and child care professionals, will be eligible to receive the vaccine, but appointments will not be immediately available for everyone.

Josh Geballe, Gov. Ned Lamonts chief operating officer, said given Connecticuts increasing vaccine supply, the state believes most will get vaccinated within the next several weeks.

We are expecting a lot of the newly eligible people to rush out (Monday) to book an appointment. ... People should be prepared to be patient, but know they will get their turn within the next couple of weeks, Geballe said Sunday.

For those newly eligible on Monday, state officials are asking they wait a few days to make appointments to ensure those most in need can get inoculated.

The next stages of the rollout comes as Connecticut continues to receive encouraging news about the vaccine supply. State officials said about 100,000 first doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be shipped to Connecticut this week along with 40,000 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine  10,000 more than anticipated.

Unlike Moderna and Pfizer, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires one dose, meaning some people will finish their inoculation process quicker.

The state has confidence in the new vaccine, which experts say has shown clear success in preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19. The state has instructed providers to designate which vaccine will be provided during the sign-up process.

We encourage everyone to take the first vaccine that comes available to them, Geballe said.

Lamont announced last week a shift in the states vaccinate rollout strategy, prioritizing people by age group instead of focusing on essential workers and those with high-risk medical conditions. The move, his administration argued, will simplify a complicated process and will speed up distribution.

The state estimates the new groups that will be eligible Monday comprise around 610,000 people in total, not counting those who were vaccinated through early phases of the rollout.

Despite the new groups eligibility, state officials said those who are age 65 and older can and will get vaccinated in the coming weeks. As of last week, state data showed about 75 percent of those age 75 and older had been vaccinated and about half of those age 65 to 74 had received the vaccine.

Anticipating the rush of people who will be eligible starting Monday, the states appointment phone line is doubling its staff to 300.

We anticipate that our online scheduling systems and the Vaccine Appointment Assist Line will be inundated (Monday), and for the next several days with people eager to make their vaccine appointments. Its a good problem to have, and we have increased our capacity to better handle the anticipated surge in volume, but it will still require people to be patient when signing up, Acting Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said. To ease the burden on the online and phone systems, we urge residents 55 and older to consider waiting a few days before seeking an appointment if they are able to do so.

Residents who prefer to make an appointment by phone can call 877-918-2224.

Geballe said despite increased staffing, people could expect busy signals on Monday, but reiterated that they will soon get appointments.

Though eligibility officially opens at midnight, the state has asked providers to have their websites updated by 7 a.m. Monday.

Some vaccine sites require residents to prove they are eligible. RVNA Health in Ridgefield has a notice on its website instructing those who are 55 and up to bring documentation, such as an ID, showing their date of birth. Those eligible through their job should bring a paystub, employee ID, letter or other documentation, the notice said.

While school employees and teachers will be eligible starting Monday, state officials are asking them to wait for vaccine clinics to be scheduled at schools and local health departments.

Most of those will likely open later in the month, according to a memo from DPH.

Individual school districts are working with their towns and local health departments/districts to work out a plan for their teachers, schools staffs and child care workers. So, the vaccination plan is going to look different from town to town and district to district, said Maura Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health.

She said the agency will make sure every local health department, or other provider selected by school and local officials has sufficient supply of vaccine in order to offer clinics throughout the month of March.

Geballe said the state has asked these clinics to keep an updated standby list of those eligible in the area in case extra doses are available.

How local health departments will handle the vaccine distribution will vary by community, Geballe said. While some may focus only on teachers, school workers and child care professionals, some will continue vaccinating the general population as well.

The departments are coordinating with the state, which will ensure a provider is available if the local health department focuses on educators.

They are all coordinating closely with the state while thats happening so we dont lose any momentum on the general vaccine program for those 55 and above, Geballe said.
The program opened with the mass entrance of ghostly maidens from Petipas La Bayadere, one of the most iconic moments in all of classical ballet.

It was a delight to see the Australian Ballet return to the stage after a year-long absence and an even greater delight to see them in such a festive and uncluttered gala event.

Of course, stepping out into what used to be known as show court one, the 24 members of corps de ballet did not in the slightest resemble otherworldly shades.

Instead, without the usual stage junk and romantic lighting, they looked like athletes: assured, focused but nonetheless excited to be performing in the presence of an audience.

La Bayadere, Summertime at the Ballet Credit:Jeff Busby / The Australian Ballet

The expansive third act pas de deux from Nureyevs Don Quixote benefited most from the arena experience. Chengwu Guo and Ako Kondo moved through the vast and airy space with the freedom of twin meteors.

This is a venue that rewards bravura action and daring. When Guo attacked his first soaring leap with a dazzling smile the crowd cheered as if hed nailed a forehand winner. It was a joyful close to the first act.
It happens every year, but that doesnt make it any less surprising each time; the days grow longer and brighter, and suddenly the world seems an altogether more interesting and optimistic place to be. Its just one of those things that we re-experience every 12 months, a pleasure that is not diminished or diluted through repetition. And unlike some things which inevitably fall short of the expectations begotten by months of anticipation, spring is an eternal delight. (At least before the allergies set in.)

Something else that weve been anticipating for months at WorldTempus, that will doubtlessly meet all our expectations and more  I hope no ones allergic to talent, experience or charisma, because as of today, Team WorldTempus is strengthened by the amazing Sophie Furley, who joins us in the role of editor at large.

Sophie Furley  Joy Corthesy

Sophie and I met as colleagues many moons ago, when we were running different editions of the same magazine title  she in Switzerland and I in Singapore. I wont say too much about her expertise here, as I want you guys to discover her for yourselves, but just know that you can look forward to exciting times ahead with WorldTempus.

Ill let the man at the top, Brice Lechevalier, express it in his own words: As editor in chief of GMT, I got to know Sophie when the magazine was newly launched. At the time she worked at Roger Dubuis, and thereafter we maintained excellent relations as she switched career lanes and became an industry peer, leading various media titles. Sophie is a highly competent and endearing personality, respected by everyone in the watch industry, and I am very happy to be able to welcome her to our team. She forms, with Suzanne Wong, a magnificent duo of charm and impact for WorldTempus, and I have also entrusted the reins of LADY by GMT to her capable hands.

WRB Automatic  RALF TECH

As WorldTempus opens a new chapter of adventure, were determined that you, our beloved WorldTempus family, share this path with us. This month, were giving away the RALF TECH WRB First Edition Black to one lucky reader. This timepiece, built by a brand that symbolises life on the extreme edge, is as tough as it looks. Whoever ends up with it will also take on a moral imperative to live life to the fullest. Its not for the faint-hearted, but thats clearly not a relevant warning for any of you. People who love mechanical watchmaking in the 21st century are used to going against the current.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  With three weeks to go in New Mexicos 60-day legislative session, the outlook for adult-use cannabis legalization remains hazy at best.

But backers of four legalization bills still in the mix at the Roundhouse expressed optimism Saturday that a compromise measure  likely a mashup of the various proposals  could move forward and reach Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams desk before the legislative session ends.

A Senate committee spent more than three hours Saturday scrutinizing the bills but did not vote on them, instead directing bill sponsors to try to hash out their differences over the next week.

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I think weve got plenty of time, Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, said in an interview after the hearing, citing a bipartisan willingness to work on a marijuana legalization bill after years of debate on the subject. Were feeling really good.

The Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee discussion came one day after the House voted 39-31 to approve a legalization bill sponsored by Martinez and others that would authorize commercial sales to begin in January 2022.

That bill, House Bill 12, could be amended in the Senate and then advanced, which would avoid the need for House committees to vote on it again, said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe.

However, several Republicans suggested they would not support the House-approved bill in its current form and prefer other approaches to cannabis legalization.

I think its time to end prohibition, but there are things that have to be in there  or not in there  for me to (vote to) do it, said Senate Minority Whip Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho.

Indeed, while a growing number of New Mexico lawmakers appear to see legalization of recreational cannabis as imminent, several issues are still being debated.

Details scrutinized Saturday included tax rates, water rights, revenue uses, personal production limits and regulation of a new legal marijuana industry.

The tax rates in the four bills under consideration would range from 12% to 21%, with most of the generated revenue going to the state and a smaller amount to cities and counties.

Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, sponsor of one of the four bills, Senate Bill 288, said an excessively high tax rate could lead many to continue to buy cannabis on the black market.

We dont want to put the tax rate so high  that we tax the legal cannabis out of the market, Pirtle said.

Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, said there should be no cap on plants or licenses for producers, adding that existing plant count limits in the states medical cannabis program have led to chronic supply shortages.

He also said he envisions New Mexico eventually exporting cannabis products, though such interstate commerce would hinge on federal legalization of cannabis.

You dont get your green chile from New Jersey, Candelaria said. Why get your cannabis from anywhere else than New Mexico?

New Mexico would become the 16th state to legalize recreational cannabis if a bill is signed into law this year by Lujan Grisham, who supports doing so as long as legislation includes safeguards for children and medical cannabis users.

And recent polls have shown support across all regions of New Mexico for legalizing recreational marijuana use and taxing its sales.

We simply cannot afford to wait another year, said Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe, citing recent cannabis-related laws in several neighboring states, including Arizona, where voters approved a legalization referendum last year.

But some lawmakers remain skeptical in a state with one of the nations highest drug overdose rates.

Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, shared the story of an individual close to him who died at a young age after starting to smoke marijuana as a teenager.

He also asked questions about possible political interference within a proposed cannabis regulatory board that would be established under several of the bills to oversee the industry.

The 60-day legislative session ends March 20.
The agrarian community of Akunu-Akoko in Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State was over the weekend held in the jugular by ki...





The agrarian community of Akunu-Akoko in Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State was over the weekend held in the jugular by kidnappers.

The kidnappers who were armed to the teeth had abducted some travellers in the community and whisked them into the bush after sporadic gunshots to scare residents.

However, the gunshots did not deter hunters, vigilante groups and youths in the community as they launched a manhunt to rescue the travellers who were seven in number.

With their knowledge of the terrains of the community, the hunters and the vigilante were said to have caught up with the kidnappers who fired shots at them.

Following the exchange of gunfire between the kidnappers and the hunters, one of the kidnappers was said to have been killed which forced the other gang members to abandon their victims and take to their heels.

The travellers who were on transit through the community to the northern part of the country were said to have been rescued unhurt.

According to the regent of the town, Princess Tolani Orogun, when the news of the abduction of the travellers filtered into the town, the vigilante group in the community, hunters and youths swung into action and started combing the forest towards rescuing the travellers.

The efforts of the brave and courageous group and youths yielded fruits as the kidnappers exchanged shooting with them.

The gun duel led to the death of one kidnaper while others fled. And the seven travellers were rescued unhurt.

While confirming the development, the Police Area Commander for Ikare-Akoko, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Razak Rauf said the remains of the dead kidnapper had been deposited in the mortuary of a public facility in the local government.

Akunu, Ikakumo and Auga axis of Akoko which shared boundaries with Edo and Kogi State had in recent times witnessed lots of security challenges, particularly kidnapping, banditry and armed robberies, especially on the highways within the community.

Meanwhile, a farmer from the agrarian community, Michael Bello disclosed that due to the security situation of the area, many farmers are now scared of going to their farms for the fear of been kidnapped or killed.

On his part, the chairman of Akunu Akoko community, Ade Aboginije appealed to the government to consider the peculiar position of Akunu-Akoko as a gateway to Ondo State which borders Edo and Kogi States and increase the number of surveillance and security to man the axis to safeguard lives and property of residents.

The Work Zone

A lot of folks will go to work this morning, and not be happy about it. I hope I can give you some ideas today that will help make sure youre Read more
New Delhi:

Indian auto major Tata Motors launched its compact sedan Tigor in Nepal at a starting price of NPR 23.45 lakh. The company has tied up with its sole distributor Siprandi Trading to introduce the compact sedan model in the Himalayan Kingdom.

"With the launch of Tigor, we expand our product portfolio, invite new customers and reinforce our spirited comeback in the passenger vehicle market," Tata Motors HeadInternational Business Johnny Oommen said in a statement.

Sipradi Trading President Saurya Rana said Tigor is a gem of a product from Tata Motors and the company expects it to do well in the Nepalese market.

Tata Motors had launched the compact sedan in the domestic market in March this year.
CAIRO  Egypt and Israel agreed Feb. 21 to connect Israels offshore Leviathan natural gas field to liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities in northern Egypt via an underwater pipeline in order to increase gas exports to Europe.

The agreement came during the visit of Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek el-Mulla to Israel Feb. 21 to hold talks to support the goals and efforts of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also received Mulla, the first Egyptian minister to visit Israel in five years.

Speaking at the start of the meeting, Netanyahu said there was enough gas for both countries to meet their needs to become major exporters. He said the visit was an important day for cooperation in the energy field and other fields and he believed this was a new era of peace and prosperity.

Sources familiar with the talks told Agence France-Presse Feb. 21 that the Israeli-Egyptian agreement aims to increase gas exports to Europe from the gas liquefaction facilities in Egypt and, therefore, meet the increasing European demand for natural gas.

Osama Kamal, a former Egyptian petroleum minister, told Al-Monitor, The agreement has economic, political and security dimensions. Egypt has been [reaching out] for a long time to neighboring countries such as Cyprus and Israel, which have discovered gas fields, or other countries that have potential to produce gas such as Greece and Palestine.

These countries do not have a large infrastructure that enables them to exploit the riches they have, while Egypt has the largest infrastructure in its regional surrounding, which is close to all these fields, he added.

Kamal said Egypt has two LGN stations, the first in Idku in the Egyptian Delta and another one in Damietta in the far north.

Since 2011, the two stations have been idle or have run at less than their potential capacity. Additional gas supplies would mean that stations would normally resume operations, which would lead to economic benefits and create jobs, he explained.

Kamal said the Israeli-Egyptian agreement indicates a serious confirmation of the importance of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in calming the situation between the regions countries that had a dispute over oil discoveries.

These efforts began to yield results, especially in terms of Egypts efforts to support the Palestinian cause and the understandings between Palestine and Israel to start developing the Gaza Marine gas field, which has been idle for years, Kamal added.

During a Feb. 21 visit to Ramallah, Mulla agreed with energy officials in the Palestinian Authority PA to develop the Gaza Marine gas field in order to supply Palestine with natural gas and enhance cooperation between the two countries, and export part of the gas to Egypt.

Mohammad Mustafa, adviser to the Palestinian president for economic affairs, said in press statements Feb. 23 that the attempts to extract gas have always crashed with the intransigence of the Israeli position.  We are working with Egypt to overcome this challenge and develop the Gaza Marine gas field as soon as possible.

Egypts intervention is somewhat a source of comfort for both parties (Palestine and Israel) to [better] deal with each other, and for the PA to benefit from these fields in a bid to address its grinding economic crisis, Kamal said.

Egypts efforts contribute to calming the situation and bringing about real development processes in the Gaza Strip, which includes tightened security control on the northeastern borders of Egypt, to prevent the infiltration of extremists into the country, he added.

Gamal Qalioubi, a board member in the independent Egyptian Petroleum Association and a professor of energy at the American University in Cairo, told Al-Monitor, The agreement between Cairo and Tel Aviv to connect the Leviathan natural gas field to LNG terminals in Egypt comes as a result of the obstacles facing Israel in developing its field. The gas field is located in a geographical area where it is difficult to build a line for production.

This is not to mention the high cost of this on part of Israel. Therefore, the easiest and fastest way is to connect the field to Egypt through a pipeline to the LNG stations to facilitate production, he added.

Qalioubi believes the agreements with Israel and Palestine would contribute to the transformation of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum into a regional organization with clear strategic and geopolitical impact, providing many solutions to all member states.

The Egyptian state is seeking economic benefits, which entails political benefits that serve all countries and create a convergence of their interests and people. Egypt also seeks to become an open market for gas, he explained.

Egypt played this role with great intelligence and political acumen to solve many problems and calm the region, which was on the verge of economic conflict, especially in light of Turkeys arrogance, Qalioubi added.

Ramadan Abu al-Ula, professor of Petroleum and Energy Engineering at Pharos University in Alexandria, told Al-Monitor, Coordination regarding the energy sector between Israel and Egypt has been ongoing for several years and is moving forward. The recent agreement achieved mutual interests for both sides and strengthens Egypts position in the region.

For his part, Qalioubi added that Egypt and Israel have a great history of mutual benefit in the energy domain.

We were the first country to export natural gas to Israel more than a decade ago. We also receive Israeli gas through the Ashkelon-Aqaba pipeline that is pumped in the Egyptian market. There are common interests between the two countries that are constantly developing, he concluded.

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.
The bloc last year was slow to make big advance purchases from drug companies, acting weeks after the United States, Britain and a handful of other countries. This year, the bloc has been blindsided by slower-than-expected vaccine production, and individual countries have fumbled their rollouts.

About 5 percent of the E.U.s nearly 450 million people have received at least one dose of a vaccine, versus 14 percent in the United States, 27 percent in Britain and 53 percent in Israel, as of this past week, according to databases from Our World in Data and governments.

The stumbles by the worlds richest bloc of nations have turned vaccine politics toxic. Particularly galling to many Europeans is the sight of a former E.U. member  Britain  forging ahead with its vaccination and reopening plans, while E.U. societies remain under lockdown amid a new surge of dangerous variants, their economies sinking deeper into recession.

In the final months of 2020, several countries opted to forgo parts of their population-based shares of E.U.-purchased vaccines. Much of that trade involved less affluent countries, with less infrastructure and hard-to-reach populations, selling their shares of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that require ultracold storage, and instead making the cheaper AstraZeneca vaccine, which is easier to handle, the centerpiece of their vaccination campaigns.

But then AstraZeneca, whose vaccine was developed with the University of Oxford, slashed its expected E.U. deliveries because of production problems. And despite experts assurances, many Europeans expressed doubts about it after some leaders questioned its efficacy in older age groups, which were not well represented in clinical trials. (Pfizer also suffered a supply slowdown.)

But Paul M. Smith, a lawyer with the Campaign Legal Center, which submitted a brief supporting the challengers, said lower courts had worked out a sensible framework to identify restrictions that violate Section 2.

It is not enough that a rule has a racially disparate impact, he said. That disparity must be related to, and explained by, the history of discrimination in the jurisdiction. Our hope is that the court will recognize the importance of maintaining this workable test, which plays an essential role in reining in laws that operate to burden voting by Blacks or Latinos.

The two sets of lawyers defending the measures in Arizona did not agree on what standard the Supreme Court should adopt to sustain the challenged restrictions. Mr. Brnovich, the state attorney general, said the disparate effect on minority voters must be substantial and caused by the challenged practice rather than some other factor. Lawyers for the Arizona Republican Party took a harder line, saying that race-neutral election regulations that impose ordinary burdens on voting are not subject at all to challenges under Section 2.

Last year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, ruled that both Arizona restrictions violated Section 2 because they disproportionately disadvantaged minority voters.

In 2016, Black, Latino and Native American voters were about twice as likely to cast ballots in the wrong precinct as were white voters, Judge William A. Fletcher wrote for the majority in the 7-to-4 decision. Among the reasons for this, he said, were frequent changes in polling locations; confusing placement of polling locations; and high rates of residential mobility.

Similarly, he wrote, the ban on ballot collectors had an outsize effect on minority voters, who use ballot collection services far more than white voters because they are more likely to be poor, older, homebound or disabled; to lack reliable transportation, child care and mail service; and to need help understanding voting rules.

Judge Fletcher added that there is no evidence of any fraud in the long history of third-party ballot collection in Arizona.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) recently honoured 35 of its best-performing employees in 2020 as part of the banks Staff Appreciation and Recognition Scheme (STARS), for their dedication and distinguished efforts towards the banks clients and improving their performance throughout the past year.

The honoured departments included Credit Management, Operations, Financial Control, Treasury and Investment, Compliance, Legal, Risk Management, Information Technology, Business Banking, Corporate Banking and Debt Capital Markets, and Corporate Communications.

On the occasion, KHCB CEO, Sattam Sulaiman Algosaibi, stated, The Bank firmly believes that the honouring of outstanding employees constitutes a great incentive for them to strive for creativity, innovation, and adopting the best operational practices.
Tuskegee police have arrested a second suspect for a Feb. 13 shooting that killed a 4-year-old.

Emanuel Howard Jr., 18, was taken into custody on Friday, charged with discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle and attempted murder. Another suspect, 18-year-old Joshua Washington, recently had his initial charges upgraded to capital murder for the same incident.

Davion Tarver died after the Saturday shooting occurred two weeks ago in the 500 block of Pleasant Springs Drive.

According to police, Tarver was hit by a stray bullet that was fired during into his apartment. Police dont believe that it was a targeted attack.

Tarver was initially taken to Baptist South in Montgomery because of his injuries, before he was later transported to Childrens of Alabama in Birmingham. He died on Feb. 15, after being on life-support for two days.

Howard is being held at the Macon County Detention Facility on a $65,000 bond.

Despite the arrests, the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with any information in the incident is asked to call the Tuskegee Police Department at 334-727-0200, the Tuskegee Police Department Secret Witness Line at 334-727-9865 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP.
1. Roads. The citys roads are a mess. Significant resources are needed to fix them.

2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

3. More city programs. The city must invest more in city programs and services.

4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

Vote

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-27 16:05:55|Editor: huaxia

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Afghan security force members attend an event to mark the National Day of Armed Forces in Herat, Afghanistan, Feb. 27, 2021. Afghanistan on Saturday marked the National Day of Armed Forces as the security forces keep fighting a Taliban-led insurgency, the state-run TV channel reported. (Photo by Elaha Sahel/Xinhua)

KABUL, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan on Saturday marked the National Day of Armed Forces as the security forces keep fighting a Taliban-led insurgency, the state-run TV channel reported.

"The National Day of Armed Forces is the greatest day, it is the greatest honor for people of Afghanistan and the state government to celebrate this great day," Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani told a ceremony held at country's Defense Ministry and broadcasted live in Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA).

"Your morale is unique. You are the real guardians of Afghanistan's Constitution and you are the guardians of this land, the great nation of Afghanistan stands behind you," Ghani said.

Earlier in the day, Ghani laid a wreath at a minaret inside the ministry's compound after inspecting guards of honor to pay tribute to security forces who have sacrificed their lives for peace and security.

The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) has been continuing cleanup operations across Afghanistan in recent months as daily violence and clashes remain in the country.

The ANDSF remains in control of most of Afghanistan's population centers and all of 34 provincial capitals, but the Taliban insurgents control large portions of rural areas, staging coordinated large-scale attacks against Afghan cities and districts from time to time.

Eligible military officers and soldiers received awards and medals from the president and other high-ranking officials during the ceremony. Enditem
Text:



KIA has hired Tops Security Private Limited under the Private Security Agencies Regulation Act, 2005 (PSARA) tops most of the QRTs. Though QRTs are supposedly for patrolling. But in reality they prevent all democratic rights activities. Even distribution of pamphlets are stopped, leave alone gate meetings. So workers could not hold any democratic activity for two years. With the farmers struggle being alive, 200 meters from the industrial area, workers got the confidence and also put up a tent. The three names given in the civilians FIR are from the QRT team.

On January 2, when the MAS workers visited the industry association, KIA, demanding their unpaid wages, the QRT of KIA fired shots at them. Following this, the workers union went to file a case against the association at the Kundli police station. However, according to Rajveer (Nodeeps sister), the police refused to register a FIR.

On January 12 the factory workers approached the management of Elecmech Pvt Ltd, over the issue of non-payment of dues once again, but they faced brutal lathi-charge at the hands of the QRT (read management goons). Even women workers faced harassment as their clothes were torn, as reported in

On the same day January 12, the Haryana Police arrested Nodeep Kaur, a Dalit, trade union activist of (MAS) at Sighu border. Another Dalit, union activist, Shiv Kumar was picked up by the police on January 16 and produced before the magistrate only on January 24. Nobody was informed about his arrest. In fact his family came to know of his arrest only on January 31.

This is blatant violation of law, which provides that any person arrested has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of his/her arrest. Shiv is not named in any if the three FIRs and he has been named amongst as the "others. And many more can be similarly picked up in future.

It needs to be stressed that both Nodeep and Shiv Kumar are from landless Dalit farm workers families. Nodeep is a Mazhabi (Dalit) Sikh. Her father works in a factory in Telangana and mother is a agricultural worker. Shiv kumar is a Dalit too from the "Chamar caste", his father works as security guard in a school. According to a petition filed in the Punjab, Haryana High Court, an Association called Kundli Industrial are Association (KIA) has been formed by the industrialists in Kundli and this association has formed Quick Response Teams (QRTs), which are deployed to deter any protest, strike or unionization by labourers.KIA has hired Tops Security Private Limited under the Private Security Agencies Regulation Act, 2005 (PSARA) tops most of the QRTs. Though QRTs are supposedly for patrolling. But in reality they prevent all democratic rights activities. Even distribution of pamphlets are stopped, leave alone gate meetings. So workers could not hold any democratic activity for two years. With the farmers struggle being alive, 200 meters from the industrial area, workers got the confidence and also put up a tent. The three names given in the civilians FIR are from the QRT team.On January 2, when the MAS workers visited the industry association, KIA, demanding their unpaid wages, the QRT of KIA fired shots at them. Following this, the workers union went to file a case against the association at the Kundli police station. However, according to Rajveer (Nodeeps sister), the police refused to register a FIR.On January 12 the factory workers approached the management of Elecmech Pvt Ltd, over the issue of non-payment of dues once again, but they faced brutal lathi-charge at the hands of the QRT (read management goons). Even women workers faced harassment as their clothes were torn, as reported in The Wire On the same day January 12, the Haryana Police arrested Nodeep Kaur, a Dalit, trade union activist of (MAS) at Sighu border. Another Dalit, union activist, Shiv Kumar was picked up by the police on January 16 and produced before the magistrate only on January 24. Nobody was informed about his arrest. In fact his family came to know of his arrest only on January 31.This is blatant violation of law, which provides that any person arrested has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of his/her arrest. Shiv is not named in any if the three FIRs and he has been named amongst as the "others. And many more can be similarly picked up in future.It needs to be stressed that both Nodeep and Shiv Kumar are from landless Dalit farm workers families. Nodeep is a Mazhabi (Dalit) Sikh. Her father works in a factory in Telangana and mother is a agricultural worker. Shiv kumar is a Dalit too from the "Chamar caste", his father works as security guard in a school.

He acquired education in IT field struggling against all economic, societal, caste discriminatory hurdles. He lost vision in left eye at age 15. His other eye has very high power and in fact is on treatment in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, which is currently stalled due to this arrest. He has a serious visual disability.

Till February 20 noon, not even a lawyer or family members were allowed to meet Shiv Kumar. Till the intervention by Punjab and Haryana High Court, no medical attention was given, despite broken bones and pulling out of nails. This is in complete violation of DK Basu guidelines and other CrPC safeguards.

Both these activists were mercilessly beaten and tortured by the police. On February 19 more than a month after the arrest while hearing a petition filed by Shiv Kumars father before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the High Court ordered that Shiv Kumars medical examination be conducted by the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Chandigarh. In case of Nodeep Kaur, the sessions court ordered her medical examination on January 15 and the report was produced only on January 25.

Her sister Rajveer Kaur had alleged that Nodeep Kaur "has been beaten up in the police station by male staff and has even been sexually assaulted. There are injuries in her private parts. There should be strict action." Haryana police have denied that she was sexually assaulted.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had taken suo moto cognizance of the alleged illegal detention of Nodeep Kaur following complaints received by them and had issued notice to the Haryana government. At the last hearing, the Haryana police failed to submit the medical report before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and only submitted the medico-legal report under Section 54 CrPC. On February 26, 2021, Nodeep Kaur was finally granted bail by the High Court, which has observed that no prima facie case of attempt to murder has been made out in the case. She has been previously granted bail in two other cases of extortion, criminal intimidation etc.

Meanwhile, the medical report of Shiv Kumar that was prepared by a five-doctor board of the GMCH and submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 23, states that in its opinion all the injuries on the person of the patient are more than two weeks old and were caused by a blunt object/weapon.





The medical report further states:

On January 16, 2021, when the patient was at Kisan Andolan at KFC near Kundli, he was picked up by the CI Staff between 2:30 to 3:00 pm. There were about seven people and he was taken to Old Kacheri, Sonepat, where the CI staff assaulted him. They tied both his feet, lay him on the ground and hit him on the soles. His 2nd, 3rd and 5th toenails of the right foot were torn and the nail of big toe of left foot became blue. They also hit him on the buttocks with flat sticks, they tied his hands and stretched his legs. There are four fractures and are listed as, fracture distal phalanx of the second digit of left hand, fracture of base of fifth metatarsal bone of right foot, possibly fracture/ sesamoid bone at Left Navicular bone (foot), possibly fracture of the right Ulna bone. (right wrist). Besides, his toenails are broken and hurt (ripped).The psychiatric evaluation is suggestive of post-traumatic disorder like symptoms. His psychiatric evaluation says he appears sad and depressed with occasional crying spells. Also predominant anxiety symptoms, flashbacks of brutality meted out to him, nightmares, feelings of loneliness, uncertainty about future and sleep disturbances.The medical report further states:

"He was made to lie on the ground with both legs straight and a metal pipe was placed on his thigh and rolled over the thighs by two people. They also hit him on both hands and palms and also on the back of his head. He was not allowed to sleep for three days, the CI staff took his statement and asked him to give names and when he could not do so, they tied him to a chair and poured water on his head.

In complete violation of the High Court order and in spite of grievous injuries, after the medical examination Shivkumar was sent back to Sonipat jail in the night. Next day he was brought to Sonipat Civil Hospital for an hour and taken back to prison, after merely giving him first-aid.

The annual report on torture 2019 by National Campaign Against Torture, states that the number of custodial deaths during 2019 remained over five persons per day. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India recorded a total 1723 cases of death of persons in judicial custody and police custody across the country from January to December 2019. These included 1,606 deaths in judicial custody and 117 deaths in police custody. India is one of

Both these activists were not provided a copy of the FIRs till the Punjab and Haryana High Court was approached. This, in spite of the fact that in September 2016 the Supreme Court in a writ of mandamus sought directions to the Union of India and the States to upload each and every First Information Report registered in all the police stations within the territory of India in the official website of the police of all States. This had to be done as early as possible, preferably within 24 hours from the time of registration.

There are three FIRs filed against these activists. FIR 25/2021 and 26/2021; one under sections 148, 149, 186, 332, 352, 384, 379B and 307 of the Indian Penal Code and the other under sections 148, 149, 323, 452, 384 and 506 with a wide range of charges including inciting a riot, causing hurt to a public servant, assault and criminal force, extortion, trespass, criminal intimidation and attempt to murder. While the bail applications were being heard it came to light that a third FIR dated December 28, 2020, has also been filed against the activists and other unnamed persons.

There is constant breach of legal norms, including labour laws and even violation of court orders by police authorities, but still these authorities are never dealt with sternly by any courts. Victimizing the victims and turning them into perpetrators of crime seems to be well established method employed by all State Authorities, more so in recent times.

It is urgently needed for the Courts to step in and to hold authorities accountable for failing to follow legal norms or even in contempt of court orders. There is an urgent need for legal institutions to take notice of the completely lawless actions of State authorities, which continue to suppress human rights, any form of dissent and even peaceful, non-violent protests.

PUCL demands:

Immediate release of the trade union activist Shiv Kumar

Withdrawal of the charges against Nodeep Kaur and Shiv Kumar

Stern legal action against the police officials involved in the custodial torture.

Compensation to Nodeep Kaur and Shiv Kumar for their wrongful arrest and brutal torture in police custody.

Workers in Kundli Sonipat Industrial area be paid their unpaid, legally due hard-earned wages immediately.

Appropriate legal action needs to be taken against the so-called Quick Response Team, which is nothing but a private goon-armed force, deployed by the Kundli Industrial Association, which terrorizes workers who are demanding their legally hard-earned wages.

The Quick Response Team needs to be disbanded with immediate effect. In complete violation of the High Court order and in spite of grievous injuries, after the medical examination Shivkumar was sent back to Sonipat jail in the night. Next day he was brought to Sonipat Civil Hospital for an hour and taken back to prison, after merely giving him first-aid.The annual report on torture 2019 by National Campaign Against Torture, states that the number of custodial deaths during 2019 remained over five persons per day. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India recorded a total 1723 cases of death of persons in judicial custody and police custody across the country from January to December 2019. These included 1,606 deaths in judicial custody and 117 deaths in police custody. India is one of only five countries that have yet to ratify the 1987 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ( UNCAT ). The others include Sudan, Brunei and Haiti.Both these activists were not provided a copy of the FIRs till the Punjab and Haryana High Court was approached. This, in spite of the fact that in September 2016 the Supreme Court in a writ of mandamus sought directions to the Union of India and the States to upload each and every First Information Report registered in all the police stations within the territory of India in the official website of the police of all States. This had to be done as early as possible, preferably within 24 hours from the time of registration.There are three FIRs filed against these activists. FIR 25/2021 and 26/2021; one under sections 148, 149, 186, 332, 352, 384, 379B and 307 of the Indian Penal Code and the other under sections 148, 149, 323, 452, 384 and 506 with a wide range of charges including inciting a riot, causing hurt to a public servant, assault and criminal force, extortion, trespass, criminal intimidation and attempt to murder. While the bail applications were being heard it came to light that a third FIR dated December 28, 2020, has also been filed against the activists and other unnamed persons.There is constant breach of legal norms, including labour laws and even violation of court orders by police authorities, but still these authorities are never dealt with sternly by any courts. Victimizing the victims and turning them into perpetrators of crime seems to be well established method employed by all State Authorities, more so in recent times.It is urgently needed for the Courts to step in and to hold authorities accountable for failing to follow legal norms or even in contempt of court orders. There is an urgent need for legal institutions to take notice of the completely lawless actions of State authorities, which continue to suppress human rights, any form of dissent and even peaceful, non-violent protests.PUCL demands:

Even as welcoming the bail granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to young Dalit labour rights leader Nodeep Kaur, the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), taking note of continued incarceration of her colleague Shiv Kumar, also a Dalit, has demanded charges against them should be immediately dropped. Arrested in January from a Kundli border point, where they were said to be bring workers support to the ongoing farmers agitation, Ravi Kiran Jain, president, and Dr V Suresh, general secretary, PUCL, said, both were brutally tortured.While the Haryana police, which picked them up, has been accused "mercilessly" beating and torturing both, as for Kumar, PUCL quotes a medical report submitted to the High Court on February 23, prepared by a five-doctor panel, which says that all the injuries on the person of the patient are more than two weeks old and were caused by a blunt object/weapon. The report also speaks of four fractures and broken and ripped toenails.Demanding Kumars early release, who is grievously injured and visually challenged and admitting to a hospital in Chandigarh for medical care, the PUCL statement says, Both Nodeep Kaur and Shiv Kumar should be given compensation for wrongful arrest and torture in police custody and cases be filed against the police for taking violating the law.At Singhu border lakhs of farmers are staying in thousands of makeshift tents demanding repeal of all three farm laws. One of the tents among those houses industrial labourers protesting non-payment of salaries. These workers have come in solidarity with the farmers and at the same time have been organizing themselves as many of the workers are deprived of the hard-earned wages. They have not been paid since the lockdown.Majdoor Adhikar Sanghatan (MAS), the union organizing these workers, is a platform working towards ensuring that labour laws are followed. Through their organized efforts many workers have been able to recover some of their dues. According to the Haryana government, the minimum wage should be Rs 9,300, but workers in the Kundli-Sonipat area are made to work 12 hours for Rs 6,000-7,000 per month. Women are paid even less, Nodeep Kaur, trade union worker of MAS said in a video report by independent journalist Saurabh Bambaiya published on January 27. A total of Rs 1 lakh-1.5 lakh has been recovered as withheld salaries (by the MAS), as told to ThePrint (February 8) by Nodeeps lawyer Vikas Attri.
If we knew six years in advance that COVID-19 would sicken our neighbors, weaken our economy and forever stain the outlook on the safety and sanctity of our communities, an alarmed public would demand action to mitigate the looming tragedy.

The 42-year expansion of Keystone Sanitary Landfill could produce all these harms, yet it is on track to be approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection as soon as this week. If the expansion is allowed, the dump will be permitted to pile another 92 million tons of mostly out-of-state trash on Dunmore, Throop and their neighbors between now and 2064.

An infant born today and raised in the regional shadow of Mount Trashmore will be in his or her 40s by the time the permit expires. If raising a family in a healthy, opportunity-rich environment is a priority, he or she will be living, working and raising children as far outside Northeast Pennsylvania as possible.

With the daily cascade of catastrophes splashed across the front page lately, its easy to forget the creeping threat posed by the expansion. Beneath the sound and fury of the pandemic and our poisoned politics, it quietly slithers toward the finish line.

Give thanks to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey for putting it back on blast. In a letter to DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell, Casey dissected the agencys cursory health study, which was conducted over just three months and did not include continuous monitoring of air quality or consider potential groundwater and soil contamination.

Casey also challenged DEPs 2019 environmental assessment of the expansion, which concluded that its benefits would outweigh its harms despite the amplification of those harms over four decades.

I am concerned by DEPs statement in its environmental assessment that all of the harms associated with the proposed Phase III expansion are already associated with the existing landfill operation, albeit these harms would be extended,  Casey wrote.

Since 2015, I have been contacted by hundreds of constituents from Lackawanna County, including local officials, school boards and community groups, expressing opposition to the expansion of the Keystone Sanitary Landfill. Many expressed concerns regarding the existing impacts of the landfill, not just environmental risks but also concerns about quality of life and congestion, traffic and vehicle safety risks associated with a major expansion of the landfill.

Keystone spokesman Al Magnotta declined to comment Friday. When we last spoke, he said DEPs positive environmental review was proof that Keystone is a state-of-the-art landfill operated according to the industrys highest environmental standards.

Keystone may be the best-run landfill on the planet, but landfills dont belong in the midst of homes, businesses, schools and families. A massive expansion would not only compound its misplacement, but brand our region and its people as too toxic and shortsighted to attract outside investment.

No one wants to move next door to a mountain of garbage. No business wants to invest in a workforce that tolerates the trashing of its communities.

At some point, northeastern Pennsylvania as a whole, needs to stop being OK with the status quo and the phrase that drives me nuts  Thats just the way it is,  Pat Clark told me Friday. A founder of Friends of Lackawanna, Pat said the fight against the expansion is about more than a single landfill.

It doesnt need to be that way, but were so desperate for jobs and money, regardless of what the ties or the future implications are. Weve just looked the other way for generations. If we want to have any type of future in this area. Its time to stop doing that.

Friends of Lackawanna refused to look away when the expansion was proposed and will carry on the fight whatever DEP decides, Pat said. Win or lose, the grassroots group recruited a small army of resistors and gave voice to overwhelming citizen opposition to the expansion.

The sustained outcry put public health  environmental, psychological and economic  back on the political agenda of elected officials who have long paid it lip service while selling out to polluters.

Casey was an early ally of Friends of Lackawanna. Officials who stood up against the expansion since include: U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic; state Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-112, Blakely; Dunmore Mayor Timothy Burke, Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, members of Dunmore Borough Council, Scranton City Council, the Scranton School Board and the Mid Valley School Board. Outgoing state Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, also opposed the expansion.

We elected these people, and every single one of them is telling (DEP), Were against this because its not in the best interest of the citizens and the people we represent,  Clark said. You dont get a referendum on a landfill, but if every single elected politician stands on your side when they dont have to, it should make a difference.

They all could have all punted and said, Its DEPs decision, were not going to comment. Nope. Every single one of them came out in letters speeches, press conferences, telling the DEP this is not in the best interest of their constituents. DEP doesnt represent corporations, they represent people. For (DEP) to ignore those things, theyre doing a disservice to how representative government is supposed to work.

When elected leaders express the will of the people they represent, appointed officials ought to listen and act accordingly. DEP exists to protect the environment, not the profits of polluters.

Denying this wildly unpopular, unconscionably extended expansion should be an easy decision. We had little advance warning about COVID-19. The expansion has been debated for six years. Its core fault  its a landfill surrounded by homes, schools and businesses in the heart of our region  was obvious on Day One.

Although some people on the fringes predicted a coronavirus could impact the world, it was largely unknown and certainly the scope of it was unknown, Clark said.

This is entirely known, predictable and forecastable. Its a slowly releasing virus that youre looking at every day, and its anything but invisible.

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, prizes people over profits.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown is urging the Chancellor to extend job support schemes in his Budget this week or risk betraying a generation of unemployed.

A report by the Alliance For Full Employment (AFFE), set up by Mr Brown, estimates there are at least 1,000 under-25s in every constituency in Britain now classed as long-term unemployed  without a job for at least six months.

Mr Brown said the research showed that only three in every 1,000 long-term unemployed under-25s have received help from the Governments job opportunity Kickstart scheme.

Mr Brown also urged Rishi Sunak to bring forward the start date of Restart, the Governments adult unemployment scheme.

Government complacency is betraying a generation of unemployed, he said.

The pandemic hit a year ago but the Governments failure to move quickly is condemning a whole generation of young people to joblessness and rejection and many to mental depression.

The Government wont release regional data to tell us whats happening on the ground but the research suggests in a city of half a million people like Liverpool or Bristol or Manchester the numbers in the work programmes under Kickstart are a little more than 20 and at best 30 in each place.

There could be as few as 10 Kickstart in Newcastle maybe and perhaps just half a dozen in hard-hit Blackpool, currently an unemployment blackspot.

Worse even than this shocking blow to young people, is the scandalous failure so far to place just one adult on the Governments programme for the long-term unemployed.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: Gordon Brown is best remembered for leaving the economy in a terrible state, with much higher unemployment than we are bearing now. Whereas this Government has taken unprecedented action to support people to stay and get back into work.

Our Plan for Jobs has been rightly targeted at those hardest hit. The Kickstart scheme has already created more than 120,000 jobs for young people in less than six months  more than Gordon Browns Future Jobs Fund ever created.
Chairperson on Sunday hit out at the government capping COVID-19 vaccine price at Rs 250 at private hospitals, saying vaccine companies "feel betrayed" as it is too low to sustain.

Reacting to a report that the health ministry has fixed Rs 250 per shot at private hospitals and health centres, she tweeted, "We r (sic) crushing instead of incentivising vaccine industry."



She further said, "Covid Vaccine Jab Capped At Rs 250 At Private Hospitals: Government - understand vaccine cos (sic) feel betrayed as price is too low to sustain."



Mazumdar-Shaw asked, "If WHO has agreed to USD 3 per dose, why beat them down to USD 2?"The government's capping of the vaccine price at private hospitals comes at a time when India is preparing to vaccinate people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with co-morbidities from March 1.

The COVID-19 vaccine will be given free of cost at government hospitals, while people will need to pay for it at private facilities.

It is understood that the Rs 250 ceiling per dose includes Rs 150 per dose of vaccine plus Rs 100 service charge.

(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 Democratic lawmaker representing a border district warned the Biden administration against easing up too much on unauthorized immigrants, citing their impact on his constituents, local hospitals and their potential to spread the coronavirus.

Why it matters: Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told Axios he supports President Biden. But the moderate said he sees the downsides of efforts to placate pro-immigrant groups, an effort that threatens to blow up on the administration.

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"You just can't say, 'Yeah, yeah, let everybody in'  because then we're affected down there at the border," Cuellar told Axios on Saturday.

The big picture: Border crossings are rising. Hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley area are already busy. The Border Patrol has less capacity than normal.

Cuellar hopes the administration continues using a Trump-era public health order to quickly expel migrant adults and families, at least during the pandemic. Activists have called for Biden to end the use of the policy, called Title 42.

He said smugglers will likely use the shift in immigration tactics from the Trump to the Biden administration to convince migrants to come to the U.S. "The bad guys know how to market this," Cuellar said.

Some immigrants are being allowed into the country without getting a COVID-19 test first  a concern for some non-governmental organizations caring for them, Cuellar said.

He complained about a contradiction between releasing some unauthorized immigrants into border communities while keeping legal, cross-border travel closed. Many local businesses depend on Mexican shoppers for 50% to 75% of their sales, he said.

Cuellar is not the first Texas Democrat to warn the Biden administration of the impact of growing numbers of immigrants on border communities.

Facing the weather emergency in Texas, Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano targeted the president in a video this month: "I am pleading and requesting with you to please put a halt to any measures regarding the release of immigrants."

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Soldiers and police in Myanmar are intensifying their violent repression of protesters that have taken to the streets since the Feb. 1 military coup. On Sunday, peaceful protests were met by deadly violence as security forces fired live rounds and killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 30, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office. Around 1,000 people are thought to have been detained.

The killings made Sunday by far the deadliest day for anti-coup demonstrators, bringing the total death toll of protesters to at least 21, according to Reuters. Before Sunday there had been three killings by security forces that were widely reported although recently two other deaths also came to light, notes the New York Times.

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The killings on Sunday were a result of security forces using live ammunition in at least six locationsYangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku. It was the first time security forces used lethal force in Yangon. We strongly condemn the escalating violence against protests in Myanmar and call on the military to immediately halt the use of force against peaceful protesters, U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.

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Some accounts suggest the Sunday death toll could be even higher. The Democratic Voice of Burma reported there had been 19 confirmed deaths in nine cities but said 10 additional deaths were unconfirmed. Witness accounts uniformly said security forces started opening fire on protesters indiscriminately pretty much as soon as protests began Sunday without any warning. Police started shooting just as we arrived. They didnt say a word of warning, protester Amy Kyaw told the AFP. A protester in Yangon tells the Washington Post that police gave a short whistle blast as a warning and then started shooting immediately. First they shot with real bullets, then tear gas. Later they used rubber bullets, the protester said.

Security forces are using more violence to counter demonstrators as anti-coup protests have been paralyzing the country ever since the army had vowed to bring order with the takeover of the government. A state-run news outlet appeared to justify the state-sanctioned violence by noting that while security forces had shown restraint they could no longer ignore the anarchic mobs and warned severe action will be inevitably taken against riotous protesters.
Feb. 28The History Channel's hit television series "American Pickers " is coming to West Virginia in April, and its crew is looking to pay a visit to individuals with unique antique items.

"It's a great look into the way America came to be where it is now, and learn some interesting facts through items, " said producer Sarah Perkins.

The show features a team of pickers who travel coast-to-coast in search of antiques to purchase and restore. In its search for hidden gems, the show also looks to tell the stories of the interesting characters met along the way.

This will not be the show's first time visiting the Mountain State, with some episodes dating back as far as 2011 and as recently as 2019. The cast has visited several locations in West Virginia, including Huntington, Matewan and Elkins.

"West Virginia always has some great collections for us and it's been a number of years since we have been there " Perkins said. "We thought we might as well return there and see what new things we can find."

The show will be taking all necessary COVID-19 safety precautions. Perkins said the cast will be tested prior to filming, masks will be worn at all times, social distancing will be used, and any other precautions outlined by the CDC or state will be followed.

"American Pickers " is searching for leads on antique collections in the state. The show only visits private collectors, so owners of stores, malls, flea markets, museums, auctions, businesses or anything that's open to the public are not eligible to apply.

"We really want to uncover some incredible items and tell the history of those items as well and really tell the stories of the people who own them, " Perkins said. "Everybody has a unique picking story and how they got into it is always really important for us to feature as well."

Alongside West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland will also be filming locations in April. Perkins said the show is not looking for any particular items, and anyone with something unique or never-before-seen on the show is highly encouraged to reach out.

Those interested in applying can send their name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos via email at americanpickers @cineflix.com or call 855-OLD-RUST.

TWEET: @GabbyABrown_


New Delhi, Feb 27 (UNI) Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday said his country is ready for talks to resolve all outstanding issues, but asked India to create an "enabling environment" for further progress.

Fresh from a visit to Sri Lanka, Khan welcomed the restoration of ceasefire along the Line of Control on cross-border firing.

"I welcome restoration of the ceasefire along the LoC. The onus of creating an enabling environment for further progress rests with India," he tweeted.

"We have always stood for peace & remain ready to move forward to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue," Khan said in another tweet.

India this week allowed the Pakistan prime minister's aircraft to take the country's airspace to go to Sri Lanka.

Khan's statement follows Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa's call for resolving Kashmir issue "peacefully" earlier this month.

Khan, however, repeated the old demand that "India must take necessary steps to meet the long-standing demand & right of the Kashmiri people to self determination according to UNSC resolutions."

UNI SRJ SHK1833
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Justice Department said Saturday it will appeal a judges ruling that found the federal governments eviction moratorium was unconstitutional.

Prosecutors filed a notice in the case on Saturday evening, saying the government was appealing the matter the to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The appeal comes days after U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevented had overstepped its authority and that the moratorium was unlawful.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so does the Constitution, the judge wrote in the decision on Thursday.

In a statement, Brian Boynton, the acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's civil division, said prosecutors respectfully disagreed with the judge's ruling and noted it only applied to parties in the case, not broadly to others.

The CDCs eviction moratorium, which Congress extended last December, protects many renters who cannot make their monthly payments due to job loss or health care expenses," he said. By preventing people from becoming homeless or having to move into more-crowded housing, the moratorium helps to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The CDC eviction moratorium was signed in September by President Donald Trump and extended by President Joe Biden until March 31.

Barker, who was nominated by Trump in 2018 to serve in the Eastern District of Texas, stopped short of issuing an injunction in the case. Several property owners had brought the litigation arguing that the federal government didnt have the legal authority to stop evictions.

The federal government cannot say that it has ever before invoked its power over interstate commerce to impose a residential eviction moratorium, Barker wrote. It did not do so during the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic. Nor did it invoke such a power during the exigencies of the Great Depression. The federal government has not claimed such a power at any point during our Nations history until last year.

State and local governments had approved eviction moratoriums early in the pandemic for many renters, but many of those protections have already expired.

To be eligible for protection, renters must have an income of $198,000 or less for couples filing jointly, or $99,000 for single filers; demonstrate theyve sought government help to pay rent; declare that they cant pay because of COVID-19 hardships; and affirm that they are likely to become homeless if evicted.
Japan is likely to receive an increased supply of coronavirus vaccines in April when the government starts administering shots to older people, Taro Kono, minister in charge of vaccinations, said Sunday.

I believe we can add a bit to a planned shipment for April, Kono said on a Fuji TV program, saying the government is in negotiations on the matter with U.S.-based Pfizer Inc.

Kono also said he expects the government to have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses so older people can receive their second shots in May and June.

The government plans to start administering shots to people 65 or older, a group of about 36 million people, on April 12.

Vaccinations will start on a small scale to work out any distribution and technical issues before ramping up nationwide from April 26.

In the last week of April, we will deliver at least one box to all prefectures, Kono said, in reference to boxes that contain a maximum of 1,170 doses.

Going ahead, we will ship in accordance with the volume of vaccinations, he said.

Japan started inoculating an initial group of 40,000 health workers on Feb. 17 in the first phase of its vaccination program.

The shocking moment a wannabe rapper hurled racist abuse at an Asian woman on a Sydney train has been captured on camera.

Footage of the rapper, who goes by the name Fleks City, launching into the verbal tirade was posted to social media over the weekend, including his own Snapchat account.

'How bout you f**k off to China. You f**king peasant,' he could be heard saying as the woman had to be held back by her male friend.

'You invaded our country.'

A rapper who goes by the name Fleks City (pictured right) filmed the moment he had a confrontation with a man and a woman on a Sydney train (left)

In video uploaded to the Fleks City (pictured in a photo posted to his social media) Snapchat account, he could be heard telling the woman to 'f**k off to China'

He further doubled-down on his racist insults, telling the woman a second time 'At the end of the day you're an Asian peasant. You come to my f**king country. I run amok, aye'.

The woman retorted 'I'm not from China' and told the man 'I come to your country. I contribute to your country.'

Fleks City pointed to the man holding the woman back, called him a 'p**y' and said 'he's talking sh*t'. She responded with 'he's not talking anything'.

'You know who I am, I'm king of the ussy, I'm king of the ussy,' he repeatedly told the pair.

The woman, who had to be held back by her male friend, was told by the man filming the confrontation 'How bout you f**k off to China'

Fleks City also called the man holding the woman back a 'p**y' and said he was 'talking sh*t' to which the woman replied 'he's not talking anything'

Fleks City later pointed at onlookers on the train and said 'you're Aussie, you're Aussie, you shouldn't be condoning this'.

The video cuts out after Fleks City, who was holding a can of drink in his hand, moved to another carriage before getting off at Tempe in the city's Inner West.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Fleks City for comment.
Born and bred in the Swiss Jura, Jean-Marie Schaller is a true son of this watchmaking land, which nurtured his passion for time and its measurement. After more than 60 years of adventures up hill and down dale, his passion burns as strongly as ever. While he himself is not a watchmaker, he is perhaps one of those best-qualified to talk about the craft  with his heart and soul.

At the turn of the millennium, one name kept cropping up for him: a certain Louis Moinet, a watchmaker whose reputation endured through the 18th and 19th centuries. Moinet was a watchmaker and much more besides: a scientist, astronomer, painter, sculptor, Fine Arts lecturer, and author of a treatise on watchmaking whose influence has spanned continents and stood the test of centuries. Jean-Marie Schaller had a hunch that he had stumbled on a little-known genius. In 2004, he left his job in Bienne and together with two partners, laid the foundations for Ateliers Louis Moinet. The story had begun.

Jean-Marie Schaller  Louis Moinet

It did so with a blank page. Louis Moinet may have once been an eminent expert in watchmaking, but he was a total unknown in the 21st century  an unbearable injustice that Jean-Marie Schaller set out to correct. To do so, he gathered a small team, took up residence on the outskirts of Neuchatel, bought all of Louis Moinets original timepieces, set up the first museum in the world in his honour, and began designing watches that were worthy heirs to Moinets timepieces. And in 2013, one particular discovery put Ateliers Louis Moinet firmly on the map: the first-ever chronograph, still in perfect working order and dating back to 1816, was found  bearing Louis Moinets name. Jean-Marie Schaller saw Ateliers Louis Moinet move into the spotlight. Distinctions poured in, including a Guinness World Record, and scores of other prizes. A timepiece was created for the occasion: Memoris. It was a fitting way to commemorate this illustrious past.

*On the occasion of GMT Magazine and WorldTempus' 20th anniversary, we have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years in watchmaking in The Millennium Watch Book, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book is available on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English, with a 10% discount if you use the following code: WT2021.

Order now


Theres finally a look at Michael C. Halls return to Dexter. Released in 2006, the show followed the life of Dexter Morgan, a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department by day and a serial killer by night. Dexter was an instant hit that ran for eight seasons before ending in 2013 with one of the most contested finales in TV history.

In the last episode, Dexter fled Florida for Oregon, where he assumed a quiet life as a lumberjack. However, it seems hes gone through yet another transformation as his next chapter in the upcoming revival series begins.

Michael C. Hall at an event in June 2013 in Hollywood, California | Frazer Harrison/Getty Images North America

Dexter is returning to Showtime

After a seven-year wait, Showtime announced in October 2020 that it had approved a 10-episode limited series revival of Dexter. The reboot aims to make up for the finale episode but, to clarify, its not a do-over. The official logline says its set 10 years after Dexter Morgan went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura and sees the character now living under an assumed name in a world away from Miami.

RELATED: Dexter: Will the Revival Include the Alternate Ending?

Heres a first look at the Dexter revival

A photo obtained and published by Pop Culture reveals Dexter has since abandoned his lumberjack look. He now has a clean-shaven face with his orange hair cut low and neat. TV Line adds that Dexter has moved away from Oregon for the fictional small New York town Iron Lake, where hell, unfortunately, fall back into old habits.

Speaking to TV Insider, showrunner and executive producer Clyde Phillips said that while Dexter seemed to put his murdering days behind him in the original series, he wont be able to sustain that. Dexter always has what we call the dark passenger living inside him, Phillips explained. He is more grounded than hes ever been, but that dark passenger is a voice he cannot deny. This is Dexter. People are going to die.

RELATED: Is Jennifer Carpenter Coming Back to Dexter? New Video Fuels Speculation

Plot details remain limited, but the cast additions offer up some insight into what could happen. Clancy Brown of The Crown will play the main antagonist, Kurt Caldwell, a businessman deeply invested in his community. Powerful, generous, loved by everyone  hes a true man of the people. If hes got your back, consider yourself blessed. But should you cross Kurt, or hurt anyone that he cares for, God help you, his character description says in part.

When does Dexter return?

According to The Telegram & Gazette, production on the Dexter revival started in February, with plans to begin airing episodes later in 2021. The exact premiere date is not yet known, but well be sure to update you when that information becomes available. In the meantime, check out more of our Dexter coverage below.

RELATED: Dexter Revival: Release Date, Plot Details, and Everything Else We Know
Mumbai, Feb 28 : Actress Taapsee Pannu celebrated one year to the release of her film "Thappad" by announcing that she will once again be seen with her co-star Pavail Gulati in their upcoming film "Dobaaraa".

In "Thappad", Pavail played the role of Vikram Sabharwal, Taapsee's onscreen husband.

The actress took to her Instagram page on Sunday, to share with her fans a picture from the sets of "Dobaaraa" and captioned it, "My last of the #DobaaraaSeries Coz some collaborations deserve to be repeated. Since this man had some unfinished business in Thappad so this is a chance to mend his mistake @pavailgulati Today exactly after ONE YEAR of #Thappad I can only hope he doesn't lose the woman #DobaaraaA

P.S- let's see in which parallel universe we were meant to be." "Dobaaraa" is helmed by Anurag Kashyap and is being jointly produced by Ekta Kapoor and Sunir Khetarpal.
I feel like theres this cognitive dissonance in my life now, right? Because Ive come to work, I walk by the vaccine center thats here at the medical center every day, and see this wonderful line of people coming in and getting vaccinated, my husband and I are vaccinated, I see a light at the end of this tunnel, said Hodges, who works at Comer. And then I see, you know, so many patients, children and teenagers whose mental health is really suffering.

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MASON CITY, Iowa  A year after a Mason City shooting, a plea deal is reached.

Derrick Norfleet Young, 25 of Mason City, was initially charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon, a felony, but has pleaded guilty to assault by displaying a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor.

Mason City police say Young fired a gun in the 1700 block of North Pennsylvania Avenue on February 24, 2020. One person was struck by a bullet but police say the wound was not considered serious.

Young has now been sentenced to two years of supervised probation. He also received a deferred judgment, meaning this conviction will be wiped from his record if he successfully completes probation.
Cyber threats across commercial and government enterprises appear to be so common that seldom do we see major stories on the topic. The past couple of weeks were an exception, as gas stations along the East Coast ran out of fuel supplies, thanks to the paralyzing cyberattack on null


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New Delhi:

The Sri Lankan navy on Thursday arrested 12 Rameswaram fishermen with two boats near Delft Island early in the morning while another boat has been damaged.

The apprehended fishermen has been taken to Kankesanthurai Naval camp (Sri Lanka) and interaction is going on.

Earlier, the Sri Lankan navy arrested eight Tamil Nadu fishermen on charges of fishing in the territorial waters of the countrys island.

The Fisheries Department Assistant Director Chandrasekhar said that the navy personnel also seized two boats belonging to Pudukottai districts Kottaipattinam. The arrested fishermen were taken to Kagesanthurai, Chandrasekhar added.

In another incident, a boat sunk off Neduntheevu coast and the four fishermen in it were rescued by fishermen in another boat and brought to the shore here early on Thursday, he said

More details awaited.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
President Joe Bidens decision to declassify and release an intelligence report on the infamous 2018 assassination of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi eliminates any doubt that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a murderer  more a mob boss than a leader who warrants U.S. respect.

The report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence leaves no doubt that the prince, widely known as MBS, controlled the hit squad that flew to Istanbul in 2018 and killed Khashoggi after luring him to the Saudi consulate for documents he needed for his impending wedding.

By releasing the report, Biden in effect reset the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. Earlier, he made clear in a conversation with Saudi King Salman that the United States will focus on the kingdoms human rights record, its coddling of terrorists, and related issues rather than on its role in countering Iran alone.

The administration already has cut off aid for the Saudi proxy war in Yemen against Iranian-backed interests.

The kingdom remains an important player in global energy markets and as a strong counterweight to Iranian ambitions in the region. But this is no longer a one-way relationship in which the United States had to look the other way because of its dependence on Saudi oil. Biden is right to hold the kingdom at arms length as long as it is willing to be represented by a murderer of a U.S.-based journalist.



The Culinary Detective: Bollywood is back

A quite common conversational ice breaker when out and about in Thailand is, Where do you live? I love to answer this by informing those enquiring that I count myself as extremely fortunate in having the best of both worlds; both a home in Phuket and also one in Bangkok. The rationale for this, I continually remind myself, apparently gives me the benefits of city living for business combined with the regular opportunity to soak up sun, sea, sand and immerse myself in the slower lifestyle of the island.

DiningCulinary-DetectiveChris-Watson

By Chris Watson

Sunday 28 February 2021, 02:00PM

Lately, I must confess to wishing I was more permanently based in Phuket as the so-called advantages of half my time in Bangkok are gradually dwindling away with air quality and certain difficult-to-understand restrictions being two key drawbacks. And food wise, whilst there are of course many more restaurants to choose from in the Big Mango, I find myself missing certain Phuket gems which, were I more island-based, would undoubtedly become my regular haunts. One such restaurant would definitely be Bollywood.

On my regular trips south, whenever an opportunity arises, I have descended on Bollywood as incredibly reliable in delivering consistently comforting Indian food. As you all know, us Brits love a good Indian meal; Chicken Tikka, Dahl, Mutton Rogan Josh and a number of varied Naan breads to dip and ultimately mop up!

During these visits, I have inevitably ended up chatting over a butter chicken with the effervescent Sam Sethi, the owner and head of the family business which covers a multitude of differing ventures. The restaurant was his brainchild and actually launched seven years ago to enable him to have a convivial location in which he could meet his business community.

The restaurant, as one might expect, has been redecorated over the years. However, as I entered recently I was initially surprised not to see Sam himself at the door and find myself in a quite stylish and contemporary restaurant, not as I have become accustomed. I recheck my surroundings to ensure I am in the right place Yes, this is the new Bollywood!

I am greeted by Priya, one of Sam and Chins daughters who returned to Phuket last year to oversee a comprehensive refurbishment of the restaurant and introduce a reimagined updated menu. I must say that the interior is a significant change with striking ochre walls adorned with simply framed Bollywood posters, a fond nod to its past, and rattan-backed seating lends the whole room a very cool vibe. Comfortable sofas with themed cushions pull me inside and Priya shares her new vision.

Even the menu presentation and layout has been changed to reflect new, perhaps younger tastes. I do notice that Bollywood is now referred to as an Indian bistro  I am intrigued. Yes, pleasingly, the menu still has the stalwarts as one might expect but also includes a number of more fusion dishes with Indian themed dishes given a modern twist, such as mutton rogan tagliatelle and Amritsari fish and chips, the latter with Punjabi spice coating. I also see prawn tacos and a tempting egg curry truffle risotto.

I order several recommended dishes. Rather than regale you here, I would prefer you visit and try for yourself, suffice to say you will not be disappointed. The traditional dishes have been given a more modern presentation and a touch of class, whilst the new dishes will certainly delight the more adventurous among us. I must highlight the aloo tikki burger and butter chicken panini as worthy of attention!

I bid my farewell and briefly reflect, relaunches are a sensitive beast, particularly those affecting successful timeless restaurants as reinvention can create confusion, alienating regulars, However, I am delighted to note that Bollywood bistro, I am confident, will not be one of those. The newly created identity is both a welcome facelift to the original and totally on trend. I look forward to my next visit and when I relocate permanently, to becoming a Bollywood Bistro regular! This might well be my new best of both worlds!

Chris is a former Michelin Guide Inspector who following an international career in hospitality spanning 30 years in both the Middle East and Asia, has now settled in Thailand and contributes a monthly restaurant column.
Red supergiants are a class of star that end their lives in supernova explosions. Their lifecycles are not fully understood, partly due to difficulties in measuring their temperatures. For the first time, astronomers develop an accurate method to determine the surface temperatures of red supergiants.

Stars come in a wide range of sizes, masses and compositions. Our sun is considered a relatively small specimen, especially when compared to something like Betelgeuse which is known as a red supergiant. Red supergiants are stars over nine times the mass of our sun, and all this mass means that when they die they do so with extreme ferocity in an enormous explosion known as a supernova, in particular what is known as a Type-II supernova.

Type II supernovae seed the cosmos with elements essential for life; therefore, researchers are keen to know more about them. At present there is no way to accurately predict supernova explosions. One piece of this puzzle lies in understanding the nature of the red supergiants that precede supernovae.

Despite the fact red supergiants are extremely bright and visible at great distances, it is difficult to ascertain important properties about them, including their temperatures. This is due to the complicated structures of their upper atmospheres which leads to inconsistencies of temperature measurements that might work with other kinds of stars.

"In order to measure the temperature of red supergiants, we needed to find a visible, or spectral, property that was not affected by their complex upper atmospheres," said graduate student Daisuke Taniguchi from the Department of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo. "Chemical signatures known as absorption lines were the ideal candidates, but there was no single line that revealed the temperature alone. However, by looking at the ratio of two different but related lines -- those of iron -- we found the ratio itself related to temperature. And it did so in a consistent and predictable way."

Taniguchi and his team observed candidate stars with an instrument called WINERED which attaches to telescopes in order to measure spectral properties of distant objects. They measured the iron absorption lines and calculated the ratios to estimate the stars' respective temperatures. By combining these temperatures with accurate distance measurements obtained by the European Space Agency's Gaia space observatory, the researchers calculated the stars luminosity, or power, and found their results consistent with theory.

"We still have much to learn about supernovae and related objects and phenomena, but I think this research will help astronomers fill in some of the blanks," said Taniguchi. "The giant star Betelgeuse (on Orion's shoulder) could go supernova in our lifetimes; in 2019 and 2020 it dimmed unexpectedly. It would be fascinating if we were able to predict if and when it might go supernova. I hope our new technique contributes to this endeavor and more."

###

Journal article

Daisuke Taniguchi, Noriyuki Matsunaga, Mingjie Jian, Naoto Kobayashi, Kei Fukue, Satoshi Hamano, Yuji Ikeda, Hideyo Kawakita, Sohei Kondo, Shogo Otsubo, Hiroaki Sameshima, Keiichi Takenaka and Chikako Yasui. Effective temperatures of red supergiants estimated from line-depth ratios of iron lines in the YJ bands, 0.97-1.32 m. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa3855.

http://doi. org/ 10. 1093/ mnras/ staa3855

Funding

The WINERED was developed by the University of Tokyo and the Laboratory of Infrared High-resolution spectroscopy (LiH), Kyoto Sangyo University under the financial supports of Grants-in-Aid, KAKENHI, from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS; Nos. 16684001, 20340042, and 21840052) and the MEXT Supported Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities (Nos. S0801061 and S1411028). This work has been supported by Masason Foundation. DT acknowledges financial support from Toyota/Dwango AI scholarship and Iwadare Scholarship Foundation in 2020. NM, NK and HK acknowledge financial support of KAKENHI No. 18H01248. NK also acknowledges support through the Japan-India Science Cooperative Program between 2013 and 2018 under agreement between the JSPS and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in India. KF acknowledges financial support of KAKENHI No. 16H07323. HS acknowledges financial support of KAKENHI No. 19K03917.

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New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend public and organisational programmes in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu on Sunday (February 28), informed an official statement.

"Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shahs to attend public and organisational programmes in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, tomorrow February 28, 2021," Office of Amit shah informed in a tweet on Saturday.

At 10:30 AM, the Union Minister will hold a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Puducherry Core Committee meeting. The meeting will take place in Karaikal.

At 11.30 AM, he will address a public meeting in Karaikal. At 1:30 PM, he will attend a BJP Puducherry Mandal and Office bearers meeting in Karaikal, Puducherry.

Later, he will travel to Tamil Nadu. At 3:45 PM, he will attend a BJP Tamil Nadu Core Committee meeting at Theivanai Ammal College for Women in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu.

At 5 pm, he will address a Vijay Sankalp rally in Jankipuram, Viluppuram. At 7 pm, he will attend a BJP Tamil Nadu Mandal and Office Bearers meeting at Theivanai Ammal College for Women in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu.

A total of 824 assembly constituencies shall be going for polls in four states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam - and the Union Territory of Puducherry, said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Friday.

Tamil Nadu assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2. The term of the fifteenth legislative assembly in Tamil Nadu is ending on May 2, 2021.

As many as 6,28,23,749 electors will choose candidates for the sixteenth legislative assembly in Tamil Nadu.

Polling for 30 assembly seats in Puducherry will be held on April 6. Of the 30 Assembly seats, five are reserved for the Scheduled Caste candidates. As many as 10,02,589 electors will choose the candidates for the 15 legislative Assembly of Puducherry.

Live TV
Participation awards, a modern symbol of a yearning for equality at the cost of merited awards, have no place in church. To celebrate participation is a failure to recognise diversity of skill, talent, and gifting that we are called to use wisely as stewards of Gods gifts.

At times, churches are torn between two extremities in response to the celebration of participation.

On one hand, we are tempted to think it is inherently valuable to participate, regardless of the outcome or our capacity to contribute and whether we are called to that ministry. On the other, we drift towards exclusivity, refusing to let anyone participate, forming a ministry elite.

The proper working of the church

To speak of ministry participation requires us to consider Pauls reminder in Romans chapter 12, verses 3-4,

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function(ESV)

There is a measure of gifting assigned to each. To not all share the same function does not tarnish the equality between church members. We are all equal, but equality in Christ does not mean we are gifted in the same fashion.

Rather, Paul describes the flourishing church when each part is working properly (Ephesians chapter 4, verse 16 ESV). Church growth is no premised on everyone participating equally, but according to each ones gifting.

Paul does not shy from the notion that there is a proper way for church to function for grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christs gift (verse 7).

Paul then goes on to list different offices of the church. Whilst not all of us may find ourselves meeting the definition of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, or teacher, we are exhorted by Paul later in Romans 12 to consider how each of us is gifted, not just those we esteem in certain leadership roles.

None of us can escape this call to the proper working of church which leads us to grow up in every way into Him who is the head (verse 15), for not only is the reward great, but the cost of failure is too high.

When the church fails

How easy it is to notice when a church has failed. It is far easier to spot than a church that abounds in fulfilling the gospel message.

Paul describes such a church in contrast to maturity when he portrays in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 14 wayward congregations as, children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes (ESV).

We live increasingly in a climate where every other church is tainted by this temptation to embrace the waves of change around us, blown about by human reasoning.

Rather than embracing Christ as the head through the mutual encouragement of our giftings, we are led astray by secular divisiveness that serves no role or benefit within our congregations.

Rather, the church is called to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (verse 13).

When we realise that the criteria of a flourishing church composed of individual members serving, is of united faith, knowledge, and a measure of the fullness of Christ, it becomes even more evident when a church fails to uphold this.

Held together by every joint

Before we think we can separate ourselves from this weight upon the church, the giftings of Christians reminds us last of all that none of us is gifted separate from the church.

Consider Pauls words exhorting us to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped (Verses 15b-16a).

Every joint is connected to the church, everyone according to their allotment of grace assigned. Each joint both holds together and equips the church in Christ, so that the church builds itself up in love (verse 16b).

If we are tempted to think that our gifting is meant to serve only ourselves, and not the church in love, then either we have not found our gifting or we have not found Christs purpose for His church.

With a weight so significant upon the church and the gospel call so strong, there are no participation awards in church, only Christians called to bless the church according to their individual giftings.

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/28/2021



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[ Spoiler Warning: This report contains spoilers that reveal if Stephanie and Ryan are still together.]

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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.

star Stephanie Davison was just shown breaking up with Ryan Carr and considering dating his cousin Harris on Season 8, so what do spoilers reveal about if Stephanie and Ryan got back together and are still together now?Stephanie is a 52-year-old career-focused woman who owns and operates two medical spas from Grand Rapids, MI.Stephanie was "a lifelong bachelorette" before meeting Ryan, a 27-year-old from Belize, during a vacation to his home country. Stephanie said he was the hottest and youngest guy she had ever dated and she had no problem being a cougar.Stephanie and Ryan dated for three years before Stephanie applied for a K-1 visa and the couple decided to appear on the show.Stephanie admitted she had trust issues in their long-distance relationship, mainly due to their large age gap, but also because she had caught Ryan texting three different women a little over a year prior."I threw Ryan out that night and I was crying. Right after his cousin Harris called me, and I slept with his cousin. Basically, it was over between Ryan and I. I'm just such an honest person, and I never would have slept with his cousin had I not found all of those texts and everything," Stephanie told the cameras.Stephanie had been keeping this secret from Ryan, and she knew it had the potential to tear them apart and ruin their relationship forever.Stephanie was worried about her romance coming to an end because she had invested so much heart and money into their relationship. She was allegedly giving him $500-$1300 a month by paying for Ryan's rent, groceries -- and even his work wages at a luxury resort, which Ryan was unaware of at the time.While apart during COVID-19, Stephanie felt she and Ryan were "growing further and further apart" although she said she loved him and wanted to be with him forever. They were fighting all the time and many of Stephanie's calls and requests for contact went unanswered."We are hanging on by a thread right now, and that thread is going to f-cking break any single second," Stephanie lamented.Ryan confessed he was tired of Stephanie "b-tching" at him, and Stephanie said she was nearly ready to throw in the towel. She accused Ryan of using her for money and wanting to come to America to "screw" other women or just have "a little joy ride."For Ryan's part, he said he enjoyed making his own money and his excitement about coming to America was waning because Stephanie was "far past crazy" and acting ridiculous.The pair began questioning why they were even engaged, but Stephanie wanted to end the relationship in person if that's what they were choosing to do.In October 2020, Stephanie said the borders had finally reopened and so she'd be able to visit her boyfriend in Belize."Although Ryan and I are engaged, he hasn't officially proposed yet, so the ideal thing for me is for him to propose with my mother's ring. I have a feeling this might be the time he proposes, on this trip. We shall see!" Stephanie gushed.When Stephanie arrived in Belize, Ryan said her presence was "a dream come true," and Stephanie seemed to temporarily forget about all their problems.All of Stephanie's anger and resentment appeared to disappear when Stephanie was in Ryan's arms, and Ryan promised Stephanie that she was his No. 1 priority and he wanted to make her happy and feel secure.At dinner one night, Stephanie gave Ryan her mother's ring to propose with, but she still had doubts about whether Ryan was faithful."How many women have you slept with since I've been gone for 10 months?" Stephanie asked."None," Ryan replied. "Of course I'm horny as f-ck and I want to have sex, but I was just thinking about your well-being and that's it."Stephanie later confessed to Ryan that she had slept with Harris when they fought about him texting other women, including one person whom he allegedly invited to join him in Cancun."He called me every day... Harris is very bold, and you know that," Stephanie said."I said, 'I just threw Ryan out. I've had it this time.' And he said, 'Can I come see you?' I was crying so hard. It had been so long since you made me feel special. So I had him come and he spent the night with me that night."Stephanie broke down into tears, and Ryan admitted that he had already known about that.Ryan called Harris an "assh-le" and said someone that worked at his hotel had seen Harris enter Stephanie's room. Ryan called Harris "a backstabber."Ryan said he blamed both Stephanie and Harris for the mistake but it happened a long time ago and he had chosen to forgive Stephanie and stay with her."I forgive you, but I'll never forgive [Harris]... He is dead to me, and I mean that," Ryan explained.Stephanie and Ryan continued to build up their trust and relationship foundation, with Stephanie revealing she felt optimistic about their future together.Ryan told Stephanie that he was looking forward to touring Michigan, but he was a little bit upset that Stephanie and his mother had gotten into an altercation over money. Stephanie apparently asked for some money back since Ryan's mom didn't sincerely thank her for it."I was expecting that was from the heart, you know? I feel if my fiancee is trying to control me and my family because of her money, then I would have to break it off. That's not a healthy relationship," Ryan told the cameras.Stephanie told Ryan that her psychic Maria had predicted Ryan was going to move to America and leave her for a younger woman, but Ryan said he didn't believe in that and thought it was the devil's work.Stephanie also said she had heard that Ryan's mother was pressuring him to have babies and so he might leave her for a woman, maybe a co-worker.Ryan insisted he didn't want to have children "right now," which Stephanie called him out on. But Ryan clarified he didn't want kids -- "not now and not forever."Ryan promised Stephanie that he had no desire to go to the United States and leave her because she's a gorgeous woman and he'd always want to "rock [her] boat."Four hours later, Stephanie and Ryan were back at Stephanie's hotel room, and she suddenly started yelling at Ryan, "Are you kidding me?!""Don't you f-cking lie to me! Are you afraid of the truth, Ryan? Why would you do that to me?" Stephanie shouted.As Stephanie was flipping out, Ryan was shown leaving her room and trying to get a cab.Stephanie revealed she was angry because Ryan had allegedly slept with her the previous night without a condom when she didn't trust him."You got it out. Crinkle, crinkle, crinkle. I thought we were good!" Stephanie yelled, suggesting Ryan had been sneaky about the unprotected sexual encounter."And then when I said, 'You need lubricant,' you're like, 'Wait, there's no rubber.' Why would you do that to me?" Stephanie asked in desperation."What are you talking about? You're trying to embarrass me," Ryan responded.Stephanie cried to the cameras that she hadn't seen Ryan in 10 months and a man "can do a lot of cheating in 10 months." Stephanie had wanted to protect herself, so she was really upset.Stephanie said Ryan had insisted he had been faithful to her and only loved her and wanted to move to Michigan to be with her, but Stephanie said, "He blew his chance right there.""When the truth is being told," she continued, "I am a very forgiving woman. When I'm being lied to, f-ck off and die. That's how I look at it."Ryan told the cameras Stephanie never trusted him but they rarely ever used the condoms she had brought to Belize on previous trips and so his actions were nothing new. Ryan said he hated the fact Stephanie kept accusing him of cheating when she allegedly knew deep down nothing happened."I believe that she is batsh-t crazy and I gotta go," Ryan said. "I've been nothing but a great fiance, faithfully. She has nothing on me. She was the one that cheated with my cousin Harris, so I'm done with that. I'm done."Stephanie later called to thank Ryan for not stealing her mother's ring, but then she asked him again why he would pretend to put a condom on and then not follow through with it.Ryan told Stephanie that she had a trust issue and she was the one who had lied about Harris before."You know what?! This is over! F-ck off and die, Ryan! You know what? I'm going to go and find myself a nice cabana boy," Stephanie yelled on the phone.Ryan told Stephanie that she's "f-cking crazy," and then he hung up.Stephanie reiterated how her relationship was over and she didn't care where he went or what he was doing."I am done with him!" Stephanie insisted in a confessional.Stephanie then called Harris, who had always warned her about Ryan and his actions. Stephanie needed a friend and asked Harris to call her in the morning.Stephanie then FaceTimed with her psychic Maria and confirmed she and Ryan had never used condoms but she wanted to use them during this trip to Belize because that had spent so much time apart.Maria said there was no excuse for that and Ryan had done that on purpose. Maria advised Stephanie to get tested for STDs and stop sacrificing her life, health, happiness, and self-worth for Ryan.Maria said Harris seemed more sincere than Ryan but had an agenda of his own. Maria wasn't sure whether Stephanie should date Harris, but she did ask Stephanie to "drop" Ryan and forget about him.There is no sign of Ryan on Stephanie's Instagram page, and all signs are pointing to the couple being finished for good.Stephanie claimed she had a miserable experience filming and would never appear on the show again.If she and Ryan lasted as a couple and remained happy together, one would think Stephanie would be somewhat grateful for the show given it documented the pair's time together.Stephanie recently made jaw-dropping allegations about her time filming Season 8, claiming she had been raped and that TLC forced her to film during a bug infestation that put her life in danger.On January 13, 2021, the Instagram account @Mommy_says_bad_words posted the cover of a book titled Never Get Ghosted Again: 15 Reasons Why Men Lose Interest and How to Avoid Guys Who Can't Commit by Bruce Bryans.The Instagram account wrote above the image, "If only Stephanie had read this before she met Ryan," and the post was captioned, "She needs this book ASAP."In the comments section of the post, Stephanie completely unloaded her frustrations."My new motto after this reality tv stuff.....ONLY believe half of what you see and hear!!" Stephanie wrote.Stephanie also added the following shocking hashtags to her comment: "#theycangofuckthemselves #paymewhatyouoweme #careaboutyourcast #manipulatedbeyondbelief #seeyouincourt."Stephanie then expressed pride in her strong hashtags and explained why she's so angry."These clusterf-cks that work for this company are going to wish they never deceived me. I not only was raped while filming, but manipulated to keep filming after I begged to get off set after being bitten hundreds of times by sandflies," Stephanie claimed."But no, they just needed a romantic dinner filmed with Ryan."While Stephanie didn't get into details about the alleged rape incident, she complained about how all of those bug bites were life threatening and TLC allegedly did nothing to help her."I spend have my time in a hospital now hooked to IV's for the inflammation from the allergic reactions I had," Stephanie wrote."They are unwilling to pay all my medical expenses. My attorney started legal action today...stay tuned!!"The Instagram account noted Stephanie's medical bills should absolutely be taken care of, at the very least."Yes!" Stephanie agreed. "This show has ruined my health, I wish I had never heard of this show."It's unclear when the alleged rape incident happened, but the couple's final segment on 's February 14 episode included a four-hour time jump in which something significant seems to have happened and resulted in Ryan angrily leaving the resort where Stephanie was staying in Belize.Several days after Stephanie went on her Instagram rant, she posted a photo of herself on Instagram and captioned it, "Be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it. #happysunday #Instagood #90dayfiance #truthalwayscomesoutintheend.": The Other Way star Laura Jallali -- whose relationship with Aladin Jallali ended in divorce -- commented, "Looking beautiful and yah 100 [percet] you probably don't want what you wish for because you will be disappointed in the end!"And Stephanie replied, "You and I know first hand, don't we my friend?!!!"Stephanie is pretty clearly giving away her relationship with Ryan did not work out.Laura wrote back to Stephanie, "Honey been there, done that, bought the T-shirt and couldn't return it without loosing my dignity."And then Stephanie responded, "LOVE YOU," along with clapping emojis and crying-laughing emoticons.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
Police investigating the slaying of a young woman and her boyfriend in West Orange, already stymied by interviews deemed too inconclusive to yield an arrest, are now contending with delays in getting critical test results from a crime lab in Houston due to the severe winter storm that wreaked havoc across Texas.

The forensics lab is still working on it, but the ice storm and electricity outages have at least put us off by a week, Capt. Robert Enmon of the Orange Police Department said. We had hoped for around 30 days, but that is more up in the air at this point.

In the meantime, the parents of victim Aaliyah Gradnigo have erected signs in their yard on Coronado Place to memorialize their daughter, 18, and her boyfriend, Thalamus T.J. Livings, who were shot to death there by an intruder in the early morning of Jan. 23.

Justice for Aaliyah and T.J., reads a prominent one.

Five weeks of waiting for that justice is taking a toll on Amanda and John Gradnigo Jr.

We understand that the police are doing all they can right now, but it doesnt help the frustration, Amanda Gradnigo told The Enterprise. It just doesnt seem fair.

The couple had been dating for five months and were inseparable, the parents said. Livings, of Louisiana, became a fixture in their lives.

Police have scoured the home for any evidence left behind and conducted numerous interviews, including with a person of interest, and are still going through video and Crimestopper tips to find anything that might help secure an arrest warrant.

Enmon said officers still have hope in the forensic evidence that is being processed.

But they dont have a clear timeline at this point.

The familys pain is compounded because of the fact that several of them believe they know who the culprit is.

The situation is hard enough with the loss of her, but having the patience for justice is even harder, Gradnigo Jr. said. They were two wonderful kids with a good life ahead of them, and now theyre gone while that monster is still out there.

And thats what he is, a monster.

Aaliyah Gradnigo was about to enter her second semester at Lamar State College Orange, where she was studying to become a dental hygienist.

Livings had recently started a supervisor position at a petrochemical plant near his home in Louisiana, and the couple celebrated his 23rd birthday on Jan. 20 by getting matching tattoos.

A funeral was held for Aaliyah on Feb. 6 at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. More than 200 people came to show their respect and support the family. More gathered outside due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Seeing the community come together that way proved to her parents what kind of person she had grown up to become.

It made me realize that she was an angel among us, John Gradnigo Jr. said. For so many people I didnt even know to tell us how she touched their lives, it really shows how loved she was.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

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The top leadership held seat-sharing talks with Union Home Minister on Sunday for the Assembly election.

Chief Minister K Palaniswsami, who is the joint coordinator, and his deputy O Panneerselvam, who is the party's coordinator, called on Shah at a star hotel in Chennai late on Sunday.

The talks that started around 10 pm were on after two hours, a day after the and the BJP initiated the parleys.

The BJP has expectations of getting 60 seats that it had identified as "winnable".

Shah had earlier arrived in for an election rally.

The AIADMK had earlier clinched its seat-sharing deal with ally PMK, allotting 23 seats to it.

Single-phase elections are scheduled on April 6 in

(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.)
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Thunderstorms likely, especially during the morning. High near 80F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Young People Should Get Involved in Politics, Cant Wait in Line: Rep. Cawthorn

Youth should get involved in politics instead of adhering to the mentality of waiting their turn, the youngest member of Congress said Saturday.

I believe that were starting to realizethis is why I got involved so youngis that we dont have time to wait in line, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) told The Epoch Times Crossroads at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.

People would tell Cawthorn, 25, after he announced his bid for the U.S. House seat to represent North Carolinas 11th Congressional District that he had the right principles and strong energy but that he should wait his turn.

I physically looked around and said, Who the hell are we in line behind, because whoevers in front of us is giving us a country thats on fire, and I dont want to inherit that, and then only be able to put the fires out, then pass it on to my children, Cawthorn said.

No, I want to be able to build an empire, I want to be able to build infrastructure that is going to blow and boggle the minds of my children to where they can grow up in a world that is more prosperous, peaceful than we could ever imagine. And so I think you see young people getting involved, because we realize the threat that is existing, and that threat is that our country is being stolen from us.

In this screenshot from the RNCs livestream of the 2020 Republican National Convention, North Carolina congressional nominee Madison Cawthorn addresses the virtual convention on Aug. 26, 2020. (Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

Cawthorn in a contested Republican primary last year triumphed over Lynda Bennett, a real estate agent who received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump and former Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), who held the seat she and Cawthorn were vying to win. Trump congratulated Cawthorn, who went on to beat the Democrat nominee, retired Air Force colonel Moe Davis.

Cawthorn since taking office has spoken out against socialism, in sharp contrast to young Democrats who often champion it, and told The Epoch Times that he believes every policy put forth by the left is socialism with extra steps, using healthcare as an example.

They say, Oh, we dont want to take away your private insurance, but we just want to give a public option. But weve seen in the UK and in Canadathe fact that when you give a public option, it dilutes the market so much, Cawthorn said, driving private insurers from the market.

Another case, the congressman said, is the promise to forgive some student loans.

It sounds sounds like youre trying to get rid of student loans, well never have to pay those again. But we both know that that just means were gonna have to pay extraordinarily high tax rates in the end, which means well then be more and more dependent on the government to be able to sustain us and take care of us, he added. And again, thats just socialism with extra steps. And so I think we have this thinly veiled movement towardswhether you call it communism or socialismgovernment control is on the rise, and its very dangerous.

Cawthorn said the idea prevalent among some youth that socialism is good stems from poor public education.

That is the fault of the Department of Educationthe fact that we have a Federal Department of Education, I think, is ludicrous, he said, adding, Keep those tax dollars in your state and let your state run what you actually want to have going on.

Trumps CPAC Speech: MAGA Movement Is Far From Over

Former President Donald Trumps speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Sunday pushed back against the current White Houses direction on COVID-19 lockdown orders, China, and socialism.

We all knew that the Biden Administration was going to be badbut none of us imagined just how bad they would be, and how far left they would go, he said. Joe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history.

Trump stated: I stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we began together four years ago is far from over.

Several Trump surrogates have said in recent days that the former president wont attempt to create his own political party, which comes after just over a dozen Republican House members and senators voted to either impeach or convict him. But the text of his speech suggests hell try to galvanize his support within the GOP.

The Republican Party is united. The only division is between a handful of Washington D.C. establishment political hacks, and everybody else all over the country, he said.

The speech appears to touch on a variety of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, schools, and lockdown rules. Hell also expect to call for tougher action against the Chinese Communist Party, according to excerpts of the speech.

I call on Joe Biden to get the schools open right now. No more special interest delays, he said.

In recent weeks, some prominent conservatives have attempted to position the Republican Party as one that represents working-class Americans, unions, and low-income people, while characterizing the Democratic Party as the party representing elites, celebrities, and Big Tech.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the opening of the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The future of the Republican Party is as a party that defends the social, economic, and cultural interests and values of working American familiesof every race, every color, and every creed. Republicans believe that the needs of everyday citizens must come FIRST, Trump added.

Big Tech will come into Trumps crosshairs again. According to the text of the speech, Trump called Big Tech monopolies to be broken up, which comes about a month after Twitter, Facebook, and Google suspended the former presidents social media accounts.

We believe in standing up to China, shutting down outsourcing, bringing back our factories and supply chains, and ensuring that America, not China, dominates the future. Companies that leave America to create jobs in China, and other countries that have ripped us off for years, should not be rewarded, they should be tariffed, fined, and punished, he remarked.

CPAC is scheduled to end on Sunday evening and included speakers such as Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), as well as Gov. Ron DeSantis, Gov. Kristi Noem, and Donald Trump Jr., among others.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment.
Were so disgusted by Republicans that, honestly, if Trumps not running, we dont care who wins, Sany Dash said as she worked at her Trump merchandise booth.

Ms. Dashs store, Bye Bye Democrats, was bustling on Saturday as CPAC attendees browsed bejeweled MAGA clutches, plush elephants and a tapestry featuring an image of Mr. Trump drinking coffee accompanied by text reading, The best part of waking up is Donald Trump is president. (Weve sold probably 1,400 Nancy Pelosi toilet paper rolls here, she said. Our toilet paper is always a hit.)

Yet Ms. Dash, an Indian-American from New York who called herself a Day 1 Trump supporter, appeared angrier at the moment at Republicans, and specifically at Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who has urged her party to break with the former president. Ms. Dash said she was preparing to open a store in Wyoming in the next two months and call it Bye Bye Liz.

Liz Cheney is a descendant of a warmonger, she said. Sorry, we got into war with Iraq, and so many people died  millions of peoples lives changed.

She continued: I dont care what she has to say now. Its like the Bush girls in Austin. I dont care how woke you are in Austin, just because now you get along with Michelle Obama, but your father killed a lot of people. So excuse me, I dont want anything to do with you people.

Like all of the dozens of CPAC attendees interviewed, Ms. Dash said she hoped Mr. Trump would run for president in 2024. There are some other Republicans she likes, including Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota  I like Kristi Noem, because she fights back, she said, calling her a female Trump  but she said she would stick with the G.O.P. only if Mr. Trump, or someone who pledges to lead as he did, was the nominee.

I mean, Ive heard the rest of them  if they actually come through, thats wonderful, she said. If they dont, Im going to be out of this party, just like everyone else. Its that simple.
Weve been a nation of limits. The indigenous inhabitants were pushed aside when Europeans decided this would be their land. Only White men could own land and vote. Black people couldnt own property, vote or belong to a number of organizations. Women were welcome to attend, organize, even lead. But their daughters couldnt belong to some groups, like the Boy Scouts of America.

Thank goodness things change.

For the first time in scoutings history, there are female Eagle Scouts. The number of Eagle Scouts is small. About 6% of all scouts become Eagles. Now there are close to 1,000 young ladies who have earned the requisite 21 merit badges, done hours of community service and helped lead their units. Nine of them call Louisiana home.

The Istrouma Council, based in Baton Rouge, is home to new Eagle Scout Elizabeth Bourgeois, 19, Ascension Parish, from Troop 1848. St. Tammany Parish Eagle Scouts from Troop 8720 are Emma Lockwood, 16; Olivia Stewart, 18, and Ari Lee, 16. The Louisiana Purchase Council, based in Monroe, has a new Eagle: Kaia Mouser, 19, of Troop 19 at Evergreen United Methodist Church.

Like others, the Calcasieu Area Council had to deal with the pandemic. They also faced two major hurricanes. Still, they produced four new Eagle Scouts at Troop 8, Westlake Methodist Church: Trinity Beer, 17; Victoria Sherman, 16; Kristen Darbonne, 16, and Emily Staggemeier, 14.

The Metairie-based Southeast Louisiana Council is priming the pump. They expect female Eagle Scouts soon.

I was a Boy Scout with Troop 155 at St. Davids Roman Catholic Church on St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans Lower 9th Ward. Scoutmaster E.J. Hendricks encouraged us to bust the limits.

With Hendricks encouragement, I became a troop leader and I was one of several of his Eagle Scouts.

Black boys werent always welcome in the BSA. Black Boy Scouts faced rejection, opposition and even violence, according to a scout publication. I recall when the Eagle Scout requirements included swimming and lifesaving. Alternatives were added, allowing boys who couldnt swim because of physical disabilities to pursue the rank. Even then, no girls.

Trinity Beer grew up in scouting with her dad, Mike Beer, a scout professional and volunteer. When he went to scout offices or camping, she went. She wanted to do what the boys were doing. But the BSA said No girls allowed.

The BSA, started in 1910, welcomed women as den mothers leading Cub Scouts, created an award for women leaders, awarded women top volunteer awards and welcomed them as scoutmasters. Still, No girls allowed.

I was a scout council board member when officially including girls was discussed. Research showed families wanted girls included. Some of our best volunteers, leaders and staff said, No girls allowed. We lost money and support. They stood against girls, and progress. They walked. Others stood for girls, moving forward. We stayed. We changed.

In 2018, the Cub Scout program welcomed girls. In 2019, the Boy Scout program became Scouts BSA. The message: Girls welcome.

The night before the first day girls were officially allowed, Beer and others attended a lock-in so they could start at midnight. They went to work on merit badges and community service within hours. Scouts normally have until their 18th birthday to make Eagle. I started at 11 years old, and I was thrilled to earn my Eagle Scout recognition by 15. Beer and her classmates took the opportunity quite seriously, finishing in a much shorter time.

Mike Beer, an Eagle Scout, Trinitys dad and the scout executive in Lake Charles, described Trinity Beer as one of his best scout recruiters. Trinity is happy to be an Eagle Scout, like my dad. I was a proud dad and scout leader when my son became an Eagle Scout. If I had a daughter who became an Eagle Scout, I would have been equally proud.

Trinity Beer doesnt see having female Eagles as a big deal. Girls and women have always been a part of scouting, she reminded me. A lot of little sisters were following their older brothers.

A few weeks ago, Trinity Beer just took on a big job. Shes the new lodge chief for her Order of the Arrow group. Thats the top scout leadership position for a service group within scouting.

On a Facebook video post, Mouser said she didn't want to be one of the firsts; she just wanted to be an Eagle.

Bust the limits.
Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island is offering a stay and play opportunity with access to Yas Islands award-winning theme parks included in every stay.



Guests can now stay at the recently launched five-star Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Hotel and experience the ultimate staycation for families, enjoying both a luxury resort and access to world record-breaking theme parks in one location.



The Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Ultimate Staycation offer combines each stay with daily access tickets to one of Yas Islands theme parks for each registered hotel guest upon check-in. There are also optional add-ons to visit some of Abu Dhabis most exciting attractions including Qasr Al Watan, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Qasr Al Hosn Abu Dhabi.



Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, located in the vibrant new $1.1 billion Yas Bay development opened in February 2021, becoming Yas Islands first five-star family resort, offering545 spacious rooms and suites, signature dining experiences, a fully equipped kids club, a multi purpose conference centre, as well as the eforea spa and fitness centre.



Each night stay with hotel includes breakfast and access to any 1 theme park per day for each registered hotel guest, from the following theme park options; Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. Yas Waterworld or Warner Bros. World TM Abu Dhabi prices start from AED429.00 per person sharing in a double room.



The offer is valid until March 31, 2021.  TradeArabia News Service
Nigel Doolin, head of trading of Core Bullion Traders who have launched a service to turn cryptocurrency into gold (Conor McCabe/PA)Picture by Conor McCabe.

An Irish company has launched the countrys first service to allow customers to turn bitcoin into physical gold bullion.

Core Bullion Traders has unveiled a cryptocurrency payments service to allow customers to convert their recent digital gains into something physical.

Launched in partnership with Coinify, customers can now purchase gold using a wide range of cryptocurrencies on the Core Bullion Traders site.

Nigel Doolin, head of trading, said: Anyone who has bought crypto in the last few months has witnessed some steep rises, coupled with intermittent sharp falls and more people now want to bank their gains.

We launched the service this week, and we already have one client who is putting seven figures of cryptocurrency into gold.

Essentially, what we are doing is converting one very risky asset class into a safe asset class in a very simple process.

The service has been launched with an eye to a younger generation who are increasingly looking for a safe haven, and are purchasing more frequently, according to Mr Doolin.

With holiday, car and house purchasing all in a state of suspension, there has been an upswing in gold buying among those whose incomes have not been affected by the pandemic.

Expand Close Nigel Doolin, head of Trading of Core Bullion Traders who have launched a service to turn cryptocurrency into gold (Conor McCabe/PA) / Facebook

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The new gold purchaser is likely to be in their early to mid 30s, probably working in tech, and not yet a homeowner.

I would say that 30% of our business now comes from small investors in that profile.

I have been in the business for almost a decade, and this is a new cohort emerging, Mr Doolin added.

I have noticed where a lot of people would previously spend 30,000 euro once a year, I am now getting people coming in regularly with 6,000 euro on a more piecemeal basis, slowly building up their funds four or five times a year.

Where the new service comes in is that a lot of people are now in crypto but few have an exit strategy to bank and secure their gains, in fact, most people dont know how to liquidate cryptocurrency.

The oldest rule in the book is to diversify your portfolio, and our move has made it easy for people to liquidate and move into an asset class that should continue to perform strongly.

Gold is where it was 12 months month again, but within that space it went up 35% and finished the year 25% ahead so in any fluctuating market gold has historically been a good long-term bet.

Gold is about security in uncertain times if you are getting into it for the first time, look at the steady rise over the past 20 years.

The true economic effect of this last year has not been in any way felt at this stage.

When that hits, thats when people flock to gold.
Institute of Chemistry Ceylon recognises the bronze medalists of the International Chemistry Olympiad 2020 View(s):

Uvidu Praveen Sumanasekara of Badulla Central College, Badulla, Arulanantham Abhinanthan of Hindu College, Jaffna and R M S Ravindu Sanwara of Ananda College, Colombo won Bronze medals at the 52nd International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in July 2020.

Fourth member of the Sri Lankan team Shakindi Vihanga of Sujatha Vidyalaya, Matara also won an honorable mention. This was indeed remarkable achievements from our team as Sri Lanka participated at this competition for the first time in history. Sri Lankan team was selected and trained by the Chemistry Olympiad Sri Lanka (COSL) committee of the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon (IChemC).

The IChO is a competition organised for secondary school students of all levels from all over the globe with the objective of promoting their creativity and cognitive skills in solving Chemistry related problems. While identifying and recognising the most talented youngsters in Chemistry, the IChO helps to facilitate cordial relations between the youth of different nationalities and encourage networking. IChO is one out of the 12 International Science Olympiads held in the world.

The rest represent other disciplines, such as Mathematics, Physics, Biology, etc. The IChO headquarters is based in Bratislava, Slovakia of the former Eastern Bloc.

The IChO event began in 1968 with the participation from Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary. Subsequently, other countries joined the programme and currently, there are more than 80 participating countries including USA, UK, China, Russia, India, etc.

In 2016, IChO steering committee officially accepted the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon (IChemC) as the official organiser to conduct the National Chemistry Olympiad competition in Sri Lanka. Since then IChemC is organising local Chemistry Olympiad annually and named it as Chemistry Olympiad Sri Lanka (COSL). Sri Lanka participated as observers in IChO in Czech Republic and France and respectively in 2018 and 2019 and was illegible to participate as a team to take part in the competition in Turkey in 2020. Unfortunately, due the Covid 19 pandemic situation in the world competition was remotely held under a virtual platform. After screening and intense training, the steering committee of COSL selected four highly talented students to represent the Sri Lankan team.

The IChemC recently organised a charm ceremony to award the medals and certificates received from the International Organisers. The event was held at the IChemC headquarters on February 18, 2021 and the Chief Guest was Prof Janitha Liyanage who is the current Vice Chairperson of the University Grants Commission. Dean of the college of Chemical Sciences Prof Sujatha Hewage has also participated. Due the pandemic situation number of participants was? restricted however the event was live streamed in Youtube.

Prof Sagarika Ekanayaka who is the current President of the Institute welcomed the gathering and said she was very proud of the young prodigies who produced exceptional results as the first time participants of the IChO. Dr. Chinthaka Ratnaweera who is the Chairman of the COSL committee presented a brief introduction to Chemistry Olympiad competition and explained the opportunities and challenges.

Next, Prof Janitha Liyanage addressed the gathering and congratulated the team for the outstanding performance. She also thanked the IChemC for providing all the support for this program and committee members for voluntarily organising these events and training students. Medals and certificates were awarded by Prof Janitha Liyanage.

After the presentation of awards each of the winners addressed the audience and all of them expressed their sincere gratitude to the mentors who trained them with immense dedication. Praveen, during his talk, invited youngsters to take part in future Chemistry Olympiads as they can develop their logical and critical thinking skills which will definitely help their future academic career. Abhinanthan was very happy and emotional about his achievements and specially mentioned that the Chemistry practical sessions have been a valuable experience for him. Ravidu said even though he felt there was a big gap between the A/L chemistry content and the international Chemistry Olympiad syllabus due to the training he received and with the hard work he was able to make this achievement. Shakindi told she has realised the beauty of Chemistry after experiencing this chemistry Olympiad training workshops and got to know lot of new friends.

Before the end of the event new Chemistry Olympiad website was launched by the IChemC past president Dr Poshitha Premarathne who has given a visionary leadership to establish the COSL. Dr Ireshika De Silva, Secretary of the committee delivered the vote of thanks to end this ceremony.

Anyone who is interested to learn more about the programme can visit this new website through the url http://www.web.ichemc.edu.lk/cosl/. Also, applications forms and deadlines for the future selection examinations will be updated in this website and students can obtain the Chemistry Olympiad past papers and educational resources through it.

The 53rd International Chemistry Olympiad will be held in Japan during this year. The COSL committee is eagerly waiting to select a team and train them and expect even better performance from them to bring honour to our mother land.

Dr Chinthaka Nadun Ratnaweera

Chairman

Chemistry Olympiad

Sri Lanka
The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, opened its 26th session on Saturday to prepare for the upcoming fourth annual session of the 13th NPC, which will open on March 5.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the session's first plenary meeting. A total of 168 members of the NPC Standing Committee attended the meeting.

Lawmakers reviewed the work report of the NPC Standing Committee, which will be submitted to the annual assembly of the legislature in March for deliberation.

They also reviewed the draft agenda for the NPC annual session, the draft name list of the session's presidium and secretary-general, and the draft name list of members invited to sit in on the annual session as non-voting participants.

A draft law on stamp-duty tax was submitted to the session for the first reading. The draft will keep the current taxation framework and tax levels generally unchanged.

Lawmakers also deliberated a law-enforcement report of the State Council, a Supreme People's Court report on its pilot reform project, a deputy qualification report, and personnel-related bills.

Li also presided over a meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee after the meeting.
Coffee enthusiasts in York County will have an entire month of caffeine-themed celebrations to look forward to.

The inaugural Coffee Crawl hosted by Downtown Inc will feature five local coffee shops in York City throughout March with special drink offerings.

The important thing right now is to bring awareness to restaurants and small businesses especially during COVID, said Hannah Beard, a spokesperson for Downtown Inc. We just wanted to do somthing that would bring awareness to these shops but also have people participating safely.

During the month, anybody can visit any of the five participating shops for a beverage: I-ron-ic at 256 W. Philadelphia St.; Mollys Courtyard Cafe at 46 W. Philadelphia St.; Prince Street Cafe at 2 W. Market St.; The Green Bean Roasting Co. at 100 S. Beaver St. and Take Five Expresso Bar at 34 W. Philadelphia St.

Beard said Downtown Inc encourages everyone to post photos of their drinks on social media using the hashtag #CoffeeCrawlYork.

Several coffee shops will be creating special drink orders to celebrate the month, including Green Bean Roasting who will be selling Girl Scout cookie-themed drinks.

Updates to drink specials will be posted to Downtown Incs website.

Everyone can participate, whether they are comfortable drinking indoors or wanting to do delivery or take out, Beard said.

While this is the first annual Coffee Crawl, Beard said Downtown Inc has hosted similar events in previous years like the Sweetest Pint Tour, a one-day beer crawl event pairing local beers with restaurant tastings.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beard said a month to celebrate local flavors instead of a single day will help promote social distancing and limit crowds gathering.

We thought to take it on and just make it a way for the public to participate without any constraints of a structured event, Beard said.

Robert Thomas, the manager of Mollys Courtyard Cafe, said he is grateful for the event to provide his business the opportunity at reaching both new and old customers.

Just with everything thats been happening if anyone will show up that will be great, Thomas said. We didnt stay closed for too long, but we needed something like this to get people into the normal routine of coming down to the city.

With many local restaurants remaining closed due to the pandemic, Thomas said theres been less foot traffic in York City.

While no official plans for a special drink have been announced yet, Thomas said Mollys Courtyard Cafe will likely offer a unique latte flavor for Coffee Crawl.

Being as tiny as York is, the local support in this time of need is amazing, Thomas said.
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In 2015, a professor at the University of Southern California published his first novel, called The Sympathizer. The story was a cerebral work of historical fiction and political satire cleverly infiltrated with cultural criticism. Although cloaked as a thriller, it didnt fit neatly into that popular genre and could have slipped by unnoticed as a good spy novel.

Except that the author, Viet Thanh Nguyen, was too startlingly brilliant to ignore. The Sympathizer flushed colour back into those iconic photos of the fall of Saigon, and recast the worn lessons of the Vietnam War through the eyes of a communist agent hiding in the United States. An instant classic, the novel aggressively engaged with the nation's mythology and demonstrated Nguyen's extraordinarily intellectual dramatic range. The Sympathizer swept through the years literary awards, winning a Pulitzer Prize, a Carnegie Medal, the Centre for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Asian/Pacific American Award, an Edgar Award and more.

Now, Nguyen returns to the scene of that triumph with an even brainier sequel called The Committed. I may no longer be a spy or a sleeper, but I am most definitely a spook, the unnamed narrator begins. I am also still a man of two faces and two minds, one of which might perhaps yet still be intact.

If you read The Sympathizer, you'll immediately recognise this ironic and endlessly conflicted voice. If you havent read The Sympathizer, you'll be hopelessly lost, so don't even think of jumping in here. The setting and action of this second book are different, but The Committed is so dependent on earlier relationships and plot details that these two novels are more like volumes of the same continuing story.

The Committed never sets foot in the United States. Instead, it takes place entirely in Paris, though not the romantic City of Light. This is not the Paris of tourist haunts and photo shoots: the story is set within the dark avenues of warehouses, clubs and restaurants controlled by battling gangs. Just as The Sympathizer transformed the hulk of an old spy novel, The Committed does the same with a tale of crime noir.

Beneath the facade of Parisian elegance, Nguyen describes the carnage of ethnic violence carried out by Vietnamese and Algerian immigrants competing for territory

The novel opens in 1981 when the dangerously sympathetic spy arrives in Paris with his old friend Bon. They have survived a year of torture in a re-education camp in Vietnam, and are now being rewarded with new lives among the French. Our bags were packed with dreams and fantasies, the narrator says, trauma and pain, sorrow and loss, and, of course, ghosts. Since ghosts were weightless, we could carry an infinite number of them.

Those ghosts  which include his French father, a priest  interact with the living in this new Parisian arrangement. Although the narrator is no longer a professional spy, his life is no less clandestine than it ever was. Bon, his blood brother, is still determined to kill communists and has no idea that the narrator is one. But perhaps that won't matter in their new line of work as underlings for a Vietnamese drug lord. Here, surely, they can just pretend to be waiters at the worst Asian restaurant in Paris, and brush ideological concerns aside while collecting protection money and distributing hashish.

Nguyens new book is set in the dark avenues of Paris (Handout)

Au contraire. In France, the narrator finds himself contending with attitudes far murkier than anything he experienced in the proudly fantastical United States. Here, his hosts are seductive patrons and brutal colonisers, as pleased with their aesthetic superiority as they are with their racial dominance. That creates a profoundly unsettling environment for immigrants. Loving a master who kicks you is not a problem if that is all one feels, the narrator explains, but loving and hating must be kept a dirty little secret, for loving the master one hates inevitably induces confusion and self-hatred. And that painful conundrum is invested in their most prized possession, the French language, which immediately announces the refugee as the other, the intruder, the barbarian. There was no need for the French to condemn us, the narrator says. So long as we spoke in their language, we condemned ourselves.

Beneath the facade of Parisian elegance, Nguyen describes the carnage of ethnic violence carried out by Vietnamese and Algerian immigrants competing for territory in the narcotics trade. With alarming regularity, drug deals go bad and crooks seek vengeance in the language they all speak fluently: pain. Similar to The Sympathizer, The Committed is dedicated to the proposition that with patience and the right tools, a person can be liquefied with exquisite care.

But all that agony  and theres a lot of it  is subsumed within the narrator's introspection. My life as a revolutionary and a spy had been designed to answer one question, he tells us: WHAT IS TO BE DONE? As a man riddled with sympathy, riven with a nagging appreciation for all sides, he's doomed to bewilderment, to irony, to a maddening sense of his own irreconcilable doubleness. All my life I only ever aspired to one thing  to be human, he cries. But to what cause should he be committed? Or should he, instead, be committed to an asylum? Perhaps only the nothingness of Sartre can offer him relief.

The French and the Vietnamese shared a love for melancholy and philosophy, the narrator says, that the manically optimistic Americans could never understand. The same hurdle will challenge American readers of The Committed, which is heavily fortified with philosophical rumination. In this novel, even the whorehouse bouncer reads Frantz Fanon and Aime Cesaire. If the man's size doesn't scare you away from the pleasures within, his bookshelf might.

The Committed By Viet Thanh Nguyen is out 4 March 2021. Little, Brown Book Group, 18.99

 The Washington Post
Mazaya scheme helped 490 people to buy their dream homes this year: Bahrain ministry

Mazaya scheme helped 490 people to buy their dream homes this year: Bahrain ministry

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Mazaya social housing finance scheme helped 490 people purchase their dream homes since the beginning of this year, said Basim Yacob Al Hamer, the minister of housing.

In total, the programme since its inception has helped 7,001 home buyers, added the minister.

A total of 1,691 people got their dream homes through Mazaya during the year 2020.

The programme offers Bahrainis an opportunity to own their dream home through a real estate financing facility subsidised by the Government of Bahrain.

The average value of housing units purchased amounts to 109,000 dinars, with the Northern governorate accounted for 45% of the units purchased.

The percentage of the purchase of housing units in Muharraq Governorate was 87% compared to 13% for ownership apartments, In the Northern governorate, that percentage was 79% (housing units) and 21% (apartments).

In the Southern Governorate, ninety-two per cent of the sales were for housing units and 8% for ownership apartments.

People in the capital bought only housing units.

Breaking down further, the minister said that citizens whose monthly income ranged between 600 to 700 dinars accounted for 40% of the purchase.

Twenty-six per cent of the beneficiaries earned salaries between 701 to 800 dinars.

The remaining 13% drew salaries between 801 and 901 dinars.

According to the scheme, a client will only pay 25% of the basic salary, inclusive of fixed allowances, towards the instalment.

Ministry of Housing will pay the remaining instalment amount.
Three separate weekend car crashes resulted in the deaths of three women and serious injuries for three other people, according to police.

In the first crash, a sedan collided head on with a pickup around 3:22 p.m. Saturday in the 12300 block of Fischer Road, killing the two women in the sedan. The driver was 32 years old and the passenger was 15, police said. Neither has been publicly identified.

The two people in the pickup were taken to University Hospital in stable condition but with serious injuries, police said.

It wasnt clear what caused the sedan to veer into oncoming traffic, but a third vehicle could have been the cause, San Antonio Police Sgt. Matthew Brown said.

Were not sure of the exact cause of that accident, he said Saturday.

Later that evening, about 11:40 p.m., a woman was killed when she was hit by a pickup while parked on the shoulder of U.S. 90 with a flat tire, police said.

Police said the woman had been involved in a minor crash on North New Braunfels Avenue and left the site of the crash, getting on U.S. 90. She pulled over on the left shoulder near the exit to General Hudnell Drive.

The driver of a large SUV in the left lane saw the womans car disabled in the shoulder and moved into the lane to their right to giver her space. But the driver of the pickup behind the SUV stayed in the left lane and saw the woman at the last minute and ran her over, police said.

The woman died at the scene and the drivers of both the pickup and the SUV stayed and called police.

A few minutes later, a man was seriously injured when he was hit by a car while running across Interstate 35 between Thousand Oaks Drive and North Weidner Road on the Northeast Side, police said.

The man, who has not been publicly identified, ran across the northbound lanes disregarding all traffic, police said. Several vehicles swerved to avoid hitting him, but one was unable to move out of the way in time, throwing the man toward the inside shoulder, police said.

The driver who hit him stopped the car and called police. The victim was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, police said.

Staff writer Liz Hardaway contributed to this report.

andy.picon@hearst.com | Twitter: @andpicon

Gather your supplies.

Decide your letter-writing method and get your supplies, such as stationery or notecards.

Handwritten letters are the gold standard because your handwriting is an extension of you. Its personal and tactile. And dont let messy penmanship be a deterrent: No one is expecting calligraphy. But theres nothing wrong with typed letters; Ms. Davis Kho prefers to type and then print hers. Either way, the point is to create a physical artifact that the person first enjoys as a surprise in the mailbox, and then can keep as a memento.

Think about your recipient.

Once you have decided whom to write to, think about that person and his or her role in your life. You dont need to spend a lot of time, but clear away any distractions and focus on some of your most cherished memories of this person. Think about how you met, what the recipient has done for you at what cost, what the person said that you have never forgotten or ways you have applied his or her advice in your life. Jot down a few bullet points or even a short outline if you would like, but do not overthink or get caught up on planning. A gratitude letter need not encapsulate your entire relationship, or cover everything this person means to you. You can say thanks for just one thing.

Sit down and write.

If it makes you more comfortable, you can start the letter by detailing a reason for reaching out. Ms. Davis Kho started her letters by explaining that it was a milestone birthday year for her, and that she was writing to people who had made a difference in her life. You could say you were inspired by this article. Or, you can keep your letter-writing reasons to yourself and just start with thank you.

Think back to your brainstorm, and, using evocative details, tell the person why you are grateful. That could be the exact words you remember this person saying, and where you were when they were said. Add how it made you feel  then and now. The recipient might remember the event or favor you are referring to, but the person most likely does not know how it made you feel (Thankful, probably, but also, perhaps, joyful? Safe? Relieved? Inspired?) Dont hold back. It takes a little bravery, but writing sincerely and from the heart turns a polite note into a meaningful memento.

Write in your style.

Dont worry about crafting each sentence just so. Youre trying to get to the meaning behind the words. If you can, try to write the way you speak. Imagine the person is on the phone: What would you say?

You might get caught up in selecting exactly what to say. But Mr. Kumar suggested you remember that your recipient will not be scrutinizing your choice of words.

They are just reading what you have to say, and thinking, This is really nice, he said. They arent thinking, Well, how could it have been nicer?
Melissa Doyle is a surprise presenter on SKY News next week, on special assignment with Escape From Iran: Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

The exclusive interview is with Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the Australian academic convicted and imprisoned in Iran for spying.

Melissa Doyle said: Kylie is one of the most remarkable women I have had the privilege of interviewing. Her experience will both frighten and shock you, her determination to survive will leave you in awe, but above all, her grace and strength will inspire you.

I do not know how she survived years of hell  solitary confinement, starvation and the constant fear of what could happen next. Her dignity can only be admired.

In September 2018, Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert had checked in to her flight home to Australia when she was arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Convicted of spying and sentenced to serve 10 years on espionage charges, she spent more than two years fighting for her freedom. Her 804 days behind bars included seven months in solitary confinement.

She was interrogated and beaten by guards, but refused to be broken. Now, for the first time, Kylie shares her inspirational story of survival.

During the one-hour exclusive interview nothing is off limits, no question goes unanswered.

Is she a spy? How did she survive her ordeal? What really happened behind the scenes to secure her release? How is she coping with the heartbreak of discovering her husband had an affair with one of her colleagues while she was in prison? And what will she do now she is free?

7pm AEDT Tuesday 9 March on SKY News.

Related
(CNN)  A former Republican operative who now leads one of the nation's most powerful business groups is praising President Joe Biden's efforts to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is fantastic to have a partner in the White House," Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, told CNN Business. "We felt like we were fighting this fight, frankly, all alone for the last year."

NAM, which represents more than 130,000 manufacturers, announced Friday it is planning to partner with the Biden administration to help fight the pandemic.

Timmons, who said his father died from COVID, criticized the Trump administration's track record on the health crisis.

"It seemed like so often over the course of the last year, the pandemic was weaponized and it became a political tool," he said, adding that he was dismayed dismay over disinformation that confused the public. "500,000 Americans have already died because we as a society didn't take the pandemic seriously enough. My father was one of those. The horrible, lonesome, gruesome death that he went through, I want no other family to have to go through that."

'Get a shot, save the world'

Part of the association's efforts include a campaign, dubbed "This is Our Shot," aimed at convincing manufacturing communities to get vaccinated.

"We have some hesitancy in our sector and we want to overcome that," Timmons said. "Our job is to get real information and facts to our workforce to let them know how safe the vaccine is, how important it is to get it, and how real the pandemic is."

For instance, he said that just 150 out of 650 employees at a manufacturer in Texas are willing to get the vaccine at this point.

Part of the reluctance to get a vaccine, Timmons said, could come from the fact that many manufacturers are in rural areas that may not have been hit as hard by the pandemic.

He summed up his message to employees, and the public at large: "Get a shot, save the world."

Timmons said he's "so proud" America now has a president who is leading by example and focusing like "laser beams on this horrible crisis we're going through right now."

25th Amendment debate

Timmons was the most outspoken business leader in the hours after the Capitol riot on January 6.

That day he called for then-Vice President Mike Pence to consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump and "to preserve democracy."

"What we saw on January 6th was absolutely one of the most horrifying things that any of us who love America could have ever witnessed," Timmons said.

Timmons is a longtime Republican operative. He was chief of staff to George Allen when Allen served as governor of Virginia as well as a congressman and US senator between 1991 and 2002. During the 2004 election cycle, Timmons served as executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Asked if he was disappointed the 25th Amendment was not invoked, Timmons said he was "very heartened" to see Pence and the Senate leadership "stand up for the rule of law" and ensure a peaceful transfer of power.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Manufacturing CEO: Before Biden, it felt like we were fighting the pandemic alone."
Habitat for Humanity of Laredo, the Rio Grande International Study Center and Councilmember Alyssa Cigarroa announced a pilot emergency relief program this week to help fix the broken pipes for residents of downtown, west Laredo, El Azteca and other neighborhoods within District VIII.

The group hopes to raise $10,000 for the program in a week, a fundraising blitz to provide assistance to families who otherwise would not be able to afford to fix their pipes that may have burst following the recent freeze. 100% of the proceeds will go to this program, which Habitat for Humanity is administering.

Get our your wallets, Laredo. Start writing those checks, because you can make the difference, said Carol Sherwood, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Laredo. $10 will buy some PVC pipe. $500 may completely pay for all of the expenses of an elderly person whos living in very desperate situations. Were already receiving the calls.

Cigarroa noted that the city has established a winter storm relief program where residents affected by the freeze can apply for a $100 credit to their water bill. But people who are still without water right now need immediate relief, she said. Habitat for Humanity has certified plumbers on call and a Rolodex of expertise that they can utilize, Cigarroa noted.

The homes in our district are some of the oldest in Laredo. With the poverty rate in the area being quite high before COVID, the pandemic has intensified the communitys economic distress. Now with the severe winter storm, this has dealt yet another blow, she said.

The cohort is not sure exactly how many people in the district are dealing with broken pipes, but Cigarroa said she has received loads of calls from affected constituents.

This issue is not exclusive to the residents of District VIII, the councilmember noted. She hopes the program can grow to other areas of the city.

Sherwood also noted that any affected veterans who are experiencing plumbing issues are encouraged to call Habitat, since they have a separate program in place to help them.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
Press Release

February 28, 2021 Coco Levy Act to benefit 3.5M Filipino farmers and spur the development of our coconut industry President Rodrigo Duterte's signing into law of a measure that seeks to create a trust fund for coconut farmers through the selling of assets procured through the coco levy fund would benefit the country's 3.5 million coconut farmers from 68 coconut producing provinces owning not more than five hectares, for the last 10 years said Sen. Cynthia A. Villar "The coconut farmers are the poorest in the country. They earn only about P1,500 a month. This fund which rightfully belongs to the coconut farmers, should be plowed back to them for their own direct benefit," also said Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on Agriculture and Food. Villar, principal sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1396 or the "Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act," stressed this law is in consonance with the declared policy of the state to consolidate the benefits due to coconut farmers and to expedite their delivery to attain increased incomes for them and to alleviate poverty and achieve social equality. She hopes this law will finally resolve the decades-old issue surrounding the coco levy fund. She said it will carry out its two-pronged goal--to help coconut farmers and develop the coconut industry. Under Senate Bill 1396, which was adopted by the House of Representative government is mandated to turn over P75 billion cash of the coconut levy assets in the next five years to create a trust fund for our coconut farmers. Immediately after the passage of the bill into law, Villar said the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) shall transfer P10 billion to the trust fund and for the succeeding years, according to the following schedule: P10 billion in the second year; P15 billion, third year; P15 billion, fourth year; and P25 billion, fifth year. Furthermore, she said fhe trust fund will be augmented with all proceeds of privatization or disposition of the Coconut Levy Assets remitted directly by the BTr and the Privatization and Management Office. Senator Villar said P5B of the trust fund will be used upon enactment of the law for the following programs. In addition to the programs of the Philippine Coconut Authority which will be given a separate budget. The minimum disbursement per year will be P5B but it can be bigger. LIVELIHOOD AND INCREASED INCOME- 54% 15% for planting and replanting of hybrid coconut seedlings and production of hybrid coconut seedlings by the Philippine Coconut Authority.

5 percent for research and production of hybrid coconut seedlings by the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD);

10 percent to be shared equally for farm improvements through diversification and intercropping with livestock, dairy, poultry, coffee and cacao production by the National Dairy Authority and the Department of Agriculture; Native Animal Program; and High Value Crop Program to be divided equally

10 percent for shared facilities for processing by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech); to be given to cooperatives. If there's no cooperative in the town, it will go to LGUs;

5 percent for organizing and empowering coconut farmer organizations and their cooperatives under the Cooperative Development Authority;

5 percent for research, marketing and promotion by the Bureau of Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development under the Department of Trade and Industry;

4 percent for crop insurance to be implemented by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation; CREDIT - 10% 10 percent to be shared equally for the credit programs of the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines INFRA - 10% 10 percent for infrastructure development to be implemented by the, Department of Public Works and Highways in coconut producing LGUs EDUCATION - 16% 8 percent for Scholarship programs for farmers and their families to be implemented by the Commission on Higher Education;

8 percent for the training of coconut farmers and their families as listed in the coconut farmers registry in farm schools through Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and Agricultural Training Institute to be shared equally; HEALTH - 10% 10 percent for health and medical programs for farmers and their families to be implemented by agency created by the Philippine Coconut Authority, for this purpose Under the measure, the Philippine Coconut Authority Board (PCA) has been reconstituted and strengthened to ensure the participation of coconut farmers in the crafting and implementation of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan. The PCA Board shall be composed of the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture (as chairperson), Trade and Industry, Budget and Management, Finance, and DOST and PCA, and three farmer-representatives from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
One year ago today, the United States had not a single reported death from the coronavirus. On Feb. 29, 2020, the first reported fatality was reported near Seattle, though two earlier COVID-related deaths were not discovered until months later.

Within two weeks, American life began to change dramatically, however haltingly in some pockets of denial across the land. Not here. San Francisco Mayor London Breed was among the most assertive U.S. leaders, announcing a citywide shelter in place order on March 16, 2020, credited with slowing the spread locally.

The anniversaries and milestones of the worst pandemic in a century offer cause for reflection on where weve been and where we may be headed now that we have shed any illusion that global plagues were a relic of less enlightened times.

The national death toll reached 500,000, including 50,000 Californians, in the past week. Yet the arrival of those soul-numbing statistics have been accompanied by distinct glimmers of hope: the accelerating distribution of vaccines that were developed in remarkable time and declines in both infection rates and deaths.

The question everyone is asking: When will things return to normal? Or the even greater source of anxiety for Americans weary from the yearlong restrictions: What will the new normal look like?

No one can offer a definitive answer, even Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top authority on infectious diseases. His publicly expressed assessments could be summed up as: It depends. It depends on how many Americans get vaccinated, with polls showing about a third are skeptical. It depends on whether the arrival of vaccinations leads to a false sense of security that leads to lapses in mask wearing, avoidance of mass gatherings and other precautions. And, of course, it depends on whether the emerging variants of the virus, some potentially more lethal, generate new surges.

President Biden has suggested that well be approaching normalcy by the end of this year, and God willing this Christmas will be different than last.

Fauci, while agreeing, cautioned that it would be a degree of normality that may or may not be precisely the way it was in November of 2019, but it will be much, much better than were doing right now.

It seems the aftermath of the pandemic is more likely to be like that of 9/11  where intensified airport security and broader government surveillance may last in perpetuity  than that of the Cold War, where designated bomb shelters and schoolroom duck-and-cover drills long ago became memories of a fear that subsided.

Let there be no doubt: This has been a frustrating year for all of us, and deeply tragic for far too many. For all I miss about life after Feb. 28, 2020, I am humbled in recognizing the loss and sacrifice experienced by others. Those who lost loved ones, the workers who lost jobs, the small business owners who lost their dreams. The essential workers who kept toiling in public safety, grocery stores, in transit systems, in the agricultural fields, in delivery services and myriad other roles that kept life rolling for those of us fortunate enough to work from home. I think of the men and women who, unlike me, had to juggle their professional and parental demands without relief. I think of the exponential stress on our homeless neighbors with the additional complications to their everyday struggles. I appreciate the dedication of my colleagues, reporters and especially photographers, whose on-scene work could never be captured in a Zoom call.

Perhaps most of all, I think of the health care workers who put their own lives on the line to save others.

Each of these people merits our everlasting gratitude. They, more than anyone, deserve that return to normality, as soon and as fulsome as scientifically possible in light of the prospect that the virus is not likely to vanish altogether.

San Francisco is expected to return to the less restrictive red tier as early as Wednesday. Its still a long way from the normal we once knew. Museums, zoos and aquariums can open at 25% capacity; gyms at 10%; restaurants at 25% or 100 diners, whichever is fewer; movie theaters at 25% without the food concessions.

For the moment, at least, things are headed in the right direction.

But how long will it be, if ever, for those who have lived in this period of dread  and have a choice  to feel comfortable getting into a packed BART car at rush hour? A precipitous drop in ridership has left BART with a projected $1 billion deficit through fiscal 2022, and the growing acceptance of companies to remote work is going to impact everything from transit agencies to the restaurants and shops that are part of the downtown-office ecosystem. How long will it be, if ever, when we greet friends and relatives with a hug instead of an elbow bump, happily join the crush to the turnstiles at a sporting event, pack into a tavern to salute a departing colleague or arrive without masks for a big family gathering?

Those are milestones we long for, and they wont be marked by a precise date on the calendar.

John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChron
On Tuesday, February 9, Shannon laid one of its founders to rest.

Despite the inclement weather and Covid-imposed restrictions, people participated in a socially distanced guard of honour, lining the roads from Eileen Garvey's home to Saints John & Paul Church.

Past and present staff and pupils of her beloved Shannon Comprehensive School stood, together and apart, in front of the school to honour her legacy  the education of a town. They applauded as the hearse paused, then passed. More people braved the icy winds to stand outside the church to participate in the funeral Mass itself.

Eileen Houlihan was born in Castleconnell, County Limerick in 1933, the eldest of eight children. After the Leaving Certificate, she entered teacher training and had her first permanent teaching appointment in Craughwell N.S. She taught there for five years, attending night and weekend classes at NUIG to acquire her university degree.

In 1957, she took on a new job in St Vincents Convent, in Cork, with the ambition of pursuing a second university degree in music. Another teacher taking the same course, a Clareman by the name of Clem Garvey, captured her heart and she his.

They married in 1959. Their children Denise, Seamus, Clem Jnr. and Fin were all born in Cork in the early and mid-sixties.

In 1968, advertisements appeared for the staffing of Irelands first Comprehensive School, in Shannon, Co. Clare. Excited by the concept and by the opportunity to use their talents not only for the school but also for the establishment of a new community, they moved to Shannon in September 1968.

Clem taught music and Eileen was promoted to head of the English department, assuming responsibility for the school library. It was in this role that she became so well-known in the town of Shannon. Every first-year student in the school spent one period in the week in a Library class, where they would read, producing a book-review of each work consumed. The love of reading she inculcated in her precious charges featured in many of the tributes paid to Eileen.

For twenty-five years, every pupil at the school came through Eileens care in first year. It is no exaggeration to say that she engaged with thousands of Shannons first children. Many were fortunate enough to have also been taught English, as a subject, by her.

One tribute from a past pupil was the following: I have lovely memories of reading The Portrait of a Lady in her English class. She would be what she appeared, and she would appear what she was. Just like Mrs Garvey herself, a lovely lady.

The constitution of the school embraced service to the community. Eileen produced some of the schools first musicals which were important community events. She and her colleagues organised successful arts weeks and creative writing workshops. Eileen was also a founder member of Shannons bridge club and was treasurer of the Society of Care.

Eileen and Clem retired from Saint Patricks Comprehensive in September 1993. However, their desire to continue to contribute to the education of young people led them to take-up appointments to teach English in a secondary school in Botswana, where Eileens love of children and of teaching was reciprocated with love from her pupils.

Eileen and Clem taught in Botswana for three years, returning home in a round-the-world trip, visiting old friends who had lived in Shannon during its Duty-Free Zone heyday and making new ones along the way. Eileen re-engaged in the community, reading for the blind and volunteering in the Shannon bereavement group.

With adored grandchildren in Galway, France and the UK, Eileen and Clem travelled frequently to nurture their relationships with them. They celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary by assembling children and grandchildren for a week, during which the family recorded various choral music pieces, sung together. This was the music played at Eileens funeral on Tuesday.

Eileen took great pleasure in singing with the resurrected Non Nobis Domine choir. One of the most emotional moments of Tuesdays funeral was the singing of their anthem (Not Our Will, But Yours, Lord) by socially distanced members of that choir, as Eileens coffin exited the church.

The final years of Eileens life were very happy ones. She and Clem celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary in Shannon in 2019, in the company of family and friends.

Covid-19 denied Eileen a big, traditional funeral. However, had there been such a funeral, as many people might not have taken the time to express in writing their respect, admiration and gratitude. In so doing, the people of Shannon, Limerick and many other places, recorded the enormity of the personality that was Eileen Garvey, a lady loved by the town, a woman who died, peacefully, last Saturday week.

Shannon lost a mother. The towns response ensured that she will always be remembered.
Boylan wrote last week that the governor would often touch her inappropriately, make her uncomfortable at work and once kissed her on the lips without her consent. The accusations quickly sparked calls for an investigation, with some lawmakers saying Cuomo should leave office.
New COVID-19 infections fell sharply in February, but Jefferson County entered the weekend with the fourth-highest number of deaths since the pandemic began a year ago.

As of Friday, the county already had recorded 29 virus-related deaths.

Only in December, with 58 deaths, and January and July, with 36 deaths each, have more people died here. The county has recorded 274 virus-related deaths since the pandemic claimed its first local victim, in Beaumont, 11 months ago.

Yet Fridays numbers also offered hope, as the county had barely surpassed 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 this month after two back-to-back months that saw more than 3,000 new cases each.

At a glance To sign up for a vaccine waiting list in Southeast Texas*: Visit vaccine.beaumonttexas.gov; or Call (409) 550-2536. The phones will be manned from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick asked residents to be patient if they experience a busy signal or other capacity-related issue. *The city of Beaumont's 311 service is no longer taking sign-ups for the vaccine waiting list. COVID-19 vaccines issued to and administered by public health departments since Feb. 5 Beaumont - 11,000 issued, 6,522 administered Port Arthur - 9,000 issued, 4,250 administered Hardin County - 6,700 issued, 2,798 administered Jasper County - 6,700 issued, 4,788 administered Newton County - 1,200 issued, 520 administered Orange County - 6,000 issued, 3,436 administered Riceland Healthcare - 3,400 issued, 1,485 administered See More Collapse

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The county hasnt seen a sub-1,000-case month since October.

Port Arthur Public Health Director Judith Smith emphasized that the virus should still be taken seriously despite the welcome declines.

The number of deaths this month indicates that COVID is still a serious virus for many people, she said.

Experts hope that continued vaccination efforts will keep new cases low and, for those people who do test positive, substantially limit the severity of the case.

Related: Vaccinations reach 35,000 and counting in Southeast Texas

On Friday, the Southeast Texas region that has formed a COVID-19 vaccination hub received its fourth state allocation of 11,000 doses of vaccine.

Through Thursday, Jasper County had administered the largest percentage of its allocated doses, with nearly 72% of the vaccines already used.

The Beaumont Public Health Department had administered the largest number of vaccines - 6,522.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com

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Today we pay tribute to the memory of the innocent victims of the Sumgait genocide - one of the most tragic events in the modern history of our people, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"As a result of the planned mass pogroms on February 27-29, 1988 in Sumgait, located in the immediate vicinity of the capital of Azerbaijan, dozens of Armenians were killed, hundreds were maimed, tens of thousands were deported. With the criminal connivance of the authorities of Soviet Azerbaijan and the complete inaction of law enforcement agencies, the city of many thousands was given over to the power of armed rioters within three days, who murdered citizens of Armenian nationality with impunity and with particular cruelty.

The Sumgait massacre marked the beginning of a whole series of crimes against humanity committed within the framework of Azerbaijan's state policy towards the Armenian people at all stages of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict. Genocide, systematic ethnic cleansing and massacres carried out by the Azerbaijani authorities in 1988-1991, after the collapse of the USSR, were replaced by war crimes during the armed aggression against the Republic of Artsakh and its people in 1991-1994, 2016 and 2020.

As a result of the genocidal policy pursued by Azerbaijan since 1988, thousands of Armenians were killed, tens of thousands were disabled, hundreds of thousands were forcibly deported and lost their homeland.

Impunity and the lack of an appropriate response from the international community led to increased aggression and an increase in the scale of crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh. The hateful atmosphere cultivated in Azerbaijani society for years by the Baku authorities has created a situation in which war crimes, including bullying, torture and murder of prisoners of war and civilians, are perceived in Azerbaijan as a norm and an example to follow. Azerbaijan's refusal to return prisoners of war and held captive civilians who were in captivity as a result of the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression in the fall of 2020 is a vivid example of a criminal policy generated by impunity and permissiveness.

We bow before the memory of the innocent victims of mass crimes and misanthropic policies of Azerbaijan and call on the international community to take effective steps to force the Azerbaijani authorities to abandon the criminal policy and create prerequisites for establishing a stable and long-term peace in the region."
STAMFORD  Residents ages 55 to 64 become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on March 1 under Gov. Ned Lamonts hotly debated roll-out plan. That same plan makes teachers eligible for the vaccine this week too, adding a massive number of people to the citys plate starting Monday.

Heres what you need to know about the next stage of the vaccine distribution program in Stamford.

How many people are eligible for the vaccine on March 1?

Based on the most recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 15,505 adults aged 55 to 64 in Stamford. But thats only part of the picture. The city announced that it would vaccinate its over 1,500 public school teachers by March 13. David Bednarz, a spokesman for Lamont, told The Advocate that private school PK-12 employees qualify as well.

Where can I get vaccinated?

There are two vaccination sites in the city so far: one at Stamford Healths Bennett Medical Center, operated in partnership with the local Department of Health, and another mass location run by Community Health Center in the Lord & Taylor parking lot at 110 High Ridge Road.

How can I register for the vaccine?

People can register online for the vaccine at Stamford Health through their portal on ZocDoc or by calling their hotline at (203) 276-7300 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. For Community Health Center, those eligible can register with the federal Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) or by calling CHC at (877) 918-2224 or 211.

Do teachers and school employees have to register through the hospital or CHC?

Stamford School Superintendent Tamu Lucero announced that in-school staff would get vaccines through a separate effort by March 13. Elementary school employees will receive their vaccines first, on March 6, with the remaining employees one week later.

What if I need more help?

The state operates its own helpline for people who experience a language barrier, have limited technological access, or are disabled at (877) 918-2224. The line takes calls on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For older adults with limited access, the Stamford Senior Center also offers help.

I cannot leave my house. How can I get the vaccine?

Stamford piloted a bedbound vaccine program on Tuesday to get shots to some of the citys most vulnerable residents. People who spend at least 60 percent of their time in bed and have all services administered to them, along with residents who cannot leave their home without considerable resource and transportation, qualify for the initiative. To register, call (203) 977-4378.

Im younger than 55. When do I become eligible?

The Lamont administration put its weight behind an age-based approach early last week. After the March 1 roll-out, residents ages 45 to 54 are brought into the fold three weeks later. Those between 35 and 44 are eligible on April 12, and on May 3, the program expands to ages 16 to 34.
Recently, several reports stated that Parineeti Chopra-starrer Saina is headed for a direct-to-digital release on Amazon Prime. The film helmed by Amol Gupta, is a biopic on ace badminton player Saina Nehwal. Now, the latest development we hear is that the makers have reversed their plans and will now be releasing their film in cinema halls instead.

A source close to the development told Pinkvilla, "With cinema halls opening up with 100% occupancy in most places, the producers felt that it's best to bring Saina on the big screen considering that it's tells the story of a sporting iconic that deserves to be enjoyed in the cinema halls."

The report further stated that the makers were contemplating on a March 26 or April 9 release over the last few days. Finally, there have now finalized March 26 as the release date for Saina.

"A lot of factors were taken into consideration to reverse the decision and then decide on the release date. As things stand today, it's set for a March 26 release in cinema halls across India. Producer, Bhushan Kumar, is now all set to unwind his line up extending to over 20 major films through the year, which begins with Mumbai Saga on March 19," the source further added.

Earlier, even Sanjay Gupta's Mumbai Saga was to release on OTT. However, the makers changed their plan and now, the John Abraham-Emraan Hashmi starrer is scheduled to release in theatres on March 19.

"Both Mumbai Saga and Saina were eyeing at a premiere on Amazon Prime, however, in a sudden turn of events, the makers along with their digital partner amicably resolved the confusion and decided on bringing the film on the platform it is meant for," the source further told the news portal.

Speaking about Saina, the biopic was earlier suppose to star Shraddha Kapoor. However, the actress exited the project owing to date issues, and Parineeti Chopra stepped into her shoes.

ALSO READ: The Girl On The Train Movie Review: This Parineeti Chopra-Starrer Derails In The Midst Of Its Journey

ALSO READ: Netizens Unhappy With Parineeti Chopra's Statement 'I Wish I Could Erase The Time I Was Hugely Overweight'
After another school year upended by the pandemic, a group of San Francisco supervisors wants to make summer camp free for all public elementary school students  regardless of their familys income level.

Supervisors Connie Chan, Hillary Ronen, Myrna Melgar and Matt Haney plan to propose a $15 million budget supplemental at Tuesdays Board of Supervisors meeting. But even they acknowledge that will not be enough money to cover the costly program, and theyll likely need philanthropists or other city funding to make it a reality.

Were going to call everyone to join us and make this happen, said Chan, who spearheaded the proposal. We know that in San Francisco, people are hurting all across the board. This is a time when we should increase and provide the support for everyone.

The proposal comes as parents, students and teachers reel from yet another semester of distance learning. Experts worry that kids  particularly those from low-income families  are falling behind. Parents and city leaders like Mayor London Breed have criticized the school district and board for not trying harder to get a deal with the teachers union to reopen classrooms. Most public health experts have said the risk of in-school transmission is relatively low.

San Francisco school officials approved a health and safety agreement with labor unions this week, but theyre still at odds over what the school day will look like when classrooms reopen. Any return to in-person instruction this year  if at all  is likely at least two months off.

Ronen said the point of the free camp proposal is to give parents a nine-week reprieve this summer. If the city cannot secure enough staff to run the myriad programs, Ronen said they would explore providing children with subsidies or scholarship to attend private camps.

Janelle Bitker/The Chronicle

The plan must be approved by the Board of Supervisors and signed by the mayor.

If approved, Ronen said the city would provide public school families with a panoply of options between the citys learning hubs, Recreation and Parks Department camps and academic enrichment programs. The supervisors also hope to centralize all of the different summer options into one newly created website.

Maria Su, the executive director of the Department of Children, Youth and their Families, commended the proposal. But she said it would not be possible to serve all elementary school students this summer with just $15 million.

Su said its currently costing the city $55 million for the school year to serve 2,000 children at 81 learning hubs, where they access computers and staff to help them with school work. Current health regulations only allow students to be in pods of 14, but Su said shes hopeful that number can increase by the summer.

In a normal summer, the city serves more than 20,000 children at camps, but last year that number dipped to 3,000 because of health restrictions.

The supervisors estimate that about 20,000 elementary school kids  costing about $1,500 each for the entire summer  would be interested in the program. That means the city would need at least $30 million to provide the option to everyone who might use it.

The policy direction is great, Su said. But its going to cost a lot.

Such funding could be a big ask in San Francisco, where there are many competing needs amid the pandemic. The $15 million would come from the citys recently identified budget surplus, but its unclear where the rest would come from. The city is still staring down a $650 million deficit over the next two fiscal years.

When asked why all public school children would be included in this proposal  regardless of their familys ability to pay for a summer program  the supervisors said all parents deserve some help after the turmoil of the last two school years. Ronen and Chan both have children in San Franciscos public elementary schools who would take advantage of the summer program, if possible. As parents, they said they deeply understand the need for such a program.

We believe its worth the investment to step up and assist these families, Ronen said. This is what our taxpayer dollars are supposed to go toward  meeting the public basic needs of people.

Haney, chair of the budget and finance committee, said the proposal is an emergency priority that cant wait.

If we have money to spend right now. We have to spend it on our kids who are suffering, he said.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
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A Labor MP has been accused of rape in an email sent to another politician, the latest in a chain of allegations engulfing Parliament House.

Victorian Liberal senator Sarah Henderson received the email from a woman on Sunday, claiming a federal parliamentarian raped her.

'Late this afternoon, I forwarded to the Australian Federal Police an email I received this afternoon from a woman alleging she had been raped by a man who is now a federal Labor member of Parliament,' she said.

'In immediately referring this matter to the AFP, I have followed procedures set out by Commissioner Kershaw in his letter of February 24, 2021,' she said. 'I make this statement in the interests of full transparency.'

The email arrived just days after a letter was sent to Scott Morrison, Penny Wong, and Greens senator Sarah-Hanson-Young claiming a Liberal minister raped a teenager in 1988.

Victorian Liberal senator Sarah Henderson received an email from a woman on Sunday, claiming a Labor MP in federal parliament had raped her

Scott Morrison was notified about another alleged rape, at the hands of a Liberal MP, this week

A string of alleged rapes at the hands of government ministers have been uncovered in recent weeks after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins came forward claiming she was sexually assaulted by a colleague at Parliament House in 2019

Labor leader Anthony Albanese's office said it had not received the email.

'The Australian Labor Party has seen media reports that Senator Henderson has received an allegation of sexual assault and has referred any relevant correspondence to authorities as is appropriate,' it told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed it received a complaint about a 'historic sexual assault'.

A string of alleged rapes at the hands of government ministers have been uncovered in recent weeks after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins came forward claiming she was sexually assaulted by a colleague at Parliament House in 2019.

The previous allegation was by a 49-year-old woman who claimed a current federal cabinet minister raped her in 1998 when she was 16.

The woman took her own life in Adelaide last June after coming forward, prompting former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to call for an inquest into her death.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed it received a complaint about a 'historic sexual assault'. Pictured: Scott Morrison and Sarah Henderson

Emails the woman wrote to a friend have since been made public, where she wrote that despite hoping the man would be charged, she feared a trial would become an 'emotional bloodbath'.

'I guess I just worry, that a trial (if one occurs) has the potential to be an emotional bloodbath, particularly for me and anyone who appears as a witness in the case,' she wrote in correspondence obtained exclusively by news.com.au.

An investigation into the alleged rape was ended by NSW police after she died.

The emails, written in 2019, also revealed the woman had meticulously kept evidence pertaining to the alleged rape.

'I've also been wondering about the evidence. I have a lot of corroborative material, which I've included in the appendices of the account I will send you shortly. Most of it comes from my diaries, journals and scrapbooks. These were created in the 1980s-90s,' she wrote.

'Obviously, the items about (redacted) are crucial. There are other entries, which refer to other people. I have their permission to include them (I have this weird hang up, about consent).

'But some of the other entries are extremely personal (well, all of them are, of course, as I wrote them for myself alone, using my diary as a confidante).

The woman said that certain parts of Adelaide triggered bad memories for her.

'Being in Adelaide has also had its moments. I have taken photos of two key locations: a former T-shirt shop in Hindley, where (redacted) bought a tank top, and the hotel we were all in staying in 1986, when we first met.

'These are also described and documented in the account. However, I found this very hard to do, revisit those sites,' she said.

Senator Hanson-Young (picured) said the letter she had received regarded a 'disturbing and a very serious allegation of a criminal nature against a senior member of the government'

'This prompted me to go to the local police. I have had 2 informal, off-the-record conversations with SA CIB (Grenfell St station, the main one in Adelaide's CBD). I told them what had happened to me in 1988, and who the perpetrator was/is.'

'They have reassured me that: 1) I need not report, they would understand. 2) They take these matters extremely seriously, I could report in SA (which I did not know) and it will be investigated. they estimate the investigation would take about a year.

'3) Given the corroborative evidence I have, and my clear memories, they think it would probably go to trial.'

The woman also wrote that she was 'sectioned' for mental health concerns after taking herself to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital.

She told staff that she had felt suicidal in the past, but a psychiatrist told her to stop talking about the alleged rape as it would keep 'retriggering' her.

The bombshell accusations, which surfaced a week after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins came forward about her own alleged rape at the hands of a colleague, have led to Mr Turnbull to seek an inquest.

He said the woman had written to him and his wife Lucy in 2019 to ask for their advice on the matter.

'She described a pretty horrific rape that she said had occurred at the hands of this person,' he told the crowd of an Adelaide writers event on Sunday.

The letter came with a detailed statement attached, prepared by the complainant for her lawyer, ABC's Four Corners has reported.

On Saturday Senator Wong issued a further statement 'in the interests of transparency' revealing she had detailed prior knowledge of the matter.

'I first became aware of the complainant's allegation when I ran into her in Adelaide in November 2019,' the senator wrote.

'The complainant reminded me we had met once before.'

'The complainant made an allegation that she had been raped many years earlier by a person who is now a senior member of the federal government. She indicated she intended to report the matter to NSW Police.

'I said that making a report to the appropriate authorities was the right thing to do. I facilitated her referral to rape support services and confirmed she was being supported in reporting the matter to NSW Police.'

Labor senator Penny Wong (pictured) received a letter about the alleged 1988 rape by a now senior federal government minister

Ms Higgins' going public with allegations of 2019 rape started the dominoes of numerous other sexual assault claims either being made, or first entering the public realm after being earlier reported to police.

Ms Higgins was working as a media advisor for Defence Minister Linda Reynolds at the time she was allegedly raped by another staffer after a night out.

The Morrison Government has been under intense pressure over its response to the 2019 incident ever since Ms Higgins came forward with her claims.

Three more women accused the former senior staffer of rape after she went public and he was dumped from his new job.

A fourth woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the ABC the 'really sleazy' alleged rapist stroked her thigh on a night out in 2017.

The latest woman to come forward was with colleagues at Canberra's Public Bar in 2017 when the alleged rapist touched her thigh uninvited.

The third woman said she was assaulted while working as a coalition volunteer during the 2016 election campaign.

She was barely out of school at the time of the attack, which allegedly occurred after a night out drinking with the then-political staffer.

Ms Higgins' claim opened the floodgates for others to share their stories

During the night out, she claims he bought her several rounds of 'double strength' vodkas and three tequila shots.

When everybody else had left, the woman said she told him she was going to catch an Uber home, and he suggested they go back to his hotel room 'around the corner' instead, and he would 'look after her', she told The Australian.

After they arrived, she passed out while laying on his bed and allegedly woke up with her clothes undone and the staffer allegedly lying on top of her.

The woman, who was a virgin, said she was uncertain as to whether he was conscious or sleeping, but she bolted from the room into the hotel lobby toilet, where she discovered she was 'bleeding'.

Ms Higgins was working as a media advisor for Defence Minister Linda Reynolds at the time she was allegedly raped by another staffer after a night out

Feeling embarrassed and ashamed, the woman made her way home and did not tell police, her family or friends.

'Hearing Brittany Higgins' story, it was so eerily similar, it made me think this person has a pattern of behaviour,' she said.

The second alleged victim claimed she met the ministerial advisor in 2016 when he was working for Senator Reynolds during the election campaign.

'We went back to my place and we were kissing we were going to have sex and I said he had to wear a condom,' she said.

'He refused and we argued and I told him five or six times that we couldn't have sex unless he wore a condom. I was drunk and he just got on top of me, I said no, and then he was inside of me and I kept saying no.'

Ms Higgins' claim opened the floodgates for others to share their stories.

A woman took her own life in Adelaide last June after coming forward about allegedly being sexually assaulted by a Liberal minister as a teenager in 1988.

Senator Penny Wong, along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, received a letter about the alleged rape this week.

It is understood the letter was not written by her.

Senator Wong released an initial statement on Friday saying she had referred the letter to the Australian Federal Police and was aware the matter was already before NSW and South Australian police.
New WEA head details core beliefs of 600 million evangelicals worldwide in inaugural speech

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The World Evangelical Alliance officially handed over its top leadership position to Bishop Thomas Schirrmacher on Saturday, with the new secretary-general and CEO of the global organization of evangelical churches detailing what it means to be evangelical.

Speaking from a studio near the city of Bonn in western Germany for a 90-minute live-streamed event to honor the leadership handover, the 60-year-old Schirrmacher listed in his speech essential beliefs that hold the otherwise diverse movement of over 600 million evangelicals together.

We believe in the Resurrection of Jesus and we believe in Pentecost where the Holy Spirit filled the believers, the members of the Church, said Schirrmacher, who studied theology in Switzerland and the United States but now lives in Germany.

Some may say these events did not happen or do not need to have happened in real history, he continued. But we [as evangelicals] stand for the historicity of our faith. Jesus did receive new life from His Father, the Holy Spirit did fall on the believers, he underlined.

He also suggested that evangelicals do not believe in this because we think of it as something confessional [or] something specific [only] we believe in.

Rather, he explained, we think its the DNA of Christianity, that we owe everything to what Jesus did and what the Holy Spirit does.

Schirrmacher, the founder of the Martin Bucer European Theological Seminary and Research Institutes, which has campuses throughout Europe, was unanimously affirmed as the WEAs next secretary-general by the WEA International Council last October. He will replace Bishop Efraim Tendero, who served for decades as head of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches.

In his speech, Schirrmacher described the Bible as the confession of the Church that stands above everything and everyone. He pointed out that the very idea of a paper document  rather than a person  having ultimate authority originated in the Old Testament, where the Torah was regarded as higher than even the king.

We are proud to have a Paper Pope because the Paper Pope assures that none of us, including me, are above the Word of God, he said. We all submit to the Word of God; no one is above it.

Schirrmacher said this foundational principle and conviction also allows a diversity of traditions  from Calvinist Reformed to Pentecostal and Charismatic  to unite in one movement.

Evangelicalism also essentially put emphasis on missions and sharing of the Gospel message, he added, quoting the opening line of the 2011 joint document on Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World produced by the WEA, the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches.

Schirrmacher had been serving as the WEAs associate secretary-general for theological concerns and chair of WEAs Theological Commission. He also served as the networks ambassador for human rights. He is also president of the International Council of the International Society for Human Rights.

He said that all churches agree now that mission is the very being of the church. However, some Christian traditions may not be putting it into practice as much as evangelicals often do.

The WEA leader said religious freedom and concern for persecuted believers have been integral to the evangelical movement from the very beginning.

In 1846, the World Evangelical Alliance was the first-ever large religious body speaking up for religious freedom, he explained. And that meant speaking up against state churches and against Christian nationalism.

Religious freedom, Schirrmacher clarified, is not simply a political principle. He said it is integral to the understanding of Gods love and His desire to be in a relationship with the humans He created.

God Himself wants to be loved, wants us to trust Him, wants our life, he said. He does not want us to pray to Him because we are forced or because someone paid us or somebody cheated us. He wants our very trust, our very heart and our very love. And love is something that cannot be forced.

Schirrmacher concluded that the WEA is a movement that strives for unity within evangelicalism, but stressed that if we want to bring the Anglicans, the Pentecostals, the Reformed, the Salvation Army, all those groups in our midst together, we can only do it around the DNA of Christianity.

And we are open to any other church outside of our movement to join us in those points of the DNA, and so we hope that wherever possible to extend our vision to many other churches in this world, he stated.

Ending his speech, Schirrmacher requested prayers from evangelical leaders who joined the online event from every region of the world, representing the nine regional and 140 national Evangelical Alliances that make up the WEA.

I am privileged to serve the World Evangelical Alliance. I know all of us are sinners. We are under the one Holy Scripture, which defines when we fail in what we do. And so I am deeply convinced that it is only the prayer of millions  and the prayer of close friends who might know me more closely  that makes it possible to take over a task which is too big just for one human being, he said.

Outgoing Secretary-General Tendero said he and Schirrmacher partnered together through the WEA Senior Leadership Team for several years.

I saw in him the charisma, competence and capacity that is matched by the character, conviction and calling from God that are needed for such a global task, Tendero said. I have full confidence that he will lead the WEA as empowered by the Holy Spirit in advancing the Good news of the Lord Jesus Christ to all nations, and effecting personal, family and community transformation for the glory of God.
Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Pope Francis on Saturday said that he wished to retire in Rome, and wouldnt prefer to return to his native Argentina where he spent most of his life in villas 21-24, in shantytowns of Buenos Aires. The pontiff, during the launch of his new book, revealed that he will not go back to Argentina and will would instead prefer to be buried in Rome. In response to a query by an Argentine journalist and doctor Nelson Castro, Vaticans Pope said that he wished to breathe last in Rome, as pope or emeritus. At the press conference, the 84-year-old pope also stated that he absolutely did not fear death, when asked what his thoughts about death were. Jorge Mario Bergoglio is publishing a new book wherein he speaks about the health of the recent popes, including Pope Leo XIII, head of the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903. The excerpts from his new book were published Saturday in the Argentine daily La Nacion.

May the example of so many doctors and healthcare workers who have risked their life to the point of losing it due to the #pandemic move us to feeling truly grateful for how generously, and sometimes heroically, they carry out their profession.  Pope Francis (@Pontifex) February 20, 2021

Francis, who has been suffering from sciatica, mentioned in his book that it was the first time that a pope has discussed his health with the transparency afforded by Francis." The former archbishop of Buenos Aires said that despite his childhood spent as a son to the Italian immigrant parents, he does not miss it. I lived there for 76 years. What pains me are its problems, an allusion to the economic crisis shaking the South American country, the Pope said. In an interview with a local Argentine newspaper, however, a parish priest in villa 20, who had known Bergoglio, or Father Jorge for over several years has stated otherwise, saying that Pope Francis was extremely close to this community and always present. People appreciated it very much, Father Sebastian Risso said.

Read: Gilyard, Francis Lift Richmond Past Duquesne 79-72

Read: Najaf Prepares For Pope Francis' Visit

[Pope Francis celebrates the Ash Wednesday mass leading Catholics into Lent, at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: AP]

Pope's health issues

According to his book highlights published in the Argentine daily La Nacion, Pope Francis who lived in his home country Argentina for over 76 years, said that he did not wish to return even during his final hours. He also discussed his health issues, and the visits to the psychologist during the 1970s, and his chronic condition and pain in the hip that made it challenging for him to stand during the mass that led him to skip many services. He also told Castro about a cyst removed when he was just barely 21 years old. Pope Francis and Pope Benedict, recovered the COVID-19 infection back in January and the leader of nearly 1.3 billion Catholics got immunized against the COVID-19 this year.

Read: 'A Door Has Opened': Pope Francis Appoints First-ever Woman To Senior Synod Post

Read: Uttarakhand: Pope Francis 'expresses Closeness To The Victims' Of Devastating Floods
Huntington, WV (25701)

Today

Cloudy. High near 80F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early with showers later at night. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Critics Want to Cancel God, Redefine the Family: Owner at Goya Foods

Robert Unanue, an U.S. corporate leader who experienced cancel culture firsthand last year, became one of the first business people to stand up against a leftist mob that tried to boycott his products because of his support for former President Donald Trump.

Ive come to realize that a lot of what were doing is canceling God, Unanue, an owner at the Hispanic-owned company Goya Foods Inc., told the Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando on Feb. 27.

We need a reason to get up in the morning. Goya kept working because were an essential business. But all businesses are essential, he said. You need to be able to get up in the morning for God, family, and work. They want to cancel God, they want to close our churches.

They want to redefine the family.

Unanue drew the ire of Trump critics when he, among other Hispanic business and community leaders, visited the White House in July last year on the occasion of Trump signing an executive order that created the White Houses Hispanic Prosperity Initiative.

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order he signed on the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative in Washington on July 9, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Unanue made sympathetic remarks about Trump that day, comparing the presidents entrepreneurialism to that of his grandfathers.

Critics of the former president, celebrities, and politicians, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro, denounced the brand or called for boycotts of Goya.

I was there to give away 2 million pounds of food because our company was up and running courageously, all of our people. We never shut down. We had the best year of our life, Unanue said. The food was donated to food banks nationwide.

During Unanues speech, he said the country was blessed to have a leader like Trump, recounting how his grandfather started Goya Foods in 1936 after having departed Spain at the age of 18.

Owner at Goya Foods Robert Unanue (L), Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez (2R) and Lourdes Aguirre (R) listen to President Donald Trump speak before signing an Executive Order on the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative at the White House in Washington, on July 9, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

I used the word blessed. I said we were blessed as a country, he said.

Despite many attempts to try to boycott the company, Goya Foods experienced its most successful year in 2020, with Ocasio-Cortez featured in a popular internet meme after being named the companys Employee of the Month late last year.

I received a meme from someone that had AOC as employee of the month because she raised our sales 1,000 percent. That wasnt our number, it was the meme, Unanue said.

L-R: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), members of the Democratic Socialists of America, at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing, in Washington on July 12, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Unanue previously criticized the left, saying that their handling of the CCP viruswhich causes the disease COVID-19was done for political gain, calling it a direct assault on the middle class.

The most of those 15 million people in the restaurant business are minority, Hispanic, African American, all ethnicities, he said. And so, theres a direct assault on the middle class, on the working class, a direct assault.

Unanue called on people to unite and to draw closer to God.

Some call for the Pledge of Allegiance to say one nation indivisible, he said. Now, what do they take out? Under God. So we cant be indivisible or united unless were under God.

We need to not move away from God. We need to move closer to God.

Correction: This article has been updated to more accurately reflect Robert Unanues role at Goya Foods Inc.
WILLIAMSTOWN  An estimated 80 to 100 people held an illicit indoor party at Williams College on Friday evening, breaking state gathering rules and college guidelines.

Williams College President Maud Mandel called the event deeply disappointing in a letter to students, faculty and staff on Saturday. As a precautionary measure, she said, the college will postpone loosening on-campus COVID restrictions by at least two weeks.

According to Mandels letter, people at the party were tightly packed inside Wood House, a campus dorm, and were either completely without masks or were wearing them around their necks, on their wrists, etc.

Wood House at Williams College The Williams College president is asked that the 80 to 100 students believed to have attended an unsanctioned party Friday at Wood House come 

Attendees fled when Campus Safety and Security arrived to the scene, she said.

The college will require all students found to be attending the party to switch to remote learning, with further penalties for student who do not come forward about their involvement.

If this response seems strict, it has to be, Mandel wrote. I remind you that each student knew and accepted the rules before you arrived. In fact, our local public health officials only endorsed the colleges spring plan with that assurance.

Indoor gatherings, which remain capped at 10 people by the state, have been a major driver of virus spread across Massachusetts and Berkshire County. Local and state officials have linked the Commonwealth's most recent surge directly to gatherings in private homes.

In light of the incident, Mandel said Williams will not move to its on-campus Phase Two until at least March 15. That means student interactions outside of their living pods will continue to be strictly limited.

The change is not meant to punish the whole community, but rather as a necessary public health measure, she said. The party created a significant risk of Covid transmission. Indeed, such gatherings have become superspreader events at other schools.

Prior to the party, Williams had seen a relatively uneventful start to the semester, even as major outbreaks hit colleges and universities across the country.

The college identified 11 COVID-19 cases as students returned to campus, with positive students moved to isolation dorms and close contacts relocated to quarantine. In the last week, only one person associated with the college has tested positive, according to the colleges dashboard.

The school's Phase Two had been scheduled to start on Monday. The upcoming shift in phases will depend on whether the virus appears to be spreading within the college community, Mandel said. Students are tested twice a week, and the college has rapid testing capacity for those who become symptomatic.

Williams students had the option of learning in-person or remotely, and those who returned to campus were required to sign an extensive public health commitment.

In full disclosure, returning to Williams means you may contract COVID-19, the agreement stated. By coming onto campus, you acknowledge and accept that this is possible. We are taking all reasonable steps to mitigate this risk and expect you to do the same to protect yourself and those around you.
As of midnight, Saturday February 27, the HPSC has been notified of 612 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 219,592 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland, with 45 of those new cases attributed to Limerick.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical, the Department of Health said, if we as a nation can keep case numbers down "our focus will begin to turn to what we can do, rather than what we cannot"

Of the cases notified today:

300 are men / 311 are women

72% are under 45 years of age

The median age is 32 years old



289 in Dublin, 45 in Limerick, 34 in Longford, 33 in Galway, 26 in Kildare and the remaining 185 cases are spread across 19 other counties. *





As of 8am today, 554 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 133 are in ICU. 19 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of February 25, 409,529 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:

271,594 people have received their first dose

137,935 people have received their second dose



The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community including daily data on Irelands COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

Meanwhile the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 6 additional deaths related to COVID-19. All of these deaths occurred in February. The median age of those who died was 63 years and the age range was 41 - 86 years. There has been a total of 4,319 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical, the Department of Health said: Since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Ireland last February, our lives have changed in ways we never thought possible.

More than 6,300 people on our island have lost their lives with COVID-19. We remember them, and their families and friends, as well as the many people who remain seriously ill or who are dealing with long-term health issues because of this disease.

The response of colleagues across all parts of our health system has been remarkable. We should be extraordinarily proud, and take great heart, from the dedication and resilience which has been  and continues to be - shown by everyone involved in this response.

Almost all sectors and communities have experienced loss and have been tested in ways unimaginable to us this time last year. This pandemic and the public health response to it has had a profound impact on lives and livelihoods. But it has also demonstrated the best of us as a people, working together and buying in as a collective to what has been necessary to protect one another.

Last Spring, we met the challenge presented to us with collective enthusiasm. Ironically, while that enthusiasm has understandably waned and gone, there are more concrete reasons for hope and optimism now than at any time over the last 12 months;

We have seen week on week reductions in case numbers over the past six weeks and we are on track to have an incidence which is amongst the lowest in Europe;

The number of people in hospital has fallen by 38% over the past fortnight;

We have an educated and informed public and most people continue to do most of the right things most of the time  overcoming disinformation and playing their part in solidarity with one another;

We have a dedicated and committed health workforce who have consistently stepped up to challenges as they have presented;

We have three highly effective vaccines with more on the way, supply is ramping up and we are on course to have given about 80% of adults at least one dose by the end of June;

Vaccines are already having a very positive impact here with cases falling dramatically among healthcare workers and in our nursing homes;

Evidence is mounting quickly that these vaccines, as well as stopping people getting sick, also help to stop people passing the virus onto others;

While new variants have brought uncertainty, the existing vaccines perform well against them and work is already underway to develop booster versions should they be required;



We still have a way to go. Our case numbers are still far too high and we must continue to do all we can to suppress this disease over the coming weeks. But if we can do this successfully through March, our focus will begin to turn to what we can do, rather than what we cannot.

Yes, we need to be cautious and yes, there will be challenges over the coming months. But together, through science and solidarity, we will get through this and this pandemic will end.
Millions of struggling renters caught a much-needed break when the federal moratorium on evictions was extended through the end of March. But for many landlords across the US, the news came as a nightmare.

"It's important to recognize that, after 10 months of severe economic distress, job loss, and decline in rent collections, everyone is hurting," said Bob Pinnegar, president and CEO of the National Apartment Association, an industry group representing property owners.

By extending the moratoriums further, he said, it leaves landlords and property managers "saddled with the financial burden of providing housing to America's 40 million renters without sufficient resources to do so, and they leave residents to accrue even more debt."

The federal eviction moratorium, put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September to stop the spread of coronavirus, prevents property owners from evicting renters for non-payment of rent. The order temporarily prohibits new and previously filed evictions from occurring. It requires struggling tenants to provide a declaration to their landlord that they earn less than $100,000 a year, have experienced a significant loss of income and have made their best effort to find rental assistance and pay their rent.

Initially, the CDC order was set to expire at the end of December, but was extended through January by a provision in the second stimulus package. One of President Joe Biden's first acts in office was to seek to extend the moratorium again until the end of March.

Ultimately, Pinnegar argues, residents, owners and policymakers want the same thing: for tenants to stay in their homes. But, he said, eviction moratoriums don't accomplish that because they create the illusion that everything is stable when, in fact, "they are far from it." Renters will still owe back rent once the moratorium is lifted. And, in the meantime, landlords are stuck figuring out how to cover their monthly expenses.

"They just kick the can down the road, jeopardizing housing supply, quality of the housing stock and affordability on the other side of this crisis," he said.

Landlords looking for rent relief

The extension of the CDC order is particularly tough on smaller mom-and-pop property owners, many of whom have been running in the red for months, said Pinnegar.

These small independent operators own about 22.1 million rental units, which Pinnegar said is more than half of the nation's supply.

Already some property owners are struggling to meet their financial obligations and maintain their buildings, he said.

"Without rent, owners can't afford maintenance or capital improvements necessary to preserve the units," he said, which could have consequences that ripple out into the community and housing industry.

Owners also may not be able to pay the mortgage  which, according to Pinnegar's association accounts for 38 cents of every rent dollar. That puts millions of rental units at risk of foreclosure.

Landlords are also struggling to afford property taxes, which fund critical local services including fire departments and schools.

"If owners cannot pay these, they risk their ability to provide safe housing for residents altogether," Pinnegar said.

Pinnegar called for swift, ongoing targeted rental assistance as a way to help renters, many of whom are unable to pay through no fault of their own. He also says there needs to be more aid for landlords and the wider housing market.

"Every dollar of direct rental assistance helps. It means you can hold on for a little longer," he said.

Renters owed an estimated $30 billion to $70 billion in back rent to their landlords at the end of December, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Even with December's $900 billion stimulus package providing an added $25 billion in rent relief funds to tenants, it still wasn't nearly enough.

The Biden stimulus plan being discussed now includes an additional $25 billion for assistance to renters, as well as $5 billion for utilities payment support and $5 billion to help relieve the strain of homelessness. But more will be needed, Pinnegar said.

"There are estimates of $70 billion in back rent, we got $25 [billion] out of second stimulus and there may be $25 [billion] in additional rent relief coming," he said. "But that still leaves $20 billion out there."

Rent debt looms

An estimated 10 million renters were behind on their rent and at risk of eviction in the middle of January, according to a Census Bureau survey. And an estimated 16 million renters had little to no confidence they could pay rent in February.

While eviction moratoriums can drive a wedge between property owners and tenants, both sides agree there's just not enough rental assistance money to go around.

"The pandemic is a problem for poor people and minority people and that's where the money should be spent. But the government's money is not necessarily going to the places it needs to go efficiently," said Alan Hammer, an attorney in Roseland, New Jersey, who is also a multifamily property owner with dozens of buildings throughout New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

"Any tenant who has called and said they can't pay the rent, we make deals with anyone, we try to put them in touch with aid. We're not looking to move someone out."

But the longer struggling tenants exist under an eviction moratorium order without rent relief, the more likely it is their debt will become insurmountable, if it isn't already, Hammer said.

"Rent needs to be paid back over a period of time, that's the nature of it," he said. "If a tenant can't pay their rent when one month rent of is $800, $1,200 or $1,500, and that goes for many months? Now you have to pay for a year?"

He fears those renters may ultimately skip out on their rent debt altogether.

"I don't know why society has decided that landlords aren't entitled to get paid and others are," said Hammer. "If the same people who can't pay their rent go into a grocery store and have a cart at the cash register and say, 'I need this food because my kids are hungry,' the business will say, 'Pay the money or don't take the food.' If you pull up at a gas station and say, 'I need gas, but I can't pay for the gas.' No one has said you don't have to pay for your gas."

While Hammer said he has seen the impact on his rent rolls, his operation is large enough to manage through the loss for now.

The landlords who are being hit the hardest, he said, are smaller operators and those with low-income tenants.

"For the smaller landlord who owns a building and has their life savings in it, the loss of rent is a much bigger problem," he said. "The problem is also bigger if you have lower income tenants, people who work in hospitality, restaurants, service."

These are the people who need the targeted rent relief, he said, so that their landlords aren't pushed to a breaking point.

"Landlords don't want to evict tenants," Hammer said, and more rent relief would keep tenants in their homes and the rent rolls strong. "I've got a mustache but I'm not twirling it as we speak."
No coronavirus-related deaths were reported Saturday  a sigh of relief from the 29 deaths reported since Tuesday.

Still, 2,520 San Antonians have died from the disease since last March, according to the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.

More for you News San Antonio mayor explains why text alert system wasn't...

Metro Health reported 482 new cases Saturday, six more than Fridays 501 cases. This upped the total case count to 195,719.

It is crucial for us to stay disciplined and keep the case numbers moving lower, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Saturday. Mask up, keep your distance from people outside your household and wash your hands frequently.

On ExpressNews.com: When and where Texans can get the COVID vaccine

The pandemic has loosened its grip slightly on the hospital system, with 455 coronavirus patients being treated in local hospitals  six fewer than Friday  making up about 11.4 percent of the total patient count.

Metro Health reported 46 of those patients were admitted in the previous 24 hours.

Of those hospitalized, 186 were in intensive care, which were six more than Friday, and 109 were on ventilators to help them breathe, an increase of nine compared to Friday.

Just three weeks ago, about a quarter of total hospital patients had the virus  accounting for 969 patients  with a third of those in intensive care.

At the time, the city had a seven-day average of 1,361 new cases per day.

Since Feb. 6, 14,708 people have contracted the virus and there have been 312 deaths.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

Get tested

Residents who may have had to mix households to survive the weather crisis two weeks ago should consider getting tested for the virus, as well as anyone else who may have come into contact with the virus during that time.

The city has free testing sites that dont require appointments, including the Cuellar Community Center, 5626 San Fernando St., and Ramirez Community Center, 1011 Gillette Blvd.

Those with symptoms can get tested at either center Monday through Sunday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you dont have symptoms, you can get tested at the same centers Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No asymptomatic testing is done at the centers on Sundays.

Symptoms include fever or chills, coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, loss to taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, nausea and diarrhea.

On ExpressNews.com: Tracking COVID-19 - coronavirus by the numbers in San Antonio and across the country

Coronavirus at a glance 28,479,605 Confirmed cases in U.S. 2,632,500 In Texas 195,237 In Bexar County 510,134 Deaths in U.S. 42,596 In Texas 2,520 In Bexar County* *State count, based on different criteria, is higher. Source: State of Texas, S.A. Metropolitan Health District, CDC, Johns Hopkins See More Collapse

To view more testing locations or for other information about the coronavirus, visit COVID19.SanAntonio.gov.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 28) - President Rodrigo Duterte said that he would want to visit China soon to thank President Xi Jinping for the donated anti-coronavirus vaccines that arrived on Sunday.

Towards, maybe at the end of the year, when everything has settled down, I intend to make a short visit to China to just shake hands with President Xi Jinping and to personally thank him for his donations, he said during a welcome ceremony.

The national government received today 600,000 doses of vaccine by Sinovac, the first to arrive in the country since the pandemic started.

Duterte boasted that the vaccine doses donated to the country were the only batch carried by a government plane.

China has donated several vaccines to several countries. But this is the only donation made to the Philippines that was carried by a Chinese government plane, he said. Yung iba kinukuha dun sa China, dito hinatid sa atin (Some countries need to go to China, but they just delivered them to us).

The military will get 100,000 doses from the donation, with the rest to be allocated to the other priority sectors such as healthcare workers.

Moreover, Duterte assured that the vaccines donated by the Chinese government did not come with strings attached.

China has never asked for anything. China has been giving us everything, but never asked anything from us, he said during a press conference.

The national government will start on Monday, March 1 the rollout of Sinovac vaccines in six public hospitals.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 28)  Vice President Leni Robredo has expressed dismay over the proposal of the Department of Labor and Development to deploy health workers overseas in exchange for COVID-19 vaccines.

In her radio show Biserbisyong Leni on Sunday, Robredo noted that instead of merely doing "lip service," the government should be seeking ways to improve the working conditions in the health sector which often compel workers there to look for opportunities abroad.

"Maraming nagsasabing bayani ang ating health workers pero paano ba natin sila tini-treat?" asked Robredo, urging the administration to instead consider improving the plight and other needs of workers in the health sector.

[Translation: A lot of them say that our health workers are heroes, but how are we treating them?]

She said that even if the government is "desperate" for vaccines, it should not be done at the expense of health workers.

The Labor Department clarified last week that in making the proposal it merely wanted to ensure that additional workers to be deployed would have already been vaccinated using doses from the requesting country.

In an earlier Senate hearing, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the UK and Germany have requested to remove the 5,000 deployment cap that the Philippine government imposed on its healthcare workers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, International Labor Affairs Bureau Director Alice Visperas said Bello set two conditions for this to happen  one of which is for their governments to send coronavirus vaccines to the Philippines.

Bello's proposal was met with fierce criticism from an organization of nurses, noting that they should not be treated like "commodities."

The Duterte administration in April 2020 barred nurses, doctors, and other medical workers from leaving the Philippines to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The ban was lifted in November, but the government allowed only 5,000 health workers to leave annually.
Weeks after accusations of sexual abuse and assault against the rapper T.I. and his wife, Tameka Harris, started circulating on social media, a lawyer has approached law enforcement authorities in two states seeking criminal inquiries, on behalf of 11 people who said they were victimized by the couple or members of their entourage.

Four women have accused the celebrity pair of drugging and sexually assaulting them, including two instances of rape that were said to have occurred in Georgia and California, according to the letters sent on Feb. 19 by the lawyer, Tyrone A. Blackburn, to state and federal prosecutors in both states. Similar letters were sent to the attorneys general in those states.

Mr. Blackburn, a New York-based lawyer, said that the eerily similar experiences spanned more than a decade, beginning in 2005; the most recent allegation of sexual abuse occurred in 2017 or 2018, he said. None of the women involved know one another, but described sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats and false imprisonment at the behest of T.I., Ms. Harris and their associates or employees, Mr. Blackburn wrote. His letters also included instances of nonsexual intimidation, assault and harassment.

A lawyer for T.I. and Ms. Harris said that the couple deny in the strongest possible terms these baseless and unjustified allegations.
it is believed that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam would call on Union Home Minister Amit Shah when he visits Chennai and finalise the seat sharing. (Representational image : PTI file photo)

CHENNAI: The Election Commission of Indias announcement of April 6 as the date for elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry triggered hectic discussions on seat sharing between the various parties in the two major alliances led by the Dravidian majors, DMK and AIADMK, on Saturday.

BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu, including G. Kishan Reddy, L. Murugan and C.

T. Ravi, too held talks with AIADMK leaders and demanded at least 25 seats for their party. It was indeed a big climb down as the BJP was initially asking for 40 seats.

However, it is believed that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam would call on Union Home Minister Amit Shah when he visits Chennai and finalise the seat sharing.

When Kamal was asked about the Congress joining it, he gave an ambiguous answer that triggered speculations of the Congress tying up with MNM.

Also the possibility of the third coalition emerging was visible with the actor Sarathkumars All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi calling on Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan and exploring the potential for a third front in Tamil Nadu.

Sarathkumar claimed that the AIADMK did not even call the party for talks. Leader of the India Janayaka Katchi (IJK), who are now part of the DMK-led coalition, are also negotiating with the MNM for an alliance as

the party is peeved over the less number of seats offered.

Similarly, the DMDK, founded by actor Vijayakanth, is also angry with the AIADMK, protested against the hike in petrol and diesel prices. But later on top leaders of the AIADMK called on Vijaykanth to appease him and request him to continue with the alliance.

The PMK, an ally of the AIADMK, was the only party that finalised its alliance by agreeing for 23 seats, which would be identified later on, and thanking the ruling party for bringing in the 10.5 per cent reservation for the Vanniyar community.

The meeting between the PMK and AIADMK was held at a star hotel in Chennai. The two parties are fighting an Assembly election together after 2001, pointed out Anbumani Ramadoss, who said that the PMK agreed for lesser number of seats because the 10.5 per cent exclusive quota for Vanniyars was announced by AIADMK government.

In the DMK camp, the talks with the Congress have been put on hold as

the TNCC leaders have rushed to southern Tamil Nadu in view of Rahul

Gandhis visit. Their talks on seat-sharing had hit a road block as the DMK

had only offered them only 15 to 20 seats and the Congress had told them

that they will get back after discussing the issue with the high command.
Turkey on Sunday summoned Iran's envoy to Ankara to demand support in the fight against "terrorism", escalating a rumbling row over Turkey's presence in Iraq, state media reported.

Iran and Turkey are rivals in several parts of the Middle East and Central Asia but both have carried out operations against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.

Earlier this month, Turkey accused Kurdish militants of killing 12 Turks and an Iraqi who were being held hostage in northern Iraq,

The incident prompted Iranian envoy to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi to warn that Turkish forces should not "pose a threat or violate Iraqi soil".

' We do not accept at all, be it Turkey or any other country, to intervene in Iraq militarily or advance or have a military presence in Iraq,' Masjedi was quoted as saying in an interview broadcast on Saturday.

Turkey's Baghdad envoy Fatih Yildiz quickly hit back, writing on Twitter that Iran's ambassador was ' the last person to lecture Turkey' about respecting Iraq's borders.

Turkish foreign ministry officials summoned Iranian ambassador Mohammad Farazmand and told him Turkey expected Iran to be on its side in the "fight against terrorism", state news agency Anadolu said.

Ministry officials also told the ambassador Turkey "strongly rejected" the envoy's comments, insisting that Ankara always informed relevant parties including Baghdad of its plans to target militants.

Turkey has launched multiple air strikes targeting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq including the areas of Kandil and Sinjar.

The PKK, which has fought an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies.

Turkey bombed a mountainous region close to Sinjar last month and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Ankara could launch military action to get rid of "terrorists" in the area.

But the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad hit out at Turkey's plans.

' What has Sinjar got to do with Turkey,' he asked. ' Iraqis themselves must resolve this issue.'

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By Gabriella Borter

(Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office cleared the way on Sunday for an independent attorney with subpoena powers to investigate allegations against him of sexual misconduct.

The governor's office backtracked on its original plan to choose its own investigator after widespread criticism from fellow Democrats.

"We will hire a law firm, deputize them as attorneys of our office, and oversee a rigorous and independent investigation," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

Cuomo, one of the nation's most well-known Democratic politicians whose popularity soared during the early months of the pandemic, has been accused by two former aides of sexual misconduct, sparking criticism from fellow Democrats that ranged from calls for his resignation to appeals for an independent investigation into his behavior.

Responding to the latest allegations that emerged on Saturday, the governor denied making any sexual advances and initially ordered what he said would be a "full and thorough outside review" led by a former federal judge, Barbara Jones.

But following sharp rebukes from Democrats, Cuomo reversed that decision - and issued a statement late on Sunday saying he "never intended to offend anyone or cause harm."

Cuomo said he is often jocular around the office and in public, citing his frequent press conferences that included plenty of banter with members of the media.

"I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended," Cuomo said in a statement.

'PAINFUL TO READ'

Cuomo on Saturday ordered what he said would be a "full and thorough outside review" led by Jones. But that move was quickly rejected by leading Democratic figures including U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who said she found the accounts of Cuomo's former aides Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett "extremely serious and painful to read."

Story continues

There were also demands for an independent probe from several other Democrats. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told CNN's State of the Union that President Joe Biden supported such an investigation. Others, including New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi and New York City Councilman Carlos Menchaca, went further, echoing Republican calls for Cuomo to resign.

In the latest misconduct allegations, Bennett, who worked for the governor as an executive assistant and policy advisor for nearly two years until November 2020, told the New York Times that he had asked her about her sex life, including whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had ever had sex with older men.

Her account was published days after Boylan, another former aide, wrote in an online essay that the governor made several "inappropriate gestures" toward her while she worked for the state government from 2015 to 2018, including sending her a rose on Valentine's Day and kissing her on the mouth.

Cuomo has denied wrongdoing in both cases. Reuters could not independently verify the women's accounts. Attempts to reach both women have been unsuccessful.

Cuomo rose to national prominence for his daily televised briefings early on during the coronavirus pandemic, when New York was the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States.

The allegations of sexual misconduct follow a report issued in January by James' office that cast doubt on his administration's handling of the coronavirus crisis in nursing homes. It said the state health department significantly undercounted the death toll and implemented policies that may have contributed to it.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday that there now needed to be two independent investigations, one into Cuomo's conduct and another into the nursing home deaths.

"Questions of this magnitude cannot hang over the heads of New Yorkers as we fight off a pandemic and economic crisis," de Blasio said in a statement.

(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Additional reporting by Brad Brooks; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
The Work Zone

A lot of folks will go to work this morning, and not be happy about it. I hope I can give you some ideas today that will help make sure youre Read more
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Ramsey County Sheriff's Office via AP

Minneapolis city council approved funding to hire social media influencers for Derek Chauvin's trial, WCCO-TV reported.

The influencers will be paid to provide the local community with information about the trial.

Chauvin was charged in Floyd's death, and his trial is set to begin on March 8.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Related: The real cost of the police

The Minneapolis City Council greenlit funding to hire social media influencers to spread information to the public during the trial of Derek Chauvin, who knelt on George Floyd's neck during an arrest last year.

WCCO-TV reported that the city council approved more than $1.1 million to invest in communications on Friday. Six influencers will be paid $2,000 to deliver information to the public, especially to "Black, Native American, Somali, Hmong, and Latinx communities," the report said.

"The City is collaborating with social media partners to share public information with cultural communities and to help dispel potential misinformation during the upcoming trials of the former officers involved in the killing of George Floyd," the Minneapolis City Council told WCCO-TV in a statement.

"The goal is to increase access to information to communities that do not typically follow mainstream news sources or City communications channels and/or who do not consume information in English. It's also an opportunity to create more two-way communication between the City and communities."

City officials did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The concept of "city approved" messengers has raised concerns from local activists, WCCO-TV reported. "The keyword here is 'city-approved'," Toussaint Morrison, an activist, told the news station."What do you think the message is going to be? It's going to be pro-city, it's going to be anti-protest."

According to the report, the city council will continue to iron out more details and information about the social influencers to the public on Monday.

Story continues

Floyd's death sparked a nationwide outcry and protests against police brutality in the United States. Chauvin was captured on video pinning his knee of Floyd's neck on May 25, 2020. The terminated officer is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, and jury selection for his trial will begin on March 8.

The trial for the other three officers involved is slated for August.

Read the original article on Insider
(L) Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks in the Benjamin Franklin room at the State Department, during a virtual meeting with Mexican Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier, who is in Mexico City, in Washington on Feb. 26, 2021. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/Pool via Reuters) (R) Mexican Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier looks on in an office at the Secretary of Economy building in Mexico City, during a virtual meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Washington, in Mexico City on Feb. 26, 2021. (Mexico's Secretary of Economy Officer/Handout via Reuters)

Mexico Wants to Participate in Restoring Supply Chain for Chips, Critical Goods in North America

Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a virtual meeting that Mexico wants to be a supplier of chips and other critical goods for North America.

Clouthier said in her remarks before the Feb. 26 meeting that Mexico wants to be a part of efforts to restore the supply chains of chips, large-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals, and strategic minerals that were disrupted by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

Mexico, we are sure, could be part of these large efforts so as to ensure that in North America, we can have the necessary supply for these type of goods.  We want to be suppliers of these goods. We want to work hand-in-hand with you, your government, and the Government of Canada to strengthen the platform for trade in North America, she said.

On Feb. 24, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to bolster the resilience of supply chains for four critical industries following a slew of recent shortages that have left the United States vulnerable.

While White House officials said the action doesnt focus on any one country, it will direct the United States to diversify its supply chain reliance on China, which is one of the dominant players in the rare-earth and pharmaceutical fields.

The measures came at a time when the pandemic has put a strain on the availability of personal protective equipment essential to frontline health workers, and a shortage of computer chips has forced automakers to cut production, highlighting the need for reshoring supply chains.

A man crosses the Paso del Norte border bridge towards El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on July 1, 2020. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters)

Clouthier said that Mexican President Lopez Obrador is extremely interested in deepening trade relations between Mexico and the United States through the United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA).

The strengthening of the work between both nations is of the utmost importance, she added.

Lopez Obrador sees the USMCA as a major tool for post-COVID economic recovery, Clouthier said.

The pandemic has shown us that only if we work jointly  we can face challenges in an easier way, creating synergies so that things can progress, she said.

We reiterate our willingness to work with your government hand-in-hand, not just for Mexico to do better, but for the three countries who have signed the USMCA.

In response, Blinken said: I couldnt agree more that we have already such a vital and vibrant economic relationship between our countries and one that is to the benefit of Mexicans and Americans alike. And I think we have a common opportunity as well as responsibility to work to deepen and strengthen that.

Mexico is the United States second-largest trading partner in goods after China and second-largest export market for goods after Canada, according to a State Department statement. In 2020, two-way trade in goods totaled $538.1 billion, the statement read.

Lopez Obrador and Biden are expected to discuss migration and economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic in a virtual meeting on March 1.

Eva Fu and Reuters contributed to this report.
T&G Global today announced its financial results for the year ending 31 December 2020, which show the Group delivered strong growth in a year of uncertainty.

Chief Executive Gareth Edgecombe says the results are a credit to the teams hard work and the ongoing transformation to improve T&Gs underlying performance.

Its been a year of extraordinary challenges, with the COVID-19 pandemic creating uncertainty and volatility around the world. International lockdowns and changes to operating procedures affected the day-to-day running of our business, with other setbacks such as the closure of some international wholesale markets and complexities around the import and export of produce, providing other challenges for T&G. Despite this, our team showed a huge amount of resilience and adaptability, uniting under difficult and uncertain circumstances. The result is testament to their hard work.

The results also follow a concerted transformation over the past few years to become customer-led, deliver value from our intellectual property and build a high-performance culture. While we still have a way to go, our strong underlying results demonstrate our strategy and performance is delivering, says Gareth.

T&Gs apples business had an outstanding year, improving its operating profit by 56 percent, from $33.5 million in FY19 to $52.1 million in FY20. A 23 percent increase in the sales of T&Gs New Zealand Envy apples saw the crop sell out prior to the arrival of northern hemisphere fruit, thanks to strong consumer demand. A sustained focus on harnessing the best genetics, building premium brands, delivering strong sales momentum in Asia and continually optimising its supply chain, all contributed to the strong result.

The acquisition and integration of Freshmax New Zealands fresh produce division in April 2020 saw the creation of T&G Fresh, with the strengths and cultures of both businesses combining to deliver a revenue increase of $75.0 million, to $357.7 million in 2020. The company is committed to playing a leadership role in creating a strong, sustainable, customer-led sector in Aotearoa.

Furthermore, to help fund further growth initiatives, including investment back into the T&G business, the company closed the year out strongly with the sale and leaseback of its Nayland Road post-harvest facility in Nelson for $50.5 million.

T&G Global Chairman Prof. Klaus Josef Lutz says despite the pervasive challenges faced this year, the company successfully built on the foundations laid over the last two years to deliver a strong profit result.

"In the context of so much uncertainty, and the impact of various one-off and climate-related factors, it is very pleasing to see a substantial improvement in T&Gs underlying financial performance, says Prof. Lutz.

It shows the business has the resilience, systems, strategy and people to be able to respond to challenges, and that we are well positioned to build on this solid momentum in 2021.

Please see the links below for details:

T&G Annual Report 2020

T&G Results Announcement 2020

T&G Full Year 2020 Media Release

Source: T&G Global Limited

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Irish Covid patients being treated in intensive care are to start receiving the drug ivermectin as part of an international clinical trial.

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug that has been controversially promoted by some as a cure for the disease.

In 2015, Donegal scientist Professor William Campbell shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his role in the discovery of ivermectin.

Launched in the 1980s as a drug against parasites, it was crucial in treating river blindness in many tropical countries.

Ivermectin is used in various animal medicines including ones for roundworms, mites and lice in sheep and cows.

Interest in ivermectin for Covid-19 was sparked by an Australian study in April last year that showed it killed SARS-CoV-2 in a test tube.

Some patients in Irish hospitals have received it as a treatment. Since it is an approved drug, it is at the discretion of clinicians to decide if an individual patient will benefit from it.

"Its use has crept into practice without a huge amount of evidence to support it," said Professor Alistair Nichol, intensive care doctor at St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin. "There have been some clinical trials, but they haven't been of the highest quality."

A new international trial plans to answer, once and for all, if ivermectin is beneficial to Covid-19 patients.

Prof Nichol leads the Irish contribution to the trial, which is expected to start within weeks after it receives approval. Five Irish hospitals are likely to participate.

Irish patients will receive either a four-day course of ivermectin, or no ivermectin. The outcome of these two groups of patients will then be compared. The same study will be run in France, Pakistan, Nepal, the Netherlands, the US and Canada.

Having so many patients, from different medical centres, in different countries, should help answer definitively if the drug is beneficial.

"There has been a huge amount of media interest [in ivermectin]," said Prof Nichol. "There have been campaigns to put it in [treatment] guidelines, even though there is little evidence to support it."

The US Food and Drug Administration does not recommend its use to treat Covid.

"There have been lots of media stories where people received ivermectin and said it was a miracle cure," Prof Nichol added. "But there is not a whole load of hard evidence to back up its efficacy, or safety."

Some previous studies compared Covid-19 patients who received ivermectin with those who received the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.

Prof Nichol said hydroxychloroquine - promoted by former US president Donald Trump as a cure - is probably harmful to Covid-19 patients.

"It possibly made ivermectin look good," he said.

Prof Nichol is approaching ivermectin as a Covid treatment with a dose of scepticism, but he said that the results from a large trial are necessary.

"We need to provide an answer for clinicians," he explained. "Because clinicians are using it, and will continue to use it. We will find out if that is a good idea, or if it is not."

The ivermectin study is part of a larger international trial (Remap-Cap) that involves thousands of patients.

This was set up to look at treatments for pneumonia, before Covid, in the expectation that the next pandemic would involve a respiratory virus that would trigger a flood of patients with pneumonia.

This trial recently reported that Covid-19 patients benefit from receiving either of two antibody therapies - tocilizumab and sarilumab - which block a compound in our body that promotes inflammation.

It also contributed to advice from the World Health Organisation in September last year that steroids could be used to treat severely ill Covid-19 patients.

The US's drug regulator expressed concern last April that people might self-medicate by taking ivermectin products intended for animals, which it said could cause serious harm. "People should not take any form of ivermectin unless it has been prescribed to them by a licensed health care provider," it warned.

One unknown is what dose might be needed to kill SARS-CoV-2 in a patient. The test tube study in Australia used notably high doses.

"There is some basic research that suggests ivermectin may be an anti-viral, but the doses needed to achieve that was rarely achieved in humans," said Prof Nichol.

The dose given to patients with roundworm or river blindness is different for different patients. Like all drugs, ivermectin has side-effects, and should not be taken unless prescribed by a medical professional.
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New Delhi: Actress Sonam Kapoor took to Instagram to wish her mother-in-law on her birthday. Sonam shared a series of pictures and a long caption for her mother-in-law, in which she declared herself the luckiest daughter-in-law.

Sonam wrote, I am Once blessed with a wonderful mother; twice blessed with my mother-in-law. Youre selfless, patient, compassionate, lovingand so many other great things that make you so special (and make us so lucky!) Were so grateful for you and your love  Im the luckiest daughter-in-law in the world. Wishing the very best mother-in-law the very best birthday! Love you mom!

Sonams mother, Sunita Kapoor dropped in various heart emojis in the comment section below.

Sonam tied the knot to entrepreneur Anand Ahuja on May 8, 2018. She is currently residing in the United Kingdom with her husband.

On the work front, Sonam will next be seen in Shome Makhijas crime thriller Blind. The film is produced by Sujoy Ghosh, Avishek Ghosh, Hyunwoo Thomas Kim, Sachin Nahar, Pinkesh Nahar and Manish W and is expected to release by the end of 2021.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

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Send Community Perspective submissions by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Submissions must be 500 to 750 words. Columns are welcome on a wide range of issues and should be well-written and well-researched with attribution of sources. Include a full name, email address, daytime telephone number and headshot photograph suitable for publication (email jpg or tiff files at 150 dpi.) You may also schedule a photo to be taken at the News-Miner office. The News-Miner reserves the right to edit submissions or to reject those of poor quality or taste without consulting the writer.

Letters to the editor

Send letters to the editor by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707), by fax (907-452-7917) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Writers are limited to one letter every two weeks (14 days.) All letters must contain no more than 350 words and include a full name (no abbreviation), daytime and evening phone numbers and physical address. (If no phone, then provide a mailing address or email address.) The Daily News-Miner reserves the right to edit or reject letters without consulting the writer.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
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Its time for state government to take a close and extended look at the problem of sexual assault of female inmates in New Mexico prisons, particularly in the Springer Correctional Center in northern New Mexico

In the past few years, complaints and lawsuits over the rapes of female prisoners have increased exponentially.

A recent article by Journal Norths Isabella Alves detailed accusations of prison rape and assault  and retaliation against prisoners for reporting the assaults  from multiple lawsuits:

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

 A woman prisoner at Springer who worked as a prison barber started receiving inappropriate letters from a prison mail worker, who subsequently is alleged to have cornered her in a supply closet and raped her. Even though the letters were found by prison officials and the inmate told them what happened, no real action was taken as far as the prisoner and her lawyer know.

 A Springer inmate represented by an ACLU lawyer, along with four other prisoners, made multiple complaints about a prison officer who allegedly assaulted them. He was never disciplined and continued to work at Springer for three more years.

 The same lawyer represented a prisoner at the states Grants prison who, after reporting a sexual assault, was disciplined for trying to engage in an inappropriate relationship, even though two officers were later charged criminally in the case and one entered a plea agreement. This prisoners lawsuit was recently settled for $175,000.

 A Springer officer named in another lawsuit has also been criminally charged. He allegedly got a prisoner hooked on Suboxone, a medication used to treat opioid addiction, then demanded sex for drugs.

 A Springer guard who previously had been investigated by the State Police, resulting in a referral for possible charges to a district attorney, allegedly took a prisoner to part of the facility without surveillance cameras and sexually assaulted her twice.

And theres more. In a federal court suit filed last year, a Springer prisoner alleged a correctional officer forced her to have sex with him about two times a week for a year. At least three prison staff defendants named in lawsuits filed in 2019 or 2020 resigned.

The state Department of Corrections touts a zero tolerance policy on sexual abuse and harassment, and says every prison facility has a Prison Rape Elimination Act compliance manager to ensure complaints are investigated, and that inmates and staff dont face retaliation for making complaints. There are also free, confidential rape crisis hotlines, and prisoners can report to an outside agency  the Colorado Department of Corrections  if they want. At Springer, there are 283 cameras that are monitored 24/7, according to a New Mexico Corrections spokesperson.

Last year, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported sexual assault allegations in state prisons went from 57 in 2013 to 327 in 2018. The Corrections Department said it had increased efforts to have staffers report sexual activity, and made it easier and safer for inmates to report abuse.

Twenty-seven cases of sexual assault were substantiated, 93 were classified as unsubstantiated, 88 were declared unfounded and 99 reports were listed as information only, meaning the encounters were found to be consensual.

Of course, if any of those 99 consensual cases were about sex between a guard and a prisoner  instead of between two prisoners  they still constitute crimes under federal and state law. The position of power and authority a guard holds over an inmate means guard-prisoner sex cant be considered consensual, the law holds.

Now, anyone can file a lawsuit and complaints dont on their own constitute truth. But the sheer volume of the litigation over whether women prisoners are being raped raises many red flags. As noted above, even a State Police investigation isnt necessarily enough to persuade a guard to stop taking advantage of inmates.

New Mexico has a bad history with prison operations  most notably one of the nations deadliest prison riots in 1980, which took place after years of overcrowding and ignoring other problems at the Penitentiary of New Mexico. There was federal oversight of state prisons for decades after the riot.

These days, the question of whether rape and assault are a regular and accepted part of New Mexico prison culture is being raised often and publicly in the civil courts, with enough evidence in some cases to lead to criminal charges or resignations.

That should be plenty for an agency  the governors office, the Attorney Generals Office, a district attorneys office, a legislative committee  to investigate, despite the fact it might take political courage to take on the cause of lawbreakers behind bars.

More than big settlement payments for inmates and their lawyers is at issue here. The public needs to know if New Mexico is running a humane, just and decent prison system when it comes to women inmates.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 04:45:57|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit expressed on Saturday support for Saudi Arabia's rejection of a recent U.S. intelligence report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

"Saudi judicial authorities are the only ones in charge of holding those involved in Khashoggi case accountable," the AL chief said in a statement.

The 4-page report, released by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), indicates that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud approved the operation in Istanbul, Turkey, "to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi."

Aboul-Gheit said that the ODNI is not authorized to issue international rulings or verdicts.

"Human rights issues should not be politicized," the AL secretary-general emphasized.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry strongly rejected the U.S. report, saying it contained "inaccurate information and conclusions."

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, and a number of top Saudi officials were arrested in connection with the case.

In early September 2020, Saudi Arabia's Public Prosecution issued final verdicts against eight convicts in Khashoggi's killing, five of whom were sentenced to 20 years in jail and the other three from seven to 10 years. Enditem
Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for donating 2,00,000 doses of Covishield vaccines. President Alejandro Giammattei said, "I would like to start by thanking Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for accepting our call for assistance in supply of Covishield vaccines manufactured in India under licensing of Astra Zeneca. It has been a grand surprise for us to know that India rather than selling the vaccines to us, it has immediately donated to us 200 thousand doses that will help to immunise frontline, health workers."

A Brazilian granny convicted of brothel keeping was evicted from her apartment on Thursday when the Criminal Assets Bureau took possession of it.

Auliceta Walsh and her son, Maicon Morelli, did everything they could to stay at the Limerick property but their time was finally up and they faced contempt of court if they didn't leave this week.

The apartment was found to have been purchased with the proceeds of crime and was funded by her involvement in sex for sale.

The 58-year-old and her son were due to have moved out last year but when they ignored the High Court order and claimed they had nowhere else to go.

Expand Close Auliceta Walsh claimed husband ran up debts. / Facebook

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They got a stay of execution from Justice Alexander Owens before Christmas but they were warned to be out this week or face jail.

The apartment will now be sold by the Criminal Assets Bureau after they proved it was acquired with money made through prostitution and the funds will go straight into the national exchequer.

Three years ago, the pair were told that the High court found that the Limerick pad had been bought with dirty money and the court heard that Walsh has been living in Ireland for 15 years and is married to an Irishman.

She was nabbed in 2012 and convicted of brothel keeping in Newcastle West, despite claiming she was driven into the industry by her high- spending husband who she claimed had run up credit card debts.

She was later found to be renting out apartments in Ennis and Limerick to prostitutes with whom she had made contact via Escort Ireland.

At the time, gardai believed she was a landlady for touring hookers looking to spend periods of time in Ireland but who struggled to get short-term lets.

When officers raided the Ennis property they found the kitchen had been set up as a bedroom, as had the living room to utilise all the space. Three Romanian girls were discovered working in the brothel.

She is believed to have sublet a number of apartments making a profit of 2,000 on each one.

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Her son had, at one point, claimed that he'd bought the apartment identified as theirs from an inheritance; however, the courts didn't believe him.

He said he had never been involved in any serious criminality and had nothing to do with his mother's brothel-keeping activities.

But they were told to get out of the house and hand over the keys. After numerous reprieves, CAB eventually took possession of the property this week.




State police incidents reported

State police at Frackville reported the following:

n Steven Melsom, 25, Shenandoah, was taken into custody on a warrant at 488 Mount Olive Boulevard, West Mahanoy Twp., on Feb. 5 around 10 a.m. Troopers found a hypodermic needle on him.

n A 57-year-old Minersville man was in possession of suspected methamphetamine and marijuana and driving under the influence of drugs when troopers stopped the vehicle he was driving at South Altamont Boulevard and Mall Road in Ryan Twp. on Feb. 20 at 8:13 p.m. His name wasnt released but troopers said charges will be filed.

n Jed Dubuc, 29, Barnesville, was wanted when police saw him walking in the area of Crest Street and Grier Avenue in Rush Twp. on Feb. 4 at 5:51 p.m. Dubuc was taken into custody and found with drugs. Charges are pending.

n Patrick M. Hill, 49, Oneida, was traveling north on Route 924 in East Union Twp. on Feb. 20 at 9:11 a.m. when he lost control of A Chevrolet Suburban and hit a tree on the right side near Country Club Road. He wasnt injured but the Chevrolet was towed.

n Troopers responded to a reported unresponsive person in a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe at Turkey Hill, 1140 N. Church St., Hazle Twp., on Feb. 22 around 8 a.m. They found a 24-year-old Hazleton woman drove to the store impaired to a degree that it was unsafe for her to drive. Drug paraphernalia was found in the vehicle and she was arrested for that and for driving under the influence.

BLACK CREEK TWP.

Man faces charges after allegedly assaulting mother

A Sugarloaf man faces charges after state police at Hazleton were told he assaulted his mother, court papers say.

Thomas D. Roskos, 34, faces simple assault and harassment by state police at Hazleton. His bail was set at $5,000 Feb. 5 by Magisterial District Judge Daniel ODonnell, Butler Twp.

Court papers state troopers were sent to 927 West County Road on Feb. 4 for a domestic incident and were told Roskos punched his mother repeatedly while they were arguing.

FREELAND

Man punched his girlfriend, police sayA Freeland man faces charges after a woman showed up at a hospital with a wounded forehead, court papers state.

Estiven Rodriguez Fernandez, 24, faces simple assault and harassment by state police at Hazleton. The charges were filed against him Jan. 19 and he was released on $5,000 unsecured bail Feb. 10 by Magisterial District Judge Daniel ODonnell, Butler Twp.

Arrest papers state he punched his live-in girlfriend in the forehead, causing her to fall to the ground during an argument at 724 Birkbeck St. on Jan. 17, around 1 a.m. The woman sought treatment at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton.

COALDALE

Crash leads to multiple charges

A Coaldale man faces charges after a Nov. 6 crash.

Robert W. Snyder Jr., 29, faces accidents involving death or injury and two summary violations, including driving with a suspended license by Coaldale police. The charges were filed against him Nov. 13 and he was released on his own recognizance Feb. 16 by Magisterial District Judge Stephen Bayer, Tamaqua.

Snyder told police he turned in front of another vehicle, causing the crash at Route 209 and Sneddon Avenue, arrest papers state. Police were sent to the crash just before 4 p.m. and learned Snyder had a suspended license, too. The driver and passenger of the other vehicle involved sustained minor injuries and were treated and released from St. Lukes Hospital-Miners Campus, Coaldale, police said.
Ms Cunliffe said it was so dead looking towards the city up Collins Street she could count the number of people in view: 20 people as far as my eye could see up the hill. Loading Its going to take us years to get back to where we were pre-COVID. Theres just no one there. The number of workers commuting into Docklands last week was closer to the numbers seen during the second lockdown than 2019 levels. Pedestrian trackers counted 376 people crossing the Webb Bridge between 5pm and 6pm on Wednesday, up from an average of 274 at the same time during Melbournes second lockdown.

But its way below an average workday in 2019, when 617 people were counted on the bridge between 5pm and 6pm. Before the pandemic, Docklands was rapidly growing. An extra 39,100 jobs were created in the precinct in the 10 years to 2019, when a total of 73,000 people worked in Docklands. Major employers had moved their offices to fill 458,000 square metres of new office space, largely thanks to Development Victorias renewal project. That has been stunted by COVID-19, with just 31 per cent of CBD workers heading into their offices in January (up from 13 per cent in December and 8 per cent in October).

Office vacancy rates across the CBD reached 8.2 per cent in January, up from 5.8 per cent in July, according to the Property Council. Saluministi business partners Peter Mastro and Frank Bressi have known each other since high school, and have become like family. So too are the staff members, the majority of whom are international students from Italy. Last February, Mr Mastro and Mr Bressi had big dreams to further expand their growing hospitality empire into a third business (they also have a cafe in Flinders Lane). Then, COVID hit. To close wasnt an option, Mr Mastro said. Saluministi cafe owners Peter Mastro and Frank Bressi. Credit:Eddie Jim

For me to close the doors, they physically wouldnt have been able to stay in the country, they would have had to go home, so that wasnt an option. Instead, the business had to shift focus. They collaborated with other Italian restaurants such as Postmistress in Brunswick West to offer Fathers Day lunch packages. They branched out into homewares (gift boxes, hampers and crockery), and sold luxury pre-cooked food under their Saluministi A Casa (at home) banner. Last year was a fight every step of the way to keep the doors open, but they did. And they kept every staff member on. Johanna Maxwell, president of the Docklands Chamber of Commerce, cant see workers getting back into their office five days a week any time soon. Shes expecting about half of local businesses to shutter for good. It impacts not only our cafes and restaurants, but it also impacts the smaller traders like our physios, the chiropractors, the [osteopaths], the dentist, the doctors, the chemists, Ms Maxwell said.

The other side of it is that there are no tourists. So we have a lot of accommodation providers down here where people come and stay  They then go and have breakfast and they shop and they have their tourist activities here in Docklands before they actually broaden out into the broader Melbourne area. City hotels in January had an occupancy rate of just 39 per cent, much of which could be attributed to hotel quarantine, a council report said. At the same time, demand to live in Docklands has crumbled. Rents have fallen 22.7 per cent since March last year, according to CoreLogic analysis. Unit values were down 5.1 per cent over the same period. Tim Lawless, the head of research at CoreLogic, said demand for inner-city apartments was partially dependent on borders reopening for international students.

But also inner city precincts recovering from the COVID hangover where a large portion of workers are still working remotely or under flexible arrangements, he said. Dr Peter Hurley from the Mitchell Institute estimated  using data from Home Affairs and the Australian Bureau of Statistics  COVID-19 has stripped 1090 international student residents from Docklands, 6.9 per cent of its population. Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp, who lives in the precinct, said: As a passionate Docklands resident, I think the area has been unfairly maligned over a number of years. Docklands has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, with tens of thousands of workers working from home for months on end. On Tuesday, councillors will consider how to reactivate shop fronts in the city and whether to offer free parking for the duration of the Moomba 2.0 festival in March.
The state Legislature itself could conduct an official inquiry, but like JCOPE, its track record of keeping politics out of the mix of such an investigation is not encouraging. The worst-case scenario  an inquiry that gets dropped as a result of some back-room deal  is far too easy to imagine.

Some have suggested a special prosecutor, appointed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, to conduct a criminal probe. Our concern about that approach is if such an inquiry determines that there's not enough evidence to bring criminal charges, it may be misconstrued as an exoneration when the reality could be that non-criminal but civil violations took place.

Our suggestion is for James to start by having her office's Civil Rights Bureau dive into the matter, using all of its investigatory powers. It should endeavor to be fast and thorough, and regardless of whether it moves forward with legal action such as a lawsuit or criminal referral, its findings must be made public.

James earlier this year distinguished herself as being capable of independent work when she investigated and released a report on nursing home death data that Cuomo administration had been keeping secret.
Mary Healy (nee Smyth), Drimnee, Newtowncashel, Longford

The death occurred, peacefully at her residence, surrounded by her loving family, in her 99th year, on Saturday, February 27 of Mary Healy (nee Smyth), Drimnee, Newtowncashel, Longford. Predeceased by her husband Michael, parents Peter and Mary, her nine brothers and sisters and her son in law JP. Deeply regretted by her daughter Pauline (Casey), grandsons Michael, Owen and Emmet (Casey), sister in law Betty, granddaughter in law Breda, nieces, nephews, extended family, neighbours and friends. May she rest in peace.

Funeral Mass will be held privately in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Newtowncashel on Monday, March 1 at 12 noon. Burial afterwards in Saint Island Cemetery. Funeral Mass can be viewed on the following link https://churchtv.ie/newtowncashel.html for anyone that wishes to do so. Those of you who would like to attend Marys funeral but due to current restrictions cannot, please leave a personal message in her memory in the condolences section on RIP.ie.



Brid McEvoy, Swan Lake, Cornagran, Loch Gowna, Cavan / Granard, Longford

The death occurred, peacefully, at her home in Loch Gowna, on Saturday, February 27 of Brid McEvoy, Swan Lake, Cornagran, Loch Gowna, Co Cavan and formerly McEvoy's Chemist, Main Street, Granard, Co Longford. Predeceased by her precious son Alan and her brother Jerome. Sadly missed by her sister Helen Dardis and brother Michael, nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and many, many friends. Service of thanksgiving for her life will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 3 at 12 noon at Lakelands Funeral home and Crematorium, Dublin Road, Cavan, followed by cremation. May her gentle soul rest in peace.

Due to current government guidelines Brids funeral will be private. If you wish to leave a message of condolence for her family please use the link on RIP.ie.

Gene Brady, 25 Truma Road, Granard, Longford

The death occurred, peacefully in Mullingar General Hospital, on Friday, February 26 of Gene Brady, 25 Truma Road, Granard, Longford and formerly of 20 Colmcille Terrace, Granard, Co Longford. He is predeceased by his mother and father, Patrick and Margaret and his siblings. Gene will be sadly missed by his son Owen (Australia), brothers Johnny and Peter (UK), sisters Bridgie, Mena (UK), Maggie, May, Rosie and Frances, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended family, neighbours and his many friends. Always in our thoughts, forever in our hearts. Rest in Peace Gene.

Gene's funeral cortege will leave Mullingar General mortuary at 11am to arrive at St Mary's Church, Granard, on Monday, March 1 for Funeral Mass at 12 noon, followed by burial in Granardkille Cemetery. Mass will be restricted to 10 people. Family flowers only. Please adhere to social distancing guidelines at all times. Anyone who wishes to leave a message of sympathy can do so, by using the condolence link on RIP.ie

John Murphy, Killasonna, Granard, Longford

The death occurred, peacefully in England, on Monday, February 1 of John Murphy, Sheffield, England, and formerly of Killasonna, Granard, Longford. Sadly missed and always remembered by his brothers and sisters Martha, Patrick, Mel, Eileen and Maureen, his good friends Julie and Christopher, and all his relations and friends. May He Rest In Peace.

Funeral Mass on Sunday, February 28 at St Marys Church, Granard at 2pm followed by christian burial in Granardkille new cemetery. All covid 19 regulations will be adhered to. Messages of sympathy may be expressed through the RIP.ie condolences. Johns Funeral Mass can be viewed on this link https://www.mcnmedia.tv/camera/st-marys-church-granard

Cornelius (Con) O'Sullivan, Monkstown, Dublin / Limerick / Longford



The death occurred, peacefully, in the wonderful care of the staff in the Aclare Nursing Home, Dun Laoghaire, on Thursday, February 25 of Cornelius (Con, Our Man in Havana) OSullivan, Monkstown, Co Dublin and formerly of Limerick and Longford. Predeceased by his dear twin sister Grace, brother Tim and sister Marie. Very sadly missed by his beloved daughter Asta and her mother Veeva, brother Paul, nephews Emmett, Paul, David and Paddy, nieces Erin and Emily, cousin Michelle, extended family, his best friend Max, neighbours and friends in Ireland and Cuba. Descanse en Paz (May he rest in Peace).

Due to the current government restrictions, a family funeral will take place privately, but can be viewed online on Tuesday, March 2 at 10am using the following link: https://vimeo.com/event/153499 . Messages in lieu of attendance can be left in the Condolences section on RIP.ie.

Brigid Catherine Gordon (nee Connaughton), Kilmovee, Mayo / Newtowncashel, Longford / Ballaghaderreen, Roscommon



The death occurred, peacefully at her home, surrounded by her loving family, on Sunday, February 7 of Brigid Catherine Gordon (nee Connaughton), Oldfield Road, London and formerly Elfeet, Newtowncashel, Co Longford. Sadly missed but remembered with love by her husband Andy, daughters Louise, Brenda and Hannah, granddaughter Evie, brothers Gerry, Pat and Fr. Vincent (Ardagh), extended family, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. May She Rest in Peace.

Catherine will be removed from The Sharkey Funeral Home, Ballaghaderreen on Monday (March 1, 2021) at 11.30am to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kilmovee arriving for Mass of the Resurrection at 12noon followed by interment in Naomh Mobhi cemetery. However, in line with Government and H.S.E advice regarding public gatherings, a small private funeral will be held. The Gordon family would ask that over the coming days, everyone who knew her would take some time to light a candle or say a prayer in her memory.

For those who would have liked to attend the Mass but cannot due to the current restrictions, Funeral Mass can be viewed here  Kilmovee Parish church webcam or via Facebook. Family flowers only, please.

The Gordon family understands and appreciates that people would like to offer their condolences, we would suggest you use the private on-line condolence page https://www.sharkeyfuneraldirectors.ie/bgordon

In keeping with HSE, NPHET and Public Health guidelines, attendance at funerals is limited. Please respect the privacy of the family during this difficult time. If you would like to pay your respects along the way, please join the static Guards of Honour as the funeral cortege makes its way. Please ensure you maintain the recommended social distancing at all times keeping to the 2-metre apart guideline.

If you wish to have a death notice published on www.longfordleader.ie you can email it to newsroom@longfordleader.ie

And if you wish to submit an obituary for publication in the Longford Leader, you can submit it along with a photograph of the deceased to newsroom@longfordleader.ie

To sign up for the FREE Longford Leader daily newsletter CLICK HERE or on the image below;

English Estonian

In 2020, Admiral Markets AS set a profit record of operation

2020 marked Admiral Markets AS most successful year. The company's net profit was 20.3 million euros, which is 340% more than the year before. The volume of transactions increased by 110% during the year.



Admiral Markets AS net income increased to 47.1 million euros in the past year. In 2019, this figure was 23.2 million euros. The net profit margin in 2020 was 43% (2019: 20%). In 2020, Admiral Markets AS customers collectively made 66.9 million transactions, compared to the previous year, when the corresponding figure was 31.8 million.



Sergei Bogatenkov, Chairman of the Management Board of Admiral Markets AS, stated that last year's record results brought the company significantly closer to the goal set for 2030 - to offer financial freedom to 10 million customers. "Of course, we are very happy with the business results, but having been able to achieve these results while providing a stable and safe working environment for employees all around the world has been our greatest achievement at a time when we are witnessing the biggest health crisis in history, said Bogatenkov.



One of the biggest achievements was the launch of our new native trading application, which makes mobile trading and investing easier than ever before. It is a solution that makes it convenient for a novice trader with no previous experience in the sector to access the financial markets. In this way, we can expand our customer base by offering our customers the best localised trading and investment experience, explained the Chairman of the Management Board of Admiral Markets AS.



According to him, the trading application is just one example of how the company is strategically expanding its core services: 20 years ago, when we started our business, we were solely a Forex and CFD based company and we wanted to become one of the leaders in this field. Today, the goals set at that time have been met and. We are expanding our global presence with new services. We are an international financial center disrupting the FinTech world. 



Bogatenkov emphasized the growing need for raising environmental awareness. As a global company with offices in 19 countries around the world, sustainable choices can reduce the footprint we leave behind. It is also important to give back to society and help those who need support in times of change, the chairman of the management board explained.



As culture & the arts is an area that was strongly affected by last year, Admiral Markets AS has joined forces with Eesti Kontsert: Music unites cultures and people. The present conditions have presented grave challenges to mental health and wellbeing of many. Forced absence from colleagues, friends and loved ones affects us all. I believe that music has the ability to comfort and bring change to everyday life.



Sergei Bogatenkov thanked all the people and partners who have been a part of the company on its 20-year journey. "We have shared common lessons, success stories and worked towards a long-term goal. I am sincerely grateful to everyone who has helped us achieve such great results. I hope that this year brings the long-awaited solution to the COVID crisis and that we are able to return to normal life.



Statement of Financial Position

(in thousands of euros) 31.12.2020 31.12.2019 Assets Due from credit institutions 25,742 19,757 Due from investment companies 15,120 6,786 Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss 11,623 9,759 Loans and receivables 6,730 3,983 Other assets 1,390 912 Long-term investments 4,180 0 Tangible assets 1,614 1,283 Right-of-use asset 4,213 4,059 Intangible assets 824 630 Total assets 71,436 47,169 Liabilities Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss 219 66 Liabilities and prepayments 7,317 2,349 Subordinated debt securities 1,827 1,827 Lease liabilities 4,396 4,145 Total liabilities 13,759 8,387 Equity Share capital 2,586 2,586 Statutory reserve capital 259 259 Retained earnings 54,832 35,937 Total equity 57,677 38,782 Total liabilities and equity 71,436 47,169

Statement of Comprehensive Income

(in thousands of euros) 2020 2019 Net gains from trading of financial assets at fair value through profit or loss with clients and liquidity providers 65,762 34,838 Brokerage fee income 32 71 Brokerage and commission fee expense -18,719 -11,708 Other trading activity related income 19 31 Other trading activity related expense -23 -22 Net income from trading 47,071 23,210 Other income 1,368 777 Other expense -391 -202 Interest income calculated using the effective interest method 128 75 Other income similar to interest 194 183 Interest expense -245 -224 Net gains/loss on exchange rate changes -1,360 266 Net gains at fair value through profit or loss 0 50 Personnel expenses -7,670 -7,006 Operating expenses -17,400 -11,268 Depreciation of tangible and intangible assets -626 -526 Depreciation of right-of-use assets -573 -420 Profit before income tax 20,532 4,915 Income tax -267 -311 Profit for the reporting period 20,265 4,604 Comprehensive income for the reporting period 20,265 4,604 Basic and diluted earnings per share 50.16 11.40





The reports of Admiral Markets AS are available on the following website: https://admiralmarketsgroup.com/en/admiral-markets-as/reports/ .

Under the international financial services trademark of Admiral Markets, customers are offered Forex and leveraged Contract for Difference (CFD) web-based trading service in the over-the-counter market as well as listed instruments. Since the foundation in 2001, Admiral Markets has continually expanded its reach, and today it services worldwide through regulated trading companies.

Investment company Admiral Markets AS, established in Estonia, is a branch of Admiral Markets Group AS, which has the right to provide investment services under the operating license of the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority in the European Union and the European Economic Area countries. Admiral Markets Group AS is physically represented in 19 countries through its regulated trading companies with a customer portfolio covering over 145 countries.

Additional information:

Kaia Gil

Communication manager of Admiral Markets AS

kaia.gil@admiralmarkets.com

+372 53 413 764









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IN the space of one month, the families of 326 people were left in shock and heartbreak after losing their loved ones to the Covid-19 virus.

May 2021 was the deadliest month of the pandemic in Trinidad and Tobago and the month with the highest number of Covid-19 cases.


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Pubs, restaurants, shops and other businesses hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic will be boosted by a 5 billion grant scheme to help them reopen as the lockdown is eased.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will detail the restart grants worth up to 6,000 per premises to help non-essential retailers reopen and trade safely at his Budget on Wednesday.

Hospitality, hotels, gyms, as well as personal care and leisure firms, will be eligible for up to 18,000 per premises as they are due to open later under the plans for easing lockdown.

The Treasury estimates 230,000 firms will be eligible for the higher band, which will be awarded based on their rateable value, and 450,000 shops will also be able to apply.

Mr Sunak told the Mail on Sunday the scheme would provide at-risk businesses with the support they need to get them through, get them back on their feet and get the tills ringing once again.

But Mr Sunak issued a warning about the scale of the damage caused by the pandemic, suggesting he could use the Budget to begin making less palatable decisions to tackle the deficit.

He told the Financial Times he plans to level with people during his Commons speech, as he spoke of the enormous strains on the UKs public finances are facing.

Treasury sources did not deny a report suggesting the Chancellor plans to raise 6 billion by freezing income tax thresholds for at least three years.

The Sunday Times said he would freeze the 12,500 point at which people start paying the basic rate of income tax and the 50,000 threshold where they begin paying the higher 40p rate, as he aims to raise 43 billion a year.

The move would allow Mr Sunak to raise extra funds without breaking the manifesto pledge that guaranteed the Conservatives would not raise the rate of income tax.

Expand Close Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver the Budget on Wednesday (Yui Mok/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver the Budget on Wednesday (Yui Mok/PA)

But the newspaper estimated the move would push an extra 1.6 million people into a higher tax bracket before the next general election is due in 2024.

The Government is braced for the possibility of a rebellion from Tory MPs over any tax rises, with backbenchers being warned they could be kicked out of the parliamentary party if they vote against the Budget.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that now is not the time for tax increases, as have some Tory MPs who want the Chancellor to focus in growing the economy as it reopens from lockdown.

In a series of announcements ahead of his set-piece speech, Mr Sunak said the UK will launch a sovereign green savings bond for retail investors to help cut greenhouse emissions to net zero by 2050.

The 5 billion for restart grants is targeted at England, but the devolved nations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive an extra 794 million in funding through the Barnett formula.

Local authorities will be tasked with distributing the grants and will receive the funding in April.

The UKHospitality trade body welcomed the plan, saying many firms are struggling to see how they could survive through Boris Johnsons road map for reopening, with laws on social distancing set to continue until at least June 21  the earliest date when nightclubs will be considered for reopening.

Businesses are crying out for the cash now so there can be no further delays which might make it too late for some Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality

Chief executive Kate Nicholls said: Cash reserves have been severely depleted after a year of closure and restrictions and these grants are a very welcome boost, putting the sector in a better place to restart.

Businesses are crying out for the cash now so there can be no further delays which might make it too late for some.

But she said the grants must form part of a wider package that includes an extension to the reduced VAT rate and a business rates holiday.

Without these measures, and full furlough while we reopen, the hospitality sectors recovery will be stunted along with our ability to start tackling unemployment by creating jobs, she added.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) joined UKHospitality in calling for clarity on whether the grants will be subject to state aid caps mirroring the EUs, but welcomed the funding as a vital injection of funding during this extremely challenging period.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson did, however, warn that the grants will only provide temporary relief and called for an extension to the moratorium on aggressive rent enforcement and to the business rates relief in the Budget.

Federation of Small Businesses national chair Mike Cherry said the grants will provide a much-needed lifeline, but called for the Chancellor to set out more funding for those that have been excluded from income support throughout this crisis.
The U.S. government on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, enabling millions more Americans to be vaccinated in the coming weeks and setting it up for additional approvals around the world.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the emergency use authorization for adults aged 18 and older following Friday's unanimous endorsement by the agency's panel of outside experts. Shipments are expected to begin on Sunday or Monday.

U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the move but cautioned Americans against celebrating too soon. "Things are still likely to get worse again as new variants spread," he said in a statement, urging people to continue washing their hands, wearing masks, and maintaining social distancing.

"There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable," he said.

In J&J's 44,000-person global trial, the was found to be 66% effective at preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 four weeks after inoculation, and 100% effective in preventing hospitalization and death due to the virus.

There were very few serious side effects reported in the trial, which also offered some preliminary evidence that the reduced asymptomatic infections.

However, more study is expected, and the FDA on Sunday dismissed the idea that evidence proved the prevented transmission between people and added there was no data to determine how long the vaccine's protection lasted.

J&J's vaccine is expected to be used widely around the globe because it can be shipped and stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, making distribution easier than for the Pfizer Inc /BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc vaccines,

which are shipped frozen.

"It potentially could play a very substantial role if we have enough doses because it's only a single-dose vaccine and that will make it attractive to people who are difficult to reach," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "It's one and done."

Schaffner said the fact that the J&J vaccine can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures will make it easier to distribute.

The U.S. government, which has purchased 100 million doses of the J&J vaccine, plans to distribute about 3 million to 4 million this week. That would be on top of the around 16 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines it already planned to ship across the country.

"We are ready to roll it out," White House Senior Advisor Andy Slavitt wrote on Twitter after the authorization.

J&J plans to provide a total of 20 million doses by the end of March, which along with the more than 220 million total doses expected from Pfizer and Moderna would be enough to fully vaccinate 130 million people in the United States.

So far, the United States has distributed more than 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, some of which have been used for second shots. About 14% of Americans have received at least one dose, according to U.S. government data.

COVID-19 has claimed more than half a million lives in the United States and states are clamoring for more doses to stem cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Public health officials have warned about a rise in the prevalence of more contagious variants of the virus, adding to the urgency to get millions more people vaccinated as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, they said, mask wearing and other measures to curb the virus spread should remain in place as recent declines in COVID-19 cases appear to be leveling off.

The J&J vaccine is also under review by the European Union, where deliveries are expected starting in April and would build on the region's thin supplies of the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca Plc shots.

In South Africa, regulators were awaiting the FDA decision as their government looks to deploy more J&J vaccine against a variant of the virus called B.1.351 that is able to evade some vaccine protection.

J&J's vaccine is being rolled out there prior to official authorization for about 500,000 healthcare workers as it tries to stem infections from the variant, which has swept across the country and spread globally, including to the United States.

The vaccine is one of the few that has been tested in clinical trials against the variant and had a 64% efficacy rate at preventing moderate-to-severe disease in South Africa.

J&J said on Friday that the company was developing a second-generation vaccine that would target the concerning South African variant and will be ready to start Phase I trials by this summer.

J&J's vaccine uses a common cold virus known as adenovirus type 26 to introduce proteins into cells in the body and trigger an immune response.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are based on new messenger RNA technology, showed higher efficacy rates in their pivotal trials when tested using two doses versus J&J's single-shot vaccine. But experts cautioned against close comparisons because the trials had different goals and J&J's was conducted while the more contagious new variants of the virus were circulating.

J&J is testing a two-dose version of its vaccine, with results expected this summer.

(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.)
Watawala Plantations supports Peradeniya University in agri research View(s):

Watawala Plantations PLC (WATA) recently donated a Sap Flow Meter with six sensor units to the Department of Crop Science of University of Peradeniya. The contribution, which highlights WATAs ongoing efforts to develop the local agriculture sector and further agriculture education among Sri Lankan students, was worth over Rs. 1.4 million. The unit donated is the only Sap Flow Meter available within the local university system.

The Sap Flow Meter is a self-contained, stand-alone instrument for measuring sap flow or transpiration in plants. Utilising the Heat Ratio Method (HRM) principle, the Sap Flow Meter can measure high, low and reverse flow rates in both small woody stems and roots and large crops including tea, rubber and oil palm. As the only instrument that can measure zero flow and reverse sap flow rates, the Sap Flow Meter is the most powerful and flexible instrument for the direct measurement of plant water use, WATA said in a media release.
The president has had some outbursts, Mr. Ulloa conceded, but they should be understood as such, as outbursts, as errors, and not as a trend, as an attitude, as the birth of a new dictatorship.

Mr. Bukeles tendency toward confrontation will be tempered, Mr. Ulloa said, once he has a legislature that isnt determined to block his agenda. He invited the world to take measure of the president based on how he governs after the election.

We will be able to evaluate the true character of this government, whether its a democratic government serving the interests of the Salvadoran people, Mr. Ulloa said. If, on the contrary, it turns out that the president is, as has been claimed, an authoritarian who wants to concentrate power and impose an antidemocratic model, then that will also come to light.

Part of what has drawn attention to Mr. Bukele is his approach, which can only be described as very online. A 39-year-old self-styled political outsider, the president delights followers by trolling his enemies on Twitter and reveling in his triumphs on TikTok. He uses social media to trash El Salvadors press, attack the attorney general and declare his refusal to abide by Supreme Court rulings.
London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Feb, 2021 ) :Britain's next phase of coronavirus vaccines will be administered based on age rather than occupational risk, an advisory group said Friday, sparking anger from police and teachers who said they should get priority.

Speaking at a televised press conference on Friday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had opted to offer the jab based on age "in order to save most lives".

"This is the fastest and simplest way to roll out the jab. Our moral duty is to put saving lives first, and that's what we've done," he said.

Britain has vaccinated 19 million people, 35 percent of all adults, with at least one dose and says it plans to finish the whole population by the end of July.

It is aiming to give a first dose to people over 50 and vulnerable groups by mid-April before moving onto those in their 40s, followed by those in their 30s and the other over-18s, the JCVI announced earlier on Friday.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, a member of the committee, said it would be speedier to move through groups by age, rather than occupational risk.

"Following an age-based programme will be simple, and simplicity has been one of the cornerstones of the current programme in terms of speed and success," he said.

"Speed is the critical factor here." - 'Their anger is palpable' - But the decision was lambasted by police, who called it a "contemptible betrayal of police officers".

"Their anger is palpable, this will not be forgotten," tweeted John Apter, the national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents frontline officers.

Teachers were similarly upset.

The general secretary of the Association of school and College Leaders, Geoff Barton, said he was "disappointed that the JCVI had not advised the prioritisation of education staff".

Schools are set to reopen in England on March 8, prompting fears of increased transmission risks.

The government's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said those working in factories, in the hospitality sector or driving taxis were more at risk from Covid than teachers and "because of the multiplicity of occupations that would need to be called forwards" basing innoculation on where individuals worked would "damage the pace of the vaccine rollout".

"It's more important to be in the queue and worry less about exactly where you are in the queue," Van Tam said. "Making that queue move really fast is the key," he added.

The JCVI has said the next phase of inoculations would focus on boosting take-up among black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities within eligible age bands, as well as among those who are obese and those living in deprived neighbourhoods.

Britain this week downgraded its coronavirus alert to four from the highest tier, as the country looks to peel back restrictions in the coming months.

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Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister



asserted on Sunday that the BJP will win the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal, and will lose her chief ministership on May 2 -- the day the votes will be counted.

Offering puja at the Dakshineswar Temple on the banks of the Hooghly on the northern fringes of Kolkata, Chouhan said he prayed for a violence-free Bengal.

"After the misrule by Congress and CPI(M), resulting in Bengal's decline over the years, the state of affairs touched a new bottom with cut money and corruption culture during Trinamool Congress's rule. People of the state want a change and will bring BJP to power this time," he told reporters.

"On May 2, Didi (Mamata Banerjee) will be out of power and BJP will replace her," he added.

Accompanied by a few BJP leaders, Chouhan visited the 19th-century temple around 11 am.

"This place is associated with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Maa Sarada. This is also the land of Swami Vivekananda. Visiting this place brings in a divine feeling," the Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.

Chouhan alleged that 130 BJP activists were killed in the state in the last few years.

"Their sacrifices will not go in vain," he said.

Chouhan, like several other BJP chief ministers and Union ministers, was visiting the state to campaign for the party ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

The Trinamool Congress slammed Chouhan's comments, stating that they were baseless allegations.

"Can you imagine someone visiting the temple of Maa Kali to make a political statement? This is only possible for the BJP," state minister and senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim 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.)
Robert Stoll, Katrina Holland and Mitchell E. Hornecker

Stoll is founder of the StollBerne law firm and chair of the board of the HereTogether coalition. Holland is executive director of JOIN homeless support services, a board member of HereTogether and chair of the coalitions advisory committee. Hornecker, co-founder of New Avenues for Youth and former president of Howard S. Wright Construction, is the vice chair of the HereTogether board.

The serious public health threat and economic disaster unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic have turned our homeless crisis into chaos. People with no safe housing options are literally living and dying on Portlands streets. The public has a right to be concerned and should be demanding accountability. We see reason for hope and optimism.

This year, our region will start to see once-in-a-generation funding that substantially addresses the scale of our chronic homeless crisis. Thats because voters approved a dedicated source of funding  effective later this year  to pay for mental health, addiction and recovery services, case management, housing supports and other proven solutions. Homelessness is complex, and the solutions are unique to each individual. Prolonged disinvestment has resulted in not having the resources necessary to meet peoples needs. This has long been the problem and now we get to imagine a future where we can finally meet people where they are. Nonetheless, the optimism we saw surge with voter passage of the regional Supportive Housing Services ballot measure last May has faded amid the pandemic, economic pressures, our racial justice reckoning and other problems we have seen in the downtown core.

As board members of HereTogether  the coalition responsible for crafting and passing the regional Supportive Housing Services measure  we understand the long path ahead. The first dollars from the measure, administered by Metro, will be available this July. The work necessary to be ready for that moment is well underway but much remains to be done.

Our region is not alone in grappling with homelessness. On any given night in the U.S., more than half a million people find themselves without a safe place to sleep. Fortunately, our region is one of the few that has the opportunity to join the more than 14 communities across the country that have effectively ended chronic homelessness for specific populations, such as veterans.

The true mark of success is a measurable decrease in the number of people experiencing long-term homelessness. One promising change we support to achieve that is the adoption of real-time, data-driven tools that can be coordinated across organizations and county lines so that we can track each individuals needs and outcomes. The ballot measure provides the resources and required framework so that this investment makes way for innovation and improvement across the many sectors that intersect with houselessness. The detailed 12-page framework included in the ballot measure provides for accountability, as well as flexibility to providers for the specific, often complicated needs of each person. It was prepared over months of meetings by the HereTogether coalition of more than 100 organizations with deep expertise  including advocacy groups, service and culturally specific providers, the business and faith communities, and many others, helped by research and consultation from ECONorthwest economists, the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Portland State University , and other national experts. And now, the work is underway to set this up in an intentional, methodical manner that maximizes our investments over the next decade.

The HereTogether coalition understood the critical necessity for systemic change that breaks down silos, reaches across county lines and brings all stakeholders together to help solve this crisis. Now we finally have the resources to bring this up to scale and strengthen the tools in our toolbox. Since the passage of this measure, most of the planning, community engagement and collaboration has been undertaken separately by the counties, as the measure envisioned. As a next step, Metro should use the tri-county planning committee as a place to expand that coordination across county lines.

The challenges may have grown, but our commitment hasnt wavered, and the opportunity to live up to our values should inspire all of us to give our best. The Oregonian is right to ask hard questions, and to be impatient for answers, but missed the mark when it presumed that good work is not being done in its recent editorial (Metro lacks vision for homeless services measure, Feb. 21). As we emerge from the pandemic, we have every right to expect we can create a new idea of community action and a region we can be proud to share. To stay informed please go to Heretogetheroregon.org and sign up or follow us on Facebook.

Sign up for our free weekly Oregon Opinion newsletter. Email:



The U.S. government on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnsons single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, enabling millions more Americans to be vaccinated in the coming weeks and setting the vaccine up for additional approvals around the world.

The J&J vaccine is the third authorized in the United States, following ones from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, both of which require two doses.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the emergency use authorization of the J&J vaccine for adults aged 18 and older following Fridays unanimous endorsement by the agencys panel of outside experts. Shipments to vaccination sites are expected to begin Sunday or Monday.

President Joe Biden hailed the move but cautioned Americans against celebrating too soon. Things are still likely to get worse again as new variants spread, he said in a statement, urging people to continue washing their hands, wearing masks, and maintaining social distancing.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable, he said.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are based on new messenger RNA technology, showed higher efficacy rates in pivotal trials that used two doses versus J&Js single-shot vaccine. Direct comparison, however, is difficult because the trials had different goals and J&Js was conducted while more contagious new variants of the virus were circulating.

We believe that people should take the vaccine they are able to access, the FDAs acting commissioner, Dr. Janet Woodcock, said in a call after the authorization, noting the three vaccines had not been studied head-to-head.

We feel that each of these vaccines will be effective, will prevent hospitalization, deaths and should be used, she said.

In J&Js 44,000-person global trial, the vaccine was found to be 66% effective at preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 four weeks after inoculation. It was 100% effective in preventing hospitalization and death due to the virus.

There were very few serious side effects reported in the trial, which also offered preliminary evidence that the vaccine reduced asymptomatic infections.

More study is expected. The FDA on Saturday dismissed the idea that evidence proved the vaccine prevented transmission between people and added there was no data to determine how long the vaccines protection lasted.

J&Js vaccine is expected to be used widely around the globe because it can be shipped and stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, making distribution easier than for the Pfizer/BioNTech SE and Moderna vaccines, which must be shipped frozen.

It potentially could play a very substantial role if we have enough doses because its only a single-dose vaccine and that will make it attractive to people who are difficult to reach, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Its one and done.

The U.S. government, which has purchased 100 million doses of the J&J vaccine, plans to distribute about 3 million to 4 million next week. That would be on top of the around 16 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines the government already planned to ship across the country.

We are ready to roll it out, White House senior adviser Andy Slavitt wrote on Twitter after the authorization. Johnson & Johnson said it had begun shipping vaccines to the government.

J&J plans to provide a total of 20 million doses by the end of March, which along with the more than 220 million total doses expected from Pfizer and Moderna would be enough to fully vaccinate 130 million Americans.

So far, the United States has distributed more than 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, some of which have been used for second shots. About 14% of Americans have received at least one dose, according to U.S. government data.

COVID-19 has claimed more than half a million lives in the United States, and states are clamoring for more doses to stem cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Public health officials have warned about a rise in the prevalence of more contagious variants of the virus, adding to the urgency to get millions more people vaccinated as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, they said, mask wearing and other measures to curb the virus spread should remain in place as recent declines in COVID-19 cases appear to be leveling off.

The J&J vaccine is also under review by the European Union, where deliveries are expected starting in April and would build on the regions thin supplies of the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca Plc shots.

In South Africa, regulators were awaiting the FDA decision as their government looks to deploy more J&J vaccine against a variant of the virus called B.1.351 that is able to evade some vaccine protection.

J&Js vaccine is being rolled out there prior to official authorization for about 500,000 healthcare workers in a bid to stem infections from the variant, which has swept across the country and spread globally, including to the United States.

The vaccine is one of the few that has been tested in clinical trials against the variant and had a 64% efficacy rate at preventing moderate-to-severe disease in South Africa.

J&J said on Friday that the company was developing a second-generation vaccine that would target the concerning South African variant, and it will be ready to start Phase I trials by this summer.

J&Js 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. J&J is testing a two-dose version of its vaccine, with results expected this summer.
Crypto.com, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange and payments firm, is setting up operations in Ireland.

Chief executive Kris Marszalek said that the company, which has 800 employees globally, is growing its footprint in new markets as interest in cryptocurrency broadens.

As we expand into new markets we are pursuing local operations in a number of countries including Ireland, he said.

Ireland offers a very friendly environment for leading fintech companies, supported by a world-class talent pool with expertise in the financial services industry.

Crypto.com operates a cryptocurrency exchange and has released a Visa card for making payments with cryptocurrencies.

Its competitors Coinbase and Binance have also launched their own cryptocurrency debit cards in the Irish market.

The company is recruiting a general manager for Ireland that will oversee staff and launch services in the Irish market. Its job ad said it requires someone with knowledge of applying for electronic money licences.

It currently uses a third partys e-money licence to operate the card in Europe.

We are currently evaluating the scope of the different licences offered by the Central Bank of Ireland in order to determine which aligns best with our strategy, Marszalek said.

Crypto.com has not yet filed any applications with the Central Bank of Ireland, he added.

Cryptocurrency exchanges like Crypto.com have seen demand surge of late with the soaring value of Bitcoin, which passed $50,000 over the last week but has swung up and down since.

The company said it now has over 10 million users, doubling in the last four months.




 Flash

Ahead of the second phase of COVID-19 inoculation drive set to begin next month, the local government in India's western state of Gujarat on Saturday announced that vaccines will be priced at INR 250 (3.40 U.S. dollars) in the private hospitals.

The vaccine, however, will be available free of cost in government-run hospitals.

"Price of COVID-19 vaccine in Gujarat will be INR 250 in private hospitals and it will be provided free of cost in the government hospitals across the state," Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Nitin Patel said.

The ruling party of the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Gujarat on its social media platform shared the announcement.

"The government of India has announced the price of COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine will be given free of cost in all government hospitals across the country. COVID-19 vaccine will be given in private hospitals at a cost of INR 250," the party wrote on social media.

The second phase of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive will begin from March 1 with inoculations being carried on people above 60 years and those above 45 years of age but with co-morbidities.

A local news agency quoting its sources Saturday said the federal government has fixed the price of vaccines at 3.40 U.S. dollars for a dose.

India is in the grip of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and globally it is the second worst-hit country.

India began the vaccination drive on Jan. 16. At present healthcare and frontline workers are being vaccinated.

India's health ministry Saturday morning said over 14.2 million beneficiaries have been vaccinated across the country ever since the beginning of the vaccination drive.

During the first phase, around 30 million healthcare and frontline workers will be vaccinated.
On Saturday 29 February 2020, the Ministry of Health held a press conference at short notice to announce the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus.

The patient in question first contacted health officials after displaying symptoms following a return from northern Italy, where the virus had already established a significant presence. A positive test result came out that very same evening.

The patient was subsequently brought to the Hospital Centre Luxembourg (CHL), not because treatment was urgently required, but to isolate the case as early as possible. Nevertheless, Sars-CoV-2 had officially arrived in the Grand Duchy that evening.

At the time, there were no special drugs against the disease, only treatment protocols from abroad suggesting how to deal best with the virus. Luxembourg's neighbouring countries were a few weeks ahead with their first confirmed cases, while Italy had already reported its first deaths.

Only a few weeks later, the country's hospitals and intensive care units approached capacity limits. Since 29 February 2020, CHL counted 900 Covid-19 patients. Ninety-five of them eventually needed intensive care. Many lessons were thus drawn over the course of the year regarding how to deal with the virus.

At the moment, the vaccines give rise to hope, although health care officials and professionals know that there is still a long way ahead. Thirty Covid-19 patients are currently hospitalised at CHL, a number which is expected to increase over the coming weeks.
.

The Libyan parliament will discuss holding a vote of confidence on a new unified government for the divided country on March 8, speaker Aguila Saleh said

Oil-rich Libya has been mired in chaos since leader Muammar Gadhafi was ousted and killed in a popular uprising backed by a NATO air campaign a decade ago.

Its UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) is based in Tripoli, while eastern Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar supports a parallel administration based in the east.

"Parliament will convene to discuss a vote of confidence on the government on Monday, March 8, at 11 am in Sirte if the 5+5 Joint Military Commission guarantees the security of the meeting," Saleh said in a statement late Friday, referring to a city halfway between east and west.

The military commission is a forum bringing together five representatives from each side.

"If that proves impossible, the session will be held in the temporary seat of parliament in Tobruk at the same date and time," he said, adding that the military committee would need to advise the parliament in advance.

It was unclear whether the vote itself would take place on 8 March or whether the meeting would be limited to talks.

Interim prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Thursday said he faced a Friday deadline to form his government according to a UN road map.

He said he had submitted to Saleh a "vision" for a cabinet line-up that would help steer Libya to elections in December, and that the names of proposed ministers would be disclosed in parliament during the confidence vote.

Parliament has 21 days to vote on the line-up, according to the road map.

Dbeibah was selected early this month in a UN-sponsored inter-Libyan dialogue, the latest internationally backed bid to salvage the country from a decade of conflict and fragmented political fiefdoms.

Saleh said Friday that Dbeibah should choose "competent people with integrity, from across the country, in order to achieve (national) consensus" for his government.

"Everyone should be represented so that (Libya) can emerge from the tunnel," Saleh said.

If approved, a new cabinet would replace the Tripoli-based GNA, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, and the parallel administration in the east.

The premier will then face the giant task of unifying Libya's proliferating institutions and leading the transition up to 24 December polls.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

Short link:


Oppo is gearing up for the launch of a brand-new smartphone series. Called Find X3, the smartphone will reportedly launch in China on March 11. Here is a brief round-up of everything we know about the Find X3 series.

Find X3 series

Oppo will reportedly launch at least four smartphones under its new flagship series. On March 11, however, Oppo may only showcase two of them. The first models set to be unveiled on the launch day are Find X3 and Find X3 Pro. The other two models, dubbed as Find X3 Neo and Find X3 Lite, will be released later.

Oppo Find X3

Oppo Find X3 will reportedly come with Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor. The phone is also said to come with a Full HD+ display. It is also rumoured to come with 256GB of built-in storage and a 12.6-megapixel camera.

Oppo Find X3 Pro

As the Pro moniker suggests, the smartphone will come with superior specifications. The phone will reportedly come with Qualcomms Snapdragon 888 processor coupled with 12GB of RAM.

On the front, the smartphone will have a 6.67-inch display with QHD+ resolution. A 4,500mAh battery is said to power the smartphone. It will also come with 65W fast charging.

Prices (leaked)

The Find X3 Pro (12GB+256GB) model will reportedly be priced at Eur 1,000-1,200 ( 88,000 approximately). The phone will come in black, white, blue, and orange colour options.

The Find X3 Neo is said to cost Eur 700-800 ( 62,000 approximately). The price is for the 12GB+256GB variant. The phone will come in black and silver colour options.

The Find X3 Lite variant will be priced at Eur 400-500 ( 35,500 approximately). The leaked price is for the 8GB+128GB variant. The Find X3 Lite will come in black and blue colour options.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 17:25:24|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Sunday started its COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, with the first shot, using China's Sinovac vaccine, going to Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha presided over the event at the country's infectious disease institute, where other officials, including deputy public health minister, agriculture minister, culture minister and deputy education minister, were also vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine.

"It's a historic day and a day to help the country rebuild confidence against the pandemic," Prayut told reporters after all the recipients of the vaccine ended their 30-minute observation period and had shown no adverse reaction.

Also on Sunday, 159 people in Samut Sakhon province, the epicenter of the country's new wave of an outbreak that erupted in mid-December, are scheduled to receive their first shot of the vaccine. These included local officials as well as representatives of at-risk groups such as medical workers and migrant workers.

"I did not feel any pain from the injection. It's like any other ordinary injections," said Kanokwan Thongmanut, a private company employer in Samut Sakhon, who volunteered to take her first shot of the Sinovac vaccine Sunday.

"Before the injection, I was a little nervous, but not concerned. The government has assured us the vaccines' safety and there is no reports of any problems after the vaccine being widely used abroad," Kanokwan said.

The roll-out came days after Thailand received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from China's Sinovac, which were then distributed to 13 provinces, including the capital Bangkok.

Anutin reaffirmed on Sunday that the second batch of Sinovac vaccine are scheduled to arrive in March, followed by another batch in April.

The country also secured vaccines from AstraZeneca, with 117,000 doses having arrived Wednesday, according to the Government Public Relations Department. Before being used, the batch would be subject to final quality assurance, which is expected to complete by the second week of March, AstraZeneca said in a statement.

Thailand has set a three-staged national inoculation program, aiming to vaccinate enough of the general population to create herd immunity.

The Southeast Asian country has so far confirmed 25,951 COVID-19 cases with 83 fatalities.

With its heavy reliance on tourism, Thailand has been hit hard. The country welcomed about 40 million foreign tourists in 2019, but only 6.7 million trickled in last year.

It is widely expected that the COVID-19 vaccines will be a game-changer. Prayut hopes the vaccine would contribute to the recovery of the tourism sector through easing restrictive measures, such as exempting vaccinated tourists from the two-week mandatory quarantine. Enditem

Saturday, February 27, 2021 at 7:13PM

by Claudio Alves

2020 was a horrible year in many regards. Too many to count if we're being honest. Still, I'd like to highlight that, as a Eurovision Song Contest fan, it was especially disheartening to see the show be canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis. It's obvious why it couldn't happen, but, if there ever was a year that needed the cheering effect of that joyful camp explosion, 2020 was that year. Thankfully, both for me and my Eurovision-loving family, Netflix had an Easter Egg-filled delight to assuage the pain

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is far from a perfect movie. It's unbearably long, full of jokes that don't work, needless side-plots, and much more. Worse of all, Will Ferrell's comic persona is unfathomably wrong for the sort of earnestness the rest of the picture's exulting. That being said, I can't help but be charmed by the Netflix original. When hearing about the project, one expects a scornful upending of the kind of ridiculousness that has made Eurovision famous all over the world, a mocking jeer matched by some American befuddlement.

The final product isn't especially great, but it doesn't match that nightmarish expectation. Instead of laughing at Eurovision and all its absurd idiosyncrasies, the movie laughs along with the titular tradition. One feels the love its creators have for the Song Contest in every frame, in the dysfunctional structure that mimics the event's repetitive phases, in the goofy camerawork, outlandish theatrics, linguistic conundrums, internal politics. Furthermore, the cast is full of Eurovision stars making inane cameos that still warm the heart of a fan like me. It was especially nice to see Salvador Sobral, the artist who brought Portugal its only victory, singing his winning tune.

Speaking of my country's surprising success in 2017, I still remember that night vividly. There's a feeling in Portugal that we never win anything, that to be Portuguese is to be an underdog and it's better to settle in for a disappointment in every sort of international panorama. Rarely have we gotten to the final night of Eurovision and our insistence to sing in Portuguese instead of capitulating to English, like most other countries, only makes the odds feel more against us. And then we won.

Even as the night unfolded and many were predicting Portugal to do much better than we usually do, the final result was a suspenseful shock. We screamed in my home, we cried, we felt beside ourselves even while acknowledging the silliness of the whole thing. To hear Portuguese words being sung at the end of the night felt like an impossibility suddenly becoming real, an absurd little miracle. Many people dislike the victory and question the underdog narrative I've just presented but, on that night, those were the (irrational?) thoughts going through my head.

I was not expecting to experience some of those crazy emotions again in 2020, not with Eurovision canceled. However, this movie made it happen. In some ways, it's an absurd miracle as well, a piece of musical wizardry courtesy of Savan Kotecha, Rickard Goransson, and Fat Max Gsus. Their original songs capture the bizarre kitsch that is the essence of Eurovision while never succumbing to merciless parody. The soundtrack has a collection of killer bops, from the surprisingly catchy "Ja Ja Ding Dong" to the Russian gay fantasia that is "Lion for Love". The best of all, however, has to be the climactic song, "Husavik".

Like all the best movie songs, the number functions both as a musical delight and as a storytelling device. The protagonists, Ferrell's Lars and Rachel McAdams' Sigrit, have defined their lives around the dream of winning Eurovision. For him, it's a Quixotic mission, a purpose that's perhaps closer to an obsession. For her, it's more of an excuse to be around Lars, her best friend since childhood and her life-long crush. At the moment this song is performed, they've managed to get to the Eurovision finale through a series of unlikely events, but their union has suffered. Because of it, Sigrit is preparing to sing their submitted song, the glitzy but impersonal "Double Trouble", alone.

However, right as the music swells, Lars appears, ready to redeem himself after much selfishness and heartless disrespect. Instead of singing the selected song, he encourages Sigrit to perform the number she wrote for him, a heartfelt song that expresses the woman's love for her hometown, Husavik. While Lars has always resented his place in the world, she has embraced it. By performing together, he learns to follow her example. It's also a personal abnegation, Lars sacrificing potential victory for something more important.

And so, he lets Sigrid shine, becoming more of a background musician, a satellite stepping away from the star he had been eclipsing. McAdams may not be singing but she lip-syncs the hell out of the song, painting a patina of goofy elation over Molly Sanden's gorgeous vocals. When she belts out her homage to Husavik, the lyrics keep changing between English and Icelandic which brings their neighbors and family, watching from home, to rapturous euphoria. For an instant, all snark dissipates and a wave of earnest jubilation crashes over the characters, the movie, and its audience.

Yes, it's cheesy, it's ludicrous, silly too and not particularly sophisticated. But so is Eurovision as a whole. The unity, the national pride holding hands with international affection, the camp appreciation, and the shamelessness of the whole endeavor are a distillation of what makes the Song Contest such an important touchstone to so many. "Husavik" is Eurovision synthesized in one song. I adore it with whole my heart and am thankful for all the joy it brought me in one of the darkest years I've ever lived through.

While an Oscar nomination is likely and the song was shortlisted, it's still uncertain, and a win feels far-fetched. Because of that, I'm leaving this appeal to any awards voter and cinephile out there: Give "Husavik" a chance.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)  Syrian air defenses were activated in the capital Damascus and its southern suburbs Sunday night to repel an Israeli missile attack, state media reported. There was no word on casualties.

State TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that most of the Israeli missiles were shot down before reaching their targets near Damascus.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Israel views Iranian entrenchment on its northern frontier as a red line, and it has repeatedly struck Iran-linked facilities and weapons convoys destined for Lebanons militant Hezbollah group.

The attack comes after the United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups.

The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.
There are plans and blueprints for the memorials dome and facade as well as designs for the doors to the Hall of Memory and the chain on the parapet above the main entrance. The memorials senior curator of official and private records, Margaret Farmer, says the Crust collection is a find of national importance. Construction of the Australian War Memorial. Credit:Australian War Memorial John Crust made a singular contribution to the memorial and therefore to the nation, Farmer says. Its quite remarkable that the material has survived all this time. It was put away in disused parts of the house, perhaps as long ago as the 1940s.

A quiet and unassuming man, Crust was born in the Yorkshire city of Leeds in 1884 and showed a talent for drawing from a young age. He left school at 13 to work for the architect and surveyor Thomas Edward Marshall in nearby Harrogate. In 1904, Crust was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Advised to give up architecture and live an outdoor life, he spent the next six months on a Yorkshire farm before migrating to Australia. That was his one-way ticket to health, and a life, King says. Crust celebrated his 20th birthday on board the ship and spent his first six months in Australia working on a farm near Temora in country NSW. In his diary, he meticulously records how he spent his days planting cabbages, harrowing fields, threshing grain, working the cart and dray, and cooking and peeling potatoes. Difficult times: the designers of the Australian War Memorial, John Crust and Emil Sodersten, in 1928.

I was not very happy there, he later wrote in a letter. But it built me up again, which was what was required [and] by that time my health was quite restored. He was offered a job as a draughtsman in Tasmania in 1905, and went on to work in Sydney and later Melbourne, where he collaborated with John Smith Murdoch, who became chief architect of the Commonwealth of Australia and designed Old Parliament House in Canberra. Murdoch praised Crusts work as being of an exceptionally high quality and wrote that the young man was entrusted with the best class of work. John and Irene Crust. Credit:Courtesy Australian War Memorial When World War I broke out Crust tried to enlist but was rejected on medical grounds. His younger brother, Lance Corporal William Crust, served with the 1st/5th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales Own) and was killed near Thiepval in France on September 3, 1916. It must have been awful, King says. He couldnt go, and now he had lost his brother, so I think that when the idea for the memorial came up, it meant a lot to him. It was a tribute to his brother, and to all the fallen, and to his country.

Crusts brother had died during the darkest days of the war, just as the idea of a memorial was conceived by Australias official war correspondent, Charles Bean. Bean had seen first-hand the devastation of the war at Gallipoli and on the Western Front and was determined that the men and their deeds should not be forgotten. He envisioned the memorial as a shrine to their memory, a museum to house their relics, and an archive to preserve their thoughts and records of their deeds. John Crusts younger brother, Lance Corporal William Crust, served with the 1st/5th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment and was killed in France in 1916. Credit:Courtesy Australian War Memorial Crust entered the international competition to design the Memorial in the 1920s, and his entry was the only one of 69 to come in under budget. He was asked to submit a joint design with another entrant, flamboyant Sydney architect Emil Sodersten. The two men were very different and their relationship was difficult; Sodersten resigned from the project three years before the memorial opened on Armistice Day in 1941.

Crusts diaries document it all from his perspective, as he experienced it, Farmer says. His personal papers record the events and work that shaped him and made him the architect who could suggest the elegant solution of placing the Roll of Honour within cloisters, solving the problem of meeting the memorial competition specifications within budget. A collection of John Crusts diaries and notebooks detailing his time working on the Canberra memorial. Credit:Courtesy of Australian War Memorial It is this commemorative area that is the most beloved part of the memorial, and where so many Australians have participated in the Last Post ceremony. On that Armistice Day, Crust travelled to Canberra for the public opening with his wife, Irene, intending to stand quietly among the crowd gathered for the occasion. When the memorials director, John Treloar, realised the oversight, he insisted Crust and his wife be seated on the dais with the other dignitaries. The man whose designs for the memorial had become a reality sat quietly at the back, out of the limelight.

Almost 80 years later, King feels a special connection to her grandfather whenever she visits. She was only eight years old when he died in 1964, but has fond memories of him and the building he devoted so much to. A photograph from Crust of the Australian War Memorial under construction. Credit:Courtesy of Australian War Memorial I love it and Im extremely proud, she says. The Australian War Memorial was his gift to the country that had been very good to him. It was enough for him that the building was as good as it could be. Personal aggrandisement was not in his nature. He was just prepared to put one foot in front of the other and get the job done to the best of his ability. He loved it and he followed it until the day he died.
Actress and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, center, Assistant-Secretary General for Africa, Bintou Keita, left, and Lieutenant Commander Marcia Andrade Braga, United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year, arrive at the United Nations in New York, March 29, to attend a meeting of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial: Uniformed Capabilities, Performanc





In this June 24, 1952, file photo, Sir Winston Churchill smiles at the front door of 10 Downing Street, London. AP-Yonhap

Hollywood's Angelina Jolie and Britain's iconic wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, a keen artist who took inspiration from the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, are combining for a March 1 date at Christie's auction house in London.



"The Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque", an oil painting Churchill produced during a World War II visit, is tipped to fetch between 1.5 million and 2.5 million ($2 million and $3.5 million), according to a Christie's estimate.



Put up for auction by Angelina Jolie, it is vaunted in Christie's catalogue as "Churchill's most important work. Aside from its distinguished provenance, it is the only landscape he made" during the war.



A career army officer before entering politics, Churchill started to paint relatively late, at the age of 40.



His passion for the translucent light of Marrakesh, far from the political storms and drab skies of London, dates back to the 1930s when most of Morocco was a French protectorate, and he went on to make six visits to the North African country over the course of 23 years.



"Here in these spacious palm groves rising from the desert the traveller can be sure of perennial sunshine... and can contemplate with ceaseless satisfaction the stately and snow-clad panorama of the Atlas Mountains," he wrote in 1936 in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.



He would set up his easel on the balconies of the grandiose La Mamounia hotel or the city's Villa Taylor, beloved by the European jet set of the 1970s.



It was from the villa, after a historic January 1943 conference in Casablanca with US president Franklin Roosevelt and France's Charles de Gaulle, that he painted what came to be regarded as his finest work, of the minaret behind the ramparts of the Old City, with mountains behind and tiny colourful figures in front.



"You cannot come all this way to North Africa without seeing Marrakesh," he is reputed to have told Roosevelt. "I must be with you when you see the sun set on the Atlas Mountains."



A newspaper photograph taken at the time shows the two wartime Allied leaders admiring the sunset.





"Marrakech," a painting by the late British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, is sold at auction at Sotheby's in London, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. AP-Yonhap
An electronic billboard calls for the reopening of schools, next to Highway 101 in Rohnert Park, Calif., on Feb. 25, 2021. (Ted Lin/The Epoch Times)

Billboard in California Urges Schools to Reopen

ROHNERT PARK, Calif.A message on an electronic billboard in the San Francisco Bay Area is calling for the reopening of schools in Sonoma County.

A group of North Bay parents organized a GoFundMe campaign to fund the billboard message, which is displayed next to Highway 101 in the city of Rohnert Park.

The billboard reads: Missing All CA Students. Last Seen: 3/13 2020. Reward: Their Future. #OpenSonomaCountySchoolsNow.

The group of parents said they want to be a voice for the children.

We have a lot of parents that are frustrated and getting more angry, that never would be, because this situation is getting to be ridiculous, Andrea Quartarolo, the organizer behind the billboard message, told The Epoch Times.

The message has been up on the board since Feb. 13. The parents and families who are funding it hope that the billboard will speed up the countys decision to safely reopen schools.

The billboard has sparked controversy, and some teachers have said they felt attacked.

However, the parents say that isnt their intention.

The intent was strictly to say, hey, were speaking on behalf of our kids. Our kids need to be going back to school. Whatever it takes to get them there, thats what needs to happen, Andrea Pedersen, a Sonoma County parent, told The Epoch Times.

(LR) Mary Lockler, Andrea Pedersen, and Olivia Soderling stand under the electronic billboard next to Highway 101 in Rohnert Park, Calif., on Feb. 25, 2021. (Ted Lin/The Epoch Times)

Challenges of Distance Learning

Pedersens daughter Olivia misses in-person learning.

I was really upset because I wasnt able to see my friends, Olivia Soderling told The Epoch Times.

Some children will soon begin hybrid learning, meaning theyll go to school two days a week for about three hours.

I dont feel like the two days a week is enough for these kids. It makes it harder for parents who are working full time to be able to get their kids to and from school within a three-hour window, Pedersen said. But if that is what we can get for our kids, its better than nothing.

For Quartarolo, its like a battleground at home every day, since her two children have become very unmotivated to get homework done.

Its yelling, its crying, its screaming. Its I dont want to do it. My daughterI have to wake her up, and she cries because she doesnt like Zoom. I dont want to go to Zoom, I hate Zoom, she said.

Doing the hybrid for 2 1/2 hours is not feasible for any working parent, said Quartarolo. So most parents would be opting out of that. So its still not where we need to be.

Mary Lockler says her 15-year-old daughter has been depressed.

The social aspect of school is huge, Lockler told The Epoch Times. Kids are social beings, social development, and theyve had a year of social starvation. And its hard, and it scares me.

They need those interpersonal relationships, she said. They need to have an argument with friends and figure it out. They need to learn what a friend is. You know, they need to learn that there are rules in society and at school and if you dont follow them, theres a consequence.

Dealing with technology is challenging, too. Lockler said she pays for the most expensive internet at home, but it still isnt reliable.

At the time, we had three students because we also had a college student at home. There was a point [when] I was having to prioritize who stayed on in class and who had to get off so that an exam could be completed and not glitch out. How do you say whose class is more important? she said.

These parents say theres a better solution.

Consider schools essential. Put them up at the top of the list, Lockler said. How are teachers not essential? That is our future. How can we not consider a teacher an essential worker?

Quartarolo initially raised enough money within 24 hours to fund the billboard for two weeks. Now she has raised enough to leave it up for another two weeks.

Sonoma County is currently in Tier 1, the most restrictive tier in the reopening system. K through 6th-grade schools are allowed to reopen if they have COVID-19 case rates of fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 students.

Nancy Han contributed to this report.
RTHK: Myanmar fires UN envoy for criticising coup

Myanmar's junta fired its United Nations ambassador on Saturday for breaking ranks to denounce the military's ouster of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as police stepped up a crackdown on protesters across the country.

The country has been shaken by a wave of demonstrations since a coup toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

Authorities have ramped up the use of force to suppress dissent, deploying tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse some protests. Live rounds have been used in isolated cases.

In justifying its seizure of power, the military has alleged widespread fraud in the November elections, which Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide, and promised fresh polls in a year.

But its ambassador to the United Nations on Friday broke ranks and made an emotional appeal to the international community for "the strongest possible action... to restore democracy".

Kyaw Moe Tun also pleaded with his "brothers and sisters" in Burmese to keep fighting.

"This revolution must win," he said, flashing the three-finger salute that has become a symbol of resistance against the junta.

By Saturday night, state-run TV announced that Kyaw Moe Tun was no longer Myanmar's UN ambassador.

"(He) didn't follow the order and direction by the state and betrayed the country," according to a MRTV broadcast.

"That is why he is revoked from his position starting from today."

News of Kyaw Moe Tun's removal follows a day of crackdowns and mass arrests by Myanmar's security forces as the country enters its fourth week of daily protests against the generals' grip on power.

Chaos unfolded across commercial hub Yangon, with police closing in early on peaceful demonstrators and deploying rubber bullets to disperse them from Myaynigone junction.

In the central city of Monywa, a rally had barely started before police and soldiers moved in on demonstrators, said a medic with a local emergency rescue team. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
James Corden has revealed he stays grounded by 'hiding' all his trophies ahead of the 78th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.

In a new interview, the actor, 42, said he keeps his accolades in a cupboard at work to avoid thinking 'you are a bit more of a dude than you really are', after he received backlash over his Best Actor in a Comedy nomination for The Prom.

The comedian - who portrays Barry Glickman in the musical comedy - has been met with criticism as some viewers believe he gave a stereotypical depiction of a gay man while others said they were 'grateful' he wasn't nominated for his role in Cats.

Humble: James Corden has revealed he stays grounded by 'hiding' all his trophies ahead of the 78th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday (pictured in 2019)

On how he stores his gongs, the Gavin and Stacey star said: 'Do you know what, I keep them all in a cupboard. I hide them all away as I don't know if it is necessarily good for me to see them every day and think, ''Oh look at me''.

'I think that is where you can come unstuck, if you think you are a bit more of a dude than you really are. They are all in a cupboard at work and one day I guess I will take them out and look at them, but right now I guess it is best to try and look forward.'

The talk show host has scooped 10 Emmys, a Tony for 2012's One Man, Two Guvnors and was the recipient of the Best Comedy Performance prize for Gavin and Stacey at the 2008 BAFTA Awards.

On his priorities, the presenter added to The Mirror: 'I'd like my children to be happy, good people. That is my dream more than anything else to find whatever in this world that makes them happy. I think all the other stuff is irrelevant after that.'

Criticism: The Late Late Show star, 42, recently received backlash over his Best Actor in a Comedy nomination for The Prom for giving a 'stereotypical depiction of a gay man' (pictured)

Memorable: Other viewers jokingly said his recognition didn't make up for his role in the film Cats, which was widely panned by critics when it was released in 2019

When the Golden Globes nominations for this year's ceremony were announced, fans expressed their shock that the media personality was up for an award but not his co-star Meryl Streep.

Some jokingly said his nomination for The Prom didn't make up for his role in the film Cats, which was widely panned by critics when it was released in 2019.

Taking to Twitter, one user wrote: 'James Corden getting a Golden Globe nomination for his offensive mediocre performance in The Prom... it's giving Aluminium Globes.'

Another said: 'James Corden getting nominated for a Golden Globe but not Meryl Streep for The Prom, that's why they call it the comedy category!'

Candid: In an interview, the comedian admitted he keeps his accolades in a cupboard at work to avoid 'thinking 'you are more of a dude than you really are' (pictured with a Tony in 2012)

A third user added: 'What in the world happened that Meryl Streep didn't get Globe nommed for The Prom but James Corden did.'

They continued: 'Saw that James Corden got nominated for a Golden Globe and allI can say is that I'm grateful that it wasn't for Cats.

'James Corden getting a Golden Globe nom for his heavily stereotyped portrayal of a gay man in The Prom is... disappointing to say the least.'

James' co-star Andrew Rannells previously defended his performance in the film, saying movie casting is about finding 'the best person for the job'.

Reaction: When the nominations were announced, some expressed their shock James was up for an award but not his co-star Meryl Streep

Opinion: The actor's co-star Andrew Rannells (second from R) previously defended his performance in the film, saying movie casting is about finding 'the best person for the job'

Speaking to Attitude magazine, Andrew said he thinks 'representation' in films and TV is important but added that the movie's director Ryan Murphy, who is gay, is 'looking for talent' first and foremost.

He said: 'You know, I kinda go back and forth about this. Obviously, representation is very important, but what I feel that Ryan does so well is, you know, it's the best person for the job, quite frankly.

'In the same way that James can play the gay character, he's also given me an opportunity to play a straight character, which is not something I do all the time.

Praise: Along with James' nomination, The Prom was also nominated for Best Movie, Comedy or Musical (pictured with Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Keegan-Michael Key)

'As much as he takes [an actor's sexuality] into consideration, I think ultimately he's looking for talent and parts, and he's given me the opportunity to play this part which maybe another director wouldn't have cast me in, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity.'

The film is based on the Broadway musical of the same name and follows a troupe of musical theatre stars who travel to a small town in Indiana in support of a girl who wants to take her girlfriend to her high school prom.

James is nominated against Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield), and Andy Samberg (Palm Springs).

Along with James' nomination, The Prom is also nominated for Best Movie, Comedy or Musical.

History: The TV star, who recently revealed he has lost more than a stone in five weeks, also said he'd like to 'experience a day underneath 200lb' (pictured in Gavin And Stacey in 2007)

Slimmed down: The media personality revealed in the New Year that he has signed up to a new health and fitness programme with Weight Watchers (pictured Lin 2018 and R in 2000)

James' comments about life in lockdown and his weight come after his very candid interview with the Duke of Sussex, 36, which aired days before the royal's set to have a sit-down chat with the Queen of US TV: Oprah Winfrey.

In The Late Late Show segment, Harry and the comedian are seen chatting on an open top bus, rapping to the Fresh Prince of Bell Air theme tune and doing a military-style assault course.

Meghan Markle also revealed her nickname for Prince Harry is Haz during her short appearance via FaceTime.

The Golden Globes will be live streamed on February 28 with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting the ceremony for the fourth time.

Big deal: Earlier this week, James interviewed his good pal Prince Harry for The Late Late Show with the duo being seen rapping and FaceTiming Meghan Markle
Although the term 'martyr' is commonly understood in a religious sense, it also can be applied to the political world. Before looking into that, first a brief history.

Originally, the word " martyr " derived from the Greek word "martus." This was meant as a witness who testified to a fact which he had observed personally. In early Christian usage, this was first applied to the disciples who experienced first hand the life of Jesus and testified to his resurrection. The Church later began to use the term martyr to denote those men and women, who under Roman persecution, shed their blood for the faith. The current Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death."

"Even unto death" .... but not necessarily that far. This is where another form of martyrdom comes in. It's called "white martyrdom" as opposed to red martyrdom where one is literally killed for his beliefs. White martyrdom is typically understood as being persecuted but not to the point of shedding blood.

Today, conservatives, particularly those in the camp of Donald Trump are being persecuted to the point of a political white martyrdom. Such people are losing their jobs and even in some case criminally prosecuted as were General Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, Jr.

Many others Trump supporters who are not known to the public have been ostracized in their places of employment, in the media, by government and accosted and assaulted in public.

Conservative voices are being muffled. And now we see elements in the Democrat Party attempting to actually censor conservative broadcasters such as FoxNews, Newsmax, and One America News (OAN) network. The intent is to make conservatives and Trumpers abandon their cause, and if they won't, then to isolate and marginalize them.

Who is orchestrating this persecution? They go by many names -- the left, the progressives, the establishment, the elite, the globalists. Call them what you will, they all belong to the same hive and have the same overall objective -- to diminish America and acquire extra-constitutional power unto themselves at the expense of other Americans.

Some may wonder why the persecutions are so out in the open now. After all, the progressive mindset had a hold of the commanding heights of the culture, government bureaucracy, the media and universities for quite some time. The answer in one word is Trump. Up until he burst on the scene, the progressives were like an anaconda snake content to use its muscular body to slowly suffocate its victims before devouring them.

Then Trump came. With Trump in the White House, the ruling class saw how tenuous its grip on power could be. A second Trump term could spell disaster for the hive. With the 2016 election surprise, alarm bells went off. It was all hands on deck to defeat Trump and those who stood with him for nationalism and MAGA.

The slow incremental process of suffocating America was no longer deemed sufficient. A more direct approach had to be taken. This gave birth to the aggressive purging of populist thought from the public square that we see today. Thus far, this political white martyrdom has not turned red. However the left is noted for not tolerating any dissent and given the totalitarian nature of many of those now in power, one can not rule out the more extreme form of martyrdom in coming years.

No matter how much damage the leftists manage to do -- and it will be significant -- history is not on their side. Despite persistent persecution of the early Christians by the Roman state, Christianity prevailed. That faith grew from a small sect to become one of the world's major religion while the once mighty Rome is a distant memory and whose language is dead. Like the early Christians, the conservatives will not give in and intend to prevail.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 06:41:23|Editor: huaxia

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DUBLIN, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of 23 people have been arrested following a violent protest against COVID-19 restrictions in downtown Dublin on Saturday, said police.

Three police members were injured during the incident, and one of them needed hospital treatment, said the Irish national police service in a twitter statement.

According to police and local media reports, the protest, organized by different groups, took place on Grafton Street in Dublin City Center on Saturday afternoon, involving hundreds of people.

"The gathering became violent on occasions with members of An Garda Siochana (Irish national police service) targeted with fireworks, missiles and spit," said the police statement, adding that police had responded in a professional manner which resulted in calm returning to the city center.

A special sitting of Dublin District Court will take place on Saturday night where a number of the arrested persons will be charged, said the statement, adding that a major investigation is now underway.

Ireland is currently under a nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this week, the government decided to extend the lockdown measures until April 5.

Under the current lockdown measures, all people in the country are required to stay within 5 km from home except for essential reasons and all the non-essential businesses have to be closed.

The Irish Department of Health on Saturday evening reported another 738 COVID-19 cases, bringing the national tally to 218,980. To date, the pandemic has claimed 4,313 lives in Ireland.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in Ireland and some other countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines. As of Feb. 24, a total of 391,355 doses had been administered in Ireland, according to official data.

Meanwhile, 255 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 73 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to the latest information released by the World Health Organization. Enditem
Premier Gladys Berejiklian says NSW is willing to help deliver the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine through its hospital hubs in a bid to avoid delays as the first doses arrived in Australia.

Australias coronavirus vaccine supplies more than doubled on Sunday with the first vials of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine landing at Sydney Airport.

The first of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca arrived at Sydney Airport on Sunday. Credit:Edwina Pickles

An Emirates plane carried 300,000 doses of the second vaccine to be approved for use in Australia and the one that is planned to be administered to the majority of the population.

General practitioners will be largely responsible for giving the AstraZeneca vaccine but Ms Berejiklian said NSW would be prepared to step in to help if delays to the rollout emerged.
Coronavirus testing is down by at least a third from its peak during the winter holidays in the greater Washington, D.C., region, sparking concern among public health experts who worry that lower testing numbers mean officials could be late to recognize a future surge in cases or the next vaccine-resistant variant.

There are several reasons for the drop. As state and local governments focus on coronavirus vaccine distribution, they have shifted resources away from large-scale testing events. Medical professionals say fewer people report experiencing symptoms that cause them to seek tests. And pandemic fatigue has set in, diminishing public enthusiasm for getting tested.

But a year into the pandemic, public health experts urge individuals to remain vigilant about getting tested - not only to protect themselves and the health of those around them, but also to help officials understand the extent of community spread of the virus and how it is changing over time.

"It's as if we're in a major paradigm shift in this pandemic and the world has gone from the world of testing to the world of vaccination," said Boris Lushniak, a former acting U.S. surgeon general who is dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health. "But the problem is - and this is a major problem - we can't give up on testing. ... If we give up on testing, this wildfire of covid-19 will be spreading to our communities as we're trying put it out in different forests."

Governors and public health officials closely monitor the number of new infections compared with the number of tests being conducted to help them decide if it's safe to relax restrictions on activities such as indoor dining and gatherings.

They generally aim for a sustained "positivity rate" of 5 percent or less, the benchmark set last spring by the World Health Organization to guide governments in reopening.

Last week, both D.C. and Maryland reported positivity rates below that benchmark - a seven-day rolling average of 4.6 percent in the District of Columbia and 3.7 percent in Maryland.In Virginia, the positivity rate was 7.8 percent.

Officials say they would need to ramp up testing if the number of tests declined as the number of positive infections grew, which would indicate not enough people both with symptoms and without are being tested to accurately reflect the infection rate - but at the moment both numbers are falling. All three jurisdictions have reported a drop in infections in recent weeks.

Still, officials noted that testing numbers are on par with the levels seen last fall and far greater than last summer, when testing sites saw long lines and high demand.

The metrics helped Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, decide to eliminate a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew as of this Monday, a measure he put in place in mid-December when cases were on the rise. Although Virginia only briefly achieved a 5 percent positivity rate last fall, he said the numbers are again moving in the right direction.

"We still have the capacity to do really as many tests as we need to do, but less people are symptomatic, and when less people are symptomatic there are less requests for their providers to do the test," he said in a recent news conference.

In fact, testing in Virginia and Maryland is down by about a third following a spike in infections that began around the winter holidays and continued until recently.

A similar scenario has played out in the District, where the number of tests conducted per capita each week fell by more than half from its late November peak.

The District's case rate on Feb. 21 finally fell below 15 average daily new cases per 100,000 people, a metric that the city has been targeting for months.

But Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt raised the possibility that the rate looked artificially low because fewer people are getting tested and fewer asymptomatic cases are being identified.

Public health officials in the District and Prince George's County, Md., noted that inclement weather in February and testing center closures over the Presidents' Day holiday probably prevented some people from getting tested as well.

Lynn Goldman, dean of George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health, said widespread community testing is critical to detecting variants, which spread more easily and may not be stopped by available vaccines.

"Our danger has to do with relaxing our vigilance when we're becoming more and more aware of variants that may be able to escape naturally acquired and vaccine-generated immunity," she said. "We need to be very vigilant. Those mutations can arise anywhere."

In the early months of the pandemic, tests were scarce and difficult to get, but slowly, mass testing events became the norm and patients began to acquire tests from their doctors and pharmacies.

Then the vaccine became available, beginning in mid-December for health-care workers, and later expanding to others. Lushniak said health departments with limited resources and personnel were torn.

"What do you do? Do you test or do you vaccinate?" he said. "The answer is you gotta do both."

Virginia's health department made a concerted effort to shift resources from tests and focus on vaccinations as soon as doses became available in late December, said Parham Jaberi, chief deputy commissioner at the Virginia Department of Health.

"We just haven't had the personnel or capability to have that testing strategy sustained as the focus has shifted to the vaccine," he said, noting that testing in targeted areas is still happening.

In Maryland, a large-scale testing site at Six Flags in Prince George's County was built for 2,000 tests daily, but was down to 300 to 400 tests, prompting the state to convert it to a mass vaccination site on Feb. 5, said Mike Ricci, spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. Mass testing sites at the Baltimore Convention Center and in a parking lot near the statehouse in Annapolis are still open. National Guard members were deployed to testing sites, replacing nurses needed to serve as vaccinators, Ricci said.

In Montgomery County, where testing has fallen by half since December, Health Officer Travis Gayles said vaccinations have "taken up all the oxygen in the room," distracting residents from getting precautionary tests or being interested in whether they have the virus.

As a result, state and county officials are developing communication campaigns to "remind people of the value of testing," he said.

In Prince George's County, which has been hit hard by the virus, testing sites in Clinton and Largo have been closed since December, and staff redirected to focus on vaccinations. Testing sites in Hyattsville and Fort Washington remain open.

The county site closures were driven in part by a more than 30 percent drop in demand, from a record high of 40,904 in the week of Jan. 3 to 26,995 the week of Feb. 14.

At the same time, new cases declined by about 45 percent, said Ernest Carter, the county health officer, adding that there are "still sufficient numbers of tests being conducted in Prince George's County each week to adequately detect for virus spread."

But Neil Sehgal, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, said it's difficult to know how many tests are enough.

Most of the graduate students he works with regularly got tested in 2020, but none of them have so far this year, Sehgal said, a change he attributed to pandemic fatigue and fewer testing sites available.

"Like any public health practices, if it is hard to do then it is easier to ignore," he said. "It is not enough to say, 'This is something good for you so you should do it.' "

- - -

The Washington Post's Erin Cox, Rebecca Tan and Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report.
Racing TV has unveiled its new, high-end virtual studio, which it says will take its horse racing coverage to the next level.

The channel broadcasts racing from 35 British racecourses and 26 Irish racecourses, and with the new studio aims to take viewers as close to the racecourse action as possible, without physically being there. It will work as a hub by bringing in all of Racing TVs raceday feeds, with reporters at every course, creating a watch together racing community experience.

Built at the home of Racing TV, at Ealing Studios, West London, the studio has been created in collaboration with Timeline TV and MOOV.

It has four zones  a main presentation desk for a panel of up to three guests per live programme; a stand-up position with augmented reality big screen, to integrate data and analysis into panel discussions; a timing information data area for analytical shows such as The Verdict; and a panoramic area for festival coverage and the new home for shows such as the flagship Luck on Sunday.

Adam Binns, director of broadcast and production at RMG, said: The studio will enable Racing TV to deliver immersive and interactive horse racing presentation coverage to our audiences.

The virtual and augmented reality environment helps us to keep the racing fraternity closely linked on an ongoing basis and will be the perfect platform for video-conferencing and other remote tools, which are so vital now. We are very grateful for all the support and expertise which Timeline TV and MOOV have contributed to the project.

David Harnett, head of operations at Timeline, commented: This has been a hugely collaborative project between RMG, MOOV and Timeline TV. Racing TV required a studio that would be flexible and adaptable to allow them to create different sets for a variety of their horse racing shows.

We already work alongside MOOV at BT Sports Broadcast Centre, so we had no hesitation in collaborating with them and relied on their expertise and knowledge to deliver a truly immersive and innovative virtual reality studio.

Added Nev Appleton, co-founder of MOOV: As we enter our 21st year, we are delighted to have worked with the Timeline team to create and deliver such an exciting and innovative virtual studio for Racing TV, which will further enrich the experience for all racing fans.

Racecourse Media Group are focused on expanding the multi-platform presence of horse racing to help grow the sport in the UK and Ireland and this is something the MOOV and Timeline team are passionate about supporting.

The studio uses cutting-edge virtual technology from Unreal Engine and Brainstorm InfinitySet, originating from the gaming industry.

Although relatively small (6m x 6m), the studio appears as an expansive space with four operational areas. Using Mo-Sys StarTracker, this allows for extra flexibility in camera angles, and the types of cameras, even jibs, to be in the studio.



Picture: Tom Aizenberg
Katsina State on Sunday directed the reopening of boarding schools in the state from Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The state Commissioner for Educ...





Katsina State on Sunday directed the reopening of boarding schools in the state from Tuesday, March 2, 2021.

The state Commissioner for Education, Badamosi Charanchi, gave the directive shortly after he met top officials in his ministry, including the Permanent Secretaries and the 12 zonal inspectors of education, among others.

The commissioner clarified that boarding students in the four command schools in the state are to resume fully on Tuesday.

According to him, the schools were Government Secondary Command school, Faskari; Government Secondary Command school, Musawa; Government Girls Command school, Barkiya, and Police secondary school, Mani.

He added that male students in the remaining boarding schools should report at any nearest secondary school to their places of abode to continue their studies while their female counterparts should await further instruction from the government.

All girls boarding secondary schools should hold on a little until the security situation improves, he added.

Lawal said, We want to see that schools reopen and the students back in classes to recover the lost grounds in the school curriculum. At the same time, we are not toying with their safety and we have the assurances of the support and cooperation of security operatives in this regard.

We also seek for the prayers of our emirs, religious leaders, and other stakeholders to make Katsina safe.

It was gathered that day schools in the state resumed academic activities last January from a forced vacation following the December 11 abduction of 344 students of Government Science Secondary school, Kankara by bandits.

Although the abducted students regained their freedom after six days in captivity, the state government directed all schools in the state to proceed on indefinite holidays.

The state government later directed the reopening of day schools and directed that each school established an eleven-member security committee for the safety of the students.

Katsina police commissioner, Sanusi Buba, also confirmed that the security committee would be made up of mainly security operatives, including mobile policemen.
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One year of Balakot airstrike: 'It marks paradigm shift in our operations', says Ex-IAF chief Dhanoa

Its done: The 3.45 am call to NSA Doval after Balakot was hit and Operation Bandar was competed

2nd Balakot anniversary marked by IAFs long precision strike mission

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 28: The Indian Air Force carried out a long range precision strike mission against a practice target at Pokhran to mark the second anniversary of the Balakot airstrikes in which a Jaish-e-Mohammad training facility was struck.

The mission was conducted by the same Mirage 2000 fighter jet squadron that had conducted the Balakot strikes.

To mark the 2nd anniversary of #BalakotOperations, the participating Squadrons carried out a long range precision strike exercise against a practice target. 1/2#NowhereToHide pic.twitter.com/LQTvPv7wQf  Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) February 27, 2021

On February 26 2019, the Indian Air Force hit a Jaish-e-Mohammad training facility in Balakot, Pakistan to avenge the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred.

In a daring pre-dawn operation the IAF took down the training facility that had been mapped by the intelligence years ago. Former officer with the Research and Analysis Wing, Amar Bhushan told OneIndia that while the facility had been mapped over one and half decades back, it required a strong leadership with guts to hit the facility.

It was at 3.45 am on February 26 2019 that the then Air Chief, B S Dhanoa made call on a special RAX number to National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval to inform that the IAF had successfully completed the operation. The NSA in turn immediately informed Prime Minister about the same.

Officials tell OneIndia that this operation was a highly guarded secret known to only a very few. The sensitivity was such, the officer also explained. The same was code named Operation Bandar to maintain utmost secrecy.

Indias strong will displayed during Balakot strike

While there was no specific reason to chose this name, monkeys have had an important place in Indian culture. In the Ramayana, Lord Ram's most trusted lieutenant Lord Hanuman destroys the entire capital of Lanka.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) had done a detailed assessment of both positives and negatives of the Balakot air strike. The report deals with various aspects of the strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camp at Balakot, despite Pakistan being on very high alert.

One of the key aspects listed in the report is about the strategic surprise. It says that the strategic surprise was so complete that Pakistan scrambled its jets only after the Mirage-2000s delivered the weapons package and turned back.

Another major positive was the accuracy of the intelligence and the target selection. The proficiency and the skill of the pilots' part of the mission has been listed as top class and they would be rewarded for the same.

The high level of secrecy maintained during the mission also finds a mention. 6,000 men and officers were involved in the operation and there was absolutely no leakage.

Speaking more about the element of surprise, the IAF said that the Russian Su-30s flying towards the JeM's headquarters at Bahawalpur forced Pakistan to divert its resources and other capabilities in a separate sector.

During the strike, the IAF used Spice 200 precision guided munitions to hit the target. Five of the six designated targets were hit at the Jaish-e-Mohammad training facility in Balakot.

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Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 9:03 [IST]
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2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

3. More city programs. The city must invest more in city programs and services.

4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

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(Natural News) A major international database was launched this week to help study coronavirus infections with the aim of determining how rapidly new variants are spreading among people, whether the currently available vaccines are offering good protection against them, and how long peoples immunity to the virus is lasting. However, the fact that Google had a hand in its creation is leading to privacy concerns.

The new repository was launched with financial and technical Support from Google and the Rockefeller Foundation. It was created by a team of researchers across seven academic institutions in the United States and Europe and launched with information from 24 million cases across 150 countries.

This repository is collecting an unprecedented amount of information about individual cases in a single place. The information for each individual is reportedly anonymized and contains as many as 40 variables, such as the date when the person first experienced symptoms, the date they tested positive for the virus and their travel history.

It was developed after a shared Google spreadsheet used by epidemiologists around the world to track the disease became overloaded; Googles engineers helped write computer codes to automatically upload daily COVID-19 data from 60 governments around the world in a standardized format while deleting duplicate entries.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers said that this type of data will be useful in helping determine how the disease is spreading. Researchers are hopeful that the database will allow them to monitor the vaccines and variants of the disease in the coming months and serve as a template for tracking real-time data from future epidemics.

If such a database had existed earlier in the outbreak, scientists believe that epidemiologists may have been able to verify that the virus was spreading from person to person frequently in China well before the World Health Organization admitted it  something that may have helped stop the pandemic from growing so far out of control.

Scientists have said that expanding the database to an adaptable platform for surveying other diseases in future epidemics would require assistance from a company or non-profit to move forward.

Will anonymized data truly remain anonymous?

Any time there is a public database like this, especially when Google is involved, there are major privacy concerns. Google does not have the best track record when it comes to protecting peoples data and has been the subject of countless lawsuits related to violations of privacy. Although the architects of the project reportedly consulted ethical and legal specialists about securely handling and sharing individuals anonymized data, there are also concerns about hackers being able to connect the data to specific individuals.

Anyone can register to access up to 8 GB of the data on the Global.health database. For roughly 12 million of the cases, researchers have collected data for a dozen variables; a tenth of them have more. It is not necessary to sign in to see the map view of cases, which can be broken down by variant and country.

The Global.health website says it is The first of its kind, easy to use global data repository with open access to real-time epidemiological anonymized line list data. Users can sign in with their Google account or by providing an email address.

Between outbreak databases, contact tracing apps, and vaccine lists, the risks to peoples health privacy are growing as the pandemic continues. In an ideal world, this database will give epidemiologists the information they need to understand this disease, but when Google is involved, the potential for problems is high.

Read more news about medical tyranny at MedicalTyranny.com.

Sources for this article include:



ScientificAmerican.com

Global.Health
Australia's coronavirus rollout has only hit half its forecast target of 60,000 immunisation jabs by the end of February.

Just 30,000 people were vaccinated as of Friday according to latest figures released on Sunday, going half as fast as the government hoped.

Those who got the shots included 8,110 aged care and disability residents from 117 care facilities, the national Health Department figures showed.

Gold Coast nurse Zoe Park receives Queensland's first Covid-19 vaccine from clinical nurse consultant Kellie Kenway at Gold Coast University Hospital on Monday

300,000 AstraZeneca vaccines touched down on Sunday. The Therapeutic Goods Administration will now batch test to ensure they meet Australia's strict quality standards

The federal government previously said it hoped to be giving 60,000 injections per week by the end of February.

That way, about four million people would be immunised by early April.

The actual reason for the dramatic failure to reach the target is still unclear.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the arrival of the first 300,000 doses of the AstraZenaca vaccine in Sydney on Sunday would help speed up the process.

The vaccine, developed by Oxford University, was to be administered to its first patients in the second week of March, but was moved up to Monday.

The Queensland Government has issued a 'show cause' notice to Healthcare Australia for a disastrous mistake last week.

The federal government contractor injected two elderly Queenslanders with four times the recommended dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the Carseldine aged-care centre, in Brisbane's north on Tuesday.

A healthcare worker gets the Pfizer jab on Monday 23 February at the start of the vaccine distribution. Only 30,000 people have been immunised so far instead of the 60,000 target

Almost 30,000 Australians have been vaccinated since last Monday, including 8110 aged care and disability residents throughout 117 care facilities

Mr Hunt said the company was put on notice for termination of its contract.

'The CEO has been stood aside after the secretary of the department, frankly, threw the book at them,' he said.

'What we're seeing is very clear process of transparency at a commonwealth level.'

The federal government is responsible for vaccinating those in aged-care homes - even those homes that are owned and run by state and territory governments.

Australia has 54 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on order.

Fifty million doses will be made in Melbourne through a licensing agreement with pharmaceutical giant CSL - but the first doses are to be imported from Europe.

'We will now be able to scale up the vaccination rollout to our priority groups, including our most vulnerable Australians and to our frontline border and health workers,' Mr Morrison said.

The imported AstraZeneca jabs will be distributed on Monday, depending on the batch passing the Therapeutic Goods Administration's quality testing including to make sure they had been maintained at the correct temperature during the flight.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said 200,000 doses from the AstraZeneca shipment would go to the states and territories.

As the second week of vaccine distribution begins on Monday, a further 50,000 Pfizer vaccines will be sent to the states and territories.

Scott Morrison says a new milestone had been achieved as the 300,000 doses of the AstraZenaca vaccine touched down in Sydney on Sunday.

'This is the next step as we ramp up the vaccine rollout,' the prime minister said in a statement.

Those who got the shots included 8,110 aged care and disability residents from 117 care facilities, the national Health Department figures showed

Scott Morrison has announced a Covid-19 milestone, as 300,000 doses of the AstraZenaca version land in Sydney on Sunday

Most Australians will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine with the rollout due to commence from March 8, subject to the TGA's testing process.

'Australia is in a unique position because importantly this vaccine gives us the ability to manufacture onshore' Mr Morrison said.

'Every Australian who wishes to be vaccinated will be able to receive a vaccine this year.'

Australia started its vaccine program last week with the first injections of the Pfizer vaccine.

When will vaccines be available? It depends on your age, health and job. First in line are the elderly, vulnerable, frontline health workers, hotel quarantine staff, as well as aged and disability workers and residents. That process has already begun. Other Australians over the age of 16 will be then be ranked by health risk to determine when they get the jab, with those more vulnerable prioritised. Health Department boss Brendan Murphy has said it's unlikely people will get to pick if they get the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, as it depends on their profile and category of risk. The government wants the vaccine rollout to be complete by the end of October. Advertisement

The government is rolling out a second $31 million public information campaign with the Covid-19 vaccination program now underway.

'Both the state and territory teams alongside the aged care in-reach teams are ramping up their operations, with more vaccines being distributed across the country in the next week,' Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

The government's initial advertising campaign launched in January focused on informing the Australian community about the Therapeutic Goods Administration's world-leading independent approval process.

'The second round builds on these safety messages and informs the community about Phase 1a of the vaccination program rollout, which prioritises those who are the most at risk of serious illness from the virus,' Mr Hunt said.

'The advertising is important, so people understand how the vaccination program is operating, how they can find out when it will be their turn and answer any questions they have about the vaccines.'

Hotel quarantine, border and frontline health workers started receiving vaccinations this week, but the government has stressed it isn't mandatory.

Mr Morrison said federal and state health officers were monitoring whether to make vaccinations compulsory for some workers.

'Should that be necessary, we would seek to do that on a nationally consistent basis exercised through consistent public health orders,' he said.

A flying squad of 500 nurse immunisers will be dispatched around the nation to vaccinate aged care and disability residents who are in the initial phase.

Hubs at major hospitals will also be ground zero for the Pfizer drug, which is first cab off the rank.

As the program expands, the extensive network of general practices and pharmacies will join the effort - with over 4,6000 practices already been given approval to administer the jab.
Puducherry, Feb 28 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday urged people of Puducherry to give a chance to the BJP, promising to make the union territory India's jewel.

Addressing a public meeting at Karaikal, he exuded the confidence that in the upcoming polls, the NDA government will be formed in Puducherry under the leadership of the BJP.

Shah addressed his first election rally in Puducherry two days after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.

Elections for the 30-member Assembly are scheduled in a single phase on April 6.

Stating that Puducherry is number one in unemployment in the country, at 75 per cent, he promised that if BJP came to power it would bring down the unemployment rate to below 40 per cent.

He pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a slogan to make Puducherry 'BEST' which stands for business, education, spiritual and tourism hub.

Shah also promised piped drinking water supply to every household. Stating that the youth of Puducherry are smart and hardworking, he said the Prime Minister will give them a platform to network with the youth around the world.

Slamming the former Chief Minister Narayanasamy, the Union Home Minister said he was more interested in serving the Gandhi family and touching their feet than serving the people of Puducherry.

He said some Congress leaders alleged that the BJP toppled their government in Puducherry. "I want to tell them that you made such a man a Chief Minister who lied even in translation before his leader. If there is a best liar award, it should go to Naranasamy." He alleged that there is no place for merit in the Congress. He recalled that the Congress fought 2016 elections under the leadership Namasivayam but when it came to choosing a chief minister, it selected Narayanasamy as the party leadership wanted to have somebody who will touch their feet. "There can't be a bigger betrayal of people of Puducherry than this," he said.

He blamed the Narayanasamy government for corruption. He said Rs 15,000 crore sent by the Centre were diverted and the money was sent to Delhi in the service of the Gandhi family.

Pointing out that top leaders of Puducherry were deserting Congress to join BJP, Amit Shah alleged that the Congress is in disarray not just in Puducherry but across the country because of dynasty politics.

The BJP leader also poked fun at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his recent statement that there is no department of fisheries at the Centre. "Rahul, you were on vacation when the Modi government created this department in 2019. People of Puducherry should decide whether they want to bring to power a party whose leader has no knowledge that the department of fisheries exist at the Centre."
TORONTO - Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

Bharat Masrani, CEO, TD Bank Group speaks at the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto on Wednesday, November 1, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO - Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

Mining conferenceBMO Capital Markets will host its 30th Global Metals & Mining Conference online from March 1 to 5. Shares in metals and mining companies have rebounded sharply from the lows of last March at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

TD CEO speechTD Bank Group CEO Bharat Masrani is scheduled to address the Canadian Club Toronto in a virtual event on Tuesday. Masrani told analysts on Thursday that it was too early to declare victory'' against the pandemic, even as TD was one of six Canadian banks that reduced its provisions for bad debt, citing better prospects for the economy.

George Weston earningsGeorge Weston Ltd. will be announcing its 2020 fourth-quarter results on Tuesday. The president of the companys Loblaw grocery arm told analysts on Thursday that discount grocery stores are starting to win back market share after consumers flocked to conventional supermarkets at the outset of the pandemic.

Bombardier updateBombardier will host a virtual investor day on Thursday. The plane maker announced on Tuesday that it was the target of a cybersecurity breach that compromised confidential information related to its employees, customers and suppliers.

CNQ resultsCanadian Natural Resources Ltd. will host a Q4 conference call on Thursday. The Calgary-based energy producer said in December that it plans to increase its capital spending next year by about 19 per cent to $3.2 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2021.
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An Israeli-owned cargo ship that suffered a mysterious explosion in the Gulf of Oman came to Dubai's port for repairs on Sunday.

The MV Helios Ray was seen at dry dock facilities, days after the blast revived security concerns in Mideast waterways amid heightened tensions with Iran.

The cargo ship Helios Ray had discharged cars at various ports in the Persian Gulf before making its way out of the Middle East toward Singapore.

Friday's blast hit as the ship was sailing from the Saudi port Dammam out of the Gulf of Oman, forcing it to turn to Dubai for inspection.

While the crew was unharmed, the ship sustained two holes on its port side and two on its starboard side just above the waterline, according to US officials.

It remains unclear what caused the blast, but the incident came amid sharply rising tension between the US and Iran over its unraveling 2015 nuclear deal.

Israeli media have run reports saying the assessment in Israel was that Iran was behind Friday's blast.

Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the ship.

The blast recalled a string of attacks on foreign oil tankers in 2019 that the US navy blamed on Iran.

Tehran denied any role in those suspected assaults, which occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil chokepoint.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Columbia, MO (65201)

Today

More clouds than sun. Slight chance of a rain shower. High near 75F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies in the evening, then becoming cloudy overnight. Slight chance of a shower late. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.




President Moon Jae-in, accompanied by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leadership as well as relevant Cabinet members and municipal governors, visits the site of the proposed Gadeok Airport on Busan's Gadeok Island, Feb. 25. Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo



The rival parties are wrangling over President Moon Jae-in's visit last week to the site of an envisioned airport that has emerged as a controversial topic in the run-up to the Busan mayoral by-election scheduled for April 7. The Moon government has sought to materialize a plan ahead of the election to build a new airport on Busan's Gadeok Island.



The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) claimed the project is merely an attempt to help the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) woo voters by diverting their attention from the DPK's tarnished image in the port city.



The mayoral by-elections in Busan and in Seoul are both the result of sexual harassment allegations against the former mayors.



The disgraced former mayors  Oh Keo-don of Busan and Park Won-soon of Seoul  both belonged to the DPK. Oh stepped down over sexual harassment allegations last year, and Park committed suicide apparently after hearing about allegations against him later the same year.





An aerial view of the site of the proposed airport on Busan's Gadeok Island / Korea Times file
Whitesboro, N.Y. - The Red Cross is helping four families who lost their homes in a large four unit apartment fire on Clinton Street in Whitesboro Friday night.

A total of 13 people are being aided, five adults and 8 children, and luckily they all made it out safely, thanks in part to a police officer and an honorary firefighter first on the scene.

The Red Cross is helping with health services and financial assistance which can be used for necessities such as shelter, food, and clothing to five adults and eight children, ages 1 to 14. Volunteers will also be available in the coming days to offer emotional support.

Sgt. Jeffrey Kopec with the Whitesboro Police Department is giving a lot of credit for no one suffering injuries in Friday night's fire to an honorary Whitesboro firefighter, Steven Berry, and a fellow officer on the Whitesboro Police Department, Officer Jeffrey Montana, "Since he was close by, because the village is so small, he responded over there right away. When he got there he saw flames and smoke coming out the back of the building. At that time, without hesitation, he jumped out of his car, he was met by one of the firefighters, Steven Berry, they started knocking on all doors letting people know that the house was on fire and they evacuated the first and second floor of the residence and the people had no idea the building was on fire. He went through the front door, you know the first level, he got people out by knocking on the doors and then he climbed up the stairs second floor stairs to get the person on the second floor out. A lot of people didnt know that the house was on fire so they had to bang on the door pretty loudly just to get them out but I know whats going on."

State fire investigators were on scene much of the day on Saturday trying to determine a cause.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the four families here.

Sgt. Kopec says he is just happy no one was injured in this fire right in the heart of the village, "Nice thing about having a village have their own Police Department, and a local fire department, we work together and this example last night is perfect a police department and fire department working together to get people out of the building before anybody got hurt."

The Biden administration will make an announcement Monday regarding Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Joe Biden said Saturday, VOA reports.

"There will be an announcement on Monday as to what we are going to be doing with Saudi Arabia generally," the president said when a reporter asked about punishing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.

Biden took just the one question as he and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, left for Delaware for the weekend. He gave no details.

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Perth businessman John Poynton has made a strong defence of his role at Crown Resorts after the NSW casino regulator put pressure on him to resign as a director over independence issues due to his long association with James Packer.

The Bergin Inquiry made no findings against my integrity or performance on the Crown board or my status as a fit and proper person, said Mr Poynton in a statement that followed his resignation from Crown on Monday with immediate effect.

He said he believed resigning was the right thing to do given the advice from the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) about perceptions over his independence arising from his past relationship with Mr Packer.

Crown director John Poynton has resigned. Credit:AAP

This is despite Ms Bergin specifically noting that my commitment and contribution would be integral to Crowns future success, he said of the inquiry headed by former judge Patricia Bergin into Crowns suitability to hold its casino licence in NSW.
One of the world's most reclusive aircraft is back in the air: A pair of F-117 Nighthawks, retired since 2008, have been seen flying in the Los Angeles area in recent days.

Although the stealth fighters were officially grounded 13 years ago, they've been seen sporadically in the California sky over the last year. The most recent sighting was captured by freelance news photographer Matt Hartman near LAX on Feb. 19. Two F-117s can be seen trailing a KC-135R, an Air Force refueling tanker.
Aurat March Lahores Charter of Demands 2021: Patriarchy ka Pandemic

1. Aurat March Lahore demands the health budget be increased to 5% of the GDP in the 2021-22 fiscal budget with information on allocated for womens and transgender communitys reproductive, mental and rehabilitative health. We demand that all provincial governments release information regarding health budgets dedicated to reproductive health by March 8, 2021, and make public a plan for addressing COVID-19 specific challenges faced by women and gender minorities.

2. We demand an urgent end to efforts to privatize the healthcare system, which is turning healthcare into a for-profit business rather than a public service. We assert universal healthcare for all individuals to be the states responsibility.

3. We recognise gender-based violence as a healthcare issue as it disproportionately harms the physical and mental capacities of survivors and the community at large. We demand massive state investment in rehabilitative programs to manage the long-term effects of the violence.

4. We assert that chemical castration is an ineffective punishment, rooted in the faulty notion that rape is a crime of sexual desire rather than power. We demand it to be removed from the Anti-Rape Ordinance 2020 and passed by Parliament, with the necessary amendments.

5. Considering the increase in the burden of care work during the COVID-19 pandemic, we demand that domestic work, and its outsourcing care work to the informal economy, and womens contribution to the care economy be recognised as labour that is equal to other types of work.

6. We demand the COVID-19 vaccine rollout policy by the NCOC and Ministry of National Health Services take into account accessibility for all classes, genders, religious and ethnic minorities. We also demand that the government release gender-segregated COVID-19 data, including data about the transgender community.

7. We assert that addiction and drug usage be treated as a public health issue with investment in rehabilitation services rather than through a carceral approach that criminalises addiction in marginalised communities.

8. We recognise that willful denial of contraception or access to health services by partners and families is a form of domestic violence. We demand universal access to modern contraceptive methods for all, regardless of class and geographical location.

9. We demand that consent-based, Life Skills Based Education (LSBE) should be part of the primary and secondary school curriculum for children to assert bodily autonomy and prevent rampant child abuse.

10. Forced gender-reassignment medical procedures, particularly against intersex individuals in order to make them conform to a gender binary, should be recognised as a form of sexual and gender-based violence.

11. All individuals should have access to safe abortion facilities, information and bodily integrity. Prices of menstrual hygiene products should be subsidised to be easily accessible to all.

12. We demand the formation of functional sexual harassment committees under the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 in all medical facilities to create a safe working environment for medical professionals. The Act should be amended to include harassment faced by patients and to clearly include public and private areas outside of the workplace under the laws ambit.

13. We demand the transgender and khawajasira communitys right to equitable access to and experience of health services. The state should allocate more resources, i.e. sensitization training, to ensure that the misgendering and discrimination within the medical community are corrected.

14. We demand the state recognize air and water pollution as health and environmental emergencies, particularly endangering the health of the marginalised and vulnerable communities.

15. We assert that designing studies without the inclusion of sex as a variable will perpetuate the ongoing health crisis. We demand the establishment of a public national clinical trial registry in Pakistan, as mandated by section 20 of Bio Study Rules 2017, which meets the WHOs criteria of Primary registries.

o o

Urdu version: https://bit.ly/3qXwWKR

SEE ALSO: Aurat March 2021 Feminist Manifesto on Healthcare
Bethlehems deteriorating Walnut Street parking garage is in such bad shape it may need $800,000 of repairs before the city tears it down.

Currently, the Bethlehem Parking Authority is in the midst of a study analyzing the cost, impact and financial feasibility of tearing down the deteriorating Walnut Street parking garage and reconstructing a new one in its place. It is estimated the garage could need $12 million to $14 million in repairs over the next 15 years if it were to remain open.

As the authority awaits the report from Desman Design Management, the 45-year-old parking deck continues to pose a safety hazard and legal liability for the parking entity, authority attorney Jim Broughal told the authoritys board members Wednesday.

This means the authority may be about to sink $800,000 into repairing a garage it could raze in the next few years.

Authority board member Mark Jobes questioned the wisdom of throwing good money after bad. He suggested waiting for the feasibility study, which is expected in the next three months, before authorizing additional repairs to Walnut Street.

Heres the problem: we have a condition report for the Walnut Street garage. It is not good. It is not good, Broughal said, adding the authority must take steps to protect the public. Now we have knowledge there are issues with the garage and we have to move ahead and get those issues taken care of or weve got to close the garage now.

Its estimated shuttering the garage would cost the authority about $800,000 annually, Broughal said. And the 777-space deck had many permit parkers, who would need to be relocated. The feasibility study is expected to present a plan for the permit parkers.

Jobes questioned if the authority should close the garage and move the permit parkers to other lots, as there is availability due to decreased parking demand thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Both city and authority officials are leaning towards replacing the aging garage because it prevents a rare opportunity to fully redesign a core block in Bethlehems historic Center City. It is estimated that a new garage could be built on 60% of the current footprint, which spans a city block.

Mayor Bob Donchez, who is term-limited, said the city is awaiting the report to see the best next step. If it comes in before the May mayoral primary, Donchez may make a decision on Walnut Streets future, he said. If it comes in after the primary and the Democratic nominee faces no GOP challenger, the mayor said he would work with his successor to make the call.

If the city and authority decide to raze Walnut Street, theres no question that the $800,000 on repairs is money down the drain, but it is unavoidable due to liability, Broughal said.

Parking Authority Executive Director Steve Fernstrom noted that even if the authority decides to replace the garage soon, the planning and design process will take a significant amount of time.

These repairs are necessary to, the very least, to bridge us to where that garage could hypothetically come down, he said.

Ultimately, the board voted to hire Desman to handle the engineering services and bidding for the emergency repairs to Walnut Street at a cost of $58,500. In its proposal, Desman estimates this round of repairs should cost $800,000. The final repair contract will come back to the board for approval later this year.

I hate to do it because I think it is wasteful but I dont know that there is any other option, Jobes said.

The authority board selected Desman over two other proposals from THA Consulting and Pennoni. THA submitted an extensive proposal with tiered costs based on the scope of repairs needed. If the garage needed $500,000 of work, THAs $46,400 fee was cheaper than Desman. But if $800,000 of work is needed the fee rises to $66,400. Pennonis proposal did not outline estimated repair costs and its fee was the highest at $89,900.

About $600,000 was slated for repairs for the garage in 2019 and 2020. That number grew by $298,000 after a survey in the spring identified areas that needed emergency repairs.

A 2018 parking study estimated keeping Walnut Street open would cost $9 million to $11.5 million and about $20 million to tear down and replace it.

The authority on Wednesday board also got a financial update. The authority ended 2020 with a $1.5 million revenue shortfall, but managed to finish the year just $46,295 in the black after making a $500,000 transfer to city coffers.

But the authority expects its final 2020 balance sheet to improve. It received two Paycheck Protection Program loans to help keep it afloat and it just learned the first one was forgiven. Thats $300,000 is not reflected in the budget.

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Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.
Coronavirus fragments have been detected in wastewater in Melbournes west, with residents urged to get tested.

The Department of Health and Human Services has urged residents in Werribee, Werribee South and Hoppers Crossing to get tested should they have coronavirus symptoms, no matter how mild.

As Victoria recorded no new local or international cases of coronavirus for the third day in a row, the viral fragments were found in a Werribee wastewater plant on February 25 with no known people in the area who have recently had COVID-19. Independent testing confirmed the result on Monday.

The detection comes as 75 per cent of Victorian office workers were able to return to the workplace on Monday following an easing of restrictions on Friday.

Victoria had 11 active cases on Monday, four fewer than yesterday, and the state reported 6972 tests had been processed on Sunday.
(Reuters) - Myanmar police fired on protesters around the country on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least 18 people were killed, the U.N. human rights office said.

Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police.

Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after being brought to a hospital with a bullet in the chest, said a doctor who asked not to be identified.

"Police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that  according to credible information received by the UN Human Rights Office  has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded," the U.N. human rights office said.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb. 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

The coup, which brought a halt to tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries.

Among at least five killed in Yangon was internet network engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, who a day earlier had posted on Facebook about his concern at the growing crackdown, medics said.

Teacher Tin New Yee died after police swooped to disperse a teachers' protest with stun grenades, sending the crowd fleeing, her daughter and a fellow teacher said.

Police also hurled stun grenades outside a Yangon medical school, sending doctors and students in white lab coats scattering. A group called the Whitecoat Alliance of medics said more than 50 medical staff had been arrested.

Story continues

Three people were killed at Dawei in the south, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Reuters from the town. Two died in the second city of Mandalay, Myanmar Now media and a resident said. Resident Sai Tun told Reuters one woman was shot in the head.

Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Police broke up protests in other towns, including Lashio in the northeast, Myeik in the deep south and Hpa-An in the east, residents and media said.

'OUTRAGEOUS'

Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing said last week authorities were using minimal force to deal with the protests.

Nevertheless, at least 21 protesters have now died in the turmoil. The army said a policeman had been killed.

The crackdown would appear to indicate determination by the military to impose its authority in the face of defiance, not just on the streets but more broadly in the civil service, municipal administration, the judiciary, the education and health sectors and the media.

"We are heartbroken to see the loss of so many lives in Myanmar. People should not face violence for expressing dissent against the military coup. Targeting of civilians is abhorrent," the U.S. embassy said.

The Canadian Embassy said it was appalled. Indonesia, which has taken a diplomatic lead within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the crisis, expressed deep concern.

Activists across Asia held rallies to support Myanmar's protesters in Myanmar with the rallying cry "Milk Tea Alliance" which first united pro-democracy activists in Thailand and Hong Kong.

State-run MRTV television said more than 470 people had been arrested on Saturday. It was not clear how many were detained on Sunday.

Youth activist Esther Ze Naw said people were battling the fear they had lived with under military rule.

"It's obvious they're trying to instil fear in us by making us run and hide," she said. "We can't accept that."

A day after the junta announced that Myanmar's U.N. envoy had been fired for opposing its rule by calling for action from the United Nations, the foreign ministry announced that diplomats at several other embassies were being recalled.

It gave no reason, but some diplomats have been among civil servants to join a Civil Disobedience Movement that has paralysed a swathe of official business.

While Western countries have condemned the coup and some have imposed limited sanctions, the generals have traditionally shrugged off diplomatic pressure. They have promised to hold a new election but not set a date.

Suu Kyi's party and supporters said the result of the November vote must be respected.

Suu Kyi, 75, who spent nearly 15 years under house arrest, faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and of violating a natural disaster law by breaching coronavirus protocols. The next hearing in her case is on Monday.

(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by William Mallard, Clarence Fernandez, Frances Kerry, Philippa Fletcher)
WASHINGTON - For President Joe Biden and his circle, a low point in America's global standing under President Donald Trump came when he blew up a meeting of U.S. allies in 2018, accusing close partners of "robbing" the United States and hurling insults at his Canadian host.

So it was no accident that Biden's push to reclaim American leadership in recent days has pointedly included a starring role for Canada, as the new administration seeks to woo an array of allies with a message that "America is back."

But it's increasingly clear that Biden cannot simply sweep up the broken diplomatic china and restore the world order that reigned when he was vice president.There is one simple reason: Allies know Trumpism could always come back, either in a 2024 bid by Trump himself or from another presidential hopeful offering a similar pitch.

That has left friends and foes alike with doubts about the value of any new American commitments, given the country's deep political divide and the possibility that the pendulum could swing back in four years. Allies have begun hedging their bets, musing about a Europe-only security force and exploring wider trade with China.

That's even true for America's closest allies, like Great Britain. "The Bidenites say with good reason that they recognize that 'not politics as usual' was the theme of the election in the past few years," Karen Pierce, Britain's ambassador to the United States, said. "It is a theme that they know they're going to have to contend with."

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said "there's no doubt" that foreign leaders now wonder about America's reliability, given the country's divisions and the persistence of support for Trump.

Biden directly addresses those doubts in his conversations with his foreign counterparts, Sullivan said in an interview, reminding allies of a history of bipartisan support for institutions such as NATO.

"The president has laid out a strong case about why that is not isolated to one party or one president, that the last four years were an aberration and not some kind of new normal," Sullivan said.

Biden has spoken to roughly a dozen heads of state since taking office. In addition to recommitting to NATO, the United Nations and global climate efforts, Sullivan said, Biden starts nearly all the calls by recognizing any global agenda for the United States is tied to addressing not only the pandemic at home, but the country's internal divisions.

"That work at home is vital to our credibility internationally," Sullivan said, summarizing Biden's message.

The challenge is clear. Biden has brought the United States back to the Paris climate agreement; rejoined the World Health Organization; returned to the U.N. Human Rights Council; and made moves toward resuming the nuclear deal with Iran. Yet the next president could instantly reverse all those decisions.

Biden is working to persuade U.S. allies that it is unlikely.

"The United States is determined - determined - to reengage with Europe, to consult with you, to earn back our position of trusted leadership," Biden said this month, during his first foreign policy address as president.

Days later, Biden hosted a delighted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - the leader Trump dismissed in 2018 as "very dishonest & weak" - for a video visit at the White House, making him the first foreign leader to be so honored.

Biden has also recommitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization tenet that an attack on one member is an attack on all, a principle Trump had questioned. And Biden has reassured major U.S. allies in Asia that the United States won't abandon them or abruptly yank American troops.

The outreach has been greeted with relief by allies bruised by Trump's isolationism and insults. Trudeau thanked Biden for the shift in style and substance, noting that American officials helping draft a statement about the meeting actually added references to climate change rather than deleting them.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom Trump considered a fellow rabble-rouser, also lashed himself to Biden with a play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.

"I believe that Europe increasingly recognizes the necessity of joining our American friends to rediscover that farsighted leadership and the spirit of adventure and transatlantic unity that made our two continents great in the first place," Johnson said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have cheered Biden's commitment to consulting with Europe and defending it under the NATO alliance, while saying some of the European independence forced by Trump should remain.

Pierce, the British ambassador, said that even in the changed landscape, the U.S. posture is critical to the way other countries position themselves. "It's very striking how American leadership tends to define everything that happens, and without it everything tends to grind to a bit of a halt," she said.

Any foreign leader tempted to anticipate a return to normalcy under Biden was probably jolted by the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol, which dented U.S. credibility as a powerful voice for democratic principles, Sullivan said when asked about the insurrection on the Capitol.

"On the question . . . of whether the United States has its own house in order, has a strong foundation to be able to effectively engage the world, the president's answer is, 'We absolutely have the capacity to pull this country together - but we have work to do,' " Sullivan said.

Foreign leaders were further dismayed that American politics seemed unchanged after the jarring spectacle of insurrectionists swarming the Capitol, said Ian Bremmer, president of the risk analysis company Eurasia Group.

"Most allies around the world are very happy to see anyone but Trump as president - and Biden is anyone but Trump," Bremmer said. But, he added, "the realities of the last four years" have persuaded the global community that Trump was not a one-off.

Notably, several potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates were among those who voted to overturn the 2020 vote. Other GOP hopefuls attended the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, where the agenda included events that perpetuated the falsehood of a stolen election. Trump is set to speak at the conference Sunday in his first major appearance since leaving office last month.

Meanwhile, Biden's plans for restoring American leadership fall a distant second to his top priority of spurring U.S. recovery from the pandemic and the economic devastation it wrought. The administration is now consumed with pushing a massive economic stimulus package through a divided Congress, making up ground on an unusually slow hiring and confirmation process, and speeding up the national vaccination effort.

The pandemic, for now, rules out in-person diplomacy. Even with vaccines and billions in federal investment, it will probably be months before the U.S. economy turns the corner, and months before Biden or Secretary of State Antony Blinken can begin making or hosting foreign visits.

Robert Zoellick, former president of the World Bank and a senior State Department official under President George W. Bush, said Biden is rightly focused inward for now.

"His primary focus needs to be on the pandemic and economic recovery," Zoellick said. "As former chief of staff James Baker said to President Reagan in 1981: 'Mr. President, you have three priorities: economic recovery, economic recovery and economic recovery.' "

Sullivan said the administration sees a global component to many of its domestic challenges, including covid-19. "Not only do we have to vaccinate very American, but we need to build a public health system globally that detects and prevents the next pandemic," he said.

While some foreign policy problems demand urgency - like the push to reconstitute the Iran nuclear deal - diplomats said allies will give Biden some room to maneuver.

"Of course we know this," a senior European diplomat said of Biden's domestic imperatives. "You are not elected by your friends around the world. You are elected by your own citizens."

Biden's global outreach is complicated in other ways. For one thing, he is not in a hurry to reverse all of Trump's policies.

Biden has not lifted Trump's punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, for example, planning to use them as leverage in an overhaul of U.S. relations with China.

And for now, Biden has left in place steel and aluminum tariffs that European military allies found offensive because of Trump's implication that those nations posed a security threat to the United States. Biden is expected to move to lift the protectionist measures only after his choice to be the U.S. trade envoy is on the job.

Biden has also disappointed Canada, America's largest trading partner, with a "Buy American" order meant to keep faith with U.S. workers struggling during the current economic downturn. Canadian firms fear that will shut them out of U.S. government contracts.

Biden canceled a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline project, fulfilling a campaign pledge that Canada claims will cost it jobs.

An evidently relieved Trudeau did not bring up any of that during the brief portion of their meeting seen by reporters. Neither leader mentioned Trump either, or the Group of Seven summit in Quebec that produced one of the defining moments of Trump's hostility toward traditional U.S. allies.

An image from a closed-door session at the time appeared to show a confrontation between Merkel and a defiant Trump. The candid picture was posted to Merkel's government social media accounts while the tense meeting was underway, suggesting someone wanted it seen.

"We're like the piggy bank that everybody's robbing, and that ends," Trump declared later, during a combative solo appearance. He refused to sign onto a joint statement after the summit.

At the time, Biden had left the vice presidency just 18 months earlier and had not yet announced his intent to challenge Trump in 2020. When he did declare his candidacy, he stressed domestic flash points like the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, rather than the U.S. position abroad.

But when he won in November, Biden tied the two together. He told cheering supporters he wanted "to make America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home."
Tammy Hembrow went public with her Ironman beau, Matt Poole, in September.

And on Sunday, the fitness model, 26, was his biggest supporter as she watched him complete the Nutri-Grain Ironman Series in Kingscliff, New South Wales.

Clad in a tan bandeau bikini and white shorts that revealed her famous figure, the blonde bombshell locked lips with the athlete, 32, as he crossed the finishing line.

Going strong: Tammy Hembrow, 26, supported her beau Matt Poole, 32, (both pictured) at the Nutri-Grain Ironman Series in Kingscliff, New South Wales on Sunday

Tammy brought along her adorable children, son Wolf, five, and daughter Saskia, four, who she shares with ex-fiance Reece Hawkins.

The Instagram sensational looked every inch the blonde bombshell, styling her locks out and semi-straight, and opting for minimal yet still glamorous makeup.

Tammy cheered on Matt from the sidelines, embracing him as he celebrated the end of the Ironman series.

Passionate: The genetically blessed couple passionately locked lips as Matt crossed the finishing line

Fitness mogul: Tammy showed off her gym-honed curves in a tan bandeau bikini top and white shorts. She allowed her signature blonde locks to cascade down her toned back

Matt showed off his muscular and tattooed frame in a green Nutri-Grain top and black shorts, and passionately locked lips with his ladylove.

In a YouTube video in September, Tammy answered a series of questions from Instagram fans, alongside Matt.

The genetically blessed couple revealed who is 'most dominant' in the relationship, as well as other intimate details.

Beauty: The Instagram sensation, who brought along her two young children shared with ex-fiance Reece Hawkins, opted for minimal yet still glamorous makeup

Ink: Tammy also drew attention to a golden tan and tattoos on her upper body as she cheered Matt on from the sidelines

His biggest supporter: Tammy has been spotted cheering on her athlete beau in recent weeks

'I think you're the dominant one,' Matt said. 'I go along and I go along, and then when you push me too far, I snap, and you go, "Oh, too far".'

'Yeah, I would agree,' Tammy replied. 'I just think I'm quite a dominant person.'

The pair, who met at an event in Bali, Indonesia in 2019, also revealed who was the first to say 'I love you'.

Making it official: The couple went public with their romance in September last year. They met at an event in Indonesia, Bali in 2019

Family: Tammy shares her children, son Wolf, five, and daughter Saskia, four, with ex-fiance Reece, 25 (all pictured)

'I did, I am obsessed,' Matt said, while Tammy explained how the confession came about after they 'had that little fight'.

'We had a little fight over nothing, and then when he was trying to make up with me and apologise, he told me he loved me,' she said.

Meanwhile, Tammy's ex-fiance Reece, 25, is expecting a child with American model and fiancee London Goheen, 23.

Matt was previously in a relationship with Maddy King - the model ex of Kris Smith.
New Delhi:

In a gruesome incident, two youths were killed and one injured when a speeding truck reportedly hit their bikes on Wednesday night in Wadala, Mumbai.

According to the police, the accused driver was taken under custody and further investigation is underway.

In a similar incident, a NMMT bus ran over a 42-year-old woman from Kopar Khairane, who was on her way to her brother's house at Kamothe on Rkasha Bandhan. The accident took place at Belpada bus stop near Kharghar railway station on the Sion-Panvel highway on Monday.

Read more: Maratha Kranti Morcha : Lakhs of people expected to be part of march

Read more: Mumbai: NRI techie returns from US, finds his mothers skeleton
by Francis Khoo Thwe

The woman killed was a teacher who demonstrated. Demonstrations also in Mandalay, in Lashio (Shan State), in Myitkyina (Kachin State). In Mandalay there are Catholic and Buddhist parades. In Myitkyina a nun pleaded alone in front of the military. The new junta fires the Burmese ambassador to the UN, Kyaw Moe Tun, who has asked for the help of the international community.

Yangon (AsiaNews) - An expectant mother died this morning in Yangon, hit by an army bullet. The woman, a teacher, was demonstrating together with thousands of other colleagues and doctors against the coup and the military dictatorship established by gen. Min Aung Hlaing, and for the liberation of democratic leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.

Police and military used bullets, tear gas and charges to disperse groups of demonstrators in different parts of the city.

Another man, taken to the hospital with a bullet in the chest, died soon after. In other cities of Myanmar there are similar scenes: demonstrations and killings. In Dawei, in the southeast, at least one person was killed and more than 12 were injured, according to local media.

Other demonstrations were held in Mandalay, Lashio (Shan State), Myitkyina (Kachin State). So far there are no serious accidents. In Mandalay, Catholics, along with Buddhist nuns, demonstrated in their thousands, praying the rosary and carrying pro-democracy placards (photo 2). In Myitkyina, a nun knelt alone in front of the policemen, asking them to stop the violence and defend democracy (photo 3).

Last week, Jan. Min Aung Hlaing called on the military to use minimal force to contain the protests. But despite this, as of yesterday at least 5 people had died, killed by lethal bullets fired during demonstrations, or during night raids. The army claims that a policeman also died after a clash with demonstrators.

The duration and extent of the demonstrations and the strike (the CDM, Civil Disobedience Movement, the movement of civil disobedience) has plunged the country into crisis and frustrated the junta, also pressured by criticism from the international community.

Yesterday, the Burmese ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun asked the UN General Assembly for help against the military dictatorship. Today, the new government of the junta fired him for having "betrayed the nation" and "abused the power and responsibilities of ambassador".

State television reported that more than 470 people were arrested in yesterday's demonstrations. It is still unclear how many people have been detained today.
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The music fills my head, and spirits me away. Its eclectic, evocative, a beautiful arrangement of sound.

At certain points, a sonorous instrument plays. It tweezes out emotions beneath the surface of my consciousness, and I feel so sad, my eyes well. Then slowly, the tone lifts and I feel soothed.

This is a deep listening session, developed by a London-based neuroscientist from research into the role of music in psychedelic therapy. Its an immersive experience designed to improve mental health, enhance self-awareness and promote relaxation.

It seems to be working.

Deep listening isnt the same as losing yourself in a favourite song or symphony, although both can profoundly affect how we feel because of the way music works on the brain. (It can spark memories, release happiness-inducing endorphins, help us process feelings, and more.)

The concept is already being used to generate a calming ambience in some hospitals, clinics, even classrooms. Deep listening is constructed to be more powerful than casual listening, creating a sonic environment that can positively change how we see ourselves and the world.

This is possible as scientific research shows that music, tailored to the individual, can act on the brain in a similar way to a psychedelic drug. It can have positive and immediate mental health benefits  whether for patients seeking clinical help for depression, anxious students, or those who feel dispirited.

Neuroscientist Dr Mendel Kaelen is a leading expert in this emerging field, and my deep listening session is courtesy of Wavepaths, the wellbeing company he co-founded primarily to train therapists to use music as a therapeutic tool.

This is possible as scientific research shows that music, tailored to the individual, can act on the brain in a similar way to a psychedelic drug. It can have positive and immediate mental health benefits (file photo)

This month it is launching an introductory version to the public. Remote deep listening sessions (one-to-one or group) will be on offer, booked via their website wavepaths.com, from 10.

Dr Kaelen says: We are studying how we can leverage the potential of music to a degree that it can become that therapist, that healer, that companion people can access at any point to have a bit more control about how they feel and relate to themselves and others; how music can become that agent for change.

Prior to the pandemic, there was a waiting list of hundreds wanting to experience a deep listening session at their London venue, complete with softly-lit room, amazing sound system and comfortable chair.

Now they have created a digital service (an app is forthcoming) and my trial takes place via Zoom. I plug earphones into my laptop and talk to psychotherapist Tom Shutte, my Wavepaths Guide. At their physical venue, he says, biometric sensors adapted the music to the person  and they know which sounds work best with regular clients. They have a curated library of music.

Neuroscientist Dr Mendel Kaelen is a leading expert in this emerging field, and Anna Maxted's (pictured) deep listening session is courtesy of Wavepaths, the wellbeing company he co-founded primarily to train therapists to use music as a therapeutic tool

With new clients, he asks what they need. One wanted to get in touch with his grief, so Shutte set the Wavepaths technology to generate music to suit. But, he says its also possible just to give someone an experience.

Then he leaves me to it. I lie on a yoga mat on my bedroom floor and immerse myself in the music. For a while my emotions have been muted. The pain at all the suffering is there, but Ive shut it away. Like many, Ive kept going and tried not to feel too deeply.

Soon enough, the music has accessed buried feelings. The sound feels as if its lancing a boil. I wasnt aware that this depth of grief was within me. And yet, the emotion isnt overwhelming. Its release feels controlled and as the melody softens, Im overcome with tiredness, almost lulled to sleep. Then it rises again, discordant, and I feel some anxiety. The music changes again  its rousing, and I feel OK. By the end of the 60-minute session, Ive run the gamut of emotions and feel exhausted but calm.

What is going on? Dr Kaelen tells me this all started with his research interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca. He found it fascinating that when these drugs were given to patients, the mental health improvements could be immediate and lasting.

Yet the psychedelic drugs didnt appear to be the key element helping patients recover, rather it was the states of mind they facilitated. Scientists realised that its not the drug facilitating these outcomes, but certain qualities in the experiences people have  such as autobiographical insight, or the access and release of pent-up emotion.

Dr Kaelen noted that during the peak effects of the psychedelic therapy, patients listened to music. In fact, music was the only stimulus that was constant. It became clear that music was not merely there in the background to provide some calm and reassurance, but it had an active therapeutic role, he says.

His research found there was no correlation between the intensity of the drug and patient recovery, whereas the profundity of their experience of the music revealed a strong relationship. One guy had been depressed for 35 years. He said the music drove the most beautiful experience in his life.

Neuroscientist Dr Mendel Kaelen is a leading expert in this emerging field, and my deep listening session is courtesy of Wavepaths, the wellbeing company he co-founded primarily to train therapists to use music as a therapeutic tool (file photo)

This sets a high bar, and while my deep listening session was relaxing and cathartic, I dont feel hugely different. Im a fan, yet I wonder whether listening to Tchaikovskys Swan Lake would have had similar effects.

Dr KAELEN assures me that change can be subtle. We tend to interpret this idea of transformative experiences as powerful experiences where you end up in tears and your life is changed, but it can be subtle  it can be a new perspective, a reconnection with a memory, or greater clarity on a problem.

This can lay the groundwork for improved mental health as our perspective and experiences influence our state of mind. This is because as well as explicit learning, through recalling memories and semantic knowledge, our brain learns by experience, or doing (implicit learning), say, riding a bicycle or tying our laces.

But, Dr Kaelen says: That also applies to the way we perceive ourselves, the way we build our belief systems around our confidence, our capacity to love, or be loved  the foundation for living a fulfilled life.

In particular, we are shaped by experiences with strong personal and emotional significance says Dr Kaelen. And, music is one of the most impactful ways to facilitate that experience, he adds. I sometimes refer to music as a transformative technology because its a technology that changed the fabric of our society, our culture and human nature. It has literally changed our brains.

As Dr Kaelen says, music can be celebratory. It can relax us, but if we think of its roles in religion, its likely that one of its earliest functions was its capacity to change our consciousness  to facilitate an experience that changes us. It has massive potential to change the way we perceive ourselves and the world.

My mood is reset by my session. I feel like Ive had a mental spring clean. (That my family was forbidden to disturb me didnt hurt either.) I suspect its most effective as a process, rather than a one-off, so book another session. Meanwhile, I clamp on the headphones and listen to John Rutters All Bells In Paradise on repeat while making dinner. Briefly, lockdowns ennui is banished and all is well.

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US President Joe Biden said on Friday that Saudi Arabia would be held "accountable for human rights abuses". Biden was asked by Univision journalist Ilia Calderon if he was going to press Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to "comply with human rights", after the US released a newly-declassified report about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The report released on Friday said that Saudi Arabia's crown prince likely approved the killing of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. "I spoke yesterday with the king, not the prince. Made it clear to him that the rules are changing, and we're going to be announcing significant changes today and on Monday," said Biden in response.

"We are going to hold them accountable for human rights abuses. And we're going to make sure in fact, and if they want to deal with us, they have to deal with it in a way where human rights abuses are dealt with. And we're trying to do that across the world, but particularly here," he said.

The intelligence findings were long known to many U.S. officials and, even as they remained classified, had been reported with varying degrees of precision. But the public rebuke of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is still a touchstone in U.S-Saudi relations.

(Image Credit: AP)

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Grace and Frankie star Jane Fonda will receive the Cecil B deMille Award at the 2021 Golden Globes on Feb. 28. The lifetime achievement award recognizes her work as an actor, entrepreneur, and activist. In the latter role, she worked frequently with her late ex-husband Tom Hayden. Hayden is a major character in The Trial of the Chicago 7, which is nominated in the best motion picture, drama category at this years awards.

Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden were married for nearly 20 years

Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda | Bettmann / Contributor

The daughter of Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda grew up in Hollywood and started acting in her early 20s with roles in Tall Story and Walk on the Wild Side before starring in movies such as Barefoot in the Park, Barbarella, and They Shoot Horses, Dont They? Eventually, Fonda became involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement.

Hayden was born in Michigan and got involved in the student protest movement in the 1960s. He campaigned for civil rights in the South and founded the Students for a Democratic Society. In 1969, he was part of a group of protestors charged with conspiracy after the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The high-profile trial is the subject of The Trial of the Chicago 7. Later, he served in the California legislature.

Fonda and Hayden met in 1971 at a protest, according to his 2016 obituary in USA Today. They eventually married and had a son, actor Troy Garity. The couple  who were married for 17 years  lived a relatively modest life, according to Haydens New York Times obituary.

Jane Fonda once said she missed Tom Hayden so much

Jane Fonda with husband Tom Hayden, son Troy Garity, and daughter Vanessa Vadim in 1975 | George Rose/Getty Images

During her marriage with Hayden, Fonda turned her back on the luxurious Hollywood life. The couple lived in a modest home in Santa Monica without a dishwasher or washing machine.

I wanted to prove, to Tom and to myself, that I could do that, that I didnt need to live with privilege, she recalled in an interview with the New Yorker in 2018. It was red-lined where we lived, it was thrift shops and bars and laundromats. My kids were never happier than they were there. But then he fell in love with somebody, and it really devastated me.

Fonda added that she had a nervous breakdown when she and Hayden split up. Still, she had positive memories of their time together, especially regarding what he taught her about activism and politics.

I needed someone far wiser and more knowledgeable than I was about movement-building and politics and all of that, she said. And he had this depth of knowledge, and he gave me structure and guidance, and I learned so much from him that I am forever grateful for. I miss him so much.

Eddie Redmayne plays Tom Hayden in The Trial of the Chicago 7

Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden in The Trial of the Chicago 7 | Niko Tavernise/NETFLIX  2020

RELATED: How to Watch Every Movie Nominated for Best Motion Picture at the 2021 Golden Globes

In The Trial of the Chicago 7, Hayden is portrayed by English actor Eddie Redmayne. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar winner talked about what it was like to take on the role of the well-known activist and politician.

I read Toms work and found as much footage that I could of him, he shared. There were great courtroom sketches of Tom that gave a sense of his physicality  it was almost like seeing him, caught by another artist, revealed something else.

Redmayne did not speak to Fonda about playing her former husband. However, he said he did draw from something she wrote about organizing his memorial with Haydens widow Barbara Williams.

She describes how on the day before he died, he whispered to her that seeing people willing to die for their beliefs changed him forever, The Theory of Everything actor said. She also said how he understood that progressives had to be prepared to take power and learn to govern  not just protest. Those were two statements that I hung on the wall of my trailer.

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Mutant coronavirus strain puts work places in tight spot By Nadia Fazlulhaq View(s): View(s):

Public and private sector offices are taking more precautions in the wake of the detection of highly contagious mutant coronavirus disease strains in the country.

The UK mutant virus strain, B.1.1.7, was confirmed in Sri Lanka in mid February in patients in Colombo, Avissawella, Biyagama and Vavuniya as well as a few people in quarantine. A lab technologists union has said the mutant strain could have spread everywhere in Sri Lanka.

J.J.Ratnasiri, the secretary of the Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government, said it is impossible for government employees to work from home. The majority are reporting to work but have limited contact with the public.

Instructions have been given to heads of state institutions to make sure employees follow guidelines introduced by the Health Ministry, to conduct random testing, and to immediately quarantine close associates of employees who contract the virus, the secretary said.

He said that unlike in the first wave, there was no lockdown in the second wave and institutions have to function.

The director general of Urban Development Authority N.P.K.Ranaweera, said out of all 1,815 employees, those above junior management have to report to work while 60 percent, including clerks and drivers work on roster basis.

Our chairman and his personal driver also tested positive, and all close contacts went through several rounds of PCR and antigen tests. Some were under quarantine as well, said Mr. Ranaweera.

He said temperature checking and hand washing facilities are available for employees as well as for a limited number of public visitors.

Making payments and approvals are mostly done online. We can minimise the crowds coming to the UDA. However, a separate counter is available for those who are unable to access online facilities, he said.

Commissioner of Labour, Prabath Chandrakeerthi, said although an appointment system is available online, this is not practical as people do visit the Labour Secretariat seeking services especially on EPF matters.

About 150 people are allowed, seating arrangements have been made with a one metre distance. Temperature checks and hand washing facilities are available. Random antigen tests are done on employees and transport is given to employees arriving from distant areas, Mr. Chandrakeerthi said.

Motor Traffic Commissioner Sumith Alahakoon, said the Motor Traffic Department continues to provide services based on appointments to prevent large crowds coming to its Narahenpita head office and Werahera branch.

Due to the coronavirus situation in some offices, some sections were forced to close and employees had to self-quarantine. In the head office, one employees spouse was infected. About one third of her branch had to be sent to quarantine. After she later tested negative, others were called back to work.

He said the Hambantota district office was closed for a week and the Matara district office shut for two weeks after an examiner was infected.

Meanwhile, in the private sector, most employees are told to report to work. Only if an employee tests positive, his or her close contacts are asked to self-quarantine and offices disinfected.

A senior official of a construction company in Colombo, said transport is arranged for those who would usually come from afar by public transport.

We are working in batches, with a set of employees reporting the first few days of the week, and another set on other days, she said.

In some private sector companies, all employees are at work and the work space has been adapted to comply with health guidelines.

It is extremely hard to maintain distance in an office. But restrictions in lunch rooms and common rest rooms, temperature checks, hand sanitizing/washing facilities can be done. Some employees even do not wear face masks within office premises, a human resources manager in the private sector said.

Technology firms however, have been able to adapt to the new normal work setting with many continuing to work from home.
A few years back, Jim Caviezel spoke at a number of venues to discuss his new movie, Paul, Apostle of Christ. Rather than shying away from his Christianity or attempting to filter his words through the lens of pop culture's censorship, he passionately urged his listeners to become "proud warriors, animated by their faith" in fighting, and even dying, for the preservation of human freedom.

When he spoke of freedom, he was clear to articulate that God's gift to His children is not the freedom to do recklessly whatever we wish, but rather the freedom to choose wisely how we ought to act in pursuit of moral lives. He answered Maximilian Kolbe's trenchant observation that "indifference is the greatest sin" by charging every listener to "fight for that authentic freedom" that requires us to live courageously. "And with the Holy Spirit as your shield and Christ as your sword, may you join St. Michael and all the angels in sending Lucifer and all his henchmen straight back to hell where they belong!"

It is sadly rare these days to hear such moral clarity, particularly from any kind of public figure, who makes himself a target by refusing to conform to our culture's secular and pagan fascinations. Caviezel has not been seduced by the lie that "good" and "evil" are relative concepts determined by man and man alone. He knows that the opposite is true. There absolutely is "good" worth defending to our last breaths. There absolutely is "evil" that requires us to fight until we can fight no longer. And because the world is right now blinded by wickedness and corruption, those of us who are still free to see truth must work tirelessly to free those around us, too. "There was a lot of pain and suffering before the resurrection," Caviezel reminded listeners, "and your path will be no different."

Your path will be no different. What a tremendously difficult truth to accept. How daunting a reality placed before us. Yet what an opportunity.

Caviezel's words are in my head not just because of the liturgical calendar, but because the attacks on freedom in America since he delivered those words have only accelerated at a pace many Americans once deemed not possible.

It is no easy thing to watch the nation's political custodians destroy America by rejecting her foundations. It is not easy to watch millions of American citizens timidly obey politicians' demands that they destroy their own livelihoods and consent to house arrest in the name of a virus. It is not easy to watch members of Congress join tech monopolists and news anchors in aggressively targeting speech they dislike. It is not easy to watch the Second Amendment under attack by a president who was put into office by, as one Time writer admitted candidly, a "secret cabal of wealthy and politically connected elites" who conspired "to manipulate the rules and laws of an election in order to win." It is not easy to watch domestic intelligence services willfully ignore the violence of Antifa terrorists while aggressively arresting and prosecuting Americans for agreeing with Time that the election was won illegitimately. It is not easy to watch the Supreme Court prove that it is irredeemably compromised by refusing to consider election lawsuits that might expose how corrupt America's elections have become. And it is certainly not easy to listen to Republicans like Liz Cheney reinforce Democrats' fever-pitched lies that "white supremacy," a blood libel rhetorically identical to Hitler's obsession with Jewish supremacy a century ago, is at the root of all our nation's problems. It is tempting and entirely understandable to feel overwhelmed by the madness unfolding in America daily.

Yet what an opportunity to stand courageously for truth.

In contemplating Paul's conversion from a notorious hunter of Christians to a devout follower of Jesus Christ, Caviezel also reflected on the significance of the apostle's name. Before disappearing into the desert and suffering blindness, he was Saul; after comprehending the truth of the Holy Spirit and finding sight, he became Paul. "The name Saul means 'great one.' The name Paul means 'little one,'" Caviezel noted. By "changing one little, tiny letter ... we can become great in the eyes of God. But it requires us to be little if we wish to be great. This is the way of the saints."

This is the way of the saints. What a magnificent and revealing truth. We live in an age of megaphones. Anybody with a computer connection can become a star on YouTube. Anybody willing to collect "friends" on Facebook or Twitter can become famously popular overnight. Anybody willing to stoop low enough or submit completely enough to the cultural excesses of the day can claim more "followers" than Alexander the Great or Caesar Augustus ever had. And anyone who sufficiently bows down to the pressures of political correctness can be rewarded generously by the same political players who insist on determining what is "correct" for everyone else. We live in a time when noise is mistaken for wisdom and "likes" are mistaken for authenticity. Yet the whole artificial structure requires so much conformity to survive that the smallest voice of opposition becomes a threat.

Why is the "land of the free" so afraid of free speech? Why is the U.S. military more concerned with spreading intersectional Marxism and purging Trump voters among its ranks than completing wars that have endured for decades? Why can't Americans question an election without being called terrorists by their government? Why does a company as powerful as Amazon feel threatened by a single book questioning transgenderism? Why must a company as dominant as Google insist on banning interviews with President Trump in order to keep control of the "narrative"? Why must companies with universal name brand recognition such as Disney and Coca-Cola still bow down before false woke gods by firing actresses who question "cancel culture" and subjecting employees to racial indoctrination? Why must abortion enthusiasts hide the slaughter of babies by calling it "women's health"?

Perhaps it is because truth, no matter how small it is made to look, is too impressive when not endlessly threatened and controlled by those who wish to distort it. Perhaps that is why the same people in power spend all of their time demonizing the people with no power at all. Perhaps people with no power but who refuse to betray or relinquish truth for temporary comforts will find that they are more powerful than they know. Perhaps those Americans now made to feel little will remember that humility and courage are the siblings of greatness.

It's as Caviezel pleaded with his audience a few years back: "Set yourself apart from this corrupt generation."

"Stand out."

"Be saints."

Hat tip to Mr. Caviezel, whose entire speech should be seen and message absorbed.

Image: Genevieve via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
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EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU

Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head

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Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman

Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit

Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 16:12:04|Editor: huaxia

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A black-headed gull flies over the Haihe River in north China's Tianjin, Feb. 27, 2021. In recent years, with the improvement of the ecological environment in Tianjin, the water quality of Haihe River has been continuously ameliorated, attracting many black-headed gulls from late November to March the next year. (Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua)
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP)  A northwestern Indiana City Council member and police officer has apologized after photos recently surfaced of him in blackface nearly 20 years ago at a Halloween party.

Merrillville Councilman Jeff Minchuk, who is also a Lake County Sheriff's Office police officer, apologized Saturday on Facebook.

I blame no one else for what happened, it was my decision and a poor one at that. The thing that bothers me the most is, that this is not who I am, Minchuk wrote. I never have been or ever will be involved in any type of racism.

One photo of Minchuk, obtained by The (Northwest Indiana) Times, show Minchuck in blackface and a black wig while wearing a shirt reading Kill Whitey. He is standing next to a person dressed in a white Ku Klux Klan robes. The photos were reportedly taken around 2003.

According to Minchuks Facebook post, the person in the robes is a Black male friend who had coordinated costumes with him. He said they were trying to portray characters from a television comedy sketch by Dave Chappelle in which a white supremacist is Black.

We were all in our mid-twenties to early thirties at the time, Minchuk wrote. My good friend, who is African American, went as the Black white supremacist and I went as the opposite. We thought that switching races for the party would be comedic, just like the shows skit. We were hoping to show people that, even though this is comedy, that we can all get along no matter what.

Merrillville Town Council President Rick Bella didn't respond to requests for comment, including a message left Sunday by The Associated Press.

Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez told the newspaper that he does not condone the past behavior shown in the photos, calling it "disrespectful, irresponsible and in bad taste.
How to Do It is Slates sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. Its anonymous!

Every week, the crew responds to a bonus question in chat form.

Dear How to Do It,

Several years ago, before she died, my mother made a stunning confession. In the course of another conversation, she revealed that my fatherwho had been happily married for 55+ yearshad not had sex in more than 50 years. In his early 20s, after my brother and I were born, my father had a botched surgery that left him completely impotent. It took me several years to process this information. I was depressed at times thinking how devastating this must have been for both of my parents, but at the same time in awe at how they stayed together. Keep in mind that not once in all these years did I ever suspect or imagine anything like this. My parents were never ones to show overt PDA, but they would kiss each other and hold hands and there was OBVIOUS affection. Both of my parents have now sadly passed away. My question is, do I share this information with my brother? When my mother shared this information with me, it was at a time in my life when I was having difficulty in my own marriage. She never said to keep it to myself, but we also never spoke of it again. Part of me feels like I would be gossiping family secrets to my brother if I told him. But I also am in complete awe of my parentshow their true love kept them together for 50 years without having sexand I think he should maybe know this. I have no idea what to do.

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Stoya: Our writer seems concerned about what they owe their no-longer-living parents. But I think the more important question is how their sibling might take the news.

Rich: The cant-unsee factor is crucial.

Stoya: Exactly.

Rich: I think the writer must ask themselves if this is information the brother would want to know on any level. There are plenty of people who would much rather know nothing about their parents sex life. I suspect the reason this is a dilemma is because the writer really wants to share the information. And if the brother can be assumed to be neutral on the discovery of such information, I think its fine to tell him.

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Get How to Do It, the Newsletter Every Stoya and Rich column, delivered weekly. 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.

Stoya: It comes down to whether the brothers life would be improved, unchanged, or negatively affected. And we dont know anything about the brother, so Im at a loss for actionable advice.

Rich: Yeah, this really depends on what our writer already knows about their sibling. Im not hung up on the morality of gossiping in this instance. Gossiping about dead people has far lower stakes; it cannot affect the quality of life of the dead. Gossiping about family is, in many cases, hardly gossipits just living. Family members talk about family members. Also, this information would not be shared maliciously but for the purpose of deepening the brothers understanding of their parents relationship, and so the intentions are good enough to make it morally permissible.

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Stoya: I do wonder if the brother would be nearly as in awe of the parents as our writer is. Sometimes when were deeply affected by somethinga story, a bookwe expect other people to react similarly. And that isnt always the case.

Rich: Yes, while I think this is an interesting story (what happened in this surgery?), Im not exactly bowled over by the idea of a sexless marriage enduring (it happens!). Also, if one of my sisters were to uncover something about our parents sex life, I would very much rather not know!

Stoya: As an only child, I envy the ability to share familiar burdens with siblings.

Rich: As it goes for many things that you cant control in life, its nice to have someone to complain with, for sure. Trading sex stories about people Id rather pretend never had sexeven though that would render me never having existedis another matter all together.

More How to Do It

I accidentally saw my girlfriend of six months being orally pleasured by her dog. She doesnt know I saw her. I dont know what to make of this. We both come from fairly conservative backgrounds and have limited sexual experience. I cant imagine discussing this with her. But I cant get the image out of my head. I really like this woman, and one side of me wants to say its no big deal, just another way to masturbate. But this is bestiality, right?
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris speaks to the media after a number of people were arrested following an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin on Saturday. Photo credit: Damian Eagers/PA Wire

Twins and a father and son were among 13 people charged with public order offences tonight after anti-lockdown demonstrations in Dublin turned violent on Saturday afternoon.

All 13 were charged with being in breach of the Criminal Justice Public Order Act after facing a series of charges, as 12 men and a woman appeared before Judge Michael Walsh at a special sitting of Dublin District Court earlier tonight.

All faced a range of charges, including failing to obey a garda request to leave an area, obstructing or assaulting an officer, and breaching the peace.

It followed a series of violent and distressing scenes in Dublin city centre from lunchtime on Saturday, with gardai forced to baton charge crowds at the southern end of Grafton Street near St Stephens Green that had gathered for an anti-lockdown protest.

Missiles and fireworks were launched at a security cordon manned by gardai, who carried out 23 arrests.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the arrests came after efforts to constrain an anti-lockdown left three gardai injured, with one sent to hospital for treatment.

Mr Harris said far-left and far-right groups were involved in the violence.

The scenes have been condemned by Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Mr Harris and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI).

Anti-lockdown protesters had planned to gather in the city before 2pm with demonstrations organised online.

Gardai prepared for the protests by closing a series of public spaces to prevent gatherings that would contravene Level 5 lockdown restrictions. This included closing St Stephens Green park, which was shut by the Office of Public Works on foot of a request from An Garda Siochana.

Expand Close Gardai come up against protesters during an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre. Photo credit: Damian Eagers/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Gardai come up against protesters during an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre. Photo credit: Damian Eagers/PA Wire

However, hundreds had gathered in the area and other points across the city centre, including outside the GPO on OConnell St.

Gardai from across various Dublin districts were dispatched to the scene, with about 125 uniformed personnel, plain clothed gardai, public order units, mounted units and the garda dog unit tasked.

Gardai said they engaged with people who had gathered to break up and leave, initially using peaceful means before scenes turned violent.

A garda spokesman said gardaI were targeted with fireworks, missiles and spit, as they were forced to introduce greater enforcement measures as a last resort because of continued and orchestrated non-compliance with Public Health Regulations.

Mobile phone footage circulating of the scenes showed how one garda narrowly avoided being caught by one of the fireworks at the bottom of Grafton St.

This led to 23 arrests, with those detained brought to several garda stations across the city.

Mr Harris earlier today suggested it was lucky so few gardai had been injured, expressing particular concern over the garda who narrowly missed being struck by a firework.

It was directed at that individual and so we are fortunate they didnt suffer a serious injury, it was only the individuals quick thinking that saved him, he added.

This was groups working in concert together, as a mob.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin called attacks on gardai thuggish and said those who gathered for the protest showed a complete lack of respect to the people who have made huge sacrifices during this pandemic.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said fixed-charge notices were issued to many of those who attended, as she condemned today's events.

This mindless thuggery showed a wilful and blatant disregard for the public health rules which are needed to help us all and keep us safe, she said.

The AGSI said its thoughts were with colleagues who were left injured.

To see missiles being deliberately fired and directed into our unarmed members is truly shocking and highlights the dangerous and intensive element of policing this part of Covid-19, a spokeswoman said.

A special sitting of Dublin District Court was arranged for Saturday night to bring charges against some of those who had been arrested.

All were remanded in custody and consented to bail of 200, to appear at Cloverhill District Court on March 5. Bail was granted on condition they abide by Covid-19 regulations, refrain from any unlawful assembly and be of good behaviour.
Reporter

Stephanie Earls is a news reporter and columnist at The Gazette. Before moving to Colorado Springs in 2012, she worked for newspapers in upstate NY, WA, OR and at her hometown weekly in Berkeley Springs, WV, where she got her start in journalism.


TUPELO, Miss (WTVA) - The number of Coronavirus cases in the hospitals and clinics continues to decline throughout north Mississippi health services.

Things are improving in the hospital for both patients and employees according to assistant chief medical officer Jeremy Blanchard.

He said there are three indicators that things are getting better in the hospital; how many patients they have, how many employees get sick, and how many people test positive.

"Our numbers have gone down dramatically," Blanchard said. "I think it reflects the prevalence of the virus has gone down dramatically."

He said safety precautions at the hospital are also improving. Employees use electronic monitoring systems to check their temperatures. The screening is done daily to make sure that all the employees are symptom-free before catering to patients.

While the hospital continues to follow CDC and MSDH guidelines, they are also working to educate people about the importance of getting vaccinated. They also want to make sure the vaccinations are accessible to everyone.

"We have two very effective vaccines and potentially another vaccine on the way," primary care physician Vernon Rayford said. "So I'm hopeful as time goes by vaccine access is going to get better."

In the months ahead, Blanchard said the hospital will stay vigilant by continuing to use safety precautions throughout their system.

"As we continue to vaccinate it will be well reflected," he said. "I do expect we will probably get a rise in Covid as we head to Easter, I don't think it will be to the level it's been. Although nobody has a crystal ball."
A 29-year-old woman, identified as Margaret Sam, was on Friday, February 26, found dead in her husbands room at Olebu, a suburb of Accra, with her neck and head tied with a cloth.



Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Effia Tenge, the Head of Public Affairs Unit, Accra Regional Police Command, said on February 26, 2021, at about 0930 hours, a woman at Olebu reported to the police that she woke up and noted an offensive odour emanating from the room of her son, Kofi Aboagye, and his wife, Margaret Sam.



She said on Wednesday, February 24, Aboagye, 32, brought his three children to the mother, at about 0330 hours, with the explanation that his wife had gone out and he was also going to look for job as a commercial driver.



DSP Tenge said since that day, both husband and wife had not been seen.



She said when the police proceeded to the scene, they found flies hovering around the doors and windows of Aboagyes room.



DSP Tenge said the door was locked so the police broke into the room and found the body of the deceased with her neck and head tied with a cloth.



She said the Crime Scene Team from the Police Headquarters was called in to assist in investigations.



DSP Tenge said a hammer and a kitchen knife, stained with a substance suspected to be blood, were retrieved from the scene.



The body of the decease had since been deposited at the Police Hospital morgue for preservation and autopsy.



Efforts were underway to arrest the husband to assist in investigations, she said.







Source: GNA









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A Virginia school system has dropped Dr. Seuss from an annual event to encourage reading as district leaders accused the beloved author's books having 'strong racial undertones.'

The Loudon County schools will shift the 'emphasis' of the annual Read Across America day on March 2 away from Seuss and toward books more 'inclusive and diverse and reflective of our student community,' a spokesman said.

Seuss, whose real name is Theodor Geisel, had been the face of the annual Read Across America day for more than 20 years. A report has accused his children's stories of featuring 'orientalism, anti-blackness and white supremacy'.

Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde B. Byard, said recent research had revealed 'strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss,' The Washington Post reported.

'Given this research, and LCPS' focus on equity and culturally responsive instruction, LCPS has provided guidance to schools in the past couple of years to not connect Read Across America Day with Dr. Seuss' birthday exclusively,' Byard said.

DailyMail.com has asked Loudon schools for comment.

Byard insisted that the books had not been banned outright - and that students could still access Seuss in the district's libraries and classrooms, but that the March 2 event would not 'simply celebrate Dr. Seuss.'

His comments come following a 2019 report called 'The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books'.

A Virginia school system has accused Dr. Seuss books of 'strong racial undertones' following a report which accused author Theodor Geisel, pictured, of 'orientalism, anti-blackness and white supremacy'

American author and illustrator Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904 - 1991) sits at his drafting table in his home office with a copy of his book, 'The Cat in the Hat', La Jolla, California, April 25, 1957

That report states: 'White supremacy is seen through the centering of Whiteness and White characters, who comprise 98% (2,195 characters) of all characters.

'Notably, every character of color is male. Males of color are only presented in subservient, exotified, or dehumanized roles. This also remains true in their relation to White characters.

'Most startling is the complete invisibility and absence of women and girls of color across Seuss' entire childrens book collection.

'In addition, some of Dr. Seuss' most iconic books feature animal or non-human characters that transmit Orientalist, anti-Black, and White supremacist messaging through allegories and symbolism.'

A 2019 report called 'The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books'.

Read Across America Day had traditionally focused on Seuss books, including The Grinch

But since 2017 the focus has shifted to 'Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers'. Learning for Justice is behind the calls to cancel Dr Seuss, Fox News reports

Read Across America Day had traditionally featured on Seuss books including classics like The Cat In The Hat and The Grinch.

But since 2017 the National Education Association has shifted its focus nationally to 'Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers'.

Learning for Justice is behind the recent calls to cancel Dr Seuss, Fox News reports.

Author Geisel has already come under fire for using 'stereotypical Orientalist tropes', according to a report by researchers Katie Ishizuka and Ramon Stephens.

That found 'of the 2,240 (identified) human characters, there are forty-five characters of color representing 2% of the total number of human characters'.

A total of 43 of 'exhibited behaviors and appearances that align with harmful and stereotypical Orientalist tropes', they said.

The Loudoun County Public Schools administration building in Ashburn, VA

Meanwhile, other cultural icons are targeted for 'modern' refreshes: On Friday it was reported that Mr. Potato Head had gone gender neutral as toy maker Hasbro announced it is changing the branding of the 70-year-old figure because it needs to break free from gender norms.

The change - which will drop the 'Mr.' from Mr. Potato Head brand - sparked debate on social media, with many saying toy company Hasbro has bent to 'woke' culture by changing a cultural icon that's been on toy shelves since 1952.

Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde B. Byard confirmed to The Washington Post that they have 'shifted the emphasis' of March 2 Read Across America day to not only celebrate the much loved children's stories 'exclusively'

But Rhode Island-based Hasbro, which revealed the change in a presentation to investors Thursday, said the gender-neutral name comes as societal roles are changing - with more single-parent households and same-sex parents coming into the picture.

As for Seuss, it's not the first time the late Geisel has found himself in the cultural crosshairs.

In 2019 DailyMail.com reported how Geisel portrayed black people as if they were slaves being sold off at a white-owned department store.

He used the word 'n*****' to refer to African Americans and described women as 'insignificant and helpless', book Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination claimed.

Decades later when Geisel was called out on these cartoons he said it was 'just the way things were 50 years ago' and claimed that feminists wanted to 'clean up everything'.

In 2017 Cambridgeport Elementary School librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro rejected a gift of several Dr Seuss books from Melania Trump, saying their whimsical illustrations were 'steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes'.

The White House had announced that one school in each state would receive a selection of Seuss' books chosen by Melania, including 'Green Eggs and Ham' and 'The Cat in the Hat'.

In 2019 DailyMail.com reported how Geisel portrayed black people as if they were slaves being sold off at a white-owned department store

But Soeiro turned down the collection of almost a dozen books, saying in the open letter her school was award-winning and well-funded.

She continued: 'You may not be aware of this, but Dr Seuss is a bit of a cliche, a tired and worn ambassador for children's literature.'

She added: 'Another fact that many people are unaware of is that Dr Seuss's illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.

'Open one of his books (If I Ran a Zoo or And to Think That I Saw it On Mulberry Street, for example), and you'll see the racist mockery in his art.'

Neither of those books were included in Melania's selection.


By Chang Se-moon



Before and during World War II, more than 170,000 women were brought to the battle field to satisfy the sexual wants of Japanese soldiers. Are these women involuntary sex slaves or voluntary prostitutes?



Most enlightened people think this question not even worthy of an answer. The question reared its ugly head again when an article titled, "Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War," was pre-released before publication in the March 2021 issue of the International Review of Law and Economics.



Prof. John Mark Ramseyer is the author. He is Mitsubishi professor of Japanese legal studies at Harvard Law School as well as being known as a leading scholar on the subject of Japanese law. The Japanese government awarded Prof. Ramseyer the Order of the Rising Sun for his contribution to "the development of Japanese studies in the U.S. and the promotion of understanding toward Japanese society and culture." The award was accorded Nov. 3, 2018.



Ramseyer lived in Japan when he was young, is fluent in Japanese, and taught at several Japanese universities before he settled at Harvard Law School.



Ramseyer states in the abstract of his article that the "brothel owners and potential prostitutes faced a problem" in that the brothels needed to offer a contract showing a monetary reward "generous enough to offset the dangers and reputational damage to the prostitute." The brothels successfully offered a contract that included, "a large advance with one- or two-year maximum terms," as well as a clause allowing the women to leave early "if they generated sufficient revenue."



In brief, Ramseyer claims that the women voluntarily selected prostitution with Japanese soldiers because they believed that "prostitution offered them a better outcome."



I have no doubt that evidence could point toward sexual slave hypothesis or voluntary prostitution hypothesis, all depending on how the evidence is collected and interpreted. I cannot avoid expressing my imaginary hypothesis that all oysters have pearls inside, after collecting ONLY those oysters that harbored pearls.



It is futile to argue for or against Ramseyer's hypothesis of voluntary prostitutes, since no one is likely to change their mind after debate. In such an argument, however, we are missing something much more important. Consider my metaphor.



Once there was a very peaceful community with incompetent and corrupt leaders. There was a neighboring community, with aggressive leaders, that was militarily much stronger. One day, the strong neighboring community occupied the peaceful community. The peaceful community was so inept that the strong neighbor never fired a shot.



Gradually, total control of the peaceful community by the strong one was complete. Most men, if they had a job, did what they were told to do to survive. There were no jobs that the women, young or old, could do to feed their struggling families. The only "choice" for these women was acceptance of any "opportunity" to sustain even a meager and miserable life for themselves and their families.



A cunningly vicious guy arrived, pretending to help these desperate women. He gave the women this "choice": they could go to the battlefield to have sex with his soldiers, or they could stay home and watch the gradual death of their family. Some chose death, while others agreed to go to the battlefield to have sex with dirty soldiers. Are these women voluntary prostitutes when they were given only two choices: do what I ask you to do or face a life for both yourself and your family not worth living?



Consider, also, a sexual predator who forces a young girl into a corner where no one can see or hear her. The predator says to the girl: if you agree to have sex with me, I will save your life and even pay you money. If not, the predator threatens to kill her. Believing that the only way of surviving is to accept his demand, the young girl agrees. Is she a voluntary prostitute?



Ramseyer states that derivation of his hypothesis reflects application of "elementary game theory." A game requires players, options available to players, and payoffs to players for each outcome. Clearly, there were players and payoffs. Unlike real game theory, however, options given to the young women were brutally limited by the Japanese government.



Prof. John Nash, who developed game theory and whose life was portrayed in the movie, "A Beautiful Mind," may return from his grave to yell at us for such a misguided application of his theory.



There are lines that no decent human being should ever cross. One such line is to force someone to commit a truly vile act under the disguise of a voluntary contract, when, in fact, the victim was not given any choice but to agree to that contract.



No universities should keep employees in this day and age who develop and espouse theories, under the pretense of free speech, that ignore basic human rights, especially those of the powerless.



Chang Se-moon (changsemoon@yahoo.com) is the director of the Gulf Coast Center for Impact Studies.




PARIS (Reuters) - France and Germany have agreed that people crossing the border between the French region of Moselle and Germany will have to have proof of a negative COVID-19 antigen test in the previous 48 hours, French Europe Minister Clement Beaune said on Sunday.

The French government was eager to keep travel restrictions limited at the border, which 16,000 French workers from Moselle cross each day.

"We have negotiated with the Germans so that crossing the border remains allowed, so that these tests are faster and easier antigenic tests," Beaune said on BFM TV.

Germany's Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases on Sunday classified the Moselle district as an area of concern due to the spread of a coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa. The decision prompted Berlin to announce that Germany would impose restrictions on travel from the Moselle region from Tuesday.

Public transport between Moselle and the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland will be suspended, and commuters arriving from Moselle by car will need to produce a negative COVID-19 test. Police will not set up stationary border controls, but will make random checks, German authorities said.

Germany already has border controls in place with the Czech Republic and Austria and had been trying to avoid restrictions on its border with France.

France has resisted imposing a new national lockdown to control more contagious variants, but has begun to toughen restrictions locally in places such as Dunkirk in the north and Nice in the south.

French President Emmanuel Macron has consistently advocated keeping borders open between EU countries during the pandemic, and clashed with Germany last year after Berlin precipitously closed the border during the first wave.

(Reporting by Tangi Salaun, Leigh Thomas and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Editing by Susan Fenton and Jane Merriman)

On Feb. 24, a drone designed by Marine Drone Tech, a Busan venture firm, to deliver parcels gets ready to fly to a vessel in waters near the city which was restricted from docking at the city port due to concerns of spread of COVID-19. In five minutes, the drone flew two kilometers to a ship and successfully delivered medical supplementary kits. The firm is the first in South Korea to have acquired a business license in drone-dedicated delivery. Courtesy of Marine Drone Tech



South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 400 on Sunday, partly due to fewer testing over the weekend, as the country launched its first mass vaccination campaign last week.



The country reported 356 more virus cases, including 334 local infections, raising the total caseload to 89,676, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).



Sunday's daily caseload marks a decline from 415 tallied the previous day. The figure was gradually increasing throughout last week with some ups and downs amid nationwide cluster infections.



There were eight more deaths from COVID-19, raising the total to 1,603.






The United States regulators have officially approved Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, and this is the third vaccine authorized in the country.

FDA approves Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

The vaccine is a cost-effective alternative developed by Moderna and Pfizer, and it can be stored in a refrigerator instead of a freezer.

The results of the trials showed that the vaccine prevented illness. However, it was 66% effective at the time when moderate cases of coronavirus were included. The vaccine was developed by Janssen, a medical firm in Belgium.

The company has agreed to give the US 100 million doses by June, and the first doses could be available to the Americans as early as next week.

Also Read: New Google COVID-19 Platform Tracks New Variants & Tells How Long Immunity Lasts With 160 Million Data Points Available

The U.K., the E.U., and Canada have also ordered doses from the company, and around 500 million doses have been ordered through the Covax scheme to supply third world countries.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced the news for all Americans, and it is a great and encouraging development. However, he warned that the fight is still not over. He urged all Americans to wash their hands, social distance, wear masks and follow all protocols released by the CDC.

President Biden added that cases may still worsen due to the new variants that are spreading, and the current improvement could reverse.

The authorization of the vaccine by the US Food and Drug Administration or the FDA came after an external committee of experts had backed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Feb. 26.

The results from the trials done in the U.S., Brazil, and South Africa showed that the vaccine was more than 85% effective at preventing serious illness, and it was 66% effective when it comes to moderate cases.

There were no deaths recorded among participants who had gotten the vaccine, and there were no hospital admissions after 28 days post-vaccine.

Overall, the protection was lower in South Africa and Brazil, where the new COVID-19 variant has spread, but defense against severe or critical conditions is high.

South Africa started administering the unapproved Johnson & Johnson vaccine to healthcare workers as part of a study in February. It came after trials suggested that the vaccine offered minimal protection against mild disease from the variant that is dominant in most parts of the country.

The only other country to approve the vaccine for emergency use in Bahrain, and it was given the go signal on Feb. 25.

Since the vaccine will require fewer doses than Pfizer and Moderna's two-shot vaccines, it will also require fewer appointments and fewer medical staff to administer the shots, according to The New York Times.

How ordered the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

The U.K. ordered 30 million doses, the E.U. ordered 200 million doses, Canada ordered 38 million doses, and Covax nations ordered 500 million doses to be distributed to third world countries, according to NBC News.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a common cold virus that has been studied and engineered so it would be harmless once it reaches the body. It carries part of the coronavirus's genetic code into the human body, making it enough for the body to recognize the threat and fight the virus.

Through this, it trains the immune system to fight the coronavirus when it encounters the real virus in the environment.

Related Article: Johnson & Johnson's One-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine Is Effective in Providing Protection From Contagious Variants, New Analyses Show

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sieeka Khan

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Free your minds of any negatives and voluntarily accept without fear the COVID-19 vaccine shots because they are as safe as any other vaccine approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a Ghanaian-born American citizen, Mrs Tina Jacobs, has advised Ghanaians.



She said people who took the jabs were not likely to react to it but stated that even when some of them reacted the reaction would go away in no time, and you will be fine and strong as if nothing happened to you.



Mrs Jacobs gave the advice when she shared her personal experiences with the Daily Graphic after she took two doses of the vaccine in the United States of America about a month ago.



There is no need to panic, my brothers and sisters because the vaccines are safe and there is no ill-motive behind their development. It is simply to save the world, Mrs Jacobs, who is a data analyst with journalism background, said.



Personal experience



Giving details of her experience, Mrs Jacobs stated: After taking my first shot, I had headache but after three days, I felt as strong as a fiddle.



She said although she felt worried initially, she recalled an advice given her and other American citizens about the possible side effects which would go away after a few days.



She said although she went through that experience her husband did not encounter any such effects even though he also had two shots per the requirements.



This gave us comfort and we believed in the fact that there was no need to entertain fears when one takes the vaccine.



Some people have reacted in the same negative way as I did but while some had relief within a day, others had it after two days and some after three days, so based on your system, you are likely to react differently and that is why you need not panic, she stated.



Demystify the negatives



Mrs Jacobs described the negative reactions to the vaccine as unfortunate and unnecessary because it was a lifesaver and not a killer.



She asked Ghanaians to reflect on the negative impact of the disease on the economy, and noted that the only way to bounce back was to take the vaccine voluntarily without fear or panic to reduce the infection rate and return to normal life.



Mrs Jacobs commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the government for moving fast for the country to be the first developing country to receive the COVAX doses.



This makes me recall the Presidents famous comment that went viral globally that he cannot bring lives lost to COVID-19 back but knows how to fix a broken economy, she said.



She said for the President to achieve the vision, he required the cooperation of all and sundry.

On that score, she urged all to avail themselves when the time for the vaccination came.



Education



She urged the people not to leave the education on the vaccine to the government alone but use word of mouth to preach about the vaccine because it was good to preserve humanity and not to destroy it.



Mrs Jacobs said people who did not know anything about vaccines or science were the ones speaking against the vaccines.



Join your government to send the messages out. Help to demystify the misconceptions and use word of mouth to help the education process because it is for the good of all, she said.





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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In Britain, some politicians have seized on the vaccine gap as vindication of the vote to leave. On a range of issues, it is clear that the fulfillment of Brexit has not soothed antagonism toward the E.U., either in the government or among the hard-core band of Brexiteers in Mr. Johnsons Conservative Party.

On Thursday, these lawmakers, known as the European Research Group, called on the government to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol. That is the complex, hard-fought agreement with Brussels that allows Northern Ireland to preserve an open border with Ireland, an E.U. member, even after leaving Europes single market along with the other nations of the United Kingdom.

Under the terms of the deal, Britain has agreed to subject goods flowing into Northern Ireland to customs and health checks. Confusion over the new rules has interrupted some of that trade, leading to empty shelves in Northern Irish supermarkets and fears that the situation could get worse, as grace periods on some checks expire.

The protocol has already come under fire from both sides: The European Union threatened to upend it during the dispute over vaccine supplies, while Mr. Johnsons government warned last fall that it would abandon it if it was not able to come to terms with Brussels on a trade agreement.

The latest demands by the Brexiteer lawmakers may reflect a simple desire to stay in the limelight, having accomplished their defining goal of leaving Europe. But it also dramatizes the enduring appeal of euro-skepticism  a narrative of grievance that British politicians can deploy to deflect criticism for anything from trade hiccups to deeper economic problems.
The former leader of Scotland's government and its campaign for independence suggested the handling of an investigation into harassment claims against him showed the nation was not ready to stand on its own as a sovereign state.

In a direct attack on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, his successor and former protege, Alex Salmond told a parliamentary inquiry Scotland's "leadership had failed".

Independence, "which I've sought all my political life and continue to seek", must be "accompanied by institutions whose leadership is strong and robust and capable of protecting each and every citizen from arbitrary authority", he said.

The comments marked an escalation in a toxic dispute between the two most prominent faces of Scottish politics just weeks before an election that could prove critical to the future direction of Scotland and Britain as a whole.

Ms Sturgeon wants a second vote on breaking away from the rest of the UK and is seeking a renewed mandate in May to exert more pressure on British prime minister Boris Johnson to grant one.

Mr Salmond was giving evidence to a cross-party group of politicians after he accused Ms Sturgeon's government of a politically motivated campaign to remove him from public life over allegations he sexually assaulted women while in office.

He was acquitted by a court last year.

"The failures of leadership are many and obvious, but not a single person has taken responsibility, there has not been a single resignation or sacking, not even an admonition," Mr Salmond said on Friday.

Ms Sturgeon says her former mentor's claims of a conspiracy are untrue and that she is ready to face the inquiry next Wednesday to answer questions on the mistakes that were made.

 Washington Post

 Washington Post


Hundreds of Venezuelans protested Saturday following the murders of three young women last week, in a rally against femicide in the South American nation.

Human rights activists have warned that the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened gender-related violence globally, with independent online initiative Monitor de Femicidios estimating there were 256 femicides in Venezuela last year, compared to 167 in 2019.

Roughly 300 people gathered in the northern city of Acarigua, many holding balloons with the phrase "Not one more", while others rallied in the capital Caracas.

"We are afraid," 22-year-old psychology student Ariadna Gonzalez told AFP, holding up a banner with the message: "Being alive should not be an achievement."

Last week two women were murdered in Turen, a town near Acarigua.

Eliannys Martinez, 17, was killed February 21 after leaving her church and 20-year-old Eduarlis Falcon was murdered en route to her gym a day after.

Both women's bodies bore signs of sexual violence, local media reported.

On Saturday, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said authorities had arrested Nelson Saavedra, with officials believing him to be "responsible for the heinous outrage and serial homicide" of the two women.

Saavedra had reportedly confessed after being turned in by his wife and will be charged with femicide aggravated by sexual violence, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison in Venezuela, Saab said.

The deaths follow that of 33-year-old Carmine Sosa, who was killed last week in northern Portuguesa state in a suspected domestic violence incident.

The attorney general's office has recorded more than 610 cases of femicide since 2017, half of which have been resolved.

Many of the women who rallied in Acarigua on Saturday said they only wished to feel safe in their everyday lives.

"We want to have the same right that men have to go quietly to the gym at 6:00 in the morning, to walk home alone after a Sunday mass, to return home quietly when it gets dark," said Daniela Duran, a performing arts student who spoke at the protest.

Story continues

The 23-year-old, who has experienced street harassment, said such occurrences are "part of everyday life."

"There is no need to wear low-cut clothes, you can go out covered and with your hair up and the men in the cars slow down and pull over."

Venezuela suffers from a high rate of violent crime compared to other countries in the region.

Almost 12,000 violent killings occurred last year, according to the NGO Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia, approximately seven times higher than the world average.

mbj/bfm/rbu

NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) between March 30, 2016 and December 22, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important March 22, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action first filed by the firm.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Walmart securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Walmart class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2014.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than March 22, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience or resources. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 3 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020 founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Walmart knowingly filled prescriptions that were issued by so-called "pill-mill" prescribers; (2) Walmart filled thousands of prescriptions that showed obvious red flags, including highly-dangerous cocktails of drugs, (3) Walmart's managers made it difficult for Walmart pharmacists to comply with their legal obligations by pressuring them to fulfill as many orders as possible; (4) hence, Walmart's pharmacy revenues were inflated because the Company filled thousands of invalid prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substance Act dispensing requirements; (5) the aforementioned conduct would subject Walmart to regulatory scrutiny; and (6) as a result, defendants' statements about Walmart's business, operations and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Walmart class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2014.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

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Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman paid tribute to the late screen legend Cicely Tyson at a virtual event for the American Film Institute.

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"Tradition is that each AFI Awards luncheon ends as one person raises a glass to artistry, excellence and to inspiration, and today, it is my honor to raise a glass to the artistry, excellence and inspiration of Cicely Tyson ," Freeman said from his home in a video posted on YouTube Friday.

Highlights from Tyson's decades-long career then played.

Tyson, 96, died on Jan. 28.

She was best known for her roles in Twelve Angry Men, Odds Against Tomorrow, The Comedians, A Man Called Adam, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots and The Women of Brewster Place.

Her credits also included The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, Trip to Bountiful, Bustin' Loose, Fried Green Tomatoes, Hoodlum and Madam Secretary.

In recent years, she was a frequent collaborator of actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry. They worked together on Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea's Family Reunion, Why Did I Get Married Too? and Alex Cross.

In addition to earning three Emmys, a Tony and SAG Award, she was presented with an honorary Oscar in 2018 and a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
This editorial board has long opposed the death penalty. That position only intensified when, after the death penalty was restored in Ohio in 1981, it was used not for the worst of the worst, but for marginalized Ohioans, those of color, of low-income, those with mental deficiencies, whose who couldnt afford the best of the best defense counsel.

Thats also why, in a 2011 Plain Dealer op-ed, entitled Retire Ohios death penalty, Paul E. Pfeifer, one of the principal drafters of the death-penalty law when he was a state senator in 1981, who was then senior justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, argued for its abolition. The Bucyrus Republican, who chaired the Senates Judiciary Committee when Ohios death penalty law was enacted, still feels that way.

More recently, as execution drugs became scarce, Ohioans were forced to witness travesties where those being executed gasped and convulsed and appeared to struggle for breath before dying -- or were so obese a vein couldnt even be found for the injections.

When the worst of the worst did come up for trial, as in the case of serial Cleveland rapist and murderer Anthony Sowell, the price tag of the trial rose into the stratosphere -- setting a record in Cuyahoga County at more than half a million dollars. And that didnt count the costs of endless appeals and special incarceration required for those sentenced to death.

All the while, public opinion was changing -- against the death penalty. A Gallup Poll in November found it at its lowest ebb nationally in more than 50 years.

Virginia is on the cusp of becoming the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty -- and Ohio, if the stars align, could be following shortly. It should.

A bipartisan group of General Assembly members, conservatives as well as liberals, wants to abolish Ohios death penalty, stoking hope for the end of a punishment always barbaric and provably unjust.

Abolition may seem unrealistic in Ohio, but for two factors: Capital punishment is de facto on hold because pharmaceutical manufacturers wont supply lethal-injection drugs. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who as a state senator backed the death penalty, has said Ohio wont execute anyone until it can obtain the requisite drugs. And while DeWine hasnt said so, it appears the pro-life governor has  at a minimum  doubts about the death penaltys fairness and practicality.

The spectrum of Ohio legislators supporting abolition is diverse, ranging from conservative GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt of suburban Cincinnati, who once served in Congress, and Sen. Steve Huffman, a suburban Dayton Republican, to Sen. Nickie Antonio, of Lakewood, and Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, of Cleveland, both Democrats.

Rep. Adam Smith, a Columbus Democrat who, with Schmidt, is sponsoring a House repeal bill, said that nine people Ohio sentenced to death were subsequently exonerated. He argued as well that death penalty trials and appeals cost Ohio counties and the state millions of dollars.

Schmidt said she began to change her mind about the death penalty after she met with Joe DAmbrosio, a death row inmate freed after he was found wrongfully convicted of the 1988 murder of Tony Klann in Clevelands Rockefeller Park.

According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, there are now 134 men and one woman on Ohios death row. A number, including Sowell, have recently died of disease, including from COVID-19. The last person executed in Ohio was Robert Van Hook in 2018 for a 1985 Cincinnati killing.

Until 1999, Ohio hadnt executed anyone since early 1963. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Ohios then-existing death penalty law as unconstitutional. Then in 1981, the General Assembly passed, and Gov. James A. Rhodes signed, todays death penalty law.

The first Ohio execution in 36 years followed in 1999, when the state executed 36-year-old Wilford Berry Jr., convicted of the 1989 murder of Charles J. Mitroff, 52, of Pepper Pike, owner of the Fleet Avenue bakery where Berry worked.

Including Berry, Ohio has executed 56 people since 1999. Neighboring Michigan has never executed anyone since it became a state in 1837. West Virginia abolished the death penalty in 1965. Pennsylvania executions have been on hold since early 2015, when Gov. Tom Wolf, concerned about fairness and the possibility of wrongful convictions, declared a moratorium.

Ohio is now one of just 28 states that authorize the death penalty (although, with Pennsylvania, Oregon and California, it has declared moratoriums.) Its time Ohio recognize and formalize that the death penalty is unworkable, barbaric, inequitable and unjust. Those facts, and the moment, demand its repeal.

About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization.

Have something to say about this topic?

* Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication.

* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.
An Australian mum has been left mortified after find dozens of 'wood-eating beetles' in her brand new Kmart occasional table.

Jen Bowerman from Beechwood on the NSW mid-north coast told Daily Mail Australia she noticed 'saw dust' in the bottom of the box after opening the new table.

She inspected the table but couldn't find anything wrong so continued to put it together.

An Australian mum has been left mortified after find dozens of 'wood-eating beetles' in her brand new Kmart occasional table

The mother-of-two then left it in the garage a few days later there was more sawdust, this time on the ground.

'When I turned it upside down there were no visible signs pointing to where it had come from,' she said.

The next day there was more saw dust and this time when she turned the table over there were holes in the wood.

'I sprayed it with insect spray and 15 insects dropped to the ground,' she said.

The next day there was more saw dust so she sprayed again and found five more dead bugs.

She then packed up the table and took it straight back to Kmart - and sent a message to the Department of Agriculture.

Mrs Bowerman bought the table online from Kmart and is unsure which store it was sent from

Mrs Bowerman said she will never buy furniture from the popular budget retailer again and said there are 'no excuses' for this kind of 'error'.

'They should be fumigated in quarantine,' she said.

'I have a newly-built house, what if they do damage to it? Who is liable,' she asked, furious.

She posted online to warn other Kmart lovers and said she was 'shocked' to hear it had happened to others.

'I have never heard of this happening before, why aren't these products recalled, how long have the bugs been in there if it took that long to bore a hole?'

HOW DID SHE FIND THE BEETLES? The mother-of two noticed saw dust in the bottom of the Kmart box, she inspected the table and couldn't find anything wrong. She then put the table together and left it in her garage. Days later there was more saw dust, but still no visual indication. The following day there was more saw dust, and holes continued to appear in the wood. She sprayed the table and more than a dozen bugs 'fell onto the floor'. She then saw more saw dust and more holes and sprayed it again. More bugs died and fell from the wood. She then packed the table away and sent it back to Kmart. Advertisement

Hundreds of people commented on the mother's warning post, shocked at what she had found.

'Take it straight back to Kmart, the whole container could have been infected,' one woman said.

Another woman said she remembered a post where 'the same thing had happened with a chopping board'.

'Kmart is really becoming very low quality. It's encouraging me to shop elsewhere,' one woman said.

'This happened to me with a red velvet chair from Kmart. Try to keep the wood in the freezer for now,' one mum said.

A pest controller had grim news for the mother-of-two.

'Please report this to Kmart. This looks like a kharpra beetle and is being imported from China. This needs to be treated. It's very bad for our environment in Australia. They need to call the department to treat them,' she said.

'Please report this to Kmart. This looks like a kharpra beetle and is being imported from China. This needs to be treated. It's very bad for our environment in Australia. They need to call the department to treat them,'a pest controller said

A pest controller said the bug in the picture looked similar to a kharpra beetle - and should be reported as soon as possible (stock image)

On Kmart-fan clarified the border process after many asked how the bugs could 'slip through'.

'For those who comment that something is not being done at the border - to let you know there isn't any 'scan' quarantine can do. And whilst almost every container is scanned for what items they contain sealed retail products entering Australia are not sprayed at all times. Fumigating would be removing every single item from every single box,' he said.

'This comes down to Kmart needing to review their manufacturing processes. Reporting it to Quarantine is the must but I'm just pointing that there is no fumigation on every single thing like many say.'

Others said they have the same table and it came to them 'bug free'.

This is the fourth table Mrs Bowerman has bought from Kmart and the only one with an issue.

She is unsure which store the table came from as she bought it online but is waiting to hear back fro Kmart regarding the issue.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Kmart for comment.

The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike.

We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the opening of the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Hyatt Hotels Defends Hosting CPAC: We Take Pride in Operating a Highly Inclusive Environment

Hyatt Hotels responded to calls for a boycott over hosting the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, saying it takes pride in operating a highly inclusive environment.

We take pride in operating a highly inclusive environment and we believe that the facilitation of gatherings is a central element of what we do as a hospitality company, a spokesperson for the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Florida told news outlets. CPAC is slated to end on Sunday, Feb. 28, after hosting its annual gathering of conservative political activists, speakers, students, and elected officials.

We believe in the right of individuals and organizations to peacefully express their views, independent of the degree to which the perspectives of those hosting meetings and events at our hotels align with ours, Hyatts statement continued. Our own values support a culture that is characterized by empathy, respect, and diversity of opinions and backgrounds, and we strive to bring this to light through what we do and how we engage with those in our care.

Hyatt received criticism, particularly on Twitter, for hosting the eventapparently because its a conservative-leaning eventwith some claiming it promotes white supremacy. Some also claimed that CPAC would become a super-spreader COVID-19 event. The hashtag #boycottHyatt trended for a period of time on Saturday.

On various random Twitter posts from Hyatt, Twitter users attempted to criticize the chain for hosting the event.

On its final day on Sunday, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to make an appearance and deliver a speech, potentially setting the stage for a second run for president in 2024.

Trump senior adviser Jason Miller stated that the former president will express his concerns about the direction President Joe Biden has taken since coming into office. Biden has faced blowback, including court challenges, for taking numerous executive actions to reverse Trump administration policies aimed at boosting the economy and strengthening border security.

Trump will focus on issues such as the amnesty push for illegal immigrants, the halting of the border wall construction, and the blocking of the Keystone XL Pipeline, Miller said.

The focus here, really, is the exact things the president predicted would happen if Joe Biden were to be elected president on the policy end have already started to happen, Miller told Mediaite founder Dan Abrams in a radio interview on Thursday.

CPAC is usually hosted in Washington D.C., but because of COVID-19 rules, the conference moved to Florida.

Janita Kan contributed to this report.
Reporter

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).
New Delhi: A surge in coronavirus cases in six states on Sunday (February 28) have contributed to a sharp rise in the number of new cases reported in India within the last 24 hours adding to nearly 86.37% of the fresh infections in the country.

The Centre confirmed the development in a press release naming Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab and Karnataka as the six states witnessing a rise in new COVID-19 cases.

Kerala, #Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, TN & Gujarat continue to report upsurge in #COVID Cases Centre advises States to maintain Strict Vigil, undertake measures for Effective Containment High Level central teams rushed to States/UTs witnessing spikehttps://t.co/pNkeao23ul pic.twitter.com/eBin7aAGq4  PIB in Maharashtra (@PIBMumbai) February 28, 2021

Meanwhile, on February 27 the cabinet secretary chaired a high-level review meeting with States/UTs who have registered a surge in cases which include Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, MP, Gujarat, Punjab, J&K and West Bengal.

The Centre has also deputed high-level multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir (UT) to ascertain the reasons for the spike in new infections.

Indias active caseload on Sunday was at 1,64,511. In the last 24 hours the country registered 16,752 new cases.

Maharashtra continued to report the highest daily new cases among all states with 8,623, followed by Kerala with 3,792 new cases. Punjab is next on the list with 593 new cases.
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The United Workers Union, which represents many of the casino workers on-site, was told of the underpayments only after the inquiries by The Age. The unions casinos director Dario Mujkic said the underpayments were of concern. Ombudsman Sandra Parker said they are under pressure from the number of underpayment cases Credit:Jason South Initial discussions with Crown indicate that these underpayments primarily affect the parts of their workforce that are not covered by union collective agreements, he said. If any of our members are impacted by this we will expect any monies owed repaid in full and quickly. The risk of underpaying workers is best avoided when those workers have a union agreement and are educated about their rights and entitlements through their union. The Fair Work Ombudsman, which has been swamped by underpayment cases in recent years, confirmed the investigation and said Crown had self-reported.

We expect any employers that identify non-compliance to report to the FWO and fully cooperate with our investigation to ensure that employees are quickly repaid any outstanding entitlements, the spokeswoman said. Any workers with concerns about their pay should contact us directly for assistance. The Crown underpayments come amid an ongoing inquiry into wage theft by a Senate economics committee with one day of hearings held last September. Another two days of hearings are scheduled in March. Appearing before that inquiry, Ombudsman Sandra Parker said her organisation had been forced to redeploy staff due to the surge in the number of big corporates under investigation. We are under some pressure, she said. Weve been under pressure because of the re-focusing of our work, if you like, on the corporate sector underpayments. Investigations by The Age have exposed underpayments at dozens of businesses, including at Coles, McDonalds, 7-Eleven, at large franchises, high-profile restaurants and on farms. Last June, the Victorian Parliament passed legislation to make deliberate underpayment of wages a crime. The new laws do not come into effect until mid-2021.
Protecting home rule and local decision-making in education, zoning and property taxes is more important than ever due to recent legislative proposals coming out of Hartford that transfer decision-making from our towns to the state. Instead of top-down, one-size-fits-all mandates that take away local control, lets address the real problem, which includes our cities failing, people exiting Connecticut at a rapid pace and the continuous brain drain of recent college graduates not moving back to Connecticut. State leaders need to be addressing these problems together with real solutions for a more prosperous Connecticut instead of attacking municipalities that have managed their towns responsibly.

Without question, every child in this state deserves a first-rate education that allows them to succeed.

Many city schools receive substantial state funding to supplement their local tax-funded education spending. Yet their students are still struggling. Isnt it time to address these concerns to improve underperforming public schools? Alternative options should be made available to parents in these districts, such as charter schools and school choice. Just moving a small percentage of students out of underperforming districts to more successful ones does not improve access to quality education and sweeps the larger problem under the rug.

The inner-city education crisis has been on full display in New Haven throughout the pandemic with New Haven schools on a full remote schedule through January. How can this happen and where were the advocates for the children as many children were falling off the radar screen and not checking into school on a daily basis? Legislators should be discussing this as this educational crisis will have a long-term impact.

We need to encourage charter schools (a majority of children of charter schools are composed of diverse backgrounds); theyre underfunded and its a mere line item on a budget so funding is always at risk. Connecticut could look to New York state as a road map for funding stability and a successful charter school system.

Another option would be to institute the follow the child method of funding education. In essence, students are assigned a certain amount per year for their education and that amount is paid to the school they choose to attend. Along with saving substantial amounts of taxpayer money, this approach would also offer an incentive for schools to provide a better education to their students in order to retain the funding each child would carry with him or her.

Jobs and economic growth

Connecticut needs to grow our urban centers as well as the entire state economy  there is no net new job growth in the state since 2000. Creating an environment that is conducive to job growth will do more for our low to moderate income earners then top-down zoning mandates in the suburbs.

One-party rule in Hartford and urban centers results in a lack of accountability and only one set of solutions.

Connecticuts businesses and manufacturers have consistently raised concerns about the states hostile climate for industry, created by the significant tax and regulatory burdens placed on small and large corporations. Lets address this so we can have real job growth in our urban centers and provide incentives for encouraging job growth in our urban centers and within close proximity to mass transit.

Our economic growth strategy must include stronger support for our cities, but the state needs to tie greater economic development support (i.e., state funding) to accountability and structural fiscal changes in each city that receives such funding (Hartford has agreed to some of this with moderate success.)

Just throwing more money at the problem has not worked and many big city mayors may welcome this behind closed doors as they understand such fiscal reforms are needed, but the political reality of enacting such reforms would be near impossible to enact at the municipal level and would likely lead to electoral defeat in a Democratic primary.

Housing

Connecticut has one of the worst housing markets in the U.S. over the past 30 years. The Connecticut housing market is undergoing a short-term positive bump due to the COVID pandemic, but this is not sustainable. There is not a housing shortage as the population and housing values have been stagnant. The real issue is the lack of economic activity and educational opportunity as people of means move out of our urban centers and poverty increases with a lack of economic activity.

We also need to revisit income restrictions on urban housing. This well-intentioned policy leads to concentrated poverty and discourages urban gentrification as we seek to rebuild our urban centers with a more diverse housing stock that can attract millennials, retirees, etc.

Property taxes

The recently proposed statewide property tax is a bad idea as Connecticut is already overtaxed. This proposal also hurts renters and Fairfield County, which is the economic engine for the state.

A better approach is to implement a property tax cap, which has shown to be successful in New York and Massachusetts, reduce government spending and reign in overly generous public employee benefits.

Connecticut and our urban centers have seen stagnant growth since 2000. Top-down solutions that transfer power from our towns to the state is not going to fix this. Only by reinvesting in our urban centers in a new way, encouraging job growth and greater accountability in our school systems will real change and reform be possible.

Brian Farnen represented Fairfield in the state House of Representatives from 2020 to 2021.
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A tweet from Sinn Fein MP Chris Hazzard expressing solidarity with China has prompted a backlash.

On Saturday the South Down MP tweeted that it was "great to see President Xi has announced the end of absolute poverty in China this week".

"China has spent more than 1.6trillion in this historic endeavour including 10million new homes & 25million renovated homes," the tweet read.

"Xi has vowed now to eradicate health inequalities #Solidarity."

Great to see President Xi has announced the end of absolute poverty in China this week



China has spent more than A1.6trillion in this historic endeavour including 10million new homes & 25million renovated homes



Xi has vowed now to eradicate health inequalities #Solidarity pic.twitter.com/dCwEpLWs8A  Chris Hazzard (@ChrisHazzardSF) February 27, 2021

Mr Hazzard's tweet drew a large backlash critical of his decision to show support for the oppressive Chinese regime, which has been accused of a litany of human rights abuses.

The country's communist leadership have been accused of conducting a campaign of genocide against the Uighurs (also spelt Uyghur), a Muslim minority group which lives in the Xinjiang region.

China's government has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Boris Johnson described China's treatment of the Uighurs as "appalling".

"We're leading international action in the UN to hold China to account and will continue to work with the US friends and partners around the world to do just that," he said.

Expand Close Uighurs and Tibetan people demonstrate against China (Salvatore di Nolfi/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Uighurs and Tibetan people demonstrate against China (Salvatore di Nolfi/AP)

Speaking earlier this month US President Biden said there would be repercussions for China as a result of its human rights abuses.

Mr Hazzard's tweet drew criticism from across the political spectrum.

In response a Sinn Fein spokesperson said the party was "opposed to the suppression of any ethnic or religious grouping on the basis of their culture or belief system".

SDLP South Belfast MP Claire Hanna said she had a "genuine question" for the Sinn Fein leadership following the tweet.

"Does this solidarity extend to the Uyghurs who are experiencing egregious human rights abuses, including concentration camps and forced sterilisation, at the hands of the government," she said.

Alliance Party MP Stephen Farry noted the tweet came at a time when "in Parliament, there is an ongoing battle to ensure that there is a robust amendment to the Trade Bill covering genocide, with the Uyghur people uppermost in our thoughts. More key votes expected this week".

Former Labour MP Baroness Hoey wrote: "Is this a parody account? Unbelievable."

Amnesty International UK's Northern Ireland Programme Director Patrick Corrigan said that his solidarity was "with the Uighur and Kazakh Muslims of Xinjiang, a million of whom have been put in mass internment camps for re-education at Xis direction".

His Amnesty colleague Grainne Teggart asked if Mr Hazzard had "any comment on egregious human rights abuses? Draconian national security law? The internment and persecution of 1 million Uighur and Kazakh Muslims? The list goes on".

Fianna Fail Senator Malcolm Byrne said Sinn Fein had once again reiterated their support for the Chinese Communist Party.

"The oppression of minorities and the abuse of human rights is unacceptable," he said.

Green Party Belfast councillor Brian Smyth said the Chinese regime were "also doing their best to eradicate the Uighurs. More than a million men and women held in concentration camps for supposed re-education".

The Chinese Embassy in Ireland also responded to Mr Hazzard's tweet, quoting former South African President Nelson Mandela saying overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life".

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said: "The campaign against the Uighurs in China is a gross breach of human rights".

"Sinn Fein has raised our concerns with the Irish government and with the Chinese Ambassador," the spokesperson said.

"Sinn Fein will continue to campaign to highlight the plight of those who face persecution, are subject to coercion in any form and continue to be denied basic human rights.

Citizens

Savings Bank

Lori Keller recently joined the bank in the position of vice president, mortgage lending manager and underwriter.

Keller brings a wealth of residential mortgage loan underwriting and processing experience from her many years in the mortgage industry. Before joining the bank, she was employed as a mortgage underwriter at a local financial institution.

Keller has completed extensive training in the underwriting and processing of qualified residential mortgages for secondary market loans to include FNMA, FHA, VA and USDA/RHS in addition to mortgage insurance requirements (PMI).

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Lee Dillon, former manager of Mount Pisgah State Park, Bradford County, was appointed to manage the Tobyhanna State Park Complex, based in Monroe and Wayne counties.

Stationed in Tobyhanna at Tobyhanna State Park, Dillon will manage its 5,440 acres, as well as the 170-acre Tobyhanna Lake. He will also oversee 2,800 acres and the 250-acre Gouldsboro Lake in Gouldsboro State Park, also in Monroe and Wayne counties.

The complex includes Big Pocono State Park, Monroe County. That park consists of 1,306 acres of rugged terrain on the summit and tops of the downhill ski slopes of Camelback Mountain, where Camelback Mountain Resort maintains the facilities.

FNCB Bank

James F. Burke has been appointed executive vice president, chief banking officer.

Burke will be responsible for the oversight of the commercial lending, retail lending and retail banking units.

He joins the bank with more than 27 years of managerial and sales experience in banking. Most recently he served as the executive vice president, chief lending officer at Wayne Bank, where he was responsible for the overall sales, service and operations of the commercial banking division in Pennsylvania and New York.

He currently serves as vice chair of the Jay S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership Executive Advisory Board at Wilkes University.

Honesdale National Bank

Greg Gula has been promoted to vice president, chief credit officer.

Before the promotion, Gula served as vice president, credit administration manager, managing credit-related services to facilitate needs of bank employees and customers.

Gula began his career with the bank in 2010, and he will continue to mitigate the distribution of bank loans along with other tasks surrounding loan portfolio management in the department.

Gula is a graduate of West Scranton High School and attended Penn State University.

Lenahan & Dempsey PC

Attorney Alan P. Schoen of the law firm has been notified by the National Trial Lawyers Association that he has been named one of the Top 25 Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania. Schoen is also listed as a Top 100 Personal Injury Trial Lawyer by the NTLA. Schoen is a past president of the Northeast Pa. Trial Lawyers Association. He focuses his practice on assisting the injured and their families. His areas of professional interest include motor vehicle and truck collision cases, slip and fall, workers compensation and Social Security disability, among others.

Rosenn Jenkins & Greenwald LLP

Jim Valentine and Kieran Casey, attorneys with the law firms labor and employment department, presented a virtual seminar titled Discipline During the COVID-19 Pandemic for NEPA Society for Human Resource Management on Feb. 16.

They addressed the impact that the pandemic continues to have on workplaces, both on-site and remote, and the issues confronting employers in disciplining employees during the pandemic.

They also discussed managing other conduct that may be linked to COVID-19, such as the necessity for employees to meet employer safety protocols.

Valentine and Casey made recommendations for handling pandemic-related discipline and described policies that employers should establish.

Scartelli Olszewski PC

The law firm announced attorney Rachel D. Olszewski has joined as an associate attorney.

Olszewskis primary areas of practice will include criminal defense, personal injury and medical malpractice.

She is a 2017 graduate of Pennsylvania State University, University Park, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in labor and employment relations and minors in history and womens studies. Olszewski graduated from Syracuse University College of Law in 2020.

She is following in the footsteps of her grandfather, the late Honorable Peter Paul Olszewski Sr., and her father, the Honorable Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. (retired).

Scranton- Lackawanna Human

Development Agency Inc.

Dorothy J. Grill, Ph.D., job resource training officer for SLHDAs Workforce Initiative Program, was accepted to present at the 2021 National Adult Education Conference on workforce development training partnerships with adult education, which is taking place March 21-24.

Grills presentation is called Creating the Workforce of Tomorrow: Partnering with Workforce Programs to Bridge the Opportunity Gap.
Former newspaper editor Roy Greenslade has revealed his secret support for Irish republicanism and the extreme violence used by paramilitary forces - prompting a harsh backlash from media peers.

Mr Greenslade, who held various positions on Fleet Street titles, including the editorship of the Daily Mirror, also confirmed he is a member of Sinn Fein.

During the conflict that gripped Northern Ireland, most of the mainstream British press was united in condemning the barbaric violence of the IRA - whose death toll includes hundreds of civilians.

Mr Greenslade said his sympathies with the republican cause developed in the 1970s when he was working as a journalist - but kept his views to himself for fear of being sacked.

He is married to Noreen Taylor, the former Daily Mirror journalist and mother of actress Natascha McElhone. He describes Noreen, born in Donegal and raised in a part of Glasgow where 'everyone seemed to hail from her county', as having been 'imbued with a republican spirit'.

Now deciding to 'come out of hiding', he has made a full-throated justification for the murderous atrocities carried out by the IRA during the Troubles.

He said: 'I came to accept that the fight between the forces of the state and a group of insurgents was unequal and therefore could not be fought on conventional terms. In other words, I supported the use of physical force.'

Critics have now blasted Mr Greenslade's endorsement of paramilitary murderers.

One journalist wrote: 'Roy Greenslade taught me ''journalism ethics'' at City Uni which I found pretty strange as I thought the whole ''don't murder people'' was a pretty basic part of ethics.'

Meanwhile Lord Tebbit, whose wife Margaret was left permanently disabled by an IRA bomb at the Conservative Party's 1984 conference in Brighton, told the Sunday Times: 'I presume that the extension of his argument is that those who disagree with him are entitled to kill him.'

Former newspaper editor Roy Greenslade has revealed his burning support for Irish republicanism and the extreme violence used by paramilitary forces

Police officers and firefighters inspecting the damage caused by a Real IRA bomb explosion in Market Street, Omagh, 1998

Mr Greenslade (right) is married to Noreen Taylor (left), the former Daily Mirror journalist and mother of actress Natascha McElhone (centre, pictured in 1988)

Left to right: George Clooney, actress Natasha McElhone and director Steven Soderbergh arrive for the UK charity film premiere of their new film Solaris at the Electric Cinema in London's Portobello Road, 13 February 2003

The Financial Times' Whitehall Editor Sebastian Payne said: 'As a former student of Roy Greenslade, this makes me feel deeply sick.'

Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie said: 'I always knew Roy Greenslade was a s***. I didn't know he was a pro violence IRA supporting s***.

'In the Sunday Times he reveals that while working for me at The Sun, editing the Mirror and being a media critic he backed IRA scum killing our people. A complete c***.'

He added: 'So while trying to attract readers as editor of the Daily Mirror Roy Greenslade didn't care that the IRA would kill a few. What a vile duplicitous scumbag he is. And still City University keep him on as a media professor. They are as bad.'

Noreen Taylor and Roy Greenslade, 2014

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Greenslade revealed how while working on the sub-editors' desk at The Sun, he fell in love with now-wife Noreen.

He writes: 'Soon after we met, I accompanied her one Saturday while she sold a paper produced by a small left-wing Irish group, Clann na hEireann, in the pubs of Kilburn.'

Mr Greenslade later adds: 'As for so many in Ireland, Bloody Sunday was a turning point for me. We joined a demonstration in Whitehall the following Saturday with the ambition of embarrassing the prime minister, Ted Heath, by placing 13 coffins on the doorstep of No 10.

'Although there were no gates to Downing Street in those days, the authorities were not going to allow it and a riot broke out. We got right up to the police lines and Noreens glasses were broken by a wayward blow from a truncheon.'

He then goes on to admit that he 'came to accept' that the 'fight between the forces of the state and a group of insurgents was unequal and therefore could not be fought on conventional terms'.

Alan Sked, emeritus professor of international history at LSE, called Greenslade a 'contemptible hypocrite'.

Kate Bevan said: 'I've just read Roy Greenslade's piece and now I feel quite sick. It's a grotesque piece, devoid of any thought of our sympathy for the victims of the violent s***s he cheers on.'

One social media user said: 'As someone with relatives who spent years on IRA hit lists, and whose parents and grandparents lost friends to IRA bombs, that utterly deplorable Roy Greenslade piece is a good reminder of the British hard lefts blood lust and moral bankruptcy over Northern Ireland.'

Pictured: Aftermath of a terrorist attack in Belfast's city centre. Mr Greenslade said his sympathies with the republican cause developed in the 1970s when he was working as a journalist - but kept his views to himself for fear of being sacked

Critics have now blasted Mr Greenslade's endorsement of paramilitary murderers

Journalist Etan Smallman said: 'My @cityjournalism cohort had to endure weekly journalistic ethics lectures from Roy Greenslade. I'm told he is still doing them, now once a term.

'You might think that advocating mass murder would make that untenable...'

Mr Greenslade, 74, recalled keeping his opinions closely guarded so not to fall out of favour with his newspaper bosses.

Writing in the British Journalism Review, he said: 'I knew that to own up to supporting Irish republicans would result in me losing my job...

'I needed a wage because I was on the verge of taking on a mortgage. Better, then, to button my lip and carry on.'

He added: 'However much I believed its tactics to be valid, I could not hope to convince colleagues that the killing of civilians, albeit by accident, was justifiable.'

The ex-editor said he employed 'journalistic entryism' whereby he 'worked as required by my employers while holding polar opposite political views'.

Mr Greenslade also confirmed acting as a bail guarantor for IRA member John Downey, who was accused of participating in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing of the Queen's Household Cavalry which killed four soldiers and seven horses

Mr Greenslade (pictured with his wife in 2001) who is now emeritus professor of journalism at City University, has previously been linked with Irish republicanism

He said it became increasingly difficult not to express his views as the conflict developed into the 1980s.

'I was outraged by the way the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, handled the hunger strike in which 10 prisoners fasted to death in protest against her governments withdrawal of special category status.

'Above my desk, I put up a photo of the first of the 10 to die, Bobby Sands, and it has remained there ever since. I regard him as a hero, as I do all of them.'

Mr Greenslade, who is now emeritus professor of journalism at City University, has previously been linked with Irish republicanism.

In 2008, one of his former Guardian colleagues revealed he had written articles for Sinn Fein newspaper An Phoblacht in the 1980s - which he has now confirmed.

He also confirmed acting as a bail guarantor for IRA member John Downey, who was accused of participating in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing of the Queen's Household Cavalry which killed four soldiers and seven horses.

'All I know of him is his dedication to peace,' Mr Greenslade writes in the article.

The horrific IRA atrocities that killed dozens during Roy Greenslade's high profile editorships at British newspapers

Roy Greenslade has worked for a number of national titles since entering Fleet Street in 1969.

He became managing editor of The Sunday Times in 1987 before joining The Daily Mirror as editor in 1990, appointed by the disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell.

Greenslade only lasted a year at the helm of the tabloid after which he became a consultant editor for The Sunday Times and Today.

In 1992, he joined The Guardian as its media columnist where he remained until 2005.

During his editorial roles at the major British newspapers, many IRA atrocities were carried out, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people.

The Remembrance Day bombing in November 1987, when Greenslade was managing editor of The Sunday Times, saw 11 civilians killed and 63 people injured during a service in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.

The Remembrance Day bombing in November 1987, when Greenslade was managing editor of The Sunday Times, saw 11 civilians killed and 63 people injured. Pictured: a funeral hearse passes the wreckage from the bombing in Enniskillen

The IRA bomb exploded near a cenotaph honouring the war dead, resulting in a number of elderly victims

The republican paramilitary group later apologised, saying they had only intended to target British soldiers parading to the memorial

The IRA bomb exploded near a cenotaph honouring the war dead, resulting in a number of elderly victims.

The republican paramilitary group later apologised, saying they had only intended to target British soldiers parading to the memorial.

That same year, incendiary devices exploded in County Donegal, and letter bombs were sent to six senior civil servants in London. Fortunately neither incident led to any casualties.

In 1988, six off-duty British soldiers were killed when an IRA bomb exploded on their minibus in Lisburn, and the Inglis Barracks bombing saw another soldier killed and a further nine injured.

The Ballygawley bus bombing in August caused the deaths of eight British soldiers while 28 more were wounded by the roadside bomb in County Tyrone.

The Ballygawley bus bombing in August caused the deaths of eight British soldiers while 28 more were wounded by the roadside bomb in County Tyrone

The Clive Barracks bombing in 1989 saw two people injured in Shropshire in one of many attacks carried out by the IRA

In 1989, 11 Royal Marines bandsmen were killed in the Deal barracks bombing in Kent, England, injuring a further 21 people.

A further three British soldiers were killed in November that year when a landmine was detonated near Mayobridge, County Down.

In 1990, when Greenslade was editor of The Daily Mirror, four Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Downpatrick, the worst attack to hit the regiment for seven years.

The Carlton Club, a London private members' club popular among MPs and Conservatives, was bombed by the IRA, injuring 20 people. Lord Kaberry of Adel later died of his injuries.

Tory MP Ian Gow was killed later that year when a car bomb exploded near his Eastbourne home.

In 1989, 11 Royal Marines bandsmen were killed in the Deal barracks bombing in Kent, England

The building collapsed, killing 11 marines from the Royal Marines Band Service and wounding another 21

In October, a series of proxy attacks at British Army checkpoints saw seven people killed after men were strapped into cars and forced to drive the bombs into military targets.

In 1991, up until March when Greenslade departed the Mirror, more deadly attacks were carried out by the paramilitary group.

An assassination attempt of Prime Minister John Major and senior Conservatives during a cabinet meeting in Downing Street led to two people being injured in a February attack.

The Carlton Club, a London private members' club popular among MPs and Conservatives, was bombed by the IRA

20 people were injured in the Carlton Club bombing in the attack by the Irish republican group

An assassination attempt of Prime Minister John Major and senior Conservatives during a cabinet meeting in Downing Street led to two people being injured in a February attack

Bomb disposal expert Peter Gurney runs from a burning van after the mortar bomb attack of Downing Street

That same month, a bomb set off in a bin at Victoria Station killed one person and injured 38. Another bomb at Paddington Station did not cause any deaths or injuries.

Greenslade briefly rejoined The Sunday Times as a consultant editor between October and December in 1991 before joining The Guardian.

In November, two soldiers were killed after a bombing at Musgrave Park British Army hospital in Belfast, in which a two-storey building was also destroyed.

A bomb set off in a bin at Victoria Station killed one person and injured 38 in 1991

St Albans in Hertfordshire was struck in a bungled bombing in 1991 which saw two IRA bombers killed

St Albans in England was also targeted, with two IRA members killed in a blast in the city centre.

In December, three firebombs exploded at the Brent Cross Shopping Centre in London while the National Gallery was targeted a day later. Neither attacks resulted in any injuries.

The following day, Clapham Junction railway station was bombed which again avoided any casualties.
New Delhi, Feb 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to the people to start a 100-day 'Catch the Rain' campaign to conserve water ahead of the summer.

Addressing the country in his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister said "this is the best time to think about water conservation in the summer months ahead".

"Rain begins in many parts of India in May-June. Can we run a 100-day campaign to clear the water reservoirs to conserve water? Jal Shakti Ministry will soon begin a similar campaign 'Catch the Rain'. The key mantra of the campaign is catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls," the Prime Minister said.

Referring to 'Kumbh' being organised in Uttarakhand's Haridwar -- a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism -- the Prime Minister said that water is our life, our faith and also the stream of development.

"Water has been crucial for the development of humankind for centuries," Modi said while beginning the interesting discussion on water conservation in the second 'Mann Ki Baat' programme of this year.

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Derek Chauvin goes on trial for murder in the death of George Floyd on March 8. His trial has been separated from that of the other three officers who have been charged; theirs will begin in August. Chauvin is the principal defendant. Of the four policemen involved, two were on something like their fourth day on the job. The third was a tiny guy, also not very experienced. Chauvin was the only officer on the scene who had the experience and the strength to deal with an oversized career criminal who was hopped up on drugs, and he took the lead.

The city of Minneapolis awaits Chauvins trial anxiously. A local left-wing outlet reports:

The area around the downtown Minneapolis courthouse where Derek Chauvin will soon go on trial for the murder of George Floyd is gradually taking on the look of military occupation. Concrete barriers, boarded-up windows and barbed wire clad the buildings. A security force of 2,000 National Guard troops and 1,100 outstate police officers will soon be on patrol.

Governor Tim Walz wanted a $35 million appropriation for emergency security for the trial, but I dont think the legislature gave it to him. Why are the authorities so concerned? In part, because professional leftist agitators and rioters are preparing for battle. Activist groups have already announced plans for protests, beginning on the first day of the trial. And in part because they have painted themselves into a corner.

I believe it was the day after Floyds death when Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey publicly questioned the fact that the four police officers were still free men. Why werent they already in jail? And Governor Walz has publicly pronounced the officers guilty of murder. Meanwhile, though, it has come out that Floyds blood contained two or three times a lethal dose of fentanyl. He also showed the classic symptoms of a fentanyl overdose, complaining repeatedly of an inability to breathe and foaming at the mouth. His autopsy revealed that his lungs were heavier than normal, reflecting the accumulation of fluid that occurs with a fentanyl overdose. So it is far from clear that Derek Chauvin murdered anyone, or indeed that the four police officers had anything to do with Floyds death, which apparently, based on the evidence now available, was caused by a drug overdose.

But it is much too late for the authorities to acknowledge that their case against Chauvin et al. is far from airtight. They are committed. What we dont know is whether an impartial jury can be empaneled, and whether any jury will have the courage to return a verdict of not guilty. Everyone in Minneapolis knows that the authorities were not able to defend even the Third Precinct Station House, which was taken over and burned by rioters. Nor were they able to defend a two-mile stretch of Lake Street, or other areas in Minneapolis and St. Paul that were destroyed by mobs. What juror will be willing to count on the authorities to protect his own house from being burned down, if he fails to return the verdict that is demanded by the mob?

Still, the authorities evidently are worried that a jury might be bold enough not to return the expected verdict. Thus, they are beginning an effort to mollify citizens whobased in part on the Mayors and Governors prejudicial statementsare expecting a murder conviction.

[T]he city is also turning to what political scientists would call soft power, enlisting the aid of grassroots organizations and even social media influencers to disseminate factual information and diffuse what some fear will be a combustible event in the life of the city.

The city is paying social media influencers to spread the party line among those who might be tempted to riot. It is also advertising on radio stations whose audiences are minority communities, and undertaking an effort to educate Minneapolitans on how the legal system works:

The city plans to share information on the ground and online and get input from the public through community members who meet regularly; create safety toolkits for residents and community groups and form a community information network, including partnerships with media that reach under-represented communities that dont rely on mainstream media for news.

***

The city is also using trusted community messengers to translate trial-related information.

***

One of those is the nonprofit community law firm, the Legal Rights Center, which is working with the NAACP and law schools to provide accurate information about the legal system before and during the trials. Executive Director Sarah Davis said with the trial being livestreamed, a lot of people will be watching who dont typically have that kind of front-row seat, and its not going to be like trials you see on TV.

I didnt know that the trial will be live-streamed. This could be a local version of the O.J. Simpson trial.

Their lawyers will help the public understand the criminal justice system, teaching things like the difference between probable cause to charge somebody versus proof beyond reasonable doubt, which is needed for a conviction; the elements of the alleged offenses; what a jury is.

It seems a little late for that. This part, I dont really understand:

City officials plan regular briefings to keep the public abreast of trial-related preparations and responses and combat misinformation.

What misinformation will they try to combat? Chauvins defense?

I have tried many jury cases in a number of states, and I have high regard for the integrity and common sense with which the vast majority of Americans approach jury duty. But rarely have we seen a trial where the atmosphere has been so polluted with pretrial publicity, where a defendants guilt has been confidently pronounced not only by nearly every commentator and journalist in sight, but by senior government officials, and where jurors will have every reason to fear that if they return the wrong verdict, a mob awaits them. I think the likelihood that Derek Chauvin can get a fair trial is remote.

Still, an uneasiness has settled over the City of Minneapolis. The authorities dealt incompetently with the rioting that occurred last May and June. They may have a chance to try to do better in the Spring.
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Egypt's Court of Cassation will rule March 10 on an appeal to remove Palestinian-Egyptian political activist Ramy Shaath and 11 other detainees from Egypt's terrorist list.

Shaath, the son of prominent Palestinian politician Nabil Shaath and the leader of the Egypt branch of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement was arrested at his home on July 5, 2019, and has been detained in Cairo's notorious Tora prison since, pending investigation.

He faces accusations of "assisting a terrorist group to achieve its goals" in relation to what is known in the Egyptian media as the "Hope Plan case, in which a group of secular politicians were arrested in June 2019 and charged with "involvement in a Muslim Brotherhood plot to bring down the state."

He and the other defendants are accused of being part of a so-called Coalition of Hope, a political alliance of liberal parties, former legislators, journalists, businesspeople and labor and youth leaders that had sought to field candidates in the 2020 legislative elections.

Hisham Kassem, an analyst and former newspaper publisher who himself was a member of the now-dissolved alliance, says that the defendants were not part of the Hope Coalition. He insists that the bulk of the detainees in the case "had nothing to do with our coalition."

"Only two of those arrested in the case were actually members of our group: Zyad el-Elaimy and Hisham Moenes," he told Al-Monitor. El-Elaimy is a human rights lawyer, a former member of parliament and one of the leaders of the liberal Social Democratic Party. Moenes is a journalist who served as campaign manager for Nasserite candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi in the 2014 presidential election that brought current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to power.

"The rest  including Shaath  were tossed in by prosecutors to punish them for their peaceful dissent. They had neither attended our meetings nor were aware that such a coalition even existed, as we had yet to announce its formation when the arrests were made."

Some of the defendants, like Omar El Shenety, are business owners who face additional charges of funding Muslim Brotherhood enterprises.

In April 2020, a Cairo court added Shaath, El-Elaimy and their co-defendants to Egypt's terrorist list in absentia. The ruling involves a freeze of their assets, a five-year travel ban and their prohibition from participating in a political party.

Members of Shaath's family have denied the accusations leveled against him, insisting that he was being punished for peaceful activism. Shaath had been vocal in his opposition to the US-led peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians. He had also criticized Egypt's participation in the US-led "Peace to Prosperity" workshop held in Bahrain in June 2020. The gathering promoting a US peace plan that sought to resolve the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of economic prosperity for the Palestinians rather than a political solution, was boycotted by the Palestinian Authority for allegedly favoring Israel.

Egyptian and international rights organizations such as the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and Amnesty International have called for Shaath's "immediate and unconditional" release, calling him a prisoner of conscience. Bahey eldin Hassan, founder and chair of the institute, told Al-Monitor, "Ramy's case is a striking example of how Egyptian security bodies purposely and systematically misuse the counter-terrorism framework to prosecute peaceful dissidents."

Defense lawyer Khaled Ali, who filed the appeal to remove Shaath from the terror list, insists the charges against him are baseless, telling Al-Monitor, "Shaath has been in pre-trial detention for 19 months pending investigation and so far no date has been set for a court hearing."

Ali denied reports that Shaath has had his Egyptian citizenship revoked and hailed a recent decision by prison authorities to allow Celine Lebrun, Shaath's French wife (who was deported in the wake of his arrest), to visit her detained husband. Lebrun, who has been campaigning for her husband's release, was finally granted permission to visit Shaath in mid-February for the first time since his arrest.

"I was able to visit Ramy in prison after more than 19 months of forced separation," Lebrun told Al-Monitor. "Ramy is in good health and high spirits despite the terrible conditions in which he is being held."

She also said the visit was "a step in the right direction, coming after many months of a growing international campaign calling for his release  a campaign that led French President Emmanuel Macron himself to raise the case publicly last December."

Some analysts like Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science at Cairo University, agree that the change of heart on the part of prosecutors and prison authorities "is related to international pressure on the Egyptian authorities, especially pressure from the new US administration on Egypt to improve its human rights record."

In a Feb. 24 telephone conversation with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that US and Egyptian "shared security interests must align with respect for democracy and human rights including the importance of a strong civil society."

The change also comes against a backdrop of warming Egyptian-Palestinian ties, particularly with Hamas, which has been on Egypt's terror list since 2015 on accusations the Palestinian group was supporting the insurgency in North Sinai. Egypt also accused Hamas of involvement in the 2015 assassination of Attorney General Hisham Barakat.

In early February, security sources announced the indefinite reopening of the Rafah border crossing, allowing Gazans passage to the outside world. Egypt had largely kept the crossing closed, opening it intermittently for periods of no longer than three or four days as Israel maintained a siege on the enclave.

The opening of the crossing coincided with reconciliation talks brokered by Cairo to iron out internal divisions between rival Palestinian factions including Fatah (which runs the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank) and Hamas. The talks were intended to pave the way for Palestinian legislative and presidential elections in the West Bank planned for May 22 and July 31, respectively, the first such elections in 15 years.

Egypt has also taken steps to ease Gaza's energy crisis. The state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, EGAS, and the Palestinian Authority's sovereign wealth fund signed a memorandum of understanding in Ramallah to develop infrastructure for the Gaza Marine gas field, located off Gaza's coast in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and containing an estimated trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

An Egyptian energy official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, "The agreement to help Gaza extract and export natural gas will go a long way toward ensuring energy security for the Palestinians, especially Gaza's two million residents, whose energy supplies fall well short the needs of the coastal enclave."

Nevertheless, the accord has irked Gaza's ruling party (which was excluded from the deal) and has only served to deepen tensions between it and the PA. Hamas has accused the PA of "acting in an authoritarian way" and said that Ramallah was wrong to manage the nation's resources without consulting them.

It remains to be seen whether Egypt's rapprochement with Hamas, an Islamic resistance movement that sometimes employs violence, will extend to Shaath, whose BDS movement is based on peaceful resistance. Lebrun hopes it will. She also hopes that the court's decision to put him on Egypt's terrorist list will be overturned March 10."I hope to see Ramy free very soon and our family reunited," she told Al-Monitor. "I won't rest until this happens."
Somare had remained in hospital on the island republic in intensive care for several weeks. He had, in fact, stepped aside from high office in December 2010 to face a tribunal investigating misconduct for allegedly failing to submit full annual financial statements in the 1990s. The Queen and Sir Michael Somare during her visit in 1974. Sam Abal, a former prime minister, was appointed acting prime minister while Somare served a court-mandated two-week suspension from office after he was found guilty of financial misconduct dating back 20 years. With his illness, he had been absent from parliament for four months when disgruntled MPs joined with the opposition to declare the prime ministerial position vacant, and in early August Abal was replaced by Peter ONeill, who was PNGs works minister and had defected to lead a minority government.

Then came the extraordinary events that put Somare back not only on the national but international stage. On December 12, PNGs Supreme Court ordered Somares reinstatement as PM. Prime Minister PNG Michael Somare during the official photograph in the bula shirt during the 37th Pacific Island Forum in Fiji in 2006. However, ONeill and his group of about 50 parliamentarians maintained physical control in the parliament, where the Speaker, Jeffrey Nape, affirmed ONeills primacy. The ante was lifted on December 14 with the Governor-General, Sir Michael Ogio, swearing in Somare and 19 ministers. ONeill and his group responded by sacking the governor-general from the floor of the parliament and elevating Nape to acting governor-general. Meanwhile, the military stayed neutral while the police force across the country appeared divided, leaving scope for a bloody confrontation.

These events served to again display the societal fissures likely to erupt at any time as fiercely as any one of the countrys volcanoes. They also dramatically illustrated the obsession with power at any cost  regardless of the cost to the debt-ridden country  by its political elite. Somare, the wiliest of Melanesian politicians, served his first two prime ministerial terms (1975 to 1980 and 1982 to 1985) as a member of the Pangu Party before being re-elected as PM for the third time in the 2007 election as the leader of the National Alliance Party. He twice lost the prime ministership through votes of no-confidence  to Julius Chan in 1980 and to Paias Wingti in 1985. Still, he was the longest serving elected politician in any Commonwealth country, having been a member of the PNG parliament from the time he was elected to the House of Assembly in 1968. However, along with other political leaders, he has to be apportioned a fair slice of the blame for failing to build up the resources-rich country because of an inability to create and maintain country wide infrastructure, attract and manage job-creating investments and deliver a range of services on which national development could be founded.

As a result, unsurprisingly, PNG was listed at 137 of 169 countries on the UNs Human Development Index. Michael Thomas Somare was born on April 9, 1936, in Rabaul, to Ludwig Somare Sana and Kambe Somare  she was one of his fathers four wives and he was the eldest of six siblings  and grew up in the village of Karau in East Sepik Province. His father, a police sergeant who went on to set up a business cooperative, hid in fear of the Japanese invaders during World War II, while the young Somare had his early education in Japanese. Somare jnr remembered the Japanese with some affection, so it was not surprising that his earliest overseas trips as a parliamentarian and as PM were to Japan. After the Japanese were driven from PNG, Somares education continued in English and he completed his leaving certificate (accredited by the State of Victoria) in 1957. He was able to teach at primary and then secondary schools before returning to his alma mater, Sogeri High School, for further training in 1962-63 that qualified him as a teacher.

A transfer within the public service enabled him to become a radio broadcaster at Wewak, and in 1965, he attended the Administrative College at Waigani for further training. However, ongoing rows with his superiors over his outspoken political views resulted in a transfer out of radio into an administrative job. Somare resigned from the public service and in 1967 co-founded the Pangu Party. The following year, he was one of eight members of the new party to win election to the second House of Assembly. The Pangu Party rejected overtures to join a coalition government and Somare consequently became the first opposition leader in the fledgling house. The 1972 election changed the political landscape, with Pangu joining the Peoples Progress Party, led by Julius Chan, to form a coalition government and Somare becoming chief minister. When self-government was granted in 1975, he became prime minister and played a key role in the transition to independence and adoption of a constitution. Twin pillars framed his politics: nationalism and conciliation. The first was a natural corollary of the era in which he grew up, and the second was an extension of his appointment in 1973 in his village as a sana, or peacemaker. His grandfather and father had been sanas before him.

MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Saturday he will propose a Bracero style immigrant labor program to U.S. President Joe Biden during a video call between the two leaders planned for Monday.

The Bracero program allowed Mexicans to temporarily work in the United States to fill labor shortages during World War II and afterward. Lopez Obrador said the U.S. economy needs Mexican workers because of their strength, their youth.

He suggested he wants permission for 600,000 to 800,000 Mexican and Central American immigrants to work legally in the United States every year.

You (Americans) are going to need Mexican and Central American workers to produce, to grow, Lopez Obrador said of what he plans to tell Biden. It is better that we start putting order on migratory flows.

Biden has proposed legislation to give legal status and a path to citizenship to all of the estimated 11 million people in the country who dont have it.
By Deauwand Myers





On Jan. 6, the world witnessed a shocking scene unfold at America's Capitol. The building, which stood through the Civil War and two World Wars unscathed, was ransacked by a horde of white domestic terrorists, fueled by the big lie Donald Trump had loudly and consistently pushed in speeches and online for months prior to the presidential election: his electoral defeat was a fraud; he lost the election due to a vast conspiracy to change, add, or delete votes and steal his rightful victory.



What became clear over the proceeding weeks was the danger and depravity on display during this failed and bloody coup attempt. The former Vice President Michael Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (second in line to the presidency), the president pro tempore (the most senior member of the U.S. senate and third in line to the presidency) Patrick Leahy, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were all in the building at the time of the insurrection and feet away from the violent mob.



Had the white supremacist terrorists been able to capture some or all of the aforementioned elected officials, it would have been the most serious breach of American national security since Pearl Harbor, made all the more embarrassing by the lack of preparation and competence from America's national security apparatus, all told costing U.S. taxpayers nearly $2 trillion annually.



The depravity of these pro-Trump seditionists was immortalized in technicolor for everyone to see. Anti-Semitic T-shirts, Confederate flags, hand-made gallows constructed outside to hang politicians, guns, and profanity in spray paint, human feces, urine, and vandalism were all in this mix of what, for many people, was a strange and harrowing nightmare.



What fuels the Republican Party, Trump supporters included, is what it has been for generations. White supremacy, and the attendant xenophobia, religious bigotry, and disdain for human rights (except for white men) have been in the guts of the GOP at least since President Herbert Hoover. Again, no one was surprised of who showed up at that attempted coup Jan. 6, nor the reasoning behind it. Many Republicans cannot abide people of color and women outvoting them to defeat their unpopular presidential incumbent and give the entire body of America's federal, elected government to the Democrats.



The Biden-Harris administration has the Herculean task in unraveling and attempting to dismantle the ever-growing web of dangerous, well-armed far right-wing groups throughout the sprawling hinterlands and towns of Main Street U.S. We cannot fetishize or romanticize Trump and company as some aberration, an asterisk in history soon to be subsumed by America's moral character.



No. President Joe Biden, and even more so Vice President Kamala Harris, know that the biggest threat to national security is not Islamic fascism, a strengthening, and increasingly violent China, or a recalcitrant Russia. The vast majority of terrorist acts done on American soil are done by other Americans, usually white men in cells or alone.



The disturbing trend of organized white supremacist, anti-government, neo-fascist groups increasing in number and sophistication began at the end of the Clinton administration. Under Obama, these groups saw interest in their ideology swell, and with the advent of the internet and the dark web, these groups could radicalize and recruit from a large pool of individuals disaffected with society and enamored with the faux-glory of violent revolution and the preservation of a white America.



During the Obama-Biden administration, the growing numbers of these radical groups was studied and noted by the Justice Department, but for political reasons (mainly that Obama is black, to be honest) it was deemed inconvenient to seriously engage the threat, and certainly not in a public fashion.



President Biden suffers no such affliction. The Biden-Harris Justice Department has already created a task force and garnered new resources in rooting out, and where necessary, prosecuting white supremacist groups. Unlike Trump's Justice Department, which in many ways downplayed white extremism because it was and is a source of political support for the GOP, Biden, and with Vice President Harris advising him, has made it one of his foremost priorities to combat the scourge of violent white extremism in all its forms, and because of his age, race, and long political tenure, no one can seriously say Biden is pursuing racial justice with ulterior motives.



The Biden-Harris administration cannot eliminate white supremacy in one term of office or four. Internalized racism is a matter of the heart. What the administration can do is use the vast resources of the federal government to award contracts and furnish more business loans to black businesses, better fund historically black colleges, and pursue every legal means to extricate violent white extremism from American politics and civil society. And from what I have observed thus far, our government is beginning to do all of these and more.





Deauwand Myers (deauwand@hotmail.com) holds a master's degree in English literature and literary theory, and is an English professor outside Seoul. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.


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A day after the poll announcements in WB, the Election Commission of India removed Mr. Jawed Shamim who was appointed by the Mamata Banerjee government as the state ADG (Law&Order) earlier this month

The Election Commission of India, removed the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Jawed Shamim on Saturday, a day after the body announced the poll dates of West Bengal elections 2021. the charge was handed over to Mr. Jag Mohan, who was earlier the DG (Fire Services). Shamim has now been directed to hold the position of Director GeneralCivil Defense till further notice besides the charges of General Fire Services.

An order by the chief electoral officer read that  Shamim, a 1995 batch IAS officer shall hold the charge of DG Civil defense until further notice. Shamim was appointed as the state Additional Director General (Law and Order) by the Mamata Banarjee ruling government earlier this month. Previously, he worked as the Special Commissioner of Police, Kolkata.

The decision came hours after a BJP delegation which included Arjun Singh and MP Swapan Dasgupta met with CEO Ariz Aftab and implored him to remove biased police officers from the election duties. Addressing the media after meeting with the CEO, Mr. Dasgupta told reporters that the way police administration is functioning in Bengal it is evident that fair polling is not possible. He also claimed that he can name a few police officers who are biased and free and fair elections are not possible with their presence.

Also Read:

Bengal Elections 2021 shall be held in 8 phases, which were 7 last time. the 1st and the last phase of the polling will be held on March 27 and April 29 and the votes will be counted on the 2nd of May. Over the elevated numbers of phases in the state, Sunil Arora, Chief election commissioner of the state said on Friday that when the assessment is done by the Election Commission over the law and order situation, it is done based on several factors and takes into account the charges as well as the counter-charges by the political parties.

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Egypt detected 588 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing its total infections tally nationwide to 181,829 since the outbreak last year, a statement by the health ministry said.

The health ministry reported 49 new deaths, bringing overall fatalities from the virus nationwide to 10,639.

The statement added that 533 patients have been discharged from hospitals over the past 24 hours to mark total recoveries at 140,460.

Egypt has received several batches of coronavirus vaccine doses and has vaccinated hundreds of health workers in quarantine hospitals since January.

Earlier on Saturday, Minister of Health Hala Zayed said that the eligible categories of citizens would be able to register to receive the coronavirus vaccine via a designated website starting Sunday.

The minister explained that the eligible categories include patients with tumors or kidney failure, and who underwent operations (open heart, cerebral or peripheral catheters), in addition to the operations of kidney and liver transplants, who were enlisted in the ministry's database.

Health Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed indicated that an office would be allocated in health units and hospitals nationwide so as to allow who couldn't access the website to register their data register and reserve their shots of the vaccine.

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Food delivery giant Uber Eats will help its riders stay injury-free on Australian streets by making them the first in its global workforce to access a new set of technology and safety gear following rider deaths that dragged attention toward regulation of the industry.

A week after Facebook agreed to pay news publishers in Australia under threat of regulation, Uber became the latest tech titan to adjust its practices in the face of pressure from Australian courts, unions and parliaments over the consequences of its business model.

Uber Eats boomed during the pandemic. Credit:James Brickwood

From Tuesday, it will roll out a new object recognition feature in its app to detect whether its riders are wearing a helmet, require them to complete a checklist of their bikes roadworthiness, and later this month, start distributing lights, reflective vests, bells and phone holders (though not helmets).

But the more resources a company provides to its workers, the more likely they are to be classified as employees than independent contractors and therefore entitled to the minimum wage, workers compensation and unfair dismissal protections.
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India has completed the complex process of purchasing M90FR maritime gas turbine engines from Ukraine and delivery of these engines to a Russian shipyard that is building two of the four advanced P-17 "stealth" Talwar class frigates for India. Another two of these Advanced Talwars are being built in an Indian shipyard. The Talwar is actually an upgraded version of the Krivak IV, first post-Cold War model of the Krivak line of frigates. The first of 40 Krivaks entered service in 1960 and was retired in 1996. So far 40 Krivaks have been built and the Talwars are Krivak V with the Advanced Talwar the same as the Kirvak VI, known in Russian as the Grigorivich class. The Cold War era Krivaks began as 3,100-ton warships. The 3,200-ton Krivak II entered service in 1975, the 3,500-ton Krivak III in 1983 (for the KGB operated Coast Guard) and the similar Krivak IV for the navy was also based on the Krivak II and first appeared in 1977. All the Krivaks were considered successful designs and there was a lot of ship building industry and navy support for further updates. That led to the Talwar that entered service in 2000. Finally there the Russian Grigorivich class that entered service in 2016.

The convoluted procurement of gas turbine engines for Russian-built advanced Talwar Indian frigates is the only way India could get the two new Talwars from Russia on time and was done after negotiations with Ukraine to ensure the turbine purchase did not violate the post-2014 Ukrainian cancellation of military exports to Russia. This Ukrainian ban was in addition to Western sanctions which prohibited Russia from getting a wide range of industrial goods from Europe and the United States.

Despite the potential difficulty in getting engines for the advanced Talwars, the purchase was an admission of failure by India which expected to be capable of building all its own warships by now. That turned out not to be the case. While two of these Talwars will be built in India, the first two will come from Russia and there will be substantial purchases of Russian shipbuilding technology to enable India to build the other two Talwars. The Russian built Advanced Talwars are actually upgraded Talwars designed for the Russian navy as Admiral Grigorivich class frigates. The main difference between the advanced Talwar/ Grigorivich class ships and the original Talwars was stealthy superstructure and some differences in weapons and electronics.

Delivery of the Grigorivich class frigates was delayed because a Russian firm had to develop, test and manufacture a Russian built maritime gas turbine engine comparable to the Ukrainian M90FR. The Russian replacement M90FR was ready for service in 2020 but the Russian Navy had already purchased all the production for the next few years. India knew that the Ukrainian gas turbine firm has lost a lot of sales because of the ban on exports to Russia and was willing to sell and deliver M90FRs to India for all four of the Indian Advanced Talwars, including the two being built in Russia. The only alternative was for India to have the two Russian built Advanced Talwars towed to India where similar maritime gas turbines to be installed after modifications were made to the Russian built Talwars to accommodate a slightly different gas turbine. The solution to this mess that was satisfactory to India, Ukraine and Russia was for India to buy the M90FRs and then deliver them to the Russian shipyard for installation.

Once all four of these Advanced Talwars are in service, India will begin construction of seven larger Nilgiri class frigates based on the Talwar frigates. The 6,600-ton Nilgiris are larger than the original Talwars India ordered in the 1990s and based on the design of the Stealthy Talwars planned to build itself in 2001. Stealthy means the ships superstructure is modified to reduce the radar signature, which makes the ship less likely to show up on enemy radars. Improved weapons and electronics were planned as as well, making it a more formidable warship than the original Talwars. India began building the first of three stealth Talwar (Project 17) ships in 2001 and realized it was going to have a difficult time given the current state of Indian warship construction capabilities. India built three of these Project 17 stealth ships but it took nine years for each one to get into service. India decided to solve the shortcomings of its warship construction capabilities by purchasing more experience and manufacturing equipment from Russia. This was done via the 2018 advanced Talwar deal.

In 2012-13 Russia delivered the last of three original Talwar class frigates. These were supposed to be the last surface ships India was buying from foreign shipyards. India ordered these three ships (for $1.6 billion) in 2006. These 4,000-ton Talwar's are 124.5 meters (386 feet) long, carry 24 anti-aircraft and eight anti-ship missiles, four torpedo tubes, as well as a 100mm gun, short-range anti-missile autocannon, a helicopter, and anti-submarine weapons (rockets and missiles). The ship has a very complete set of electronics gear, except for a troublesome Indian sonar. There is a crew of 180. All of the Talwars are equipped with eight Indian BrahMos anti-ship missile each. The Talwar is a modified version of the Russian Krivak design.

Meanwhile, India was building its own large warships. In July 2014 the Indian Navy received the first (INS Kamorta) of three Indian made corvettes. These are the first locally built modern surface warships for India. The Kamortas are 3,100-ton ships that are 109 meters (355 feet) long and have a top speed of 59 kilometers an hour. They are optimized for anti-submarine warfare and are armed with a 76.2mm gun, two 30mm multi-barrel anti-missile autocannon, two multi (12) barrel 212mm anti-submarine rocket launchers, 16 Barak anti-missile/aircraft missiles and six torpedo tubes. It has a hull-mounted sonar and carries a helicopter that can be armed with four anti-submarine torpedoes. The ship has stealthy features (small radar signature and more difficult for submarine sonar to detect as well.) By 2017 three Kamortas were in service with another under construction. India than plans to order eight more. Before the first three Kamortas were finished it was obvious that Indian warship tech and capabilities needed more help. One problem with the Kamortas was that construction was delayed by inexperience and also took about nine years per ship. China can put similar ships into service in three years.

At that point, India realized that it needed to obtain more help with shipbuilding techniques and technology and halted its plan to stop buying foreign (Russian) warships. More ships and shipbuilding tech would be purchased from Russia until India felt its own shipyards could do the job at least as well as the Russians. This now includes aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines as well as frigates and corvettes.

The Indian Nilgiri class frigates are actually comparable with the latest Russian surface warship. These are the Admiral Gorshkov class 5,400 ton stealth frigates. These ships can operate in distant waters and are replacing Cold War era destroyers, few of which can still get to sea. Like most new Russian warships, the Gorshkovs arrived late and in far smaller numbers than originally planned. The original plan, from 2003, was for the first of 20 Gorshkovs to enter service in 2011. Construction began in 2006 and the first Gorshkov was launched in 2010. Once the first Gorshkov was in the water it was only about half complete and work slowed down. Already there were money problems and the plan was reduced to 15, then eight and finally four of these ships. A major reason for the delays and reduction of the number of ships was the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine. That meant Russia could not get the gas turbine engines for these ships and that technology was developed and monopolized (during the Soviet period) by Ukrainian plants. The new Russian maritime gas turbine engine was needed for the Gorshkovs as well as the Grigorivich class frigates and the Grigorivich/Talwar versions for India. By purchasing the additional Russian ship building tech that will enable Indian shipyards to build two of the advanced Talwars, Indian will also be capable of building the larger Nilgiri class frigates.
Here is The Oregonians weekly look at the numbers behind the states economy. View past installments here.

Some of the tallest structures on the Portland skyline these past several years have been towering construction cranes. The citys been a boom town, with a bevy of big new industrial, commercial and residential projects from Hillsboro all the way out to PDX.

Since 2016, Portlands crane count has ranked near the top in Rider Levett Bucknalls semiannual crane index of North American cities. Most of the metro areas cranes have been building mixed-use commercial and residential projects, but theyve also built hotels, medical centers and Intels multibillion-dollar factory expansion in Hillsboro.

Now, though, the cranes are starting to come down, paralleling a broader decline in building activity in Portland. The number of new building permits filed in Portland last year plunged by 27%.

Were also sort of seeing it on big projects, with nothing come in behind it. Intel had the biggest cranes in the world out there and that is winding up, said EcoNorthwest President John Tapogna in a presentation this month on the regional economic outlook.

Portland was almost always in the Top 5 on the crane index from 2017 through 2019.

Look out a couple of years, Tapogna said, and it doesnt appear thats going to be the case.

The number of big construction cranes operating in the Portland area declined just a little last year  from 30 in the summer of 2019 to 27 this past fall. But Tapogna said he expects the downward trend to accelerate over the next few years.

In addition to Intel, big projects now winding down across the metro area include a terminal upgrade at Portland International Airport, expansions of the Nike and Adidas campuses, Oregon Health & Science Universitys growth on the South Waterfront, and the revitalized Vancouver waterfront.

Its not clear how much of the regions total construction activity such big projects represent, but its certainly significant.

The construction industry and trade unions, for example, said that the first phase of Intels D1X research factory in Hillsboro helped carry the states entire sector through the depths of the Great Recession.

It takes years to plan big projects, so the pending slowdown is unrelated to the pandemic or any reputational damage Portland suffered during last summers unruly protests. But if the slowdown persists, it could weigh on the regions economic recovery.

In the long run, there are a number of possibilities that could help restock the regions pipeline of major projects.

Portland Public Schools is continuing to upgrade its high schools, the Oregon Department of Transportation has proposed widening Interstate 5 through the Rose Quarter, and talks have picked up again about a new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.

Those latter two projects are very controversial, though, and theres no certainty on when they might happen  or if they will happen at all.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |
Police in Portland, Oregon arrested two people after about 150 suspected antifa members marched through Pearl District on Saturday night while smashing windows and spray-painting graffiti on business storefronts including Starbucks and Chipotle.

The demonstrators gathered at The Fields Park at around 9pm on Saturday and began marching through the area to protest the Biden administrations immigration policies and to denounce ICE.

Images posted on social media show vandalized windows of several shops and restaurants, including Starbucks, Chipotle, Umpqua Bank, and Urban Pantry.

The demonstrations lasted for about two hours, according to KOIN-TV.

They come after Portland this past summer was the sight of a 'summer of rage' - with massive protests led by suspected members of antifa essentially shut down parts of the central city for weeks on end.

Windows to a Starbucks have been broken tonight in downtown Portland pic.twitter.com/DjwP1A43bE  Zane Sparling (@PDXzane) February 28, 2021

Businesses in Portland, Oregon were smashed up late on Saturday as around 150 antifa demonstrators marched through the Pearl District to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Several businesses and restaurants including Starbucks, Chipotle, and local area banks were vandalized on Saturday

Local police said that two people were arrested for taking part in the mayhem

Some of the local residents expressed anger at the demonstrators, yelling at them to 'go home'

Video posted to social media showed several downtown businesses boarding up their storefronts late on Saturday night in response to the demonstrations.

Some of the protesters were heard telling local police to go home while residents nearby responded by yelling go home at the protesters from their balconies.

At around 10pm, the Portland Police Bureau said that the protests became destructive and that the crowds were being told to immediately stop participating in criminal activity.

Police told the demonstrators that failure to obey would result in either detention, citation, arrest, or use of crowd control agents.

Two people - Darrell Kimberlin, 31, and a 17-year-old boy - were arrested. Kimberlin was charged with first-degree criminal mischief.

Overnight, #antifa destroyed numerous businesses in Portland's Pearl District as part of a pre-planned riot. People were inside this Chipotle at 1201 NW Lovejoy when antifa attacked the building. Watch this video with sound on. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/2LfMAaSrjy  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 28, 2021

The image above shows one of the storefronts smashed up by suspected antifa members in Portland, Oregon late on Saturday night

The image above shows graffiti spray-painted on one of the storefronts. The letters 'ACAB' stands for 'all cops are b****rds'

The image above shows a local business in Portland, Oregon that had its windows smashed late on Saturday night

This is the third time in the last five months that Kimberlin has been arrested after taking part in a protest.

He was also booked by police on September 28 and January 20.

The 17-year-old boy was arrested for interfering with a peace officer and third-degree escape. He was released to his parents. A hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Anyone with information about vandalized property should contact crimetips@portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 21-680281.

Anyone who believes they were a victim during the protest and who has not reported it yet can make a report online or by calling (503) 823-3333.
The exterior of the U.S. Capitol building is seen at sunrise in Washington on Feb. 8, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Former Trump Lawyer Says Attorneys Who Back Conservative Causes Face Backlash

Ron Coleman, an attorney who was on the legal team for former President Donald Trumps campaign in Pennsylvania, said in a recent interview that lawyers who back conservative causes face blowback in their professions.

In a conversation with investor Adam Townsend, released on Feb. 25, Coleman said that the backlash that lawyers face for representing right-of-center causes and clients is leading to a flattening of mores where outrage theater prevails in pet areas of liberal concern but meaningful outrage is discouraged in complicated issues like someone wrongly accused of being a white supremacist.

Attorneys in corporate law firms have lost the ability to represent conservatives for the foreseeable future. Ive lost, one way or another, two jobs in corporate law firms because of my involvement with right-of-center causes, he said.

Coleman has been in the news for representing Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes in a defamation lawsuit against the Southern Poverty Law Center and Hasidic communities in New York opposed to Gov. Andrew Cuomos COVID-19 restrictions. He said that his representation of McInnes proved too controversial for a law firm he was affiliated with.

People are going to think we represent Nazis, he said of the rationale he was given for why he was asked to leave the firm.

Thats raising risk aversion to an entirely new level, he said. Thats not even risk aversion. Thats conflict aversion, he added.

And thats how you get a flattening of mores, he said, adding, and nothing outrages anyone meaningfully. Theres outrage theater, but every single thing that people have claimed to be outraged about by Donald Trump, including children in cages, immigrant children in cages, non-issues now.

The anti-conservative bias in the legal profession is having a chilling effect on his colleagues in the field, Coleman said, with plenty of conservative lawyers contacting him to say theyre terrified of being identified as such.

He said he was introduced to former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani by another lawyer who had previously worked for the Trump campaign, who told him he was looking for someone to do what he would have been doing, but his partners told him, were not going to be involved in challenges to the election.'

So notwithstanding that dead bloody body and that knife, these lawyers were so cowed, Coleman said, referring to lawyers opting to bow out of representation despite the presence of evidence of election irregularities.

Law firms pressuring partners to leave or drop their representation of conservatives was a widespread phenomenon, Coleman suggested. But there have been other forms of blowback.

Philadelphia personal injury lawyer Michael van der Veen, who led Trumps second impeachment defense, hired 24-hour private security for his family after vandals smashed windows and spray-painted TRAITOR on the driveway of his home. He told the outlet that he had received more than 100 death threats.

William J. Brennan, another Philadelphia lawyer who was on Trumps defense team, told the outlet that the level of backlash he faced was without precedent.

Ive been representing controversial clients for 30 years, and Ive never experienced this type of vitriol, Brennan told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

We had no political agenda here. We are not partisan warriors. We are criminal defense lawyers who represented a client, he said.

There were also calls to shut down Van der Veens law firm, which is a direction Coleman fears the anti-conservative sentiment is taking.

We have not yet reached the pointbut we probably will soonwhere both bar disciplinary authorities and the judiciary will start joining in, he said, adding that the writing on the wall was the case of former security adviser Michael Flynn. A federal appeals court in Washington declined to order the dismissal of Flynns prosecution, permitting a judge to scrutinize the Justice Departments request to dismiss the case, with Coleman saying that the next stage could be the criminal defense bar siding against defendants with conservative affiliations or remaining silent.

But as of right now, I do think it is true that lawyers can practice law, but we cant practice in a corporate setting, he said.
Authorities in Boston are investigating the fatal stabbing of a man Saturday.

Officers responded around 5:45 a.m. to a report of a person stabbed in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, authorities said.

On arrival, officers located an adult male victim suffering from an apparent stab wound, according to Boston police.

The victim was rushed by Boston EMS to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police did not release the victims name or age.

The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident and is asking anyone with information relative to this investigation to contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at 617-343-4470.
Channel 10 announced they'd already secured a Bachelor for 2021 early this month.

And it appears they may have already signed on the next Bachelorette, too!

The network uploaded a casting call on Sunday that announced applications were officially open for single men interested in finding love in the mansion.

Are YOU looking for the one? Channel 10 officially launch casting call for eligible men to apply for The Bachelorette 2021

'Casting for male Bachelors for the @bacheloretteau 2021 is officially open!' it began

'Tag a mate below who is looking for love... Maybe you'll even tag yourself?' the caption read, as it encouraged people to head to Warner bros. casting website.

Eligible men are required to be aged between 23 and 35 for the upcoming season.

It also says on the website: 'You must be willing and available to be filmed for the duration of the series. Filming will roughly commence mid June to mid August of 2021 and may take up to 12 weeks.

Applications now open: Eligible men are required to be aged between 23 and 35 for the upcoming season which will film for up to 12 weeks in June to August 2021

Channel 10 recently confirmed they had already found a suitor for The Bachelor - which is usually filmed before The Bachelorette.

The network's Head of Programming, Daniel Monaghan, told TV Tonight: 'Were really happy with who has signed on to The Bachelor.'

Mr Monaghan confirmed the new suitor wasn't a celebrity or a former contestant from The Bachelorette.

'[You don't know him yet], but you will,' he said. 'I think he's a fantastic get for the franchise.'

The 2021 Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons are due to be filmed in a new $6.3 million property, known as as Le Chateau, in Dural in Sydney's north-west.

Who is he? Earlier this month, Channel 10s Head of Programming, Daniel Monaghan, told TV Tonight, the new suitor wasn't a celebrity or a former contestant from The Bachelorette. '[You don't know him yet], but you will,' he said. 'I think he's a fantastic get for the franchise'

Last year, a well-placed source told Daily Mail Australia the producers were 'tired of the show being spoiled by paparazzi photos' and so moved location.

Before setting up in Dural, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette were filmed at a $2.3million property in Oxford Falls, in Sydney's north.

This house served as the location for Locky Gilbert, Matt Agnew and Nick Cummins' seasons of The Bachelor, and Elly and Becky Miles, Angie Kent and Ali Oetjen's seasons of The Bachelorette.

Prior to Oxford Falls, The Bachelor franchise had been filmed in houses in both Hunters Hill and Glenorie.
SoftBank Group did not release details of the agreement that puts to rest a bitter dispute after the Japan-based firm's 2019 decision to bail out WeWork

Internet investor SoftBank Group said Saturday it reached a settlement with WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann and other investors in the office sharing giant, amid reports that the deal would give the ex-CEO an extra $50 million.

SoftBank Group did not release details of the agreement that puts to rest a bitter dispute emerging from the Japan-based firm's 2019 decision to bail out WeWork, once regarded as a soaring unicorn but which quickly spiralled into deep troubles as it lost cash and cancelled its eagerly waited share offering.

Under the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported, SoftBank Group would buy about $1.5 billion of stock from other investors, including nearly $500 million from Neumann, roughly a half of what it originally planned to buy.

But the deal would give the controversial founder a $50 million windfall, another $50 million to cover his legal fees and extend by five years a $430 million SoftBank Group loan, according to reports.

Neumann and WeWork investors had sued SoftBank claiming the investment firm breached its obligations by backing out of a $3 billion rescue plan.

"This agreement is the result of all parties coming to the table for the sake of doing what is best for the future of WeWork," Marcelo Claure, executive chairman of WeWork and chief operating officer of SoftBank Group.

"With this litigation behind us, we are fully focused on our mission to reimagine the workplace and continue to meet the growing demand for flexible space around the world."

WeWork was a dazzling unicorn valued at $47 billion, and SoftBank's founder Masayoshi Son had openly hailed Neumann's vision.

But things began to unravel as the firm lost cash and cancelled its share offering, with the ex-CEO pushed outalbeit with a generous package.

Explore further WeWork sues Japan's SoftBank for backing out of deal

 2021 AFP
Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the Islamic republic was not pursuing a nuclear weapon, which he said was against Islamic principles

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the Islamic republic was not pursuing a nuclear weapon, which he said was against Islamic principles.

"We are not after nuclear weapons. This is based on Islamic fundamentals and commands that prohibit weapons that are used for killing ordinary people. The one that massacres 220,000 people with nuclear weapons is the US," he was quoted as saying on his website.

He slammed the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom for using "arrogant, unjust rhetoric," after the allies accused Tehran of flouting its commitments by ramping up uranium enrichment.

"They don't mention that they never carried out their own commitments," Khamenei argued.

Iran began enriching uranium past the limits set in the 2015 nuclear deal after the United States quit the pact in 2018 and reimposed economic sanctions on Tehran. Iran has criticized Europe for failing to shield it from the impact of US restrictions.
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Jonah Hill arrives at the 2018 GQ's Men of the Year Celebration on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California. Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

Jonah Hill has called out the Daily Mail for posting shirtless photos from his recent surf trip.

The actor said he's dealt with years of insecurity about his body, worsened by the media.

At 37 years old, Hill said he finally loves himself, and encouraged others to do the same.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Actor Jonah Hill called out the Daily Mail for posting candid shots of the actor shirtless after surfing, part of what he said has been a pattern of the media trying to body-shame him.

"I don't think I ever took my shirt off in a pool until I was in my mid 30s even in front of family and friends. Probably would have happened sooner if my childhood insecurities weren't exacerbated by years of public mockery about my body by press and interviewers," he wrote.

Hill posted the comments late Friday night on his Instagram page, saying that the "stalking" and media attention no longer fazed him.

"I'm 37 and finally love and accept myself," he wrote.

The actor, made famous for playing nerdy roles in "Superbad" and "Knocked Up," had previously attracted attention for significant weight loss in 2011 and again in 2017.

His recent comments resonated with fans who describe feeling similarly uncomfortable and anxious about body image, particularly men.

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Hill specified that he was sharing his story so that it might help other people with similar experiences.

"This isn't a 'good for me' post. And it's definitely not a 'feel bad for me post'. It's for the the kids who don't take their shirt off at the pool. Have fun. You're wonderful and awesome and perfect," he wrote.

It's not uncommon for male celebrities to face unwanted attention and scrutiny of their bodies. Leading men like Jason Momoa and the late Chadwick Boseman are both recent examples of high-profile body shaming from the media, audiences, and even fans.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 17:48:55|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Russian Mi-35 helicopter made an emergency landing for technical reasons during a scheduled patrol mission over the Al-Hasakah province of Syria on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The chopper was not attacked, the ministry said, adding that rescuers have transferred the Mi-35 crew to an airfield.

The pilots aboard were immediately treated by the rescuers and are not in serious condition, according to the ministry. Enditem
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Turn that frown upside down and look on the bright side. Things arent perfect on the restaurant front  but theyre certainly better. At 35% capacity right now in dining rooms, its a march into March with a new, collective pep in our step.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but the imperfect these days comes from a pattern established in prior times after capacities have been increased  an uptick in inspections from various city and state departments. South Shore restaurant owners this past week have reported aggressive spot-checking on customer contact tracing records and bathroom cleaning logs. Several owners said that inspectors headed right for the employee temp log book. The upsides to this scenario: no one has reported any fines or violations. And the demonstration might scare both patrons and owners alike into abiding strictly by current public health measures.

Another bright spot: the State Liquor Authority reinstated all Richmond County licenses suspended so far in the pandemic. Well talk more on this in the upcoming week.

Yes, things are comparatively better and it might take a look back on where we were 365 days ago in order to further orient ourselves.

Marina Cafe co-owner Rosemarie Saladino recalls, In February, I felt very good about the business because we had a great winter. Things were rocking and rolling for us. You know why? Because we had great weather.

After indoor dining shut on March 16, the mood changed for the Great Kills proprietor. She said, In April came the concept of being mentally disappointed, not working, not having a motivation...it put people into a depression.

But it wasnt just an economic thing where business came to a near halt and employees were put out of work.

It was fear of getting sick. I was petrified in March. To me, I was getting a little scared  people were buying paper towels, [hoarding] toilet paper... I was stocking up like crazy. And I never have food in my house! she said with a laugh. Rosemarie added, Quarantines gone now, so theres food in the house!

But one thing that came from that upside down feeling was a necessity right the keel. Trips to a reflexologist in New Jersey helped immensely. And now she wants to bring that service to Staten Island with her new venture in addition to Marina, Reflexology Theory, coming soon to 4072 Hylan Blvd., Great Kills, likely in the second week of March.

Also to mark her business grand opening will be the one-year anniversary of the quarantine stage of COVID-19. And it is really unbelievable such time has passed. Every day is truly a new day, it seems, step by step closer to normal. Thirty-five percent capacity might not sound like a lot for a robust business  by our standards in the future. But on this February day it is a gift.

That perspective hit me while sitting down at a linen-lined table at Basilio Inn in South Beach on Friday  to smell the garlic in a bowl of pappardelle sauteed with Roma tomatoes and molten goat cheese and to see owner Maurizio Asperti right in front of me in person once again. It was simultaneous feeling of relief and joy.

A friend said, Its been a tough year, honey. Thats especially why you have to celebrate all the little things that truly are the big things. And how true that is.

Another pal said, Its spring. You can feel it in the air. You can see buds on the trees. But those buds made me know spring is here and you cant stop it. And it will increase our mental status. She pointed out that March 14 is Daylight Savings time, the days are getting longer. Natures constant change is reliable.

And here we are  a little older, maybe wiser, hopefully filled with deeper appreciation for life in general.

Grandma and Pam FaceTime

We spoke with my grandmother, Lillian, the other day. She had a nice lady at her facility make the call, which surprised us all. Fresh from the in-house salon after a year without such a thing, she sported a new do and pinky nails. She wanted to share the look. At 102, Grandmas now got the hang of the FaceTime thing. And Im feeling grateful for some things as a result of the months behind us.

Keep in touch.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
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Coronation Street actors have shared tributes on social media to lovely man Johnny Briggs, who has died aged 85.

Briggs made his Corrie debut as Mike Baldwin in 1976 and remained on the Cobbles until 2006, playing the role of an underwear factory boss.

The official Coronation Street Twitter account posted: The whole Coronation Street family is deeply saddened by the death of Johnny Briggs.

The whole Coronation Street family is deeply saddened by the death of Johnny Briggs.



In the role of Mike Baldwin, he truly was one of the most iconic characters The Street has ever known.



We wish Johnny's family all our condolences. pic.twitter.com/6aYuEaEXse  Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) February 28, 2021

In the role of Mike Baldwin, he truly was one of the most iconic characters The Street has ever known. We wish Johnnys family all our condolences.

Antony Cotton, who plays Sean Tully, described Briggs as a complex character, on and off screen, adding we all adored him.

He tweeted: Feel lucky that I got the chance to work with him in the factory. I am, and will always be, a Baldwins Casual.

Night night Mr Baldwin, Ive left you a bottle of Scotch in the filing cabinet

Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt, said: I am very sorry to hear the sad news.

I have many happy memories of working together with Johnny. He was one of the streets most memorable characters.

Samia Longchambon, who plays Maria Connor, tweeted: #RestInPeace Johnny Briggs. Really sorry to hear the sad news. I have fond memories of working with Johnny, he was such a lovely man.

#RestInPeace Johnny Briggs. Really sorry to hear the sad news. I have fond memories of working with Johnny, he was such a lovely man ai  Samia Longchambon (@realsamia) February 28, 2021

Sally Dynevor took to Twitter to say she had lots of happy memories with the wonderful actor.

And Jane Danson wrote: So sorry to hear johnny Briggs has passed away. We did lots of scs together.

I remember he took the battersbys out for lunch on our first week filming  happy memories.

Former Emmerdale and Corrie actor John Bowe recalled Never forgotten introducing you to Guacamole! in his own tribute, while writer Phil Ford said he had enjoyed many a lunchtime chat and lots of smiles with Briggs.

Farewell Johnny and Mike, and thank you from Alma and me for all those wonderful years together. See you in the Rovers in the Sky. Ours is a G and T. With love. @itvcorrie #JohnnyBriggs  Amanda Barrie (@amandabarrie11) February 28, 2021

And it was not just soap stars and acquaintances who shared their tributes.

Conservative MP for Bournemouth West Conor Burns tweeted: Sad to hear Johnny Briggs has died.

A great actor who brought pleasure to millions through his character Mike Baldwin.

Will always be remembered for some of @itvcorrie most dramatic, funny and moving scenes. The passing of an era on the cobbles. RIP.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our father, Johnny Briggs, a family statement said.

He passed away peacefully this morning after a long illness, with family by his side. He was 85.




New Delhi: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is exploring the possibility of exporting its mid-sized premium bike H'ness CB350 to various markets across the globe even as it works to cater to the robust demand for the model in the domestic market, a senior company official said.

The company rolls out the bike with over 90 per cent localisation from its Manesar (Haryana) based manufacturing facility. HMSI had introduced the bike in October 2020 and has already crossed the 10,000 sales mark in February this year in the domestic market.

"Since this model is already meeting the European regulations, there are many countries where this model could be exported. So we are in discussion with our headquarters. Already the model is three months old in the domestic market and there is interest from other Honda companies across the globe," HMSI Director (Sales and Marketing) Yadvinder Singh Guleria told PTI in an interaction.

Terming it "one model which is Made in India for the world", he noted that the company is currently focusing at catering to the bookings which have already come in for the bike in the domestic market.

"We are working at the backend now to minimise this waiting period. But for sure this is one model which is Made in India for the world. There is big potential. We are waiting and once we get a green signal from headquarters in Japan, we can start the exports. Potential does exist and we are quite hopeful," Guleria said.

When asked to comment on HMSI's overall plans regarding the premium bike segment, he said the company is looking to expand its product portfolio in a stepwise manner in sync with the addition of an exclusive sales network.

The company, which currently sells four bikes in the premium segment, plans to bring in 300 cc and above models while expanding its BigWing sales network in the country. "Our study says there is a big potential that exists for us in this segment. It also says that we can have a fair business volume which could make our exclusive BigWing network to be viable and sustainable," Guleria said.

Moving ahead it is not only the network, there will be a product range that is going to be expanded in a stepwise manner, he added. The company currently sells its premium bike range from two kinds of sale outlets, the BigWing Topline and BigWing. The BigWing Topline retails the entire premium range -- Africa Twins, CBR 1000 RR, H'ness CB350 ?and newly launched CB 350 RS.

The BigWing outlets on the other hand sell only mid-sized bikes (up to 500 cc)-- H'ness CB350 and CB 350 RS. HMSI plans to have around 50 such dealerships across big cities and smaller towns by the end of this year. When asked about the new product launches, Guleria said: "Certainly, we have plans to expand the portfolio, especially the mid-sized bike segment looks promising."

He noted that the company had been carefully watching and studying the mid-sized bike segment for a couple of years and it sees a large potential in the years to come in terms of volumes.

"We could also identify that there were some gap areas in terms of customer expectations which we can include in the new product development and that is how we went ahead with H'ness CB350 and it has received great response in the market," Guleria said.

He noted that CB 350 RS uses the same platform as H'ness CB350 ?but with altogether different characteristics and styling "we hope to bring in a separate set of customers with this product especially youngsters and people looking for something which can meet their lifestyle and weekend drives in the urban settings."

He said that the initial response for the bike has been on target, but the real picture would be clear only after the product delivery begins in early March.

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It looks like one rule for the boys and another for the girls.

Regatta season is fast approaching, with two key school events scheduled for later this month. Theres the Head of Schoolgirls Regatta held on March 12-14 on the Barwon River outside Geelong with the Associated Public Schools of Victoria Sport Regatta (mainly boys but which does include girls) on March 20 at Lake Nagambie.

Guess which event is allowing spectators?

Yes, convoys of four-wheel drives full of long-suffering rowing parents from Firbank and Melbourne Girls Grammar will head down to Geelong in full knowledge that spectators have been banned from the HOSG Regatta. While the APS Head of the River (traditionally boys but mixed gender from schools including Brighton Grammar and St Kevins) is allowed 1050 people, or two spectators for each senior rower.

Why? The races are organised separately, with each organising committee organising its own COVID-safe plans. The no-spectator rule was decided by the HOGS committee, who werent keen to comment on the matter further.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-01 05:33:50|Editor: huaxia

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Illegal immigrants are seen on the deck of the Libyan Coast Guard's ship in Tripoli, Libya, on Feb. 28, 2021. A total of 181 illegal immigrants were rescued on Sunday by the Libyan Coast Guard off the country's western coast. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A total of 181 illegal immigrants were rescued on Sunday by the Libyan Coast Guard off the country's western coast.

The rescued are of different African nationalities, the Libyan navy said in a statement, adding there were 15 women and 10 children among them.

They have been handed over to the anti-illegal immigration department, it said.

Due to the state of insecurity and chaos in the North African nation, thousands of illegal immigrants every year choose to cross the Mediterranean from Libya towards Europe.

The International Organization for Migration said that in 2020, 323 died and 417 others went missing on the route, while 11,891 illegal immigrants were rescued. Enditem
The Chula Vista Fire Department has a new, easy-to-maneuver truck to help fight fires in the Otay Ranch area.

The truck, also known as a tiller, allows a firefighter at the back to steer the rear wheels, enabling the vehicle to make sharper turns.

The best feature of this truck is its turning capabilities, fire Chief Jim Geering said. The tractor-drawn tiller truck can successfully maneuver through the tightest turns in all of our pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods throughout Otay Ranch, ensuring better access and response.

The first of its kind for the Fire Department, the 2017 Pierce Manufacturing truck replaces a 24-year-old truck at a fire station on Santa Venetia Street near Otay Ranch High School.

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At almost 58 feet long and 37 tons, the truck includes battery-operated extrication tools known as jaws of life and a 100-foot-long ladder capable of extending the length of seven stories.

Geering said the truck has safety features such as improved braking capabilities, reflective strips and LED lighting. He said it also meets emissions standards, making it safer for the environment and firefighters.

The fully outfitted truck, with fire radios and other communication equipment, cost about $1.4 million. It was purchased with funds from Measure P, a 10-year, half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2016.

The city intends to use Measure P funds for infrastructure needs, including upgrades to equipment, vehicles and facilities used by the police and fire departments.

In June, Chula Vista residents will vote on a measure that would enact another half-cent sales tax increase, this time to generate funds to hire more than 20 police officers, 40 civilian employees and 30 fire personnel.

Public safety and city officials have said the additional staff is needed to improve the fire and police departments response times, among other reasons.

According to a 2016 city report, the Fire Department failed in the previous five years to meet its response-time standard, which calls for firefighters and medics to respond to calls for service within seven minutes at least 80 percent of the time.

The Fire Departments nine stations respond to about 19,000 calls a year across the city.

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The new fire truck at station 7 was used for the first time earlier this month.

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
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1. Roads. The citys roads are a mess. Significant resources are needed to fix them.

2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

3. More city programs. The city must invest more in city programs and services.

4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

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AMMAN/MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian Mi-35 helicopter made an emergency landing due to technical problems during a flight over Syria's northern Hasaka province, state agencies quoted Russia's Defence Ministry as saying on Sunday.

"The crew was quickly evacuated to the airfield. There is no threat to lives of the pilots," the RIA news agency cited a Defence Ministry statement as saying.

The helicopter was not fired at, it added.

Syrian state media said earlier there were reports of a Russian helicopter crash in northeast Syria that killed the pilot.

It said the site of the crash was in Hasaka province, near Tal Tamr close to a Russian base.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by David Clarke and Frances Kerry)
India has made a donation of 1.5 crores to Taiwan's National Research Institute of Chinese medicine in order to bolster cooperation in traditional medicine.

India made a donation of 1.5 Million (NTD 570,000) to Taiwans National Research Institute on Friday in order to boost cooperation in traditional medicine. As per CNA, Taiwans News reported that it was the very first time that such an initiative has been undertaken by the Indian government  to donate funds to a Taiwanese government institution.

As per a report, Taiwans representatives have invested years in South Asian countries to promote exchanges between the traditional medicine sectors of the two sides. Taiwans New Southbound policy which was introduced in 2016 targets a total of 18 countries, India being one of them.

India has set up a permanent Information cell named- AYUSH which provides data about traditional Indian medicine and also manages the exchange with the Chinese Medical community located in Taiwan. Indias ministry of Ayush and the World Health Organisation South Regional Office (WHO-SEARO) has recently signed a Letter Of Exchange (LoE) for the delegation of an expert from AYUSH to WHOs regional medicine programme in New Delhi.

Also Read: Report claims Saudis Crown Prince approved killing of Jamal Khashoggi; US imposes sanctions

Gouranglal Das, The South Asian countrys chief representative in Taiwan was also present at the Friday conference to officially hand over the donation funds to the NRICM, a CNA report cited.

Also read:Jaishankar dials chinese counterpart Wang Yi; discusses roadmap to peace on a 75-min call
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YANGON, Myanmar - Security forces in Myanmar opened fire and made mass arrests Sunday as they sought to break up protests against the militarys seizure of power, and a U.N. human rights official said it had credible information that at least 18 people were killed and 30 were wounded.

Students march during an anti-coup rally in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. Police in Myanmar escalated their crackdown on demonstrators against this month's military takeover, deploying early and in force on Saturday as protesters sought to assemble in the country's two biggest cities and elsewhere. (AP Photo)

YANGON, Myanmar - Security forces in Myanmar opened fire and made mass arrests Sunday as they sought to break up protests against the militarys seizure of power, and a U.N. human rights official said it had credible information that at least 18 people were killed and 30 were wounded.

That would be the highest single-day death toll among protesters who are demanding that the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi be restored to power after being ousted by a Feb. 1 coup. About 1,000 people are believed to have been detained Sunday.

Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku, the U.N. Human Rights Office said in a statement referring to several cities, adding that the forces also used tear gas, flash-bang grenades and stun grenades.

An Associated Press journalist was taken into police custody on Saturday morning while providing news coverage of the protests. The journalist, Thein Zaw, remains in police custody.

The AP called for his immediate release.

Blockages are set up during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. Police fired tear gas and water cannons and there were reports of gunfire Sunday in Myanmar's largest city where another anti-coup protest was underway with scores of students and other demonstrators hauled away in police trucks. (AP Photo)

Independent journalists must be allowed to freely and safely report the news without fear of retribution. AP decries in the strongest terms the arbitrary detention of Thein Zaw, said Ian Phillips, AP vice-president for international news. The Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar also condemned the arrest.

The Democratic Voice of Burma reported that as of 5 p.m. in Myanmar, there had been 19 confirmed deaths in nine cities, with another 10 deaths unconfirmed. The independent media company broadcasts on satellite and digital terrestrial television, as well as online.

DVB counted five deaths in Yangon and two in Mandalay, the largest and second-largest cities.

Myanmar riot police with shields move forward during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. Police fired tear gas and water cannons and there were reports of gunfire Sunday in Myanmar's largest city Yangon where another anti-coup protest was underway with scores of students and other demonstrators hauled away in police trucks. (AP Photo)

It registered five deaths in Dawei, a much smaller city in southeastern Myanmar that has seen tens of thousands of protesters nearly every day since the coup. Witnesses said Sundays march was also large and people were determined not to be driven off the streets.

Confirming the deaths of protesters has been difficult amid the chaos and general lack of news from official sources, especially in areas outside Yangon, Mandalay and the capital of Naypyitaw. But in many cases, photos and video circulated showed circumstances of the killings and gruesome photos of bodies.

The independent Assistance Association of Political Prisoners reported it was aware that about 1,000 people were detained Sunday, of whom they were able to identify 270. That brought to 1,132 the total number of people the group has confirmed being arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup.

Residents shout slogans and flash three-finger signs of resistance during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. Police in Myanmar escalated their crackdown on demonstrators against this month's military takeover, deploying early and in force on Saturday as protesters sought to assemble in the country's two biggest cities and elsewhere. (AP Photo)

Gunfire was reported almost as soon the protests began Sunday morning in Yangon, as police also fired tear gas and water cannons while trying to clear the streets. Photos of shell casings from live ammunition used in assault rifles were posted on social media.

Initial reports on social media identified one young man believed to have been killed. His body was shown in photos and videos lying on a sidewalk until other protesters carried him away.

In Dawei, local media reported at least three people were killed during a protest march, supported by photos and video. Photos on social media showed one wounded man in the care of medical personnel.

A wounded protester is carried during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. Security forces in Myanmar used lethal force as they intensified their efforts to break up protests a month after the military staged a coup. At least four people were reportedly killed on Sunday. (AP Photo)

Before Sunday, there had been eight confirmed reports of killings linked to the armys takeover, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the crackdown, calling the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters and arbitrary arrests unacceptable, and expressed serious concern at the increase in deaths and serious injuries, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The secretary-general urges the international community to come together and send a clear signal to the military that it must respect the will of the people of Myanmar as expressed through the election and stop the repression, Dujarric said.

A protester throws a brick towards police during the protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. Security forces in Myanmar used lethal force as they intensified their efforts to break up protests a month after the military staged a coup. At least four people were reportedly killed on Sunday. (AP Photo)

U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken also condemned the violence. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a statement saying the U.S. is alarmed by the violence and stands in solidarity with Myanmar people who continue to bravely voice their aspirations for democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights."

Washington has imposed sanctions on Myanmar because of the coup, and Sullivan said it would impose further costs on those responsible, promising details in the coming days.

The Feb. 1 coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party would have been installed for a second five-year term in office, but the army blocked Parliament from convening and detained her and President Win Myint, as well as other top members of Suu Kyis government.

On Sunday morning, medical students marched in Yangon near the Hledan Center intersection, which has become the gathering point for protesters who then fan out to other parts of the city.

Videos and photos showed protesters running as police charged at them, and residents setting up makeshift roadblocks to slow their advance. Some protesters managed to throw tear gas canisters back at police. Nearby, residents were pleading with police to release those they picked up from the street and shoved into police trucks to be taken away. Dozens or more were believed to be detained.

The world is watching the actions of the Myanmar military junta, and will hold them accountable, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for New York-based Human Rights Watch. Live ammunition should not be used to control or disperse protests and lethal force can only be used to protect life or prevent serious injury.

Security forces began employing rougher tactics on Saturday, taking preemptive actions to break up protests and making scores, if not hundreds, of arrests. Greater numbers of soldiers also joined police. Many of those detained were taken to Insein Prison in Yangons northern outskirts, historically notorious for holding political prisoners.
(@FahadShabbir)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2021) The US State Department is concerned about the recent developments in the conflict-torn Ethiopian province of Tigray, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

"The United States is gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals and displacements, sexual assaults, and other extremely serious human rights violations and abuses by several parties that multiple organizations have reported in Tigray. We are also deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian crisis," Blinken said in a Saturday statement.

The US State Department called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray and for unilateral declarations of cessation of hostilities.

"We ask international partners, especially the African Union and regional partners, to work with us to address the crisis in Tigray, including through action at the UN and other relevant bodies," Blinken said.

Earlier this week, Amnesty International said that the Eritrean troops killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the city of Axum in Tigray on November 28-29.

Fighting in the province of Tigray broke out in November after the Ethiopian government accused the local ruling party  Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)  of attacking a regional military base to hijack weapons and arm the anti-government militia. Roughly 40,000 Ethiopian citizens have fled to Sudan following the beginning of the conflict.

Ethiopian Ambassador to South Africa Shiferaw Teklemariam Menbacho told Sputnik earlier this month that ensuring peace in Tigray is the responsibility of the Ethiopian government. The government's military operation in the region aims to restore law and order, the ambassador emphasized.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The nation is poised to get a third vaccine against COVID-19, but because at first glance the Johnson & Johnson shot may not be seen as equal to other options, health officials are girding for the question: Which one is best?

If cleared for emergency use, the J&J vaccine would offer a one-dose option that could help speed vaccinations, tamp down a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 people in the U.S. and stay ahead of a mutating virus.

WHEN YOU GET THE VACCINE: 8 things to do (and not do) when receiving the COVID-19 vaccine

I think its going to be huge, said Dr. Virginia Caine, director of the public health department in Marion County, Indiana, which includes Indianapolis. She expects the easier-to-use vaccine will give local officials more flexibility for mobile vaccination clinics or pop-up events.

The challenge will be explaining how protective the J&J shot is after the astounding success of the first U.S. vaccines.

Two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna shots were found to be about 95% effective against symptomatic COVID-19. The numbers from J&Js study are not that high, but they are not an apples-to-apples comparison. One dose of the J&J vaccine was 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19. After adding in moderate cases, the total effectiveness dropped to about 66%.

I dont think its a second-tier vaccine, but weve got to avoid that perception, said Dr. Thomas Balcezak of Yale New Haven Health System.

The J&J shot was tested in the U.S., Latin America and South Africa at a time when more contagious mutated versions of the virus were spreading. That wasnt the case last fall, when Pfizer and Moderna were wrapping up testing, and its not clear if their numbers would hold against the most worrisome of those variants.

Importantly, the Food and Drug Administration reported this week that, just like its predecessors, the J&J shot offers strong protection against the worst outcomes. By 28 days after the injection, there were no hospitalizations or deaths in study volunteers given the J&J shot, compared with 16 hospitalizations and seven deaths in those given a dummy shot.

Independent advisers to the FDA will recommend Friday if there's enough evidence to allow widespread use of J&J's vaccine, setting the stage for a final decision within days.

WHERE TO GO: Here's where you can get vaccinated in Texas

If it rolls out next week, U.S. officials expect to have only a few million doses to divide between states in initial shipments. But by the end of March, J&J has said it can supply enough to vaccinate 20 million people  a much-needed boost to stretched supplies.

The bottom line: Whatever vaccine is being offered is what you want, said University of Pennsylvania immunologist E. John Wherry.

Still, the nuances of the vaccines raise ethical questions.

At Yale, Balcezak is struggling with how to make the best use of the J&J shot's advantages without appearing to target it to underserved populations. For example, its a logical choice for homeless shelters where people may have moved on before their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

Im very worried about how that would be perceived, Balcezak said.

The J&J vaccine is also easier to handle, lasting three months in the refrigerator compared to the Pfizer and Moderna options, which must be frozen.

Balcezak said the Yale system has been working with pastors and other cultural ambassadors to answer vaccine questions from minority communities, and likewise will discuss the J&J shot's possibilities.

In Washington state, health officials see some clear need for one-and-done vaccinations  including sailors in the maritime industry, who can spend months on cargo and fishing vessels.

This is the ideal vaccine for them, said Dr. Scott Lindquist of the Washington State Department of Health. With the two-dose vaccines, the state had to send second doses onward to the next port of call.

Other parts of the world already are facing which-is-best challenges. AstraZenecas vaccine, for instance, is cleared for use in Britain and Europe after data suggested it was about 70% effective. Italys government recently decided to reserve Pfizer and Moderna shots for the elderly and designate the AstraZeneca vaccine for younger, at-risk workers, sparking protest from the countrys main teachers union.

In the U.S., health officials say it's critical for the government to send a clear message.

Right now, its not vaccine against vaccine, its vaccine against virus, said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

___

AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report.

___

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.
Exactly a year after New Zealand recorded its first coronavirus case, Auckland woke on Sunday to a second lockdown this month.

The seven-day lockdown of a population of nearly 2 million, announced late on Saturday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, was prompted by the case of a person who had been infectious for a week with the more contagious UK variant but not in isolation.

It is more than likely there will be additional cases in the community, Ardern told a televised news conference, although no new cases were recorded on Sunday.

The move follows a three-day stay-at-home order in mid-February after the UK variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 emerged in New Zealand. About 14 cases are linked to the cluster.
Flexible season tickets will be offered to commuters by June as part of Government plans to get workers rushing back to their desks.

The tickets can be used for two or three days per week to fit with a phased return to full time office working - and are set to save commuters several hundreds of pounds.

Under current working-from-home rules, Britons must stay out of the office unless absolutely necessary - but this is set to be relaxed on June 21.

The flexible tickets will be available 'in the first half' of 2021, a Transport Department source told The Daily Telegraph.

Boris Johnson this week predicted that commuters will flock back to offices' in a few short months'.

Speaking at a rail industry conference, the Prime Minister dismissed the idea that the lockdowns of the last year would lead to a permanent shift towards working from home.

It follows the news that rail ticket prices in England and Wales are set to increase by around 2.6 come Monday, leading to accusations that the UK Government is 'pricing the railways out of existence'.

Flexible season tickets will be offered to commuters by June as part of Government plans to get workers flocking back to their desks (file image)

The Scottish Government is implementing smaller rises of 1.6 per cent and 0.6 per cent for peak and off-peak travel respectively.

Examples of the potential fare hikes include a Brighton-London annual season ticket going up by 129 to 5,109 and a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rising by 2.30 to 90.60.

Exact prices will be released on Monday.

Fare rises in England have mirrored RPI since January 2014, but the Department for Transport (DfT) axed the policy due to the 'unprecedented taxpayer support' handed to the rail industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK, Scottish and Welsh governments took over rail franchise agreements from train operators in March 2020, following the collapse in demand for travel caused by the virus crisis.

This is expected to cost the UK Government alone around 10billion by mid-2021.

Fares usually become more expensive on the first working day of every year, but the 2021 rise was deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bruce Williamson, of pressure group Railfuture, described the increase as 'the usual annual punishment for rail passengers, just slightly delayed'.

He claimed the UK Government 'should be encouraging the public to start using trains again' when lockdown restrictions ease.

'But instead they're gradually pricing the railways out of existence,' he said. 'It just doesn't make sense to kick the rail industry when it's down.'

The tickets can be used for two or three days per week to fit with a phased return to full time office working - and are set to save save commuters several hundreds of pounds (file image)

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady warned that the increase in the cost of rail travel 'will not help commuters and city centres recover from the pandemic'.

She said: 'The Government needs a credible plan for the future of rail that gives passengers better value.'

The Liberal Democrats' transport spokesperson Sarah Olney called for responsibility for setting rail fares to be handed to a new independent Railway Agency mandated to keep prices low.

She said: 'It is appalling that yet again people are being hit by another grossly unfair Government-approved hike in rail fares.'

Rises in around half of fares - including season tickets on most commuter routes - are regulated by the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments.

Speaking at a rail industry conference, the Prime Minister dismissed the idea that the lockdowns of the last year would lead to a permanent shift towards working from home

Train operators determine increases in unregulated fares such as Advance tickets, but this year they are heavily linked to rises in regulated tickets as governments have taken on firms' financial liabilities.

That means the overall average increase across England and Wales is around 2.6%.

A DfT spokeswoman noted that this is the lowest rise in four years 'despite unprecedented taxpayer support for the rail industry'.

She went on: 'By delaying the change in fares, passengers who needed to renew season tickets were able to get a better deal, and we will set our further plans to offer cheaper, more flexible tickets for commuters in due course.'

Robert Nisbet, director of nations and regions at industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said it is up to the Government to decide 'how much it wants passengers to pay towards the cost of running the railway'.

He added that train operators want to give passengers 'better value' by working with ministers to create a 'new, more flexible' ticketing system.
Graphic design is used to overcome problems and communicate concepts by typography, illustration, colour and form. There is no means of summarizing the wide field of graphic design into one definition, because there are a variety of graphic design styles, each with its own specificity and sector.

While sometimes identical, a particular collection of skills and techniques is needed for each graphic design. Some designers specialise on one type; others focus on a number of related types. However, as the business continues to grow, designers need to remain adaptable and lifelong learners need to adjust or integrate specialisations into their professions.

If you are an inspiring artist or searching for company design services, knowing styles of graphic design will help you find the right work skills. Learning graphic design through BSG a UK Online Graphic Design Course today!

1. The definition of digital interface

A brand is a relationship between the product and the public. Brand identity is how a person expresses his or her look, language, meaning, thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Visual identity graphic design is precisely this: visual elements of a corporate identity that act as the face of a business to convey those intangible attributes through photographs, forms and colours.

Designers specialised in visual identity graphics create a relationship with business owners to construct resources like logos, typography, colour palettes and illustrative collections representing the style of a client. In addition to conventional business cards and corporate stationary cards, designers are now creating a set of visual identity standards (style guides) detailing standard strategies and providing instances of visual branding distributed through diverse channels. These requirements often preserve quality credibility in the sense of future adoption.

Visual identification is a traditional style. In order to create design functionality that suit all new formats, digital identity graphic designers would have a basic knowledge of all aspects of graphic design. They would require outstanding coordination, observation, creative capabilities and an enthusiasm for science.

2. Publicity and Concept Advertising

When people think about graphic design, they think about publicity and promotional types.

Companies depend on successful communication campaigns to reach the decision-making phase of their target markets. Great advertisement involves customers on the grounds of wants, needs, awareness and commodity, service or brand satisfaction. Because visual material is often more enticing, graphic design allows companies to promote and interact more effectively.

Communications specialists collaborate with owners, administrators, superiors or communications professionals to create publicity strategy plans. They can work on their own or as part of an in-house or creative team. Designers can specialise in specific media formats (e.g. car wraps or magazine ads) or create a large variety of broadcasts, broadcasts and other collateral. Although mostly print-based, this design style has expanded to incorporate more digital assets, particularly for web marketing and digital ads.

Marketing planners need exceptional listening, problem-solving and speeding abilities. Besides being qualified in a range of graphic design, illustration and presentation methods, the printing and web development environments must also be well established. Entry-level employment is a great chance for young designers to learn the procedure and gain useful expertise and practise.

3. Pictures of electronic systems

UI is the way a consumer interacts with a machine or software. UI design is the process of designing fast-access and user-friendly device applications. After completing our online graphic design course, you will take advantage of our online graphic design course in the UK.

The UI contains all the things a user interacts withscreen, keyboard, and mousebut the UI design emphasises on the user's visual environment and on-screen symbols, such as buttons, menus, micro-interactions, and more. The developer of the UI is responsible for combining the aesthetic appeal with technological quality.

UI programmers specialise in laptop apps, smartphone devices, online applications and sports. They work closely with designers (determining how the interface works) and UI engineers (who compose code to make the app work).

UI designers must be staff members with a good graphic design background and exceptional understanding of basic UI/UX, emerging technologies and site construction. In addition to graphics programmes, language awareness programming such as WordPress, Elementor and Adobe XD learning is needed. Both of which you will adopt as part of our web design course right after finishing the online graphic design course.

4. Pictures to be released

Publications are long-form publications that communicate with the public via public circulation. Traditionally, this is a printing unit. Publishing production is a common form of product-think books, journals, and catalogues. However, interactive publication has lately risen dramatically.

Publication graphic designers collaborate with publishers and manufacturers to produce custom typography and similar artwork designs, including photos, animations and illustrations. Publication designers can function as freelancers, as creative team members, or as in-house publishers.

Publication planners need exceptional coordination, construction and management skills. In addition to their graphic design skills, they need to understand colour management, printing and multimedia writing.
There is only one train that serves Le Locle, Switzerland, a tiny hamlet in the canton of Neuchatel. Hikers with ski poles are a familiar sight on this route, as are the discreet members of the Ulysse Nardin team, watchmakers from generation to generation. Church bells ring and echo from the mountains and an occasional herd of sheep can be seen on their way through the towns streets. This bucolic atmosphere belies the technology at work in the house of Ulysse Nardin, an integral part of the landscape of Le Locle for 175 years.

Sparkling Free Wheel  Ulysse Nardin

Deep beneath the winter snow, Le Locle houses the beating heart of Swiss watchmaking excellence. Ulysse Nardin is one of the industrys bestkept secrets, a house constantly striving to produce technological avatars while remaining true to the companys original aesthetic and stringent work ethic.



In 2021, Ulysse Nardin introduces its newest creation, a sleeping giant in the Executive collection: The Sparkling Free Wheel - a true work of art. Diamonds, diamonds, and more diamonds adorn a watchmaking marvel raised to the level of visual brilliance. Like the drifts of snow that glisten in the morning sun, the Sparkling Free Wheel incites dreams, encourages imagination and paves the way to fearlessly follow your passion to the ends of the earth.



The diamond-setting technique used on this chef doeuvre, known as snow setting, is a complex process performed only by highly trained craftsmen. In a snow setting, the diamonds of different sizes are placed side by side to completely cover the surface, like a fresh blanket of Swiss snow. The craftsmen of Art Setting, a Geneva-based workshop, have been perfecting this process for over three decades.

Sparkling Free Wheel  Ulysse Nardin

Ulysse Nardin and its parent company, Kering, are dedicated to sustainability, endeavoring with each innovation to leave Earth a better place for future generations. At Ulysse Nardin, we adhere to the Kimberly Process to ensure that all of our diamonds are ethically sourced. said Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Ulysse Nardin.



The 2251 pave stones on the Sparkling Free Wheel are rigorously selected and comprise a total of 5.90 carats. The diamond setting alone takes approximately 120 hours of meticulous work to complete. The stellar quality  all VVS or VS with an F/G rating for purity and color  is visible to the naked eye. Diamonds are everywhere on this model, from the face of the gray gold dial to the horns and even the barrel cover. The carbon soft-touch, black alligator band features a clasp also set with diamonds using the snow setting technique.



For over 30 years Art Setting has worked tirelessly to preserve the ancestral techniques of gem setting pioneered by our forbearers," said Claude Leblanc, Director of Art Setting. "We take pride in putting all of our knowledge and experience at the service of constant innovation.

Sparkling Free Wheel  Ulysse Nardin

The Free Wheels most astonishing features are the dials tourbillon bridges and the 7-day power reserve indicator at four oclock, which are shaped like boomerangs and look like they are miraculously floating in the air. So too do the other components, the hour and minute indicators and the gorgeous gear trains. The sapphire glass box housing these flying elements is another standout achievement. The structures complexity and finishespecially the polishing of the box angleswere extremely difficult to achieve, requiring lengthy and painstaking experimentation. The case back is also sapphire, except theres less to see inside, as, in a complete reversal of watchmaking convention, all the exquisite components are visible on the dial side.



The mechanical movement powering all this beauty is the UN-176, entirely developed in-house at the Ulysse Nardin manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Its flying tourbillon is the Ulysse Anchor Escapement, a pioneering technology that replaces the traditional Swiss lever escapement system and uses Ulysse Nardins signature low friction silicium instead of metal or synthetic rubies.



The eight pieces in this Sparkling Free Wheel limited edition are available for 225000 CHF each.
The partner of a British hiker who went missing in the Pyrenees has said the probe into her disappearance is continuing despite reports police had stopped searching.

Esther Dingley, 37, had been walking solo in the mountains near the Spanish and French border and was last seen on November 22.

Daniel Colegate said on Sunday: 'Regarding recent media coverage and comments by a member of the French police, my response is to restate my gratitude and respect for the hard work the police forces and the search and rescue teams in both France and Spain have already carried out and plan to continue with in the future.

'I have been in close contact with the lead investigator in both countries since early December.

'Upon reading the recent articles, I contacted the major in the French police who is in charge of the investigation to ask if these comments reflect the official position of his team. His response was to reassure me that the investigation is ongoing.

'As I've said before, I'm aware of the challenges the police face in this investigation and I trust their abilities and determination.'

The partner of a British hiker who went missing in the Pyrenees has said the probe into her disappearance is continuing despite reports police had stopped searching

Esther Dingley (pictured with her boyfriend Daniel Colegate) disappeared on November 22 while solo hiking in the Pyrenees mountains

Mr Colegate, 38, had been hiking with Ms Dingley but was house-sitting at a French farmhouse on November 22.

Last week, French police captain Jean Marc Bordinaro told The Times 'all possible investigations' in French territory have been carried out 'without any result'.

He said: 'We have no indication permitting us to confirm the presence of Esther Dingley in France since she was seen for the last time on the Spanish side of the Pic de Sauvegarde.

'We'll probably have to wait till spring to undertake more searches.'

Mr Colegate said he intends to return to the area to repeat the intensive searches already carried out as soon as the weather permits.

Mr Colegate and Ms Dingley are pictured beside their camper van. He said he cannot believe an experienced and hardy hiker such as her could have had an accident as the terrain and weather were favourable

French police have dismissed the possibility that a third party may have been involved in her disappearance. Pictured: A map showing the likely route she was taking

He said: 'I want to reiterate that Esther is an experienced hiker who was carrying suitable equipment in terrain that would not have been a challenge to her.

'She had completed countless similar hikes successfully in the past, never leaving trails and being well aware of her body's needs and limitations.

'If she suffered an accident, for whatever reason, I firmly believe she would have been found on or close to one of the extensive, well-made paths in the area.

'The fact no trace at all was found, despite a wide-ranging and intensive search in good weather before the snow arrived, was frustrating and baffling to those involved in the search at the time.

'That no other signs have been found elsewhere does not change the scope or intensity of that search.

'At the moment, those of us who love Esther can only continue with the agonising wait for news.'

The couple, who have been together for almost 19 years, met at Oxford University and lived in Durham before they set off travelling around Europe in a camper van six years ago.

Ms Dingley's mother Ria Bryant said on Sunday: 'Each day has been nothing short of an excruciating hell for me, balancing on the edge of breaking down.

'Not knowing where Esther is or what has happened to her is destroying me and our family, as life seems almost impossible to cope with.

'Esther's mission in life is to spread love and happiness, but now I am numb and scared that I will never feel those emotions again.'

Anyone with information is asked to contact the LBT Global hotline on +44 (0) 800 098 8485 or via WhatsApp on +44 (0) 7545 826 497, or through delta.ops@lbt.global.
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China has given conditional approval for a single dose COVID-19 vaccine, touted to be a rival to Johnson & Johnson's one-jab shot cleared by the US drug regulator on Sunday.

China's first Ad5-nCoV COVID-19 vaccine was rolled out on Friday, the state-run Global Times reported on Sunday.

Phase-I clinical trials of the vaccine started on March 16, last year, making it the world's first COVID-19 candidate vaccine that entered clinical trials, it said.

It is the only single-dose COVID-19 vaccine that has been given conditional approval to be rolled out in China, the report quoted last Friday's story by the state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).

People can get desirable protective effect after 14 days of inoculation.

The protective effect can last at least six months after a single-dose inoculation and it can increase immune response by 10 to 20 times if the second dose is taken half a year after the first one, the report said.

With this, China's medical products regulator has approved five vaccines which include Sinovac, Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and another by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.

One of the developers of the Ad5-nCoV vaccine said that the annual production capacity can reach 500 million doses, which means 500 million people can be vaccinated in a year.

Phase-I clinical trials of the vaccine started on March 16, 2020, making it the world's first COVID-19 candidate vaccine that entered clinical trials, the Global Times report said.

Though China has been supplying its vaccines to different countries, none of them have been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Ad5-nCoV vaccine is a recombinant adenovirus vector vaccine jointly developed by CanSino Biologics and researchers from the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences led by Chen Wei, who is an infectious disease expert and a researcher at the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences.

"We have data for six months so far to prove the vaccine's efficacy. People don't need to take another dose within the first six months after their first inoculation. What if the epidemic is not over after six months? We have also developed the vaccine so that its effect is strengthened even after six months," Chen said.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Saturday approved Johnson and Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, the third jab to be authorised to fight the pandemic that has claimed over half a million lives in the country.

The vaccine is set to be a cost-effective alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and can be stored in a refrigerator instead of a freezer.

Trials found it prevented serious illness but was 66 per cent effective overall when moderate cases were included. The vaccine is made by the Belgian firm Janssen.

China has been stepping up vaccine production as it looks to vaccinate its 1.4 billion population and boost its vaccine diplomacy to make strategic gains.

Last Friday, China welcomed India supplying more COVID-19 vaccines to a number of countries, playing down reports that New Delhi has beaten Beijing in its vaccine diplomacy around the world.

Responding to a question on a report that India has beaten China at its own game of vaccine diplomacy, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin during a media briefing said, We welcome that and hope to see more countries taking actions to provide vaccines to the world, especially developing countries, to help with the global response.

"China has been overcoming domestic difficulties to provide vaccines to other countries in concrete measure, he said, flagging China's own vaccine requirement to inoculate its 1.4 billion population.

He reiterated that China has been providing vaccines to 53 countries and exporting vaccines to 27 countries, amid reports that many of those countries are yet to receive Chinese vaccines or the promised quantities.

(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.)
Tennesseans have proven we are resilient and determined moving through the COVID pandemic response. Getting to this point in our state -- one of only a handful that has economic growth, open schools and an ability to see a light at the end of this proverbial tunnel -- has taken unbelievable effort.

Yet, one revelation of many over the last year has been the need to reject those who spin up fears that we cannot have our liberty, our public health and the ability to take care of our families in a manner that permits economic growth. Granted, to have the construct of governance that successfully protects all three is difficult and requires tremendous collaboration. But the efforts to create fear through disinformation are divisive -- part of the problem not the solution.

Look no further than a number of bills filed in the state legislature with the intention of protecting citizens from forced vaccines and government overreach to see how this topic has become not just confusing, but divisive, and the disinformation being spread by some online media upstarts is unfortunate.

In Tennessee, there are religious exemptions for vaccines and medical interventions. However, in a recent bill there is language that must be addressed related to epidemic and pandemic designations that infringe upon these important liberties. A few pieces of legislation, however, have been very broadly written and would even prevent a church daycare from requiring an employee with direct childcare responsibilities from examination and screening if a malady like tuberculosis were suspected. A restaurant owner could not ensure that workers with direct food preparation responsibilities are treated for Hepatitis A and other highly contagious illnesses. There is substantial legislative support for clarifying the language in those bills.

As the cosponsor of HB13, I have joined colleagues to recognize that government should not be able to use its power to force the COVID vaccine on its citizens. While documentation shows that the Pfizer vaccine had been studied in over 40,000 patients (not just laboratory animals) for safety and efficacy, these vaccines are not yet FDA-approved. Though I plan to take the vaccine after research and speaking with healthcare professionals, taking this vaccine should be a personal choice not a mandate. Additionally, disinformation has also been circulated by groups claiming that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been designed, developed or produced using fetal cells  making them morally objectionable. That is not the case.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute  a prolife group devoted to the health and well-being of families - has a comprehensive document that demonstrates that the two vaccines available should not be considered morally controversial. Another extensive review has been conducted by Randy Alcorn, a prolific Christian author and minister, and he arrives at the same conclusion -- warning against sweeping statements of morality as well as propaganda based in fear and personal piety.\

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly are currently working to address our existing laws. In practice, however, there are no mandates for vaccines that do not recognize and honor religious and unique health exemptions. It is easy in difficult times for unscrupulous people to propagate false information. Governing to ensure the liberty and the health and the prosperity of all citizens is a difficult task, but one well worth the effort that is underway.

Rep. Robin Smith

























Two bones have washed up on a beach near where missing conwoman Melissa Caddick's decomposing foot was discovered last week.

A local made the grisly discovery on Saturday afternoon at Tura Beach on the NSW south coast, a day after police confirmed Caddick's death after her foot was found inside a shoe at nearby Bournda Beach on February 21.

The bones are being tested to determine if they are human remains or if they belong to an animal as detectives continue to investigate Caddick's baffling disappearance from her home in Sydney's eastern suburbs in November.

Two bones were found on a beach near where missing conwoman Melissa Caddick's decomposing foot was uncovered last week

Human remains including what appeared to be stomach flesh and a belly button have washed ashore on a beach 150km away from where missing Caddick's (pictured) foot was found

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia a member of the public contacted police about 5.45pm on Saturday after finding two bones on Tura Beach.

'The bones were seized and will undergo forensic examination to determine if they are human or animal,' it said.

The latest discovery also comes a day after a large piece of stomach flesh which included a belly button was found washed ashore at Mollymook Beach, 150km away from Bournda Beach.

DNA testing is being carried out to see if the remains belong to Caddick, who vanished from her Dover Heights home a day after it was raided by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on November 11.

A walker made the grisly discovery on Saturday afternoon at Tura Beach on the NSW south coast, a day after police confirmed Caddick's death after her foot was found inside a shoe at nearby Bournda Beach

The bones are now being tested to determine if they are human remains or if they belong to an animal

Police expanded their search to a third beach, with officers sent to Cunjarong point - about 30km north of Mollymook where the stomach was found.

Expert criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett said if the decomposing stomach belongs to Caddick, it could mean she was alive much longer than suspected and prove she was murdered and did not commit suicide.

'For a stomach to be recovered three months later, after summer months, is a little more unusual. It could suggest the person died more recently. There's certainly a lot of questions around this,' Dr Mallett told The Sunday Telegraph.

'Three months is quite a long time, I would be interested to know the decomposition level to determine if the body was in the water immediately after she disappeared.'

Police suspect Caddick took her own life, because she could have reached the Dover Heights clifftops - 300m from her $6.1million home - without being tracked by CCTV cameras.

The discovery of stomach flesh including a belly button on Friday is being DNA tested to confirm if they belong to missing conwoman Melissa Caddick (pictured right with her husband Anthony Koletti)

Discovery of the human remains on Friday night comes after the decomposed foot of Melissa Caddick (pictured in the shoe) was found by campers on the NSW south coast on February 21

Pictured: Map shows the distance between where Caddick's foot was found, where she was last seen and Friday night's latest discovery of decomposing body parts

Expert criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett (pictured) said if the decomposing stomach belongs to the woman, it could mean she was alive much longer than suspected

Dr Mallett admitted it was possible Caddick entered the water at Dover Heights and for her body parts to then wash ashore hundreds of kilometres away on the NSW south coast, although three months is a long time for body parts to remain intact.

She said tidal patterns over the period of Caddick's disappearance would needed to be checked 'to see if that time frame and distance can genuinely be explained'.

Dr Mallett, an Associate Professor of criminology at the University of Newcastle, said when she heard Caddick's foot had been recovered she was not convinced at that stage she was dead because a person could still be alive without the limb attached.

But the discovery of other decomposing body parts has meant the investigation into Caddick's disappearance has taken another turn.

'All options have to remain open, including the unlikely chance of a really strange accident, suicide or something more sinister,' Dr Mallett said.

Caddick's disappearance sparked wild theories as to her whereabouts but detectives now believe she either committed suicide or met with foul play.

Police were called to Mollymook Beach (stock image) on the NSW South Coast about 9.30pm on Friday

Her rotting foot was found by campers inside an ASICS Gel Nimbus shoe 50km north of the Bournda National Park.

The group of three teenage campers were near Tathra on Sunday when one of them found the shoe lying on the sand.

When he turned the shoe upside down as he went to throw it out, he discovered there were human remains inside.

Police later used footage from the raid of Caddick's home - which had featured vision of her feet - to help identify her as the shoe's owner.

New South Wales Police said they believe Caddick (pictured) suicided but have not ruled out foul play

The 49-year-old was accused of swindling at least $20million from clients, including friends and family, before disappearing on November 12.

Days after she was reported missing, NSW Police used modelling to determine where her body might wash up if she had died in the water near her Dover Heights home.

The modelling deemed it possible that her body could have drifted as far south as Bermagui, about one hour north of Bournda.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing said the modelling was done in the wake of Ms Caddick's disappearance, as crews conducted extensive land, air and sea searches.

In a sworn statement tendered at the Federal Court, and recently made public, ASIC investigator Isabella Allen alleges Caddick hit her with a barrage of questions when authorities raided her $6.2million Dover Heights mansion on November 11.

Caddick allegedly demanded answers on how she was to abide by a court order freezing her assets.

Those questions includes: When would she have to appear in court? Where would she drop off her passports? Did one order mean she couldn't use her credit cards, because she used them for all transactions?

Caddick also asked how quickly she had to write up a description of her assets and liabilities, and asked: 'how am I supposed to do that when you have taken my computers?'

The route from Caddick's $6.1million home on Wallangra Road in Dover Heights (pictured) to nearby clifftops is believed to not have any CCTV cameras facing the road or street

The 49-year-old (pictured left with husband Anthony on the right) has been accused of swindling at least $20million from clients, including friends and family, before disappearing on November 12

ASIC investigator Isabella Allen alleges Caddick hit her with a barrage of questions when authorities raided her $6.2million Dover Heights mansion on November 11 (pictured is bodycam footage of the raid)

The investigator replied: 'I am unable to answer that question and it may be best that you speak to a lawyer. Do you have a lawyer?'

It is believed ASIC had been investigating her for three months before the raid.

Caddick is survived by her husband Anthony, a 15-year-old son, parents Barbara and Ted Grimley and brother Adam.

Mr and Ms Grimley are said to be 'furious at ASIC' for the death of their daughter.

The conwoman used investors funds to prop up a lavish lifestyle, including extravagant overseas trips and designer items.

Her victims were mostly wealthy friends, some of whom invested life savings in Caddick believing they were making returns.

When ASIC and the Australian Federal Police raided the clifftop home, they seized about $1million in couture gowns, designer clothes, handbags, shoes and jewellery.

Caddick (pictured centre) is survived by her husband Anthony (pictured right), a 15-year-old son, parents Barbara and Ted Grimley and brother Adam.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing (pictured on Friday) confirmed remains of the missing businesswoman have been found on the NSW far south coast. Also pictured is an exhausted looking Gretchen Atkins (left), the detective who has led the investigation

Corporate watchdog ASIC said on Wednesday the investigation into Caddick and her company would continue as they try and return funds to investors.

'ASIC's priority is to seek the return of funds to investors in the most efficient way possible,' an ASIC spokesperson said.

If Ms Caddick had been found alive, NSW police would have been able to arrest the high-flying financial fraudster.

Liquidators allege the self-styled financial adviser 'meticulously and systematically' deceived those who entrusted millions of investment dollars to her over seven years, then used the money to fund her lavish lifestyle.

'Melissa's family were informed of the identification last night and are obviously distressed,' NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing told reporters on Friday.

Campers found a decomposed foot and ASICS shoe washed up on Bournda Beach (pictured) on the NSW far south coast near Tathra

'Police have always kept an open mind in relation to what the circumstances were for her disappearance, including the fact that Melissa may have taken her own life.'

One of the investor victims ripped off by Ms Caddick reacted with shock when told by 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham.

Cheryl Kraft Reid entrusted almost $1million of her superannuation with Ms Caddick, whom she considered as a friend and last heard from two months prior to her disappearance.

'Wow, that's a sad tragic outcome for her son but its also just a sad tragic outcome for us because we just don't get closure,' Ms Kraft Reid told the radio program.

'Besides the news we're unlikely to see any return of that, it's pretty devastating.'

'It's not just the money, it's the consequences of what's happened to us and for the many years we've worked for zero returns because she decided to live an entitled and frivolous life.'

For 24/7 confidential support in a crisis call Lifeline on 13 11 14

ANN ARBOR, MI  The elections that catapulted Albert Wheeler into the Ann Arbor mayors office in 1975 and led to his ouster three years later were nothing short of unusual.

They involved razor-thin margins, a controversial new voting system later repealed, and a reelection victory followed by a court battle and special redo election.

In between, Wheeler made history as Ann Arbors first and only Black mayor, but not without drama.

While his time in office was relatively brief, his involvement in civic life extended several decades.

One of the most notable Black community leaders in Ann Arbor history, Wheeler was a prominent civil rights activist and the first tenured Black professor at the University of Michigan.

This is his story.

A photo of a young Albert Wheeler, displayed at his memorial service in 1994.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

The scientist comes to Ann Arbor

Born in 1915, Wheeler grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, then studied biology at Lincoln University, a historically Black college in Pennsylvania, before earning a masters degree in microbiology at Iowa State.

He moved to Ann Arbor in the late 1930s to study at the UM School of Public Health, earning another masters degree and then a doctorate in 1944, and worked as a research associate at a university laboratory.

In 1952, Wheeler made history as the first Black person appointed to a tenure-track position at UM, serving as an assistant professor of microbiology and dermatology. He later became an associate and then full professor, specializing in venereal disease and publishing dozens of scientific papers.

His work focused on tests for detecting syphilis and working on a vaccine for prevention of the disease. He also researched the role of an enzyme inhibiter in cancer.

Albert Wheeler works on a syphilis vaccine at the University of Michigan in August 1969.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

A Roman Catholic, Wheeler took leave from the university in the early 1970s to serve in the Archdiocese of Detroit, but he went back to UM and eventually retired in 1981, named a professor emeritus of microbiology and immunology.

His struggle for equality within the university was often lonely and always difficult, but he endured and converted many to his point of view, former UM President James Duderstadt once said of Wheeler. His legacy to the university is that he almost single-handedly created an environment that made possible our gains in recent years.

Ann Arbor civil rights activists Albert and Emma Wheeler in 1965.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

Love and the fight for civil rights

Wheeler met his wife Emma when they were public health graduate students at UM and they married in 1938. After a two-year absence, they returned to Ann Arbor in 1940.

In spite of the racial biases prevalent in Ann Arbor at the time, they chose to settle here and buy a home. Emma Wheeler chose to stay at home and raise their three daughters rather than pursue a professional career, their biography on UMs Bentley Historical Library website states.

Both were motivated to become civil rights activists based on the racial discrimination they experienced. In addition to discrimination at UM, Albert Wheeler lamented being unable to convince a local bank to give him and his wife a mortgage to buy the home they wanted in Ann Arbor in 1945 and attempts to steer them into a Black neighborhood instead.

Emma Wheeler said seeing a Black man lynched while she was growing up in South Carolina motivated her lifes pursuit of justice.

Far away from the segregated lunch counters and water fountains of the Deep South, Ann Arbor was wrestling with its own brand of racism in the 1940s and 1950s, The Ann Arbor News once reported. Blacks moving to town were only shown houses in the North Fourth Avenue area, a grimy neighborhood heavy with the odor of slaughterhouses and coal-fired plants. Jobs for African Americans at the University of Michigan usually got no better than cleaning floors or operating elevators.

Through their tireless activism, the Wheelers were instrumental in helping confront such injustices.

As one of a small number of Black professionals in Ann Arbor in 1949, Albert Wheeler co-founded the Ann Arbor Civic Forum, a group seeking equal rights for Blacks in the areas of housing, education and jobs. They formed alliances with the Ann Arbor Democratic Party on civil rights issues, eventually getting City Council to establish a Human Relations Commission in 1957 to handle discrimination complaints from citizens.

The Civic Forum served as the forerunner to the local NAACP chapter the Wheelers helped form in the late 1950s, with Emma Wheeler serving as chair for many years.

Albert Wheeler picketing at Ann Arbor's city hall for fair housing in July 1963.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

With Emma Wheeler at the helm, the NAACP and a group called the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) fought successfully in the 1960s, regularly picketing at city hall, to get Ann Arbor to adopt a fair housing ordinance, the first of its kind in the state, barring discrimination in selling and renting.

Prior to this, Blacks were essentially told where they could live in the city of Ann Arbor, as specified in housing ads, the Bentley Historical Library website states. Emma Wheeler was also concerned about matters of race as they affected the public school system. She worked to establish recognition of the needs of Black high school students, to redefine school discipline policies that tended to be racially discriminatory, and to design the first racial integration plan for Ann Arbor public schools.

In September 1965, a reception for the Wheelers was held in the Michigan Union Ballroom as a public recognition of their efforts to achieve equal rights for Blacks. Emma Wheeler was in her fourth term as president of the local NAACP and Albert Wheeler had served on its executive board since its founding.

Albert Wheeler speaks at a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial inside Hill Auditorium on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor in April 1968.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

Albert Wheeler also co-founded the Washtenaw-Ann Arbor Conference on Religion and Race and the Ann Arbor Coordinating Council on Civil Rights, and served on the Citizens Committee on Racial Imbalance in the Public Schools and the citys first Human Relations Commission.

On the state level, he drafted a proposal that led to a provision in the Michigan Constitution establishing the states Civil Rights Commission in 1963, and he was a member of the Michigan Catholic Conferences social action committee.

With a mix of diplomacy and combative rabble-rousing, together the Wheelers were a highly effective team.

Emma Wheelers confrontational style led to her once taking city leaders and journalists on a home tour, The News reported. Instead of looking at historical properties, she focused on the deplorable conditions (in the) area Blacks were forced to live in.

A 1970 clipping from The Ann Arbor News about the time Albert Wheeler and his group Blacks United for Liberation and Justice staged a walkout at a City Council meeting.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

1970s activism and the police

In the summer of 1970, five years before Albert Wheeler ran for mayor, he was leader of a group called Blacks United for Liberation and Justice.

Concerned about excessive police patrol of the Black community and what the group considered harassment and illegal arrests, it submitted a list of 18 demands to the city, requesting suspension of police officers and dropping charges against four youths arrested following a melee at West Park.

Wheeler accused city leaders of allowing racist policing, saying the city had a backlog of complaints against police and the continued failure of local government to deal honestly and promptly with these charges has caused the Black community to lose all faith in local governments willingness and ability to deal with its own employees.

Unhappy with Mayor Robert Harris response, Wheelers group staged a walkout at a City Council meeting that August. Wheeler told the large audience at city hall not only Blacks and the poor should be concerned about the power of the police department, but affluent whites better investigate whether there is any civilian control. Wheelers group protested again outside city hall the next day.

While it took decades, Ann Arbor finally established a citizen-led police oversight commission in 2019 with a goal of equitable policing.

Albert Wheeler reviews election returns in April 1975.Cecil Lockard | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

The 1975 mayoral election

Wheeler ran for mayor as a Democrat in April 1975 and ousted Republican James Stephenson, but he might not have won without the help of a new voting system.

It marked the first time Ann Arbor used ranked-choice voting, also known as instant-runoff voting, a process of elimination to ensure a winner with a majority.

After Stephenson won a three-way race with less than a majority in 1973, the left-wing Human Rights Party spearheaded a campaign to get city voters to OK ranked-choice voting.

With the new system in 1975, alleviating concerns about liberals splitting their votes between Human Rights and Democratic Party candidates, Stephenson was the first choice of 49% of voters, while 40% chose Wheeler and 11% chose Carol Ernst of the Human Rights Party.

That meant Ernst was eliminated, and those who voted for Ernst saw their votes transfer to their second choice, which gave Wheeler the win by a slim margin of 121 votes out of nearly 30,000 ballots cast.

An unusual and experimental way to elect a U.S. mayor then, it attracted national attention, including reporting by The New York Times, which quoted the chairman of the local Republican Party calling it an atrocity and promising a legal challenge. Several days after the election, there remained uncertainty about who actually won and there were debates between city officials about certifying the results, but in the end Wheelers win was certified.

Albert Wheeler and supporters in April 1975 when he was first elected mayor.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

Dr. Veto and political drama

With feuds between different political parties on City Council, Wheelers time as mayor wasnt without drama. He exercised his veto power many times to block council actions  more than any other Ann Arbor mayor since, earning him the nickname Dr. Veto.

He issued vetoes over budget items, changes to a Summit Park plan, reconsideration of the citys weapons policy, zoning for senior citizens apartments in the Briarwood area, city code changes for daycare centers, development of a sculpture park in Kerrytown, contract negotiations and more.

Before the 1975 election, Republicans controlled City Council, but the GOP had just five seats on the 11-member body under Wheeler.

About six months into Wheelers term as mayor, speculation that Ann Arbor was going to be run by a Democratic-Human Rights Party majority coalition had fallen asunder, The News reported in October 1975.

The already strained lines of agreement between lone HRP Councilwoman Kathleen Kozachenko and the five council Democrats tore apart completely in a meeting punctuated by political invective and considerable shouting, city government reporter Glen Harris wrote, noting Wheeler threatened to leave the meeting when Kozachenko stepped outside the councils rules to blast the Democrats.

The eruption came when Kozachenko introduced a resolution that would have directed the city attorneys office to prepare a rent control ordinance based on the 1974 HRP charter amendment voters rejected, Harris wrote.

No one seconded Kozachenkos motion, so Wheeler moved on, but Kozachenko announced she was going to argue for her resolution anyway and began lambasting the Democrats as liars who campaigned in support of rent control but did nothing about it.

Amid the commotion, Wheeler announced, If you people want to sit here and listen to this nonsense, you can. Im leaving. He then put on his coat and began gathering his papers, though he stayed when Kozachenko relented.

Prior to the eruption, Kozachenko had directed her verbal guns at the Democrats in general, and Wheeler in particular, over a motion she made to provide unemployed persons with free legal advice through the city attorneys office, Harris wrote. Wheeler and most other council members opposed the measure, with the mayor noting that the human services department he has proposed creating would provide legal advice.

Wheeler was elected in part because of his support for programs like job training, legal aid for the poor, anti-discrimination efforts and minority business loans, but he ended up mired in a protracted political feud with the council deadlocked on issues such as how to spend community development dollars, according to news reports.

Kozachenko lamented Wheelers veto of a community development funding plan she and the GOP approved.

Albert Wheeler toasts campaign supporters at the Ann Arbor Inn after winning the mayoral election by one vote in April 1977.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

The battle with Lou Belcher

By the time Wheeler was up for reelection in 1977, Ann Arbor had done away with ranked-choice voting. Wheeler was defending his seat against Lou Belcher, a Republican council member heavily critical of the Democratic mayor.

As the leader of a new council majority for the past year, Belcher and his GOP allies were trying to implement long-range solutions to city problems only to be derailed by Mr. Wheelers veto power, he said. Belcher argued critical needs were being ignored or debated to death.

He complained Wheeler voted against efforts to revitalize downtown, blocked funding for street repairs, vetoed zoning for a 180-unit senior housing complex, voted against more off-street parking downtown, supported salaries for the mayor and council members, and supported a new gun policy to prohibit police from shooting at fleeing felons.

Belcher opposed Wheeler on all of those issues and more and argued for more police patrols.

Mayor Wheeler has not demonstrated the leadership that Ann Arbor has come to expect, Belcher said.

While Wheeler supported human service programs, Belcher said he was against government welfare, wanted to keep taxes down and thought private groups could do a better job providing human services.

When the votes were tallied on election night in April 1977, results showed Wheeler with a one-vote victory over Belcher, 10,660 to 10,659.

A Human Rights Party candidate netted 356 votes.

Once again, Ann Arbors mayoral election attracted national attention. The results were challenged in court because 20 people who lived in township islands within the city voted.

A judge ordered them to reveal the names of the candidates they supported to find out who would have won without their ineligible votes, but University of Michigan junior Susan VanHattum refused to disclose hers. Six months after the election, a judge threatened to jail VanHattum if she didnt budge and confirm who she voted for.

In an eventual legal settlement, Wheeler and Belcher agreed to face off again in a special 1978 mayoral election, effectively a redo of the 1977 election. Belcher won by a 179-vote margin, 14,396 to 14,217, becoming the citys new mayor.

Former Mayor Albert Wheeler, a pioneer for equal rights in Ann Arbor, featured in a January 1980 Ann Arbor News article about the decades-long fight for equality for Black residents.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

The Wheeler legacy

Albert and Emma Wheeler remained involved in Ann Arbors civic life for many years, and Wheeler Park was named in their honor in 1987, their ashes later scattered there.

The city of Ann Arbor is a better place to live because of the Wheelers, reads a dedication plaque.

When Albert Wheeler died in 1994 at age 78 after a battle with emphysema, more than 200 people attended his memorial service at Pioneer High School. One speaker said it was fitting he passed away on April 4, the same date Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

Albert Wheeler, too, had a dream.

A 1999 feature about former Mayor Albert Wheeler in The Ann Arbor News.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

In addition to helping change Ann Arbors racial climate, Wheeler has been credited with instilling the idea that city government should be involved in human services, helping disadvantaged citizens, and thats something the city continues to do.

A pattern of scattered public housing on small sites throughout Ann Arbor is another Wheeler legacy, The News reported. He worked to avoid the large, isolated housing projects that other cities built with public funds.

Emma Wheeler died in 2000 at age 85 after a battle with Parkinsons disease. She was remembered as an angel for justice and a memorial was held in Kerrytown.

Their daughters have left their mark on the community through careers in criminal justice and politics.

Nancy Wheeler served as a Washtenaw County judge from 1990 to 2014, while Alma Wheeler Smith served stints in the state Senate and House between 1995 and 2010.

Wheeler Smiths son, Conan Smith, represented Ann Arbor on the county board for nearly 14 years between 2005 and 2018 and is president of the Michigan Environmental Council, as well as a UM public policy lecturer.

A mural in downtown Ann Arbor's Kerrytown district on Feb. 16, 2021, featuring former Mayor Albert Wheeler and other historical Black community leaders.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Smith still lives in the Eighth Street home his grandparents fought against discriminatory practices to buy in the 1940s.

This house was a really important place in Ann Arbors political and social justice history, he said, noting it served as a campaign headquarters and a place people went for help.

My grandmother used to keep blankets and clothes and things like that for poor people who needed them in the garage, he said. And you just sort of knew if you were in desperate straits and you needed some help, you could come over to Emma Wheeler and she could help you get squared away.

The dining room table was a place where great legislation was written, including the citys first fair housing law, Smith said, noting his grandfather worked on it with Republicans on council in the 1960s.

Those are the kinds of things that happened in this house, he said. Part of my own interest in living here was because I wanted to continue that legacy of service and I wanted to anchor myself in it, to be sort of constantly surrounded by it. Im definitely not my grandparents in the same way. They were truly iconic, but its been helpful for me to have that around me.

Albert and Emma Wheeler on election night in Ann Arbor in April 1975.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org

A lot of people have shared stories with Smith over the years about how his grandparents helped them, such as the young Black woman who was thinking about joining the military due to lack of options before Albert Wheeler personally took her over to Washtenaw Community College and paid for her first semester of college, transforming her life.

Its those acts of generosity and community advocacy that are his grandparents biggest legacy, more so than time spent in the mayors office, Smith said.

But, he added, I do know that his election as an African American, in and of itself, was really important, and his advocacy using that bully pulpit also was very important.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

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History of racism discussed as Ann Arbor OKs single-family zoning for 26 properties

Ann Arbors new affordable housing goal and progress so far summed up in one chart

$5.1M from new Ann Arbor affordable housing tax could go toward downtown high-rise
Jim Jordan: Trump Is Leader of the Conservative Movement, Hopefully Runs in 2024

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) declared former President Donald Trump as the leader of the conservative movement, saying he hopes the former commander-in-chief runs again in 2024.

Hes a leader of the Republican Party. And frankly, I hope and, you know, in 2025, hes once again the leader of our country. No one, no president in our lifetime, in my lifetime, has done more of what they said they would do when they were president than President Trump: said hed cut taxes, he did; said hed reduce regulations, he did, Jordan said in an interview with The Epoch Times.

Jordan asserted that Trump actually took action during his first term in office.

So often what happens in politics is someone will say a certain thing at election time, get to D.C., and then pretend theyre doing what they said they would do, not do what they said they would do, make excuses for not doing what they told you that they were going to do, he said, casting Trump as a president who actually delivered on his campaign promises.

Thats why theres this intensity of support for the president, Jordan said, adding that its why the American people so appreciate him, because he fought for them fought for us.

A series of opinion polls conducted in recent days suggest that Republican voters, by and large, view Trump favorablydespite him being impeached and despite being deplatformed from YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter following the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Trump has issued few public statements since leaving office, while he did not rule out in an interview earlier this month that he would run again in 2024.

And as for Republicans in Congress and GOP voters, Jordan explained that our job is to hang on in the midst of leftist policies and suggestions.

We need to fight to preserve the values and principles that make our country special against this onslaught from the cancel culture left in all theyre trying to do the country. So just hang on, push back, stop as much as we can of what the left wants to do, Jordan said. Take Back the house in 2020, to make Leader [Kevin] McCarthy the speaker of the House. And then in 2024, President Trump runs for reelection and wins, and then we can get back to doing the things that are actually going to make America a better place and keep us the great country we are.
Prince Philip asked Prince Charles to come to his bedside to discuss the future of the Royal Family, the Queen's ex-press secretary has claimed.

Dickie Arbiter said the Duke of Edinburgh would have 'requested' his son's presence at the King Edward VII Hospital in London last weekend.

Mr Arbiter, who served Her Majesty from 1988 to 2000, said Prince Philip was probably worried about the future of the Royal Family.

It comes as Prince Philip spends his 13th day in hospital in his longest-ever stay as his infection treatment continues.

The 99-year-old was admitted to the private London clinic the Tuesday before last as a precautionary measure after feeling unwell - but walked into the building unaided.

Buckingham Palace said there were no expected updates on his condition today, but said last Tuesday he was 'comfortable' and 'responding' to medical help.

The Duke of Edinburgh (pictured with the Queen in 2018), 99, was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London the Tuesday before last as a precautionary measure after feeling unwell - but walked into the building unaided

Buckingham Palace said last Tuesday that Philip was 'comfortable' and 'responding' to medical help. Pictured: Police outside the hospital this morning

The Duke passed his longest hospital stay yesterday as he continues to get treated for the infection for a 13th day. Pictured: The hospital this morning

Mr Arbiter told True Royalty TV's The Royal Beat yesterday: 'I think it was at the request of the Duke that the Prince of Wales visited.

'To lay the ground. Look the man is 99, he is in with an infection. My guess is that he will come out, he will walk out and he will go back to Windsor.

'But eventually he is going to die and he was just saying to Charles, ''one day you are going to be the leading man of the family''.'

Prince Charles had driven from his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire to London for a 30-minute talk - before driving away with tears in his eyes.

It is thought the Duke of Cornwall had not seen his father since before Christmas because of Covid restrictions - with Prince Philip staying at Windsor Castle.

Mr Arbiter (pictured), who served Her Majesty from 1988 to 2000, said Prince Philip was probably worried about the future of the Royal Family

Dickie Arbiter said the Duke of Edinburgh would have 'requested' his son's presence at the King Edward VII Hospital in London last weekend (pictured)

Philip passed his longest hospital stay yesterday as he continues to get treated for the infection for a 13th day.

The Duke previously spent 11 days in hospital in 2013 after an operation on his abdomen.

Photographs from outside the hospital this morning show police officers standing guard.

At the time of Philip's admission to hospital, the Palace did not disclose the reason, but then said this Tuesday he was being treated for an infection.

His son Prince Edward said earlier this week Philip was 'a lot better' but 'looking forward to getting out' with the Royal Family keeping their 'fingers crossed'.

Edward, who said he had spoken to his father on the phone, suggested the Duke, who is known for his 'no fuss' attitude, was a little frustrated at remaining in hospital.

It is now his longest stay in hospital. Pictured is Philip in 2013 after leaving hospital after 11 days following an abdomen operation

He was asked about his father by Sky News' royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills, while she was filming a separate interview with him his Bagshot Park home in Surrey.

He replied: 'He's a lot better, thank you very much indeed, and he's looking forward to getting out, which is the most positive thing, so we keep our fingers crossed.'

Asked whether Philip, who turns 100 in June, was frustrated to be in hospital, Edward laughed and replied: 'Just a bit.

'I think that gets to all of us, and then you can only watch the clock so many times and the walls are only so interesting.

'We've had some brilliant and lovely messages from all sorts of people and we really appreciate that and so does he, I've been passing them on. It's fantastic, thank you.'

The palace said on Tuesday: 'The Duke of Edinburgh remains at King Edward VII's Hospital where he is receiving medical attention for an infection.

'He is comfortable and responding to treatment but is not expected to leave hospital for several days.'

Philip was initially due to spend a few days under medical care for 'observation and rest', but last Friday it emerged he was likely to remain in hospital.

His 11th day in hospital came as his grandson Prince Harry was interviewed by James Corden on the Late Late Show in America.

During their chat, Harry revealed how Philip does know how to use Zoom - but simply slams shut his laptop to end calls instead of pressing the Leave button.

The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen have called the Sussexes a 'few times' and even seen Archie 'running around', Harry added.
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Las Cruces Sun-News

MESILLA  A Mesilla marshal is being praised for going above and beyond to help return a $1,200 tricycle to a special-needs student, even lending a helping hand on the same day he responded to the fatal shooting involving an officer on Interstate 10.

The Holguin family says Sgt. Benjamin Buckaroo Azcarate came to their rescue after the disappearance of the trike, made especially for 14-year-old Grace.

The trike is red and white with a bucket seat. On the back of the trike, theres a white basket for her to carry her treasures in  and a license plate bearing her name.

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The length of the bike from the seat to the petals is customized to the length of her legs, said Graces mother, Andrea Holguin, and the fact that her handlebars can move up and down and kind of swings out of the way (makes it easier for) her to get in and out. The trikes three wheels provide stability.

Grace Holguin, a Zia Middle School student, was born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect. She has some balance problems and was recently diagnosed with a thyroid disorder. Shes also full of smiles and enjoys participating in activities with her family, friends and classmates.

Graces awesome trike gives her the freedom to join in.

The trike cost $1,200, but for the Holguins, its priceless.

Its really important for Grace to do something together with her family in a way we can all participate together and she feels safe and comfortable, Andrea said.

On Jan. 30, the bulky, hard-to-store trike that was bolted to one of the pillars of their homes carport vanished. Andrea said she and her husband, Omar, and the rest of the family were devastated.

We called the police and everything before we even talked to (Grace) about it, and Omar told her immediately that we were going to replace it.

Azcarate responded to the incident and advised the family to post about it on social media. Because the Holguins arent on social media, they received help from Deana Baker, from the Mesilla Park Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization.

Days later, Azcarate showed up at the Holguins home holding a white envelope with Graces name written on it. The envelope was stuffed with cash donations that hed been collecting for a new trike.

This officer went above and beyond, Andrea said. He said he felt really bad about it and he just wanted to do something to make sure that she could have a bike that she could ride. It was great, because its been hard to connect with people lately. For everyone to rally around her and our family like that was amazing  just to have that connection (and know) that people cared.

On, Feb. 4, the Holguins got a call from Baker, who said a friend of hers saw Graces trike.

Andrea hopped in her car and went to meet the friend, Reid Elliot. He showed her a group of children playing with a tricycle  Graces trike.

The children told Andrea that their mom bought it from someone off the street. She explained to them who the trike belonged to and why it was special.

Andrea said one of the boys was a student at Zia Middle School, although he didnt know Grace. When he heard about Grace and why the trike was important to her, he wanted to return it.

Its just sad that they had to lose it too, Andrea said. Theyre a family, too, that lost a bike.

When Andrea confirmed that it was Graces trike, she called Azcarate to meet her, though he was dealing with something else at the moment.

Earlier that day, Omar Felix Cueva shot and killed New Mexico State Police officer Darian Jarrott during at traffic stop on I-10 near Deming before fleeing east. On the interstate near Las Cruces, Cueva was killed in a shootout with officers from several agencies.

Azcarate was one of the officers who responded to the incident, which closed the interstate for most of the day for an investigation. Still, Azcarate was able to eventually answer Andreas call and met her to retrieve Graces trike.

We got it back and it was amazing, Andrea said.

To Azcarate, Andrea says, God bless you, every day that youre out there protecting us. Thank you for your selflessness, and working so hard to keep yourself in good health  mentally and physically  and always prepared to defend us and protect us. Thanks for being a pillar of our community, and for reaching out to kids, all kids and special kids, and reminding us that youre there and we can count on you.
'Gorilla Glue girl' Tessica Brown has found lumps in her breasts during a consultation before receiving plastic surgery for a breast lift and abdominal liposuction.

Brown, 40, went viral on TikTok after posting that she had used the polyurethane adhesive in her hair before a date with her fiance after she ran out of her normal hair product.

The Gorilla Glue remained in her hair for more than a month despite her best efforts to get it out.

Tessica Brown went viral on TikTok after putting Gorilla Glue in her hair instead of her normal product before a date

Brown has found lumps in her breasts during a consultation before receiving plastic surgery for a breast lift and abdominal liposuction

Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng was able to remove the spray adhesive from her hair using 'basic chemistry,' TMZ reported at the time.

Now the same doctor has found lumps in each of her breasts during her pre-surgery consultation for the breast lift and abdominal liposuction, the outlet revealed on Saturday.

It is unclear if the plastic surgery for Brown will be free - after the removal of the Gorilla Glue was done free of charge.

She received a mammogram, which confirmed she had masses in her breasts. Doctors have already preformed surgery to remove the lumps and test them for cancer.

Brown's manager, Gina Rodriguez, told the outlet that she believes the Gorilla Glue incident was meant to lead to the discovery of the lumps and she's grateful to Obeng for their removal.

The Louisiana mom of five had started a GoFundMe after her dangerous Gorilla Glue mishap with a goal of reaching $1,500 to buy the wigs she was told she would need.

However, after her TikTok videos went viral, Obeng reached out to her and performed the $12,500 procedure for free, which took four hours to complete.

She has since donated $20,000 she raised to Obeng's Restore Foundation, a charity that helps those needing reconstructive surgery.

The rest of the money will cover an ER visit she was forced to make after using the glue and her travel expenses to fly to LA for the surgery, her spokesperson added.

Tessica Brown has found lumps in her breasts during a consultation before receiving plastic surgery for a breast lift and abdominal liposuction

The adhesive stayed in Brown's hair for more than a month before it was successfully removed by Dr. Michael Obeng

The mother-of-five has donated $20,000 she raised on GoFundMe to help her following her ordeal

Brown's saga started when she used the superglue after her hairspray ran out because she was in a rush to get out of the house for a date with her fiance Dewitt, the New York Post reported.

The couple had planned to have a romantic outing by a lake near her sister's house - but her hair wasn't playing ball and she had multiple flyaway.

Upon discovering her hairspray was empty, she stumbled across the Gorilla Glue and decided it would be perfect to get her hair to stay slick.

She thought that she would be able to wash it out of her hair after the date - but she couldn't have been more wrong.

'We was leaving so I mean I went go to spray the Got2B glue and air came out of it,' Brown told New York Post.

'So now I'm looking around the whole house, I have to find something you know for these flyaways. We was going on the lake so I know I couldn't deal with those flyaways.'

She said she 'ran into the kitchen, ran past the refrigerator' and she saw what she believed would be her saving grace - a can of Gorilla Glue.

'I'm like you know what? I can use this and as soon as I come home I can take it off, you know wash it off. That is not what happened,' she said.

Brown had sprayed the adhesive liberally over her hair and blowdried it, which left the superglue stuck to her scalp. But not realizing the effect it would have, she rushed out of the door for her date.

She was in agony for more than a month as she grappled with having the glue stuck to her scalp.

'The pony tail that I did have, it was like somebody was tightening it, tightening it every day,' she explained. 'It felt like red ants were on the inside, I can't get under it.

'I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating, everything was pretty much trying to get this off my head, I lost between 10 and 15 pounds.

'[I thought] that I was going to lose all my hair, have scalp damage and wasn't going to be able to grow it back.'

But luckily, Obeng reached out to say he could remove the adhesive without charge after seeing her plight online.

Brown then flew to LA this week for the procedure that took four hours to complete.

Obeng used a custom mix of chemicals and natural products in order to dissolve the glue, having first practiced on a dummy head to ensure his formula would work.

In a video taken at Obeng's office, Brown - who was given a light anesthesia before the treatment - is seen lying on an operating table after the successful procedure, running her hands through her freed locks and tearing up with relief while marveling at the sensation.

During the procedure, the mixture was applied to Brown's hair using a spray bottle, while Obeng used medical tweezers and scissors to try and gently pull the matted hair apart, cutting the strands of glue that were holding her tresses together.

The doctor and his team then ran a comb through the hair to finally remove the glue, before applying a deep conditioning treatment to protect the locks.
Titular de la PCM: Es muy grato ver como, desde el propio Estado, se optimizan los recursos. Con esta donacion se podra promover una mejor calidad de vida para la poblacion vulnerable que lo necesita, ese es uno de los objetivos de la gestion del presidente @FSagasti. pic.twitter.com/vqdxhhdXIo
Supreme Court blocks countys ban on indoor worship gatherings, calls 9th Circuit ruling 'erroneous'

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The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked a California countys ban on indoor worship services weeks after officials ordered places of worship to remain closed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic even though the high court had weeks earlier lifted a statewide ban on religious gatherings.

The court ruled Friday in favor of five churches that Santa Clara County must allow indoor worship services to resume at 20% capacity. The order went as far as calling the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier ruling in favor of the countys restrictions erroneous.

The Supreme Courts three liberal justices dissented.

This outcome is clearly dictated by this courts decision in the South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, Fridays Supreme Court order states.

In the South Bay case, the justices ruled that the state could cap indoor services at 25% of the buildings capacity and continue to ban singing and chanting.

In a concurring opinion of the South Bay case, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that he understands the states arguments that singing indoors poses a heightened risk of transmitting COVID-19 but doesnt believe the state had scientific reasoning for wanting to ban in-person worship entirely when some churches are large and cavernous.

The county, however, believed that its ban was legal because it imposed the same large gathering restrictions on churches that it had on other secular business establishments.

Santa Clara County Counsel James Williams called the decision disappointing and said the courts order was issued without any analysis at all of the Countys gathering rules. He claimed that the countys rules have always been neutral and applied equally to all gatherings across-the-board.

Indoor gatherings of all kinds remain very risky, and we continue to urge all religious institutions to carefully follow the public health recommendations to avoid spread of COVID-19 among their congregations and the broader community, Williams said in a statement.

Williams added that the county is allowed to restrict the capacity of religious gatherings to 20% instead of the states 25% limit because thats the limit it has imposed on all indoor businesses and facilities.

The county told the court Thursday in a letter that COVID-19 cases in the county had continued to decline and would soon likely lift its ban on indoor gatherings as early as March 3.

The courts decision on Friday was in response to an ongoing lawsuit that was filed by a group of five churches in the country against the countys order. The five churches are Gateway City Church, The Spectrum Church, The Home Church, Orchard Community Church and Trinity Bible Church.

In November, Pastor Mike McClure of Calvary Chapel in Santa Clara said he was called to preach the Gospel even though he faced fines of at least $350,000 and a lawsuit for holding indoor services since May 31 in violation of Gov. Newsoms restrictions on churches at the time.

Last November, the Supreme Court also issued a temporary injunction against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomos controversial restrictions on indoor worship gatherings. Earlier this month, a federal court issued a permanent injunction against Cuomos restrictions.
HANOI -- Vietnam likely recorded a trade deficit of $800 million in February, government data released on Sunday showed, reversing a year-earlier surplus of $2.09 billion.

Exports in February likely fell 4.7% from a year earlier to $20 billion, while imports were likely up 10.5% to $20.8 billion, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a statement.

The GSO's trade data is traditionally released before the end of the reporting period and often subject to revision.

For the January-February period, the Southeast Asian country's exports likely rose 23.2% to $48.55 billion, while imports were up 25.9% to $47.26 billion, translating into a trade surplus of $1.3 billion, the GSO said.

According to the GSO, Vietnam's industrial output in the first two months of this year rose 7.4% from a year earlier and average consumer prices fell 0.14% on year.
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Technical Forecast for the US Dollar: Neutral

The DXY Index has held onto key technical support, suggesting that bulls may have a bit more fight left yet.

Net-short US Dollar futures positioning has eased as the DXY Index has rallied, but has not shifted that significantly from levels seen going back to mid-December 2020.

The IG Client Sentiment Index s uggests that the Euro , the largest component of the DXY Index, has a bearish bias in the near-term.

US Dollar Rates Week in Review

The US Dollar (via the DXY Index) was having lackluster week until Thursday (even as Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified on Capitol Hill), when it seems the uptick in US Treasury yields finally spilled over to FX markets, lifting the greenback through Friday into the weekly close. The DXY Index rallied by +0.57%, its second best weekly performance year-to-date, just behind the second week of January (+0.70%).

The US Dollar gauge warded off a significant technical breakdown, and now it appears that major technical damage is undone, to an extent. The arrival of the first week of a new month should bring about the usual uptick in volatility in USD-pairs, thanks in part to elevated event risk.

US Economic Calendar Week Ahead

The first week of March offers a robust economic calendar, with a global focus during the early part of the week and a US-centric focus to cap things off. There are several items on the calendar that are worth paying attention to from the US Dollars perspective, culminating in the March US labor market report on Friday.

- On Monday, the final February US Markit Manufacturing PMI and the February US ISM Manufacturing PMI will be released, as will the January US construction spending figures.

- Fed Governor Lael Brainard will be giving speeches on Monday and Tuesday.

- On Wednesday, the February US ADP employment change report will be released, as will the February US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI. Later on Wednesday, the Fed Beige Book is due.

- On Thursday, focus swings to US labor markets, with the weekly US jobless claims figures out, as well as the January US factory orders report. Fed Chair Powell will give a speech on Thursday, which will likely focus on recent action in US Treasury yields.

- On Friday, the February US non-farm payrolls report as well as the February US unemployment rate will be released. Later in the day, the US budget plan for fiscal year 2022 will be made public.

For full US economic data forecasts, view the DailyFX economic calendar.

DXY PRICE INDEX TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: DAILY CHART (February 2020 to February 2021) (CHART 1)

The DXY Index had been clinging onto the downtrend from the March and November 2020 highs, but was finally able to turn higher on Thursday and Friday, breaking the intramonth downtrend in the process. Early-March will prove to be a significant psychological test for the US Dollar, the series of lower highs and lower lows was never broken throughout February. Now, a move over the mid-February swing high of 91.06 would suggest that the turn higher is gaining legitimacy.

Momentum is turning after the abrupt rally in prices. The DXY Index is above its daily 5-, 8-, 13-, and 21-EMA envelope, which is in neither bearish nor bullish sequential order. Daily Slow Stochastics are driving higher from oversold territory, while daily MACD is starting to turn higher albeit below its signal line. More choppiness could be ahead, which was more or less the state of affairs throughout February.

DXY PRICE INDEX TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: WEEKLY CHART (February 2011 to February 2021) (CHART 2)

The longer-term view established in the latter half of December 2020 remains valid: we thus view the latest development with hesitation, particularly when viewed in context of the longer-term technical damage wrought in recent months; the DXY Index remains below its multi-year uptrend, and could be working on a multi-year double top. So long as the rebound remains below 91.75, the DXY Index outlook remains bearish on a longer-term basis.

CFTC COT US Dollar Futures Positioning (February 2020 to February 2021) (Chart 3)

Next, looking at positioning, according to the CFTCs COT for the week ended February 23, speculators slightly decreased their net-short US Dollar positions to 13,851 contracts, down from 14,287 contracts held in the week prior. Net-short US Dollar positioning remains near its highest levels since March 2011, when speculators held 15,494 net-short contracts. Positioning is now the least net-short since the first week of December, when speculators held 6,486 contracts.

IG Client Sentiment Index: EUR/USD Rate Forecast (February 28, 2021) (Chart 4)

EUR/USD: Retail trader data shows 45.61% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders short to long at 1.19 to 1. The number of traders net-long is 2.36% higher than yesterday and 3.00% lower from last week, while the number of traders net-short is 24.89% lower than yesterday and 24.74% lower from last week.

We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-short suggests EUR/USD prices may continue to rise.

Yet traders are less net-short than yesterday and compared with last week. Recent changes in sentiment warn that the current EUR/USD price trend may soon reverse lower despite the fact traders remain net-short.

--- Written by Christopher Vecchio, CFA, Senior Currency Strategist
" " The German-made Graf Zeppelin was named after the father of these massive balloons, Ferdinand Zeppelin (watch the video below for more info on him). Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis

World War I wasn't just ground combat. Submarines surreptitiously navigated underwater, and the skies buzzed with planes from which soldiers fired guns and dropped bombs. Another airborne war machine was developed at this time, too, but has since vanished from contemporary combat: the zeppelin.

Zeppelins were intimidating to behold. These massive, cylindrical balloons were built with metal skeletons and filled with hydrogen to stay aloft. Their skeletons and rudders allowed them to be steered into and out of enemy territory, and they crept along in night skies, their heavy hum announcing the presence of oncoming bomb raids.

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Germany was confident that zeppelin-led raids would give them an advantage in the war. This wasn't exactly the case, though. There wasn't much precision in airstrike efforts this early on in military history, and zeppelins were more effective in their fright factor. They were hugely menacing. Where they really helped was in supply and soldier transport. Additionally, their elevated vantage point aided submarine detection and allowed them to act as an overhead bodyguard for troops moving along the ground.

Throughout World War I, Germany's 140 zeppelins were responsible for just 1,500 deaths. You could argue they wreaked more havoc in the kitchen than in the skies. Early zeppelins were constructed internally from rubber, but engineers soon discovered that the most effective material for encasing hydrogen was goldbeater skin. Or guts.

Here's a little more insight into this unique material. Cow's intestines, sourced from butchers in Germany and German-occupied territories like Austria, Poland and northern France, were washed and skinned of their external membranes. Then, they were bathed in an alkaline mixture and stretched to dry. The resulting product was goldbeater's skin, originally used by jewelers to wrap around pieces of gold that were hammered into super-thin gold leaf.

But zeppelin engineers found another use for it. If the skin was moistened again and pieces were patch-worked together into large sheets, they'd dry with airtight seals. No other material  including rubber  could be this tightly sealed. That tight seal was imperative; hydrogen is the most lightweight element and can easily escape containment. The goldbeater skin was worked into a bag shape and filled with hydrogen. Those bags allowed zeppelins to float weightlessly in the sky.

If you're thinking you'd need a ton of guts to make a big enough skin bag to fill a zeppelin, you'd be absolutely right. On average, it took 250,000 cows' intestines to create a single zeppelin. That's why kitchens suffered. Germans are known for their love of sausages, and they were forced to sacrifice this culinary delight for the war effort. The Kaiser's agents monitored butchers to ensure they were handing over all their cow intestines for zeppelin construction, leaving nothing behind to use as sausage casing.

While Germans and those living in German-occupied territories rued their sausage, the opposing forces wracked their brains over how to bring down the airships. In a documentary titled Attack of the Zeppelins, University of Cambridge engineer Dr. Hugh Hunt explains that there's not much surviving information on how zeppelins were constructed  or how they were deconstructed, i.e., shot down. It wasn't exactly like popping a balloon. A bullet could produce a hole in the zeppelin, but that didn't sink the ship. Toward the end of the war, the British devised a method of spraying the zeppelins with bullets, then firing phosphorus-containing incendiary bullets that, in contact with the hydrogen within, created an explosion.

The hearth suffers as much as the home front in wartime, but why deprive countrymen of their sausage? Why single out cow intestines for zeppelin construction?

Taylor Hudnall, an Alexandria, Virginia-based butcher and chef, explains that cow's guts are bigger than other animals' intestines. A standard sausage sold in a northern Virginia butcher shops measures 1.5 inches (3.81 centimeters) in diameter and is encased by pig intestines, which are truer to that dimension. Hudnall explains that butchers prepare intestines for use by cleaning them of debris and packing them in salt water or in dry salt. Before they're wrapped around seasoned, ground sausage, they must be flushed with cold, clear water.

Could you make sausages without casings? Sure, Hudnall says. It would just be ground meat, like you see in the grocery store in tubes  breakfast sausage that you form into patties yourself.

The benefit of the casing is packaging and, arguably, taste.

I like the snap of casing. Before I even knew what I was biting into, I liked the texture, Hudnall says. He asserts that there's virtually no flavor in the casings made from intestines, but some casings made from animal bladders (primarily porcine) have a faint taste of uric acid. Of course, many of his customers skin the casing off sausage before adding it to sauces and other dishes.

As butchery practice, casing is a good way to use up a wasted part, Hudnall says. Anytime you're using organs, you're doing the animal a good service. There's less waste. Are there other uses for intestines? Well, Hudnall says, they're hermetically sealed containers and make good water balloons.

That was precisely the logic that influenced zeppelin construction.

Do you love history as much as we do? Then be sure to check back in to HowStuffWorks Now every week. We'll be publishing a new (old) ridiculous history article every Monday.

Now That's Cool Germany, known as the land of beer and bratwurst, banned sausage-making during World War I to preserve all the cow intestines that wouldve been used for sausage casings. Those guts were washed, stretched and patched together to create an airtight balloon that was filled with hydrogen and kept zeppelins aloft.
ONE OF the prominent founding members of the MDC and former legislator, Blessing Chebundo, says the countrys opposition is going downhill due to tribalism, senseless infighting and a hatred for new ideas.

Speaking to the Daily News On Sunday yesterday, Chebundo  who surprisingly defected to the ruling Zanu PF together with Lillian Timveous last week  said he had become increasingly disillusioned with the goings-on in the strife-torn MDC.

He also said that he had no regrets in crossing the floor to Zanu PF to join hands with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whom he had twice beaten in Parliamentary elections as an opposition stalwart.

I respect the current leadership of the MDC (now led by Douglas Mwonzora)  for their efforts in approaching national issues of concern in a non-confrontational manner  That is being responsible.

However, there is still a very long way to go for the party to recover the political formula and matrix of (the MDCs much-loved but now late president Morgan) Tsvangirais leadership.

The power dynamics, the intra and inter-factional denigrations, blame games, etc, are not healthy for the party, Chebundo told the Daily News On Sunday.

I got disturbed to see the leadership of current MDC groupings leading at different tangents to the ideas of the 12-member pioneer group, as led by the late (MDC co-founder and deputy president Gibson) Sibanda and Tsvangirai.

I always got angry and frustrated  hence I began to monologue on how best for me to contribute, even in a small way towards the emancipation of the country and its citizens.

Then, the big question for me was from which angle or platform (to do this), given the obtaining political environment of polarisation in the country, especially in the opposition.

Bitter or sweet, I realised that I can only do that as a member of the party (Zanu PF), driving the developmental agenda of the country, Chebundo further told the Daily News On Sunday.

Indeed, it was a difficult decision given my political background and experiences. But sometimes difficult decisions ought to be made, and made by people in high positions if good things for the country are to be realised  hence I moved, he added.

The former Kwekwe Central legislator also said the MDC had been on a downward spiral ever since the death of its much-loved leader Tsvangirai  who succumbed to cancer of the colon on Valentines Day three years ago.

He said this was primarily due to the lack of leadership in the main opposition party.

Its all about leadership failure, poor strategies, factionalism and the I know-it-all attitude of the leadership. My honest assessment is that the oppositions power graph has been sliding downwards significantly since the death of Tsvangirai and it worsened post the 2018 elections mainly due to a poor decision matrix by leadership, especially post the 2019 congress of the MDC Alliance faction.

The Supreme Court judgment also fuelled the situation, although the graph is slightly promising to pick up on the MDC side (after the election of Douglas Mwonzora as its new leader), Chebundo told the Daily News On Sunday.

By the way, when we talk about serious opposition in Zimbabwe, we are mainly referring to the MDC. So, its all about effects of decision-making.

Zvinhu zvacho hazvidi ndini chete chete ndinoziva. Dzimwe nhambo nyaudzo singwi haasi maresults (Some of these things do not need the its only me who knows attitude, and oratory ability is not results).

As they say, a roaring lion kills no one. You cannot achieve anything by just talking proverbs. So, opposition is not dead, but needs serious internal overhaul otherwise it will die, Chebundo further let rip.

He said he had been in the MDC from the day it was formed, and had been greatly pained by the recent turn of events in the countrys main opposition party.

Indeed I am a founding member of MDC then in its original form in 1999, as led by the late Gibson Sibanda, with the late Morgan Richard Tsvangirai as secretary-general.

The pioneering planning meetings leading to the formation of MDC were held in my office at Saint Andrews House, Leopold Takawira, Zimbabwe Chemical Plastics and Allied Workers Union  where I was the political head for administration and finance, with Remus Makuwaza as secretary-general.

At the inaugural congress in February 2000, Tsvangirai became president and Sibanda vice president, after a negotiated settlement for these positions, and I was part of those consulted and who supported this arrangement, Chebundo told the Daily News On Sunday.

This comes as political analysts, including respected University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, Eldred Masunungure, have described the move by Timveous and Chebundo as a godsend for Mnangagwa and Zanu PF.

In Chebundo, we are talking about someone with real political capital, having previously defeated Mnangagwa in the 2000 and 2005 parliamentary elections.

So, it is a momentous development that will help the incumbent to consolidate his power base in Midlands. It is normal that leaders would want to build their power bases from their home provinces before spreading their tentacles elsewhere.

Mnangagwa wants to be seen as having united the people from his home area to rally behind him after getting the likes of Timveous to his side. It will work wonders for him, Masunungure said.

The highly regarded political commentator also warned that this latest development in the MDC could open floodgates for more defections to the ruling party in the near future.

The development will also send shock waves within the opposition support base because it is a strategic issue, and there is likely going to be continued migration to Zanu PF. There is therefore a need for Nelson Chamisa to re-strategise to counteract that, Masunungure added.

In November last year, Zanu PF also welcomed former Masvingo Urban legislator, Tongai Matutu, to its ranks  with the former MP also decrying the chaos ravaging the opposition.Stephen Chan, a professor of World Politics at the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies said with the ructions that have consumed the MDC since the death of Tsvangirai in 2018, the current mass exodus of senior party officials was not surprising.

In a way, its only surprising that defections of this sort havent happened earlier. As the opposition feuds within itself, and as Zanu PF conducts a behind-the-scenes defection diplomacy, it is likely more will defect in the future.

There is prestige and funding available in politics. In opposition politics, however, foreign funders are increasingly disillusioned by the unending bitterness that the splits have engendered.

It may be that Chamisa retains some viability as a presidential candidate, more so than Douglas Mwonzora, but I foresee both MDCs having a reduced place in Parliament after the next elections, Chan said. Daily News
For more than a decade, they came from across New York City and around the world to leave their mark at the place they called 5Pointz.

Armed with cans of spray paint, they left bubble-lettered tags, outlined buxom cartoon women and undertook elaborate murals of a green Mother Earth and of a white-haired Dos Equis man on the walls of several interconnected warehouses in Queens.

To the creators  and the man who allowed them to paint  this wasnt some random graffiti hurriedly slapped on a subway car. They viewed themselves as artists, and in time 5Pointz became a tourist destination.

Some of the works lasted just a day, others a year or more  part of a dynamic installation that occupied the better part of a city block. Much of it was visible from the windows of the elevated No. 7 train to Manhattan.

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A man shovels snow by the warehouses that were known as 5Pointz in January 2011. (Frank Franklin II / Associated Press )

The building complex has since been torn down, but the images that once covered its walls are at the heart of a legal battle that asks whether graffiti, or temporary aerosol art, should be recognized as art worthy of protection under federal law.

The fact that graffiti art is even being talked about as something that might have recognized stature shows you how far graffiti art has come in the art world, said Kate Lucas, an attorney at Grossman LLP who has followed the case closely but is not a participant.

Today, major brands draw inspiration from graffiti for advertisements; galleries and auction houses exhibit it; and artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey enjoy celebrity status. A store in Soho sells premium aerosol paint for $15 a can.

But in 1970s and 1980s New York, graffiti mostly conjured images of fly-by-night hoodlums who illegally bombed tunnels, bridges and subway cars with their tags, using paint they stole from hardware stores or applicators jerry-built from deodorant sticks fitted with alcohol, carbon paper and dish sponges.

In the 1990s, graffiti was a favored target of New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton, who embraced the broken windows theory of policing, which held that aggressively prosecuting low-level crimes, like vandalism, could prevent bigger crimes.

But that was also the decade when real estate developer Gerald Wolkoff first allowed artists to paint over the walls of a warehouse building complex he owned in Long Island City. The collaboration, initially known as the Phun Phactory, began with Pat DeLillo, whose prior job, ironically, was removing illegal graffiti. With Wolkoffs permission, DeLillo invited local graffiti artists to paint on the buildings.

In 2002, Jonathan Cohen, an artist known by the tag Meres One, took over and created the 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center, or simply 5Pointz, a reference to the citys five boroughs. Wolkoff left it to Cohen to vet artists, allocate space and decide how long each work lasted, on three conditions: no pornography, no politics and no religion.

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I ran a pretty tight ship enforcing the rules and cleaning up any illegal tags on nearby businesses, Cohen said in an interview.

He did a wonderful job, Wolkoff said by phone from his office on Long Island. I loved what they did.

Over the next decade, about 11,000 paintings came and went. The site attracted not only graffiti writers, as the artists call themselves, from all over the world, but also hip-hop musicians and breakers, as well as tourists.

5pointz became a destination spot because it tacitly offered an authentic New York City experience, said Gregory Snyder, a sociologist at Baruch College and author of Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New Yorks Urban Underground.

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While graffiti was also permitted at a few other locations in the city, Snyder said, 5Pointz was unique in its scale.

But as the surrounding neighborhood of Long Island City transformed from an industrial waterfront with a quiet residential community and thriving arts scene into a hip, desirable area for residents fleeing Manhattan rents, Wolkoff made plans to demolish the warehouses and replace them with two residential towers.

New development rises in Long Island City, N.Y., at the former site of warehouses that were turned into an outdoor graffiti gallery. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times )

In 2013, Cohen and 16 other artists filed suit, hoping to stop Wolkoff from destroying their art along with the buildings.

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Judge Frederic Block of New Yorks Eastern District granted a temporary restraining order but later lifted it, prompting Wolkoff to immediately cover the artwork in white paint in November 2013.

It was the worst funeral Ive ever been to, Cohen said of visiting the site afterward. It was like a bunch of zombies walking around.

Cohen and his fellow artists renewed their suit, arguing that Wolkoff had destroyed their work in a gratuitous, willful and wanton manner. Now they were seeking a declaration from the court that Wolkoff violated the law and unspecified damages for their financial losses and emotional and reputational injuries.

Wolkoff says he did nothing wrong. Every artist that sued me whitewashed the one before them. For 20 years, they each whitewashed over each other, he said. When I whitewashed, they sued me.

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In 2014, he tore the buildings down.

The lawsuit hinges on a federal law called the the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990.

A subsection of copyright law, the act grants visual artists the right to claim or disclaim a work and to protect their work from mutilation or distortion that would harm their honor or reputation. And if the art is of recognized stature, the act can be invoked to prevent their work from being destroyed.

The law, however, does not define recognized stature, and it has been relatively untested in the courts, said Philippa Loengard, who teaches art law at Columbia Law School and was not involved in the case.

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You can look at it in a variety of ways, Loengard said. First of all, what is recognized stature? Who has to recognize the stature? Is each work individually a piece of recognized stature, or was 5Pointz as a whole of recognized stature?

The trial, which began in October and lasted three weeks, centered in part on those questions. The plaintiffs attorney, Eric Baum, argued that the works did rise to the standard and that their creators were entitled to receive 90 days written notice of Wolkoffs intentions and the opportunity to remove or preserve their work.

Wolkoffs attorney, David Ebert, argued that the plaintiffs had known for years that the buildings were going to come down and that by painting over one anothers works, they had regularly done the same thing as Wolkoff.

Jonathan Cohen, with some of his signature paintings, ran the outdoor 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center with the blessing of the buildings owner. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times )

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Last month a jury decided in favor of the artists, finding that Wolkoff did unlawfully destroy graffiti art at 5Pointz, including Cohens signature paintings of anthropomorphized light bulbs and the murals of Mother Earth and the Dos Equis man.

But in a quirk of federal procedure, the jurys finding is only a recommendation. The judge will consider the evidence and testimony independently and make a final determination, likely next year.

If he upholds the verdict, it could have important implications.

It shines a different kind of light on graffiti as a whole, said James Espino, the owner of Scrap Yard, a SoHo art supply store for street artists. Its not just graffiti as vandalism. Its art.

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But Loengard said any such victory would be short-lived.

Its going to be a Pyrrhic victory, she said. These individual artists may be compensated, but what is going to be the long-term effect [is] buildings dont allow public art because they dont want to face damages.

While the case drags on, two skyscrapers that will provide approximately 1,100 rental units continue to shoot up at the old 5Pointz site. A handful of paintings on warehouses across the street are all that remain of the buildings previous identity  and the name, which will apply to the new buildings.

Wolkoff said he plans to invite artists to paint again, this time under written agreements.

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The invitation, he said, will extend to those who sued him.

nina.agrawal@latimes.com

Twitter: @AgrawalNina

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More than 100 doses of the coronavirus vaccine had to be dumped last month because they were incorrectly stored in a nursing home in Wicklow.

The vaccinations of the 102 residents and staff were put in jeopardy after 17 vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were placed in the wrong fridge.

The vials contained 102 doses of vaccine that were to be administered to residents and staff of a nursing home.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-25 20:18:54|Editor: huaxia

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VIENNA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Austria will start to offer free in-home coronavirus self-testing next week as part of its "testing offensive" against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Austrian government has said.

Starting from next week, people aged 15 and over can obtain test-kits for free from pharmacies taking part in this program by showing an e-card or a social security number, according to a government press release published Wednesday by the Austrian Press Agency.

It said that the plan will provide up to five free tests per person per month.

Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said Thursday that the free self-tests are "another important component in fighting the pandemic."

"Especially when we want to see our loved ones and relatives, we create an additional opportunity to bring some normalcy back into our everyday life in the pandemic," he tweeted.

In an interview published online on Wednesday by German newspaper Bild, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Austria has reopened schools, shops and service providers based on its "test concept."

"We are relying very heavily on the test concept," he said. "This means that in our little Austria, with less than ten million inhabitants, we carry out over 2.5 million tests every week, which means that around a quarter of our population is tested weekly."

Testing is not "a panacea," but "with a lot of tests there is a bit more freedom," he said. Enditem
Jennifer Hawkins welcomed her first child, daughter Frankie, just over a year ago.

The former Miss Universe Australia, 37, has bounced right back to her pre-baby body, and on Sunday, she revealed the workout secrets that got her there.

Speaking to The Herald Sun, the model credited a form of exercise almost anyone can do - simply walking while carrying her tot.

Work it! Jennifer Hawkins (pictured) welcomed her first child, daughter Frankie, just over a year ago. The former Miss Universe Australia, 37, has bounced right back to her pre-baby body, and on Sunday, she revealed the workout secrets that got her there

'I walk with Frankie daily. I still carry her or use the pram so that's a 10-plus kg weight - great cardio,' she said.

In addition, Jennifer said: 'I do a Pilates session with a trainer once or twice a week. I try and get in a yoga session three times a week.'

Jennifer and her husband of eight years, property developer Jake Wall, welcomed Frankie in October 2019.

Walk it: 'I walk with Frankie daily. I still carry her or use the pram so that's a 10-plus kg weight - great cardio,' she said, adding that she also does yoga three times a week and and Pilates twice a week. Pictured with Frankie and husband Jake Wall

Showing off her incredible physique, the former face of Myer has designed a capsule collection for Bec Judd's activewear brand, JAGGAD, and posed for a stunning photoshoot to promote it.

Jennifer made the announcement to her Instagram on Thursday, sharing a photo of herself wearing the glam athleisurewear.

'I've always loved JAGGAD as a brand, so it was a (big!) yes when the idea came up to collaborate and design a @teamjaggad range!,' Jen said.

Wow! Showing off her physique, the former face of Myer has designed a capsule collection for Bec Judd's activewear brand, JAGGAD, and posed for a stunning photoshoot to promote it

'I wanted it to be workout wear (+ #mumlife uniform) with a fashion influence - sporty, luxe, versatile!'

Jen said it was a year in the making with her making the collection just right.

'It's been a year in the making and I hope you guys love it as much as i do. Thanks to the whole Jaggad team.'
Ray Elliott is an author and former high school teacher who lives in rural Urbana. He can be reached at rayelliott23@att.net.
Texans take pride in our states distinctive culture, but not in our latest distinction: During the harsh winter weather that recently covered much of the nation, we led in the numbers of our residents who froze for days without power. Our states electric power system failed in many ways, but most stem from two related problems: the failure of the states Public Utility Commission to make reliability an overriding priority and the Legislatures failure to give the PUC the necessary mandate and tools to obtain it.

In 1999 the Legislature made sweeping changes in the structure and regulation of electric power. Before those changes, most utilities generated power, managed the wires and sold it to consumers. Every year expert regional organizations undertook scenario planning and set reserve margins to ensure reliable power during extraordinary events. The North American Electric Reliability Council, on which I served two decades ago, reviewed those regional plans. Utilities then made investments consistent with those plans. The PUC expected utilities to avoid blackouts and allowed them to recover reliability-related costs and a regulated return.

Critics of this system  ranging from academic economists to environmental groups to some potential competitors  argued that utilities had insufficient incentives to avoid investments in inefficient and excessive capacity. For example, consumers ultimately paid for cost overruns that plagued nuclear projects.

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In Austin powerful potential new competitors such as Enron fought with equally powerful utility monopolies to open the power business to greater competition.

In part with the able leadership of Pat Woods, then chairman of the PUC, in 1999 the Legislature compromised by opening competition for retail sales and power generation, while preserving a rate of return on existing generation. Transmission and distribution  the wires  continued to operate as regional monopolies that could recover costs and regulated returns. Environmental groups claimed victory with a phased-in requirement for the purchase of renewable power, which helped jump-start the wind business and made Texas a leader in renewables.

The new system gave consumers more options, though studies  such as a recent one by the Wall Street Journal  now question whether that ultimately resulted in lower consumer prices. That issue also received greater scrutiny after the February freeze, as many consumers failed to understand the fine print about variable rates.

The lack of guaranteed returns on new projects forced their owners and operators to be far more sensitive to costs. Any tendency of the old system to create grossly excessive generation capacity had been curbed. On the flipside, however, the new system did not give the PUC the clear responsibility, accountability and all the tools needed to replace the old systems capacity to avoid cascading blackouts during extreme weather events. The new system retained the historical planning and spreading of costs designed to ensure reliable wires, but no similar mechanism remained for ensuring a reserve of reliable generating capacity. In the words of an expert report to the PUC in 2012, in the wake of power interruptions during a winter storm the previous February, Texas is the only state that fails to maintain a minimum reserve margin through regulated planning, resource adequacy requirements, or capacity markets.

Avoidance of uncontrolled blackouts requires a grid operator to continually balance power placed into and taken out of the system. Skilled engineers and operators working for the non-profit Electric Reliability Council of Texas  ERCOT  have performed this function, both before and after the 1999 legislation. ERCOT does have the power to interrupt service for some users to avoid a collapse of the entire grid, and certainly this can be done better to avoid situations such as occurred during the February freeze, when it turned off power needed to get natural gas to gas-fired power plants. ERCOT, however, does not have policymaking or regulatory power. The PUC  appointed by the governor  must play that role.

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Market forces alone will not ensure reliability. So much of modern life depends on reliable power  from homes to businesses, from gas pumps to water pumps, from refrigeration to computers and phones. So the human and economic costs of a prolonged and extensive outage can vastly outweigh the economic reward to investments serving principally as insurance against rare but potentially catastrophic events. Policymakers, not engineers or Wall Street investors, must ultimately weigh those trade-offs between spare capacity or improvements such as weatherization and the costs that consumers should bear for a reliable system.

For this reason, other states and almost all developed countries have some means of securing reserve capacity and spreading the cost over time and all users. Texans do not value reliable power less than those in other states, and insurance against catastrophic or unpredictable events does not conflict with our states market orientation. After all, virtually all businesses buy insurance to spread the cost and reduce the risk of losses from extraordinary events, and Texas itself puts some tax dollars in a rainy day reserve.

The Legislature cannot micromanage the power system, which requires deep attention to technical detail, annual scenario planning and a careful weighing of trade-offs with public input. The Legislature can, however, act promptly while Texans remember the February freeze to give a clear mandate and authority to the PUC to make reliable power a high priority and take ultimate responsibility for the entire range of reliability challenges, such as power interruption priorities, appropriate standards for weatherization, risk-based and coordinated planning of maintenance downtime, and competitive procurement of reserve power. ERCOT, with its deep technical expertise, can manage and be held accountable for policy implementation, but it must be accountable to a regulatory body with thoughtful commissioners and a qualified, professional staff.

I brought this issue to the attention of Austin policymakers when I served as Houstons mayor, and after leaving office identified the problem and needed reforms.

We may not be able to avoid all hardship during all extraordinary weather events, but we can at least learn from them and seek to do better. While Texas takes pride in its entrepreneurial culture, successful entrepreneurs constantly modify their plans based on actual experience.

White served as Houstons mayor, U.S. deputy secretary of Energy and a member of the board of the North American Electric Reliability Council.
Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky travelled to Sydney this weekend via private jet - and they brought their dogs with them.

The couple, their three children and their two pampered pooches all touched down at Sydney airport at the private jet terminal on Saturday, having flown in from near their home in Bryon Bay.

Chris, 37, had the two dogs in tow, while Elsa, 44, held a stuffed dog toy, presumably for their children, daughter India Rose, eight, and twin sons Sasha and Tristan, six.

Puppy power: Chris Hemsworth (pictured) and his wife Elsa Pataky travelled to Sydney this weekend via private jet - and they brought their dogs with them

Elsa led her children down the stairs of the plane onto the tarmac, while Chris wrangled one of the curious dogs, who looked befuddled about where they were.

The couple's daughter took over the responsibility of walking a second dog down the stairs, as Elsa balanced various items including toys and a water bottle.

Once the family arrived at a van waiting below, one of the dogs was momentarily held on a leash by an airport staffer.

Dog days: The couple, their three children and their two pampered pooches all touched down at Sydney airport at the private jet terminal on Saturday, having flown in from Bryon Bay

Toying around: Chris, 37, had the two dogs in tow, while Elsa, 44, held a stuffed dog toy, presumably for their children, daughter India Rose, eight, and twin sons Sasha and Tristan, six

Looking good! The fresh-faced actress wore a fedora and a number of gold necklaces as well as carrying a designer backpack

Chris and a minder loaded the dogs into a waiting van, which whisked the family off into the city.

The actor was dressed casually for the occasion, wearing a pair of grey shorts teamed with a tank top in a similar tone.

The wide-open sleeves of the shirt flaunted the superhero movie star's ripped chest and bulging arm muscles.

Where are we? Chris wrangled one of the curious dogs down the stairs alongside his son

Where are we dad? The big puppy looked rather confused about where he'd landed

Dad duty: Chris led the dog down to a waiting van, which the family also boarded

All grown up! The couple's daughter took over the responsibility of walking a second dog down the stairs

He finished the look with sunglasses, a grey cap in dual tones and a pair of white sneakers worn without socks.

It's unclear if it was a business or pleasure for the Hemsworth clan, as Chris has recently been hard at work on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder, travelling frequently between Sydney and Byron Bay by private jet.

It's possible he's taken his family along for a longer stint of filming in the Harbour City.

Help: Once the family arrived at a van waiting below, one of the dogs was momentarily held on a leash by an airport staffer

Heavy load: Elsa was loaded up with items including stuffed toys and a water bottle

In tow: It's unclear if it was a business or pleasure for the Hemsworth clan, as Chris has recently been hard at work on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder, travelling frequently between Sydney and Byron Bay by private jet

The film is the latest installment in the Thor franchise, which began filming at Sydney's Fox Studios earlier this year.

Chris - who is an outspoken climate change activist - has recently shown a penchant for private air travel, flying as much as twice a week between home and the film set, raising some eyebrows.

The Extraction star and his wife Elsa live in a $30million mansion in Broken Head, near Byron Bay.

Frequent flyer: Chris - who is an outspoken climate change activist - has recently shown a penchant for private air travel, flying as much as twice a week between home and the film set, raising some eyebrows
Rakesh Tikait to tour 5 states in March to drum up support for farmers' protest

India

pti-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 28: Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait will be touring five states in March to drum up support for the ongoing farmers' protest against Centre's new agriculture laws, a Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) office-bearer said on Saturday.

Tikait, the national spokesperson of the BKU and a prominent face of the farmers' protest, will begin the tour from March 1, the office-bearer said.

"Farmers' meetings will be held in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, while two meetings will also be held in Uttar Pradesh in March," BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik said.

Two meetings will be held in Rajasthan and three in Madhya Pradesh. The last three meetings will be held on March 20, 21 and 22 in Karnataka, Malik said.

Farmers' Protest: Kisan Congress to gherao Narendra Singh Tomar's residence today

"One event is scheduled on March 6 in Telangana, but we have not got permission for it yet due to some election in the state. If permission is granted, the meeting in Telangana will be held as per schedule," he told PTI.

Thousands of farmers are camping at Delhi's border points at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur since November with a demand that the Centre should repeal the contentious farm laws enacted in September last year and frame a new one guaranteeing the minimum support price (MSP) on crops.

Tikait is leading the protest at Ghazipur.

The government, which has held 11 rounds of formal talks with the protesting farm unions, maintains that the laws are pro-farmer.
(Natural News) February 26, 2021 (LifeSiteNews)  The mainstream media have inaccurately reported that Pfizers and Modernas new COVID-19 vaccine trials found no potential risk of Bells palsy, a condition that causes the faces of patients to be paralyzed and droop on one side.

(Article by Celeste McGovern republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

The observed incidence of Bells palsy in the vaccine arms is between three to five times and seven times higher than would be expected in the general population, researchers from the Precision Vaccines Program in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Childrens Hospital in Boston said in a paper published Wednesday in The Lancet.

Combining data from both trials, among nearly 40,000 vaccine arm participants, there were seven Bells palsy cases compared with one Bells palsy case among placebo arm participants, wrote Harvard Medical School infectious disease and pediatric specialists Al Ozonoff, Etsuro Nanishi, and Ofer Levy.

The researchers looked at publicly available data from the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine trials that they said suggested an imbalance in the incidence of Bells palsy following vaccination compared with the placebo arm of each trial.

Comparing the trial data to that of the general population in detail, they reported that this finding signals a potential safety phenomenon and suggests inaccurate reporting of basic epidemiological context to the public.

Bells palsy is a condition often mistaken for a stroke because many of the symptoms are similar, but it is not as serious. The condition results from dysfunction of a cranial nerve that directs the muscles on one side of the face, including those that control eye blinking and smiling, according to National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Most symptoms, including pain, distorted facial features, watery eyes, and inability to close one eye or speak, drink or eat normally, will improve within a few weeks and a complete recovery is usually anticipated within six months.

In some cases, people have lingering effects, however, and others may be burdened with symptoms for life. Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien suffered Bells palsy as a child and was permanently affected.

Mainstream media reports have dismissed the higher incidence of Bells palsy in the trials as comparable with the normal rate of the condition.

In December, the CBC interviewed Pfizer Canada president Cole Pinnow, who said, I can appreciate the concern, but Im going to defer to scientific experts who look at the data in totality. From what I understand, they say that that incidence is on par with the general population and therefore isnt considered to be statistically significant.

The Boston researchers say that this reporting is based on a misconception, driven by a subtle distinction between rates and proportions, that has persisted in the lay media.

Since the trial participants were followed only for a median of two months, the incidence was significantly higher than the estimated incidence rate of Bells palsy in the general population, which ranges from 15 to 30 cases per 100 000 person-years.

The cause of most cases of Bells palsy is unknown, although it has been linked in previous medical reports to infections and various vaccines, including the influenza vaccine and the meningococcal vaccine when given in tandem with other vaccines.

A Swiss intranasal influenza vaccination was discontinued in 2001 after 46 cases of Bells palsy were reported and a subsequent study estimated conservatively that the relative risk of Bells palsy was 19 times the risk in the controls, corresponding to 13 excess cases per 10,000 vaccinated individuals within 1 to 91 days after vaccination.

Overall, both passive and active surveillance systems will be important to ensure vaccine safety, The Lancet paper researchers write. While we call for robust surveillance for potential mRNA vaccine-associated Bells palsy, we also note that Bells palsy usually self-resolves and we feel the available coronavirus mRNA vaccines offer a substantial net benefit to public health.

As of February 26, the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included 177 reports of patients who developed symptoms that included Bells Palsy after COVID-19 vaccinations. While the VAERS data does not imply that the vaccine is the cause of the condition in the reported cases, it is a reportable condition of concern. A sampling of VAERS reports include:

A 38-year-old Iowa woman who received the first dose of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine on December 29, 2020. Patients adverse reactions started day of vaccination with right arm pain up to right ear as well as complete tongue numbness, the VAERS report states. By January 1, the patient had increased Bells Palsy symptoms including: inability to raise left eyebrow, inability to close left eye in its entirety, teeth being numb on left side, and numbness and tingling in left foot and left hand (from palm to fingers). The patient was hospitalized for two days and her symptoms had improved but had not fully resolved at the time of the report on January 4. A 35-year-old Minnesota physician reported to VAERS that she had received a second dose of Pfizers COVID vaccine on January 15 and on the same day started to experience pain in the left side of her face which intensified over the following days and spread to her ear and jaw. She also experienced a tingling sensation in the left side of her forehead and facial weakness and a Bells palsy diagnosis was confirmed on the fourth day after the shot. A 51-year-old New York woman received a second dose of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine on January 29 and began to experience a headache (and) sharp right side pain in my neck, jaw, and ear the same day. The following day she woke up and found that the right side of her face was numb, and her right eye would not blink. She underwent a CT scan and was hospitalized and diagnosed with Bells palsy before being discharged on January 31 with instructions to consult a neurologist, immunologist, ophthalmologist, and her primary care physician.

A case report published February 21 in the Journal of Neurology describes a previously healthy 37-year-old male with no other likely triggers who developed Bells palsy within a few days of vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTechs mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

As well, a YouTube video posted on December 26 features a tearful woman who says she is a nurse from Nashville, Tennessee who developed Bells palsy three days after a COVID vaccination shot.

A December 10 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) briefing document from the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting on Pfizers COVID vaccine states that the observed frequency of reported Bells palsy in the vaccine group is consistent with the expected background rate in the general population, and there is no clear basis upon which to conclude a causal relationship at this time, but FDA will recommend surveillance for cases of Bells palsy with deployment of the vaccine into larger populations.

The statement was removed from the subsequent FDA briefing notes on Modernas vaccine, according to The Lancet commentary.

Requests to Pfizer and Modernas media offices on Friday to respond to the commentary in The Lancet were not immediately answered.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
The Associated Press checks out some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. This one is bogus, even though it was shared widely on social media. Here are the facts:

CLAIM: President Joe Biden restored taxpayer funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

THE FACTS: Social media users are falsely claiming the Biden administration is bankrolling the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a Chinese lab that has faced unproven allegations that the coronavirus leaked from the facility, leading to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden not sending out COVID relief checks but refunding the Wuhan lab where COVID came from is THE PERFECT EXAMPLE of America last, read a screenshot of a Twitter post shared on Instagram.

Voila  U.S. taxpayer money was returned to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a Washington Times opinion piece stated. The claims seemed to originate with distortions of an article on the conservative news website The Daily Caller, which claimed the lab was eligible to receive U.S. taxpayer funding until 2024.

The article never said the lab was currently grant funded. Its true that the Wuhan Institute of Virology has fulfilled one requirement that animal research facilities outside the U.S. need to receive a NIH grant: foreign assurance approval. This assurance issued by the NIH Office of Laboratory Welfare confirms that the lab complies with certain guidelines on the humane care and use of laboratory animals.

The institutes foreign assurance was issued in 2019 and expires in 2024, the NIH told The Associated Press. However, foreign assurance is just one requirement and does not determine whether an organization can or will receive a grant award or subaward, according to the NIH.

In 2014, the NIH granted an award to the EcoHealth Alliance, a New York-based environmental health nonprofit, for a research project on bat coronaviruses. As part of that project, the nonprofit worked with researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

But in April 2020, the NIH terminated that grant. In July, the agency technically reinstated the grant, but suspended all activity related to it, citing bio-safety concerns at the lab and asking EcoHealth Alliance to meet a list of conditions. Those conditions included arranging for an outside team to investigate the lab with specific attention to addressing the question of whether WIV staff had SARS-CoV-2 in their possession prior to December 2019, according to a letter from the NIH to EcoHealth Alliance viewed by The Associated Press.

Some social media users have speculated that a recent World Health Organization trip to the Wuhan Institute of Virology could help satisfy the NIHs conditions, since the team of experts on the trip determined it was unlikely the coronavirus leaked from the lab.

Peter Embarek, the WHO food safety and animal disease expert who led the mission, said initial findings suggest the most likely pathway the virus followed was from a bat to another animal and then to humans. He called the unsubstantiated theory that the virus traveled from the Wuhan lab to humans extremely unlikely.

Theres no indication at this point that this finding will change the status of the grant that was previously funding research at the lab. Activities associated with the grant have not been allowed to resume at this point, spokespeople for the NIH and EcoHealth Alliance both confirmed to the AP.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine is safe.



Ghana recently took delivery of 600,000 AstraZeneca vaccines as the first batch with the second batch to come at a later date.



The President acknowledged the fact that "we are the first country in the world to be recipients of vaccines from the COVAX Facility, and I want to express my appreciation to members of the Covid-19 Taskforce, which I chair, and to officials of the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service for this commendable feat. The vaccine deployment plan we submitted to WHO, which unlocked this consignment, was well-received".



President Akufo-Addo speaking in his 24th Covid address said it is important not to pay attention to the numerous conspiracy theories.



"Fellow Ghanaians, I know there are still some who continue to express doubts about the vaccine, others have expressed reservations about its efficacy, with some taking sides with conspiracy theorists who believe the vaccine has been created to wipe out the African race.



This is far from the truth. Our domestic regulatory agency, FDA, one of the most reputable in Africa and in the world, has certified the safe use of the vaccine. It will not do so if it had any reservations about the safety of the vaccine, and I have gone on record as saying that no vaccine will be deployed in the country for use without the express certification of the FDA. Taking the vaccine will not alter your DNA, it will not embed a tracking device in your body, neither will it cause infertility in women or in men. As your President, I want to assure you that the vaccine is safe".



According to him, he together with Vice President Dr Bawumia, his wife, Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Second lady, Samira Bawumia will take the vaccine publicly.



"...tomorrow, on Monday, March 1, ahead of the commencement of the vaccination programme on Tuesday, March 2, my wife the First Lady, the Vice President, his wife the Second Lady, and I will take the vaccine publicly at two health facilities in Accra".



Read full speech below



Fellow Ghanaians,



Good evening, and thank you for welcoming me into your homes once again.



You are doing so on one of the sacred days of our nation, 28th February, when the 1948 Christiansborg Crossroads shooting occurred 73 years ago, which led to the martyrdom of Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe, and Private Odartey Lamptey, martyrdoms that ignited the nationalist movement, and led us to the freedom we enjoy today.



Let us observe a moments silence in honour of their memory, and the memory of all the faithful departed patriots who helped create our nation. May their souls rest in perfect peace.



Fellow Ghanaians, since I last spoke to you, a month ago, a significant development in our fight against Covid-19 has taken place in our country.



In the course of this week, Wednesday, 24th February, to be precise, we took another concrete step in our quest to rid our nation of Covid-19, with the arrival in the country of 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the first consignment of many more to come.



I indicated in Update No. 23 that the earliest vaccine would be in the country by March. However, by dint of hard work and sheer determination, government was able to secure the first batch of vaccine doses in February, a month ahead of schedule.



We are the first country in the world to be recipients of vaccines from the COVAX Facility, and I want to express my appreciation to members of the Covid-19 Taskforce, which I chair, and to officials of the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service for this commendable feat. The vaccine deployment plan we submitted to WHO, which unlocked this consignment, was well-received.



They have done a yeomans job, and our nation is indebted to them. We are grateful, also, naturally, to the contributors and managers of the COVAX Facility.



The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of two vaccines that have, so far, been approved and declared as safe-for-use by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA). With the process of certification currently ongoing for the other vaccines, the range of vaccines available to us will increase. This will facilitate our ability to reach our target of vaccinating twenty million Ghanaians by the end of this year.



Through the National Vaccine Deployment Plan, our population has been segmented into four groups, and this will determine which section of the population gets vaccinated at a particular time.



Group 1 is categorised as persons most at risk and frontline State officials. It includes healthcare workers, frontline security personnel, persons with underlying medical conditions, persons 60 years and above, and frontline members of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.



Group 2 is made up of other essential service providers and the rest of the security agencies. It includes water and electricity supply services, teachers and students, supply and distribution of fuels, farmers and food value chain, telecommunications services, air traffic and civil aviation control services, meteorological services, air transport services, waste management services, media, public and private commercial transport services, the Police Service, Armed Forces, Prisons Service, Immigration Service, National Fire Service, CEPS Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, and other members of the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature.



Group 3 consists of the rest of the general public, that is all persons over 18 years, except for pregnant women.



The final group, that is Group 4, will include pregnant mothers and persons under the age of 18, and they will be vaccinated when an appropriate vaccine, hopefully, is found, or when enough safety data on the present vaccines are available. Special arrangements will be made for persons with disabilities who fall within these groups.



So, from Tuesday, March 2, to Monday, March 15, the Ghana Health Service will begin deployment of the 600,000 AstraZeneca vaccines, with persons in Groups 1and 2 being the target of this first vaccination campaign. It will be conducted in 43 districts, which are the epi-centres of the pandemic in the country. They are 25 in Greater Accra, 16 in Ashanti, and two in the Central Region. The Ghana Health Service, as from tomorrow, will give precise details.



Whilst we are, initially, concentrating on the 43 epicentre-districts, preparations are being made for the vaccination of twenty million Ghanaians through the deployment of some 12,471 vaccinators, 37,413 volunteers, and 2,079 supervisors for the entire vaccination campaign.



Fellow Ghanaians, I know there are still some who continue to express doubts about the vaccine, others have expressed reservations about its efficacy, with some taking sides with conspiracy theorists who believe the vaccine has been created to wipe out the African race.



This is far from the truth. Our domestic regulatory agency, FDA, one of the most reputable in Africa and in the world, has certified the safe use of the vaccine. It will not do so if it had any reservations about the safety of the vaccine, and I have gone on record as saying that no vaccine will be deployed in the country for use without the express certification of the FDA.



Taking the vaccine will not alter your DNA, it will not embed a tracking device in your body, neither will it cause infertility in women or in men. As your President, I want to assure you that the vaccine is safe. That is why tomorrow, on Monday, March 1, ahead of the commencement of the vaccination programme on Tuesday, March 2, my wife the First Lady, the Vice President, his wife the Second Lady, and I will take the vaccine publicly at two health facilities in Accra.



Key public officials such as the Speaker and Members of Parliament, the Chief Justice and Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature, Chairperson and Members of the Council of State, the Chief of Staff and senior officials at the Office of the President, and prominent personalities like some Eminent Clergy, the National Chief Imam, the Asantehene, the Ga Mantse, and some media practitioners will also, on Tuesday, take the jab publicly. This is being done because the vaccine will help protect us against the impact of Covid-19 on our health. It is also a major catalyst to restoring livelihoods and the national economy to the robust level it belongs.



I encourage faith-based groups, civil society, media and all Ghanaians to support the public education campaign associated with the exercise. We need all hands-on deck to make this a success.



Furthermore, I want to reiterate my determination that we should manufacture vaccines here in Ghana. To this end, a Committee has been established under the Chairmanship of the former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, the world-renowned scientist, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, which is formulating a concrete plan of action towards vaccine development and manufacturing.



Fellow Ghanaians, the roll out of the vaccination campaign does not mean we should let our guard down, and discard the safety protocols that have served us well thus far. We cannot afford to let our guard down. Let us continue to wash our hands under running water, maintain social distancing, refrain from shaking hands and hugging, and, most importantly,wear our masks.



We must remember that the virus continues to jeopardise our lives and livelihoods. As of Friday, February 26, 2021, the total number of active cases stood at 5,444; our daily infection rate is 400, and 77,972 recoveries have been recorded.



Since I last spoke, 191 more people have sadly passed away, bringing the number of cumulative deaths to 607, and 24 persons are critically ill.



Out of 69,350 schools in the country, 207 have reported cases of infections. The number of active cases is now 282.



So, until further notice, all the restrictions as announced in my last addressremain in force, and the Police will continue to ensure compliance by all and sundry.



If all of us stay the course, and adhere strictly to the protocols, we will emerge out of this pandemic even stronger than before. This is my charge to you this evening, my fellow Ghanaians. There is light at the end of the tunnel, we dare not give up all the hard work at this point in time. This too shall pass, because the Battle is still the Lords!!



May God bless us all and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.



I thank you for your attention, and have a good night.





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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Israel on Sunday broadened its search for the ship behind an oil spill that blackened its beaches with tar after investigators ruled out one of the suspected tankers.

An Israeli team, in coordination with Greek authorities, carried out a surprise inspection of the Minerva Helen while it was docked at Athens' Piraeus port. The ship is no longer suspected of being responsible for the spill, said Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Minerva Helen's operator had denied any connection to the oil spill.

Israel's investigation has focused on an unidentified ship that passed about 50 km (30 miles) off the coast on Feb. 11 as the likely source of what environmental groups are calling an ecological disaster that could take years to clean up.

While thousands of volunteers and soldiers continued to clean the country's beaches from clumps of sticky black tar and save marine wildlife, Israel reiterated its determination to find those responsible.

The environment ministry, which has been working with European agencies, initially identified 10 ships for investigation. A number of these have since been ruled out and the ministry said it has broadened the search to include dozens of vessels.

' The oil spill had a source. We will not ignore the environmental crime and we will take every measure to locate the criminal,' Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said.

Short link:


From March 1, India is going to start the vaccination of people above 60 years and individuals above 45 years of age having comorbidities against coronavirus."The cost of the COVID-19 vaccine has been kept Rs 250 per dose, includes Rs 150 is a vaccine charge plus Rs 100 as a service charge," a government source confirmed ANI.On Friday, the Union Health Ministry said that covid19 vaccination will be free of charge at the government vaccination centres. The beneficiary will have to show a photo ID document for proof of age (preferably Aadhar card or EPIC card) and a certificate of co-morbidity (if required). Those taking the COVID vaccine at any designated/empanelled private health facility will have to pay a pre-fixed charge.The States and UTs were explained the simplified process of registration, which shall be through three routes: Advance Self-Registration: In this, the beneficiaries will be able to self-register in advance by downloading the CO-Win 2.0 portal and through other IT Applications such as Arogya Setu etc.This will show the government and private hospitals serving as COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs) with the date and time of the available schedules. The beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for vaccination.Second is on-site registration: Facility of On-Site registration allows those who cannot self-register in advance to walk into the identified COVID Vaccination Centres and get themselves registered on-site and then vaccinated.Third, is Facilitated Cohort Registration: Under this mechanism, the State/UT Government will take a proactive lead. Specific date(s) for COVID vaccination will be decided where target groups of potential beneficiates will be vaccinated.The State/UT health authorities will ensure that that the target groups are actively mobilised and brought to the vaccination centres. ASHAs, ANMs, Panchayati Raj representatives and Women's Self Help Groups (SHGs) will be utilized for mobilizing the target groups.Under all the above three routes, all beneficiaries would be captured on the Co-WIN2.0 platform and would be issued digital QR Code based provisional (on receiving the first dose) and final (on receiving the second dose) certificates. These can be downloaded from the link shown in the SMS the beneficiary shall receive after the vaccination. Print out of these certificates can also be taken from the Vaccination Centres. (ANI)
The Government has set a target of retrofitting 500,000 homes by 2030 (Rui Vieira/PA)

Irelands residential retrofitting programme should ensure ventilation is carefully considered to avoid an increase in levels of radon gas in homes, researchers have said.

A team at NUI Galway conducted one of the first studies of its kind to quantify the impact of improved energy-efficiency and airtightness on radon  a radioactive, odourless, colourless and tasteless gas.

The Government has set a target of retrofitting 500,000 homes by 2030.

Experts at the universitys School of Physics used advanced computer models to predict how radon levels would be affected by improvements within different types of dwellings.

The study was carried out by Dr James McGrath and led by Dr Miriam Byrne, both of NUI Galway, as part of research funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It has been published in the international journal Building and Environment, a research journal in the field.

Radon remediation methods are often straightforward and inexpensive with the potential to significantly reduce levels of what is a potentially dangerous gas Dr James McGrath, NUI Galway

Dr McGrath said: It is important that in our drive to make our buildings more energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that we do not introduce additional risks of negative outcomes.

The research findings highlight that radon, and indoor air quality overall, needs to be given due consideration as a key element of any proposed retrofitting works.

Ireland has a higher radon level than the global average.

The gas is a known carcinogen. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Ireland and is linked to approximately 300 lung cancer cases every year.

The NUI Galway study examined a combination of different houses, including bungalow, semi-detached and terraced dwellings, as well as outdoor locations including suburban, rural and coastal regions and dwelling ages and various ventilation measures.

It also examined how airflow is altered through retrofitting and energy efficiency improvements like increased wall and attic insulation, new windows and doors and draught prevention.

Overall, the findings show that if appropriate ventilation measures were not considered during the retrofitting process, there is a potential for radon levels to more than double.

However, the study also showed that when appropriate ventilation measures were implemented during the retrofit process, radon levels could be reduced below the initial levels.

Dr McGrath added: The results have important policy implications, highlighting that radon needs to be given appropriate consideration during the retrofit process.

It is essential that people realise radon is only a problem if ignored.

Radon remediation methods are often straightforward and inexpensive with the potential to significantly reduce levels of what is a potentially dangerous gas.

The NUI Galway research team also noted that the only way to ensure that a home does not exceed the reference level after energy improvements is to carry out a radon test.
SC to hear plea against TN law granting 69% quota in jobs, admissions

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Feb 28: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on March 5 a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the 1993 Tamil Nadu law providing 69 per cent quota to scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs) and backward classes in admissions and government jobs in the state.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari on Friday took note of submissions that a similar plea against the Tamil Nadu quota law has been pending before the apex court since 2012, and ordered tagging of the fresh plea filed by one Dinesh B this year with the earlier one.

"It is brought to our notice that the validity of Tamil Nadu Reservation Act, 1993 is assailed in Writ Petition... of 2012 and is pending before this Court. In that case, we deem it appropriate to direct the Registry to place this writ petition along with Writ Petition... of 2012 before appropriate Bench on 5th March, 2021 for consideration of interim relief and for other appropriate orders, as pressed in this writ petition," the court said in the proceedings conducted through video conferencing.

The bench also said that the application of National Union of Backward Classes, SCs, STs and Minorities, seeking to be made a party in the pending proceedings would also be taken up by it on March 5.

Supreme Court will no longer use WhatsApp to share video conference links

This organisation, in its plea filed through its secretary general S Geetha, supports the state law and wants to be heard in the case filed against the quota law.

Dinesh B, who was represented by senior advocate Dushyant Dave, has filed the plea this year assailing the Tamil Nadu Backward classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Educational Institution and appointment or posts in the services under the state) Act 1993 on the ground that it violates apex court''s Mandal judgement of 1992 in which the ceiling of 50 per cent on quota was fixed.

The plea said that the reservation in admissions and government jobs cannot be in excess of 50 per cent as it has been categorically held by the Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney judgement , also known as Mandal verdict.

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Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 19:20 [IST]
IT has been well established that the countrys most effective mobilisation system is the election machinery based on political affiliation.

With this in mind, the current crisis in the country regarding the frightening spread of the coronavirus calls for a different kind of intervention. It is past time for the declaration of a political truce. We call on the countrys two major political machines, PNM and UNC, and all other existing political parties and groups, to come together in the national interest.
Tolentino: LGUs can now accept COVID-19 vaccine donations from other LGUs, private sector

Senator Francis "Tol" N. Tolentino today lauded the swift passage of the "COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act," which was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday.

The law will expedite the procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

The law also allows LGUs to accept donations of COVID-19 vaccines from fellow LGUs and private entities, which Tolentino proposed during Senate deliberations.

Under the newly signed law, the donated vaccines must be registered with the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as proven by a valid Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), and cleared by the FDA before they could be accepted by the LGU.

After acceptance, the donation must then be reported to the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF).

The Senator said this will allow well-off LGUs to donate part of their COVID-19 vaccine supply to poor LGUs which don't have enough funds to procure vaccines for their citizens.

The Senator said the new law will not change existing laws on donations, particularly the provisions of the Civil Code of the Philippines, but will just be a temporary and time-bound measure.
Top Israeli defense and political leaders are scheduled to meet on February 28 to discuss a response to what Israel's defense minister says was likely an attack by Iran against a an Israeli-owned cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

Israel's state-owned Kan television quoted unnamed Israeli officials as saying Iran had "crossed a red line" in connection with an explosion on February 25 that struck the MV Helios Ray.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on February 27 that Iran was probably behind the explosion that struck the Israeli-owned vehicle carrier above the water line as it was traveling from the Saudi port of Dammam to Singapore.

"The location of the ship in relative close proximity to Iran raises the belief that Iran was responsible, but it must still be verified," Gantz told Israeli state television Kan.

"Right now, at an initial assessment level, given the proximity and the context that is my assessment," Gantz said.

There was no immediate response from Iranian officials.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the United Arab Emirates' state port operator, DP World, said on February 28 that the damage to the MV Helios Ray would be assessed on March 1 at Dubai Drydocks.

"We are aware a cargo ship was damaged off the coast of Oman," the spokesman said.

An Israeli delegation was traveling to Dubai to investigate the incident, Israeli Channel 13 News reported on February 28.

An Associated Press journalist reported seeing the hulking ship already sitting at the dry-dock facilities on February 28.



Iran has blamed Israel for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist in November and vowed to retaliate.



Gantz said it was known Iran was looking to target Israeli infrastructure and citizens.



The explosion did not cause any casualties but left two 1.5-meter-diameter holes in the side of the vessel, the ship's Israeli owner, Rami Ungar, told Kan on February 26.



Tracking data on Marinetraffic.com showed the Bahamas-flagged vessel currently docked in Dubai's Port Rashid. The ship is registered in the British Isle of Man.



Dryad Global, a British maritime security company, suggested a "realistic probability" that Iran was behind the explosion.



"Such activity would be commensurate with current tensions and Iranian intent to exercise forceful diplomacy through military means within its immediate area of interest," Dryad said.



The explosion occurred around the same time as U.S. air strikes on February 25 targeted Iran-backed militia groups in eastern Syria believed to be behind a spate of recent rocket attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq.



It also comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran over the fate of the 2015 nuclear deal.

President Joe Biden says his new administration is open to diplomacy with Tehran after his predecessor Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to gradually breach its commitments.



But the two sides remain locked in disagreement over which country must move first, with Iran wanting immediate sanctions relief and the United States demanding Iran first return to compliance with its nuclear commitments.



Israel has been one of the most vocal opponents of the nuclear accord.



Iran or its regional proxies are believed to be behind a number of attacks on shipping in the strategic Persian Gulf in recent years, including incidents involving two Saudi oil tankers in May 2019. Iran has denied carrying out those attacks.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, Kan Television, and Reuters
Mistrust in the government is nothing new for the residents of Flint, Michigan.

In 2014, the state's public officials assured the residents that their water was safe to drink. It wasn't. Now, with the coronavirus vaccine rolling out across the country, some Flint residents are wondering whether or not it's safe to take. Hesitancy is particularly high in some Black communities, which have a history of being discriminated against in the US health care system (and beyond).

Omar Jimenez traveled to Flint to talk to residents about how the water crisis has impacted their views on the coronavirus vaccine.

CNN's Go There team asked readers to submit questions about what it was like reporting in Flint: How are the residents coping and why does their skepticism persist? And what's in store as the vaccine rollout continues?

Can Flint residents drink safely from the tap yet? What is the residual impact on children and the younger generation?

In short, yes by federal standards. Does everyone do it? No. In 2018, then Gov. Rick Synder said there was no more need to stick to bottled water after years of steady decreases of the lead and copper level from above 15 parts per billion in 2016 (a federal threshold that requires action) to below 5 parts per billion by early 2018.

In 2019, the city of Flint released a water quality report showing that 90% of high-risk samples collected were at three parts per billion, well below the federal requirement. The likely source there, according to the report, is "corrosion of household plumbing erosion of natural deposits."

"Drinking water faucets manufactured before 2014 were allowed to contain up to 8 percent lead. This lead can sometimes find its way into our drinking water," according to the state of Michigan. So filters continue to be very popular.

While the water is safe by federal standards, the small amount of lead is still lead and is part of why so many people still choose not to drink right from the tap, including many children who have grown up since 2014 with this practice feeling commonplace. But more immediately, the American Journal of Public Health found that after the city made the decision to switch its water source to the Flint River at the start of the crisis, "The percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels increased after water source change, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Water is a growing source of childhood lead exposure because of aging infrastructure."

The city currently gets its water from Lake Huron.

According to the CDC, effects from lead exposure include: slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems, hearing and speech problems, and damage to the brain and nervous systems.

Bottom line, if kids are not feeling the physical repercussions of this, the mental ones still exist. I interviewed a man who told me his young son asks if it's safe to drink from the water fountain when he visits other states. This is purely an instinct borne out of growing up in Flint over the last 10 years.

This is a perfect setting to raise awareness of why some communities are wary of the information being distributed. What Flint endured and continues to endure is devastating. In what ways can we help?

In all honesty, a huge part of this comes from being able to spot misinformation but also putting pressure on the community and press to independently verify the numbers that are put out by city and state officials. Part of Flint discovering the scale of the issue came from community-based reporting. It's why groups like the Flint River Watershed Coalition, Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center, and the Flint Water Study exist. The latter has existed as an independent research team from Virginia Tech to help study drinking water issues in Flint.

I'm sure there are groups you can donate to on the immediate side of things, but overall, helping is simply not letting what they experienced happen in vain. Flint can't be a forgotten chapter in history but instead a reminder about the real life consequences of cost-cutting at the expense of health and the pressure it sometimes takes from a community to foster real change.

Is there anything that surprised you while you were reporting on this story and this community?

Yes, honestly it was the skepticism that still exists. It's easy to fall into the trap of "Oh Flint HAPPENED, it's not still happening," which is true to some extent. The water quality may be much better now. Yet, to hear from people they still don't trust the water was the face-to-face (mask) reminder I needed to fully realize the generational impact of just a few short years when this crisis peaked.

One of the people I spoke to showed me the crockpot she still keeps in her bathroom as a reminder of the time she used to boil water just to wash her face. She doesn't use it anymore but it sits there as a memorial of sorts, a tomb of more threatening times. And then when you translate this mentality to the Covid-19 vaccine you can imagine why there's hesitancy. It's been declared safe by just about as many medical organizations as you can possibly have but for these people they've been told something was safe before, and it wasn't. So, it's not that many won't ever get the vaccine, but in a similar strategy to the peak of the crisis they want to do their own research first.

Do the residents you spoke to feel safe talking about health and safety concerns with those who are tasked with helping them stay safe and healthy? Do you see any level of trust?

This is a very good question, and overall I would say the answer is yes. People see the Flint water crisis very much in the near view as opposed to far in the rear view. I think the level of trust actually comes less from blindly following what those in power tell them, but rather combining that with their own intuition and community resources.

One woman I spoke to helps run Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center webinars and part of their mission is to allow the thousands they've been able to connect with to hear directly from doctors and other trustworthy staples in the community so they can balance what they may be told from the state and/or city with what those they may better relate to are saying. There is trust, but the trust seems to consciously now come from a variety of sources as opposed to following just one.

How is the standard of care in Flint now during the pandemic? How are the residents being treated by the medical community?

The standard of care overall is much like you would see in most other jurisdictions. Not perfect, but working. When it comes to Covid, also like many other places, the county that houses Flint saw a spike in November and December but was able to get their numbers under control and even now see less than 100 confirmed cases a day.

As for how residents are being treated, I think engagement takes on a whole new meaning. Citizens are actively seeking out more information as those in the medical community realize more and more the weight and importance their speaking out has. Even a high school student I spoke to in Flint is involved in more clubs regarding health than I even knew existed during my high school days.

People, community and health care alike, seem to realize they share a collective goal of not wanting to go back to where things were just a few years ago. Again, while not perfect (and I'm sure I'm missing individual grievances), those in the medical community are participating in webinars, they're participating in community events, partly because rising to the current challenge takes everyone and transparency seems to be the guiding principle.

I'd like to know about the diversity within these groups who feel hesitancy toward the vaccine; are there subgroups distinguished down by education, economics, etc. that might feel differently?

There's a lot of story to tell from the numbers alone. For example, as of February 25, right around 50,000 Black people had been given the first dose as opposed to roughly 560,000 White people throughout the state of Michigan. It's safe to say that those in minority communities are those that often approach any sort of vaccine push with skepticism as historically they are the groups that have been taken advantage of.

Of course you have the horrific Tuskegee experiments, even the treatment of Henrietta Lacks, but more directly the vaccination rate in Genesee County, which houses Flint, remains relatively low with a cumulative coverage of about 20%. But the county is 75% White and 20% Black, according to the US Census Bureau. Clearly, it's not just minorities in this area that are grappling with skepticism.

Also remember, "Drinking water faucets manufactured before 2014 were allowed to contain up to 8 percent lead," according to the state of Michigan, so those in poorer communities that are more likely to have faucets in this category are also less likely to be the first in line for what the state may be telling them to do.

For the record, all of the vaccines that are on the market per FDA Emergency Use Authorization have been proven through numerous rigorous studies as safe to use.
New York politicians criticized Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday following a second allegation of sexual harassment.

Former health policy adviser Charlotte Bennett alleged that the governor harassed her in spring 2020, in comments to the New York Times. According to Bennett, Cuomo asked intrusive questions about her sex life, including an incident on June 5 during which the governor asked whether she was monogamous and if she had sex with older men.

I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared, Bennett told the Times. And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.

Cuomo said in response to the allegation that he never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate. However, the governor did not deny making the statements Bennett accused him of making.

Bennetts allegations come after former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan accused the governor of sexual harassment, including kissing her on the lips without consent.

[Governor Cuomo,] you are a monster, and it is time for you to go. Now, State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, a Democrat who represents parts of Westchester and the Bronx, wrote on Twitter on Saturday. Biaggi has previously worked in the Cuomo administration, but told City and State on Friday that the current behavior by the governor and his administration has really prevented New York from having good governance.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement that she supports an independent review of the allegations against Cuomo.

Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and taken seriously, Hochul said.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) took to Twitter to call for an independent investigation  not one led by an individual selected by the Governor, but by the office of the Attorney General.

New York mayoral candidate Mara Wiley also spoke out against the governor.

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I am disgusted. I believe Charlotte Bennett, Wiley said in a statement. Senior officials in the governors office were aware of his behavior. . . . What happened to these complaints? Why was no further action taken? How many other times has this happened?

More from National Review
By Michael Erman and Carl O'Donnell

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson's one-shot COVID-19 vaccine received U.S. authorization on Saturday and will start being administered to Americans within days.

The following is how it fits into the vaccination effort with the two other authorized immunizations from Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc.

IS J&J'S VACCINE AS EFFECTIVE AS THE OTHER TWO?

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which both use new messenger RNA technology, showed efficacy of around 95% percent in preventing illness in large trials, while J&J's showed efficacy of around 66%.

However, the trials had important differences, making comparison difficult. Pfizer and Moderna focused on efficacy against mild-to-moderate sickness, while J&J's trial looked for efficacy against moderate-to-severe COVID-19.

J&J's trial was conducted later and included significant numbers of participants in regions where highly transmissible new variants of the virus were circulating, potentially subjecting its shot to a more rigorous test.

Importantly, J&J's vaccine was about as effective against severe illness and hospitalization as the other vaccines and, like the others, was 100% effective in preventing COVID-19-related death in the trial.

All three vaccines have a similar range of short-lived side effects, including fatigue, aches, injection site soreness, nausea and fever, mostly mild-to-moderate.

IF J&J'S SHOT IS LESS EFFECTIVE, WHY SHOULD I GET IT?

J&J's vaccine is a single shot. Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines each require two shots three or four weeks apart.

J&J's shot is extremely effective at preventing people exposed to COVID-19 from getting severely ill or dying, as well as offering protection against milder cases.

"These vaccines are the path to getting your life back," said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "These are vaccines you should not hesitate to get when offered."

Story continues

J&J's vaccine is one of the few that has been tested in clinical trails against the worrisome virus variant first discovered in South Africa. It demonstrated an ability to provide protection against severe disease and death even for those infected with that variant. Pfizer and Moderna have only tested their vaccines against the variant in the lab and believe they will remain protective.

DO I HAVE A CHOICE OF VACCINE?

Experts say that for the next couple of months vaccine supplies will be too scarce for healthcare providers to offer a choice. Most vaccination sites will receive only one of the three vaccines at any given time.

Patients who prefer a specific vaccine can ask healthcare providers which one they have on hand. Later in the year, greater availability of shots could result in more patient choice, but health experts strongly advise taking whichever vaccine you can get.

HOW MANY DOSES OF J&J'S NEW SHOT WILL BE AVAILABLE?

J&J said it expects to ship nearly 4 million doses in the first week, and shipments could begin late Sunday or early Monday.

J&J expects to deliver a total of 20 million shots by the end of March and as many as 100 million doses by mid-year.

The federal government, through distributor McKesson Corp, will ship J&J's shots to states and territories around the United States. It will also deliver them to select pharmacies and community health centers to make sure they reach underserved populations.

Between J&J, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, the United States is on track to receive 240 million doses by the end of March, enough to fully inoculate 130 million Americans. The drugmakers have agreed to send 700 million doses of their vaccines by the end of July, more than enough to vaccinate all Americans.

(Reporting by Michael Erman and Carl O'Donnell; Editing by Peter Henderson and Bill Berkrot)
(Newser)  A Canadian cookbook author has helped fuel what is being referred to as "buttergate"an outcry over an apparent change in Canadian butter that leaves it hard all the time, even when kept at room temperature. On Feb. 5, Julie Van Rosendaal tweeted the following: "Something is up with our butter supply, and Im going to get to the bottom of it. Have you noticed its no longer soft at room temperature? Watery? Rubbery?" The next day she offered this: "I actually think I've figured out whats going on with our butter supply. Feeling very Nancy Drew this morning. Stay tuned." More:

What Van Rosendaal dished up next was a Globe and Mail column that put forth her theory: that a surge in baking during the pandemic triggered an increased demand for buttera 12% risewhich she posits led to changes in cow feed. The culprit? Palm oil substances, according to Van Rosendaal and others.

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The BBC explains "adding palm oil-based energy supplements to cow feed is a decades-old practice said to increase the milk output of cows and increase the milk's fat content." The thinking is that farmers are using more of it, and that the resulting butter could have a higher melting point, which could impact its consistency at room temperature.

Van Rosendaal wasn't alone in her observations. The Guardian points out Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food distribution and policy, tweeted about the situation in December and has since spoken regularly about it. On Wednesday, he tweeted a press release announcing that Quebec dairy producers are to ban the use of palm oil on farmsalong with a Thursday tweet stating he had been receiving threats from dairy farmers.

The BBC reports the Dairy Farmers of Canada group on Thursday asked milk producers to temporarily stop using palm supplements while a panel examines the issue.

Charlebois offers up two helpful perspectives: on why buttergate reached such a fever pitch and the economics that might be driving things. In terms of the former, he explains that butter costs much moreup to 3xin Canada than the US, and so Canadians "expect quality" in exchange for paying those elevated prices. "So regardless of what is causing harder butter, people are really wondering whats going on here. And theyre questioning the lack of transparency from the dairy industry."

And then there are the economics: The Guardian explains Canada employs a complex system designed to keep foreign products out and keep domestic prices consistent when it comes to milk, butter, and cheese. As part of this, farmers are paid a set fee each month. So "regardless of the quality of your product, regardless of what goes on your farm, you get the same amount of money," says Charlebois. "How do you actually generate more fat while keeping costs as low as possible? Well, palmitic acids are a very convenient solution."

(Read more butter stories.)
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The State Security Service (SSS) has confirmed the arrest of Salihu Tanko, a former media aide to the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Mr Tanko was arrested hours after calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to check Nigerias worsening insecurity or resign. He has also been sacked by Governor Ganduje.

The SSS spokesperson, Peter Afunnaya, in a short statement late Saturday in Abuja said Mr Tanko is in their custody, facing investigation.

This is to confirm that Salihu Tanko-Yakasai is with the Department of State Services. He is being investigated over issues beyond the expression of opinions in the social media as wrongly alleged by sections of the public, the statement read.

The SSS apparently responded following a campaign on Twitter for Mr Tankos release under the hashtag #freedawisu.

Mr Tankos father, Tanko Yakassai, had told PREMIUM TIMES earlier on Saturday morning that his son was arrested and taken to Abuja from Kano.

Mr Yakassai debunked an earlier speculation that his son was kidnapped.

It was not a kidnap incident. I have confirmation that he was arrested by the SSS, the elderly politician said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported Mr Tanko, on Twitter, saying the All Progressive Congress (APC) has failed Nigerians over the worsening insecurity.

Following the abductions of 27 schoolboys in Kagara, Niger State and 317 schoolgirls in Zamfara, Mr Tanko had on Friday taken to social media to express his anger.

He said the APC government at all levels has failed to deliver on its primary responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians.

Mr Tanko, in a series of tweets, called on President Buhari to deal with the escalating insecurity or resign.

Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number 1 duty we were elected to do, which is to secure lives & properties.

Not a single day goes by without some sort of insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign, he wrote on his verified Twitter handle, @dawisu

Following the comments, Governor Ganduje relieved Mr Tanko of his appointment.

A statement by the state government announcing the sack said Mr Tanko had failed to differentiate between personal opinion and official stand on matters of public concern and therefore could not be allowed to continue to serve in a government he does not believe in.
NEW YORK (AP)  A second former aide has come forward with sexual harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who responded with a statement Saturday saying he never made advances toward her and never intended to be inappropriate.

Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governor's administration until November, told The New York Times that Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she had ever had sex with older men.

Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, a former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, recently accused Cuomo of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comments. Cuomo denied the allegations.

Cuomo said in a statement Saturday that Bennett was a hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID and that she has every right to speak out.

READ MORE: For Cuomo, hardball tactics, intimidation and now allegations of harassment

NYT: Cuomo is accused of sexual harassment by a second former aide

He said he had intended to be a mentor for Bennett, who is 25.

I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate, Cuomo's statement said. The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.

Cuomo, however, said he had authorized an outside review of Bennett's allegations.

The governor's special counsel, Beth Garvey, said that review would be conducted by a former federal judge, Barbara Jones.

I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgements, Cuomo said. "I will have no further comment until the review has concluded.

The two leading state Democrats quickly called for a "truly independent" investigation into the allegations.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said that, "As I previously stated, all allegations of harassment must be taken seriously. A truly independent investigation is warranted."

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said the "continued allegations are deeply disturbing and concerning. The behavior described has no place in the workplace. A truly independent investigation must begin immediately.

Republicans weighed in more harshly. Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive considering another run for governor against Cuomo in 2022, said the pattern of allegations was disturbing.

"We start by believing these courageous women," Molinaro said. "There must be a serious independent investigation, victims heard, truth sought and justice served. If true, the governor is not fit to serve. He must resign or be removed from office."

Republican Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt said a review by "someone handpicked by the governor himself, is an outrageous, completely unacceptable idea." Ortt called instead for a special prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Letitia James.

"I will be convening members of the Senate Republican conference tomorrow morning to discuss these egregious allegations and any next steps that our conference must take," Ortt said.

The Times Union's Chris Bragg contributed to this story

PREVIOUSLY
ALTON  StoryCorps Chicago on March 5 will present a public virtual listening event with first-person stories of Alton residents documenting their lives and the towns past, present and future.

A public virtual listening event will be held at Jacoby Arts Center 5-6 p.m. Friday, March 5. An option to live-stream the event from home will also be available.

After the presentation of the stories, a discussion will take place with featured participants, followed by the opening of the RISE exhibit 6-8 p.m. which showcases regional artists of color. RISE will be on display at the gallery through the end of March.

Attendees will join host Ayana Contreras, content director of Vocalo Radio, to hear the stories for the first time. For the Untold Black Stories of Alton series, StoryCorps is working with Penny Schmidt, a community advisor working to revitalize downtown Alton, as well as All Town, USA podcast producer Stephanie Young.

StoryCorps has recorded 18 interviews with 33 Alton residents, focusing on the towns African-American community and other longtime residents including a historian, a longtime farmer, a descendant of sharecroppers and creator of a site of an Underground Railroad.

The stories have been collected using StoryCorps Virtual, a platform that mirrors StoryCorps traditional interview experience, with a facilitator present virtually, allowing participants to preserve their conversation at the Library of Congress.

Each participant may join the interview from the safety of their own computer, smartphone or, when necessary, a landline. People can join via Zoom storycor.ps/3bDo46B. The psscode is 994140.

Jacoby Arts Center is leading a collaboration to amplify the StoryCorps conversations through the creation of a walkable photography exhibit and virtual listening tour throughout downtown Alton. The exhibit will be launched in early summer and will be guided by an app on mobile device.

Partners include Alton Main Street, Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau and All Town USA. Printing of the large-scale portraits is sponsored by the Mythic Mississippi Project, a public engagement venture of the University of Illinois that promotes community development through Cultural Heritage programs.

The team is designing the exhibit to catalyze diversity, inclusivity and equity within the downtown Alton historic district usingf portrait photographs of residents who contributed their oral histories to the Untold Black Stories archive. Photos will be printed in large poster format and displayed in storefront windows along Broadway. QR codes at each stop will link to short excerpts edited from StoryCorps recorded conversations.

These portraits will animate the Downtown Arts District with striking imagery to further engage our community in these Untold Black Stories of Alton and celebrate participants who shared their stories, said Rachel Lappin, Executive Director of Jacoby Arts Center, The mixed media experience will be accessible 24/7 for locals and tourists alike. In other words, this will be a museum-like outdoor art exhibition throughout downtown.

Jacoby Arts Center will engage youth, artists, visitors and community members to respond through a collaborative visual arts installation, and collect more Untold Black Stories via visual art.

For more information, please visit www.JacobyArtsCenter.org/UntoldBlackStories or www.StoryCorps.org.

The event is part of a series of events presented as StoryCorps Chicago will end operations in September.

Founded in 2003 by Dave Isay, StoryCorps has given more than 600,000 people across the United States of all backgrounds and beliefs the chance to record interviews about their lives. The organization preserves the recordings in its archive at the Library of Congress and shares select stories with the public through StoryCorps weekly podcast, NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms, and best-selling books. The stories are designed to reflect the vast range of American experiences, wisdom and values; engender empathy and connection; and remind us how much more we have in common than what divides us.
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When David McCarthy came out to his family as a 14-year-old boy, homosexuality was a crime. It would not be decriminalised for another nine years.

I remember my father talking about the law change, Mr McCarthy recalls. He said, this sort of change, son, only comes about very rarely.

JoyFM president David McCarthy was just 14 when he came out as gay. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Now president of Australias only LGBTQI+ radio station, Joy 94.9, Mr McCarthy spent his teenage years and early 20s being treated as a criminal for being himself.

On Monday, it will be 40 years since the Hamer Liberal governments repeal of the states sodomy laws came into effect.
The concluding day of the 14th Jaipur Literature Festival witnessed Nobel Prize recipient, author, and Pakistani activist talking about a range of subjects including education, human rights, and her hopes for India-Pakistan relationship.

Malala engaged in almost an hour-long conversation with journalist Pragya Tiwari, around her new book "We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World".

The session kicked off with the 23-year-old giving audiences a glimpse of her inspirations, journey and roots. She spoke of what inspired her to come forward and share her story in the first place. Stressing that it was important for her to not just tell her own story but also remind people that her tale is not unique, Malala spoke of how her story echoes that of millions of girls who do not have access to education, because of a myriad of reasons including early child marriages, poverty, cultural norms, wars and conflicts.

Speaking about Indo-Pak relationship, the 23-year-old said, "You are Indian and I am Pakistani, and we are completely fine, then why is this hatred created between us? The philosophy of borders, divisions, divide and conquer just does not work anymore...as humans we all want to live in peace."

The peace activist said that it was her dream to see the two countries (India and Pakistan) on friendly terms and that people from either side are able to visit each other. "You can continue to watch Pakistani dramas movies, and we -- Bollywood movies."

Stressing on the need to protect minorities in both countries, she also talked about the Internet shutdown in some parts of India and arrests of activists.

Malala also spoke about being displaced in her own country Pakistan , owing to the conflict between the government forces and the Taliban insurgents, her life during this time in a refugee camp and the uncertainty she faced at not knowing when she will be home again.

Referring to her latest book, she spoke about her visits to various refugee camps and how around 80 million girls have been displaced from their homes.

She said that she decided to write the book 'We Are Displaced' to tell the stories of these young girls who lose their homes and who decide to become refugees only for the sake of a safe future as they usually do not have an option. "They are pushed by the situation they're living in to lose their homes and to find safety elsewhere."

When Pragya asked about her source of courage, Malala answered that it stemmed from a want for education and the desire to live a peaceful life.

The young Nobel laureate also spoke on minorities being at risk across the world, and how they needed protection in every country. "Be it Hindus and Christians in Pakistan or Muslims, Dalits and other minorities in India, Rohingyas or Palestinians -- it is not religion, but exploitation of power, it is elites vs poor and minorities."

--IANS

sukant/rs

(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 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.
(Newser)  The US is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two. Health experts are eagerly awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the US and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways. The FDA said Johnson & Johnson's vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations, and death, the AP reports. One dose was 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19 illness, in a large study that spanned three continentsprotection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where the variants of most concern are spreading.

story continues below

"The more vaccines that have high efficacy that we can get into play, the better," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said ahead of the FDA's ruling. Shipments of a few million doses to be divided among states could begin as early as Monday. By the end of March, the company has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the US, and 100 million by summer. Johnson & Johnson also is seeking authorization for emergency use of its vaccine in Europe and from the World Health Organization. Worldwide, the company aims to produce about 1 billion doses globally by the end of the year. On Thursday, the island nation of Bahrain became the first to clear its use.

(Read more coronavirus vaccine stories.)
The first vials of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine landed on Australian soil on Sunday morning, more than doubling the countrys number of vaccine doses.

An Emirates plane carried 300,000 doses of the vaccine, the second vaccine to be approved for use in Australia and the vaccine currently planned to be administered to the majority of the population, in to Sydney Airport at about 9.30am.

The first vials of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arriving at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning. Credit:Edwina Pickles

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the delivery was another point of hope and another point of protection in the global pandemic which has claimed more than 2.5 million lives worldwide.

The first AstraZeneca doses are scheduled to be administered to people in phase 1a of the vaccine rollout from March 8, subject to batch test approval, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement.
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California Gov. Newsom Accused of Breaking Indoor Dining Rules Again

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been accused of violating his own public health restrictions for a second time after he allegedly ate inside a restaurant in a county where indoor dining isnt allowed.

The Democratic governor on Feb. 27 posted to his TikTok account a video that aimed to educate Californians about checking their CCP virus vaccine eligibility. The video, which featured himself and comedian George Lopez, appeared to be taken inside the Los Amigos restaurant in Fresno, where restaurants and bars are ordered to cease indoor services.

A spokesperson for Newsom told Fox News he was there to meet with the restaurants owners, who received a relief grant, and didnt dine at the restaurant. However, people on social media noticed that the governor appeared to be in front of a table with food and drinks, and that he allegedly stayed inside the restaurant for more than an hour.

Newsoms critics also pointed to a separate video posted to the Los Amigos restaurants Facebook page, in which Lopez was endorsing the restaurants food.

In an email response to NTD Television, the restaurant stated that the governor was in the restaurant for 45 minutes and didnt dine there.

[The] governor did not have anything to drink or eat at any time during his visit here at Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant, the restaurant stated. We shared our worries and concerns for our business, asked questions about vaccines and what other assistance business[es] can look forward to in order to get back afloat from these hard times. We are happy to see the governors interest in talking to folks like us and supporting us by offering grants like the one we received.

Newsom was previously caught breaking his own indoor dining ban in November 2020 when he celebrated a birthday for a longtime aide at the prestigious $350-per-person French Laundry restaurant in Napa. Following intense backlash, Newsom apologized and admitted that the dinner party was a bad mistake.

I should have stood up and  drove back to my house, Newsom said at that time. The spirit of what Im preaching all the time was contradicted, and Ive got to own that. And so I want to apologize to you, because I need to preach and practice, not just preach and not practice.

The French Laundry incident has weakened public support for Newsoms handling of the CCP virus pandemic and fueled an effort to force the governor into a recall election.

Hes totally lost the public trust by moving the goalpost all the time on these arbitrary conditions of who can open and who cant open. And hes affected millions of people, San Francisco resident Suzy Abbott told NTD Television.

San Francisco Bay Area resident Jason Caballero told NTD Television: This is a civilian issue. Its nonpartisan. We have people from both sides, in the middle, also supporting this. Its about basically constitutional rights and protecting our basic human rights.

Organizers of the recall movement recently announced that theyve collected more than 1.8 million signatures, far more than the 1.5 million they needed before the March 17 deadline, although a portion of the signatures may not be deemed valid.

If the recall effort gets all the needed signatures, two questions will be added to the ballot in an election that will take place near the end of this year. The ballot will ask voters if they want to recall the governor, and who should replace him in that case. Hundreds of candidates could be on the list, since California doesnt place a cap on the number of candidates for recalls, and a candidate only needs a relative majority to win.

Ilene Eng contributed to this report.
Gov. Gavin Newsom visits Fresno COVID vaccine clinic View Photo

Sacramento, CA  The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan early this morning  with no Republican support.

The legislation includes funding for vaccine production and distribution, another round of stimulus payments for many households, an extension of federal unemployment benefits, and more. Governor Gavin Newsom is praising the move stating that the nationwide relief thats essential for Californians hardest hit by the pandemic, and a measure that complements the states immediate stimulus package I signed this week. Click here for details on that $7.6 billion package.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass but not before some changes could be made. Newsom had this message for senators, I urge the Senate to now do its part and quickly approve this measure. As economic experts have made clear, the danger right now is doing too little in the way of relief, not too much. The path to recovery for all Americans remains uncertain, and now isnt the time to slow down the support that people need.

The governor also pledged to work with our federal partners in the coming weeks to lay the foundation for an equitable and broad-based recovery.

On Friday, Newsom reported that he expects California to start administering the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine next week. He detailed the Biden administration plans to send the state more than 1.1 million of the single-dose J&J shots in the next three weeks once it is approved for use by federal officials.

The news comes in the wake of the state announcing progress on its transition to a new centralized vaccine delivery system. Insurer Blue Shield received a no-bid, $15 million contract to create and administer the system, which 28 of 58 counties in that state will begin switching to on Monday.

California is seeing dramatic drops in virus cases and hospitalizations after record highs in early January bringing this response from Newsom. Theres bright light at the end of the tunnel, while visiting a vaccination center.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-27 16:52:13|Editor: huaxia

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A citizen wearing a face mask purchases goods at a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, Feb. 28, 2021. New Zealand's largest city Auckland will move from COVID-19 Alert Level 1 to Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country to Alert Level 2 from 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced at an urgent media conference on Saturday evening. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)

WELLINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand will move up its COVID-19 alert levels due to two new community cases who tested positive on Saturday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced at an urgent media conference on Saturday evening.

New Zealand's largest city Auckland will move from COVID-19 Alert Level 1 to Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country to Alert Level 2 from 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning, according to Ardern.

The symptoms of the community cases were atypical, and the source of the infection was unknown and under investigation, said the Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield.

At the media conference, people were urged to stay home to prevent further transmission of the virus.

A single-shot Covid-19 vaccine by US drugmaker Johnson and Johnson is likely to be approved for use in the European Union in early March, a French minister said Sunday.

The vaccine was cleared for emergency use in the United States on Saturday, becoming the third available vaccine there.

The single-shot vaccine is highly effective in preventing severe Covid-19, including against newer variants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said before giving it the green light.

French Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told France 3 television that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was also evaluating information transmitted by the US pharmaceuticals company.

An EU approval in early March would allow the vaccine to be rolled out in late March or early April, she said, adding this was "good news" because it offers protection with a single shot in contrast to other vaccines requiring two.

She said it was possible that a booster shot was needed later "but we can't be sure yet".

The EU hoped to receive 600 million doses of the vaccine by the end of June, she said.

France has so far vaccinated 1.5 million people, the minister said. By June all 15 million people belonging to the country's most vulnerable population segments will have been vaccinated, she added, acknowledging however that reaching that target might require a faster vaccine rollout.

In large clinical trials, the J&J vaccine's efficacy against severe disease was 85.9 percent in the United States, 81.7 percent in South Africa, and 87.6 percent in Brazil.

The J&J shot appears less protective than Pfizer and Moderna's two-shot regimens, which both have an efficacy of around 95 percent against all forms of Covid-19 from the classic coronavirus strain

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ORLANDO, Fla. - Right Side Broadcasting Network was streaming the Conservative Political Action Conference, and the content was becoming a problem. One of the weekend's first panels had brought a lawyer for Donald Trump's 2020 campaign together with other anti-"voter fraud" crusaders, and they suggested that Nevada's election was stolen for the Democrats.

"We must jump in here and make a small disclosure: We want you to do your own research," broke in Brian Glenn, a host at the conservative streaming network.

The Republican Party on display at CPAC this weekend was anti-monopoly, anti-free trade, skeptical of foreign wars, girded for economic conflict with China - and frequently invested in things that aren't true.

Election myths were mentioned often, though rarely the damage they'd led to on Jan. 6, when hordes of Trump supporters fueled by the falsehoods and seeking to block Joe Biden's election stormed the Capitol.

Some conservatives tried to advance the issue by laying out voting restrictions they said would solve problems - ones that did not mar November's election - or condemned a Democratic voting bill expected to pass next month.

More frequently, they suggested that the election had not been honest - a topic that spilled from panel to panel, fact or no fact.

During the panel that Right Side broke away from, Jesse Binnall, an attorney who represented Trump's campaign in Nevada, insisted that they'd found 40,000 double-voters and 1,500 ballots cast by dead people, claims that a state judge in Carson City said were unsubstantiated.

Fox News commentator Deroy Murdock, who joined that panel, said in a separate speech Friday that "mysterious late-night ballot dumps" had erased Trump's lead in key states; in reality, those large Biden margins from urban counties matched Democratic performances in other recent elections. On the panel, Murdock repeated the myth that every Trump lawsuit had been dismissed for procedural, not factual, reasons; actually, judges in Nevada, Wisconsin and Arizona had ruled against election challengers on the merits, saying the supposed evidence provided did not hold up to scrutiny.

Another unofficial panel, led by a group that hosted a gold-colored statue of Trump at its booth, was closed to most media. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who falsely claimed last month that "President Trump won here in Georgia," was among the guests seen entering the room Saturday.

As that panel unfolded, a breakout session hosted by Republican election lawyers and a Georgia county GOP chair found questioners and panelists debating which of the fraud theories they could believe.

Marci McCarthy, a DeKalb County GOP official, suggested that Democratic groups had suppressed votes by "telling Republicans to stay home" - an argument made by Lin Wood, an attorney who worked on some of the unsuccessful lawsuits to overturn state elections. When one attendee suggested that voting machines in Texas had flipped votes, attorney Charlie Spies jumped in to refute her.

"I may get booed offstage for this, but that's simply not true," Spies said, talking over some heckling as he explained that a popular baseless claim about rigged machines in Michigan was false. "Let's win the elections and not worry about things that aren't true."

Four more panels on election rules were scheduled for Sunday, including a discussion of "failed states" with Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, who led a lawsuit to throw out all 2.5 million of the state's absentee ballots.

Trump's feuds with election officials and social media companies have become the conservative movement's causes, as the weekend demonstrated. Trump will make his first post-White House speech at the conference on Sunday.

A regular sub-theme for Trump loyalists was censorship; left unspoken was that various politicians, including Trump, were kicked off social media platforms for repeatedly spreading falsehoods about the election.

"If they can censor him, they can censor any American citizen," said Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who got a standing ovation on Friday when he talked about contesting Pennsylvania's electoral votes on Jan. 6. "I said, we ought to have a debate about election integrity. What was the result of that?"

Before anyone else could answer, Hawley did: "I was called a traitor."

Some of the event's sponsors told attendees about new social networks where they could escape post-Jan. 6 limits on their speech, or anecdotes that could validate their election doubts. Gemki Fujii, a Japanese conservative activist who paid for ads and a booth at the conference, said in a video that Americans needed to form a "samurai-to-samurai alliance" with Asian conservatives after the 2020 election was "stolen" on behalf of "the Chinese Communist Party."

The reality of the coronavirus pandemic was also glided over. One year after Vice President Mike Pence told CPAC that the risk of mass coronavirus infections "remains low," a conference found itself shrunken by limits on indoor gathering. Some attendees made statements with their mandatory gear, with messages like "This Mask is as Useless as Joe Biden," "Social(ism) Distancing," or, more frequently, "Trump 2024."

One jarringly surreal note came from Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, comparing conditions at the time of last year's conference with the 2021 version.

"One year ago, we had more jobs than people," Williams said. "This president has gone in there and just gutted everything." He did not mention the pandemic.

The treatment of both the election results and the pandemic went to prove the same point: that Trump's brio had made Republicans win again - even when they lost. Buttons portrayed Trump as the Terminator, with the caption "I'll be back." The conference's annual straw poll, which typically combines policy questions with a presidential ballot test, asks two 2024 questions this year: Whom the attendee would support if Trump runs, and whom they'd support if he doesn't.

Democratic control of Washington loomed over the conference, but not in the way it once might have. With the exception of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), few guests mentioned the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package that House Democrats passed Saturday morning. (McCarthy, focusing on the GOP's strong 2020 House performance, said that "President Trump worked on all those races.")

Displays of anti-Biden sentiment were fairly rare, as the new president had not attained the boogeyman status of former president Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, who galvanized the right.

"I can't give the Biden stuff away," said David Solomon, a "MAGA" merchandise seller whose post-election shirt designs included Biden with a Hitler-style mustache and the message "Not My Dictator."

Conspiratorial elements did not begin with Trump, but before his tenure they had been relegated to side rooms or fringe candidacies. One term later, that had changed. The elements Trump had encouraged also burned outside the Hyatt where CPAC gathered.

On Friday night, white nationalist activist Nick Fuentes convinced Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona to speak at his America First Political Action Conference, an event with no ties to CPAC but with some shared attendance. When Gosar was finished, Fuentes spent 67 minutes mocking a disabled member of Congress, calling the Jan. 6 riots "awesome" and demanding protection for the country's "White demographic core."

Gosar, one of the leaders of the push to overturn Arizona's presidential election, distanced himself from Fuentes on Saturday, condemning "White racism" during his appearance onstage. In an interview, Gosar explained that he had attended the Friday event after being convinced he could reach a new, energetic audience that might be interested in his advocacy for stricter immigration laws and election integrity.

"There is a group of young people that are becoming part of the election process and becoming a bigger force," Gosar said. "So why not take that energy and listen to what they've got to say?"

- - -

The Washington Post's Amy E. Gardner contributed to this report.
Ministers are planning a 'Listen to Nan' campaign to persuade younger adults to get the coronavirus vaccine, it was claimed today.

The Government is aiming to have given the first dose of the jab to the top nine priority groups - all those aged 50 and over - by mid-April.

The second phase of the rollout will then see jabs given to all remaining UK adults by the end of July.

Ministers reportedly believe a message from an older family member is likely to be more effective at encouraging younger people to get vaccinated than a government instruction.

Ministers are said to be working on a 'Listen to Nan' campaign to persuade younger adults to get vaccinated. A vaccination centre in Sheffield is pictured on February 20

The Government is aiming to have given first doses to all over-50s by mid-April and to all UK adults by the end July

As a result ministers are working on a so-called 'Listen to Nan' campaign, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

The campaign will seek to enlist the help of grandparents and parents to persuade their adult children to get the jab.

One minister told the newspaper: 'The most influential people in a decision whether to take a jab or not are the people that they love, and that they are with.

'The fact that grandparents have taken a jab means parents are more likely to take it and the kids are more likely to take it.

'That matters much more than anything else.'

The Government is hoping that the nation's vaccination drive will accelerate in the coming weeks as second doses are offered to many of the most vulnerable.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said: 'We will see an uplift in March in terms of that rate of vaccination to be able to hit that mid-April target [to vaccinate all the over-50s].

'If you are having to do second doses as of March and continue the pace of first doses you have got to double the vaccination rate.

'We had to build our infrastructure so when the vaccines come we can deploy at speed.'

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation set out its recommendations last week for the second phase of the jab roll-out.

There had been calls for some key workers to be given priority but the JCVI said it would continue to recommend conducting the roll-out on the basis of age.

Therefore once the top nine groups have been vaccinated the roll-out will then move on to people aged 40 to 49.

The 30 to 39 group will come next, followed by the final group of people, those aged 18 to 29.
Vietnam has welcomed recent progress towards the organization of an election in Palestine which will mark an important step to reunification and reconciliation at an online meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC)

on the situation in the Middle East, including Palestinian issue, on February 26.

At the online meeting of the UN Security Council (Photo: VN)

Addressing the meeting, Minister Counsellor Nguyen Phuong Tra, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations called on Israeli authorities to create conditions for the organisation of the election in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

The Vietnamese representative also welcomed an initiative by Palestinian President Mahnoud Abbas to hold an international conference and every effort toward a comprehensive, fair and long-term peace between Israel and Palestine, in accordance with international law and the UNs resolutions.

She underlined the need for trust building measures and called on parties concerned to refrain from unilateral actions that could undermine trust.

Tra lauded the Egyptian Governments recent move to lift blockade on the Gaza Strip and called on Israel to take similar action.

On the humanitarian issue, she raised Vietnams concern over the current situation in Palestine and urged international philanthropists to continue delivering on their aid commitments.

UNSC member states hailed parties in Palestine for reaching consensus on important contents towards holding an election in the middle of this year. Many countries affirmed that the election needs to be held in a free and fair manner with the participation of all stakeholders and areas, including the East Jerusalem.

They expressed optimism over the recent developments of peace process in the Middle East and the resumption of humanitarian assistance for Palestinians to cope with the current crisis.

The meeting is held every three months to debate situation in the occupied Palestinian territories./.VNA
After launching the Gionee Max last year, the company is planning to launch the Gionee Max Pro smartphone in India.

The teaser page on Flipkart reveals that the company will launch the smartphone at 12 PM on March 1 and it also carries Flipkart Unique branding, which means that it will be available online exclusively via the Walmart-owned e-retail platform.

Besides that, the teaser page on Flipkart also gives key details on the features of the upcoming smartphone, which includes the display, battery, and storage space.

According to the details, the Gionee Max Pro smartphone will be equipped with a 6.52-inch HD+ display and it will come with a single front camera that will be housed inside the dewdrop notch. The phone will also get extremely thin bezels on the sides and a thick chin.

There is hardly any information on the phones design and one of the images shared on Flipkart reveals that the phones rear camera setup will be housed inside a square-shaped camera module. Also, the phone will be available in the Blue colour and it will offer 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage space. It will pack a 6,000mAh battery.

Several reports suggest that the upcoming smartphone is expected to be available in Black, Blue, and Red colour variants.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli (R, front) attends the inauguration ceremony of Kijazi Interchange in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Feb. 24, 2021. Magufuli on Wednesday inaugurated the Chinese-built state-of-the-art Kijazi Interchange in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, making heavy traffic jams lasting for hours at the busy Ubungo junction history. (Xinhua)

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Wednesday inaugurated the Chinese-built state-of-the-art Kijazi Interchange in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, making heavy traffic jams lasting for hours at the busy Ubungo junction history.

In his address shortly after he inaugurated the interchange constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Magufuli said the construction of the interchange signals an end to nightmares experienced by motorists who spent hours in traffic jams.

Magufuli, who named the interchange as Kijazi Interchange in appreciation of the former Chief Secretary John Kijazi who died on Feb. 17, 2021, commended CCECC for completing the project on time.

He urged other construction companies undertaking various projects in the country to emulate the aptitude displayed by the Chinese company.

Magufuli said the interchange greatly reduce traffic congestion with over 68,000 vehicles passing daily.

The Kijazi interchange, mainly consisting of a three level interchange with the maximum height of 17.5 meters and service roads, is the biggest project of its kind in the country.
Johnny Briggs attends the Royal Television Society Awards. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)

Veteran Coronation Street star Johnny Briggs  famous for playing Ken Barlow's rival Mike Baldwin  has died at the age of 85.

Briggs appeared in more than 2,000 episodes of Coronation Street over the course of 30 years, and was involved in many of the soap's most famous storylines.

Read more: Coronation Street pays tribute to Deirdre actor Anne Kirkbride

In a statement, the actor's family confirmed that he passed away on Sunday morning after battling an illness.

They said: It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our father, Johnny Briggs. He passed away peacefully this morning after a long illness, with family by his side. He was 85.

We politely ask for privacy at this time, so that we can quietly grieve as a family and remember the wonderful times we had with him. Thank you.

'Coronation Street' stars Johnny Briggs (Mike Baldwin), Amanda Barrie (Alma Baldwin) and William Roache (Ken Barlow), pictured in December 1991. (Photo by Nigel Wright/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

Briggs joined the ITV soap as market trader turned clothing entrepreneur Mike Baldwin in 1976.

The womanising character embarked on a high-profile affair with Deirdre Barlow in the 1980s, but Deirdre ultimately chose to stay with husband Ken Barlow.

Mike was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2005 and died a year later in the arms of his former love rival Ken, having suffered a heart attack in the street.

Briggs briefly reprised the iconic role in 2012, appearing as a ghost as part of a special sketch for ITV charity fundraiser Text Santa.

Read more: Name these UK soaps from just three characters

Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan, Loose Women panellist Denise Welch were among those offering tributes to the star.

The official Coronation Street Twitter account wrote that Mike Baldwin was "one of the most iconic characters The Street has ever known".

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Numerous Corrie actors also offered words of farewell to Briggs on social media, with Antony Cotton writing that everyone on the show "adored him" as "a complex character, on and off screen".

Les Dennis, Tracie Bennett, Jane Danson and Samia Longchambon were among the castmates who offered their own memories on Twitter.

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Before he joined Corrie, Briggs appeared in numerous British comedy films throughout the 1960s, including Norman Wisdom comedy A Stitch in Time and several Carry On movies.

In his later years, he split his time between an apartment in Portishead, Somerset and a home in Florida.

Briggs was married twice and has six children. He was awarded an MBE in 2007.

Watch: The latest from Coronation Street
Congratulations to those Manitobans aged 95 and over because, thanks to the diligent work of our provincial leaders, we are now able to inoculate you against the dreaded COVID-19 coronavirus.

Congratulations to those Manitobans aged 95 and over because, thanks to the diligent work of our provincial leaders, we are now able to inoculate you against the dreaded COVID-19 coronavirus.

Everyone else? Wait your turn.

This week Dr. Joss Reimer advised Manitobans that "Im personally very excited that were expanding into the general population, and Im looking forward to decreasing the age of eligibility over time."

We are going to be receiving more vaccine doses  15,000 Pfizer doses weekly, up from the current 12,000. At this rate, we should have Manitoba inoculated sometime in the summer of 2022.

I dont want to say Manitoba in specific, and Canada in general, lacks flexibility, ambition and innovation, but I think the numbers speak for themselves.

Canada has vaccinated roughly 4 percent of its population. In this, we rank behind Singapore, Netherlands, and dozens of other industrialized countries. Israel has vaccinated almost 85 percent of its population while the United States has vaccinated roughly 20 percent. We are ahead of Croatia, Brazil and Latvia if you seek comfort.

Premier Pallister has repeatedly blamed Prime Minister Trudeau and the Federal Government for failing to deliver enough vaccine doses to Manitoba. He is correct in this assertion. Trudeau has done an absolutely dreadful job of delivering on his first responsibility  protecting the safety of Canadians.

Does anyone recall Trudeaus preening early this Fall about having secured 358 million vaccine doses?

"We are coming at this from every angle," Trudeau said back in October, after the Government released news that it had signed contracts to acquire vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and more.

That was on Oct. 23, 2020.

As I write this, on Feb. 25, 2021, slightly less than 1.7 million vaccine doses have been administered Canada-wide. Thats not exactly something to brag about.

Have we done a good job in Manitoba vaccinating?

The medical professionals getting needles into arms are heroes. They are getting as many vaccine shots in Manitobans as possible. The leaders at the top  well, their remarkable unpopularity underscores their performance.

Think about it this way  As of Wednesday, Manitoba had received approximately 102,000 vaccine doses. At the same time, 67.5 percent -- 69,000 -- of these doses had been administered. The only province trailing us in vaccine utilization is Nova Scotia.

Those are facts.

Why is this an issue? Why do I care?

Well, this will continue to be the dominant story for one simple reason, maybe two. First, people keep dying from COVID, and secondly, our economy cannot reopen fully until we reach herd immunity.

There are so many COVID implications to literally everything a government does.

How many more counsellors do we need in a school division? After all, kids are facing untold challenges between interruptions in their normal schedules; parents being unemployed, etc.

What do government tax collections look like? So many businesses are running below capacity due to COVID.

How many healthcare areas are being underfunded as a result of the understandable focus on COVID?

In other words, COVID touches every part of our economy. We need to get vaccinated to save lives and get people back to normal. It is all interconnected, and right now, we are underperforming.
Dozens were injured Sunday as Bangladeshi police fired rubber bullets and tear gas in a third day of protests sparked by the death of a prominent writer and government critic in jail.

Mushtaq Ahmed, 53, collapsed in a high-security prison and died late Thursday, 10 months after being arrested under a "digital security" law that critics say is being used to silence dissent in the country of 168 million people.

Live footage on Sunday from local television station Channel 24 showed a road and footpath in front of the National Press Club -- a favourite protest site in Dhaka -- turning into a battleground as police beat protesters with batons to disperse them.

Student activists from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) hurled rocks and attacked officers with bamboo and plastic pipes, prompting police to retaliate by "firing rubber bullets and tear gas", Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka police Sazzadur Rahman told AFP.

"They did not take any permission (for the protests)," he added, defending the police's move to clear the protesters.

S.M. Shamim, a police spokesman, said at least nine BNP activists were arrested, including several outside the city's main hospital, over charges of "assaulting police".

"At least eight policemen were injured," he told AFP.

BNP spokesman Rizvi Ahmed said about 30 party activists, including a senior leader, were injured in the clashes.

Ahmed said more than 500 protesters had gathered at the press club, trying to form a human chain.

He defended the party not having sought permission for the protests at the National Press Club, saying that historically no clearance was needed to hold rallies there.

"As they stood there for a human chain, (police) baton-charged indiscriminately," he said.

"It is a murder," he said of Mushtaq Ahmed's death. "We think the state is involved."

- Calls for action -

International and local rights groups have demanded a swift probe into the death of the writer, who was arrested over comments posted on social media criticising the government's response to coronavirus.

Story continues

Ambassadors from 13 countries, including the United States, France, Britain, Canada and Germany, expressed "grave concern" over the case.

He had been detained under the Digital Security Act, passed in 2018, which rights groups say has been used to silence critics with hefty fines and lengthy prison sentences.

Ahmed was denied bail at least six times.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday shrugged off concern over the internet law, Ahmed's death and criticism of her government's rights record.

Demonstrators have marched at Dhaka University for several days chanting slogans condemning the government's treatment of Mushtaq Ahmed as well as other writers, journalists and activists.

At least eight people have been arrested since the protests erupted shortly after midnight following Ahmed's death on Thursday.

Among them, seven were student activists from two left-wing groups and a labour leader in the southern city of Khulna.

Ruhul Amin, 38, was detained on Friday over charges that he shared Facebook posts by Ahmed and had condemned the writer's death, his lawyer Kudrat-e-Khuda told AFP.

"He has been charged under the Digital Security Act and remanded into police custody for two days," he said.

Student activists said they have plans for more protests in the coming days, including a march to the prime minister's office calling for justice for Ahmed and the repeal of the Digital Security Act.

A court in Dhaka, meanwhile, rejected a police plea to interrogate a cartoonist who was detained 10 months ago along with Ahmed on charges of anti-state activities and spreading rumours.

In a court appearance last week, the cartoonist, Ahmed Kabir Kishore, told his brother that he was tortured in police custody, which seriously injured his left leg and an ear drum.

sa/oho
Regional

Priyanka Gandhis 2-day visit to Assam from March 1

Priyanka Gandhi

GUWAHATI, FEB 27(Agencies) | Publish Date: 2/27/2021 1:13:15 PM IST

The Congress party is all set to get a leg up in its electioneering in Assam with the arrival of General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who will arrive in the state for a 2-day visit on March 1 next, reports Insidene.

The state is gearing up for polls, which will be held in 3 phases from March 27 to April 6 to elect 126 MLAs to the 14th Assam Legislative Assembly.

Gandhi will land in Lakhimpur airport on Monday, after which she will take part in road rallies with other party leaders, as part of the partys #AssamBachaoAhok campaign, which has seen the Grand Old Party reach all corners of the state.

Bobbeeta Sharma, the Chairperson of the Congress Media Cell, told Inside NE: On March 1, Mrs. Gandhi will land in Lakhimpur. From there, she will proceed by road to Biswanath.

There, she will take part in a special interaction with rural women from Gohpur. She will spend the night in Biswanath Chariali.

The next day, she will leave for Tezpur, where she will take part in massive rallies and processions A rally has been planned at the Hazrapar playground.

It is pertinent to mention here that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi kicked off the partys assembly poll campaign in Assam on February 14.

Rahul Gandhi kick-started his poll campaign in the poll-bound state at Sivasagar Boarding Field in Upper Assams Sivasagar district.

Earlier on January 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had started his poll campaign for BJP in Assam from Sivasagar.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) said that all preparations were made for the first rally of Rahul Gandhi in the state ahead of the assembly polls.

Assam Congress has taken up a poll campaign Assam Bachao (Save Assam) across the state by aiming to oust BJP from power.

Under the campaign Assam Bachao, the Congress party leaders, workers will visit and interact with the all stakeholders like as NGOs, organizations, civil society groups of the state and will take their opinions about the party manifesto for the upcoming assembly polls which is scheduled in April-May this year.
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Late in a December evening Masrat Jan, a 40-year-old mother of four from the village of Sangria Barzol in Indian-administered Kashmir, developed sudden chest pain.

Her family took her to the nearest hospital. But because it had no cardiac specialists, she was referred to another facility more than another hour's drive away. She died there five minutes after arrival - a collateral victim, doctors explained, of a draconian security environment.

"The doctors told us if there was an internet, they could have contacted the cardiologists in Srinagar and stabilised her," said her father, Gul Mohammad Shah. "She would have survived had there been an internet service available."

India's government shut down internet, mobile phone and landline services in Kashmir before stripping the region of its partial autonomy on August 5 2019, saying it wanted to stave off civilian protests.

The Kashmir blackout, which finally ended earlier this month, stood out because of its record length and because it was imposed by a democratic government. But it is far from unique.

At any time over the past year or so, at least one part of the planet has been subject to an internet blackout by its own government, often at a shocking cost in freedom, prosperity and lives.

In July 2020, Ethiopia, East Africa's biggest economy and most important transport hub, imposed a blackout for nearly three weeks on the pretext of trying to suppress hate speech.

From August 9 to 12, authorities in Belarus cut the country off from the World Wide Web while police conducted a violent crackdown on protesters angered by President Alexander Lukashenko's apparently fraudulent election "victory".

Authorities in Uganda pulled a similar trick in January amid a sustained crackdown on opponents of President Yoweri Museveni during presidential elections.

And on February 1, military authorities in Myanmar imposed their own blanket internet blackout as cover for their coup against Aung San Suu Kyi - ironically as they lifted a more local 18-month shutdown in the conflict-torn Rakhine and Chin states.

They cut the country off again the following weekend, and for the past two weeks have been imposing a nightly blackout from 1am to 9am.

Just last week Iran's impoverished southeast experienced wide disruptions of internet service, as unrest gripped the remote province after fatal border shootings. Several rights groups reported in a joint statement that authorities shut down the mobile data network in the restive province of Sistan and Baluchestan, calling the disruptions an apparent "tool to conceal" the government's harsh crackdown on protests convulsing the area.

The alarming truth, said Alp Toker, a British artificial intelligence technologist who five years ago set up NetBlocks, an observatory that monitors the phenomena, is that "internet shutdowns have always been there, but the world has not always been good at tracking them".

He added: "It turns out they are more prevalent than previously thought and they come in a variety of forms from regional shutdowns to nation scale shutdowns.

"The most damaging ones are the near-total information vacuum in which misinformation can spread and information is dominated by government."

For authoritarian governments, the appeal of shutting down communications is obvious. It disrupts opposition groups trying to organise on social media, gives the government a monopoly on information, and makes it extremely difficult for international media and foreign governments to uncover atrocities.

Above all, it induces fear.

"We notice a pattern," Nwe Oo, a woman who has been active in the protests in Myanmar, said. "When the internet is cut at night, the regime starts to arrest civil society activists and public servants who are part of the civil disobedience movement.

"The blackout is affecting almost all the things we do in our protests and communications," she added. "It is scary and dangerous because everyone is in the dark and we don't know if there's police violence happening nearby."

Those failures point to two inherent problems for governments contemplating internet blackouts.

Firstly, there is a practical challenge: it turns out that unless your national internet infrastructure, like China's, was constructed from the ground up to allow censorship, it is extremely difficult to make a blackout watertight.

In Myanmar, protesters have worked out how to use VPNs and smuggled Thai SIM cards to help circumvent the blocking of Facebook and other social media platforms as well as the blackouts.

In Belarus, journalists and protesters found that small service providers were able to continue providing enough bandwidth to send emails during the three-day August shutdown. Certain powerful VPNs were also found to circumvent the weekly shutdowns to coincide with Sunday rallies that followed.

Secondly, it involves immense self-inflicted collateral damage - in terms of economic losses, social disruption, and even lives.

 Telegraph Media Group Ltd (2021)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
A Garda was hospitalised after an incident at a house party in Finglas in Dublin.

Gardai were called to a house at Glenties Drive on Saturday night following reports of a party occurring at the property.

During the incident, an altercation broke out and an 18-year-old woman was arrested at the scene under the Public Order Act.

The woman was taken to Finglas garda station, and has since been charged by gardai.

Read More

A 17-year-old girl was also arrested at the scene after a garda was assaulted.

The garda was taken to the Mater Hospital to be treated for their injuries.

A Garda spokesperson said a number of Fixed Penalty Notices will be issued in due course.
MUNISING, MI  Most national parks saw a decrease in visitors in 2020 as many faced obstacles brought on by the coronavirus and COVID-19 restrictions.

That wasnt the case everywhere as travelers sought out wide-open spaces, most frequently during summer and early fall, according to the National Parks Service.

Fifteen parks  including three in Michigan  saw a record number of visitors in 2020, per data provided by the National Parks Service.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Munising, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore near Empire and River Raisin National Battlefield Park near Monroe all topped previous highwater marks.

Nowhere was that more evident than at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

The Upper Peninsula gem saw a record 1,212,251 visitors in 2020, more than 41% higher than 2019 when a previous record number of 858,715 made their way to the Lake Superior getaway.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has seen an annual uptick in visitors since 2015. Eclipsing 1.2M visitors in 2020, the lakeshore saw a spike of more than 41% visitors year over year. (Graphic courtesy of Pictured Rocks)

And while it is too early to know the economic impact of park visitations in 2020, if prior numbers are any indication, gateway communities near the park should have seen some relief in what has been a tough year economically for many in Michigan.

In 2019, visitors to Pictured Rocks spent an estimated $38.1 million in local gateway communities, a news release from the national lakeshore states. Those expenditures supported 477 jobs and $11.7 million in labor income in and around Munising.

This past year has reminded us how important national parks and public lands are to overall wellbeing, said NPS Deputy Director Shawn Benge in a statement. Throughout the country, national parks provided close-to-home opportunities for people to spend much needed time outdoors for their physical and psychological health.

Related: Sleeping Bear Dunes vacation: 50 unforgettable things to see and do

In the Lower Peninsula, Sleeping Bear Dunes saw a record 1,718,696 visitors in 2020 as the Lake Michigan destination celebrated its 50th anniversary as a national lakeshore. The number of 2020 sightseers was up 2% over the dunes previous high of 1,683,553 visitors in 2016.

River Raisin National Battlefield Park, meanwhile, welcomed 309,977 visitors in 2019; up 29% from its previous record of 240,548 set in 2018.

Across the country, more than 237 million people visited national parks last year.

Nationwide, the most visited parks in 2020 were Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginian and North Carolina with 14.1 million visitors; Golden Gate National Recreation Area near San Francisco with 12.4 million; and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee with 12.1 million.

Also on MLive:

Meet all 5 (yes, 5) of Michigans National Parks

Prehistoric human remains found along shoreline at Sleeping Bear Dunes

Pictured Rocks at sunset: How to capture one of Michigans most marvelous photo ops
Thousands of people living in Ireland have continued to go abroad for holidays this month - despite the Government advising against all non-essential travel, the Sunday Independent can reveal.

Figures show 7,610 Irish residents who arrived back in the State between February 8 and 21 declared they were on holiday or a visit.

A further 1,430 non-residents who arrived into the country gave the same reason for travelling into the country.

In all, there were 22,661 arrivals into Ireland over the two-week period, including 12,856 Irish residents and 9,805 non-residents.

Read More

This newspaper can also reveal gardai were, up until this weekend, unable to carry out checks on hundreds of people arriving from high-risk countries because of GDPR data privacy problems - despite mandatory home quarantine being introduced three weeks ago.

The Department of Justice figures show the number of Irish residents going on holiday has grown week-on-week this month.

Just under 3,900 Irish residents who said they had been on holiday or a visit arrived into the State in the seven-day period up to last Sunday - up 5pc on the previous week.

The Government advises against all non-essential travel due to Covid amid growing concerns at the importation of new variants of the virus.

However, the introduction of mandatory hotel quarantine for all arrivals from high-risk countries has been delayed, along with 2,000 a person fines for non-essential travel to ports and airports, as legislation is still working its way through the Oireachtas.

Just 716 people who have made non-essential journeys to airports or ports have been hit with fines by gardai of either 100 or the new 500 fine introduced this month.

Since February 4, travellers from high-risk countries are required to quarantine at home for 14 days or face a 2,500 fine or six months in prison.

Detectives from the Garda National Immigration Bureau conducted around 30 checks on people who entered the State without the required PCR tests in recent weeks.

However, policing of the mandatory quarantine provision has been impossible until this weekend as gardai were unable to get the names of those who were supposed to be quarantining.

The names are contained in passenger locator forms which all international arrivals are obliged by law to complete. The forms are held by the Department of Health. Because of GDPR issues, gardai have been unable to access them.

The issues were finally resolved on Friday - three weeks after the mandatory quarantine provision was introduced.

Gardai said yesterday they will be launching their first house checks this weekend on people entering the State who are reported "as not engaging with the Department of Health monitoring process".

While gardai can make house calls, sources say, they cannot go inside to investigate compliance with quarantine law unless they are invited as they have no powers of entry.

The Department of Justice figures provided to this newspaper also show that 2,039 Irish residents who arrived into the State between February 8 and 21 gave work or business as their reason for travelling; 1,088 said they were travelling for medical reasons; 920 said they were visiting a sick relative; and 907 said they were travelling for a funeral.

There was a 40pc increase in the numbers who said they were travelling for a funeral in the week up to last Sunday compared to the previous seven days.

Most of those resident in Ireland who arrived into the country were Irish, Romanian, Polish, Indian or Italian.

In addition to the Irish residents, a further 9,805 non-residents arrived into the country over the same two-week period up to last Sunday.

These include 2,082 people who were on their way elsewhere; 1,442 who were going to the North; 1,430 who said they were on holiday or a visit; 1,277 who said they were travelling for work; and 910 who said they were relocating for work.

The figures show sharp week-on-week drops in the number of non-residents arriving into the State with 2,921 arriving in the week up to last Sunday compared to 4,220 between February 8 and 14.

The predominant nationalities of those non-residents arriving were British, Irish, Romanian, US or Polish.

Figures provided to this newspaper also include 1,306 arrivals from three 'category-two' high risk countries between February 8 and 21, including 652 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 550 from Brazil and 104 from South Africa. Most arrivals from Brazil - 492 - are resident in Ireland.

It comes after confidential figures given to Cabinet ministers showed that 5,564 people arrived from the 20 'category two' high-risk countries over a 28-day period in January and February, including 2,194 from the UAE, 2,004 from Brazil, 499 from South Africa and 867 from the other 17 countries on the list.

On Friday, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly added 13 more countries to the 'category two' list, including many Latin American nations.

Al Masaood Group, one of the leading family businesses in Abu Dhabi, has signed an agreement with Saaed, a top provider of traffic safety services, and parking and inspection innovative systems.



In another strategic public-private partnership (PPP) between two major industry players in the country, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) seeks to improve customer experience through the delivery of cutting-edge services and solutions that meet public needs.



Under the terms of the agreement, the two parties will lay the foundation for more efficient roadside assistance operations and services, exchange experiences and knowledge, and provide competitively priced transport fleets in Abu Dhabi.



Both sides also agreed to enhance their coordination to develop inspection and compliance services in small- and medium-sized commercial ports, tourist and fishermen ports and yacht berths in the emirate. The same joint services will also be extended to the industrial, energy, oil and gas and petrochemical facilities.



Ibrahim Yousef Raml, CEO of Saaed, said: As part of its strategy, Saaed is keen to continuously expand and build its partnership with government and private entities in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. This is our response to the directives of our wise leadership to offer smart services and implement best practices to bring happiness to the people. Our agreement with Al Masaood will be the start of our fruitful cooperation across various fields.



He added: Both parties are pioneers in their fields. Given this, our mutually supportive MoU will add real value to our respective businesses and the entire UAE economy. Our collaboration follows the PPP model, which is vital to boosting the national development plan and establishing strong mechanisms to build a future that we want, in line with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.



Ahmed Salmeen, Chief Executive Government Affairs, Al Masaood Group, said: Our agreement with Saaed will further enhance our already fruitful relations, enabling us to jointly improve customer services and provide excellent experiences through our innovative solutions, in line with the peoples aspirations and needs.



At Al Masaood Group, we will always seek ways to help strengthen the collaboration and communication between the government and private sectors in Abu Dhabi as part of our commitment to the emirates socio-economic development process.



Al Masaood, represented by its various companies and divisions, is keen to build strategic partnerships with various government bodies as a means to achieve the goal of Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030for a strong and highly diverse and productive economy. We are fully confident that the MoU will yield positive outcomes as a result of our joint projects and initiatives that will be vital to attaining the respective expansion plans of Al Masaood and Saaed, he added.



Al Masaood and Saaed will also participate in relevant awareness campaigns, events and festivals that serve the public interest.  TradeArabia News Service


VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. (K92 or the Company) (TSX: KNT; OTCQX: KNTNF) is pleased to announce that on February 12, 2020, a State Delegation, including the Honorable James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the Honorable Peter Numu, Governor of Eastern Highlands Province, and the Honorable Johnson Tuke, Minister for Mining and local Member of Parliament for Kainantu, met with representatives of K92. Highly productive meetings, presentations and community events were held in Goroka and Kainantu townships, followed by a site visit to K92s Kainantu Gold Mine in Eastern Highlands Province, PNG.



In Kainantu township, K92 announced a contribution of PGK1 million (US$285k) towards building a new market to support local businesses and commerce, and the receipt of approval for a community development tax credit scheme which enhances K92s numerous planned community development initiatives. K92 also hosted a site tour of the Kainantu Gold Mine for Prime Minister James Marape and his delegation. Following COVID-19 protocols, the aerial tour focused on mining and processing operations, infrastructure, expansion plans, exploration, communities and environmental management.

John Lewins, K92 Chief Executive Officer and Director, commented, The Government of Papua New Guinea has been a very consistent supporter of our operations and a major factor in our ability to operate effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic environment. We are proud of what has been accomplished over the past few years at Kainantu, and especially our achievements over the past twelve months during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was truly a privilege to host Prime Minister James Marape and his delegation and provide an overview of the Kainantu Gold Mine operations and our plans for the expansion of operations going forward.

We are proud of the increased economic and employment opportunities, and community development that has occurred as Kainantus operations have continued to expand. Our PGK1 million contribution towards the development of a new market in Kainantu is expected to drive multiple business and commerce opportunities, and the approval of the community development tax credit scheme provides an opportunity for the Company to partner with the government to deliver much needed community infrastructure.

See Figure 1 for photo from meeting in Goroka with the Honorable James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, and K92 CEO and Director John Lewins

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a2a1140d-fdde-4376-97a7-3fff27ba66de

See Figure 2 for K92 CEO and Director John Lewins presenting cheque for PGK1 million to the Honorable Johnson Tuke, Minister for Mines as contribution from K92 towards the new Kainantu Market

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1b3f796e-c38e-45a6-b636-9cb2e2474fc6

About K92

K92 Mining Inc. is engaged in the production of gold, copper and silver from the Kora deposit at the Kainantu Gold Mine in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea, as well as exploration and development of mineral deposits in the immediate vicinity of the mine. The Company declared commercial production from Kainantu in February 2018 and is in a strong financial position.

The Company commenced an expansion of the mine based on an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment on the property which was published in January 2019 and updated in July 2020. K92 is operated by a team of mining professionals with extensive international mine-building and operational experience.

On Behalf of the Company,

John Lewins, Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please contact David Medilek, P.Eng., CFA at +1-604-687-7130.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. 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 realization of the preliminary economic analysis for the Kainantu Project, expectations of future cash flows, the planned plant expansion, production results, cost of sales, sales of production, potential expansion of resources and the generation of further drilling results 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 market price of the Companys securities, metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, 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 in PNG, mitigation of the Covid-19 pandemic, continuation of the lifted state of emergency, 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.
Mumbai, Feb 28 : Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan has blogged to reveal that he is undergoing surgery owing to a medical condition. The 78-year-old actor did not share details, and concerned fans were soon wishing him quick recovery.

"Medical condition.. surgery.. can't write," Big B wrote in a blog entry dated Saturday. Over the past few hours, many of his fans have naturally taken to social media to wish him good health.

The actor's office is yet to officially give out details.

Big B started the year with a packed schedule. He has five films coming up. While his next release is Rumi Jafry's psychological suspense drama "Chehre", co-starring Emraan Hashmi and Rhea Chakraborty, Big B has lately been busy shooting for the thriller "Mayday", co-starring and directed by Ajay Devgn. The film also stars Rakul Preet Singh.

He will also be seen in "Sairat" maker Nagraj Manjule's social drama "Jhund", slated to open on June 18. The veteran actor also has Ayan Mukerji's action fantasy film "Brahmastra" lined up, co-starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Nagarjuna and Mouni Roy. There is an untitled project co-starring Prabhas and Deepika Padukone lined up, too.

Last year, the actor had been hospitalised after testing Covid positive, along with son Abhishek Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and granddaughter Aaradhya.

Big B's last-released film is Shoojit Sircar's "Gulabo Sitabo" where he shared the screen with actor Ayushmann Khurrana. The film had released digitally.

He also recently hosted season 12 of the quiz show "Kaun Banega Crorepati".
A second former aide has come forward with sexual harassment allegations against New York governor Andrew Cuomo (Seth Wenig/Pool/AP)

A second former aide has come forward with sexual harassment allegations against New York governor Andrew Cuomo, with the Democrat responding by saying he never made advances toward her and never intended to be inappropriate.

Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in Mr Cuomos administration until November, told The New York Times that the governor asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life including whether she had ever had sex with older men.

Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, a former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, recently accused Mr Cuomo of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comments. Mr Cuomo denied the allegations.

The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported Andrew Cuomo

The governor said in a statement that Ms Bennett was a hardworking and valued member of our team during Covid-19 and that she has every right to speak out.

He said he had intended to be a mentor for the 25-year-old.

I never made advances toward Ms Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate, Mr Cuomos statement said.

The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.

Mr Cuomo, however, said he had authorised an outside review of Ms Bennetts allegations.

Expand Close An external probe into the latest allegations against Andrew Cuomo will be completed, the governor has said (Office of the Governor of New York/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp An external probe into the latest allegations against Andrew Cuomo will be completed, the governor has said (Office of the Governor of New York/AP)

The governors special counsel, Beth Garvey, said that review would be conducted by a former federal judge, Barbara Jones.

I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgements, Mr Cuomo said, adding he would have no further comment until the probe is over.

The pair of harassment allegations represent a deepening crisis for Cuomo, who just months ago was at the height of his popularity for his leadership during the height of the coronavirus pandemic last spring.

In recent weeks, he has been assailed, even by some fellow Democrats, over revelations that his administration had substantially underreported coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.
London: The minister in charge of the worlds most successful coronavirus vaccination rollout says countries such as Australia should consider copying Israels new green pass regime, which bans people from entering a swathe of indoor venues if they have turned down the jab.

An unapologetic Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said there was growing international interest in Israels carrot-and-stick approach because it would help control transmission, revive the economy and act as a powerful incentive for young and hesitant groups.

The public is very fond of it. There are some voices opposed but you really have to look at the alternatives, Edelstein told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

If the options are to keep society and the economy closed, or open up to people who have got the vaccine, I think the answer is quite obvious.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 3 mesi fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Human Rotavirus Vaccine Market provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective

The Global Human Rotavirus Vaccine Market is expected to reach US$ 12.3 billion by 2023, and the market is projected to grow at a CAGR of ~ 11.2 % during the forecast period 2017-2023.

Rotavirus vaccine is used to protect against rotavirus infections which cause severe diarrhoea among young children. Rotavirus vaccine is administered by mouth and requires two or three doses which are given starting around six weeks of age. The vaccine first became available in the United States in 2006. Rotavirus is a double-stranded RNA virus of the family Reoviridae and is transmitted by the faecal-oral route. It infects the cell lining of the small intestine and causes gastroenteritis. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, rotavirus related diarrhoea is responsible for killing about 600,000 children in 2015, with more than 80% of all rotavirus-related deaths occurring in in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Rotavirus-related deaths represent approximately 5% of all deaths in children younger than 5 years of age worldwide. Almost every child in the world is infected with rotavirus at least once by the age of five. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that rotavirus vaccine be included in national routine vaccinations programs. The vaccines is responsible to prevent 15 to 34% of severe diarrhoea in the developing world and 37 to 96% of severe diarrhoea in the developed world. According to World Health Organization (WHO) in Mexico a decline of up to 50% in diarrhoeal deaths in children less than 5 years of age was attributed directly to the use of the vaccine.

Product development is the most attractive strategy for the human rotavirus vaccine industry. Latest vaccines have withstood historic safety profiles because intussusception was a complication of the first rotavirus vaccine, RotaShield. Cost effective production remains another challenge as human rotavirus vaccines are many times expensive per dose than the cheapest traditional treatment.

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Some of key players profiled in the report are Bharat Biotech, Merck & Co., Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc., Multinational pharmaceutical drug company and others.

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The global Human rotavirus vaccine market has been segmented on the basis of type and end users.

Based on type, the market has been segmented as Rotarix, RotaTeq, Rotavac, Rotavin-M1, Lanzhou lamb and others.

Based on the end users, the market has been segmented as hospitals & clinics, academic and research and others.

About US:

Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services
There were more extraordinary scenes in the trial of Alieu Kosiah for war crimes in Switzerland on Thursday when the second of Mr Kosiahs own witnesses, there supposedly to back his claims of innocence, told the court that Mr Kosiah committed the war crime of recruiting a child soldier.

The witness, a former ULIMO combatant whose identity is being concealed by the order of the court, testified that Mr Kosiah recruited children, including the first defence witness, who appeared the previous day, as combatants.

I know that Kosiah had RTOs as bodyguards, said the man, who testified before the court in Bellinzona from an undisclosed location via videoconference. I knew one of them. RTO was what ULIMO called child-soldiers.

In a surprising testimony on Wednesday, the first defence witness testified that Mr Kosiah had recruited him to be a combatant at age 12. The witness, who had arrived from Liberia the day before, then told the court that Switzerland needed to grant him asylum to protect him from retaliation, although he did not say from whom.

Both men, under the questioning of defence lawyer Dimitri Gianoli, told stories of Mr Kosiahs kindness to them and insisted they did not see him commit any war crimes. Under cross-examination by lawyers for the seven victims who brought the case, known as plaintiffs, the two mens testimonies then corroborated the charge of recruitment of a child soldier.

The defences decision to put these two witnesses on the stand has baffled observers in this case. In short interviews outside the trial, Mr Gianoli said Mr Kosiah has been heavily involved in the choosing of his two defence witnesses. The court may well conclude Mr Kosiahs decision to use these two witnesses shows that he still does not understand that the recruitment of child soldiers is a war crime.

I think Kosiah was confused

Mr Kosiahs main defence in this trial is that he was not in Lofa County, where the acts were allegedly committed in the 1990s. Both defence witnesses also contradicted that claim telling the court Mr Kosiah was in Lofa between 1993 and 1994.

ULIMO was formed in May 1991 in Sierra Leone by Mandingo refugees and runaway soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). Four months later, the group attacked NPFL from Lofa, which it made its foothold. It marched on to the western part of the country, ravaging towns and villages. The group committed a fifth of all the human rights violations the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recorded in its 2009 report.

The second defence witness told the three-judge panel Mr Kosiah fought in ULIMOs capture of Voinjama and Foya. Mr Kosiah told the court in December last year and again on Monday that he did not fight in those areas.

After we took over Zorzor, Kosiahjoined us and we all went and captured Voinjama and Foya, said the man who told the court he was a frontline fighter.

After Mr Kosiahs lawyer Dmitri Gianoli informed the man that his client had said he did not capture Lofa, he said, I think Kosiah was confused. The man added that Pepper and Salt, another ULIMO commander, had ordered the Foya conquest to prevent further attacks from rebels of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in the area.

He said he and Mr Kosiah also fought the NPFL in Belefana and Gbarnga in Bong County, and after the war, he met him in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

There were two other admissions in the mans four-hour testimony. He corroborated the testimony of one of the plaintiffs that Mr Kosiah wore a military uniform, unlike many ULIMO fighters. He also said that the war crimes suspect drove a Toyota Land Cruiser during his time in Lofa.

The lawyer of four of the plaintiffs Alain Werner, appeared pleased by the mans assertions, quizzing him on routes the Mandingo-dominated faction travelled to make a case to the court he was telling the truth.

Mr Gianoli, who is on his first war crimes trial, appeared to see the damage the mens testimonies had caused. In one instance, Mr Gianoli told the man that another former fighter had told the court on Wednesday Mr Kosiah did not fight in Foya. The man hit back and said that the witness handled ULIMOs civilian affairs and was not aware of what took place on the frontline.

Mr Gianolis main strategy appeared to be to point out inconsistencies in the plaintiffs testimony. The plaintiffs must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for Mr Kosiah to be convicted.

Seeing that he was not successful with his main strategy, Mr Gianoli appeared tried to use the man to contradict other witnesses. He asked the witness about the ferry and canoes two plaintiffs talked about last week. The man affirmed that. He further asked him whether people crossed cars on the ferry at the Guinea border via Sorlumba as the plaintiffs had said.

I cannot tell you more, the man replied. I was based on the frontline.

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Asked on the term Dingo, which Mr Kosiah told the court was a derogative way of referring to Mandingos, the man said it was not an insult. That is just the short way they call us, he told the court. And Mr Gianoli asked the man whether it was true that a well was at Foya market, hoping he contradict another of the plaintiffs who said he saw seven people killed and their bodies dumped in the borehole. But the man again said he did not know.

After that, Mr Gianoli attempted to discredit the witnesss knowledge of ULIMO, its command and structure. The witness responded by telling the court the meaning of CO was commanding officer and names of rebels the court had not heard.

Mr Kosiah, wearing an army green jacket and a white shirt, was quiet throughout the mans testimony, in and out of Mr Gianoli ears, writing and slipping papers to his lawyer.

[Todays] witness did not help our defence, Mr Gianoli said after outside of the court. Yesterdays witness (the former child-soldier) technically made our case.

Mr Kosiah is the first Liberian to be prosecuted for war crimes in connection to Liberias 14-year war, which killed an estimated 250,000 and displaced a million.

He had moved to Switzerland in 1997 and became a permanent resident a year later. He was arrested in the Swiss capital of Bern in November 2014 suspected of war crimes. His case is the first in a Swiss civilian court.

There were two more defence witnesses on Thursday after the mans testimony. There were one more defence and two prosecution witnesses on Friday. The trial ends on March 5.

This report was produced in collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.
She has also won support from historians such as the classicist Mary Beard

nearly 14,000 followers on Instagram for her lessons

nearly 14,000 followers on Instagram for her lessons

Like many little girls, Arabella Duffy loves raiding the dressing-up box to look like a princess.

But the eight-year-old's penchant for a regal frock is not just for fun  she assumes the guise of historical figures to give lessons to other children in lockdown.

As well as Queen Victoria, Elizabeth I and Cleopatra, she has imitated wartime prime minister Winston Churchill in her five-minute classes, delivered to primary-school-age youngsters in videos posted on social media.

Eight-year-old Arabella Duffy (pictured as Elizabeth I) assumes the guise of historical figures to give lessons to other children in lockdown

She has imitated wartime prime minister Winston Churchill (left) and a suffragette (right) in her five-minute classes

She has nearly 14,000 followers on Instagram  and won support from grown-up historians too, such as classicist Mary Beard, who shared one of her lessons, and Dan Snow.

At this rate Arabella, nicknamed Lou Lou, could soon be giving historian Lucy Worsley  known for donning period costumes in her TV series  a run for her money.

Arabella, who has also dressed up as a suffragette, a Tudor market vendor and her own teacher character 'Miss Duffy', said of her videos: 'I enjoy doing them with my mum as it gives me a focus and something to do in the mornings.

'I just love learning and sharing it with people. Sometimes I even get to teach my mum new things she doesn't know.'

The youngster, from Hampstead, north-west London, has also acted in West End musical Waitress and was the voice of Betty in CBeebies show Hey Duggee.

She has always been home schooled by her artist mother Sophy Robertson Smith, 54.

They live with Arabella's father Carey Duffy, also 54, a sales director for a maker of film and TV lenses.

The eight-year-old has also dressed up as Cleopatra for her history lessons which she gives from home

Arabella has also dressed as Tudor market vendor (left) and as a headteacher character called Miss Duffy (right)

The schoolgirl has nearly 14,000 followers on Instagram and has also won support from grown-up historians too, such as classicist Mary Beard

Arabella researches the topics for her lessons from books. But when she played a Second World War evacuee, she based it on her grandmother June's memories of the conflict.

Miss Robertson Smith said: 'She just wants to help share interesting facts she's learnt.

'She's just a regular kid who wants to make a difference. A lot of kids are struggling with anxiety because of the lockdown and this just helps.'

Miss Worsley, who is chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces, has also dressed up as Elizabeth I, as well as both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in her show Royal Palace Secrets.

The presenter has previously told how much she enjoys wearing historical costumes, saying it is 'sometimes for serious intent, sometimes for frivolous'.
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Gardai have said they are investigating the discovery of a body in a burnt out car in Co Limerick.

The body was discovered in the Tournafulla area, situated in West Limerick, near a field on the Limerick Kerry border, around 3pm on Saturday.

A unit from Abbeyfeale Fire and Rescue Service received a call of a car fire around 2.45pm.

Firefighters were at the scene for several hours before returning to their base around 9.21pm.

Gardai are investigating an incident that occurred in the Tournafulla area of Co Limerick yesterday afternoon at approximately 3pm, a Garda spokeswoman said.

A body was discovered in a burnt out vehicle in the area.

The body has since been removed from the scene and taken to University Hospital Limerick.

A post mortem is due to be carried out on the body at the Limerick hospital.

Gardai said their investigations are ongoing and the body has not been formally identified at this time.

An informed source said gardai were liaising with a family in the area about the discovery of the body.
This week, staff writer Laura Rysz talks with Elizabeth Bachefski Zaydon about the upcoming annual St. Josephs Day Takeout Breakfast, which raises money for St. Joseph Melkite Greek-Catholic Church.

Name: Elizabeth Bachefski Zaydon

Residence: Dickson City

Educational and professional background: Earned a bachelors degree from Marywood College, and is a self-employed certified public accountant.

Title: Publicity volunteer for all fundraising events, website and social media at St. Joseph Melkite Greek-Catholic Church

Q: What was the inspiration for this event?

A: We have traditionally held our annual breakfast near the Roman Catholic feast of St. Joseph (March 19), as well as after Lent and Pascha. Our parish patronal feast is celebrated after Christmas.

Q: Tell us about the Womens Society of St. Joseph Melkite Catholic Church.

A: Our current president is Karen Abda Kane. The Womens Society (of St. Joseph Melkite Catholic Church) was organized over 70 years ago to assist in group functions including parish gatherings, fundraising and religious activities throughout the year.

Q: Explain how the fundraiser works.

A: We are holding a takeout breakfast this year without beverages because of COVID-19. Takeout breakfast includes scrambled eggs, pancakes, home fries, olives, Honey Baked Ham and breads. Other egg styles (are available) upon request. You can walk-in or preorder to pick up (breakfast). Tickets are available at the door and cost $8 for adults, $4 for kids ages 6 to 10 and free for children younger than 5 with an adult. St. Joseph bread will be sold in two-loaf packages for $5 until sold out.

Q: How will proceeds be used?

A: Proceeds are used to defray the insurance costs of the church facility.

Q: Why is community support important to your cause?

A: Our neighbors and friends have been supporters of our events since inception. In the last 20 years, (they) have found our little church during our annual Lebanese-American Food Fest held each August or our Fall Pasta Dinner. Since we are in a residential neighborhood, our events help folks know our presence in West Scranton for almost 125 years.
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Shocking footage has been released showing a policeman violently shoving an elderly man during an argument.

Youtham Ashourian got into a confrontation with the officer over what he claims was a misunderstanding about a traffic stop.

Mr Ashourian pulled up outside his Penrith home at 7.30 on Saturday night when officers asked him if he was driving his car when it failed to pull over for a random breath test.

Youtham Ashourian got into a confrontation with the officer over a misunderstanding about a traffic stop

The 77-year-old said he told the cop he hadn't done anything wrong and it wasn't him behind the wheel.

Mr Ashourian said he became upset after the officer called him a liar.

CCTV footage from a nearby home recorded the encounter, showing Mr Ashourian approaching the young male officer.

The policeman then roughly shoved Mr Ashourian twice in his chest, nearly causing him to lose his footing and fall.

The policeman then roughly shoved Mr Ashourian twice, nearly causing him to lose his footing and fall

Police said Mr Ashourian failed to provide details of the person driving his car who failed to stop

'Police should take care of people,' Mr Ashourian told Nine News. 'They are not to assault people. This is assault.'

His son Tom was also outraged by the incident, saying if he fell over and hurt his head he could have died.

'He nearly fell over. If he fell over I don't think he would have been able to put his hands down and probably would have hit his (head),' he said.

Police said Mr Ashourian failed to provide details of the person driving his car who allegedly failed to stop.

A court notice will be issued to compel him to named that person.
Mortuary owner Robert Zakar says the city of El Cajon needs a crematorium, and he is going to appeal the Planning Commissions rejection of his proposal to build one on North Marshall Avenue.

Zakar owns East County Mortuary & Cremation Service, at 374 N. Magnolia Ave. Although part of the name of that business is cremation, there is no on-site crematorium.

Zakar is proposing to convert an existing empty industrial building in the manufacturing zone into a crematorium.

Last week, the Planning Commission agreed with a city staff recommendation and voted 3-1 last week to deny Zakar a conditional use permit.

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Zakar said he was surprised by the citys findings, as staff had backed the plan all the way for many months.

He said he will appeal to the City Council.

I want to partner with the city just like any other business, said Zakar, president of the San Diego County Funeral Directors Association.

I thought I was going to get their blessing to move forward, he said. If I hadnt been told I was going about it the right way, I wouldnt have gone ahead and bought the building.

Zakar said he had looked at several sites in zones recommended by the city before finding the vacant property in the 1100 block of N. Marshall Ave. The building was once home to Walter Anderson Plumbing, which moved and is now known as Anderson Plumbing, Heating and Air.

The property cost Zakar $1.9 million and is currently in escrow, but the sale is contingent upon the city approval of the business.

Zakar said he disputes a city staff finding that there is no need for cremation services within the city limits.

He told the commission there has been an increase countywide for cremation services. Interest is on the rise for a variety of reasons, he said, including lower cost.

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While casket-centered burials can cost up to $15,000, cremation funerals typically cost $700, he said.

Zakar shared a report by Funeral Convergence, a group that keeps track of mortuary statistics. Of 4,000 funerals conducted in East County in 2015, nearly 2,600 of those were by cremation.

There are five crematoriums in San Diego County, compared to 27 crematoriums in Los Angeles County, 13 in Orange County, 15 in Riverside County and 11 in San Bernardino County.

The closest one available to Zakars clients is in Vista. He said family and friends of a deceased person will often make the trip nearly an hours drive north to witness the cremation.

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The warehouse Zakar is buying is near several other businesses including a welding supply company, a plumbing supply company, a Helix Water District maintenance facility, El Cajons public works yard and the citys animal shelter.

City staff reported several concerns:

A crematorium could hinder an existing employment center, which staff said also means it would not be in alignment with the citys General Plan.

The site is on a major street in a highly visible and developed industrial area and may present what it called psychological distress to surrounding businesses. It made reference to possible emotional impacts on visitors to the animal shelter.

Odors, smoke and particulate matter that could result if there was a failure of a machine on the premises.

In April 2011, the San Diego Air Pollution Control Board closed a Neptune Society of San Diego crematorium in unincorporated El Cajon because of aging equipment causing health hazards. Neptune has since sent bodies off site for cremation services, Zakar said

Planning Commissioner Paul Circo cast the lone vote against the permit denial. He said cremation services were needed in the city and later noted it would bring in needed sales tax revenue.

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Circo said he disagreed most with the psychological distress finding. He said he thought most people assumed that cremations happen on site at many mortuaries throughout El Cajon, and all across the county. He said people drive by funeral parlors every day without emotional issues.

Mike Burwell, vice president at American Crematory Equipment Company, explained that even in a worst-case scenario, the crematoriums are made to shut down, not emit any odor or remains into the air.

He said his company, which started in 1974, has manufactured thousands of crematoriums across the globe  and as close as UC San Diego  without problem. The crematorium on the university campus is for those who donate their bodies to UCSD for research.

Several local Trauma Intervention Program volunteers, the owner of a private crematorium in National City and former Sen. Wadie Deddeh told the commission that East County residents would benefit from having another option for burial arrangements.

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They spoke about Zakars calm manner and patience in helping grief-stricken people reach important final decisions for their loved ones.

I never thought that at age 96, I would be here to talk about death, Deddeh said. I respectfully ask you to do what Robert Zakar asked.
Police say hours before setting fires at emergency services facilities in Meriden, Old Saybrook and Roxbury, a Torrington EMT got into a fight with a fellow Hunters Ambulance employee after he was placed on administrative leave in a disciplinary hearing.

The suspect, identified by police as 37-year-old Richard White, was taken into custody late Saturday in Pennsylvania, after authorities say he set four fires that damaged emergency services facilities and a home in Connecticut.

Old Saybrook police said they have obtained an arrest warrant charging White with arson and burglary. State and local authorities are working with prosecutors from three jurisdiction to file additional charges, officials said.

Police said they were first called around 10 a.m. Saturday to the Hunters Ambulance headquarters in Meriden, where they learned White was placed on leave then got into a physical altercation with another employee. Meriden police said they were told he fled in a gray Ford Taurus.

About six hours later, White went to the Hunters Ambulance facility in Old Saybrook and ignited a Molotov cocktail in the employee room shortly before 4:30 p.m., according to police.

Whites car was spotted returning to the Meriden facility around 5 p.m., and the driver threw a lit Molotov cocktail at the building before speeding away on West Main Street, police said.

Around an hour later, state police said Roxbury officials were called to a blaze at the fire and EMS headquarters and at a nearby residence. State police said White is also suspected of setting these fires.

This all unfolded very quickly, state police Sgt. Paul Makuc said.

Authorities said White was taken into custody around 10 p.m. in Milton, Pa., about 230 miles from Roxbury.

Makuc said White has connections to the Roxbury EMS facility and the nearby home that were set on fire, but said investigators were still gathering information.

Roxbury Ambulance Association Chief Sarah Lauriat declined to say whether White was associated with the squad.

Police said they do not know if White had any connection to Pennsylvania or where he was headed.

It is unclear if Molotov cocktails were used to start the fires in Roxbury, but Makuc said similar evidence was found at all four scenes. He said evidence has been sent to the states crime lab for further analysis.

Investigators on Sunday were still trying to assess the full damage of the fires.

This individual has targeted those who we count on to save lives Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael Spera said in a statement. Our officers have worked diligently all evening obtaining both search and arrest warrants in an effort to quickly stop these violent attacks against public safety and cause the suspect to be taken into custody.

Before White was taken into custody, the state Office of Emergency Medical Services sent a notice to emergency medical services in Connecticut, warning them of the fires.

At least four facilities in different parts of the state have been affected, the notice read.

Officials said no one was injured in any of the fires.

We would like to thank all of the agencies that worked collaboratively in bringing this incident to a safe resolution, Meriden police Capt. John Mennone said.

Leah Brennan contributed to this story.
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The first asylum seekers have crossed the Gateway International Bridge from Mexico to the US after Joe Biden overturned Donald Trump's tough immigration policies.

Men, women, and children from a migrant camp of at least 700 in Matamoros, Mexico, just across the river from Brownsville, Texas, have been crossing into the United States after spending months stuck in Mexico waiting for their cases to be processed.

Migrants hope by entering the US, their cases will be processed faster and it will be difficult to deport them under asylum rules.

The Trump administration created the 'Remain in Mexico' program in January 2019 in an effort to deter asylum seekers trying to enter the US through is southern border.

Donald Trump defended policies such as Remain in Mexico  which has sent more than 69,000 people back over the border, sometimes into ramshackle refugee camps  as a way to protect US citizens from 'thugs' and 'bad hombres'.

One week ago, President Joe Biden's administration began permitting members of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program to enter the United States to pursue their court cases.

Since then, U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) spokeswoman Silvia Garduno said 27 people crossed the border from Mexico on Thursday and 100 on Friday, with the remaining 500 or so crossing by early next week.

Migrants from Central America and other nationalities, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S., hold banners and shout slogans to U.S. President Joe Biden, at their campsite outside El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday

The first group of 25 migrants walk to cross the Gateway International Bridge to be processed to seek asylum in the U.S., in Matamoros, Mexico are pictured

A migrant camp on the banks of the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico sits right across the river from Brownsville, Texas. The camp is currently home to 700 migrants

The migrant camp in Matamoros, Mexico, just across the river from Brownsville, Texas, is currently home to just under 700

The U.S. government has restarting processing those with active cases made to wait in Mexico during the Trump administration at three border crossing between the two countries

The Gateway International Bridge spans the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border in Matamoros, Mexico. U.S. immigration authorities have begun allowing some asylum seekers with active cases into the U.S. in a reversal of Trump's immigration policy

A camp of migrants on the banks of the Rio Grande in Matamoros was a particular priority for the Biden administration and Mexico

The UNHCR agency, along with the International Organization for Migration, is in charge of the logistics of registering and transporting migrants from the camp to the United States.

The Mexican government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the goal was for 500 migrants in the Matamoros camp to enter the United States by the end of next week.

Mexican authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) referred Reuters to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement that said the registration process 'will be done as quickly as possible.'

In Matamoros, asylum seekers expressed optimism.

TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION POLICIES President Trump's policy was formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and forced migrants attempting to cross the southern border to apply for asylum in Mexico regardless of their country of origin. It led to a swelling of the number of people camped at the border.

Migrants would be held in a 'staging area' in Mexico where they would receive a health screening and could enter the U.S. only after testing negative for COVID-19.

After entering the U.S., immigrants would be taken to local shelters and would need to coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in order to avoid detention but may be subject to ankle bracelets.

Trump implemented the remain in Mexico policy in 2019, and forced immigrants fleeing dangerous situations to stay in Mexico while awaiting court hearings in the U.S.

Under the policy, the government removed more than 60,000 migrants to the Mexican border. Advertisement

BIDEN'S IMMIGRATION POLICIES President Biden's plan will allow migrants waiting at the Mexican border to enter the U.S. to apply for asylum.

The new rules would be a first step to ending former President Trump's 'remain in Mexico' policy.

Biden's new policy is expected to be officially rolled out in the coming weeks and follows an executive order signed earlier this month tasking the Department of Homeland Security to desig a plan to replace MPP.

'The situation at the border will not transform overnight, due in large part to the damage done over the last four years but the President is committed to an approach that keeps our country safe, strong, and prosperous and that also aligns with our values,' the administration said in a fact sheet announcing the order.

The Supreme Court also granted the administration's request to cancel an upcoming hearing on the remain in Mexico policy while the White House weighs a replacement. Advertisement

Migrants from Central America and other nationalities, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S., hold banners and shout slogans to U.S. President Joe Biden at their campsite outside El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico

Several migrants set up tents, in Tijuana, in the state of Baja California. Tijuana, Matamoros and, as of this Friday, Ciudad Juarez, are the three Mexican border points from where migrants are already crossing into the United States for an immigration court to review their asylum cases

The great majority of the 25,000 asylum seekers with active cases who were forced to wait out the process in Mexico under Trumps so-called 'Remain in Mexico' program, still have weeks or months of waiting ahead

The situation is further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced capacity at shelters that provide a degree of safety for migrants

After waiting months and sometimes years in Mexico, people seeking asylum in the United States are being allowed into the country

The people were told to wait in Mexico for American courts to decide on their cases. The relaxing in policy unwinds one of the Trump administration's signature immigration policies that President Joe Biden vowed to end

Migrants react as they walk towards the Gateway International Bridge to be processed to seek asylum in the U.S. The majority are asylum seekers had been waiting in Mexico as their cases wind through U.S. courts under a program implemented by former President Donald Trump which saw them 'Remain In Mexico'

Last week President Joe Biden's administration began permitting members of the Migrant Protection Protocols program to enter the United States to pursue their court cases

A migrant child is being carried by a Mexican municipal worker while crossing the Gateway International Bridge to be processed to seek asylum in the U.S. in Matamoros, Mexico

'We've just received news that tomorrow we're leaving!' said Honduran asylum seeker Josue Cornejo in a video recorded inside the camp on Friday evening, which also shows his wife and daughters wiping away tears.

But as one tent city begins to empty in northeastern Mexico, another has sprung up on the other side of the country. In Tijuana, migrants encouraged by the news that some asylum seekers were being allowed to enter the United States have begun to camp out near the El Chaparral port of entry, across the border from San Diego, California. Advocates say about 50 tents have been put up in recent days.

Biden, a Democrat, is balancing pressure from immigration advocates to unwind the hardline immigration policies of his predecessor with concerns about rising numbers of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. To handle an anticipated rise in crossings, CBP said in a statement on Friday that it planned to open a facility in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Plans for the new facility come after CBP announced on Feb. 9 the opening of another temporary facility in Donna, Texas, to handle border processing while the agency's permanent center in McAllen is renovated.

A woman carries a child, as migrants walk to cross the Gateway International Bridge to the U.S.

A Mexican government source has said the goal was for 500 migrants in the Matamoros camp to enter the United States by the end of next week

Under U.S. law, children who arrive at the border without parents or legal guardians have to be transferred quickly out of border patrol facilities and into government-run shelters overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Separately, HHS is also scrambling to cope with the influx of new arrivals by opening emergency shelters and trying to speed releases of migrant kids to sponsors in the United States.

'There are no good choices here,' Biden told reporters on Friday. 'The only other options are to send kids back, which is what the prior administration did.'

Most migrants caught at the border, including families and individual adult asylum seekers, are still being rapidly expelled at the border under a Trump-era health rule in place since last March.

Migrants pray before crossing the Gateway International Bridge to be processed as they seek asylum in the U.S.

Migrants leave their camp and head towards the Gateway International Bridge to be processed as they seek asylum in the US

Children play next to migrants from Central America and other nationalities hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S., at their campsite outside El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico

Migrants from Central America camp outside the El Chaparral border crossing, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S, in Tijuana

A child looks out from a tent next to other migrants from Central America who are camping outside the El Chaparral border crossing, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S.

Migrants from Central America, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S., queue for donated food at their campsite
Government health facilities which will be used as CVCs include medical college hospitals, district hospitals, sub divisional hospitals, CHCs, PHCs, health sub centres and health and wellness centres. (AP)

New Delhi: Covid-19 vaccines in the private sector will be priced at Rs 250 per person, per dose. Accordingly, the two-dose immunisation schedule will cost a person Rs 500 in private hospitals and clinics while the vaccination will be free of cost in all government (both Central and state) healthcare centres, with the Central government bearing the full cost of the vaccination.

From March 1, all citizens above 60 years of age, and those within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specific comorbidities will be able to get the vaccine. To ramp up the Covid vaccination capacity, a large number of private facilities are being involved.

Around 10,000 private hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, more than 600 hospitals empanelled under CGHS and other private hospitals empanelled under state governments health insurance schemes can participate as Covid Vaccination Centers (CVCs).

Government health facilities which will be used as CVCs include medical college hospitals, district hospitals, sub divisional hospitals, CHCs, PHCs, health sub centres and health and wellness centres.

Meanwhile, alarmed with the surge in Covid-19 cases, the Union Cabinet secretary on Saturday held a meeting with the chief secretaries of Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and West Bengal. These states/UT were asked not to lower their guard, enforce Covid-appropriate behaviour and deal firmly with the violations. States have also been asked to follow effective surveillance and tracking strategies in respect of potential super-spreading events.

Emphasis was laid on the need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation of positive cases and quick quarantine of close contacts, a Union health ministry official said.

These eight states/UTs have been reporting a high active caseload due to an increasing trend in new cases in the last week. Six states  Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat -- have shown a surge in new cases. In the last 24 hours, 16,488 new cases were registered and 85.75 per cent of the new cases are from these six states.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
Fighters thought to belong to the notorious Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia killed 10 civilians in two overnight attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the army said Sunday.

ADF fighters decapitated eight villagers in the village of Boyo, in the northeast Ituri province, and shot dead two civilians in Kainama, army spokesman Lieutenant Jules Ngongo said.

Soldiers were in pursuit of the attackers, he added.

Local officials confirmed the two attacks, adding that houses were also burned in the violence.

Kainama lies at the extreme north of North Kivu province, where it borders with Ituri. It is just five kilometres (three miles) from Boyo. Both provinces sit on DR Congo's eastern border with Uganda.

The ADF militia are Ugandan Islamic fighters who have made their base in eastern DR Congo since 1995.

While they have not launched raids into Uganda for several years, the militia has been blamed for the killings of more than 800 civilians over the past year in both North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

While the army has conducted operations against them in the region since October 2019, they have not been able to put a stop to the massacres of civilians.

After a relative calm period in January, its fighters have stepped up attacks on civilians since February in Beni, North Kivu province, and Irumu, in Ituri.

But they are just one of dozens of armed groups that have been operating in the mineral-rich border region of eastern DR Congo for decades now.

One recent report by analysts the Kivu Security Tracker estimated there were at least 122 armed groups active in DR Congo's four eastern border provinces, from north to south: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika.

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WB polls: Left, Congress hold joint rally at Kolkata

KOLKATA, FEB 28 (IANS) | Publish Date: 2/28/2021 12:34:28 PM IST

For the first time, the CPM-led Left Front and the Congress are going to hold a joint rally at Kolkatas Brigade Parade ground on Sunday, in a bid to display the strength of the Third Front ahead of the high-voltage West Bengal Assembly polls.

Hooghlys Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front (ISF) will also take part in the mega rally.

Thousands of Left and Congress supporters from various West Bengal districts started pouring into Kolkata by trains and busses since Saturday night. Camps were opened at Howrah and Sealdah railway station - two major railheads in eastern India. Both the parties took out numerous processions, ran extensive campaigns on social media asking people to attend the rally.

But the three-party electoral coalition will miss its poster boy and former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the rally as he wont be able to attend the meeting this time owing to poor health. The Left leadership in Bengal wanted Bhattacharjee to be present at the mega show and requested the former CPI-M politburo member.

But at the last moment, the ex-CM sent a written communication to the party saying he wont be to able to make it.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechuri, state secretary Sujyakanta Mishra, Left Front chairman Biman Bose, Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, ISFs Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui and other leaders will be present at the programme. Congress leader and Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel will be there at the rally too, sources said.

The Left-Congress and ISF coalition will launch the poll campaign from the mammoth rally in order to mark the beginning of their canvassing for the forthcoming Assembly election.

Left front chairman Biman Bose went to the parade ground on Saturday afternoon to take a stock of the preparations.

He said: This will be one of the biggest brigade meetings ever. As far as the estimates we are getting, the entire brigade ground is going to be chockablock.

The Left Front and the Congress have already finalised a seat-sharing agreement. Talks between the Left and ISF have also been sealed as both the parties have agreed upon 30 seats for the newly-floated political outfit. Sources, however, said that the seat-sharing negotiation between the Congress and the ISF is still underway. The coalition is to offer an alternative to the anti-people and communal politics of the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said senior Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya.
Many attempts to contact CMC fail By Kumudini Hettiarachchi, Ruqyyaha Deane & Meleeza Rathnayake View(s): View(s):

PHI says people rushed to vaccination centres paying little heed to dates given

Numerous calls and messages to officials of the CMC this week to get clarification with regard to the chaos were futile.

The Sunday Times tried to get the CMCs side of the story but the calls were cut and the messages went unanswered.

The CMC is not directly under the Health Ministry. They have their own systems and are not bound to follow our directives. They also have their own organizational structure including their hospitals and centres and their doctors and staff are paid by the CMC, a high-level ministry official told the Sunday Times yesterday.

The official implied that the CMC was a law unto itself and does it their way.

Even when there was an exponential rise in the number of infections, they were trying to do it their own way, the official said, adding that the ministry balahathkarengihillamedihathwune (they went forcibly and intervened).

The official added that the CMC with more than 1 million people under it should have more centres for systematic vaccination, rather than just six, and can always ask the Health Ministry for personnel because the ministry can send nurses from the main hospitals to supplement CMC staff when administering the jab.

Meanwhile, when the Sunday Times got through to ground level CMC staff they said that although no formal announcement was made, if people came to the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) office, they were issued tokens with the date when they could get their vaccination.

But the people didnt heed those dates but just rushed to the vaccination centres, a Public Health Inspector (PHI) said, pointing out that some queued up from 5.30 a.m. and the staff were compelled to vaccinate whoever was there.

The tokens were for the Thimbirigasyaya, Kirullapone, Pamankada-East, Kirula and Narahenpita GN divisions. But we were told to vaccinate everyone who came from any areas from Colombo 1-15. There were people coming from other areas requesting for the vaccine and they were over the age of 60, so we had to vaccinate them as well, he said.

The PHI added that local government politicians and their associates also arrived without tokens and they had no option but to vaccinate them.
" " The Hermes ship from "The Martian" features a large, wheel-shaped section that rotates on its journey between Earth and Mars. 20th Century

Imagine that you're inside a vehicle  or other machine  spinning around so fast that the force presses your body against the wall or seat. As you spin faster and faster that pressure forcing you against the wall increases (and conversely it decreases as the spin slows down). The weight feels just like the force of gravity that keeps your body grounded to the earth.

If you're like most people, your most dramatic experience with this type of spinning force is probably from an amusement park ride  specifically a classic Rotor Ride that has produced a great deal of joy (and yes vomit) since the middle of the 19th century.

But a handful of people, including astronauts and military pilots, experience the same phenomenon in a human-rated centrifuge, a machine that spins to produce these high "G forces," also called acceleration. They experience this G-force aboard high-performance aircraft during high speed turns, and during launches into space and when spacecrafts rapidly slow as they reenter Earth's atmosphere.

" " If you've ever ridden a modern version of the Rotor Ride like this one circa 1950, you've experienced a type of artificial gravity. FPG/Wholly Owned/Getty Images

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What Is Artificial Gravity?

In a very real sense, this type of rotation produces gravity  artificial gravity to be precise. It provides weight to your body  weight that your bones and muscles cannot distinguish from the weight that Earth, or another planet, provides on account of its sheer mass.

Consequently, for decades, science fiction writers have envisioned rotating spaceships that create artificial gravity for astronauts during the longest phases of space missions. These phases are when they are not extra-heavy due to the ship accelerating to build up speed, or decelerating in the atmosphere, but weightless due to the craft coasting, negating the effects of gravity.

Two examples of such artificial gravity in science fiction are the 2015 film "The Martian" and the 1968 epic "2001: A Space Odyssey." "The Martian" features an interplanetary craft, the Hermes, with a large, wheel-shaped section that rotates on its journey between Earth and Mars. As the camera zooms in, you notice that "up" for astronauts inside the Hermes is always toward the center of the wheel, while "down," the "floor," is the rim. Space Station V in "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a spinning station that generates artificial gravity equal to that of the moon's gravity.

Apart from mere comfort, there are good reasons why we need artificial gravity on long distance space missions. For one, in weightlessness our bodies changes in ways that could be harmful when astronauts arrive at their destinations  such as Mars  or return to Earth. Bones lose mineral content (they soften, becoming vulnerable to fracture); muscles atrophy (they shrink and weaken); fluids shift toward the head and also are excreted from the body, causing changes in the cardiovascular system and lungs; the nervous system is thrown out of whack; and in recent years space medicine researchers have found what could be permanent eye damage in some astronauts. Add to that research suggesting that gravity may be required for humans to have a normal pregnancy in space and it almost seems like a no-brainer that any spacecraft carrying humans around the solar system either should rotate, or have some part of the ship that does.

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Researching Artificial Gravity

Are NASA and others researching this possibility?

The answer is yes. Since the 1960s, NASA scientists have been considering the prospect of artificial gravity by way of rotation. However, the effort, funding and overall enthusiasm has waxed and waned through the decades. There was a surge in research in the 1960s when NASA was working on sending man to the moon (the budget for NASA at that time was nearly 5 percent that of the entire federal government 10 times what it is today).

While NASA has not emphasized research on artificial gravity over the past half-century, scientists both inside and outside of the space agency are studying a range of situations. Mice spinning in a small centrifuge aboard the International Space Station survived with no problem and Earth-bound humans are learning how to adapt in spinning rooms. There's one at the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory at Brandeis University and the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Cologne, Germany, is home to the DLR Short-Arm Centrifuge, Module 1. It's the only one of its kind in the world researching the effects of altered gravity, especially as it pertains to health risks that occur in microgravity.

" " The DLR Short-Arm Centrifuge, Module 1 at the :envihab research facility of the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Cologne, is a special unit and the only one of its kind in the world, offering enhanced possibilities for researching the effects of altered gravity, especially as a countermeasure to the health risks that occur in microgravity conditions. German Aerospace Centre/DLR

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Why Don't We Have Rotating Spaceships?

But if the need for artificial gravity is so clear, why bother with research in space, or on Earth? Why don't engineers simply get to work designing spinning ships, like the Hermes?

The answer is that artificial gravity requires a trade-off, because all that spinning creates problems. As on the Rotor Ride, moving your head while you're spinning that fast causes nausea. Spinning also impacts the fluid in your inner ear and any other body parts that you move while you're in a rotating environment.

And that nausea, disorientation and movement problems worsen the faster you rotate (the number of revolutions per minute [RPMs]). But the amount of artificial gravity that can be produced depends both on the RPMs and the size of whatever is rotating.

To experience a given amount of gravity  for example one-half the usual amount that you feel on Earth  the length of the radius of rotation (the distance from you standing on the floor to the center of whatever is spinning) determines how fast you need to spin. Build a wheel-shaped craft with a radius of 738 feet (225 meters) and you'll produce full Earth gravity (known as 1G) rotating at just 1 RPM. That's slow enough that scientists are very sure that nobody would get nauseous or disoriented.

Other than the floor being a little bit curved, things aboard such a craft would feel pretty normal. But building and flying such an enormous structure in space would entail numerous engineering challenges.

This means that NASA and any other space agencies or organizations likely to send people around the solar system in the future must settle for a lower amount of gravity, a faster rotation (more RPMs)  or both. Since there is no laboratory on the moon where the surface gravity is about 16 percent that of Earth's surface, making it a great place to research the effects of low gravity, as opposed to weightlessness, there simply isn't not enough data to know how much gravity humans may need for long-term space missions or space colonies. Such data is needed, as is data on how much rotation humans can reasonably tolerate, and that's the rationale for ongoing artificial gravity research.

Now That's Cool The University of Colorado, Boulder is studying ways to design revolving systems that could fit in a room of a future space station or moon base. Astronauts could crawl into these rooms for just a few hours a day to get their daily dose of gravity.
The Brigade rally jointly held by the CPI-M-led Left front, Congress and the Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front (ISF) was organised on Sunday to display the strength of a political alternative to the people in West Bengal ahead of the high-octane Assembly elections.

The mega political show was organised at a time when the Left front and the Congress have already finalised on a seat-sharing agreement. Talks between the Left and ISF have also been sealed as both the parties have agreed upon 30 seats for the newly-floated political outfit.

But the trouble remained over seat-sharing between the Congress and the ISF, as the negotiations between two parties are still underway.

On Sunday, the Congress-ISF disagreement came out in the open when Siddiqui arrived at the Brigade rally and walked up on the dais. Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was addressing the crowed at the time. As people started raising 'Bhaijaan' slogans to welcome the ISF chief, Chowdhury had to stop his speech abruptly and tried to get back to his seat. Everyone on the podium stood up to welcome Siddiqui and they exchanged greetings with the ISF chief, but Chowdhury was not seen doing the same.

Left front chairman Biman Bose, CPI-M leaders Md Salim and Suryakanta Mishra came to the scene to convince the Congress parliamentary leader to cool down and not to end his speech, but Chowdhury was seen nodded his head constantly. He even put on the mask that he was wearing. Siddiqui then whispered something to the ears of Chowdhury and finally Biman Bose came and took him to the front row of the stage to deliver his remaining speech.

"This alliance is not based on any religious ground. We want a secular democratic front to be established in Bengal. We want to defeat the communal forces. There will be a fight. We are looking at a rainbow of change," Chowdhury said.

CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechuri also said that the people of Bengal want a secular, democratic political alternative. "We want a people's government in West Bengal. We don't want any divide on the basis of religious affiliations," he said.

It was the first time that the CPI-M led Left front and the Congress jointly organised a rally at Kolkata's iconic Brigade parade ground.

Thousands of Left and Congress supporters from various districts came to attend the rally. Camps were opened at Howrah and Sealdah railway stations. Both the parties took out numerous processions and ran extensive campaigns on social media, asking people to attend the political programme.

But the three-party electoral coalition missed its poster boy and former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the rally, as he failed to be a part of the meeting this time owing to poor health. The Left leadership in Bengal wanted Bhattacharjee to be present at the mega show. But at the last hour, the ex-CM sent a written communication to the party saying he won't be to able to make it to the rally because of his ailing health. Wishing the mega political show luck, he further said that mentally he would remain at the Brigade rally, but his physical condition would not permit him to attend it.

Senior Congress leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was also present at the rally.

The Left-Congress and ISF coalition launched its poll campaign from the mega show in order to mark the beginning of their canvassing for the forthcoming Assembly elections.
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MORE than seven years on from the flooding which destroyed homes in the Kings Island, the community there is still awaiting flood defences.

In the immediate wake of the devastating high tides, government promised to introduce defences to keep the mighty River Shannon at bay.

But fast-forward 2,585 days, and still not a spade has gone into the ground, with the project still before An Bord Pleanala.

Its caused local Labour councillor Conor Sheehan to call on government to speed up applications for flood infrastructure, saying the planning system isnt fit for purpose.

Its an absolute disgrace. Im really frustrated by the whole thing, said the northside member, who asked for an update on the flood defences plan at this months metropolitan meeting.

In response, the director of physical development Brian Kennedy said the scheme remains at planning and development consent stage.

A significant further information submission was made to An Bord Pleanala resulting from a further observation period up to January 7, 2021. The council is awaiting a response from An Bord Pleanala. Detailed design on the scheme is ongoing and tendering for contractors will commence once planning is confirmed, he stated in a written response.

Cllr Sheehan, whose 85-year-old grandfather lives in Athlunkard Street, said: I have people onto me day and night, and they are worried what happened in 2014 could happen again. Theyve been promised these flood defences and there has been absolutely no action on them. We really need to just pull the finger out here.

This is moving at an absolute snails pace. The application was submitted in January last year. Its been a whole year. I dont think the planning process is fit for purpose and government need to look at ways of speeding up the delivery of major flood projects, and not to be constantly pandering to objectors, he said.

My own granddad is afraid of getting flooded again. If it happens to him, he has no flood insurance. All his neighbours are the same. They dont have the means to do the necessary work. These defences need to have been built five years ago, never mind next year or next week, Cllr Sheehan concluded.
A juvenile male shot his father in the head on Saturday at a south Fort Worth house, according to a log of police calls.

The victim was shot about 2:30 p.m. in the 4600 block Summer Oaks Lane, said Officer Brad Perez, a Fort Worth police spokesman.

The father was taken in critical condition to a hospital, a MedStar spokesman said. He was stable, Perez said.

The son was not in custody as of 4 p.m.

The log indicated that the mans wife called to report the shooting.

Perez declined to confirm the relationship between the victim and suspect because the shooter is a juvenile. He said the matter was domestic-related.
has arrested 17 Indian fishermen and confiscated their three boats for allegedly straying into the country's territorial waters.

The fishermen, arrested on Friday, were produced before a judicial magistrate on Saturday and handed over to the police, said a spokesperson for the Maritime Security Agency.

The official said the Indian fishermen were warned that they were in Pakistan's territorial waters and should turn away but did not heed the warning.

Fast response boats were used to arrest the 17 fishermen who were 10-15 nautical miles inside Pakistan's territorial waters near Sir Creek, the coastal border between and India, the spokesperson said.

The Indian fishermen are sent either to Malir or Landhi jail in Karachi.

The arrest comes after a gap of one year when 23 Indian fishermen were arrested and four of their fishing boats seized by the Maritime Security Agency.

Pakistan and India frequently arrest fishermen as there is no clear demarcation of the maritime border in the Arabian Sea and the fishermen do not have boats equipped with the technology to know their precise location.

Owing to the lengthy and slow bureaucratic and legal procedures, the fishermen usually remain in jail for several months and sometimes even for years.

(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.)
Nay Pyi Taw, Feb 28 : Myanmar's military rulers said they have fired the country's ambassador to the UN, a day after he called for help to remove the army from power.

In an emotional speech, Kyaw Moe Tun said no-one should co-operate with the military until it handed back power to the democratically elected government, the BBC reported.

Security forces intensified a crackdown on anti-coup protesters on Saturday.

Local media say dozens were arrested, and that a woman was shot in the city of Monwya. Her condition is not clear.

The country has been rocked by protests since top government leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, were overthrown and detained after the army took power on February 1.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Friday, Kyaw Moe Tun urged the international community to use "any means necessary to take action" against the military to help "restore the democracy", saying he was representing Suu Kyi's ousted government.

"We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people and to restore the democracy," he said.

The speech was met with applause and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the new US envoy to the body, was among those praising his remarks as "courageous".

In a further show of defiance, Kyaw Moe Tun held up three fingers, a gesture against authoritarian rule that has been adopted by anti-coup protesters in the country.

Myanmar's state television announced his removal on Saturday, saying he had "betrayed the country and spoken for an unofficial organization which doesn't represent the country and had abused the power and responsibilities of an ambassador".

Further protests were held in several cities with water cannon reportedly deployed and journalists among dozens detained.

In the main city of Yangon, crowds of protesters were advanced upon by police firing tear gas.
Faulty US Intel Report on Khashoggi Death Meant to Topple Saudi Crown Prince, Woo Iran

Commentary

Saudi Arabia is an authoritarian place where religious leaders have tremendous power and the royal family has more. Its standards for justice are not American standards.

So when the CIA authors a report on the death of a Saudi journalist at the hands of Saudi henchmen, it isnt surprising that the report, issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), points the finger at Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. What is surprising is that the report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is just three-quarters of a page of amateurish innuendo.

OK, there were four pages released: a cover page; a page with the executive summary (below); a page that repeats the executive summary, then adds four bullet points of innuendo; and a list of individuals trailing down the third page to get to a fourth page.

The entire executive summary is worth reading:

We assess that Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

We base this assessment on the Crown Princes control of decision-making in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salmans protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Princes support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.

Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdoms security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Princes authorization.

No evidence.

We assessnot with confidence, not with human sources (even anonymous or redacted sources), not with physical evidence, not with evidence at all. Just we assess because the crown prince had control of decision-making and absolute control of the intelligence operations. We needed a report for that?

Later, on the same page, the report notes, The Crown Prince probably fostered an environment in which aides were afraid that failure to complete assigned tasks might result in him firing or arresting them.

Probably?

We dont know whether the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder, or ordered his capture, or ordered anything at all. One could equally posit that, given an environment in which aides were afraid and knowing as they did that the crown prince despised Khashoggi, they took it on themselves to get rid of the guyhoping to curry favor with a demanding boss. Did they? Who knows? Did the crown prince order the killing? Who knows? Not the CIA, apparently.

The report is more an indictment of the politicization of the CIA than a document that tells the government anything worthwhile about Saudi Arabia. Everything in that three-quarter page document has been in the newspapers.

How could ODNI release a report of such dubious quality? Take note the report isnt endorsed by any actual intelligence officialit was released from the Office of the Director. Could it be that the report was written in such a manner that Saudi Arabia could easily point out its flaws, but no one on the U.S. end could be held responsible? That sort of plot-within-a-plot would have delighted Shakespeare.

While the crown prince could perfectly well have dirty hands in this sordid affair, why is the CIA saying it when it clearly doesnt know? And even if we did know for sure, why would we seek to create a political crisis in Saudi Arabia, an important ally, and a major oil producer?

In fact, the report was released by the administration to topple the crown prince from power. It doesnt matter whether the report is credibleit matters that President Joe Biden says it is. And it matters that it works in favor of Iran.

Biden is on a charm offensive to woo the Iranians back into negotiations over a new pact on the Iranian nuclear program. The Iranians expect to be paid in advance, and undermining Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a hot ticket.

Therefore, the report is best understood in the context of other reckless moves by the Biden administration: freezing arms sales to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, halting intelligence assistance to the Arab Coalition opposing the Houthis, removing the Houthis from the terror list, and working with South Korea to unfreeze at least a billion dollars of Iranian assets.

Bidens delay in calling Israels prime minister is part of the same policy, as is significant backtracking on reaffirming U.S. policy over Israels sovereignty over the Golan Heights and undermining the Abraham Accords by halting the sale of F-35s to the UAE.

Even while President Donald Trump was in office, John Kerry was meeting with Irans foreign minister, working out the framework of a deal for once Biden was elected. While this most certainly was a violation of the Logan Act, Biden wont enforce it because Kerry worked at his behest.

Biden is well on his way to destabilizing the Persian Gulf and rewarding Iran, a chief sponsor of regional and international terrorism. And his allies in Congress are stepping up to help.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who heads the House Intelligence Committee, wants the administration to impose serious repercussions on those responsible, whatever that may mean. Schiff didnt ask to vet the report or see the sources of information or assess the facts (or lack thereof); hes just out for blood.

Preferably that of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Stephen Bryen is the author of the new book Security for Holy Places. Shoshana Bryen is senior director of the Jewish Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  An aspiring nurse, Najea Smith was just 17 when she was slain in a hail of bullets while standing with a friend inside the front door of her New Brighton home 13 years ago.

In a cruel twist, the Curtis High School junior wasnt the target of the deadly drive-by attack on May 28, 2008.

Her brother was, stemming from a long-simmering dispute between Stapleton and New Brighton youths, said authorities.

Officials said Dashawn (Day Day) Mitchell, then 18, drove the car as Latiek Briggs, 17, blasted the front door of the Smiths home.

Both Stapleton residents later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and served prison sentences.

While on Rikers Island, Mitchell claimed he was assaulted and injured by another inmate in 2016.

He sued the city in Bronx state Supreme Court and settled his case in 2018 for $150,000, online city records show.

Now, Viola Smith, Najea Smiths mom and administrator of her estate, is fighting for some of that settlement.

She has sued Mitchell in state Supreme Court, St. George, under New Yorks so-called Son of Sam law.

The law allows victims to sue convicted criminals who have harmed them. Victims can seek civil damages and pursue the convicted criminals assets regardless of the source  with two narrow exceptions.

The law was named after David Berkowitz, the infamous murderer of more than 40 years ago who claimed that a demon in possession of his neighbors dog had commanded him to kill.

Victims must commence a civil suit within three years of discovering the criminals funds.

Viola Smith seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Mitchell is now 31. He lives in Newark, N.J., according to Smiths civil complaint.

INNOCENT BYSTANDER

The tragic events leading to Najea Smiths death unfolded just before 5 p.m.

An innocent bystander, the teen got caught in the crossfire when bullets raked the front door of her home.

One round passed through the door and hit her in the neck. Mortally wounded, she succumbed about two weeks later.

Afterward, a spokesman for the city medical examiners office said the teen died of multiple complications of gunshot wounds to the head and neck, with spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries.

An unidentified 17-year-old male friend of the victim was struck in the buttocks in the attack, police said. He was reported in stable condition.

In July 2009, Mitchell pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter to resolve the charges against him. He was sentenced to five years in prison, show online records of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Briggs pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 14 years behind bars. Now 30, he was paroled last September.

Mitchell, who was paroled in August 2014, apparently landed back in jail at some point afterward.

While incarcerated on May 29, 2016, he was assaulted by an inmate in a Rikers Island dayroom, according to a lawsuit he filed against the city in July 2017.

A Correction officer was not at his post, as he should have been, when Mitchell was attacked in the Anna M. Kross Center, alleged his civil complaint.

The purported assailant was a known gang member with whom Mitchell and other inmates had prior altercations, his complaint alleged.

At some point before the assault, Mitchell had requested to be transferred out of that particular housing area and placed in protective custody, said the complaint.

Sometime earlier, Mitchell had testified against a gang member. However, he wasnt moved out of the building, as he had asked, the complaint said.

According to Viola Smiths complaint, the state Office of Victim Services notified her in May 2018 that Mitchell was to receive money from the city comptrollers office  presumably from the settlement.

Online records show the settlement was reached in February of that year.

Smith was told she could sue Mitchell under the Son of Sam law.

That same month, Victim Services sued Mitchell in state Supreme Court in Albany.

A justice there granted Victim Services request for an order preventing the release of any cash to Mitchell except that portion of the funds which was exempt, said Smiths complaint.

That amount consisted of 10% of any compensatory damages remaining after first deducting attorney fees and disbursements.

Charles DeStefano, Smiths lawyer, declined comment on her suit.

Attempts to reach Mitchell by phone were unsuccessful. A telephone listing for him in Newark is no longer in service.
For many years, Jim Nowlan was a senior fellow and political-science professor at the University of Illinois. He has worked for three unindicted governors and published a weekly newspaper in central Illinois.
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Codifying laws on Contempt of Court: SLPI sends editors proposals to Justice Minister View(s):

The Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) has forwarded to Justice Minister Ali Sabry, PC a set of proposals by The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka (TEGOSL) setting out the rationale for the codification and enactment of a Contempt of Court Act in Sri Lanka in line with many other countries.

In its letter to the Justice Minister, the SLPI has referred to the long-felt need to codify the laws on Contempt of Court.

The Editors Guild proposals are based on its submissions to the Parliamentary Select Committee of 2003 chaired by Lakshman Kadirgamar, PC. The SLPI also submitted to the Justice Minister a draft Contempt of Court Act that was prepared by the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka in 2006. This report had the input of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and the Editors Guild.

The letter adds that the SLPI and TEGOSL feel that, the same considerations that applied in 2003 in this regard, apply with even greater force today and that, the Sri Lanka law and legal principles relevant thereto remain to be codified in order that, the power of contempt is utilised fairly and justly, both procedurally and substantively subject to the important principle that punishment for contempt must be limited by law.

The SLPI has offered to clarify any of the submissions it has proposed should the Government wish to proceed to draft a long overdue Contempt of Court Act in Sri Lanka.

The constituent partners of the SLPI are the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka, The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, the Free Media Movement and the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association. Its affiliated partners are the Federation of Media Employees Trade Union, the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum, the Tamil Media Alliance and the South Asia Free Media Association.
UPDATE: TikTok Doc placed on leave after Florida hospital learns of OHSU misconduct investigation

Hes been featured on Good Morning America and other national news shows, dancing in his medical scrubs. Hes garnered millions of social media views for making people smile with his viral dance videos and has been dubbed the TikTok Doc.

Now Jason Campbell is named as a defendant in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, accused of sexually abusing a former co-worker at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Portland, where he sometimes worked as an anesthesia resident.

A lawsuit filed late Friday in federal court in Portland alleges Campbell harassed a woman social worker from January through March last year, sending a pornographic photo of himself through social media and sexually charged text messages.

Then on March 12, the suit alleges, Campbell went into the womans office area at the medical center, crept up behind her and forcibly pressed against her so she could feel his erection.

Plaintiff was terrified and yelled at Dr. Campbell to leave, the suit says. Plaintiff followed up with a written message, Dont EVER surprise me by getting in my physical space.

Campbell responded by text message, I shouldve asked. Im sorry, according to the suit and a screenshot of the text exchange.

The woman complained to Oregon Health & Science University in early April about the alleged sexual harassment and nonconsensual touching.

The suit also names OHSU, where Campbell worked as a second-year resident and was given a pass to access the premises of the VA center, located next to OHSU on Marquam Hill.

An OHSU investigation concluded in August that Campbell had violated its harassment policy and code of conduct with unwanted touching and sending inappropriate electronic and text messages, including an unsolicited picture of his erection through his scrub pants.

The investigative report obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive describes Campbell entering the womans office during work hours, walking up behind her while she reached into a cupboard with her back turned and then pushing against her including pushing his penis into her backside.

Campbells actions continued despite the womans repeated admonishments that she wasnt interested in him beyond being friends and that his inappropriate comments and behavior were unwelcome, according to the report.

The investigators recommended appropriate discipline but didnt identify what that would be.

Campbell is no longer an OHSU resident, according to the suit, but living and working in Florida.

Campbell, 32, didnt return phone, text and email messages seeking comment. Attorney Kristin L. Olson, first assigned to the case, said Sunday that attorney John T. Kaempf would be representing Campbell. Kaempf declined to comment.

The woman, who is not named in the suit, reported the allegations to Veterans Affairs police. A detective conducted a separate criminal inquiry and forwarded the case to Oregons U.S. Attorneys Office for review on a potential harassment charge. No prosecution was pursued.

The suit also claims that OHSU leaders bury sexual misconduct complaints by shaming and retaliating against people who report harassment while protecting those accused.

The university doctors, faculty and supervisors havent routinely reported sexual misconduct allegations to the OHSU human resources office, equal employment office or Title IX coordinator, as required by its policy, the suit says.

In Campbells case, OHSU and its leaders continued to glorify the resident and his viral dance videos despite knowing of the womans sexual harassment complaint against him, according to the suit.

The woman shared details of her allegations against Campbell with at least 13 OHSU employees, including six in leadership positions, the suit says.

One assistant professor of medicine divulged to the woman that he had received a strikingly similar allegation about Campbell more than a year earlier, telling her: I would say unwanted physical contact is the common denominator, according to the OHSU investigative report.

OHSU spokeswoman Tamara Hargens-Bradley said the university couldnt comment on the suits specific allegations but she issued a statement.

OHSU does not condone behavior as described in the lawsuit. We are continuously working to evolve our culture, policies and practices to provide an environment where all learners, employees, patients and visitors feel safe and welcome, Hargens-Bradley said by email.

We take our role seriously in being part of the change that needs to happen across our country to end discrimination and power dynamics that allow for harassment, she said. We remain committed to these ideals and will continue to prioritize them as a public leader in health care, education and research.

Campbell, according to the suit, told another doctor that he was under investigation for having fallen into a woman at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

In interviews with the OHSU investigators, though, he gave a different account, according to OHSUs report.

He said he went to visit the woman in her office and was seated when the woman turned around and was trying to reach something high up in a cupboard. He said he reached over her as a gentleman to help her grab the item and the woman immediately motioned to him to move away from her, the report says.

Campbell told investigators he believed that any text messages he exchanged with the woman were of a mutual nature and he never intended any sexual innuendo, according to the report.

His shifting' denials werent credible, the investigators noted.

He told OHSU investigators that he had no records of his electronic messages with the woman.

The woman presented investigators with 160 pages of electronic messages between the two via text, Instagram and Facebook.

In one sent Jan. 28, 2020, she wrote, Hugs are organic and Campbell replied, They are. But Im fit. Youre.fit.theres the orgasm.

He followed up, I mean organic (stupid autocorrect)

Investigators attempted to duplicate the alleged autocorrect error on iPhones using orgasn, orgassm, and organi but couldnt, according to the report.

In this text exchange with the plaintiff, Dr. Jason Campbell blamed "stupid autocorrect" for writing "orgasm" to her.

In another message, Campbell wrote to her, ...my place is close to campus cough

Another time he wrote, I just wanna hug from behind without you yelling at me. No neck biting! Mishuuu, according to the OHSU report.

No hugs from behind ever, the woman wrote back.

Again, Campbell blamed autocorrect. Rightttt(.) Clearly that was my autocorrect. Smh.

On Jan. 24, 2020, Campbell sent a self-deleting photo on Instagram to her that showed a picture of his groin with an erection visible through his scrub pants, the suit alleges.

She responded, Dont you have a girlfriend?

He wrote back, Oh that last picture somehow snapped while I was trying to send you a video explaining this crazy case I have, according to the OHSU report.

That same day, he sent her a video message on Instagram that said, you look tasty, the suit says.

The totality of the messages leaves the reader with a firm feeling that Campbell intentionally pushed the envelope of sexual innuendo despite multiple warnings from the woman, the OHSU investigators wrote.

Jason Campbell sent a self-deleting photo on Instagram to the woman that showed a picture of his groin with an erection visible through his scrub pants, according to the suit and an OHSU investigation. She immediately responded, "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

The suit faults OHSU medical personnel for failing to formally report the womans complaint of alleged sexual misconduct involving Campbell.

OHSUs report, for example, describes Dr. Esther Choo offering to sit down and discuss the matter with Campbell or his program director when she received text messages from the plaintiff disclosing the allegations against Campbell, according to OHSUs report. Choo is an emergency medicine doctor who is a founding member of the national Times Up Healthcare program that aims to promote workplaces free of gender discrimination. She declined comment about the suit.

The suit cites a 2019 survey that OHSU conducted of its staff and students, in which 26% of respondents said they had been the victim of sexual misconduct within the prior three months, while 22% said they had had such an experience a year or two prior to the study.

The womans lawyers, Michael R. Fuller and Kim A. Sordyl, are asking the court for an order that would require OHSU to adopt adequate safety procedures and policies to ensure no other women are exposed to sexual harassment on its premises.

The suit alleges sexual assault, battery, intentional emotional distress, invasion of privacy and negligence against Campbell and OHSU.

It seeks up to $4.5 million in damages against Campbell and OHSU and punitive damages of up to $40.5 million against Campbell.

The woman asked OHSU to cover mental health therapy for her. OHSU agreed on Sept. 9 to pay about $6,000 directly to her health care provider but 21 days later told the provider that it wouldnt pay for the therapy because OHSUs sexual misconduct fund had run out of money, the suit says.

OHSUs attorney later told the woman, according to the suit, the school would pay for medical treatment on the condition that she sign a full release of claims.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
LONDON  The town of Dagenham was once a thriving symbol of modern Britain. Lines of row houses sprang up here in the decades following World War II, when the United Kingdom was still an industrial powerhouse, providing homes for the thousands of workers employed at the largest Ford factory outside of Detroit.

Today, Dagenham is one of the U.K.s most deprived areas, a forgotten suburb on the far edge of East London, full of shabby storefronts and boarded up pubs. Its industrial heyday is behind it, giving way in recent years to poverty and racial tension. And now, along with neighboring Barking, it is also home to one of the highest coronavirus rates in the country.

Hospitals in the area have come under unprecedented strain, Margaret Hodge, a member of Parliament who represents Barking, said last month. Oxygen supply systems, vital for Covid-19 patients with infected and damaged lungs, were unable to cope, she said.

Demand was outstripping supply, putting hospitals out of action, and meaning ill patients had to be diverted elsewhere, Hodge told NBC News.

At King George Hospital in nearby Ilford, Simone Margerison, 44, said there was a constant stream of people coming in and out of the 24-bed ward where her parents were both treated. Magerison said doctors and nurses were stretched thin and beds were never empty for long.

Her mother, Carol, who was 79 and suffering from terminal cancer, was admitted to the hospital with coronavirus late last year and died eight days later, on Dec. 27. Her father, Dave, who suffered from dementia, contracted coronavirus in the hospital. He died two weeks later on Jan. 10 at age 76.

Image: A former Burger King restaurant stands boarded-up in the borough of Barking and Dagenham. (Oli Scarff / Getty Images file)

The U.K.s latest national lockdown, which has been in place since the beginning of January, has caused the number of coronavirus cases to decline across the country. Officials at the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Trust, which manages hospitals in the area, say patient numbers are slowly stabilizing, and it is undertaking work to increase the potential flow rate of oxygen for when demand is high.

Story continues

But even as the U.K. cheers the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and begins to contemplate an eventual end to lockdown restrictions, the situation in Dagenham remains precarious. Throughout the pandemic, it has been one of the U.K.s worst affected areas  the result, some residents say, of the governments failure to provide adequate support, which has forced them to choose between their lives and livelihoods. Local infection rates remain well above the national average, according to the latest government data.

In some respects this is a story of the poor working class, who have been left to fend for themselves, said Darren Rodwell, the leader of the Barking and Dagenham Council, laying the blame for the marginalization many in this area feel at the feet of both major parties and the establishment in general.

The poor working class, who have to go and clean the streets and wait on tables, they have had to go to work because they have had no choice. Its cost us with coronavirus.

Price of poverty

Such dire circumstances were hard to imagine in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Ford factory employed at least 40,000 people, and thousands more worked in the supplementary industries surrounding it. The last car rolled off the Dagenham production line in 2002, however, and today, around 2,400 people work at an engine plant owned by the automaker.

Poverty has plagued the area for years. Educational attainment in Barking and Dagenham is the lowest among Londons boroughs, and one of the lowest in the U.K., while the level of income deprivation in the area is among the highest in all of England, according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation, the governments official assessment of local living conditions across the country. The unemployment rate in Barking and Dagenham is 6.8 percent, the highest in London and nearly two points higher than the national average, according to the Office of National Statistics.

You still have white, working-class kids who are not doing well at school generations on, Hodge said.

The Index of Multiple Deprivation uses data on income, education, employment, crime and other issues to measure how deprived local areas are compared to other parts of the country. While terms like poverty and deprivation are often used interchangeably, as a statistical framework, deprivation is intended to measure a lack of resources more broadly.

Racial tensions also emerged as the demographics of the community began to change. The first decade of the 21st century saw a major influx of Black and Muslim residents to Dagenham. Eastern Europeans also settled in the area, which is dotted with Romanian stores. Meanwhile, from 2001 to 2011 the white British population in Dagenham decreased from more than 80 percent to less than 50 percent, according to the most recent U.K. Census.

This combination of deindustrialization, rising poverty and rapid demographic changes polarized the community, said Rodwell.

Image: A truck displays a poster encouraging voters to support the British National Party (BNP) in Dagenham, U.K. (Oli Scarff / Getty Images file)

The British National Party, or BNP, a successor to the neo-Nazi National Front, won 12 out of 51 seats in the local council in 2006. While the partys influence has faded in the community and throughout the country  it currently holds no seats at any level of government  frustration about the lack of economic opportunities and resentment toward traditional political elites has remained in Dagenham.

Nigel Farage, the populist former leader of the right-wing United Kingdom Independence Party, which campaigned for Britains withdrawal from Europe, tapped into these frustrations very astutely, said Richard Courtney of the University of East London, who has studied the rise of right-wing extremism in the area.

UKIPs message about Europes failure to tackle immigration resonated with disaffected blue-collar voters. It was not I dont like Black people, Courtney said, but it was about migrants who are seen to be poor or getting something for free.

Official figures collected by the Metropolitan Police indicate that racist and religious hate crimes in the area have increased more than 22 percent over the past year. A report on hate crime from the Barking and Dagenham Community Safety Partnership, a multiagency group that focuses on addressing crime, also acknowledged that numerous studies suggest the vast majority of hate crimes go unreported.

In 2016, Barking and Dagenham voted overwhelmingly in favor of Brexit, which went into effect at the beginning of this year.

Brexit was a symptom of being left behind, said Hodge. The BNP was a protest vote, and Brexit is a protest vote against everything else that is going on in their lives.

No good options

Those feelings of being forgotten have persisted. Today, Dagenham residents say that, in the midst of the pandemic, they have had limited options. Many residents work in low-paying jobs, such as shop staff or security guards, and are unable to work from home. Some must use public transport to commute into central London.

If you need to pay your rent, you go to work, coronavirus or not, said Reema Huzair, a health worker from Dagenham who occasionally has to make the hourlong commute from her home in London to the hospital in South London where she works. The level of deprivation is not their fault. They have been neglected by a system that wasnt set up to take care of them.

In January, a report from the Department of Health suggested that only 17 percent of people with coronavirus symptoms across the U.K. were requesting tests, due to fears about losing income if they tested positive and were required to self-isolate. The paper suggested the government pay 500 pounds (approximately $700) to everyone in the country who tests positive, so that they could afford to stay home. The prime ministers office said in January that the government was not considering the idea.

Image: Ford Transit vans sit loaded on a transporter train at the Ford Motor Co.s engine assembly plant in Dagenham, U.K. (Luke MacGregor / Bloomberg via Getty Images file)

Moreover, health workers in Dagenham say the government hasnt done enough outreach in the community to explain the importance of things like wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing.

The government has just said, These are the rules, just adhere to them, said Huzair. The people living here are just hearing the rules, but they dont have a reason to adhere to them. Its kind of a blank space to them.

Joanne Ellery, a supervisor at a Covid-19 test center in Dagenham, agreed that the message hasnt been received by local residents. Part of the problem, she said, is that the government has largely been communicating in English, meaning that guidance about how to stay safe wasnt getting through to people who dont read and see the news, particularly immigrants.

Rodwell said the local council has been working with the Citizens Alliance Network, a coalition of 85 different community, voluntary and faith groups, to support more than 30,000 families and individuals during the pandemic.

Image: A Brexit Party supporter canvasses for the upcoming European elections on the street in Dagenham Heathway,, U.K. (Vickie Flores / In Pictures via Getty Images file)

Still, the economic pain inflicted by the coronavirus crisis is likely to continue. The U.K. economy is forecast to shrink 4.2 percent in the first three months of 2021, and the jobless rate is predicted to rise to 7.8 percent this year, according to the most recent Monetary Policy Report from the Bank of England, published in February.

While the countrys vaccine rollout may help the economy bounce back, the report said the outlook remained "unusually uncertain. Hodge said she also feared that Brexit would exacerbate the poverty her constituents are already struggling with.

Rodwell, for his part, remains optimistic. He said a Los Angeles-based developer signed a deal in November to build a new movie studio in the area, and plans have been submitted to move three of Londons wholesale markets into the region as well. The borough anticipates an influx of more than 100,000 new residents over the next two decades, as it works to craft a new identity as a creative hub and a gateway to London.

We have a lot of similarities to Detroit, Rodwell said. What were doing is rebuilding.
TN to Allow Long-Term Care Facility Visitation

By West Kentucky Star Staff





NASHVILLE - The Department of Health has announced that visitation restrictions for long-term care facilities in Tennessee will end on Sunday.According to KYTN, facilities will now use the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance for safe operation and visitation, with limited visitation restrictions no longer in place at the state level.As a result of the federal long-term care facility pharmacy partnership, 100-percent of Tennessees nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities have completed both doses of COVID-19 vaccinations.Assisted care living facilities, and residential homes for the aged, are projected to complete their vaccinations this week.With the new guidance, nursing homes may allow indoor visitation, when there has been no new onset of COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days.Facilities are expected to monitor for COVID-19 cases among residents and staff members, and may test visitors, which is encouraged, but not required.

The incredible cost of ignoring credible intelligence View(s):

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Easter Sunday bombings (April 21, 2019) must surely have set a world record by hanging out to dry the very person who appointed the Commission.

The Commissions final report unfortunately has got embroiled in needless controversy by the President not releasing it immediately upon receipt. Only an ultimatum from the Cardinal to make it public, or face the consequences (whatever they were to be) fast-forwarded its release into the public domain. Still, the Attorney General says he is receiving it in bits and pieces and cannot act until he receives the entire report.

The CoI findings squarely pin the blame for the Easter Sunday attacks on former President Maithripala Sirisena for what they call criminal negligence in not acting fast enough to prevent the carnage of that fateful day when more than 260 locals and foreigners lost their lives and hundreds were injured in the coordinated explosions in several churches and hotels. It then spilled over to communal tensions.

An Executive President carries onerous responsibilities, not least the security of the citizenry for he is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Defence Minister. As Shakespeare pithily wrote of a leaders role in Henry V: What watch the king keeps to maintain peace; Whose hours the peasant best advantages In this instance, President Sirisena was also the Minister for the Police. Merely because one has won an election, doesnt mean he or she should take on specific ministerial responsibilities that cannot be handled.

When it came to this attack, it was clear the former President hardly kept any watch to maintain the peoples peace; displayed callous disregard for the security of the state, and presided over a dysfunctional government partly of his own making. He feigned ignorance of what was happening around him when things went wrong, and was quick to blame his officials who themselves ignored, tragically, prior Intelligence alerts to what devastation was in the making. The Police TID (Terrorism Investigations Department) was already on the tail of the bombers by 2018, but the then President went after the TID chief instead, accusing him of plotting to assassinate him. And there ended the search for these fanatical murderers.

The CoI has made some wide ranging recommendations as well. They have critiqued, and rightly so, the weakness of successive governments and major political parties in running behind ethno-religious minority parties to secure their vote base at the expense of the larger national interest.

The reports findings on the extent to which the Eastern province town of Kathankudy has been transformed to look like an Arab city makes the happenings in the North pale into insignificance. Numerous media reports about permitting these minority party politicians to write directly to the King of Saudi Arabia or the Prime Minister of Pakistan seeking funds ostensibly for housing projects, bypassing the usual external resources protocols, allowing the felling of trees in national wildlife parks for such housing schemes and so on, are coming back to haunt those very politicians currently in high office.

The CoI has correctly pointed out that the rise of religious fundamentalism was given a Nelsonian eye by past governments the same way nascent violent separatism was allowed to grow in the North in the 1970s leading to catastrophic consequences for the country. There are rumblings of religious extremism, not just ethnic extremism raising its ugly head in the North these days, dragging another religion which has studiously kept out of the internecine communal battles all these years. These need to be nipped in the bud so that what can be removed by a finger-nail need not have to be removed later by an axe, as the local idiom goes.

The question of the political repercussions of the CoI report is also up for discussion. The President Sirisena-led SLFP has rejected the report and its members fear that the Government will use it as a bargaining lever to bring the already emasculated party of the Bandaranaikes to its knees before the new party of the Rajapaksas. The UNPers seem content that they have escaped the severity of the CoI even though they have been named for not being proactive, by ignoring growing religious fundamentalism  a charge they deny. The problem is, when the State pursues a proactive campaign to nip communal extremism or religious fundamentalism in the bud, there will be the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva complaining of persecution of the minorities.

It is a commendable provision in the Constitution that Presidential immunity is limited to the period a President holds office. This is an important safeguard against authoritarianism and a reminder to sitting Presidents that there is a life after their term in office. An attempt to remove the President as a party in Fundamental Rights applications through the draft 20th Amendment was judiciously shot down by the Supreme Court. It was because of this provision that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga was hauled up before the Supreme Court by two senior citizens, found guilty and fined for abuse of power in what is known as the corrupt Waters Edge case.

The CoI while finding fault with the local actors for their culpability through their inaction in the Easter Sunday attacks, has not been able to penetrate the other big picture insofar as ascertaining if there was a foreign hand in the dastardly crime, and laid that question to rest, or whether the only foreign element was the influence by the Internet in the worldwide campaign of Jihadists against non-believers of their faith. Nor has it thrown light on the masterminds of the Easter Sunday bombings, and if they are still at large.

Almost two years on, the horror of the terrible violence unleashed that day should also be a grim reminder that evil forces are at eternally at play and the country and its citizenry must come to grips with all forms of extremism, sooner than later.
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Denton, TX (76205)

Today

Cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.
Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year.NASAs Kate Rubins and Victor Glover emerged from the orbiting lab lugging 8-foot (2.5-meter) duffle-style bags stuffed with hundreds of pounds of mounting brackets and struts. The equipment was so big and awkward that it had to be taken apart like furniture, just to get through the hatch.

We know it's super tight in there, Mission Control radioed.

The astronauts headed with their unusually large load to the far port side of the station, careful not to bump into anything. Thats where the stations oldest and most degraded solar wings are located.With more people and experiments flying on the space station, more power will be needed to keep everything running, according to NASA. The six new solar panels  to be delivered in pairs by SpaceX over the coming year or so  should boost the stations electrical capability by as much as 30%.Rubins and Glover had to assemble and bolt down the struts for the first two solar panels, due to launch in June.The eight solar panels up there now are 12 to 20 years old  most of them past their design lifetime and deteriorating. Each panel is 112 feet (34 meters) long by 39 feet (12 meters) wide. Tip to tip counting the center framework, each pair stretches 240 feet (73 meters), longer than a Boeing 777s wingspan.

Boeing is supplying the new roll-up panels, about half the size of the old ones but just as powerful thanks to the latest solar cell technology. Theyll be placed at an angle above the old ones, which will continue to operate.A prototype was tested at the space station in 2017.Sundays spacewalk was the third for infectious disease specialist Rubins and Navy pilot Glover  both of whom could end up flying to the moon.Theyre among 18 astronauts newly assigned to NASAs Artemis moon-landing program. The next moonwalkers will come from this group.Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris put in a congratulatory call to Glover, the first African American astronaut to live full time at the space station. NASA released the video exchange Saturday.

The history making that you are doing, we are so proud of you, Harris said.

Like other firsts, Glover replied, it won't be the last.

We want to make sure that we can continue to do new things, he said.

Rubins will float back out Friday with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to wrap up the solar panel prep work, and to vent and relocate ammonia coolant hoses.

Glover and Noguchi were among four astronauts arriving via SpaceX in November. Rubins launched from Kazakhstan in October alongside two Russians. Theyre all scheduled to return to Earth this spring.

(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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On Monday, the organizers of the annual right-wing clambake known as CPAC said in a tweet that they had just learned that someone we invited ... has expressed reprehensible views that have no home with our conference or our organization. The individual will not be participating at our conference.

For those who had made a close study of CPACs schedule for the four-day gathering in Orlando, Fla., this message was met with a certain degree of confusion and requests for more specificity.

Could they be referring to former NRA infomercialist Dana Loesch, who in 2016 called the mainstream media the rat bastards of the earth and said she would be happy, just frankly, to see them curb-stomped? (The just frankly was a nice touch.) Or was it U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who in October tweeted democracy isnt the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity (sic) are. (Its always nice to see the Harvard comma.) Or could CPAC have broken ranks with the actor Jon Voight, who in 2019 said that the scourge of racism had been solved long ago by our forefathers? (Maybe not the forefathers involved in chattel slavery, one supposes.)

No, no and definitely not  all three are as of this writing still on the agenda. It emerged that the views that were deemed too reprehensible even for CPAC were those of Young Pharaoh, a Black hip-hop artist and conspiracist whose virulent anti-Semitism will be pretty hard to uncover if you lack access to the internet and cant read English. (CPACs events for its Jewish attendees will be held in the Florida Ballroom.)

The watchdog organization Media Matters for America published a story on Young Pharaohs hateful vitae on Monday. Within hours, CPAC 2021  the theme of which is America Uncanceled  had canceled his appearance in a panel discussion called Please Check the Number and Dial Again: Doubt, Dynfunction and the Price of Missed Opportunities, a title so vague it could be about anything from telecom policy to teen romance.

One of the remaining participants in that session is Shemeka Michelle, a social media figure who told the crowd at a pro-Trump rally in Georgia in late November that she was willing to drag Lindsey Graham out the closet if the South Carolina senator failed to support his caudillo with sufficient gusto, and last fall suggested that Breonna Taylor was a thug missus who was partly responsible for her own killing by Louisville, Ky., police officers because of her former boyfriends police record.

So reprehensibility is a bit of a flexible standard for the organizers of CPAC, which will reach its climax Sunday afternoon with a speech by former President Donald Trump, making his first formal  though the fingers palsy while typing that word in this context  address since he departed the White House last month.

While it might seem to some observers that the Republican Party is undergoing a crisis of conscience in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, CPAC remains a safe space for Trump superfans and former White House officials, or at least the ones who havent spoken out against the administrations chaos and dysfunction. One notable exception is ex-Vice President Mike Pence, who has appeared at every CPAC since 2017  including a memorable 2020 speech that was interrupted by a Trump impersonator carrying a sex doll over his shoulder. The fake Trump was eventually revealed to be the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, and the sequence ended up in last years Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

Its possible that this interruption was traumatic enough to prompt Pence to take a break from CPAC this year. Or perhaps his absence has something to do with the angry mob that threatened to hang Pence outside the Capitol last month after he announced he would not attempt to use his Senate role to hold up the certification of the electoral college results, and Trumps rather lackluster response to those death threats.

We now know that Pence almost got killed by the mob, but the notion that any of CPACs all-stars are at risk of anything  including being canceled  is as rich as the desserts available at any of the dozens of steak joints along Orlandos International Drive. While corporate sponsors were a bit harder to come by for CPAC this year, one major remaining backer is Fox Nation: The streaming service of Fox News Channel is apparently in fence-mending mode with Trumps acolytes after what was perceived as heretical coverage of Trumps loss drove many to switch to Newsmax and OAN.

For those who still believe or at least propound the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, CPAC will offer a half-dozen events assailing how the vote went down, though its unclear if the many elected GOP officials on the roster will be calling into question the legitimacy of their own elections.

For these people, CPAC will be like a trip to Disney World  just a short drive from the Hyatt Regency, the home of this years gathering  in which you never have to wait on line for the best rides and Mickey and Minnie bring you all the hot dogs and soda you want, all day long.

Note: An earlier version of this column gave an incorrect state for Sen. Lindsey Graham.

cseiler@timesunion.com
On Friday afternoon, former presidential candidate and United States Rep. Beto ORourke visited the Gateway City and surrounding areas to speak to several people about the blackouts that occurred locally and other vital subjects affecting the local population.

Among the topics ORourke broached were the blackouts, water and pipe problems seen in the area, the coronavirus vaccine distribution efforts, his discussions with Dr. Ricardo Cigarroa about vaccines and immigration. He also was introduced to the mayor of Rio Bravo, who was provided the opportunity to speak about what is happening in the city.

Among the locations for his visit were a local Taco Palenque and the homes of one of the families that has lent their support to the candidate since 2017, as he mentioned during one of his Facebook Live recordings.

According to ORourke, he chose the Lozano family home as one of the stops because the family represents a great deal of Laredo, and they know a lot of people in the area and understand the issues affecting the city.

The Lozano family is a very powerful presence in the state of Texas, ORourke said. They are just the kindest and most generous people, and they are at the heart of the neighborhood that we are in right now in Laredo. So we knew that if we really wanted to understand what was happening here, we needed to come here and listen to Mr. and Mrs. Lozano and their family. ... Not only did they have to fix their own pipes and deal with their own issues with electricity and water, but help others fix their things and help out others.

ORourke also commented on the heroic efforts led by many Laredoans around the city that provided assistance to their neighbors during the power outage crisis, even though many also suffered without electricity as well. He also stated that he held a conversation with Dr. Ricardo Cigarroa as well about vaccines and the efforts done locally.

We were just talking to Dr. Cigarroa about vaccines, and he was talking about in his clinic they have literally gone door to door to deliver vaccines for senior citizens, ORourke said. And I feel that that is a great spirit in Laredo right now, as you are delivering meals, he is delivering vaccines and other organizations are doing what they can.

Several local individuals and supporters of O'Rourke expressed their enthusiasm about his visit on Friday.

The natural, easy way by which he continues to demonstrate what leadership is all about, especially in our elected officials  instantly, without being asked, he was here, said Webb County Democratic Party Chair Sylvia Bruni.

Bruni believes ORourke knows as much about what is happening in Laredo as other parts of the state, because she states that his organization has continued to be active in and around the streets of the Gateway City amid the pandemic regardless of whether or not its election season.

ORourke and his Powered by People volunteers have been block walking for months, during this horrific pandemic, focusing on neighborhoods that house our most vulnerable citizens, Bruni said. And, this willingness to help hasnt been restricted to his own El Paso neighborhoods. His Powered by People volunteers have extended this effort far beyond El Paso, and our own Webb County Democratic Party were invited to join.

Another of the individuals that met with ORourke on Friday was Tricia Cortez, the Executive Director of the Rio Grande International Study Center. And she expressed gratitude for the former presidential candidate coming to the city during the aftermath of the winter storm.

During a short stop in Laredo today, Beto ORourke met with us for an early breakfast, Cortez said. It was an informal meeting to talk about different issues and needs here. We also shared what some of us experienced and have observed in Laredo from last week's extreme winter storm.

Hes been traveling to different cities and towns in Texas since the storm helping out at food pantries and different churches, and knocking on doors and making deliveries to people. So it was good to just talk informally about what he has witnessed and seen. We also talked about COVID and the vaccine rollout in places like Laredo, and picked his brain about how hes seeing developments happening in D.C. and in Texas.

City of Rio Bravo Mayor Gilbert Aguilar Jr. was also present during the O'Rourke visit, and he noted that it was a pleasure meeting the politician. He said ORourkes organization has been donating food, blankets, waters and anything they could do to help with pipes and water issues as they continue.

Aguilar also invited ORourke to visit Rio Bravo in the future and see firsthand its needs as well as meeting with the residents of his community. And the mayor said that ORourke accepted the invitation.

It was an honor to meet Beto O'Rourke today, said Aguilar in a statement. As per our conversation, he accepted the invitation to come to Rio Bravo, Texas the next time he's down here in our area.

By the late afternoon, ORourke left Laredo. He shared on his social media pages that he was already in Eagle Pass and in Del Rio speaking to several people who were also affected in their respective communities by the winter storm.

Speculation has surrounded ORourke as many believe he is interested in challenging Greg Abbott for governor in 2022. He lost his race with Ted Cruz in 2018 for the Senate spot.

Bruni called ORourke running an interesting possibility.

However, other locals werent as optimistic at his chances due to his stance on gun reform that he took during the third Democratic debate for president. In the wake of the El Paso massacre  ORourkes hometown  he said, Were going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. Were not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore. He added that weapons designed to kill people on a battlefield should go.

Beto ORourke will have a very difficult time getting elected governor in the state of Texas because he has gone on record on the national stage stating he will take our guns away when he ran for president, Former Laredo councilman Alfonso Poncho Casso said. Texans consider the Second Amendment sacred. The Democrats need a better candidate if they expect to win in the Lone Star State.

Meanwhile, Brunis counterpart in Republican Webb County Chair Tyler Kraus also stated ORourke wouldnt be a good candidate. He even said ORourke only could win a race in the state if he became a Republican and embraced conservatism.

I think that Robert Francis ORourkes aspirations to run for governor are ill-conceived, and he should strongly reconsider, Kraus said. I believe he has no chance of ever being the governor of the great state of Texas. The way he speaks about the Second Amendment is a disgrace. He acts as though the government has the authority to confiscate U.S. citizens guns when the U.S. Constitution clearly states, The right (of the people) to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
Saturday marked the 15th anniversary of when New Hartford Police officer Joseph Corr was shot and killed while pursuing a man who just robbed a jewelry store.

On Saturday, friends and family gathered at Our Lady of Lourdes Church for a memorial mass. Members of Officer Corr's family and New Hartford police chief Mike Inserra were some of whom attended the mass. The family spoke at the service and asked that their son be remembered as someone who answered the call of duty.

"He was a good good man who did his job and put a lot of effort into protecting this community, a community he loved.

It's so important that we never forget the sacrifices that they make, that my son made, and that so many of the police officers and first responders make every day," said Officer Corr's father, Dave Corr.

Corr was 30 years old when he died and left behind a wife and young daughter.
Now that Joe Biden is president, gun control is back on the agenda, so here we go again.

What Biden regards as common-sense restrictions will strike a comfortable majority in Louisiana as a commie assault on precious constitutional liberties.

There is, however, room for rational compromise. Even the gun lobby's all-time favorite jurist, the late Antonin Scalia, opined that the right to bear arms is not unlimited.

Biden's call for laws that would include a ban on assault weapons and expanded background checks came on the third anniversary of the high school massacre at Parkland, Florida. A week later, Joshua Williams was shot dead after killing a customer and an employee at a Metairie gun store. A woman who said she was Williams's aunt explained that he had a big-time anger control issue, after growing up poor and Black in such a rich country as this. His victims were both White. If there is an answer to racism and violence in America, it has yet to be discovered.

The Metairie gunfight has attracted headlines and spurred the usual wringing of hands, but won't change any minds. If 17 dead schoolkids do not spur changes in public policy, the country can take a gun store shoot-out in stride.

Indeed, it is providing ammunition for both sides of the gun control debate. On the one hand, it underlines the perils that stem from the right to bear arms. On the other, it shows that guns promote safety, for the carnage might have been much worse if store employees had lacked the means of blowing Williams away.

With Democrats now in the majority in House and Senate, gun sales have gone through the roof amid the usual rumors of a plan to disarm Americans. This is clearly paranoia, given that there is no chance the Second Amendment will be repealed, and there are way too many guns in circulation for confiscation to be feasible.

Scalia handed the gun lobby its most famous victory in 2008 when he wrote the U.S. Supreme Court opinion confirming that Americans have an individual right to bear arms.

Americans have that right because a well regulated Militia is necessary to the security of a free State, the Second Amendment declares, but that doesn't mean they have to sign up with an official fighting force if they want to pack heat, Scalia ruled. By well regulated militia the Founding Fathers meant every able-bodied male of a certain age who could be trained to defend his liberties against the government, not on its behalf.

That reading of the amendment was highly controversial  the Supreme Court vote was 5-4  but Scalia lent great weight to the gun advocates' article of faith that only the Second Amendment preserves us from tyranny.

The Bill of Rights did not create the right to bear arms when it was ratified in 1791, but codified a principle that had long been in existence, Scalia opined. The Second Amendment embraced and expanded a concept from the English Bill of Rights, adopted in 1689, which said, Subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence.

James II, the last Catholic king of England, deposed in the Glorious Revolution a year earlier, had kept Protestants in line by taking away their weapons. Later, George III was to try similar measures to suppress the American colonists. History proved that denying citizens their right to bear arms is the first step on the path to subjugation, Scalia noted.

Thus, to a large segment of the population, guns are the essence of Americanism, because they allegedly keep us uniquely free. That belief is impossible to shake, although other countries with strict gun control laws still manage to retain the benefits of liberal democracy.

Indeed foreigners may think we are insane to keep shooting one another in such large numbers., but that's too bad. It's just part of American exceptionalism.

Still, Biden's proposals should not offend Second Amendment purists.

As Scalia wrote in his seminal opinion, the amendment does not guarantee a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose. He pointed out that courts have upheld concealed-weapon bans, and laws denying gun rights to felons and the mentally ill. Government can also ban guns in schools and sensitive places.

See? We have nothing to argue about.

Email James Gill at gill504nola@gmail.com.

(PHOTO PROVIDED)

The Lake Township Fire Department conducted an ice rescue training with several other departments in the area recently.
Corporal Jamie Whelan (left), a vaccination centre marshal, having received his second dose of the Moderna vaccine (Brian Lawless/PA)

There are more concrete reasons for hope and optimism now than at any time over the last 12 months, Irelands deputy chief medical officer said.

Marking one year since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Ireland, Dr Ronan Glynn said peoples lives have changed in ways that was never thought possible.

More than 6,300 people on our island have lost their lives with Covid-19, he added.

With Ireland in its third lockdown and facing six further weeks of restrictions, Dr Glynn warned that cases of coronavirus are far too high.

A year of #COVID19 in Ireland 1/2 pic.twitter.com/85vrAckNAr  Dr Ronan Glynn (@ronan_glynn) February 28, 2021

Last spring, we met the challenge presented to us with collective enthusiasm, he added.

Ironically, while that enthusiasm has understandably waned and gone, there are more concrete reasons for hope and optimism now than at any time over the last 12 months.

We still have a way to go. Our case numbers are still far too high and we must continue to do all we can to suppress this disease over the coming weeks.

But if we can do this successfully through March, our focus will begin to turn to what we can do, rather than what we cannot.

Yes, we need to be cautious and yes, there will be challenges over the coming months. But together, through science and solidarity, we will get through this and this pandemic will end.

Dr Glynn also paid tribute to health workers.

A year of #COVID19 in Ireland 2/2 pic.twitter.com/dIWzYEiPE2  Dr Ronan Glynn (@ronan_glynn) February 28, 2021

The response of colleagues across all parts of our health system has been remarkable, he said.

We should be extraordinarily proud, and take great heart, from the dedication and resilience which has been, and continues to be, shown by everyone involved in this response.

Almost all sectors and communities have experienced loss and have been tested in ways unimaginable to us this time last year.

This pandemic and the public health response to it has had a profound impact on lives and livelihoods.

But it has also demonstrated the best of us as a people, working together and buying in as a collective to what has been necessary to protect one another.

The response of colleagues across all parts of our health system has been remarkable Dr Ronan Glynn

Meanwhile, the Irish Government could introduce so-called green cards that allow people who have been vaccinated to access services including gyms and cinemas.

The system is currently being used in Israel, where citizens who are inoculated against Covid-19 have been provided with a green pass, allowing them to access gyms, restaurants, hotels and concerts.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the Government will examine the system and whether it has been successfully implemented in other countries.

Its something that we could consider, but I think we can only consider it when were confident that its worked in Israel, Mr Varadkar told Newstalk FM.

Its too soon for that in Ireland  we still only have a relatively small proportion of the population vaccinated and, bear in mind, even though youre vaccinated you can still carry the virus in your nose and can still pass it on to other people.

Good news. We were worried about test positivity, which seemed to have plateaued, but the 5-day average test positivity from public health laboratories has fallen from 8% to 6% in one week; and the positivity across all labs has been under 5% for 5 days (4.2% today) pic.twitter.com/Wq1v6dVA8b  Professor Philip Nolan (@President_MU) February 27, 2021

Youd want to have a critical mass of the population vaccinated before we even considered those kind of measures.

By the time we get to that point, which would be some time in June when about half the population will have at least one dose at that stage, we will know whether the experience in Israel has worked out or not.

The IT system that we have does allow us to produce a vaccine certificate, both in hard copy and digital.

Mr Varadkar also defended the Governments slow approach to the easing of restrictions.

The phased reopening of schools and childcare will see some pupils return to the classroom on Monday.

The IT system that we have does allow us to produce a vaccine certificate, both in hard copy and digital Tanaiste Leo Varadkar

Junior and senior infants, as well as first and second class in primary schools, will be among the first back. Leaving Certificate students will also return to the classroom on Monday.

The Government has yet to set a date for the reopening of the economy and society.

On Sunday a further six deaths of people who had tested positive for coronavirus were notified.

Another 612 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were also announced. As of 8am, there were 554 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of whom 133 were in intensive care.

Meanwhile, as of February 25, 409,529 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland.

This includes 271,594 first doses and 137,935 second doses.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is set Sunday to stake his claim as the dominant Republican in the country, trying to win back party control of Congress next year and possibly run again for the presidency in 2024.

Trump is speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, a gathering in Orlando, Florida, of hundreds of the most ardent Republicans. While he has made some public comments since leaving Washington January 20, when his victorious Democratic reelection opponent, Joe Biden, took power, Trumps speech is his first significant post-presidency address.

"I stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we began together four years ago is far from over," Trump plans to say, according to excerpts released by aides.

"We are gathered this afternoon to talk about the future -- the future of our movement, the future of our party, and the future of our beloved country," he says.

But Trump also is likely to mount his claim to dominance of the party, to leave his options open to run again in three years for another four-year term in the White House, at least to stall any momentum for other possible 2024 Republican candidates, including U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and others eyeing the presidency.

Early national polls show voters giving wide approval to Bidens first month-plus as president, including from some Republicans. But Trump, even if widely rejected by Democrats and a majority of independents, remains particularly popular among many Republican voters.

Trumps future as the dominant Republican figure in the U.S. remains an open question, however. He is the only president in U.S. history to be twice impeached and acquitted and the first president in 90 years to lose political control of the White House and both chambers of Congress in a single term in office.

Conservatives at the three-day conference have cheered mention of his name, with many of them posing for pictures with a large golden caricature of his face that was sculpted in Mexico and now is being wheeled around the convention hall.

The Senate earlier in February voted 57-43, with seven Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in the chamber, to convict Trump of inciting a mob of hundreds of his supporters that rampaged into the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as lawmakers were certifying that he had lost his November re-election to Biden. The Senate vote count fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction.

The mayhem left five dead, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer. More than 200 rioters have been arrested as the investigation continues.

The CPAC conference is one of the most prominent annual gatherings for conservatives and comes at a time of growing debate within the Republican Party over whether to distance themselves from the former president or continue to tie their future with his.

Trump has signaled he wants to try to defeat or diminish the political standing of the 10 Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted to impeach him in January, a week ahead of him leaving office, and the seven who voted to convict him at his Senate trial.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, voted to acquit Trump at the impeachment trial, but then assailed Trumps role in fomenting the storming of the Capitol, in which rioters smashed windows, ransacked congressional offices and scuffled with police.

McConnell said Trump was practically and morally responsible for provoking the events that led to the Capitol siege.

Trump, in response, described McConnell as a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and said if Republican senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again.

Even so, McConnell said last week he would support Trump for the presidency if Republican voters nominate him again in 2024.

Asked whether Trump still controls the Republican Party, Senator Rick Scott of Florida told the Fox News Sunday show, Its the voters party. But he said he believes Trump is going to be helpful in the immediate future.

Were on the right side of the issues, Scott said of Republicans. The Democrats are on the wrong side.

One Republican lawmaker who voted to convict Trump on the impeachment charge, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, told CNN that if Republicans reclaim the White House in four years, it will be because we speak to the issues, not by putting one person (Trump) on a pedestal. CPAC is not the entirety of the Republican Party.

Youve got to speak to voters who didnt vote for us last time, Cassidy said. If we idolize one person, we will lose.

I dont think hell be our nominee, Cassidy said. We need a person who lifts all boats.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, on Sunday, accused the Modi government of orchestrating the violence on Republic Day at Red Fort.

While addressing a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Meerut, Kejriwal said, The entire Red Fort incident was planned by them. Many people told me that they were deliberately shown the wrong path as they didn't know the streets of Delhi. Those who hoisted the flag were their (BJP) workers. Our farmers can be anything but anti-nationals.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly come out in favour of the farmers protesting the new farm laws. Kejriwal has visited Delhi's Singhu border, a major protest site, twice and expressed his support to the farmers.

Talking about FIRs against farmers, he said, Today, Bharatiya Janata Party's central government has filed cases against farmers for carrying out anti-national activities. Even Britishers did not have this courage. They call our farmers terrorists.

AAP has further decided to hold a 'Kisan Mahasammelan' at Bagha Purana in Moga on March 21 in order to further strengthen the ongoing farmers' agitation.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (February 28, 2021) addressed his monthly radio show 'Mann Ki Baat' and paid homage to Sant Ravidas.

PM Modi said, "Sant Ravidas Ji did not want people dependant on others. He wanted everyone to be independent and innovative."

We bow to Sant Ravidas Ji on his Jayanti. His thoughts inspire us. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/u6BV7zBrc3  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 28, 2021

The Prime Minister added that Sant Ravidas Ji taught everyone to keep working and not expect anything.

"He taught people to go beyond conventional thinking," said PM Modi.

Sant Ravidas Ji taught us- keep working, do not expect anything...when this is done there will be satisfaction. He taught people to go beyond conventional thinking. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/gHuUX4AG05  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 28, 2021

PM also said that in the run-up to Mann Ki Baat, he was asked if there was something he missed out on during these long years as CM and PM.

He answered, "I feel - it is a regret of sorts that I could not learn the world's oldest language Tamil. Tamil literature is beautiful."

PM Modi also talked about the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative and said that it is not merely a Government efforts, but is the 'national spirit of India'.



Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not merely a Government efforts. It is the national spirit of India. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/Vs4JIUA0vz  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 28, 2021

This was PM's 2021's second address through the radio programme.

Live TV
Garda forensics fly a drone near the farm off the Mitchelstown to Mallow Road outside Kildorrery, co. Cork where the bodies of two brothers in their 60s were discovered. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

THE Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is to review a Cork double murder-suicide after it emerged at least one of the brothers involved had contact with Gardai in the hours before the horrific triple tragedy.

The contact - in the form of a phone call on Thursday evening - involved the brothers assuring Mitchelstown Gardai that a disagreement was being amicably resolved and there was no need for uniformed officers to attend the 25 acre family farm at Corragorm some 8km from the north Cork town.

Following the conversation, Gardai were satisfied that concerns brought to their attention by another individual did not warrant sending a patrol car to the property.

It is understood that at no stage were fears raised with Gardai that any brother was under threat or that there was any suggestion of violence being involved in the family disagreement.

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However, several hours later, the bodies of Willie (66) and Paddy 'Pa' Hennessy (60) were discovered at the farm after a relative called to ensure everything was alright amid concern that Pa had not returned to his Mitchelstown home.

A third brother, Johnny Hennessy (59), was later recovered from the River Funshion.

A GSOC spokesperson confirmed they are now reviewing the matter.

"GSOC received a referral on Friday from a Garda Superintendent related to possible contact between An Garda Siochana and one of the deceased prior to the incident," they said.

"The referral was made under Section 102 of the Garda Siochana Act, 2005. The matter is now under examination by GSOC."

Pa was found with severe head injuries in the farmyard where the brothers operated a firewood business and raised dry cattle.

Willie was found with similar severe head injuries in a nearby shed.

Both had suffered blunt force trauma injuries to the head after being struck repeatedly with an axe. The two brothers were pronounced dead at the scene.

A third brother, Johnny (59), who lived at the farmhouse, was not present and his car was missing.

His Toyota Corolla van was found parked near Killacluig Church, some 4km away, on Friday morning.

After a major manhunt involving Garda search teams, the Garda dog unit, the Garda helicopter and the Garda water unit, his body was located at lunchtime a short distance away in the River Funshion.

The three brothers were nicknamed 'The Saints' locally - and had lost another brother, Jer, to a family tragedy in 2014.

A nephew had also died in tragic circumstances in 2012.

Post mortem examinations were conducted on all three brothers over the weekend at Cork University Hospital (CUH) by Locum State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.

The findings are being withheld for operational reasons but it is understood Willie and Pa died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries to the head consistent with blows from a heavy axe.

A blood-stained axe was found a short distance from where the first two bodies were discovered.

Johnny is believed to have died from drowning.

Gardai now believe the tragedy was linked to a land and farm income dispute.

Pa suffered a stroke before Christmas and had been unable to either work the small dry cattle holding or his normal firewood delivery route.

He had also been forced to pause his 30-year career in the tyre business.

On his recovery, he wanted to return to his normal work routine with the family farm.

Neighbours described him as an incredibly hard-working man who had been employed since his teens.

His wish was apparently supported by his older brother, Willie.

However, it is understood that Johnny was opposed - and maintained that the farm income should be divided on the basis of those who engaged in the work.

Pa's firewood route is also believed to have been the most lucrative of those operated by the brothers.

One local source said that Johnny also opposed any question of splitting the proceeds from cattle sales three ways.

The phone call to Gardai from a concerned third party apparently followed the disagreement over the family farm income and concerns over the attitude adopted by Johnny.

Gardai are now investigating whether Johnny Hennessy may have been overwrought from financial stress, rural isolation and the impact of the Covid-19 Level 5 lockdown before he attacked his brothers Willie and Pa.

Mental health issues are also being investigated as a possible contributing factor.
Myanmars crackdown turns bloody

The security forces in Myanmar opened fire on demonstrators in several cities on Sunday, killing at least 18 people. It was the largest single-day toll since the protests began after the Feb. 1 coup.

The forceful response signaled a new toughness from the military after a month in which thousands have turned out regularly to protest the coup, which ousted the civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the countrys most popular politician. The United Nations said that it had reports of deaths as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Mandalay and Dawei, as well as in the cities of Myeik, Bago and Pokokku.

The police arrested at least 100 medical students in Yangon as they prepared to march in their white coats, witnesses said. Doctors have been at the forefront of the civil disobedience movement, and many have refused to go to their jobs at government hospitals.

At the United Nations: The military regime fired Myanmars ambassador to the world body on Saturday after he gave an impassioned speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, pleading for international help in restoring democracy to his homeland.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a report Saturday concerning the Camp Fire that destroyed more than 18,804 structures on Nov. 8, 2018, causing the deaths of 85 residents of Butte County.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report called, A Case Study of the Camp Fire  Fire Progression Timeline, was authored by NIST and representatives from the United States Forest Service, CAL FIRE, the University of Washington, and the University of Maryland.

According to the report, it took approximately six hours for the Camp Fire to consume a significant fraction of the Town of Paradise. It also caused considerable damage in Magalia, Concow, and other Highway 70 communities, and in Butte Creek Canyon.

In the report, the Camp Fire was reference as the most destructive and deadly fire in California history.

The 421-page in-depth case study was created to increase understanding of wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire spread, fire behavior, evacuation, and structure response. More than 2200 observations about the Camp Fires spread and behavior were collected during the case study.

In reference to fire danger in WUI areas, in the report it is states that, "In the United States, over 44 million homes, housing 32 % of the US population, were in the WUI in 2010. In the early 2000s, over one thousand structures per year on average were lost to WUI fires in California alone. The WUI fire problem is growing nationally each year; in the 2010s, multiple single fire events have caused losses in the thousands of structures."

According to the studys authors, the Town of Paradise and the County of Butte were well prepared to respond to a WUI (wildland-urban interface) fire. This was a major finding in the report.

Here is a conclusion from the report concerning the preparedness of entities in the Butte County WUI: This study has identified that Butte County and the Town of Paradise were well prepared to respond to a WUI fire, that the Camp Fire grew and spread rapidly and that multiple factors contributed to the rapid growth and spread of the Camp Fire. Additionally, this study identified the importance of the wildland fire ignition location relative to the community, that multiple parcel-level fire spread pathways caused structure ignitions, and that WUI fire spread impacted the affected communities in multiple ways beyond the destruction of residential and commercial properties.

Extreme winds of 50 mph, dry vegetation, and long-range spotting of a distance of almost four miles were identified as contributing factors to the damage and destruction caused by the Camp Fire.

The dry vegetation was blamed upon a period of 200 days without any significant precipitation, which authors said increased the fuel ignition potential around and within Concow, Paradise, and Magalia.

The fire spread rates for Paradise and Magalia could not be readily computed, according to the authors, due to extensive spotting fire behavior. The fire traveled and spotted more than seven miles downwind of its origin in Pulga in the Feather River Canyon, reaching the Town of Paradise in less than 1.5 hours.

Though the communities and the County were found to be well-prepared for prompt evacuations, burnovers were identified as the major reason civilian evacuations and first responder operations were so greatly hindered.

The definition of a burnover, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG), is an event in which a fire moves through a location or overtakes personnel or equipment where there is no opportunity to utilize escape routes and safety zones, often resulting in personal injury or equipment damage.

The report's findings revealed that there were multiple burnovers during the Camp Fire, which adversely affected pre-planned evacuation routes and led to the use of Temporary Refuge Areas (TRAs).

One of the recommendations in the report is an urging to characterize fire behavior that leads to burnovers and to quantify burnover severity. Authors say this information would help to inform fuel setback guidance for primary egress arteries and provide technical input necessary for community evacuation plans.

The intense vegetation and structure fires along roadways, along with downed utility poles, resulted in multiple road closures which adversely impacted response and evacuation activities.

The fire spread from parcel to parcel was fueled by vegetation, including ornamental shrubs, bushes, and trees; structural fuels, including homes, garages, detached auxiliary buildings, commercial occupancies; and cars, trucks, and campers.

It was discovered that the separation distances in the WUI between fuel packages within an individual parcel and between parcels were not sufficient enough to prevent rapid fire spread.

The newly released report utilized post-fire field data and first responder observations to identify structure ignition vulnerabilities including a close look at structure-to-structure ignition pathways.

A recommendation in the report states that a standardized community WUI hazard evaluation framework would improve the assessment of fire risk for communities.

Here are nine recommendations from the NIST report:

Characterize fire behavior that leads to burnovers and quantify burnover severity (This information will inform fuel setback guidance for primary egress arteries and provide technical input to evacuation plans)

Develop technical guidance to quantify parcel-level exposures

Quantify fire spread within parcels with a focus on fire exposures

Quantify exposures from adjacent parcels, specifically from neighboring structures, and develop design guidance for structure separation distances

Develop a methodology to connect field-collected ember-data, such as ember flux and size distribution, to laboratory scales and develop worst-case ember exposure criteria

Develop spacing/hardening cost-benefit relationships for high energy release sources (fences, woodpiles, sheds, vehicles, RVs, and residences) and target structures (residential and commercial)

Characterize the relationships among fire history, fuel treatments, and fire behavior

Develop a standardized methodology for assessing the exposures from ornamental vegetation

Develop a plant list for vegetation with unacceptably high fire hazard for northern California and other locations with wildland-urban interface fire risks

The full report is available online here.
Victorias 380,000 public sector employees will be asked to say anonymously if they have been sexually harassed at work, who the perpetrator was and if they were satisfied with how the incident was handled.

Australias first Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner, Dr Niki Vincent, will oversee consultation with staff in all public organisations to ascertain the number of sexual harassment incidents at the states 300 employers and also how many incidents are going un-reported.

The process falls under laws introduced in Victorias landmark Gender Equality Act 2020, which come into force on March 31 and cover 11 per cent of the states workforce.

Victorias new Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner, Dr Niki Vincent. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The question will be asked [of employees in organisations that fall under the Gender Equality Act] have you experienced sexual harassment, who was the perpetrator, what was the outcome and did you accept it? said Ms Vincent, the former South Australian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, who moved to Victoria to take up her roll in late 2020.
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James Darvell of Freeland turned an affinity for toy fire trucks and ambulances into a career.

His story begins with a picture from 1998. Posing with a Fisher Price fire truck and dressed in firefighting gear and Winnie the Pooh slippers, Darvell beams. Looking back as he admires the picture today, he cant pinpoint one thing that piqued his interest in first responder work. He believes it was just always present in him, even before he could answer a call for help.

Darvell was born in Scotland to parents stationed overseas while serving with the U.S. Navy, then moved to Freeland around the age of 2. He said perhaps it was his parents service to their country that inspired him to enter the Freeland Northside Community Ambulance building at 12 years old.

He walked a half-mile from his home to the station on Johnson Street and told the crew there he wanted to help. They said hed have to come back in two years when he turned 14.

So I went down right after my birthday to get the paperwork, he said.

About two months later, he joined Freeland Fire Department, where he still volunteers today.

So what did his parents think?

A little shocked, said Darvell, noting he knew of no one else in his family who worked in emergency services.

EMT at 16

At 14 years old a lot of what he did at both stations could be compared to an apprenticeship. But, between ages 14 and 15, his budding skillset was put to use at home when his father had a stroke in the middle of the night. Darvell knew to assess his fathers condition, gather his medication and what information to relay to the ambulance workers.

He was 16 years old and still a student at Hazleton Area High School when he got his EMT certification for Freeland ambulance. Hed go on to attend Luzerne County Community College and today works full time as a paramedic with Lehighton Ambulance.

Like a lot of first responders, hes cross-trained. His medical knowledge can help at a fire scene and his fire knowledge can help during some medical calls. Darvell said cross-training is more of a necessity than anything in his line of work. A shortage of volunteer firefighters and EMS workers has made it so.

But, of all the situations hes faced as a firefighter and a paramedic, the new coronavirus pandemic has laid down a whole new strange set of challenges, he said.

Handling COVID-19 is different than other emergencies because the danger isnt always visible. While the disease is apparent in some people, others show no symptoms. With no reliable form of detection in a moments notice, emergency responders, out of caution, are left to assume everyone has it, Darvell said.

In November he cared for an ambulance patient in her 90s experiencing weakness. Scared and unable to be with her loved ones due to pandemic restrictions, she kept asking if what she was going through was real.

She wasnt ready to pass on. You just have to comfort her and tell her were going to get through this, said Darvell. The medical community was by her side, he reassured her.

Theyre in that fight with you, he said.

The pandemic forced changes at firehouses across the country. In Freeland, people arent hanging out at the station as much to avoid contact. When they handle calls, they try to mitigate their exposure to others, he said. Training sessions have been adjusted to make room for social distancing, while fundraisers, vital to volunteer organizations, have been canceled, postponed or altered.

No greater reward

Darvells career and volunteer paths have put him on the front line of a pandemic, and that means hes had to distance himself from his parents. He kept in touch with phone calls when the virus numbers begin to climb and still wears a mask when he visits. Its a harsh and heart-breaking reality for someone like Darvell, who chose to stay local to be near his parents.

Its also a reminder, however, of just how much he loves being a firefighter and paramedic.

Its just what I do. Someone has to, he said. Helping someone  theres no greater reward.

Thats what makes him race out his home when the Freeland fire department is called to an emergency at all hours. Like so many others, he drops what hes doing and heads to the fire station, gears up and jumps on a truck, all without pay.

His passion to help extends further than the ambulance and fire truck. He knows people are hurting because of COVID-19 and he urges them to find strength in themselves.

Dont give up. Were all in this together, he said. One way or another were all going to get through this.
Press Release

February 28, 2021 Angara: Pilot implementation of face-to-face classes needed before resumption nationwide Senator Sonny Angara said today that any plan to resume face-to-face learning should be done with extreme caution since the risk of contracting COVID-19 still exists in the country. Angara said he also wants to see children back learning in school, which he said would ease a lot of stress and pressure off both the students and their parents who have been forced to cope with blended learning due to the pandemic. But before any plan to resume face-to-face classes is rolled out, Angara said that it would be best to conduct a pilot implementation of this first to see how this will work. "Gusto natin maibalik ang face-to-face classes pero be that as it may nagsalita na din si Presidente na bastat walang bakuna ayaw niya mag upisa ng face-to-face classes nationwide," Angara said. "Kung sakali, bago tayo mag umpisa tayo ng nationwide rollout ng face-to-face classes, pumili tayo ng isa o dalawang probinsya muna para sa pilot testing," Angara added. In selecting the areas that will be part of the pilot program, Angara said that the primary consideration should be those with very few or zero cases of COVID-19. Angara said the pilot areas should also have strong health systems that would be able to handle possible outbreaks. "Kailangan ang lugar na yun ay walang masyadong kaso at handa ang kanyang health system kung sakaling magkaroon ng super spreader event," Angara said. A COVID-19 survivor himself, Angara noted that there are reported cases in other countries of face-to-face classes serving as super spreader events. Children would be together in an indoor setting and would unavoidably have close interactions with each other so a handful of infected students could easily spread the virus to other children and they in turn could infect other persons in their homes and their communities. Angara said the local government units that will be part of the pilot testing should have health facilities such as hospitals that are capable of handling a large number of cases--from isolation to treatment. "Kung i-rollout ng DepEd itong face-to-face classes ay maingat at limitado talaga, under very controlled conditions muna," Angara said.

CLEVELAND -- Im generally an optimistic, glass-is-half-full, tomorrow-will-be-a-better-day guy. Our Earth is a pretty spectacular place, and each day is a gift to those who are lucky enough to wake up in the morning to greet it.

So why are so many of us allowing our political rancor to eclipse so much joy and beauty on a regular basis, and so eager to inflict that unhappiness and division on somebody else?

We optimists are in for a rough go, it seems.

Nobody reading this will be stunned to learn that the Nov. 3 election didnt turn out exactly the way Id hoped. But it did occur to me that the one good thing about Joe Bidens election would be that we might, in a post-Donald Trump era, all dial down the emotion, take a deep breath and start moseying back to being us again, instead of you versus me.

Then came the aftermath, with accusations of stolen elections from the right, threats to destroy the careers of anyone who had ever worked in the Trump administration from the left, and then the horrific Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

And If anything, the divide and accompanying rancor has continued to get worse.

This lament for absent civility is rich, some of you are thinking, coming from the guy who just wrote a column last week praising Rush Limbaugh.

But that is actually the thing that brought on these ruminations about how far apart we all are, and what seems to be the growing likelihood that we will not find common ground anytime soon.

When I wrote that piece, I was frankly just thinking of all the things I liked about him and the areas in which I agreed with him. I knew Id be the only one on this opinion board to write a word in his favor, so I figured Id give the devil his due. People would disagree, but I thought it was possible to disagree and remain friends.

How wrong I was. Perhaps naively, I was unprepared for the fury and unbridled hatred that rained down in the aftermath of Limbaughs death. It was certainly not limited to my little column, but I sure caught my share.

And I began to wonder: What goes through a persons mind when he or she sits down to write some of the things I received:

Go eff yourself and your mommy.

Are you gonna mourn Hitler, too?

The only bad thing about Rush Limbaugh being dead is that hes not alive to see how happy people are that he died.

It appears that I didnt even see the worst of it. I dont tweet, Im happy to reveal, so I didnt see the stuff that passed for social commentary in that Rest in Piss cesspool of social commentary. But Frank Bruni of The New York Times told me all I needed to know about it in a thoughtful column last Sunday.

Now, you dont need to send me a list of the Rush Horribles. Ive read them. And I dont defend them. But do they justify the sheer, unrestrained, obscene hatred that marked so many post-mortem comments from people who were offended by them? Because you say something ugly, that makes it OK for me to say something uglier?

Where are we, when the death of a conservative icon can gin up so much bile from folks who claim to be on the side of decency and civility?

Earlier this month, a Los Angeles Times columnist named Virginia Heffernan described an ethical crisis she was facing.

It seems that, in the aftermath of a fierce snowstorm (she was staying at a friends house in what she called her pandemic getaway in upstate New York), her next-door neighbor had plowed her driveway, without being asked or expecting anything in return.

Her dilemma was that he was a Trumpite, who supported a man who showed near-murderous contempt for the majority of Americans, and kept him in business with their support.

I know I owe them thanks, she wrote. But how much?

How about just a friendly visit, with a plate of cookies? Not in Heffernans world.

Ultimately, she decided to acknowledge the neighborly gesture, politely but not profusely. However, she said, she could not grant her neighbors absolution. Only if and when they recognized the truth about the damage of the last four years would they be worthy of being her friends.

What are we to make of this incredibly haughty attitude toward someone who saw a neighbor with an unplowed driveway and did something about it? Doesnt the instinct to offer a hand when a neighbor needs it say more about a person than what political sign he might have in his front yard?

Litmus tests for friendship are not rare, however.

After my Limbaugh column last week, a former friend posted on my Facebook page that she had unblocked me after reading my column of a few weeks ago that advocated Trumps impeachment  but having now seen my true colors, she was going to block me again.

I hadnt been aware of being blocked in the first place, so it didnt change my life much. But its a sad thing that someone would bestow or withhold friendship on a rotating basis of whether they agree with your latest political opinion.

Im not suggesting that the hate is coming all from the left. Far from it, as we saw Jan. 6.

On my own quiet little street, there is a nice, friendly couple who announced their political preference last fall by placing a lonely blue Biden/Harris sign in their yard amid the forest of red Trump signs that festooned the rest of the road. It was defaced, then one morning came up missing.

Undeterred, the couple replaced the sign with a new one, which remained through the day after the election  when on my dog walk the next morning I saw their mailbox, uprooted and tossed on the other side of the road. You didnt have to be Dick Tracy to figure out why that happened.

I was surprised, disappointed, and somewhat embarrassed at the idea that on a street of ordinary folks, neighbors and friends, someone decided to make these good people feel unwelcome because they had the wrong sign in their yard.

Where do we go from here? The optimist in me believes that its simple, even if its not easy.

We need to start allowing a friend to draw a contrary conclusion without blocking him; to think twice before sending that nasty email; to seek to understand each other rather than uprooting each others mailboxes.

And we need to spend less time looking at yard signs and more time plowing each others driveways.

Ted Diadiun is a member of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.

To reach Ted Diadiun: tdiadiun@cleveland.com

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* Email general questions, comments or corrections regarding this opinion article to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.
Fifteen giant light-up seesaws will soon dot the Westfield Train Station, one of New Jerseys celebrated quaint downtowns, whose recent foot traffic has been sharply reduced by the pandemic.

The art installation is an attempt to woo customers back to Westfields shops and restaurants.

The ultimate goal of the Impulse seesaw installation is to draw people into town during a traditionally slow time of year while providing families from around the region a fun winter activity, Bob Zuckerman, Executive Director of Downtown Westfield Corporation, said in a press release. While residents and visitors are in town riding the seesaws, we want them to play, shop, and dine and enjoy the amazing offerings of our local businesses.

A file photo shows the Impulse see-saws in action.Courtesy of Quartier des Spectacles Partnership

Made of polycarbonate and set on thick foam mats, the seesaws will be set up from March 5 to 21 and will be open to the public for free from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Up to four people can ride each seesaw at a time.

Initially an idea of Erin Ben-Hayons, Chairperson of Downtown Westfields Promotion Committee, the seesaws became reality through the help of Zuckerman, Councilwoman Dawn Mackey, the Downtown Westfield Corporation and the Westfield Public Art Commission.

The seesaws bring a carefree feeling of playfulness in what has been a heavy year, Ben-Hayon said in a press release. During these short winter days, the Westfield Train Station will be transformed into an outdoor playground of LED lights and sounds. But its the sounds of laughter that Im looking forward to the most.

The art exhibit, referred to as Impulse seesaws, come from Canadian not-for-profit Quartier des Spectacles Partnership. The cost to bring them to Westfield is being fully funded by grants and sponsorships form Main Street New Jersey, Colombia Bank and Wonder, a local food delivery app.

Visitors will be able to play for ten minutes at a time and come with an option for a paid professional photo portrait after a kick-off ceremony on March 4.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Josh Axelrod may be reached at jaxelrod@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Lorries in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs site in Duncrue Street, near Belfast port (Brian Lawless/PA)

The decision of Northern Irelands Agriculture Minister to halt the construction of port inspection facilities was a performance stunt, a Sinn Fein MP has said.

Chris Hazzard said that Gordon Lyons did not have the authority to stop work at the sites.

On Friday, the DUP minister stopped construction of permanent inspection facilities for post-Brexit checks on agri-food goods arriving from Great Britain.

He also stopped further recruitment of inspection staff for the port facilities and said charges would not be levied at the ports on traders bringing goods from GB into Northern Ireland.

Previously, when the former DAERA Minister took a similar stance, his Permanent Secretary took forward the Executives responsibilities. The Protocol is a consequence of Brexit. The DUP championed Brexit & must own the consequences. Business and society need certainty, not stunts.  Michelle OaNeill (@moneillsf) February 26, 2021

Ongoing Irish Sea trade checks, which are taking place at existing repurposed port buildings and other temporary facilities, will continue.

Mr Hazzard, Sinn Feins Brexit spokesman, also claimed that none of the Executive ministers were given advanced warning of the decision.

The move relates to ongoing work on new purpose-built inspection facilities at ports like Belfast and Larne.

Mr Hazzard said that Mr Lyons decision to brief the media before telling his political colleagues painted a very pathetic picture.

It's a stunt that's inevitably going to deliver nothing but prolonged instability and uncertainty. Chris Hazzard

I think this was a very foolish solo run from Gordon Lyons, Mr Hazzard told BBC The View programme.

Its a stunt thats inevitably going to deliver nothing but prolonged instability, and uncertainty that is certain to damage confidence in our local economy.

Mr Hazzard said the decision will harm the Northern Ireland economy.

He added: The DUP needs to be honest with the public and stop playing games. They are being led by the nose by (TUV leader) Jim Allister and they basically walked off the pitch, and allowed others to be the sensible adults in the room.

The MP for South Down said the DUP were attempting to paint the protocol as the problem.

The issue is expected to be raised when the Executive meets on Monday to discuss the plan to ease Northern Ireland out of lockdown.

Mr Lyons told the PA news agency on Friday evening: Ive just let Executive colleagues know that today I instructed my department to halt work on a range of issues relating to work at the ports.

I've submitted an urgent oral question tomorrow on the decision by the DUP @daera_ni minister to halt construction at ports.



No official statement yet, no executive meeting called and no legal clarity.



We need answers. pic.twitter.com/ZEpMCxnFyK  Matthew O'Toole (@MatthewOToole2) February 28, 2021

This is in and around a number of areas, first of all further infrastructure, any further infrastructure builds; the additional recruitment of staff; and also the charging at the ports.

The decisions come amid the ongoing controversy over disruption caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs Irish Sea trade post-Brexit.

Unionists are angry at the protocols requirement for checks on many goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

They claim it has driven an economic wedge between the region and Great Britain, and has undermined the Union as a result.
Satellite images show signs of mass graves near 2 Ethiopian churches after massacre: Amnesty

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Amnesty International says in a report that satellite images of mass graves suggest that hundreds of unarmed civilians were methodically hunted down and killed in northern Ethiopias predominantly-Christian and war-torn Tigray region by soldiers from neighboring Eritrea about three months ago.

Satellite imagery analysis  corroborates reports of indiscriminate shelling and mass looting, as well as identifies signs of new mass burials near two of the citys churches, said the report, which revealed that Eritrean troops fighting in Ethiopias Tigray state systematically killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the city of Axum on Nov. 28-29, 2020.

The evidence is compelling and points to a chilling conclusion, Deprose Muchena, the human rights groups director for East and Southern Africa, said. Ethiopian and Eritrean troops carried out multiple war crimes in their offensive to take control of Axum. Above and beyond that, Eritrean troops went on a rampage and systematically killed hundreds of civilians in cold blood, which appears to constitute crimes against humanity.

In one instance, hundreds of people were hiding in Maryam Tsiyon Church in Axum, which is said to contain the Ark of the Covenant described in the book of Exodus in the Bible, amid an armed conflict on the day of the attacks. They were all brought out and shot to death, and local residents believed the aim was to take the Ark of Covenant to Addis Ababa, the Belgium-based nonprofit European External Programme with Africa reported in Januarys situational report.

The fighting began in Tigray on Nov. 4 when the regions ruling political party, Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, captured the Northern Command army base in the regional capital Mekelle as part of an uprising, after which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive. Military forces from Eritrea support the Ethiopian government.

The number of people killed is reported as 750, the situational report said. The church, the most ancient and sacred of Ethiopian Christianity and also known as the Church of St. Mary of Zion, belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Ive not heard more than rumors about the looting of the Arc from Maryam Tsion, but if its true that up to 750 died defending it, it is conceivable that the attackers didn't stop there, said Michael Gervers, a professor of history at the University of Toronto, at the time, according to The Telegraph. "The government and the Eritreans want to wipe out the Tigrayan culture. They think theyre better than rest of the people in the country. The looting is about destroying and removing the cultural presence of Tigray.

Amnesty said Ethiopian and Eritrean military forces took control of Axum in a large-scale offensive on Nov. 19, killing and displacing civilians. In the nine days that followed, the Eritrean military engaged in widespread looting of civilian property and extrajudicial executions.

They would kill you for trying, or even crying, a woman named Zenebu, a 48-year-old healthcare worker who lives in Colorado but was trapped in Tigray for weeks while visiting her mother, told AP earlier. The witness added that some Eritrean soldiers went door-to-door, killing Tigrayan men and boys as young as 7 years old.

The Amnesty report also includes testimonies of witnesses to extrajudicial executions, indiscriminate shelling and widespread looting after Ethiopian and Eritrean troops led an offensive to take control of the city.

I saw a lot of people dead on the street, a 21-year-old male resident was quoted as saying. Even my uncles family. Six of his family members were killed. So many people were killed.

After the killings, the citys streets and cobblestone plazas were strewn with bodies, the group said. One man, who had run out of the city returned at night after the shooting stopped, said, All we could see on the streets were dead bodies and people crying.

On Nov. 29, Eritrean soldiers shot at anyone who tried to move the bodies of those killed.
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In the wake of the Houses approval of the $1.9 trillion recovery bill, California Rep. Devin Nunes misleadingly characterized the BART extension in San Jose and Santa Clara, which would receive money as part of the bill, as a tunnel from Silicon Valley to San Francisco for tech oligarchs...who sure as hell dont need anyones money.

The extension isnt near San Francisco. It will extend BART service a total of 6 miles, from Berryessa, a San Jose neighborhood, passing beneath downtown San Jose in a 5-mile subway before ending in Santa Clara.

Nunes, R-Tulare, made the remarks Saturday during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. Republicans who oppose the $1.9 trillion recovery bill have characterized it as larded with pork, and made the funding for BARTs long-planned extension into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara their prime example.

No House Republicans voted for the bill, which includes about $141 million for the $6.9 billion Silicon Valley BART extension.

BART has served San Francisco since 1974, and since 1972, its East Bay line ended in Fremont, which some people now consider a part of Silicon Valley. But direct service between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, with no East Bay crossing needed, is the territory of Caltrain, which would receive money for train electrification  not tunnels  as part of the bill.

While the tech industry has supported efforts to bring BART into Silicon Valley, the project is funded in large part by a series of sales taxes approved by Santa Clara County voters, who have been long-standing supporters of the extension. Pre-pandemic studies projected that the extension would carry 52,000 people a day.

Bernice Alaniz, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which is building the extension for BART to operate, called Nunes disparagement of the project concerning in that it not only described the project incorrectly but fails to mention that it will be accompanied by the development of low-income housing and will create thousands of construction and support jobs as the economy recovers.

As for Nunes description of the BART extensions beneficiaries as tech oligarchs, she said the ridership is expected to be diverse and noted that more than half the people VTA carries now are low income.

Were serving two universities, San Jose State and Santa Clara, 8,000 students a day, a myriad of workers, connecting San Jose to the East Bay and San Francisco, she said. We serve a diverse population. We want to get people out of their acrs and onto environmentally friendly modes of transportation.

BART has also highlighted its service throughout the pandemic as a crucial transit option for many essential workers who dont have cars and others tired of the persistent backup, especially on Interstate 880.

VTAs extension will connect Silicon Valley to the BART system in the East Bay and will provide a sustainable and affordable commute alternative to a notoriously congested stretch of freeways and roadways, said BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost. While BART isnt building the extension and will not own the new section of track and tunnel, we will run the service and the entire region will benefit from being able to travel by rail into another major economic center. Its imperative for the quality of life here in the Bay Area that the project continue to move forward.

Commenters on Twitter also criticized Nunes remarks, challenging the Central Valley congressmans comprehension of Bay Area geography, demographics and public transportation, particularly BART.

Nunes also attacked Californias high-speed rail project, which is under construction in his district, a three and half hour drive from San Francisco, and speculated that some of the COVID-19 relief money would end up going to that project.

Two other Bay Area projects would benefit from the bill  a BART plan to increase its capacity through the Transbay Tube and the core of its system, as well as Munis much-delayed Central Subway project.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com @ctuan
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GARDAI at Shannon investigating a shooting incident in Sixmilebridge - where two men suffered gunshot wounds - have arrested two men in recent days

Two males, aged 21 and 66, suffered non-life threatening incidents in the gun attack on January 18. It is understood the younger man was the intended target, while the pensioner was an innocent bystander.

This Sunday morning a garda spokesperson said one man, aged in his 20s, was arrested in Dublin on Thursday, February 25, and is being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at Shannon Garda station.

"The second man, aged in his 20s, was arrested in Limerick yesterday morning, Saturday, February 27, and is being detained under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1999 at Ennis Garda station. This brings to six the number of people arrested as part of this investigation," said the spokesperson.

Investigations are ongoing.
"Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency"

By Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes.

Crown. 498 pp. $30

- - -

Sometimes a book is so eager to take readers behind the scenes that it neglects to spend enough time on the scenes themselves. This is often so with works chronicling presidential elections, obsessed as they are with the machinations of high-priced operatives, the strategizing of rival campaigns or the "optics" of who stands where on a debate stage. Read enough of them and it gets hard to discern whether that is all the authors choose to emphasize, or if that is all there really is to see.

"Lucky," a brisk and detailed account of the 2020 presidential race by political journalists Jonathan Allen of NBC News and Amie Parnes of the Hill, is the first volume to tell the story of this unusual electoral contest, with several competing works scheduled later this year and into 2022. Four years ago, Allen and Parnes co-authored the best-selling "Shattered," an examination of Hillary Clinton's failed 2016 campaign, in which they placed the blame largely on the ineptitude of the losing side. In this sequel, they are only slightly more generous with the Democratic nominee. Joe Biden won, of course, but mainly because he "caught every imaginable break." He was the "process-of-elimination candidate," emerging from a crowded set of more exciting Democratic contenders. He was "lousy in debates and lackluster on the trail," prevailing despite "a bland message and a blank agenda." Biden, they argue, got lucky.

The fiasco of the Iowa caucuses, where the app designed to report the results failed miserably, temporarily obscured Biden's fourth-place showing. "This was a gift," a campaign aide later explained. Luck returned when rival Democrats such as Pete Buttigieg (who ended up winning Iowa) and Mike Bloomberg (who won American Samoa) suffered debate night takedowns by Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren - and when Biden survived his own hit from Kamala Harris over his past positions on school busing and desegregation. (That almost cost Harris the subsequent veep nod, Allen and Parnes report.) Fortune smiled again when the entire Democratic Party establishment rushed to Biden's side after his victory in the South Carolina primary, even if it was less about devotion to him than panic that Bernie Sanders might secure the nomination. "On Super Tuesday, you got very lucky," President Donald Trump told Biden at their first debate. The Democrat did not disagree.

But Trump offered his rival some luck, too, when the president failed to deal effectively or humanely with the coronavirus pandemic. Allen and Parnes quote then-senior campaign official Anita Dunn, now a White House adviser, discussing how the outbreak affected Biden's prospects. "COVID is the best thing that ever happened to him," she told an associate early in the crisis, according to the authors. It's a cynical way to regard a disease that would go on to take the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, even if it was, they write, what Biden campaign aides "believed but would never say in public." Well, it's public now.

Such blunt, insidery talk is the lifeblood of "Lucky." Biden campaign pollster John Anzalone, for instance, worries about the vagueness of his candidate's speeches. "No one knows what this 'soul of America' bulls--- means," he complains. At a New York event with Black corporate leaders in the fall of 2019, Barack Obama praised Warren's candidacy and listed several reasons Buttigieg couldn't win. "He's thirty-eight, but he looks thirty," the former president said, eliciting laughs in the room. "He's the mayor of a small town. He's gay, and he's short." And top Sanders campaign adviser Jeff Weaver chewed out fellow adviser Chuck Rocha as the early Nevada primary results came in. "Where are the Latinos? You spent three million dollars. Where are the Latinos?"

A simplistic focus on identity is evident throughout the Democratic field, with new aides often hired to make staffs look young and more diverse - only to complicate things by, you know, having ideas of their own that diverged from those of entrenched advisers. Allen and Parnes portray a Biden campaign split along "deep fault lines mostly based on generation, race, ideology, and time in Bidenworld." Biden was in the middle of it, in every sense, hewing to centrist positions on health care, racial justice and law enforcement, no matter the pressures from his campaign team and his party. He may not have been "Sleepy Joe," but he remained "Unwoke Joe," Allen and Parnes quip. "That was the ugly truth many Democrats had to face in the aftermath of the 2020 election: To beat Trump, they had to swallow their progressive values and push forward an old white man who simply promised to restore calm."

That "simply" is a little deceptive. The 2020 race transpired against the backdrop of a deadly pandemic, widespread racial-justice protests and threats to American democracy emanating from the presidency itself. In "Lucky," such context matters largely to the extent that it affects the candidates' rhetoric and fundraising. (George Floyd's death, for instance, required some "nimble positioning" by Biden, Allen and Parnes write, trying to keep both moderate White voters and party activists happy.) As a result, the moments of high drama in "Lucky" can feel small-bore. Should Biden leave New Hampshire and head to South Carolina before the Granite State's full primary results are announced, thus potentially alienating supporters there for the general election? (Spoiler: He did leave early. It was fine.) And how do longtime Biden campaign staffers react when the interloping new campaign boss, Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, receives a glowing write-up in The Washington Post's opinion section, complete with a portrait-type photo? "The profile landed like the mother of all bombs in the civil war between the Obama veterans and Biden's primary crew," Allen and Parnes overwrite.

There are memorable and telling insider moments in "Lucky," revealing vital negotiations or highlighting simple truths that parties and campaigns would rather obfuscate. For example, planners of the Democratic Party's virtual convention thought about featuring a national map that would highlight the locations of various speakers, thus countering the notion that the party was a club for coastal elites - only to can the idea when they realized multiple speakers would be broadcasting from Martha's Vineyard. And the all-important endorsement of Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina was in play when Clyburn cornered Biden during a commercial break at a Charleston debate and urged him to promise to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court. "This wasn't offered as a condition of Clyburn's endorsement, but it was an expectation," the authors write, parsing a bit too finely. Biden awkwardly complied.

Unfortunately, Allen and Parnes clutter their story with italicized descriptions of what various players are really thinking at particular moments, a tic that carries over from "Shattered" but that here grows more noticeable. "Obviously, we are not able to read minds," they acknowledge in an author's note, explaining that they divine such thoughts from first- or secondhand sources, or from "documents that suggest what a person was thinking." Even so, these asides are distracting and often unnecessary. "(BEGIN ITAL)How the hell can they do that?(END ITAL)" Trump thought when Fox News called Arizona for Biden on election night. (Yes, we all heard he was upset.) And Warren's supposed inner monologue before eviscerating Bloomberg on a Las Vegas debate stage closely resembled - no shock - what she said to Bloomberg's face on national television. Note to political reporters and nonfiction authors: Italics are not a get-out-of-quote free card.

The most persuasive case that Biden "barely won" the presidency, as the book's subtitle states, is found not in the details of Allen and Parnes's reporting but in their description of the election's final tallies. Yes, Biden received 81 million votes, the most in U.S. presidential history, but "many voters didn't realize how close the president had come to winning a second term." Allen and Parnes note that Trump's collective margin of defeat in three states that would have given him an electoral college victory - Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona - was 42,918 votes, less than the 77,000-plus votes that cost Clinton Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania four years earlier. That is certainly close.

"Lucky" provides useful detail to understand Biden's victory, even if the framing is not particularly novel. What candidate has not experienced some luck or misfortune during a long presidential bid? One time it might be a major health crisis, another time, a self-righteous FBI director. Stuff happens, and the best candidates figure out how to react. "Knowing who he was, and where he wanted to be politically, allowed Biden's campaign to capitalize when luck ran his way," Allen and Parnes write in their final pages.

In other words, Biden was more than lucky. And for political reporters as for political candidates, spending too much time on optics is just not a good look.
CNN anchor Dana Bash mistakenly confused her co-worker Chris Cuomo with Andrew Cuomo as she discussed allegations against the New York governor with White House press secretary Jen Psaki Sunday morning.

Bash was covering a second claim of sexual harassment against Cuomo on CNN's State of the Union when she said: 'The New York Times is reporting last night a second allegation of sexual harassment against New York Governor Chris Cuomo.'

'This is a report from a former aide Charlotte Bennett saying that Cuomo asked her alone in his office last spring about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men she has other allegations as well,' she continued.

Bash eventually corrected herself by saying: 'Governor Andrew Cuomo I should say, obviously.'

CNN anchor Dana Bash (left) mistakenly confused her co-worker Chris Cuomo with Andrew Cuomo as she discussed allegations against the New York governor with White House press secretary Jen Psaki (right)

Bash was covering a second claim of sexual harassment against Gov Cuomo (left) on CNN's State of the Union when she said: 'The New York Times is reporting last night a second allegation of sexual harassment against New York Governor Chris Cuomo (right)'

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the sexual assault allegations against NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo: "There should be an independent review of these allegations. They're serious. ... That's something we all support and the President supports" #CNNSOTU https://t.co/CxHK6Kgx7f pic.twitter.com/pPoDl1xhQ6  CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 28, 2021

On Saturday, Bennett, who previously worked for Gov Cuomo's administration, accused him of sexual harassment, charges that the governor has denied.

Bennett, 25, Cuomo's former health adviser told the Times that the governor sexually harassed her in the spring of 2020.

According to Bennett, the 63-year-old politician said in June that he was open to dating women in their 20s, and asked her if she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships, the Times reported.

While Cuomo never tried to touch her, 'I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,' Bennett told the paper.

She added that she spoke to Cuomo's chief of staff and legal counsel, who transferred her to another post in another building. Bennett was happy with the new job and decided not to insist on an investigation.

Cuomo became a national star last spring with his straight-talking yet empathetic coronavirus briefings that contrasted sharply with then-president Donald Trump's dismissive approach to the pandemic.

But the harassment allegations come as he faces a growing storm over his handling of the coronavirus in nursing homes in his state.

In a statement Saturday, Cuomo said he 'never made advances toward Ms Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate'.

Charlotte Bennett (left), 25, accused Gov Cuomo of sexually harassing her during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in his Albany office, including quizzing her about dating older men. Lindsey Boylan (right) accused him of attempting to kiss her on the mouth in 2018

He said he wanted instead to support Bennett, who had told him that she was a sexual assault survivor.

The governor, whose third term expires at the end of 2022, called for 'a full and thorough outside review' of these charges, led by a former federal judge.

'I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgments,' he added.

This is the second time in a week that the Democratic governor, who has led New York state for 10 years, has been accused of sexual harassment.

On Wednesday, another ex-adviser, Lindsey Boylan, said in a blog that he had harassed her when she was working for his administration, from 2015 to 2018.

Boylan, 36, alleged that the governor had given her an unsolicited kiss on the lips, suggested that she play strip poker with him and went 'out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs'.

'For those wondering what it's like to work for the Cuomo admin, read @LindseyBoylan's story,' Bennett wrote in a re-tweet of Boylan's post.

Cuomo's office said in a statement that Boylan's 'claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false'.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday joined a growing chorus of politicians calling for an investigation into the allegations made against Cuomo.
A medical worker passes by a state-run COVID-19 vaccination center run by the National Medical Center in central Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap



No severe reactions reported after vaccinations



By Jun Ji-hye



The government's COVID-19 inoculation program proceeded smoothly for the third day, Sunday, raising hope among members of the public that their lives may return to normal and that they will be able to go out freely without wearing a face mask.



AstraZeneca's vaccines began to be administered to workers and patients under the age of 65 at geriatric hospitals and nursing homes, Friday, while the administering of Pfizer's vaccine began the following day for medical and other workers at hospitals designated to treat COVID-19 patients.



"The vaccine management, storage and vaccination process at the site was enough to give trust to all citizens. I would like to convey to the people the hope that a return to normal life is not far off," President Moon Jae-in wrote on social media after a visit to a public health center in Seoul, Friday, to check on the vaccination process.



Concerns had mounted over the safety of vaccines before the inoculation program began, as the vaccines have been developed only recently. But any severe reactions such as anaphylaxis have yet to be reported, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.



According to the KDCA, the country added 356 more COVID-19 cases, including 334 local infections, for Saturday, raising the cumulative number of cases to 89,676, amid the ongoing third wave of infections that began here in mid-November.



The new daily case decreased from 415 identified Friday, due mainly to fewer tests over the weekend. Health authorities said the latest fall in the number of virus patients can hardly be seen as a sign of slowdown in infections, as sporadic cases have continued to be reported across the country, including a cluster of 191 patients traced to a plastic factory in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.



Eight more patients died from the disease, raising the death toll to 1,603.









The KDCA said the government's vaccination program has been going according to plan, noting that a total of 20,322 people across the country have received vaccinations as of Saturday  20,022 got their first shots of the two-dose AstraZeneca vaccine, while 300 received their first shots of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine.



The administering of the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be completed at geriatric hospitals by March 5, and at nursing homes by the end of next month.



Medical and other workers at COVID-19 hospitals will receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine by March 20.





A sanitary worker working at wards designated to treat COVID-19 patients receives the first shot of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine at a state-run vaccination center run by the National Medical Center in central Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap
At Dealer eProcess our goal is to provide dealers with the tools they need to promote their dealership and truly become partners with them said Joe Gillispie, Chief Executive Officer. We are honored that this hard work has earned us the trust of our clients when it comes to website design a

Dealer eProcess has received two Highest/Top Rated Awards in the eleventh annual DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards, presented in conjunction with the 2021 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo. Dealer eProcess received a top dealer satisfaction ranking in the Digital Marketing and Websites categories, as determined by the thousands of auto dealers who are part of the DrivingSales.com community.

At Dealer eProcess our goal is to provide dealers with the tools they need to promote their dealership and truly become partners with them, said Joe Gillispie, Chief Executive Officer. We are honored that this hard work has earned us the trust of our clients when it comes to website design and functionality as well as digital marketing. We look forward to continuing this partnership for years to come. 

Dealer eProcess is a full service solution for dealers, including websites with a cutting-edge design centered on enhancing customer experience and increasing leads. From responsive layouts to additional tools, the data-driven innovations provide results for dealers that are visible through a robust dashboard. With over 2,000 websites across 36 different brands and 17 OEM programs, Dealer eProcess websites reach a vast network of diverse dealerships. At the heart of this dedication is the support, launch, and account executive team, ensuring dealers have the support they need. For digital marketing, Dealer eProcess offers a full suite of options, including advertising on popular platforms such as Google, Bing, Amazon, Facebook, Waze, and Youtube, as well as inventory-driven Search Engine Marketing. With CAROi, dealers get to see exactly what is and isnt helping them sell cars through comprehensive data matching that includes digital marketing, 3rd party vendors, and more.

We congratulate Dealer eProcess, on receiving Highest Rated/Top Rated Digital Marketing and Websites Awards, accolades we consider to be some of our industrys most important because they come directly from dealers, said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. In our eleventh year of presenting these awards, we feel especially proud that DrivingSales Vendor Ratings continues to help dealers make smart and informed decisions through thousands of peer reviews that lead them to outstanding service providers such as Dealer eProcess. Were thrilled Dealer eProcess Digital Marketing and Websites have been recognized as one of the best by the people to whom their services count the most: the dealer community.

The DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards measure dealer satisfaction with vendor products and services, and are based on cumulative ratings tallied and verified over the calendar year (January  December) at https://www.drivingsales.com/vendor-ratings. DrivingSales Vendor Ratings is the industrys only neutral, comprehensive vendor rating forum featuring real-time peer reviews and honest competitor comparisons, and provides dealerships with important information from actual customers who have hands-on experience using vendor products / solutions in their stores. DrivingSales has a dedicated team that goes through each review and confirms that it was left by an actual dealership employee.

Full award results are available online at https://www.drivingsales.com/dealersatisfactionawards.

About Dealer eProcess

Dealer eProcess is the industry leader in automotive websites and digital marketing. Dealer eProcess has won dozens of awards and is recognized by the experts as the most technologically-superior website and digital marketing solution for automotive dealers. Along with being a recognized leader in and award-winner, Dealer eProcess has also partnered with the best in the business to offer their dealers the most complete digital solution available. Dealer eProcess is a Google Premier Partner, Yahoo/Bing Select Partner, a Reynolds & Reynolds certified provider, and has partnered with numerous other industry-leading solutions. Dealer eProcess is headquartered just outside of Chicago, IL, and has offices in Washington and Arizona. You can learn more about Dealer eProcess on their website: http://www.dealereprocess.com.

About DrivingSales

DrivingSales is a professional network serving the auto industry with dealer-driven news and information, online training, and performance data, all to enable dealers to make critical business decisions at their dealerships. DrivingSales mission is to connect progressive dealership professionals to the people and information they need to maximize their success. Founded by a third-generation car dealer, and opened up to the industry in 2008, today DrivingSales has registered users in over 50% of new car dealerships in the US and is active in several other countries around the globe. To learn more about the DrivingSales community, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, hcm.drivingsales.com and DrivingSalesData.com

DrivingSales Media Relations:

Brinley Nielsen, DrivingSales

brinley@drivingsales.com
One Medical, a healthcare provider that administers COVID-19 vaccine, is barred in some of the California counties after giving shots to people who are not yet eligible to take the remedy. Business Insider reports that the staff of the said institution has given the vaccine to younger people, who are not yet given a go signal in the state to be inoculated.

NPR noted that the San Francisco-based One Medical is given thousands of vaccine doses by the local health departments in some of the areas it provides medical services.

The local government of California is currently in the Phase1B of their vaccine rollout in which individuals 65 years old and older, and population in the sector of agriculture and food, education and childcare, and Emergency Services are given the chance to be inoculated. The scope of the eligibility of getting the vaccine determined by the number of supply.

Read also: Amazon Offers To Help Biden Ramp up Vaccine Distribution

Cutting off lines in the rollout

According to NPR, ineligible individuals who have connections with the company leadership were given vaccine appointments, and patients who are considered to be disqualified from receiving the vaccine are given the permission to skip the line and be the priority more than the patients who are more at risk.

ABC News pointed out that One Medical is a membership-based, primary care provider with locations across the country and charges a $199 annual fee. ABC News added that the healthcare provider is offering a technology-focused medical experience encompassing virtual video visits and mobile apps to schedule appointments.

Business Insider mentioned the places where ineligible vaccine distribution took place -- mainly San Francisco, San Mateo, Martin, Almeda, and Santa Clara. ABC News added that in the county of San Mateo, over 70 ineligible people are inoculated with the COVID vaccine. This was found by the authorities during an investigation that rooted from a complaint dating on February 5. ABC News furthered that the county has terminated its contract with One Medical with disappointment.

The Ultimatum

ABC News reported that the San Francisco Department of Public Health noted that they will allow the said healthcare provider to administer the second dose of the vaccine for those who are already scheduled, patients. However, the remaining 1,600 doses of vaccines awarded to them must be returned.

One Medical Spokesperson defended their side, telling Business Insider through a published statement that the institution has numerous checkpoints in place and the provider routinely turns people away who do not meet the eligibility criteria.

Moreover, One Medical spokesperson shared that their data shows that less than one percent of doses were administered or inoculated to people who are not included in the current eligible groups that will take the COVID vaccine, are inoculated to use the extra doses at the end of the day.

One Medical, which was removed from the vaccine rollout of some California Counties, shared with ABC News that they stand behind their policy that no eligible employees, members, or even business affiliates will intentionally be given the chance to cut off the line.

Related article: Fauci Predicts US Could Reach Herd Immunity by Late Spring, Early Summer

WATCH: Anger Over Alleged COVID-19 Vaccination Line Cutting from NBC Bay Area
How India could win its COVID vaccination race By Sema Sgaier and Prashant Yadav, exclusively for the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka View(s): View(s):

WASHINGTON, DC  As the world enters the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, vaccination has moved front and centre in policymakers responses. But while vaccines offer the surest way out of the crisis, countries are approaching them in different ways. Some are racing to vaccinate their populations, while others await longer-term efficacy data before beginning. Still other countries find themselves in a long line to receive or purchase desperately needed doses.

Many have noted the rapid rate of Israels vaccination drive, the ambition of the United Kingdom, which was the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, and the stumbles to get supplies distributed in the United States and the European Union. But for those seeking lessons on how to protect a population through vaccination, theres another country to watch: India.

With 1.3 billion people, and an estimated 11 million cases of COVID-19 to date, India faces a seemingly mammoth vaccination challenge. But the government recently announced a plan to vaccinate around 300 million people by early August. And, judging by the countrys preparations and actions so far, it may be well equipped to handle the task.

Thats because India can meet the challenges of scale with massive manufacturing capacity, a strong public-health infrastructure with experience in vaccine delivery, an army of frontline workers, and meticulous planning. Add to that some innovative digital tracking, and the results could put the country in an enviable position by later this year.

Frontline health workers are central players in Indias vaccination rollout, and the first in line to receive the shots. The drive to vaccinate around 30 million frontline and other health workers began on January 16, and in the first 34 days, India achieved ten million vaccinations. The US took 31 days to vaccinate the same number after it authorised vaccines (the rate of Chinas vaccine rollout is unclear).

After Indias health workers are vaccinated, frontline workers and people aged over 50  and younger people with serious health conditions  will be next in line. Thats a further 260 million people that the government plans to vaccinate in under seven months.

India has the capacity to manufacture all its COVID-19 vaccines domestically. The Serum Institute of India, the worlds largest vaccine producer, has boosted its capacity to manufacture one billion doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine (known locally as Covishield), while Bharat Biotech will produce the government-backed Covaxin shot. This should be enough to vaccinate the countrys priority groups this year. And, because the vaccines produced domestically are priced to be the cheapest in the world, India has already supplied vaccines worth $47 million to 13 countries.

India will rely heavily on its public-health infrastructure to scale up its vaccination drive. Three thousand COVID-19 vaccination centers have been established across the country, along with 27,000 cold chain points to keep supplies cool en route to and at their destinations. About 150,000 staff people in 700 districts have been specially trained to administer the vaccines.

India already runs the worlds largest public-health immunisation programmes, targeting 27 million infants and 29 million pregnant women each year. Since a national campaign to vaccinate children against measles and rubella began four years ago, several states have achieved coverage rates of over 90%. The COVID-19 vaccination push is certainly ambitious, but its scale is not fundamentally different.

As some countries  including the US  have found, multi-level government systems can hamper speedy vaccine rollout if there is inadequate information flow, lack of clarity on decision-making authority between the various levels, and diffuse accountability. India proactively addressed this issue when planning the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines by establishing a well-defined governance structure between the central government, state government, district government, and local administrative blocks. Roles and responsibilities for each level are clearly defined, allowing a nationally coordinated response.

In addition, India is using technology to streamline tracking and accountability. In record time, the authorities have created the dedicated Co-WIN system to track procurement and distribution of vaccine supplies, and allow people to pre-register for vaccinations. Co-WIN builds on Aadhaar, the countrys nationwide digital ID system. On the supply side, it uses e-VIN, the national vaccine information system. Bringing them together has been the key to making the system work, and initial glitches have been quickly fixed. Citizens can receive a text message informing them when and where to get the vaccine, and will receive a unique QR code certificate after theyve received the second dose.

Although the prospects look good, India must still overcome significant hurdles. Building a comprehensive and accurate database of individuals with comorbidities, to prioritise them for vaccination, remains a huge challenge.

And, as in other countries, there are worrying levels of vaccine hesitancy. Indias impressive COVID-19 immunisation figures in the first weeks could have been even higher, but some medical staff have been reluctant to get the shot, especially because the locally developed Covaxin received emergency authorisation before all the trial data on its efficacy had been reviewed. The government will need good communication campaigns to persuade older people and those with medical conditions that the vaccines are safe.

Indias experience holds at least three lessons for other countries. First, they should make the most of their strengths. Not every country can develop or manufacture its own vaccines. But almost all can draw upon committed frontline workers, public-health infrastructure, or prior experience confronting epidemics or holding immunisation drives.

Second, prioritising vaccine access and tracking rollout should be built into the vaccination drive from the start. Digging deep into the data to allocate vaccines most effectively may require building upon existing data systems, or using new tools, such as the COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Planner for the US, and the Vaccine Coverage Index, which highlights which geographies are likely to have problems achieving high levels of COVID-19 vaccine coverage and why.

Finally, vaccine hesitancy will require a tailored response in each country. Policymakers and public-health experts must devise effective strategies to reassure people that vaccination is safe  and the only road out of the pandemic and toward recovery.

Sema Sgaier, an adjunct assistant professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is Co-Founder and CEO of Surgo Ventures. Prashant Yadav, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Global Development, is an affiliate professor at INSEAD and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2021.

www.project-syndicate.org
The U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz is grateful to first lady Diann Torres and second lady Wella Palacios for their partnership in the 2020 Toys for Tots Campaign. Photo shows Mrs. Torres and special assistant to the governor for military affairs Glenna SP Reyes, on behalf of Mrs. Palacios, holding the certificates of appreciation from the Marines.

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For ways to help kids at risk, visit this toolkit for advice from experts and information about Alabama resources.

This story is a project from the Alabama Education Lab, a new initiative from AL.com focused on identifying and sharing solutions to improve K-12 education for all children in the state. It was supported by funding from the nonprofit Solutions Journalism Network. To learn more about the Ed Lab and to get alerts about future work and events, sign up for its newsletter, Ed Chat.

Many children are facing heightened mental health struggles during the pandemic due to school closures and increased stress on families.

Alabamas schools have a role to play in helping struggling students, and some are already doing just that.

Florence City Schools, which first piloted a partnership with the Riverbend Center for Mental Health in 2002, offers a model for helping students, teachers, parents and counselors work through a childs mental health issues in a safe and understanding environment. More than 300 students in Florence were provided mental health services through the partnership during the 2017-18 school year.

Alabama hopes more districts will place therapists on-site and work out partnerships with nearby counselors. In 2020, lawmakers allocated $4.5 million in grant funding for school districts to employ a mental health services coordinator.

The funding is a small but important step in helping Alabamas schools pivot from primarily relying on families to find their own treatment or psychiatric facilities to handle children in crisis, to offering more direct, preventative and therapeutic treatment for behavioral and mental health issues.

That transition has been hastened by the rising levels of mental health diagnoses among young people. According to the CDC, in 2016, about one of every six school-aged children were diagnosed with a mental health disorder across the country, a rate that has increased in recent years. The most common disorders included ADHD, anxiety and behavioral disorders.

Were seeing increased rates of depression and anxiety, child psychiatrist Dr. Edgar Finn said, of the patients in his Mobile practice. In pockets, were seeing increased rates of suicide as well in young people.

Finn said pandemic-related school closures can be a big problem for children. Children need structure, Finn said, and with schools closed, many children just arent getting that structure.

While many of Alabamas schools are holding in-person classes now, schools were closed during the whole of last spring, and many stayed closed until well into the 2020-21 school year.

Finn said challenges are exacerbated when schools are closed, too, because when kids are not going to schools, theyre not seeing their school-based therapists, obviously.

Alabamas renewed effort to address mental health challenges reflects a growing consensus among experts that many childrens social emotional health can be more efficiently handled by professionals in schools.

In addition to providing access to Riverbends professional therapists, Florence now has three social workers  two full-time and one part-time  to help students and facilitate Riverbends access to students.

Assistant Superintendent Lynne Hice was an assistant principal when the program first started in the early 2000s.

Back then, Hice said, the Riverbend therapist walked the halls; her increased visibility helped decrease stigma for students who needed counseling. If a student had a mental or behavioral crisis, teachers also knew the therapist could immediately offer help.

They could work through their strategies. There was a partnership with the doctor if needed, she said.

Casey Reed oversees Florences program now and said he cant imagine functioning without his school districts team of social workers and Riverbend therapists.

Having a professional that is trained there to support our guidance counselors and teachers is an enormous thing for a teacher as well, Reed said. Teachers know that if they have a child that is struggling, theyre not on an island trying to figure out how to teach their class.

The biggest thing the program provides, Reed said, is equality of access for students whose families lack transportation, time or money to easily find their own mental health support. We have students who have access that they wouldnt have had, Reed said, and thats the great, great benefit of school-based mental health. We dont have to worry about a parent having transportation.

And if you dont show up for your appointment, we come and get you, Hice added.

Leslie Seale, program manager for childrens services at Riverbend Community Mental Health Center, stands in a school hallway. She works with children in Florence schools.

Leslie Seale is a masters-level mental health therapist and program manager for Riverbend. She works with students at Florence High School.

Theres really not a typical day, Seale said. Therapists may spend anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour with students and may see them weekly or less frequent depending on the students needs. A therapist may see anywhere from six to 14 students a day, she said.

We might see students dealing with grief or anxiety or depression, she said. Some of them might just be having a bad day.

Younger children might struggle with behaviors associated with ADHD or managing anger, she said, and her therapists help with that too.

Seale said therapists provide a lot of different types of therapy depending on what the child needs. Some may need more intensive cognitive-behavioral therapy, she said, while some may just need help with problem-solving or finding solutions for a future pursuit.

For children under 14 years old, a parent or guardian must provide consent to treatment. Older students might reach out on their own.

Seale said providing services at school helps normalize seeking help. Students are used to having a traditional school nurse to help if they get sick, she said, but also if you have a mental health therapist there, if youre having a really bad day or a crisis, you can see that mental health professional.

This school year has been challenging, Seale said, because some students Riverbend therapists work with are learning remotely. Staff are using telehealth services for older students, but still are trying to see younger students in person.

Seale said her therapists caseloads are typically around 80 students, but have been as high as 100 students, which can be a challenge.

Alabama schools havent historically received regular state or federal funding for school-based mental health services, but that is changing as state lawmakers continue to beef up funding for those services.

Read more: All Alabama students deserve access to mental health professionals in their schools

Currently, 97 of Alabamas 138 school districts and all five public charter schools have applied for and received $40,000 each to go toward paying the salary of a masters-level mental health professional to coordinate the districts mental health efforts for students.

The Alabama Department of Education recently released an additional grant offering for those districts, giving them another shot at beefing up their mental health staff and to create an early warning system.

A look at the current list of school districts shows school districts are using both local and state dollars to fund the collaborations.

Florence schools havent waited for state funding to increase, though, and have prioritized local tax dollars to pay for mental health services for students.

We believe that every single child in this district is important and they are worth fighting for, Hice said. When you watch those children become successful, or they are more stable, or they can stay in the classroom because of the services you provide them, thats your reward right there.

School mental health supports help the whole school

Alabama has been expanding its school-based mental health program  a collaboration between the Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Alabama Department of Education  over the past decade.

More than 10,000 children and adolescents were served in the states school-based mental health collaboration during the 2019-20 school year, according to the state Department of Mental Health.

Previously, said Dr. Marilyn Lewis, head of the state Department of Educations prevention and support services section, students with immediate behavioral or mental health needs would be referred to the closest clinic. A child might miss a whole school day waiting for an appointment, which meant missing schoolwork, missing homework assignments and missing in-class instruction. Achievement ultimately suffered, Lewis said.

According to the Alabama Department of Mental Health, students are six times more likely to complete mental health treatment in schools than in community settings. That continuity of treatment is important to keep the child on track: physically, mentally and academically.

Its much more important to have it there at school because the flow of instruction continues so much better, she said.

Students whose parents were unable to get them to appointments because of work obligations or transportation barriers sometimes simply didnt get the help they needed.

Sara McDaniel, a University of Alabama associate professor of special education who works with schools across the state, said if schools can partner with mental health professionals to offer services inside the school, during the school day, children get treatment earlier, possibly preventing challenging behaviors down the road.

When a student causes problems at school, McDaniel said, Alabama schools are often quick to suspend or otherwise remove students from class. That, too, has a ripple effect because when students miss class, they fall behind. That causes more problems for the student and frequently causes further misbehavior.

Instead of propelling students toward exclusion from classes, schools could be a lifeline for students, McDaniel said, if they properly implement evidence-based practices to help students. Such practices include mental health supports offered at school and during the school day, like Florence schools provide.

Read more: Where Alabama parents and students can find mental health help

But when problem behaviors in the classroom get addressed in the wrong way, she said, that can cause bigger problems down the road. Local attorneys, like Birmingham-based Tommy James, sometimes represent children sent to state psychiatric residential treatment facilities who say harsh or insufficient treatment only exacerbated their mental and behavioral issues.

Jan Casteel, who oversees placement of children into such facilities for the Department of Human resources, says she believes the facilities are not places of last resort and have an important role in the continuity of care.

McDaniel has seen many children who are unable to access the mental health services they need and ultimately end up in crisis and with few choices. She believes schools should offer a full stream of supports to help children stay out of residential facilities.

Some of those supports can come through the federal special education laws if the child is found to have an emotional disability, McDaniel said.

Schools in Alabama often shy away from identifying students with emotional disabilities, McDaniel said, because special education can be expensive to provide. Federal funding only provides about 20% to 40% of the actual cost of those services, which can go a long way in keeping children in school and out of trouble, she said.

McDaniel pointed to federal special education data that indicates Alabamas reluctance to identify children with emotional disabilities.

According to federal special education data, of all 50 states, Alabama identified the smallest percentage of students as having an emotional disability -- just 1.4% of all public school students during the 2018-19 school year.

A total of 85,436 Alabama students aged six to 21 were identified for special education services that year;1,406 were identified as having an emotional disability.

As a proportion of the total number of students identified with disabilities, Alabama again lands at the bottom of the state ranks, with emotional disabilities making up only 1.6% of all disabilities identified that year.

A special education designation may not always be needed, McDaniel said, if schools have other support for students with challenging behaviors.

Whether a child in need receives help through special education services or through Alabamas new mental health school supports and collaboratives, Lewis cited the obvious benefits of helping students improve their mental health.

When we have children who are prepared to handle their mental health challenges, they are better prepared to work academically, she said.

To shape the Ed Labs future coverage around childrens mental health and wellness, please take this survey or contact a reporter to tell us about your experiences.

Updated 6:15 p.m. to correct Tommy James name. We apologize for the error.
The United States recently completed its 59th presidential election. We have never postponed one, even in times of war or depression. A few we

New Delhi:

Supreme Court raps CBSE for setting different questions for students taking NEET exam 2017 in regional languages. The court also asked the centre to file an affidavit stating that NEET exams will have identical questions in future from next year onwards.



According to Union Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar, the vernacular question papers for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) from 2018 will be only basic translation of the question paper in English. The announcement will affrect the future of lakhs of candidates who are all set to appear in the joint entrance examinations in medicine and engineering in 2018 all over the country.

Talking about the same Javadekar has said, "The vernacular question papers for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) - the all-India entrance examination for entrance to medical colleges - will just be translation of the question paper in English."

While talking about NEET, Javadekar has also replied the question about the West Bengal Education minister recently complaining that this year the students appearing for all medical entrance examination in vernacular languages had faced tougher questions than the ones set in English and Hindi.

When the matter comes to the 'one nation one test' in engineering, "We are yet to take a call on this issue. It is in discussion stage," Javadekar was further quoted while interacting with the reporters.

Also Read: NCERT to accept online orders for books to deliver at buyers doorstep
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Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
If youve a memory longer than a nanosecond you might recall that in 2016 when he was nominated by then-President Obama to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalias death, Merrick Garland was widely touted as a moderate. President Biden has now nominated him for the slot of Attorney General, and the confirmation vote is scheduled for this coming week.

How do you define moderate? His confirmation hearings reveal to me that Garland is certainly not one:

Last summer, 220 cities were besieged by gangs that attacked homes, businesses, federal buildings, and local law enforcement. In his confirmation hearing, Garland testified that the people who did this could not be considered domestic terrorists because they did this only at night and apparently terrorist acts can only be committed in the daytime in his view. Is that preposterous? Of course, it is. Did the KKK (Known during their heyday as night riders) burn crosses in mid-afternoon? Most people would find the acts committed, not the hours in which they were, the key. And most of us would find explosions, fires, marauding at nighttime when visibility is diminished and help hard to come by at the very least as threatening, if not more so, than the same rampages committed in daytime. Indeed, theres a history here of nighttime terrorism.

Why would someone supposedly seeking to establish a reputation for law enforcement and order make such a stupid distinction? David Horowitz explains:

It is a transparent move to protect the domestic terrorists of the left who laid siege to 220 American cities at night last summer, showing utter contempt for authority and law, while attacking federal buildings and local police offices along the way. In other words the fake insurrection in the Capitol -- an event conducted mainly by Trump supporters in which only Trump supporters died -- is an act of domestic terrorism because it took place in the daytime. But violent armed insurrections and attacks on federal buildings conducted by leftists at night, cannot be regarded as terrorist events. How can Americans expect blind justice from a sophist like this? The nauseating sophistry has an obvious bottom line. Only violent protests by Trump supporters can justify the political witch-hunts and purges the Democrats are currently conducting against all conservatives and Republicans. The so-called armed insurrection in the Capitol on January 6 was used to impeach Trump? It was allegedly so dangerous as to justify impeaching him after he left office? But it deserves to be called a fake armed insurrection because there were no firearms present, and no plausible plan to overthrow the government. The malicious fantasy that this effort was an armed attempt to overthrow the government is just that: a malicious fantasy.

There were no firearms used; all four of the people who died at that event were Trump supporters (including Brian Sicknick, who had not -- contrary to published reports -- been struck by a demonstrator; the group who arranged the mob scene did so two months before Trumps January 6 speech which itself was perfectly normal, law-abiding and democratic given a mile away from the Capitol.

In contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris and leaders of the Democratic party supported Black Lives Matter and Antifa which ravaged 220 cities just months before, ravages that saw attacks on not just private homes and businesses but as well federal courthouses, national monuments, police stations.

That Garland adopted Black Lives Matters lie that the January 6 melee was a white supremacist coup is not only a testament to his partisanship and weak character, but, as Horowitz observes, a sign of how pervasive this racist ideology has become in shaping the Democrat Party drive to destroy our constitutional Republic.

Nancy Pelosi proves his point, seeking a commission to examine the event, a commission that would have a ridiculous 7-4 Democratic majority.

Here are some other gems from that hearing:

His top priority will be investigating the Capitol incursion. Another priority will be enforcing civil rights, including investigating law enforcement violations of civil rights and misconduct. Garland said he was "very concerned" about the large number of people who were sentenced to death and later exonerated, and the disproportionate impact of the death penalty on people of color. 

On the other hand, the moderate nominee has said that unless there is cause to remove the prosecutors, investigations into Hunter Bidens tax fraud and the conduct of the Robert Mueller investigation into purported Russian interference in the 2016 election, those investigations will continue.

Senator Mitch McConnell, who blocked Garlands confirmation to the Supreme Court, has indicated he will not attempt to block his confirmation as Attorney General and theres every reason to believe he will be confirmed. Once in office it will be interesting to see if he really intends to continue these Democratic witch hunts -- occasioned, I believe, by a recognition that the Democrats have a weak hold on the citizenry and the reins of power -- or will revert to a moderate stance.

How weak is Bidens hold on power? There are signs already showing up.

The economy is heating up:

New orders for durable goods increased for the ninth straight month. The economy is growing faster than predicted, and the Biden inheritance from predecessor Donald Trump was a strong 4.1% annual rate of real economic growth in our 45th presidents last full quarter in office. The jobs market is also improving, with new claims for unemployment benefits: falling to the lowest level since November. Hiring is picking up.

As the Wall Street Journals James Freeman reports:

Old Democratic friends have been warning President Joe Biden not to inflict his supersized stimulus plan on a growing economy in no need of rescue. Today these old hands from the Obama administration are enjoying vindication. Various reports show a robust recovery bearing no resemblance to the dismal scene described by the president. After Mr. Bidens faulty diagnosis and treatment plan for the economy, now it seems that some members of his party dont even want to trust him with nuclear weapons.

Politico, not known for criticizing the left, reports that almost 36 Democrats asked Biden to relinquish sole authority to launch nuclear weapons.

James Freeman opines, Perhaps the president is so out of touch with the reality of todays economy, it now seems that some members of his party wont even trust him with the decision to initiate global thermonuclear war.

Of course, the pols who signed the letter claimed there was nothing personal in this, but I dont see how it could be taken any other way. And, in fact, I think he should take it personally and to heart.

Hes been nothing but reckless since taking office, last week continuing his record of ill-considered stands on everything from the Trump travel ban on China, to the efficacy of the Trump vaccine (now presenting this administration with resistance to vaccination which they want people to take), to climate change, and coddling Iran. He launched an air strike on Syria, ruffling some dove feathers in his party. But it provided as well a humorous comparison to what leading Democrats said when Trump did the same thing. Their view on the constitutional authority of a President to engage in such things clearly and irrefutably is purely partisan, as is their manifest hypocrisy.

If this all seems a dispiriting rise of fascism on American soil, perhaps this article by Robert Morton might ease your concerns. Comparing events today with the aftermath of the French Revolution, he says we are already seeing signs that without Trump as a target of their venom, they are already attacking each other. He gives several examples, none I think as compelling as radical Governor Gavin Newsoms rapidly crashing approval and the swift turning on Governor Andrew Cuomo. The left always needs new villains to blame for not having solutions to problems they have only imagined, and the scalps now are from their own ranks.
Chugging down memory track to Summit Tunnel, Pattipola By Priyal de Silva View(s): View(s):

Tunnel No 18 or the Summit Tunnel is 220km from Colombo on the upcountry railway line, around one kilometre from the highest point of the railway summit (1898.1m above mean sea level). It separates the Nuwara Eliya District from the Badulla District and is also a boundary demarcation of the Central and Uva provinces.

The tunnel was exposed to varying climatic conditions. At times, there is rain on the Colombo end of the tunnel mouth and bright sunshine on the Badulla end. This may have contributed to the tunnels rock strata weathering and fissuring.

The tunnel first collapsed in 1951, when a small charge was instituted to remove a boulder which was about to hinder the passage of trains. Earth with mud came down in such huge quantities through a cavity in the crown area that the Colombo end was flooded.

The Railway called on one its most senior engineers from the Colombo head office, Edwin Black, assisted by District Engineer N.A. Vaitialingam and his assistant J.Paul Senaratne. They initially erected two sleeper cribs on each side of the debris and spanned the collapsed area from beneath with steel beams, driving them from one side to the other. Then they slid on beams, steel arches made of rails, and hoisted them into position to form a steel shell across the collapsed area.

The crevices between the tunnel wall and the arches were packed with sleeper planks. Once it was in position, they were able to clear the earth.

Services resumed, but there were shortcomings. The arches were intruding on to the standard required clearance for safe passage of trains. Thus, trains were required to stop before entering the tunnel, mainly to inform passengers to keep their heads and hands inside as they may knock on the arches.

There were fatal accidents, particularly during the Sri Pada pilgrimage. Despite the warning, some hit their heads on the arches. With time, the rail arches were fast corroding owing to moisture and sleeper planks were perishing. By 1967, the tunnel was again the centre of discussion.

Around the mid-60s, local and foreign consultants were consulted about permanent repairs. One suggestion was to cut open the tunnel up to the affected area but this would have been costly with earth disposal an exercise by itself. An ADB team suggested making an open cut excavation up to the cavity, and drilling into it as well as concreting the cavity from the top.

J. Paul Senaratne, then Chief Engineer Railway Way &Works, suggested that reinforced concrete cylinders be sunk up to a certain distance above the cavity; steel shutters with windows be driven from there up to the cavity; the cavity be filled up with rubble through the windows; and, the affected area re-lined without disrupting the train service.

But this was time-consuming and, again, required significant earth disposal. Further, if the steel shutters did not move due to boulders interrupting their passage, such rock would require blasting. There were fears such action would give rise to a similar situation as in 1951. The idea was dropped.

I passed out as a civil engineer in 1973 from the University of Moratuwa, joined the Mahaweli Development Board (MDB), and was assigned to the Bowatenna Project. I worked in the Bowatenna Irrigation tunnel and gained sufficient experience in tunnel excavation as well as remedial measures to collapsed sections in this tunnel.

In 1975, as a new employee at the Railways, I was assigned with planning and providing a design for resurrection of the Pattipola tunnel due to my prior experience in the Bowatenna project. The railway had certain data on soil borings from the Geological Survey Department which revealed that the cavity extended 25ft above the crown and had an overburden of 100ft at this point.

Soil samples revealed that the rock was fractured quarzitic gneiss with weathered feldspar. Having studied the soil conditions, I immediately consulted Specialist Engineer Geology of MDB, P.M. Siththamparapillai who recommended that loose earth be consolidated by pressure grouting before any attempt was made to remove the corroded rail arches.

Hence, on two occasions, 1976 and 1979, the Irrigation Department did pressure grouting under my direction. But removing rail arches remained tricky because sleeper planks of nine feet in length were supported by many rail arches. To carry out an in situ lining, a large area had to be exposed without any support.

Prof. Dayantha S. Wijeyesekera of Moratuwa University and my father, L.S. de Silva (Retired General Manager Technical, Railway), then working at Moratuwa University advised me to adopt precast concrete panels in arches for permanent repairs. I considered the weight of each panel and flexibility of handling these inside the tunnel and then designed two-foot, reinforced concrete panels, dividing each arch to five segments (i.e., two bases, two haunches and a single arch type panel for the crown).

In February 1981, under my guidance, a team went to Pattipola for permanent repairs. Implementation we knew, would be challenging and I was also mindful of staff health and safety. I requested the railway to provide me with one of the five motor vehicles the Way & Works sub-department had. This was declined. I started work using a trainload of materials and equipment.

On the very first day, the Chief Engineer visited the site. While workmen were pulling the sleeper planks, one rolled over and hit one of them. He was rushed to the Nuwara Eliya hospital in the Chief Engineers vehicle, prompting him to allocate the vehicle I had wanted. The workmen thought this injury a bad omen and insisted that we invoke the blessings of God Saman before starting again.

Oxygen and acetylene cylinders required to cut the rail arches came by train from Colombo to Nanu Oya, were collected from the station by a motor trolley. Worker rations were sent from Nanu Oya because Pattipola, a small town with no electricity was covered in thick mist by 5 p.m., and had just one small tea boutique with a few daily needs.

The repairs were carried out in a sequence. Rail arches on either side of the actual collapsed area were removed. Seven steel plates were driven to cover the actual collapsed area (cavity) which was estimated to be 14ft by 8ft. Steel plates were rock bolted at the ends.

The 29 rail arches that were directly under the cavity were gradually removed, while supporting the steel plates with temporary rail arches made out of light rails. Concrete footing was built on either side for a length of 40ft. Base-and-haunch concrete panels were placed using a device innovated at site. Light rail was fixed to the underside of panels. The base-and-haunches were launched to position, propped by Acrow prop.

The crown concrete panel was placed by means of a front-end loader, with bucket modified. The idea of utilizing the front-end loader was from a student from Dharmaraja College Kandy whose father, D.N. Munesinghe, was the Inspector of Tunnels.

The underside light rail of all panels was welded to each other and the crevices between panels and tunnel wall concreted.

Eighteen concrete arches were fixed in this manner to cover the area that had steel rail arches earlier. Train service then resumed at restricted speed. After curing the concrete for 14 days (as there was no rapid hardening compound), the props and the underside light rails of panels were removed. Service resumed at normal speed.

I wish to emphasize how work can be done with limited resources when engineers are creative and innovative. With such vision, they can limit foreign involvement and, thus, expenditure. This repair was done with meticulous planning despite limited technical resources, machinery and equipmentwith staff who worked determinedly in adverse climatic conditions for six weeks from February to March 1981.

(Eng. Priyal de Silva is Retired General Manager Sri Lanka Railways, Past President, Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka and

Past Chairman, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Sri Lanka)
Kathmandu, February 28

Nepal is all set to resume its tourism promotion campaign at the international level after a gap of a year.

Nepal Tourism Board says the country will physically participate in a South Asian travel mart to be held in New Delhi and Mumbai of India in March. The month marks exactly one year since the government halted the international campaigning citing the Covid-19 fears.

The board has allocated Rs 10 million for the promotion campaign in the Indian cities.

Immediately after India, the board team will go to China and Bangladesh also for similar campaigns.

The board wants to launch the campaigns wherever possible, but any of such events in Europe is unlikely anytime soon, informs the boards Chief Executive Officer Dhananjay Regmi.

Fearing the further spread of different variants of the virus, various international events in the region have either been postponed or held online.

In such cases also, the board will continue pushing for promotion virtually, according to him.

Meanwhile, the board has reiterated that the government needs to relax Covid-19 quarantine provisions for tourists to revive the industry shattered by the pandemic.
Pedestrians walk past the logo for HSBC in Hong Kong on Sept. 21, 2020, in a file photo. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images)

HSBC Doubles Down on China, Asian Markets Amidst Criticism by US, UK

Commentary

After aligning with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), theres no turning back.

Having faced criticism in the UK and the United States for endorsing the national security law forced upon Hong Kong by the CCP, global banking giant HSBC is now doubling down on China and the Asian market.

The London-based international bank announced during its fourth-quarter earnings call on Feb. 23 that it would accelerate its pivot to Asia by retrenching its retail presence in the United States and investing billions in growing its footprint across Asia, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India.

Peter Wong, the groups chief executive in Asia Pacific region, outlined a $6 billion investment in Asia over the next five years, with a focus on growing its wealth management and international wholesale business. The bank emphasized Hong Kong, mainland China, India, and Singapore as key drivers of future growth, according to a February presentation to investors.

HSBC is sending several senior executives to the region to lead the effort. Those likely to be relocating to Hong Kong include co-head of global banking and markets Greg Guyett, chief executive of global commercial banking Barry OByrne, and chief executive of wealth and personal banking Nuno Matos, according to a Financial Times report citing people familiar with the banks plans.

Alongside its plans to expand its Asian presence, HSBC is retrenching from the U.S. market. The bank is set to sell or close its roughly 150 commercial bank branches in the United States, according to a Reuters report.

HSBCs exit from the U.S. market marks the end of a years-long effort to turn around its struggling U.S. retail arm. Last year, it had already shuttered close to 100 branches.

Overall, the group reported relatively poor 2020 financial results, driven by negative impacts from the CCP virus pandemic. Revenues for 2020 were $50.4 billion, a 10 percent decline from 2019. Profits before tax dropped 34 percent to $8.8 billion, according to HSBCs full-year 2020 strategic report.

Doubling Down on China

HSBC has drawn criticism from U.S. and UK lawmakers for supporting CCP policies and facilitating Beijings oppression of political dissidents.

Last year, the bank endorsed the controversial national security law in Hong Kong, a law imposed on the city by Beijing and would be used to crush political dissent to Beijings one-party rule.

Late in 2020, it froze the bank accounts of Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong pro-Democracy lawmaker now in exile, and the accounts of the pastor of Good Neighbor North District Church, a church known to have worked with pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. And back in 2017, HSBC also refused to open a personal bank account for artist Ai Weiwei, a Chinese political dissident.

HSBCs CEO, Noel Quinn, was grilled in a UK parliamentary foreign affairs committee hearing in January regarding its freezing of dissident accounts. Quinn said the decision to close Huis account was driven purely by the need to comply with local laws.

Given HSBCs historyand the fierce banking competition in the United States and Europeit makes sense for the bank to go all in on China, and more broadly, Asia in general. It doesnt hurt that Carrie Lam, Hong Kongs chief executive, has recently praised the bank and said she would love for HSBC to expand its presence in the citythough Lam likely would welcome any business to expand in her city after the recent political turmoil sapped Hong Kongs status as a global business hub.

The bank has increasingly become Asia-focused even before the acceleration of the pivot to Asia strategy. Fifteen years ago, HSBCs revenue contributions were diversified, with Europe being the biggest driver, followed by North America and Asia, according to research by the Financial Times. It also had a small South American franchise. It was a true global bank. By 2019, Asiamostly Greater Chinamade up more than 50 percent of its revenues, followed by Europe, and its presence in North and South America have dramatically dwindled.

The bank didnt respond to a request for comment by press time.

Drawing CCPs Ire

In mainland China, HSBCs subservient attitude to the CCP hasnt immediately paid off.

The bank has been criticized by Chinese state media for assisting in the arrest of high-profile Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. The banks internal investigation on the Huawei CFO uncovered the tech giants alleged dealings with Iran, which eventually led to Mengs arrest in Canada.

U.S. prosecutors allege that Meng defrauded HSBC and other banks by misrepresenting Huaweis relationship with several front companies that were set up to do business with Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions.

But the CCP claims that HSBC may have set up traps to ensnare Meng, according to a 2020 op-ed in hawkish state-run outlet Global Times. Given that Meng is still under house arrest in Vancouver, its unlikely that HSBC has much goodwill with the CCP at the moment. In February, Meng sued HSBC in a Hong Kong court in an effort to procure documents her defense team believes could fight a U.S. extradition.

Wong, HSBCs Asia chief executive, is a member of a political advisory body to the CCP, according to the Financial Times. He was apparently instrumental in resolving the rift between the bank and Beijing following Mengs arrest.

Going forward, HSBC will likely find itself caught in the middle of the political rift between the Chinese regime and the West. Both the United States and Europe have been growing increasingly hawkish on the regime in recent years, and Beijing has shown that its unwilling to back down. In the January parliamentary hearing, some MPs brought up the possibility of HSBC breaking up into two, an idea that CEO Quinn dismissed.

There is potentially even more pressure from the Chinese side. In January, Beijing issued new rules to allow Chinese courts to punish global companies operating in China for complying with unjustified foreign laws and sanctions. Even if it does not want to, HSBC may be forced to pick sides in the near future.

And given its recent political and business decisions, its becoming increasingly clear which side HSBC will pick in this confrontation.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A U.S. flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington on Dec. 15, 2020. (Al Drago/Reuters)

DOJ to Appeal Judges Order on Federal Eviction Ban

The Justice Department (DOJ) gave notice on Feb. 27 to a federal judge that it intends to appeal his ruling that found the federal government doesnt have the authority to issue a nationwide eviction moratorium.

The Department of Justice respectfully disagrees with the February 25 decision of the district court in Terkel v. CDC that the CDCs eviction moratorium exceeds Congress powers under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Department has appealed that decision, Brian Boynton, acting assistant attorney general for the DOJs Civil Division, said in a statement.

U.S. District Judge John Barker from the Eastern District of Texas on Feb. 25 ruled (pdf) in favor of a group of property managers and landlords who challenged a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order that prevented them from temporarily evicting tenants for non-payment of rent during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

The CDC order in question was initially issued in September 2020 and was originally set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020. It was extended to Jan. 31 and then again until the end of March. The order was aimed at mitigating the spread of the CCP virus by reducing congregation in shared living settings or in unsheltered homeless areas, and support state and local responses to the disease.

The order made it a crime for a landlord or property owner to evict a covered person from a residence, subject to several exceptions. Tenants who are covered by the order include those who have used their best efforts to obtain government assistance for rent or housing; or whose income falls below a certain income threshold.

He said that while states usually have the authority to issue eviction moratoriums, one issued by the federal government is unlawful because the U.S. Constitution doesnt give it that power.

After analyzing the relevant precedents, the court concludes that the federal governments Article I power to regulate interstate commerce and enact laws necessary and proper to that end does not include the power to impose the challenged eviction moratorium, Barker wrote in his 21-page ruling (pdf).

His ruling issues a declaratory judgment indicating that the CDC order is unconstitutional. But he stopped short of issuing an injunction, saying that he believes the federal government would respect his declaration. However, he gave the plaintiffs an option to seek an injunction in the event the federal government fails to act according to his ruling.

Boynton defended the CDC order, saying that its necessary to slow the spread of the pandemic.

The CDCs eviction moratorium, which Congress extended last December, protects many renters who cannot make their monthly payments due to job loss or health care expenses. By preventing people from becoming homeless or having to move into more-crowded housing, the moratorium helps to slow the spread of COVID-19, Boynton said.

He argued that Barkers ruling only applies to the particular plaintiffs in the Terkel v. CDC case and does not block the CDC order application to other parties. The DOJ is also defending another case in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia that challenges the CDC eviction moratorium.

The department, in that case (pdf), argued that Barkers declaration is irrelevant to this case, Plaintiffs here do not contend that the CDC Order exceeds Congresss powers under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause, and that Barkers ruling only applies to the case he was ruling on.

The lawsuit was filed against the United States, the CDC, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and three HHS officials responsible for the order.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs didnt respond to The Epoch Times request for comment by press time.
The past 12 months have seen mums taking on myriad new challenges, swapping hats so many times a day they feel faint with giddiness, and keeping enough plates spinning to feed an entire canteen.

Even if subordinate clauses and multiple division arent their forte, mums have shouldered most of the burden of home schooling. Even when weighed down with their own worries about the pandemic, most have focused on lifting their childrens spirits.

If ever theres been a year when mums have had to go the extra mile  and then some  its this one. They have cared for children and elderly relatives, checked in on neighbours and offered support to total strangers.

And most have done so while also holding down jobs, whether working from home or as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, teachers and shop workers.

UK-based women share their stories as The Inspirational Mother of the Year Award opens for nominations. Pictured: Ashleigh Shirajudin, Chris and Layla hold Mia, Milly and Molly Mae

So today we are celebrating those mothers, with the launch of our 2021 Inspirational Mother of the Year Award, and sharing some of their stories, from the woman kept apart from her newborn triplets to the single mum-of-two who went back to frontline nursing.

But we want you to nominate the most inspiring mother you know. She could be a friend, sister, daughter or, of course, your own mum. The winner will be announced in time for Mothers Day on March 14. Its time to honour the exceptional contribution mothers have made to all our lives over the past 12 months.

I was isolated from my triplets straight after the birth

With triplets to care for, Asheigh Shirajudin barely has time to draw breath. While shes trying to feed one baby, theres another to be changed and another to be soothed.

Add in homeschooling her nine-year-old daughter Layla and one might expect Ashleigh, 30, to be crying out for a moment to herself. But far from it. In fact, Ashleigh begrudges every second she spends apart from her babies, Milly, Mia and Molly Mae, who are now nearly five months old.

And who can blame her? For the triplets were whisked away from her the minute they were born after she contracted Covid-19.

When she fell pregnant in March 2020, Ashleigh, from Rhos-on-Sea in Wales, had no idea the impact the pandemic would have on her life. It was her second IVF attempt with partner Chris Moonan, 33, a floor-layer whom she met and fell in love with in 2017.

I took the pregnancy test on March 31, and it felt so strange that just as the country started locking down, Chris and I were overjoyed and celebrating, she says.

Two fertilised eggs had been implanted, but at the first seven-week scan, which Ashleigh attended alone due to coronavirus restrictions, the consultant found three heartbeats. One of the eggs had split: Ashleigh was expecting triplets.

Ashleigh (pictured), from Rhos-on-Sea in Wales, discovered she was pregnant after her second IVF attempt with partner Chris Moonan, 33

Ashleigh said she had a scan every two weeks, while acutely aware there was a high risk that they could lose one, or all, of the babies (pictured)

Ashleigh who was at high risk of catching Covid as a carer, discovered that she had covid after her routine test came back positive. Pictured: The triplets

The test results led to Ashleigh having to isolate for ten days after the birth without the babies, as well as Chris not being able to be present at the birth (pictured)

I was in shock, she says. I didnt know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed so extraordinary. Wed been desperate for a single baby: now I was expecting three.

Slowly, the reality sank in. While we were thrilled, we were acutely aware there was a high risk that we could lose one, or all, of the babies. I had a scan every two weeks. My nerves were in shreds, wondering how many heartbeats theyd find.

As a carer going into elderly peoples homes, Ashleigh was at high risk of catching Covid, so she was delighted when offered furlough in early May.

The triplets were due to be delivered by Caesarean at 32 weeks, as Ashleigh had developed cholestasis, a liver disorder that can be dangerous to babies. But at the pre-operation check-up, her routine Covid test came back positive.

Mother of the year award 2021 If you know of a mother who has done amazing things over this difficult year, email us at: motheroftheyearaward@dailymail.co.uk with their story (no more than 500 words) and your email and phone contact details. Or write to: Mother Of The Year Awards, Inspire, Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry St, London W8 5TT. The deadline for entries is Monday, March 8. The winner will receive a trip to a luxury spa, and ten runners-up will receive a bouquet of flowers. Advertisement

The implications were devastating. Although it was unlikely that the babies would have Covid, Ashleigh would have to isolate for ten days after the birth without the babies. For Chris, it would be 14 days isolation and he could not be present at the birth.

Everything went into freefall, recalls Ashleigh. I was terrified for myself, the babies and for my family. If I had Covid, it was almost certain that my parents did too, as they often look after Layla and wed been in each others houses.

Sure enough, her parents fell ill that weekend, followed by her grandparents. I was riddled with guilt and couldnt stop crying, she says. I suspected Id brought Covid into the family because I was exposed to so many people during my hospital visits.

Ashleigh, who never suffered any Covid symptoms herself, worked herself up into such an emotional state, the consultant brought the Casearean forward to October 5. To the couples relief, she also agreed Chris could be present.

Being wheeled into theatre at Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan, felt like entering a war zone. All the midwives  one for each baby  and doctors were in full PPE. Even the equipment was wrapped in protective layers.

Ashleigh was conscious but with a shield blocking her view. The waiting was awful, then the relief as I heard each little cry was indescribable, she says. Aware this was the only view Ashleigh would get of them, the surgeon lifted each tiny newborn  weighing between 3lb 1oz and 3lb 6oz  up for a few seconds and Chris took a photo on his phone. Then the midwives whisked them away to the neonatal unit.

I heard them cry for a few more minutes and then silence, says Ashleigh. They were gone. Half an hour after they were born, Chris was ushered out. Ive never felt sadder or more alone.

When you give birth, all you want is to hold your baby. Instead, there was just emptiness. The longing was so intense, it hurt.

Tests when the triplets (pictured) were three and five days old revealed they were negative of having covid

Because the babies might also have Covid, nurses had to wear full gowns, gloves and masks when handling them until tests when they were three and five days old proved negative.

This all added to Ashleighs anguish. No one could tell me what would happen if they tested positive. The doctors reassured me they were well and there was no reason for them not to pull through, but it was hard not to catastrophize. Self-isolating back at home, Chris sent Ashleigh the photos of their newborn babies.

I was crying so much I could barely focus, she recalls. Everyone says how important it is for newborns to have skin contact with their parents. Covid took all that away.

Aware of Ashleighs distress, staff bent over backwards to help. Nurses sent photos of the babies in their incubators and cute messages: Good Morning, Mummy. Weve all slept well. Then, on October 7, just two days after giving birth, Ashleigh was discharged from hospital.

Walking into an empty house was horrific, she says. I didnt even have Layla. She was isolating with my parents. It was surreal. Here I was, a mum of four, without any of my children.

Ashleigh said 'covid took away' the opportunity for the newborns to have skin contact with her. Pictured: Ashleigh with the triplets when she was first allowed to see them in hospital

Ashleigh's grandma, Rose, 89, (pictured) was taken into hospital and, tragically, died 15 days after the triplets were born

Back home, Ashleigh expressed breast milk for her babies and left a bottle on the porch each day for a friend to deliver to the hospital.

I felt I was doing something, she says. The nurses arranged for me to FaceTime the girls. It intensified my longing to be with them. They looked so tiny and helpless, with tubes and wires everywhere. They needed cuddles.

Finally, on October 12, Ashleigh was allowed into the hospital. I was so excited, she says. Id worried that because Id not been with them, they wouldnt feel like mine  but as I picked each one up, the love was instant.

After that, Ashleigh visited every day for up to eight hours at a time and sent endless photos to Chris and Layla. Neither of them developed Covid and Ashleighs parents were recovering well. But her grandma, Rose, 89, was taken into hospital and, sadly, died 15 days after the triplets were born.

Each of the triplets were well enough to go home on November 9, with each weighing just over 4lb. Pictured: The family after the triplets came home

Ashleigh (pictured) admits she feels 'guilty' about the love her triplets have missed and struggles to believe that they are hers

It makes me so sad because, although Nan had seen photos, she never got to hold the babies, says Ashleigh.

On November 9, and weighing just over 4lb each, the triplets were well enough to go home. Nurses and doctors lined the corridor to clap the new family out.

Three months later, the girls are thriving and developing distinct personalities. Mia is cheeky, Millie is chilled and Molly Mae is the serious one, says Ashleigh.

I know Im lucky they are so healthy, and Im confident they wont suffer any long-term effects from being parted from me for the first week of their lives, but it doesnt stop me feeling guilty for all the love they missed.

Maybe thats why I still find it hard to believe the girls really are here and really are mine.

Evening is Ashleighs favourite time, as she cuddles up in bed with Layla and the triplets. I want the world to stop so I can keep staring at them.

Follow Ashleighs story: @mum2tripletsplusprincess

Bestselling writer who returned to the frontline as a critical care nurse

When best-selling author Christie Watson saw footage of Covid patients on TV last April, during the first peak, she knew that she had to return to the NHS frontline.

As an ex-ICU nurse, I had critical care and ventilator experience, and had worked on adult crash teams. Its such a specific set of skills and I knew theyd be short of critical care nurses, she says.

Christie Watson, 44, (pictured) who is a single mother-of-two, returned to the NHS frontline after seeing footage of Covid patients on TV last April

A single mother of two, Christie, 44, had been a nurse for 20 years and had worked in paediatric intensive care, but left to write full-time in 2018.

It was a massive decision to return, she recalls. I lost a lot of sleep trying to work out the level of risk to my family.

My mum didnt want me to do it, but understood. In the end, it was the conversation I had with my kids  my daughter is 16, my son 13  that spurred me on. They said: You have to go back to help people, Mum. They were the ones who were really brave.

My daughter, Bella, volunteered to do the cooking and to oversee her brothers homeschooling.

Christie made sure her will was in order. Then, after a days refresher course, she was sent to the Nightingale Hospital in East London, one of the emergency hospitals set up for Covid.

The team consisted of military, senior nurses and doctors, and people helping out who had no hospital experience at all, including airline cabin crew.

We were busy with really sick people, with teams who had been thrown together from all over the country, but everyone was incredible.

Christie was made head of nursing for compassionate care. My role was about ensuring that compassionate care was at the heart of all we did, for patients, their families and for staff, too.

The Nightingale was built for 4,000 beds and criticised for being almost empty. But we had 34 patients at its height, the same as the busiest intensive-care units, says Christie.

Christie (pictured) revealed her children 'coped amazingly', however she believes they picked up on how traumatised she was by what was happening

Though PPE supplies were initially good, by the end of the first peak, says Christie, they had to re-sterilise then re-use gowns  and of course they started ripping more easily.

Every single day, someone was in tears, she says, even very senior people.

It was the most challenging thing Ive seen or done in 20 years. But coming home to her children was the worst part. Every night, after a 12-hour shift, Id disinfect my car, the keys, my shoes and go into our house, desperate to see them. Id shout up to them to stay in their rooms, scrub myself down and wash my hair in the shower, crying, and put everything in a hot wash.

Then, finally, Id give them the biggest hugs in the world.

They coped amazingly but Im sure they picked up on the fact that not only was I traumatised by what we were going through, I was very concerned Id bring something home and give it to them.

Today, she admits, she might make a different decision. Initially we thought Covid wouldnt affect children, and now were seeing children with long Covid, which can be debilitating. So Im far more anxious.

Knowing the risks, Im not sure I would make the same decision  though the overwhelming guilt of not helping would have been worse.

Having missed so much in her childrens lives, she overcompensated afterwards. Id get up early to make eggs on toast, things Id never normally do. The children looked at me suspiciously: Why is she trying to be Mum of the Year?

When the second and third peak hit, Christie couldnt take more time off from her other jobs (as well as writing, in June she was made professor of medical health humanities at the University of East Anglia), but she is still proud to call herself a nurse.

We need nurses now more than ever, she says. Not only are nurses still making huge sacrifices on the frontline, but so too are their families.

The Courage To Care: A Call For Compassion, by Christie Watson (16.99, Chatto), is out now.

Homeschooling while working as a city ceo

Sam Smith, 33, who is the only woman chief executive of a City stockbroker, revealed this year has been 'extremely stressful'. Pictured: Sam Smith working in the kitchen with daughter Aoife

Sam Smith is the first to admit she likes a level of stress. And it must be true, because in 2007, at age 33, she became the first, and remains the only, woman chief executive of a City stockbroker, when she orchestrated a buy-out of the corporate finance division of JM Finn to create investment bank FinnCap.

In an industry dogged by a dearth of women in top jobs and known for its poor work-life balance, Sam stands out. Not only does she have 140 employees and is forecast to have a turnover this year of 36m (up 10m from last year), shes also a single mother to Aoife, aged six.

But even for her, the past year has been extremely stressful. Theres not one free minute in the day, she says, what with trying to feed everyone [she has a live-in au pair], keep everyone in the office happy and home school, while keeping your daughter happy. Oh, and trying to be fit!  she does her conference calls on her Peloton bike. You have some days when it feels under control, but the next day its hideous.

Take this week. Her daughter was doing a school project on air resistance which involved making a parachute out of a plastic bag and getting an egg to land in a cup without it smashing.

Her au pair and Aoife were getting things ready, while Sam moved into her bedroom to take a call. Suddenly they came in to throw the egg out of the window and said I had to film it. So Ive got Aoifes iPad in one hand, videoing, while taking my business call on my phone. Everything OK? asked an executive on the call. That sounded like an egg smashing. It was totally bonkers.

Sam revealed she doesn't bother with breakfast and wears gym clothes, however she puts a dress on top if she has a proper pitch meeting. Pictured: Sam and her daughter

When the first lockdown began, Sam moved to a house in Dorset. It was pretty brutal, she says. Not only was she without the help of Aoifes father, who usually has their daughter two days a week, she had poor wifi connection  which is hard when youre running a bank.

This time round, shes stayed in London  and installed superfast broadband. She says she doesnt miss getting dressed up for the office.

I dont bother with breakfast, and I just put on some gym kit. If Im doing a meeting, a proper pitch presentation, Ill just put a dress or a shirt over the top. She stops work at 6.30pm (Ive always done Aoifes bedtime). But whereas before, Sam would sometimes go out once her daughter was asleep, now she often works from 8.30pm until midnight.

She misses the chat of the office and having time to think. Once able, she plans to return to the office three days a week. I wouldnt want to be full time at home, thats for sure! But the quality time Ive had with my daughter, and finding out how she learns, has been amazing.

Pharmacists widow who had to break the saddest of news

Kanan Patel who lives in Epsom, Surrey, had been married for over 20 years when her husband Jay tragically passed away. Pictured: Kanan with daughter Kiya

Kanan Patel will never forget the moment everything changed for her and her two daughters.

I was sitting in the dining room with the girls when the doctor rang to tell me my husband Jay had passed away, says Kanan. I was in shock. I sat there shaking, holding the phone, for a good three minutes in silence. I felt numb. Then I burst into tears.

Kanan and Jay had been married for over 20 years. He was her best friend  a simple guy, calm and collected  and well-liked in the community. Jay worked as a pharmacist in Epsom, Surrey, where they live. Now Kanan had to tell their daughters, Rya, 20, and Kiya, 17, that their beloved dad had passed away at the age of just 52.

It had all happened so fast. In March last year, Jay had got what he thought was a cold: a sniffle, shivers and loss of smell. He didnt think it was Covid.

It was so early in the pandemic that no one really knew the symptoms, says Kanan, 50. Within days, Jay was bed-ridden, yet they still didnt know if it was Covid for sure. At that time, you could only get a test if you went into hospital.

An NHS 111 doctor advised him to stay home. Yet two days later, Kanan recalls, he looked like an absolute skeleton. He asked for water but could only drink it from a spoon. She called an ambulance. They came quickly. His oxygen levels had dropped. I went to get his things ready. By the time I came back, he was walking out the door in his slippers. That was the last time I saw him.

Kanan was not allowed to visit but they were able to have one phone call the night before he went into intensive care. He couldnt speak much, as he could hardly breathe, but he told us to pray for him. Thats how I knew he was really scared. Afterwards, he sent her a text, telling her: From now on, positivity.

Kanan revealed the day after Jay died was their daughter Kiya's 16th birthday, and she had to go to the toilet to cry alone. Pictured: Kanana and Kiya

Kanan knew what Jay had meant. That I had to stay strong for my daughters, she says simply. And that is what she did. The day after Jay died was Kiyas 16th birthday, and Kanan decided it wouldnt be fair not to celebrate. So she bought a cake and put a photo of Jay next to it. I had to go to the toilet to cry. Its the only place I knew no one would find me.

The next few months were gruelling, emotionally and practically. Kanan was also caring for her father, who lived with them, as well as trying to help the girls process their grief.

I let them sleep as long as possible, the later the better, because when they woke up, it would all come flooding back to them, she says. The smallest things could be devastating. Once, we went food shopping, and when we passed a drink Jay liked, Rya turned to me and said: Mum, were never going to see him again. It was awful. In those moments, I feel like I have to hold it together. I told her: He is always with us: we wont forget him. 

Christmas was particularly difficult as Jay loved the holiday. I still did everything he would have done, says Kanan. We put up lights, a tree, cooked a roast. One minute wed be crying, the next wed be laughing.

Two weeks ago, Kanan also lost her father, from a heart attack. It has been the worst year, Kanan says.

I often think of Jays last message to me, telling me to stay positive. He was a fighter and Ill fight for my girls. Its that which keeps me going.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong enters Seoul High Court for the re-hearing of a bribery case, Jan. 18. Yonhap



By Baek Byung-yeul



It has been four years since Samsung Group abolished the group's control tower Future Strategy Office in what seemed to be an effort to end old practices of crony capitalism.



Ever since then, Samsung has made progress in its management system by strengthening independence of its affiliates and forgoing no-union policies. But an industry official said Sunday that uncertainties over group management are still in play as its leader Lee Jae-yong has been imprisoned.



They said Samsung Group has reinforced self-regulatory management after dismantling the control tower, by setting up three small group systems  for Samsung Electronics and other IT affiliates; non-electronics affiliates including Samsung C&T; and financial affiliates such as Samsung Life Insurance.



It also established a compliance committee in 2020, to monitor the group from a legal and ethical perspective as part of the conglomerate's efforts to enhance transparent management.



"It's hard to tell if the absence of the control tower or its leader is the group's long-term business plan as the group affiliates have managed themselves well amid growing business uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," an industry official from one of the conglomerates here said.



"However, it is also true that the group has been limited in making decisions for large investments or bringing radical changes in its management structure and succession issues."



Samsung's Future Strategy Office had handled all key decisions, including reshuffles of top management and investments on group units, for the previous 58 years, but at the same time, some investors had criticized the unit for being a medium for cozy relations between political and business circles.



In response to the criticism, Samsung leader Lee told lawmakers during a National Assembly hearing in December 2016 that he would dismantle the Future Strategy Office and the group announced its disbandment on Feb. 28, 2017.



After the announcement, some 200 employees in the unit, including 60 executives dispatched from affiliates, were returned to the Samsung units where they originally worked, and responsibility for personnel reshuffles at subsidiary firms were transferred to each affiliate's board of directors, according to group officials.



While Samsung has tried to improve transparency in its governance system, its leader was convicted and imprisoned in 2017 after being found guilty of paying bribes to former President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil.



He was released in 2018 after the Seoul High Court suspended the sentence, but the top court ordered a re-hearing of the trial in 2019 and an appellate court handed him a prison sentence of two and a half years in January. The sentencing came at a crucial point given Lee is now on his own leading Samsung after his father Lee Kun-hee passed away last year.



In his message from behind bars, Lee vowed to continue his support for the activities of the group's compliance committee, a move to fulfill his pledge to enhance management transparency.



Lee has encouraged the compliance committee to play its role as a watchdog in ensuring Samsung abides by the law and improves management transparency. The compliance committee has looked at three issues  the group's attitude to unions, management succession and communication with civic organizations  as key points to improving the conglomerate's business compliance.



After the committee's recommendation, Lee issued a public apology saying he wouldn't seek to pass on management of the conglomerate to his children and would work to facilitate active communication between management and any union.



The National Weather Service in Birmingham said on Sunday that several central Alabama cities had broken daily temperature records for Feb. 28. One of the records that fell today was 117 years old.

Birmingham, Anniston, Tuscaloosa, Muscle Shoals and Montgomery had new daily record highs:

* Annistons high was 81, breaking the record of 80 set in 1976.

* Birminghams high was 82, breaking the record of 81 set in 2011.

* Montgomerys high was 83, which tied the record last set in 1948.

* Muscle Shoals high was 79 degrees, breaking the record of 77 set in 1904.

* Tuscaloosas high was 84, breaking the record of 83 set in 2011.

Not only has it been warm this afternoon, it was also warm on Saturday.

According to the weather service several cities set records for highest low temperature.

* Tuscaloosas low temperature on Feb. 27 was 65 degrees, breaking the record warmest low of 64 degrees in 1962.

* Birmingham only fell to 66 degrees on Feb. 27, which also broke the record of 65 degrees also set in 1962.

* Muscle Shoals low on Feb. 27 was 63 degrees, breaking the record of 61 degrees set in 2011.

* Huntsville also got in on the trend. Its low temperature on Feb. 27 was 60 degrees, tying the record set last in 1996.

This is the last day of meteorological winter, but cooler temperatures are in the forecast for parts of Alabama for Monday as a cold front moves through.

Here are the highs forecast for Monday:

Highs on Monday will be cooler for parts of north and central Alabama.

The front could bring strong to severe storms to north and north-central Alabama tonight and into Monday morning.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 20:50:47|Editor: huaxia

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This photo from Facebook page of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shows him receiving a dose of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb. 28, 2021. The Hungarian government is boosting its vaccination program with Russian and Chinese vaccines, as the third wave of the pandemic has brought daily infections and deaths in the country to the level of mid-December last year. (Viktor Orban Facebook via Xinhua)

BUDAPEST, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban received an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 on Sunday.

"Vaccinated!" Orban wrote on Facebook, posting a photo of himself getting the shot, a close-up of the Chinese vaccine and a picture of a door to the vaccination point where he received the inoculation.

Orban received the shot two days after Hungarian President Janos Ader, who also opted for the Chinese vaccine.

Hungarian Chief Medical Officer Cecilia Muller told a press conference Saturday that it is very important for high-ranking Hungarian officials to get immunized publicly, in order to set an example for the population.

With access to vaccines from five producers, namely China's Sinopharm, Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Russia's Sputnik V, Hungary, the first European Union member state to buy and authorize the use of Chinese vaccines, started to administer the Sinopharm vaccine on Wednesday.

The Hungarian government is boosting its vaccination program with Russian and Chinese vaccines, as the third wave of the pandemic has brought daily infections and deaths in the country to the level of mid-December last year.

Hungary on Sunday registered 4,469 new cases and 72 more deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national total to 428,599 and the death toll to 14,974, according to official data.

So far, 321,128 people have recovered. Currently, 5,482 patients are being treated in hospitals, including 524 on ventilators, figures from the government's coronavirus information website showed.

As of Sunday, 677,682 people have received at least one vaccine jab, while 249,499 have received two jabs, according to the website.

Hungary intends to inoculate all the 2.6 million people registered for the vaccine by Easter, and Orban aims to vaccinate a further million by May.

After the arrival of the first batch of Chinese vaccines on Feb. 16, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said Friday that another batch would arrive in Hungary in March. Enditem
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington on March 25, 2020. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Scott Says Hell Support GOP Incumbents Over Trump-Backed Challengers

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said hell support any Republican incumbent senator against primary challengersdespite an assertion made by former President Donald Trump that he would primary some senators.

Scott, in an interview with Fox News on Feb. 28, declined to say whether the GOP is Trumps party.

Its the voters party. It always has been the voters party. Lets go back to 2010 and my primary. Every Republican I think in the country endorsed my opponent and I won. I talked to President Trump about a week ago and I told him this is my job, my job is to help Republican senators win all across the country, and he made a commitment to me to help me do that. I believe hes going to be helpful, he said.

Trump has suggested 2022 primary challenges against Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Republican in the upper chamber, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who voted to convict him in the impeachment trial.

I am supporting every Republican incumbent in all the Senate races, Scott also said. So I believe all of our incumbents are going to win. We have some open Republican seats, open Democrat seats.  I trust in voters. I think were going to get great candidates come out.

The policies of the Republican Party, Scott said, are what will help the party take back the Senate majority.

Im going to make sure of that in 22, when we have our elections, he said in the interview. Were going to vote on job growth, were going to vote on secure borders, were going to vote on supporting our law enforcement, school choicethats why were going to win.

In a statement released in February that sharply criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Trump announced that he would seek primary challengers to face some GOP senators. Seven Republican senators voted to convict Trump during the second impeachment trial.

Scotts remark contrasts with comments made during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and in recent interviews with some figures who have suggested that the GOP would be nothing without Trump.

If youre reading the room and youre intelligent, you realize that Donald Trump is still the future of the Republican Party, Donald Trump Jr. said on Fox News.

Those people who are being displaced by illegals, those people who are being swept aside by the Democrat Party, who has just flagrantly ignored them for decades, Donald Trump is all over that.

Recent opinion polls suggest that Trump, after leaving office, is an extremely popular figure in the Republican Party.
Reach Mai Hoang at maihoang@yakimaherald.com or Twitter @maiphoang

This story is part of the Protecting and Promoting Local Journalism Initiative, a project supported by the Yakima Valley Community Foundation with financial, training and technological assistance from Microsoft Corp. In Yakima County, the initiative is a collaboration between the Yakima Herald-Republic, El Sol de Yakima and Radio KDNA, whose journalists maintain independent editorial control of the project.

To make a charitable contribution to the Yakima Valley Community Foundations Community Journalism Fund , visit the foundations website and select the Give Today button. On the sidebar, click on Find Opportunities. Enter journalism in the word search and the fund will pop up. Donors can also send checks and stocks directly to the Yakima Valley Community Foundation.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has been released from hospital and is expected to take two weeks' leave in the wake of the Britany Higgins alleged rape scandal.

Ms Higgins, a former adviser for the defence minister, came forward a fortnight ago claiming she was raped by a colleague in Parliament House after a night out in 2019.

Ms Reynolds was then taken to a hospital in Canberra on Wednesday as a 'precautionary measure' relating to an existing condition on the advice of her cardiologist.

'As a precautionary measure, Minister Reynolds has this morning been admitted to a Canberra Hospital,' a statement said earlier this week.

Ms Reynolds came under scrutiny for her handling of the matter and her treatment of Ms Higgins.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has been released from hospital and is expected to take two weeks' leave in the wake of the Britany Higgins alleged rape scandal

Scott Morrison said he is confident Linda Reynolds will keep her job despite copping criticism over her handling of Brittany Higgins' rape allegations. Pictured with alleged rape survivor Brittany Higgins

She will return to her office in mid-March.

Ms Reynolds' release from hospital comes three days after Scott Morrison said he is confident she will keep her job despite copping criticism over her handling of Brittany Higgins' alleged rape allegations.

Ms Reynolds was taken to a hospital in Canberra on Wednesday morning as a 'precautionary measure' relating to an existing condition on the advice of her cardiologist.

Mr Morrison on Thursday quashed any rumours Ms Reynolds' employment is in jeopardy, saying she is doing a 'great job' in her current position.

'I have great confidence in the work that she's doing. I thank those colleagues, whether from the government or elsewhere, that have expressed their support for Linda and she certainly has mine,' he said.

Ms Higgins, who has said she was not supported well enough after her alleged rape, wished Senator Reynolds a speedy recovery

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has taken over Defence duties while Ms Reynolds is on leave.

Mr Morrison's comments came just hours after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton admitted he knew about the alleged rape but chose not to tell the prime minister about it to avoid compromising a potential police investigation.

Mr Dutton confirmed Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw informed him about the alleged assault on February 11, four days before Mr Morrison says he was told.

Ms Higgins spoke to police on February 5, with the AFP then informing Mr Dutton because it was a politically sensitive investigation.

Alleged rape survivor Brittany Higgins

Since Ms Higgins made her allegation public last week, three other women have come forward to accuse the same man of sexual assault or harassment.

The man was sacked after the alleged rape for breaching security rules by entering Ms Reynolds' office at night.

The allegations have prompted another former intern to share intimate details about her experiences with the man on a couch in the office of a Nationals senator at Parliament House in 2014.

While she says their encounters were consensual, she claims she felt 'pressured' to have sex with him on other occasions.

'Nothing 'rapey' happened. But that makes me feel really ill. I feel like he wanted to [take me there] because he wanted to show off his power. He was obviously much more important than I was,' the woman told news.com.au.

'There was one time I kept saying, 'No, I am really tired, I don't want to do anything' and he kept being like, 'Oh, come on. Come on'.'

She also shared Facebook messages which refer to the couch in the senator's office, which the man insists is 'comfortable' as he invited her there.

'The lounge in his office is really comfy, good for doing readings. Haha,' he wrote.

The woman replied: 'mmm, depends, do you tend to talk a lot whilst studying?'

The man adds he's usually 'a good boy' and has an essay to write.

Mr Dutton confirmed Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw informed him about the alleged assault on February 11, four days before Mr Morrison says he was told

The former intern shared an exchange of Facebook messages, where the man claims the couch in the senator's office is 'really comfy'

Brittany Higgins with partner David Sharaz, who quit his job amid her rape allegations against a former male colleague

She claims the encounter occurred five years before the staffer allegedly raped Ms Higgins.

The woman was a university student at the time and interning for a Labor MP.

The man, whom she described as 'ambitious' with dreams of becoming Prime Minister, was also an intern at the time for a Nationals MP.

She first met him at drinks where she got 'very drunk' and went back to his house.

'We kissed that night. I was very drunk and he was totally sober,' the woman recalled.

'I never felt weird about that but there were other instances where he definitely pressured me. We never had proper sex.'

The woman says she will come forward to police to make a statement if it helps with their inquiries.

Brittany Higgins, then 24, has alleged she was raped by a colleague inside Parliament House in March 2019

Pictured: Prime Minister Scott Morrison during Question Time in the House of Representatives on February 22

Ms Higgins pictured with Senator Micahela Cash (left) former Liberal Party deputy leader Julie Bishop (right)

Ms Higgins previously said she did not immediately report the alleged rape to police out of fear that she would lose her 'dream job', but resigned earlier this month before making the allegations last Monday.

Her alleged rapist has checked himself into a private rehabilitation clinic after losing his job at a large corporation.

Two more women accused the former government worker of rape after Ms Higgins went public last week, and now a fourth alleged victim has taken her story to Canberra police on Sunday.

The fourth woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the ABC the 'really sleazy' alleged rapist stroked her thigh on a night out in 2017.

Ms Higgins' claim, which was formally stated to police on Wednesday, opened the floodgates for others to share their stories.

The latest woman to come forward was with colleagues at Canberra's Public Bar in 2017 when the alleged rapist touched her thigh uninvited.

She said it was not the first or last time she received unwanted advances from male colleagues.

'By that time, I was just so used to sexual harassment I just brushed it off,' she said.

Since Ms Higgins made her allegation public last week, three other women have come forward to accuse the same man of sexual assault or harassment

After speaking to officers from the local police station on Sunday afternoon, the woman said she received a call from the Australian Federal Police's Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team.

The third woman said she was assaulted while working as a coalition volunteer during the 2016 election campaign.

She was barely out of school at the time of the attack, which allegedly occurred after a night out drinking with the then-political staffer.

During the night out, she claims he bought her several rounds of 'double strength' vodkas and three tequila shots.

The boozy night prompted the young volunteer, who had never been drunk before, to vomit in the nightclub bathroom.

When everybody else had left, the woman said she told him she was going to catch an Uber home, and he suggested they go back to his hotel room 'around the corner' instead, and he would 'look after her', she told The Australian.

After they arrived, she passed out while laying on his bed and allegedly woke up with her clothes undone and the staffer allegedly lying on top of her.

The woman, who was a virgin, said she was uncertain as to whether he was conscious or sleeping, but she bolted from the room into the hotel lobby toilet, where she discovered she was 'bleeding'.

Feeling embarrassed and ashamed, the woman made her way home and did not tell police, her family or friends.

Scott Morrison said he is confident Linda Reynolds will keep her job despite copping criticism over her handling of Brittany Higgins' rape allegations

Prime Minister Scott Morrison alongside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud at Parliament House

'I believe his actions on the night of June 29 and the morning of June 30 constitute sexual assault, because he performed or tried to perform sexual acts on me whilst I was severely intoxicated and unable to provide valid and informed consent,' she told The Australian.

'I later realised I was so drunk, I was not able to give any consent'

'Hearing Brittany Higgins' story, it was so eerily similar, it made me think this person has a pattern of behaviour.'

The second alleged victim claimed she met the ministerial advisor in 2016 when he was working for Ms Reynolds during the election campaign.

'We went back to my place and we were kissing we were going to have sex and I said he had to wear a condom,' she said.

'He refused and we argued and I told him five or six times that we couldn't have sex unless he wore a condom. I was drunk and he just got on top of me, I said no, and then he was inside of me and I kept saying no.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 17:28:18|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed to spearhead regional unity and prosperity for the East African Community (EAC) as he took over the chairmanship of the bloc.

Kenyatta who addressed the 21st Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State held virtually on Saturday said he will focus on strengthening partnerships to enhance intra-EAC connectivity and ensuring sustainable implementation of projects and programs in productive sectors.

"I promise to do all I can to take our region to greater heights," he said in a statement issued after the meeting on Saturday evening. He assured that he will spare no effort towards the realization of the shared aspirations that gave rebirth to the community 20 years ago.

The Kenyan leader who took over the EAC chairmanship from his Rwanda counterpart, Paul Kagame, assured of the need for partner states to harmonize their commitment on free movement of people, workers and services as envisaged in the region's common market protocol.

Kenyatta announced Kenya's decision to remove visa requirements for South Sudanese nationals visiting the country as an act of reciprocity.

During the summit, Peter Mutuku Mathuki of Kenya was sworn in as the new EAC Secretary General for a five-year non-renewable term with effect from April 25. Mathuki took over from Liberat Mfumukeko of Burundi whose term is ending.

The summit was also attended by President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi and President Museveni of Uganda while the speech of host President John Magufuli was read by Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

The summit, chaired by Kenyatta, also witnessed the appointment of six new Judges of the East African Court of Justice, including Kenya's Justice Kathurima M'inoti who joins the Appellate Division of the East Africa Court of Justice. Enditem
Myanmar police fired on protesters around the country on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least 18 people were killed, the U.N. human rights office said.

Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police.

Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after being brought to a hospital with a bullet in the chest, said a doctor who asked not to be identified.

"Police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that  according to credible information received by the UN Human Rights Office  has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded," the U.N. human rights office said.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb. 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

The coup, which brought a halt to tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries.

Among at least five killed in Yangon was internet network engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, who a day earlier had posted on Facebook about his concern at the growing crackdown, medics said.

Teacher Tin New Yee died after police swooped to disperse a teachers' protest with stun grenades, sending the crowd fleeing, her daughter and a fellow teacher said.

Police also hurled stun grenades outside a Yangon medical school, sending doctors and students in white lab coats scattering. A group called the Whitecoat Alliance of medics said more than 50 medical staff had been arrested.

Three people were killed at Dawei in the south, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Reuters from the town. Two died in the second city of Mandalay, Myanmar Now media and a resident said. Resident Sai Tun told Reuters one woman was shot in the head.

Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Police broke up protests in other towns, including Lashio in the northeast, Myeik in the deep south and Hpa-An in the east, residents and media said.

'OUTRAGEOUS'

Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing said last week authorities were using minimal force to deal with the protests.

Nevertheless, at least 21 protesters have now died in the turmoil. The army said a policeman had been killed.

The crackdown would appear to indicate determination by the military to impose its authority in the face of defiance, not just on the streets but more broadly in the civil service, municipal administration, the judiciary, the education and health sectors and the media.

"We are heartbroken to see the loss of so many lives in Myanmar. People should not face violence for expressing dissent against the military coup. Targeting of civilians is abhorrent," the U.S. embassy said.

The Canadian Embassy said it was appalled. Indonesia, which has taken a diplomatic lead within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the crisis, expressed deep concern.

Activists across Asia held rallies to support Myanmar's protesters in Myanmar with the rallying cry "Milk Tea Alliance" which first united pro-democracy activists in Thailand and Hong Kong.

State-run MRTV television said more than 470 people had been arrested on Saturday. It was not clear how many were detained on Sunday.

Youth activist Esther Ze Naw said people were battling the fear they had lived with under military rule.

"It's obvious they're trying to instil fear in us by making us run and hide," she said. "We can't accept that."

A day after the junta announced that Myanmar's U.N. envoy had been fired for opposing its rule by calling for action from the United Nations, the foreign ministry announced that diplomats at several other embassies were being recalled.

It gave no reason, but some diplomats have been among civil servants to join a Civil Disobedience Movement that has paralysed a swathe of official business.

While Western countries have condemned the coup and some have imposed limited sanctions, the generals have traditionally shrugged off diplomatic pressure. They have promised to hold a new election but not set a date.

Suu Kyi's party and supporters said the result of the November vote must be respected.

Suu Kyi, 75, who spent nearly 15 years under house arrest, faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and of violating a natural disaster law by breaching coronavirus protocols. The next hearing in her case is on Monday. (Reporting by Reuters Staff Writing by Robert Birsel Editing by William Mallard, Clarence Fernandez, Frances Kerry, Philippa Fletcher)

Short link:


Jay R. Jordan / Jay Jordan, Staff

One person was killed and two others were wounded Saturday night in separate shooting incidents in Houston, police said.

The person who died, only identified as a male, was shot in the area of 2700 S. Dairy Ashford Road, according to Houston police. Another person, also only identified as a male, was taken to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.
The COVID-19, a novel disease that caused the global pandemic has taken so much toll on humanity, as it urged the halt and limited response of every government in sustaining the daily lives of their constituents. In the United States, NBC News reported that forty percent of Latino and half of the Black community is counting on the round of government financial assistance or stimulus checks to get by.

NBC News furthered that the current administration of the United States is seeking a large COVID stimulus relief package, everyday financial needs which are based on race, ethnicity, and gender.

Read also: #BidenLied Trends on Twitter as Critics Demand the 'Full' $2,000 Stimulus Checks He Promised During the Campaign

The survey

Yahoo! News reported that the new survey from CNBC and Acorns Invest in You suggested that against the 40 percent of Latinos and half of the Black community are expecting the stimulus checks, only twenty-two percent of white respondents in the survey only felt the same level of financial anxiety. On the other hand, Yahoo! News added that twenty percent of White Americans who responded in the survey said that they don't need stimulus checks, noting that the federal government should give the money to someone else who needs it.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities mentioned that the impacts of the pandemic and the economic fallout have been extensive but are dominant among Latino, Black, indigenous, and immigrant households. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities added that the impacts reflect harsh, longstanding inequities, in education, employment, housing, and healthcare which is usually anchored on racism.

However, NBC News pointed out that those who need financial assistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic are less likely to receive it on time. NBC emphasized that 76 percent of the White community claimed that they have received at least one COVID-19 aid payment from the government. On the other hand, 67 percent of Latinos and 65 percent of Blacks say that they have received funding.

Expenditures

According to the Rescue Plan released by the White House, the Biden administration will provide support to communities that are struggling amid COVID-19 through supporting their small businesses especially those who are owned by the entrepreneurs from the people of color. The Rescue plan furthered that the administration also pledged to protect the jobs of the first responders, transit workers, and other essential workers the United States depend on.

The survey also revealed that the multiplicity of the respondents spent their stimulus checks on their everyday expenses. However, Yahoo! News furthered that a higher proportion of Latinos and Blacks spent their funding in paying rents or mortgages compared to Whites. Moreover, 27 percent of Latinos spent the stimulus checks on housing payments which is the higher proportion of any groups in the survey.

Laura Wronski, Science Research Scientist from Survey Monkey noted with NBC News that the latest data demonstrate that Latinos, Black, and other people of color are in a much more precarious financial position -- meaning that stimulus checks are needed more by these groups.

Read also: Biden Says Next Stimulus Checks Will Be $1,400: Here's What You Can Expect

WATCH: "Biden Assures His Covid Relief Plan Will Include More Stimulus Checks" from NBC News
A man has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly broke into an apartment in Sydneys CBD and attacked another man with a broken glass bottle in a domestic-related incident on Saturday.

Police were called to an apartment complex on Liverpool Street following reports of an assault shortly before 6am.

NSW Police said they were told the alleged offender broke into one of the units, which was occupied by a woman he knew, and attacked a man inside, causing cuts to that mans head, back and chest.

The alleged victim was taken to St Vincents Hospital in a stable condition.

Police arrested a man, 30, close to Liverpool Street about 8.30pm on Saturday.
A housewife has been awarded 50,000 after a dentist fitted her with a new set of painful veneers over her decaying smile, resulting in losing two of her own teeth.

Vania Spanias, 45, from Barnet, north London, visited the dentist after becoming concerned with one of her teeth becoming discoloured and it was recommended that she had veneers fitted on 16 of her teeth.

But when the new veneers were fitted over her decaying teeth, Vania claims that she was left suffering with 'so much' pain and infection.

She said her veneers quickly chipped, fractured and became discoloured, leaving her with painful toothache, before Vania devastatingly lost two teeth.

Vania Spanias (pictured), 45, from Barnet, north London, visited the dentist after becoming concerned with teeth discolouration and it was recommended she had veneers fitted

Vania had visited Dr Pamela Porras-Benito at Azamay Dental Spa in Cockfosters, north London, between March 2014 and March 2015 after becoming concerned about one of her teeth discolouring.

She said: 'I was a bit concerned about discolouration at one of my teeth. I saw Dr Porras-Benito and she recommended I had veneers fitted on 16 teeth.

'She was singing praises about veneers and indicated they'd be right for me, so I decided to go ahead with the treatment. I suppose I just trusted her professional advice.'

But unfortunately for Vania, things quickly took a turn for the worse after one of her veneers cracked, despite her dentist giving 'the impression' they were 'virtually indestructible'.

What are veneers? A veneer is a new surface to fit over the front of a tooth. They're available on the NHS if they're needed to improve the health of your mouth  but not just to improve the appearance of your teeth (cosmetic reasons). Veneers can be made of: porcelain

composite materials (the materials that make white fillings) Porcelain veneers are more realistic looking and long-lasting but also much more expensive than composite veneers. Advertisement

Vania explained: 'Dr Porras-Benito gave the impression that the veneers would last for years.

'But it wasn't long before one of them cracked. So, I went back to see her and she said I needed a filling to solve the problem.'

Vania claims that more of the veneers fractured which resulted in more dental appointments to get them repaired.

She said that she was having 'more and more problems with the veneers' and was left with her whole mouth feeling 'really painful'.

She explained: 'One of my teeth had also become sharp and was hurting my tongue.

'My whole mouth just felt really painful and sensitive, and I kept experiencing more and more problems with the veneers.

'It was ridiculous how often I was in the dentist's chair.

'I finally started to question whether Dr Porras-Benito was providing adequate treatment, so saw a different dentist for a second opinion.'

Vania claimed that the new dentist was really surprised the she had the veneers fitted at all because she had 'clear signs of decay' on some of her teeth.

She explained: 'He said my veneers hadn't been fitted properly, and couldn't believe that some had been fitted on teeth where there were clear signs of decay.

'After the ordeal I'd been through this was really upsetting to hear.'

Analysis of her dental records then revealed that Dr Porras-Benito had fitted inadequate veneers on Vania's teeth, as well proving that veneers were not necessary in the first place.

But after the new veneers were fitted over her decaying teeth (above, X Ray showing decay under lumineers), Vania claims that she was left suffering with 'so much' pain and infection

Vania's records further showed that the veneers had also been fitted on decaying teeth, which led to the ongoing problems Vania experienced.

The housewife lost two teeth as a result and has had to have further treatment, including three implants fitted.

Jenny Wood of the Dental Law Partnership, who acted for her, said: 'The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary.

'If the dentist had carried out adequate treatment in the first place, her problems could have been avoided.'

The Dental Law Partnership took on Vania's case in 2017, which was settled in 2019 when the dentist paid 50,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentist denied liability.

Vania explained: 'It's all had such a negative impact on my life. I've been in so much pain, and undergoing further treatment and losing multiple teeth has been awful.'

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The vice-president-designate of the Libyan presidential council, Moussa Al-Koni, Sundayhas expressed his satisfaction with the desires of unity of the nation and the government expressed by the Sebha populations during the reception on Saturday of the chairman of the presidential council
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More than 300 abandoned cats rescued in Thailand

Volunteers in Thailand helped save more than 300 cats from two abandoned houses on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Israeli-Owned Ship Docked in Dubai After Mysterious Blast

DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesAn Israeli-owned cargo ship that suffered a mysterious explosion in the Gulf of Oman came to Dubais port for repairs Sunday, days after the blast that revived security concerns in Mideast waterways amid heightened tensions with Iran.

Associated Press journalists saw the hulking Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray sitting at dry dock facilities at Dubais Port Rashid. Although the crew was unharmed in the blast, the vessel sustained two holes on its port side and two on its starboard side just above the waterline, according to American defense officials.

It remains unclear what caused the blast, but the incident comes amid sharply rising tension between the United States and Iran over its unraveling 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has sought to pressure President Joe Bidens administration to grant the sanctions relief it received under the accord with world powers that former President Donald Trump abandoned.

From the shore, AP journalists could not immediately see damage to the vessel. The dock blocked the view of the vessels starboard side down to the waterline and the port side could only be seen from a distance. The blue and white ship was anchored near Dubais storied floating hotel, the Queen Elizabeth 2. An Emirati coast guard vessel was seen sailing behind the ship, with Dubai police and Emirati armed forces vehicles parked nearby.

Emirati officials did not respond to requests for comment on the vessel docking in the country.

Fridays blast on the ship, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo vessel, recalled a string of attacks on foreign oil tankers in 2019 that the U.S. Navy blamed on Iran. Tehran denied any role in the suspected assaults, which happened near the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil chokepoint.

Israeli officials indicated Sunday that Iran was responsible for the explosion on the ship. In a speech for an army intelligence unit, Israeli military Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi indirectly referred to the incident, accusing Iran of carrying out operations against civilian targets.

Just this past weekend we received a reminder on one of these fronts from one of the greatest threats in the region, Iran, and we received a reminder that Iran doesnt just represent a nuclear threat, he said.

Israeli ambassador to the United States and UN, Gilad Erdan, told Israels Army Radio that it was no secret that the Iranians are trying to harm Israeli targets, alleging the explosion on the ship bore the hallmarks of previous Iranian attacks.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for firing a ballistic missile and nine bomb-laden drones at sensitive sites in Saudi Arabias capital Riyadh the night before. The groups military spokesman Yahia Sarei added that another six explosive drones targeted military positions in the southwestern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait. The Saudi interception of the missile set off an apparent explosion over Riyadh that startled residents and scattered shell debris, without causing casualties.

The Helios Ray had discharged cars at various ports in the Persian Gulf before making its way out of the Middle East toward Singapore. The blast hit as the ship was sailing from the Saudi port Dammam out of the Gulf of Oman, forcing it to turn to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, for inspection.

Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the ship. The countrys hard-line Kayhan daily, whose editor-in-chief was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alleged the Helios Ray was possibly on an espionage mission in the region, without offering any evidence to support the claim. The Sunday report speculated the ship may have been trapped in an ambush by a branch of resistance axis, referring to Iranian proxies in the region.

Iran also has blamed Israel for a recent series of attacks, including a mysterious explosion last summer that destroyed an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at its Natanz nuclear facility and the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian scientist who founded the Islamic Republics military nuclear program two decades ago.

Irans repeated vows to avenge Fakhrizadehs killing have raised alarms in Israel, particularly as the Gulf sees an increase in Israeli traffic following the countrys normalization deals with the UAE and Bahrain.

By Isabel Debre
Napa County faces many threats, but the most immediate and pressing is how we are going to live and thrive in the era of fire.

Over the last decade, it has become progressively more clear that devastating mega-fires are a permanent part of life in the West. Napa Countys wealth and fame are no protection against the fury of these fires.

The terrifying 2015 and 2016 fire seasons in Lake County were just a preview of the horrific destruction of the Tubbs Fire and others in 2017 and the LNU Lightning Complex and Glass fires last summer.

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In between those blazes, we suffered under the choking smoke clouds from fires elsewhere in the region and endured the Public Safety Power Shutoffs imposed by PG&E as a way to prevent its decrepit infrastructure from causing even more fires.

These events have called into question the future of our way of life.

We are slowly watching the erosion of our lifestyle, Christopher Thompson, firefighter, and head of the Napa Communities Firewise Foundation, told us this week.

Were facing what he rightly called an existential crossroad. We can do something to prepare for and prevent fires or we can watch our economy wither and our population leave in search of safer places.

Thompson has been a somewhat lonely voice in recent years, warning urgently that fire was here to stay and we needed to do something to adapt and defend ourselves.

Finally, at long last, people are starting to listen. Unfortunately, it took the searing images of fire ripping through Deer Park and Lake Berryessa and burning down wineries to get everyone awakened.

Over the last three months, the Register editorial board has met with a variety of people and groups, including Thompson, elected officials and industry groups, to discuss our response to wildfire. It is part of our ongoing effort to understand the situation and to advocate for practical solutions.

We have heard two consistent themes:

Lack of money: The effort to build fire breaks, clear overgrown forests, maintain fire roads, and harden structures and infrastructure against fire requires lots of organization and manpower. That means money. And yet the county has historically put up only around $100,000 per year to fund the Firewise Councils, the local volunteer groups overseen by Thompsons foundation. The state was stingy with grants and large public landholders, including the state parks system, lacked the money or will to manage their properties.

The vacuum of leadership: Whose problem was this? Private landowners? The state? The county? The chronically underfunded Firewise Councils? Industry groups? Nobody seemed willing or able to step up to lead.

Now, after the horrors of 2020, were seeing gratifying progress on both fronts.

The Board of Supervisors will consider this spring a county-wide wildfire protection plan, prepared by the Napa Communities Firewise Foundation and local fire agencies. It will identify danger spots from one end of the county to the other, and it will define specific projects that need to be undertaken, including forest cleanup and infrastructure hardening.

That report will create a clear roadmap for preventing fires and mitigating the effect of fires that do break out.

The county is also moving to fund the Firewise Councils. The exact amount is uncertain, but it will be in the millions, rather than the $100,000 previously. The state too is kicking in more money to help local governments and property owners deal with dangerous fire conditions.

Board of Supervisors Chair Alfredo Pedroza told us that fire prevention is at the top of the countys agenda and will remain so. State Sen. Bill Dodd said he and other legislators are pushing state agencies for funding and regulatory reforms that will assist local efforts.

Industry groups such as the Napa Valley Vintners and Farm Bureau, meanwhile, are mobilizing, creating fire-related working groups and providing board members for the Napa Communities Firewise Foundation.

And the Foundation is stepping up to be the local leader in fire prevention. With money and commitment from industry and government alike, Thompson told us, the organization can beef up its staffing and spearhead projects countywide in a way that was previously impossible.

As positive as these developments are, however, there is still far to go. Our forests remain dangerously overgrown and the burn zones are still littered with flammable debris. Our cities and rural communities are still not hardened against fire, with inadequate defensible space around structures and water systems that are prone to fire damage just when they are needed to fight flames.

And the new funding flowing into the Foundation is largely onetime money, so there is a pressing need to for a consistent and predictable funding source, such as a sales tax or a dedicated portion of the hotel-based Transient Occupancy Tax.

Even with consistent funding and strong political will, these projects will take years. Our current situation is the result of a century of poor forest management, heedless planning and development, and climate change. A problem that long in creation will not be undone quickly or cheaply.

We commend the government and industry leaders who are taking this seriously, and particularly we commend Thompson and the foundation he leads for agreeing to provide leadership.

But every Napa County resident needs to be involved, take responsibility, and hold our leaders accountable for sustaining the momentum that appears to be developing.

The future of our way of life depends on it.

The Napa Valley Register Editorial Board consists of NVR President Davis Taylor, Editor Sean Scully, and public members Cindy Webber, Ed Shenk, Mary Jean Mclaughlin and Chris Hammaker.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu wrote on Saturday on Twitter that the vaccine doses delivered to the Republic of Moldova reached Chisinau on Saturday afternoon.

"#RO just delivered 2day t/first 21,600 dozes of anti-#COVID19 vaccine 2 #RofMoldova out of t/200,000 dozes promised in Dec 2020 by President @KlausIohannis. This is t/first vaccine arriving in #RM," Aurescu wrote on Twitter.

Republic of Moldova President Maia Sandu posted on Saturday on her Facebook page pictures of the aircraft arrival bringing vaccine doses to Chisinau."The vaccine against COVID-19 has arrived in the Republic of Moldova. The aircraft with a batch of 21,600 doses of vaccine landed a few moments ago at Chisinau International Airport. This is the first tranche of the 200,000 doses of vaccine from the generous donation promised by Romania for the citizens of our country. Thank you, Romania! Thank you, European Union!," wrote Maia Sandu.The president of Romania's neighboring country specified that the batch received on Saturday of AstraZeneca vaccines would be used for the immunization of "all doctors, medical employees and workers involved in the first line of fighting the pandemic.""The vaccination procedure will start in the coming days," Maia Sandu mentioned.
A Berwick man who police said was involved in a deadly assault in Hazleton on Feb. 13 is jailed without bail on one count of criminal homicide, Hazleton police said.

Joshua Keziah, 32, who investigators say punched and stomped on 38-year-old Frantz Orcel following an incident in a North Vine Street parking lot, was arraigned Friday before District Judge Joseph Zola on one count of criminal homicide and remains at Luzerne County Correctional Facility, city police said.

Keziah was previously charged with a felony count of aggravated assault for the attack, which was captured on video surveillance following an argument between the two men.

Police responded to a report of an unresponsive male in the parking lot at 1003 N. Vine St., near W. 22nd St. and Route 309, on Feb. 13 for a report of an unresponsive man in the parking lot who was bleeding from the head.

An investigation determined that the male had been assaulted and that his attacker stomped on his head several times, police said.

Orcel was taken to a regional trauma center where he later died as a result of his injuries.

Keziah was apprehended at his home without incident Feb. 16.

Luzerne County District Attorneys Office assisted city police with the investigation.

Keziah faced assault charges in the past. He was charged by Manheim Twp. police and later pleaded guilty to felonies for robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy after a 24-year-old man was found beaten on Feb. 24, 2008, according to court filings. He was also charged with and pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and false imprisonment, misdemeanors, and was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months to 7 years in jail, followed by 2 years probation.

In that case, Keziah was among teenagers who were charged for beating the victim before and after his kidnappers took him to an ATM, where they removed $130 from his back account, according to LancasterOnline.

Then in March 2016, while an inmate at State Correctional Institution in Frackville, he was indicted and later pleaded guilty to sending a threatening letter in October 2015 to the Lancaster County president judge. For that, he was sentenced in federal court, Scranton, to 14 months in prison followed by two years of post-release supervision which required him spending 90 days in a halfway house, according to court papers.


Samantha Armytage and her husband Richard Lavender enjoyed a romantic weekend at Tasmania's Satellite Island, following their New Year's Eve wedding.

On Sunday evening, the Sunrise host, 44, shared a loved-up selfie of the pair to her Instagram Stories as they headed back home to Sydney.

Samantha joked online how Richard, 60, 'is slowly getting used to the selfies'.

'He's slowly getting used to the selfies!' Samantha Armytage, 44, shared a loved-up photo (pictured) with husband Richard Lavender, 60, to her Instagram Stories on Sunday, after enjoying a romantic getaway at Tasmania's Satellite Island over the weekend

The Channel Seven star, who cut a chic figure in the photo, also told fans how they had a 'happy, happy weekend' and to go 'see Australia'.

Samantha and her equestrian businessman beau stayed at the Boathouse at Satellite Island, a tiny private island in the south of Tasmania.

It is certainly romantic with visitors able to enjoy a bonfire at sunset, shuck wild oysters straight from the sea, swim in the stunning waters or simply take in the Tasmanian wilderness.

Over the weekend, Samantha shared glimpses of their travels to her Instagram Stories, including photos of empty oyster shells.

When in Tasmania: Over the weekend, the Sunrise host shared glimpses of their travels to her Instagram Stories, including photos of empty oyster shells. Pictured on another occasion

Indulging: 'So delicious I forgot to take a pic before demolishing,' Samantha wrote alongside a photo of oyster shells

The journalist captioned one photo: 'So delicious I forgot to take a pic before demolishing.'

She followed that with a picture of Richard carrying a box of oysters and a bucket, which she captioned: 'My husband... he loves an oyster.'

Samantha also told her followers that she was enjoying one of the local delicacies recommended to her.

'And to everyone asking, yes we stopped at the Bruny Island Cheese,' she wrote alongside a picture of her dipping bread into a delicious container of cheese.

Memories: The journalist followed that with a picture of Richard carrying a box of oysters and a bucket, which she captioned: 'My husband... he loves an oyster'

Gourmet: Samantha also told her followers that she was enjoying one of the local delicacies recommended to her: 'And to everyone asking, yes we stopped at the Bruny Island Cheese'

Samantha and Richard wed in front of a small group of family and friends at Richard's 40-hectare estate in the Southern Highlands on New Year's Eve.

The couple reportedly started dating in April 2019 and announced their engagement in June last year.

While she has officially taken on Richard's surname, for now, she will continue to use her maiden name professionally.
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Torn between spending more on Covid support and getting the nation's finances back on track, the public will be hoping for a lightbulb moment from Rishi Sunak at Wednesday's Budget.

And the Chancellor appeared confident and relaxed in his latest candid photoshoot - even posing in front of an artwork filled with various light fixtures by Canada-born artist Lisa Milroy.

The politician, dubbed 'Dishy Rishi' by his hoards of female fans, appeared lean and sharp in the latest set of behind-the-scenes images taken at 11 Downing Street after adopting a fasting diet for several days of the week.

A source told the Sunday Times the politician, who donned 125 sweatpants by Canadian brand Reigning Champ for the shoot, 'doesn't eat much', saying: 'He'll have some chicken broth in the evening. He'll sustain himself throughout the day with a Granny Smith apple and some cashew nuts.'

The candid snaps, taken by Rishi's personal photographer, show the Chancellor hamming up his finance savvy in a Stanford University sweatshirt - where he mastered his trade after obtaining an MBA from their graduate business school in 2006.

Mr Sunak recently marked a year in the role of Chancellor, which has seen his profile soar from a relatively unknown minister to one of the nation's most recognisable politicians, with the help of a well-oiled PR operation.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak donned sweatshirt and joggers as he posed in front of lightbulbs in pre-budget photoshoot in the Number 11 state drawing room

He donned a Stanford University sweatshirt - where he mastered his skills in finance after obtaining an MBA from their graduate business school in 2006

The pictures were taken by former Times photographer Simon Walker, who is the Treasury's 'digital content editor', hired as part of Sunak's team to improve his social media output.

After the Chancellor posed in his sweatshirt in the Number 11 state drawing room, he threw on a suit and recorded a pre-cut clip to tee up the budget announcement next week.

Mr Sunak is known for cultivating his brand under the guidance of his adviser, the former TV presenter Allegra Stratton, including by marking Treasury media releases with his personal signature. Allegra has since joined the Prime Minister's team.

The 'Brand Rishi' push in the past year - including his own logo - has fuelled speculation that the Chancellor could one day launch a bid for the Tory leadership.

After the Chancellor posed in his sweatshirt at Number 11, he threw on a suit and recorded a pre-cut clip to tee up the budget announcement next week

Mr Sunak said last year that he does not want to run for the top job and insisted he was sticking to the top job at the Treasury.

Who is artist Lisa Millroy? Lisa Milroy is an Anglo-Canadian artist known for her still life paintings of everyday objects placed in lines or patterns. She has also produced a number of different series including landscapes, buildings, portraits and geishas in incongruous settings. In 1978 she moved to London to study at Saint Martin's School of Art. She gained her BFA at Goldsmiths College, University of London in 1982. Her first solo exhibition was in 1984 which was based on still life. She gained election to membership of the Royal Academy of Arts in 2005 and was appointed Artist Trustee of the Tate from 2013-2017. Advertisement

'I think the job I have is hard enough and I see up close what the Prime Minister has to deal with everyday,' he said.

Mr Sunak's expensive tastes were highlighted in July when he was pictured preparing in his Treasury office for his mini-Budget with a 180 'smart' coffee mug.

He is married to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Indian IT mogul Narayana Murthy. They live with their daughters Krishna and Anoushka at home in Downing Street.

Akshata has shares in her family's tech firm that are worth 430million, making her one of Britain's wealthiest women with 80million more cash than the Queen. Her father is worth an estimated 2.3billion ($3.1bn).

Ms Murthy and her relatives hold a multimillion pound portfolio of shareholdings which have come to light amid questions over the Chancellor, who met his future wife while studying at Stanford University, California, failing to declare them in the register of ministers' interests.

The assets make Indian-born Akshata richer than the Queen, who is estimated to be worth 350million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

She is the daughter of one of the richest men in India - billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy - who has been described as the father of the Indian IT sector and 'one of the 12 greatest businessmen of all time'.

Overnight the Chancellor announced a 5 billion grant scheme to help non-essential retailers reopen and trade safely at his Budget on Wednesday.

Hospitality, hotels, gyms, as well as personal care and leisure firms, will be eligible for up to 18,000 per premises as they are due to open later under the plans for easing lockdown.

The Treasury estimates 230,000 firms will be eligible for the higher band, which will be awarded based on their rateable value, and 450,000 shops will also be able to apply.

Mr Sunak told the Mail on Sunday the scheme would provide at-risk businesses with 'the support they need to get them through, get them back on their feet and get the tills ringing once again'.

But Mr Sunak issued a warning about the scale of the damage caused by the pandemic, suggesting he could use the Budget to begin making less palatable decisions to tackle the deficit.

Overnight he announced a 5 billion grant scheme to help non-essential retailers reopen and trade safely at his Budget on Wednesday

He told the Financial Times he plans to 'level with people' during his Commons speech, as he spoke of the 'enormous strains' on the UK's public finances are facing.

Treasury sources did not deny a report suggesting the Chancellor plans to raise 6 billion by freezing income tax thresholds for at least three years.

The Sunday Times said he would freeze the 12,500 point at which people start paying the basic rate of income tax and the 50,000 threshold where they begin paying the higher 40p rate, as he aims to raise 43 billion a year.

The move would allow Mr Sunak to raise extra funds without breaking the manifesto pledge that guaranteed the Conservatives would not raise the 'rate' of income tax.

But the newspaper estimated the move would push an extra 1.6 million people into a higher tax bracket before the next general election is due in 2024.

The Government is braced for the possibility of a rebellion from Tory MPs over any tax rises, with backbenchers being warned they could be kicked out of the parliamentary party if they vote against the Budget.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that 'now is not the time' for tax increases, as have some Tory MPs who want the Chancellor to focus in growing the economy as it reopens from lockdown.

Hospitality, hotels, gyms, as well as personal care and leisure firms, will be eligible for up to 18,000 per premises as they are due to open later under the plans for easing lockdown

In a series of announcements ahead of his set-piece speech, Mr Sunak said the UK will launch a sovereign green savings bond for retail investors to help cut greenhouse emissions to net zero by 2050.

The 5 billion for restart grants is targeted at England, but the devolved nations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive an extra 794 million in funding through the Barnett formula.

Local authorities will be tasked with distributing the grants and will receive the funding in April.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak's met his wife Akshata Murthy (pictured together at their wedding in 2009) while studying at the Stanford University

The UK Hospitality trade body welcomed the plan, saying many firms are 'struggling to see how they could survive through' Boris Johnson's road map for reopening, with laws on social distancing set to continue until at least June 21 - the earliest date when nightclubs will be considered for reopening.

Chief executive Kate Nicholls said: 'Cash reserves have been severely depleted after a year of closure and restrictions and these grants are a very welcome boost, putting the sector in a better place to restart.

'Businesses are crying out for the cash now so there can be no further delays which might make it too late for some.'

But she said the grants must form part of a wider package that includes an extension to the reduced VAT rate and a business rates holiday.

'Without these measures, and full furlough while we reopen, the hospitality sector's recovery will be stunted along with our ability to start tackling unemployment by creating jobs,' she added.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) joined UKHospitality in calling for clarity on whether the grants will be subject to state aid caps mirroring the EU's, but welcomed the funding as 'a vital injection of funding during this extremely challenging period'.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson did, however, warn that the grants 'will only provide temporary relief' and called for an extension to the moratorium on aggressive rent enforcement and to the business rates relief in the Budget.

Federation of Small Businesses national chair Mike Cherry said the grants will 'provide a much-needed lifeline', but called for the Chancellor to set out more funding 'for those that have been excluded from income support throughout this crisis'.

Sunak is the son of a GP father and pharmacist mother who emigrated to Southampton from East Africa in the 1960s, and he studied at Oxford University before winning a Fulbright scholarship to Stanford where the future husband and wife met.

Rishi and his wife Akshata live with their daughters Krishna and Anoushka at home in Downing Street Pictured: Sunak with his wife, Akshata, and their children Krishna and Anoushka

Sunak is locally he is dubbed the 'Maharaja of the Dales' (pictured, their magnificent Georgian manor in North Yorkshire)

Rishi Sunak, pictured with his wife Akshata Murthy, was better known in India than Britain before he became Chancellor

Sunak and Akshata married in 2009 in her home city of Bangalore in a two-day ceremony attended by 1,000 guests.

Before entering politics, Mr Sunak, who is now a multi-millionaire in his own right, studied at the 42,000-per-year Winchester College and later at Oxford University.

During his time in business, he worked in California, India and Britain for various investment firms including Goldman Sachs.

He later set up his own business, Theleme Partners, in 2010 with an initial fund of 536million.

While building the hedge fund he spent a couple of days doing voluntary work for the Conservatives  which was when he decided he would like to go into politics full-time.
Presidential candidate aspirant of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Hon. Joe Ghartey has attended the one-week observation of the late Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Railways Development Authority (GRDA), Richard Dombo.



Hon. Ghartey, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan Constituency in the Western Region, attended the one-week observation together with his wife, lawyer Efua Ghartey Esq. and his team, at the Christ the King Parish Hall in Accra on Saturday, February 27, 2021.



It would be recalled that Hon. Ghartey, a former Minister of Railways Development during whose tenure the late Dombo served as CEO of GRDA, had earlier visited the family at their Airport Hills residence in Accra on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, to mourn with them.



Accompanying Hon. Ghartey during the visit were Mrs. Ghartey, Eva Otchere, Akosua Poku, Kwabena Osei Bonsu, Seth Owusu Marfo, and Regan Gyamfi.



Before he visited the family on February 24 and the one-week observation, Hon. Ghartey had written a touching tribute to Mr. Dombo with whom he had a great working relationship.

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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87 people making the treacherous crossing in four separate incidents yesterday

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Over 500 people have already crossed the English Channel this year, after dozens of migrants were intercepted and detained by Border Force on Saturday.

Home Office officials confirmed that 87 people made the treacherous crossing in four separate incidents yesterday, as people smugglers took advantage of warm and calm conditions in the world's busiest shipping lane.

They said all adults who have arrived today have been tested for Covid 19 with one person testing positive.

The boats were picked up in the Channel by Border Force cutters and brought in to the Port of Dover in Kent. One vessel was spotted in the middle of the Dover straits with 20 people on board.

Video was posted on facebook of the inflatable looking overloaded.

A man speaking in English could be heard in a desperate cry pleading: 'Help, help. Somebody help!'

French authorities also prevented two attempted crossings involving 51 people.

The latest arrivals take the number of migrants that have been detained by Border Force in 2021 to 531, almost double the 279 people intercepted in January and February last year.

Home Office officials confirmed that 87 people made the treacherous crossing in four separate incidents yesterday, as people smugglers took advantage of warm and calm conditions in the world's busiest shipping lane

Pictured: Hundreds of boats, used by people thought to be migrants, stored at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, after being intercepted in The Channel by Border Force as attempts to make the crossing continue.

This month officers found 308 people in 18 separate incidents, and in January found 223 people in 15 incidents.

It compares to just 87 migrants in at least six boats in January 2020 while in February 2020 there were 192 in 12 boats.

It is thought groups trying to make the crossing are taking advantage of the good weather this weekend with conditions expected to deteriorate today.

The French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea has warned of strong tidal swells from Sunday to Tuesday all along the French coast.

This means the tidal range and difference in water height between high and low tide will be larger than normal.

And this results in huge crashing waves and stronger currents as the sea level rises and falls back a long way out from shore.

A strong tide is considered to be a coefficient of 95 upwards but Monday is expected to peak at 106.

The Maritime Prefecture says the greater mixing of water can 'make sea currents stronger and the sea more dangerous' and advises caution if entering the water.

The latest arrivals take the number of migrants that have been detained by Border Force in 2021 to 531, almost double the 279 people intercepted in January and February last year

Dozens of migrants packed onto three boats were yesterday detained at Dover by Border Force as people smugglers took advantage of calm conditions across the Channel. Pictured: Dover on Saturday

The migrants were brought to the Port of Dover by Border Force, with images showing at least three children among them

Pictured: Migrants including two children arrive at Dover yesterday after being picked up by Border Force in the Channel

A Home Office spokesperson said of the latest crossings: 'People should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and not risk their lives making these dangerous crossings. We are continuing to pursue the criminals behind these illegal crossings.

'Police patrols on French beaches and enhanced intelligence sharing between our security and law enforcement agencies has helped to prevent crossings.

'The Government is also returning illegal migrants who have no right to stay in the UK to safe countries. In January, new rules were introduced which make asylum claims inadmissible where people have travelled through safe countries to get to the UK through illegal routes.'

The latest arrivals takes the number of migrants have been detained by Border Force officers this month to 308 in 18 incidents surpassing January's figures of 223 in 15 incidents.

It compares to just 87 migrants in at least six boats in January 2020 while in February 2020 there were 192 in 12 boats.

In 2020 a record 8,410 arrived last year - dwarfing 2019's total of 1,850.
The annual raising of the Irish flag will be held Sunday, March 7 at 1 p.m. at Lackawanna County Courthouse Square.

Groups participating in the ceremony will include the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), Ladies AOH, Sister City Committee and the Irish Cultural Society.

Social distancing and mask-wearing will be observed.
Chinese investment in Australia hit a six-year low last year, with $1 billion recorded as bilateral tensions escalated and the Morrison government imposed tighter restrictions on foreign asset purchases in nationally sensitive sectors.

Figures captured in the Australian National Universitys Chinese Investment in Australia database, which has been running since 2014, showed investment flows were down 61 per cent on 2019 and a far cry from the highs of 2016, when the amount was $16.5 billion.

A construction project by Probuild, the company that was set to be sold to a Chinese-state owned entity before the transaction was blocked. Credit:Tash Sorensen

Only property ($461 million) and mining ($414 million) were resilient, with all but one deal in the $1.029 billion recorded in those sectors, in contrast to previous years when new Chinese investment was present in almost all parts of the economy.

Associate Professor Shiro Armstrong, director of the ANU bureau that compiles the data, said the coronavirus, new national security laws and the overall China-Australia relationship were to blame.
New Delhi: The Odisha government led by Naveen Patnaik issued a new order mandating a week-long home isolation for people coming into from COVID-19-hit states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

The Patnaik government has modified its earlier order of imposing precautionary measures to those arriving from 12 states, PTI reported.

Here's what the new order says:

* Seven-day home isolation is mandatory for the people coming from high risk states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal, Delhi, Chandigarh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

* The government may later include other states in the high-risk category if the situation warrants it.

* The seven-day mandatory home isolation for people coming from the five high-risk states can be dispensed with for asymptomatic passengers who have an RT-PCR negative report, if the test was done not more than 72 hours before boarding, or a COVID vaccination final certificate.

On Saturday, Odisha reported 86 new COVID-19 cases from 21 districts with Sundergarh district recording the highest cases followed by Khurda and Sambalpur.

The state currently has 673 active cases while the death toll remained at 1,915.
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NEW DELHI: Actress Alia Bhatt, who is gearing up for the release 'Gangubai Kathiawadi', recently shared a 1.5-minute-long teaser of her upcoming film. The film teaser, which shows the 27-year-old play the titular character, has created a huge buzz on social media. Several celebrities, including Alia's 'Dear Zindagi' co-star Shah Rukh Khan and 'Dhadak' actress Janhvi Kapoor appreciated her performance.

Speaking of the film, a biographical crime-drama, Alia will be portraying the real-life story of Gangubai Kathiawadi, a powerful yet controversial figure at Kamathipura's red-light district during the 1960s. The film, which will revolve around Kathiawadi's life spent in Mumbai's red-light district, will show her rise as a powerful brother house owner, drug peddler, criminal and politician.

The film 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' is based on Hussain Zaidi's book 'Mafia Queens of Mumbai'. As the film is all set to arrive in theatres on July 30, 2021, here's everything you need to know about the story of Gangubai Kathiawadi, a noted madam of Kamathipura brother house.

Sold into prostitution for Rs 500

Born in Gujarat's Kathiwad in 1940s, young Ganga always dreamed of becoming an actress in Mumbais film industry. According to Hussain Zaidi's book, she ran away with her fathers clerk to the city of dreams Mumbai against her fathers wishes. However, she was ticked by sold into prostitution by the man, Ramnik Lal at city's red-light area, Kamatipura for Rs 500.

According to the details provided in the book, the young girl gave up her name and took up Gangu at this point.

In the book, Gangubai is described as a small-heighted woman, just 5-feet-tall. However, she goes on to command huge respect in Kamathipura.

Tied Rakhi to mafia don Karim Lala

The young girl was stuck in the brothel as she had nowhere to go. During her time there, she was brutally raped twice by a member of an underworld gang. Ganga sought revenge on the man by approaching his boss Karim Lala and demanded justice for being raped. She also tied rakhi to him as a gesture to make him her brother. Karim Lala tortured the rapist for his crime and then took on Gangubai as his sister. This lifted her social status through the roof.

Madam of Kamathipura

Gangubai, who had started as a sex worker in Kamathipura, went to become one of the most respected pimps in the city. She was also believed to have strong connections with the underworld which made her practically invincible.

Despite working in an illegal industry, she was known to never pushing a woman in the flesh trade without her consent. She was believed to have given priority to women over business or wealth. It is also said she was the only madam of a brothel to own a Bentley in the 1960s.

The film was originally named 'Heera Mandi' with Priyanka Chopra as the leading character. However, she was replaced by Alia Bhatt in September 2019. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' is set to hit the theatres on July 30. It is the first collaboration between the renowned directed and actress Alia Bhatt. It also stars Vijay Raaz and Indira Tiwari whereas actors Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi will be seen as cameos. According to reports, actress Huma Qureshi will be seen in an item number in the film.
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The Empire State Building boards up for Election Day. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

As America holds its breath for the results of this election, business owners have put up plywood for the second time in half a year, fearing a return of the mass protests and looting from this past summer. (Even Donald Trumps Hollywood Walk of Fame star is covered up.) With the current president doing all he can to delegitimize the results if they do not favor him, and with various legal strategies reportedly afoot to declare victory before the votes are fully tallied while simultaneously claiming that his opponent cheated, the nation is on edge. The NYPD has already prepared for a kind of low-grade martial law if things start to get out of hand. That seems unprecedented.

But is it? There have, of course, been mass protests in the past, some of them instigated by a particular outrage and turning violent, but did they specifically stem from election-related anger? I went back today and read newspaper coverage from the weeks before several elections that seemed as though they might have incited strong feelings: 1860, 1864, 1968, 2000, and a couple of others. I saw surprisingly few protests specific to the election itself.

There were, of course, public dissents all over those years, especially in 1968: Antiwar marches occurred throughout much of the year, after Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination in April (an uprising in Harlem was headed off partly by Mayor Lindsays swift decision to walk those uptown streets in solidarity) and related to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that August. And indeed there were a few eruptions on the morning after Richard Nixons election: Protests cropped up around Rockefeller Center and in Times Square and in Lafayette Park across from the White House. At RutgersNewark, some glass doors were smashed. Marchers called the election a fraud and a hoax, although they probably were not alleging actual ballot fakery but rather a general Nixonian sneakiness. But not a single story mentioned boarded-up windows in advance. A Reuters report preceding the election said that young people had plans for pranksterish events: releasing pigs to run in the streets, stripping naked in voting booths. (The latter was to happen in San Francisco.)

In 2000 in Florida, the biggest disruption seems to have been the so-called Brooks Brothers riot, in which a bunch of conservative activists demonstrated loudly in an attempt to shut down the vote recount. As we eventually learned, the whole thing was backed by the GOP Establishment, with Matt Schlapp and Roger Stone among the organizers. (The legal team behind the stop-the-recount push included Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and John Roberts, a third of todays Supreme Court.) That event, despite its nickname, was less grassroots protest than performance: It was really a bunch of operatives and lawyers, operating and lawyering.

How about in the 19th century? Judging by the 1860 and 1864 coverage in the Times, there wasnt street-level violence of note in the aftermath of the election. When I called up Bruce Schulman, a professor of history at Boston University, he agreed  although, he was quick to point out, in 1860, the aftermath was the secession of seven southern states, leading to civil war! So there was tremendous discontent with the results, but I cant think of any examples of Election Day protests. And not in 1864, either. I did discover one little dustup between Wall Street guys (backing Abraham Lincoln) and some rowdies, but it doesnt seem to have been much of a battle. The draft riots, which tore apart New York in 1863, were of course a secondary effect of secession and the war which resulted.

Squabble with rowdies on Wall Street, as seen in the New York Times, November 6, 1860. Photo: New York Times

But Schulman did flag an election, one that he has studied closely, when it happened. In 1896, when William McKinley was elected over William Jennings Bryan, supporters of the rival candidate rioted, more or less. The beat officer for the 18th Ward had to summon reinforcements to control the crowd. The Chicago Daily Tribune, as it was called then, reports that crowds did not diffuse until people were bruised and stained with blood. And in Manhattan, police tangled with the crowd that was obstructing streetcars, and the New York Times report talks about immense throngs, lively, enthusiastic, parading up and down Broadway from 23rd to 42nd Street, yelling and shouting and causing disruption. So in Chicago, we see a tangle between groups supporting candidates, and violence. In New York, its more excited, a little like turning over cars to celebrate victory after a sporting event.

Election bloodshed, as covered in the Chicago Daily Tribune, November 3, 1896. Photo: Chicago Tribune

Another scholar who studies this period, Gideon Cohn-Postar  hes a postdoctoral fellow at the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania  reminded me of the Wilmington Massacre, the horrific 1898 event in which brutality explicitly descended from an election result. Reconstruction was pretty much over, white supremacists were asserting control, and in Wilmington, North Carolina, African Americans and white moderates formed a fusion party and won control in a city election. And a few weeks after, a large group of white citizens gathered up guns, including a machine gun  the very early use of a machine gun!  and marched through town. We still dont know how many people died. (One estimate is 300.) The mayor and other officials were forced to resign at the point of a machine gun. William McKinley, the Republican president who supported African American voting rights, did nothing. In other places, polling places were sometimes moved in advance of elections to forestall unrest: Cohn-Postar told me about one 1880 South Carolina election in which the polling place was going to be in a market hall where lots of people had their businesses, and because people expected violence, there was a demand that it be moved to the courthouse. And there was [violence], although I dont think anybody died. That particular uprising was, as in Wilmington later on, meant to return political power to white people.

And indeed a lot of election-related violence has historically been about that, notes Ashley Howard, an assistant professor of African American history at the University of Iowa. Thinking about this particular night of mayhem, the closest thing I could think of was off-season local elections, like all the violence surrounding Kansas and whether it was going to be admitted into the Union as a free state. Theres a lot of violence around the Know Nothing party in the 1850s, particularly a riot in 1855 in Cincinnati, and that was a local election, not a presidential one. And then through the Reconstruction era, theres uprisings, riots, voter suppression. But she adds, correctly, that theres always a slow build before a public disruption happens. In March 2016, Trump said that if he didnt get the nomination, thered be riots. And when you look back over the past two or three years, you see this ramping up of a moment where violence is a real possibility. When we think about Charlottesville, about the number of cars that drive into protests, when you think about policing in Black neighborhoods, the possibility of violence should not be surprising. Often, she reminded me, the focus in conversations about protests like these is about the result  property damage  rather than the things fueling the fire that in turn brings the pot to a boil. When I called her, she happened to be prepping to give a class on the Civil War.

One big difference between then and now, Schulman remarked to me, is that the nature of an election in that era was inherently more boisterous. Local leaders of ethnic and social and other groups were informally deputized to deliver their blocs of voters: A neighborhood Irish boss, say, would be rewarded for getting his few hundred blue-collar Irishmen to the polls to vote for the Democratic slate. So there werent exactly protests, but there was definitely mayhem. Remember, 19th-century elections in New York, and in cities in general, would have featured large amounts of alcohol because thats how you got your armies of voters to the polls. There would have been riotous behavior, and undoubtedly some merchants would have closed shop. Many things like food, music, drink were so important to turning out your army. Tonight, it may be a lot of socially distanced takeout.
One of the BBCs most senior journalists in Scotland has been forced to make a clarification after an incorrect news report in which she said Alex Salmond wanted Nicola Sturgeon to resign.

Sarah Smith  who has already had to say sorry for comments made about Nicola Sturgeon in a live TV broadcast last year  found herself in hot water again following a bulletin on Friday.

During the report, the BBC Scotland Editor told Six OClock News viewers that Mr Salmond, who had appeared earlier that day before a Holyrood parliamentary committee, believed the First Minister had misled parliament and broken the ministerial code which he thinks means she should resign.

Sarah Smith told Six OClock News viewers that Mr Salmond believed the First Minister had misled parliament and broken the ministerial code which he thinks means she should resign

But during his evidence before MSPs, Mr Salmond had taken great pains to skirt around the issue, merely saying it was for others, including parliament, to decide his successors fate if she was found to have breached rules.

After a storm of protest on social media, Ms Smith, the eldest daughter of the late Labour leader John Smith, tweeted: On the Six OClock News headline tonight, I said that Alex Salmond had claimed the First Minister had broken the ministerial code and that he thinks she should resign.

'I would like to clarify that Mr Salmond did not say the First Minister should resign. He said, Ive got no doubt that Nicola has broken the ministerial code but its not for me to suggest what the consequences should be.

Mr Salmond was making a long-awaited appearance before the committee, which is probing why 500,000 of taxpayers cash was spent on a flawed investigation into harassment claims against him by two female civil servants.

When asked whether Ms Sturgeon should resign if she was found to have broken the ministerial code, he said: Not for me. I believe the First Minister has broken the ministerial code but it is a finding that can be discussed, at least by this committee.

Among those leading the calls for Ms Smiths resignation yesterday was Scottish author Cameron McNeish, who tweeted: You really need to resign over this. One apology too many.

During his evidence before MSPs, Mr Salmond said it was for others, including parliament, to decide his successors fate if she was found to have breached rules

Another added: It should be Sarah Smith resigning. This wasnt a mistake, it was a blatant, politically-motivated lie aimed at damaging the reputation of the First Minister.

Ms Smiths latest controversy comes after one last May when she made a mistake during a live broadcast and said Ms Sturgeon enjoyed taking a different route out of lockdown to the other nations of the UK.

The First Minister was among those to criticise Ms Smith on Twitter, prompting a flood of abusive messages and calls for her to be fired.

She told the reporter: Never in my entire political career have I enjoyed anything less than this. My heart breaks every day for all those who have lost loved ones to this virus.

The First Minister was among those to criticise Ms Smith on Twitter last year, after she said Ms Sturgeon enjoyed taking a different route out of lockdown to the other nations of the UK

As the hashtag sack Sarah Smith trended on social media, the journalist was forced to post a series of apologies online.

She said: I do not believe that Nicola Sturgeon is enjoying this crisis. I had meant to say on the ten oclock news that she has embraced the opportunity to make a policy unique to Scotland.

'I said enjoyed by mistake. Not suggesting she is enjoying the crisis but embracing devolution.

Last night, the BBC issued a statement that mirrored Ms Smiths own clarification.

Meanwhile, Mr Salmond is expected to launch a follow-up attack on Ms Sturgeon this week while giving evidence in secret to a second inquiry set up to establish whether she has broken the ministerial code.

An MP close to him said: Hell be able to say things in private which he hasnt been able to mention up until now. It will likely be damning and devastating for the First Minister.
Mokpo Coast Guard officers wave the national flag of South Korea on a patrol ship in waters off Gageo Island in South Jeolla Province, Sunday, expressing their strong will to protect the country's maritime sovereignty. They gave the performance a day before the March 1 Independence Movement Day, which marks the anniversary of the 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule. Yonhap
A single jab of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine can reduce by four-fold the number of asymptomatic coronavirus infections, a new study has indicated.

The new data, from Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, suggests the dramatic reduction in positive tests among asymptomatic healthcare workers who had received one dose of the vaccine can make hospitals even safer places to be.

The study, which is awaiting peer review, analysed results from thousands of Covid-19 tests carried out weekly on hospital staff displaying no coronavirus symptoms.

It was led by a team at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and the University of Cambridge.

A University of Cambridge statement said: During a two-week period between January 18 and 31 2021, the team screened similar numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated staff using around 4,400 PCR tests per week.

The results were then separated out to identify unvaccinated staff, and staff who had been vaccinated more than 12 days prior to testing (when protection against symptomatic infection is thought to occur).

Results showed that 26 out of 3,252 (0.80%) tests from unvaccinated healthcare workers were positive.

This compared to 13 out of 3,535 (0.37%) tests from healthcare workers who had their vaccines less than 12 days beforehand and four out of 1,989 (0.20%) tests from staff at 12 days or more post-vaccination, the university said.

A statement added: This suggests a four-fold decrease in the risk of asymptomatic Covid-19 infection amongst healthcare workers who have been vaccinated for more than 12 days and 75% protection.

The level of asymptomatic infection was also halved in those vaccinated for less than 12 days.

Vials of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine (Nick Potts/PA)

Dr Nick Jones, first author on the study and an infectious diseases expert, said: Our findings show a dramatic reduction in the rate of positive screening tests among asymptomatic healthcare workers after a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

This is fantastic news for both hospital staff and patients, who can be reassured that the current mass vaccination strategy is protecting against asymptomatic carriage of the virus in addition to symptomatic disease, thereby making hospitals even safer places to be.

Story continues

Dr Mike Weekes, an infectious disease specialist at CUH, who led the study, said the findings were great news.

He said: This will be welcome news as we begin to plot a road map out of the lockdown, but we have to remember that the vaccine doesnt give complete protection for everyone.

We still need social distancing, masks, hand hygiene and regular testing until the pandemic is under much better control.

Researchers release the figures ahead of peer review because of the urgent need to share information relating to the pandemic, a statement added.

Earlier this week, real world data from Public Health England (PHE) showed that a single shot of the Pfizer vaccine cuts the chance of hospital admission and death from Covid-19 by more than 75% among the over-80s.

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ALBANY  Dr. Brenda Robinson and the Black Nurses Coalition she founded eight years ago have been working long hours since the coronavirus pandemic began, going door to door in the Capital Regions marginalized communities; delivering masks, hand sanitizer and toilet paper; taking blood pressure and providing public health education to Black and brown residents who have borne the brunt of COVID-19.

Whatever it is people need, the coalition has been finding ways to get it, Robinson said.

Now, the one thing many people want  a vaccine  is incredibly hard to get, even as supply has increased in recent weeks. And yet again, its the people her coalition serves who are having the most trouble getting it.

The New York state database has been very difficult, she said. It has been very chaotic. And I do believe that its shameful how its easily manipulated by folks who are able to maneuver. It leaves out people of color and the other underserved people.

Robinson and her coalition are among a growing group of people and organizations around the Capital Region who are dedicating their time to signing up and pre-registering people for vaccine who might otherwise have difficulty accessing it. This includes  among others  the elderly, poor, people of color, people with disabilities, and people with caregiving duties or multiple jobs that leave them with little time to compete for coveted vaccine slots.

Black Nurses Coalition

For their part, the Black Nurses Coalition has been pounding the pavement in Albanys Arbor Hill and West Hill neighborhoods, knocking on doors, hanging up flyers, and making sure people know vaccines are available and that theyre willing to help sign up and pre-register them for appointments. They also offer rides to vaccine sites for those who lack transportation, and provide education about the vaccines safety, efficacy and side effects.

(The coalition) has a variety of people who are from this community and people know them, she said. Thats our secret and thats something that really helps us. Were in this community boots on the ground and we look like the community were trying to serve.

On any given day the coalition has six to 10 people out and about on the vaccine signup project, Robinson said. And they work odd hours, making sure to capture people who have other engagements during the day. On Wednesday night, Robinson said the coalition was able to sign up five additional people they wouldnt have otherwise by staying out late.

Being out to 9:30 was well worth it for those five people that I got in because they in close quarters, they are in a tough situation, and they really need to have a vaccine, she said. So we are thinking about the folks who need the vaccine, the circumstances of some folks. So its not just, oh, 65 and over or health care professional or any of those things. Sometimes you gotta look at the situation people actually live in, what makes them top on the list of needing that vaccine.

The week before the coalition signed up 75 people in hard-hit neighborhoods, she said. And while they encounter a fair amount of skepticism and fear about the vaccines, Robinsons group is also finding many who want a vaccine but grew frustrated by the fragmented and chaotic process of trying to find one.

Constantly changing eligibility rules, limitations on which providers can administer vaccine, and an absence of any clear information about who exactly is getting vaccine and who isnt has made the process of signing up for an appointment an unenviable task for even the most determined of people.

Yeah, you have an appointment. No, your appointment is canceled. No, the vaccine didnt come. No, you have to go over here. No, you have to go over there. No, the link is not working. Oh, try this link. Oh, try that link, Robinson said. It is just very chaotic and I do think it makes our work harder because we have to go and reinforce the importance of the vaccine, the importance of being patient, and then we still cant explain away the chaos, all we can do is agree that it is chaotic and we dont like the system.

Robinson said its an insult that state and federal leaders continue to be reactionary in their attempts to engage with communities of color, and that local on-the-ground people are not consulted when new vaccine sites come online that purport to reach these groups, such as the new Washington Avenue Armory site in Albany that opens Wednesday.

Being that this has devastated brown and Black people, I do think leaders such as myself should be included in this process more than what we are, she said. We should be at the decision-making table, not a table where you join a particular task force and all the task force can do is give information up to a bigger group. No, have those group leaders who are in this area at the actual table where decisions are being made and that is a huge problem.

Albany Public Library

Some groups, frustrated that they havent already been approached by government leaders to assist with vaccine signups and education, are striking out on their own to assist. Albany Public Library is one of them, said Scott Jarzombek, executive director.

Weve kind of been frustrated as an organization because weve reached out multiple times to say, you have information professionals and we want to help whatever way we can and be a part of this, and sometimes its just a Hey, thanks for letting us know, and that has gotten pretty frustrating, he said.

The library launched a pilot this past week, training six to 10 staff members to conduct outreach to patrons 65 and older to make sure they know vaccine is available and volunteer to get them on a pre-registration list.

The pre-registration site at alb.518c19.com was developed by the Alliance for Better Health and launched by Albany County earlier this month. It collects ZIP code data and allows the user to list any underlying health conditions they may have, and is being used by both the county and state to prioritize people at high risk for severe COVID-19 for special county-run clinics and the new joint state-Federal Emergency Management Agency site at the Armory.

So far it has gone smoothly, Jarzombek said in an email Thursday. A bunch of sign-ups, a lot of people already registered, some data clean up, and a lot of appreciation. It has been very positive and I think my staff enjoys being a part of it. In the end, we will end up helping people just by getting the word out and maybe add some clarity to the process. Which is kinda what libraries are supposed to do.

Saratoga Senior Center

The Saratoga Senior Center is also assisting with signups.

Honestly as soon as they started announcing rollouts, pretty instantly the process that was in place at that point was online and we knew working with seniors on a regular basis that that was gonna be problematic because so many of our folks do not have Internet, said Lois Celeste, executive director of the center.

With help from Skidmore College interns, the center began calling up its network of some 1,500 members to make sure they knew vaccine was available and offer assistance signing up. The interns, who are social work majors, have been finding appointments any way they can, refreshing websites and checking with area pharmacies, Celeste said.

Its not been easy and many seniors are very frustrated, she said. Everybody is, but were still gonna stay on top of the latest trends and news and how do we get these, be it calling and calling and getting online and doing all those kinds of things. Whatever we had to do is what we did to try to help folks.

Recently, calls to the center have shifted from people seeking help with an appointment to people seeking rides to that appointment. The center, using a team of about 15 volunteers, is now offering rides to vaccine appointments with its van so people can still socially distance.

Were just all about meeting the need, whatever the need is right now for our demographic, Celeste said.

Other efforts

Additional pushes are underway by a variety of organizations and individuals around the region.

The Alliance for Better Health, a network of Capital Region organizations serving marginalized communities, has been working to get the word out about its pre-registration list.

Jewish Family Services of Northeastern New York is also offering signup help. People can call 518-482-8856 for help registering or getting an appointment. Those who live in Albanys Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community, or NNORC  an area with a significant proportion of people over the age of 60  can call 518-514-2023 for help.

The Columbia County Community Healthcare Consortium, a network of health and human service providers serving rural communities in and around the county, is assisting those who lack access to a computer or Internet register for vaccine. Interested individuals can call 518-822-9600.

Jess Haller, a third-year Albany Law School student whos been interning with Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, said shes in the process of securing approval from Price Chopper to set up vaccine signup tables during the chains senior shopping hours. The early-morning shopping windows were established last spring when the pandemic made venturing out in public potentially dangerous for high-risk persons such as the elderly.

We get a lot of calls from constituents and that was a complaint we heard a lot, Haller said. Elderly people were having trouble with the technology and we assume that everyone has a computer or phone but not everyone does.

The plan is to have masked volunteers work tables at local Price Chopper stores  perhaps set up behind plexiglass, she said  where they take down names and other information required to sign people up or pre-register them for vaccines.

Theres a lot of students who seem to be really interested in helping with this effort," she said. "So hopefully we can start sooner rather than later."
Amid difficulties, many Vietnamese businesses are still staying firm and seeking opportunities to rise up. The Vietnamese spirit has helped them survive and prosper, further developing the economy.

The year 2020 was an extremely challenging period. But the challenges showed Vietnams strength and bravery. Not fearful of hardships nor shrinking from difficulties, the Vietnamese spirit stems from the history of the country.

The whole nation stands side by side, joining forces to cope with difficulties. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Vietnam always has an existing "vaccine"  the resilience which allows Vietnamese to advance forward and cope with all obstacles.

The Vietnamese spirit demonstrated in 2020 reminds Trinh Van Quyet, president of FLC Group, of a bamboo tree, an important symbol of Vietnams culture and daily life. It is flexible, resilient and able to adapt to harsh conditions.

These were the virtues that helped Vietnams businesses overcome the stormy year of 2020.

To Nhat, vice president and CEO of AMACCAO, believes that the Covid-19 crisis brought both challenges and opportunities.

After Covid-19 broke out in Vietnam in March 2020, the country had to impose social distancing. As a result, AMACCAO could not implement its education projects. As for water supply and liquor production, the group failed to obtain a 50 percent growth rate.

However, when Covid-19 led to the interruption of production activities in South Korea and China and affected the global supply chain, opportunities opened up for some Vietnam enterprises.

Previously, imports from South Korea and China competed with our products. As the supply chain was disrupted because of Covid-19, enterprises had to look for domestic suppliers, which was the opportunity for Vietnams enterprises to expand their market share, he explained.

To overcome difficulties, FLC carried out drastic restructuring, going against the wind to find opportunities in danger. It reorganized the system and consolidated the staff and spirit, ready to bounce back after the pandemic.

Amid difficulties, many Vietnamese businesses are still staying firm and seeking opportunities to rise up. The Vietnamese spirit has helped them survive and prosper, further developing the economy.

After the end of outbreaks, FLC immediately recovered its business activities, speeding up the execution of projects. It completed and inaugurated the largest hotel in Vietnam and joined forces with the tourism sector to implement demand stimulus programs in many cities and provinces. This partially helped minimize the Covid-19 impact on tourism, the key industry in many localities.

Reform is key

Quyet believes that 2021 will be a significant year for Vietnams socio-economic development and for every enterprise. The Party and the State will create development strategies and policies to determine the vision for the next decade.

One of the keywords that the business circle uses the most is restructuring. The restructuring in human resources is extremely important to refine the corporate apparatus and improve operational efficiency, Quyet said.

Anticipating upheavals in 2021 as Covid-19 still rages in the world, Nhat hopes that the private sector can have more opportunities to develop. He believes that promoting the private sector is the key to Vietnams development.

The most important support from the government doesnt lie in bailout packages, but in the institutional regime and legal framework. The recent institutional reform has gained encouraging results. However, businesses still complain about the contradictions of decrees and legal documents.

Quyet also hopes that businesses will be given strength from the countrys reform, such as improving the management of the state apparatus at different levels, creating a transparent and open business environment, and ensuring the market mechanism in resources allocation, so that both state-owned and private enterprises can develop sustainably.

I believe this is also the wish of thousands of private enterprises that nurture the hope of contributing to developing the country into a powerful and sustainable country in the new decade, Quyet said.

Nguyen Minh Cuong from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also said at a recent workshop that Vietnam will still have to continue its process of shifting to the market economy in 2021 as it has not completed the process which has been going on for 30 years.

Vietnam needs to encourage the development of the private sector because only this dynamic sector can help the country overcome difficulties.

A report shows that Vietnam's private economic sector currently has nearly 800,000 enterprises creating 12 million jobs, contributing 43 percent of GDP (the figures are 30 percent for state economic sector and 18 percent for foreign invested economic sector).

Luong Bang

Japanese journal: Vietnam to represent bright spot in global economy in 2021 Many forecasts have outlined the nations economic growth in the year ahead, with a reputable UK bank forecasting that the Vietnamese economy is likely to reach a growth rate of 7.8%, while ADB has predicted it will reach a figure of 6.3%.
(Newser)  Virginia has become the sixteenth state, and first in the South, to legalize marijuana. Per the AP, state lawmakers gave final approval Saturday to a bill that will legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. With a compromise bill clearing the House and Senate, Virginia joins 15 other states and the District of Columbia. The legislation now goes to Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who supports legalization. The bill was a top priority for Democrats, who framed legalization as a necessary step to end the disparate treatment of people of color under current marijuana laws. But talks between Democrats in the House and Senate grew tense in recent days, and a compromise version of the massive bill did not emerge publicly until late Saturday afternoon.

story continues below

Per Politico, the House passed the measure in a 48-43 vote and the Senate approved it 20-19, with no Republican members of either chamber voting to approve. The vote follows the state's move last year to decriminalize marijuana and could push states like Maryland currently at the cusp of legalization over the edge, analysts say. The bill legalizes

possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and allows regulated sales to begin starting Jan. 1, 2024. (Read more marijuana legalization stories.)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to attend a virtual ceremony for the pouring of first concrete in the basement of Turkish-based Akkuyu nuclear power plant's (NPP) third reactor on March 10, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Saturday, Sputnik reported.

"On March 10, our president and Putin will participate in the stone laying virtual ceremony at the third unit of the Akkuyu NPP," Domnez said, as quoted by Turkish news outlet Sabah.

The information has yet to be confirmed by the offices of the Russian and Turkish leaders.

The Akkuyu NPP was inaugurated in April 2018 to become the first-ever nuclear power plant built in Turkey. The plant, constructed by Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom, will have four nuclear units equipped with Russian-designed generation 3+ VVER reactors. The capacity of each NPP power unit will amount to 1200 megawatts. The first unit is expected to go into service in 2023, while the remaining three will be connected to the grid by 2026.
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At least 18 people were killed when security forces fired on protesters in cities across Myanmar on Sunday, the bloodiest day in a month of mass demonstrations against the militarys ouster of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Capping a weekend of escalating violence against opponents of the Feb. 1 coup, police in riot gear and uniformed soldiers shot flash-bang and stun grenades and fired live and rubber bullets at protesters, causing fatalities in at least six major cities, including Yangon and Mandalay.

The U.N. Human Rights Office said it had received credible information that at least 18 people were killed and more 30 were wounded, in the highest single-day death toll since the military takeover brought hundreds of thousands of protesters into streets across the country of 54 million people.

We strongly condemn the escalating violence against protests in Myanmar and call on the military to immediately halt the use of force against peaceful protestors, the rights office said in a statement.

The casualties occurred when police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force, the UN statement said.

Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Mandalay, Dawei and Myeik in the southeastern Tanintharyi region, the central regional capital, Bago and Pakokku in the western Magway region, it said.

RFAs Burmese Service was able to confirm through witnesses and demonstrators 15 protester deaths -- four in Yangon, three in Mandalay, four in Dawei, two protesters in Bago, and one each on Mawlamyine, the Mon State capital, and Pakokku.

Protesters take cover as they clash with riot police officers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 28, 2021. Credit: Reuters

'Like a battlefield'

"Myanmar is like a battlefield," Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the Archbishop of Yangon, said on social media.

"The police are arresting, beating and even shooting at the people," he said.

An activist group called Gen Z Revolt 2021 tweeted that 26 protesters had been killed Sunday, including seven in Myeik and one in Lashio, in northern Shan State.

According to the junta-controlled MRTV on Sunday evening, eight people were killed, with 571 people arrested nationwide. Including 322 in Yangon alone.

We are heartbroken to see the loss of so many lives in Myanmar. People should not face violence for expressing dissent against the military coup, the U.S. Embassy in Yangon said in a statement.

Targeting of civilians is abhorrent, the mission added.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a statement saying Washington is alarmed by the escalation of violence.

We will continue coordinating closely with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world to hold those responsible for violence to account, and to reinforce our support for the people of Burma, he said.

To that end, we are preparing additional actions to impose further costs on those responsible for this latest outbreak of violence and the recent coup, added Sullivan.

The European Union condemned the violence and indicated sanctions may be forthcoming.

"This weekend, the Myanmar military has increased its brutal repression of peaceful protests across the country, leaving many protestors dead or wounded," said EU High Representative Josep Borrell, in a statement that promised EU countermeasures "shortly."

"In shooting ... unarmed citizens, the security forces have shown a blatant disregard for international law, and must be held to account. Violence will not give legitimacy to the illegal over-throwing of the democratically-elected Government," said Borrell.

In a rare comment by an ASEAN country on the internal affairs of a fellow member of the 10-nation group, Indonesia said it is "deeply concerned with the escalating violence in Myanmar that has resulted in casualties and the loss of lives."

A statement by the foreign ministry of Southeast Asia's largest country called on the military to "refrain from the use of force and exercise utmost restraint to avoid further casualties and prevent the situation from deteriorating."

A security official aims a weapon in a crackdown on protesters at Hledan Junction, in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, Feb. 28, 2021. Credit: RFA

Journalists detained

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the world must insist on accountability for the deaths, any illegal use of live ammunition by Myanmar security forces, and the violation of basic rights from the deepening crackdown.

The Myanmar security forces clear escalation in use of lethal force in multiple towns and cities across the country in response to mostly peaceful anti-coup protesters is outrageous and unacceptable, and must be immediately halted, he said in a statement.

Security forces are also engaged in a widening pattern of arrests, detaining scores with each passing hour, added Robertson.

Among those arrested as police and soldiers started using more aggressive tactics against protesters Saturday were 13 journalists detained while covering protests.

Eight journalists and photojournalists were picked up Saturday, including Associated Press correspondent Thein Zaw, who remained in custody after two of the eight were released. Another five local journalists were detained in several cities on Sunday, RFA has learned.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a watchdog group, said that as of Sunday, 1,132 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced in relation to the military coup, with 883 still being held or facing outstanding charges. It counted approximately 30 deaths since the coup.

Before the weekend shooting deaths, RFA had verified eight deaths since the Feb. 1 coup, including three protesters shot by riot police and one demonstrator death in custody.

Myanmar state television announced on Saturday that U.N. envoy from the deposed civilian government who made an impassioned appeal a day earlier for the world body to use any means necessary to take action to restore democracy had been fired for betraying the country.

In addition to the existing support, we need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people, and to restore the democracy, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly.

Tens of thousands of civil servants across Myanmar who have joined the three-week-old anti-coup civil disobedience movement face increasing pressure from employers who are threatening to fire and sue them for going on strike to support the protests.

More than 24,000 employees from 24 government ministries are taking part in the strikes, according to data collected by groups participating in the movement. The strikes have brought nearly all public health services, education, and railway transportation to a halt.

Myanmar anti-coup protesters and the Milk Tea Alliance of pro-democracy activists in Thailand, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and India condemned the shooting deaths.

"We cannot see our people die anymore. Our hearts are so painful right now. We are now afraid of tomorrow, fearing more lives will be lost.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce has convinced three premiers to support his plea to end state border closures for good next month.

Mr Joyce has also made progress on an agreement for international travel to be allowed again by the end of October when the Covid vaccine rollout ends.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and his counterparts Gladys Berejiklian in NSW and Steven Marshall in South Australia agreed to support his push for a national framework.

This would create an Australia-wide standard aimed at keeping domestic borders open from early April when four million have received the jab.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has convinced three premiers to support his plea to end state border closures for good next month

State premiers will debate the issue with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who openly wants national border agreements, at Friday's National Cabinet meeting.

'We have a few premiers that have said they're going to raise it at national cabinet and try and come out with an agreement. At what point is more up to debate,' Mr Joyce told the Australian Financial Review.

Mr Joyce said on Thursday he expected international travel, without quarantine, to begin at the end of October, as Qantas revealed its half-year results.

Mr Andrews said he met with Mr Joyce on Wednesday and discussed what was needed to give Australians 'greater certainty'.

'I gave him an absolute commitment. There were three or four things he raised, and I have given him a commitment on each of those [that] I would be supportive of a framework,' he said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews agreed to support his push for a national framework

Mr Marshall also met with Mr Joyce last week in talks that were described as constructive and generally supportive.

However, both men said they reserved the right to slam borders shut again if medical advice recommended it.

State premiers have been accused of using lockdowns and border bans to improve their polling, even if medical advice did not require it.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan's government was caught polling voters weekly for what they thought about his eight-month hard border and other measures, but denied that it drove his decision making.

Ms Berejiklian has vowed not to close state borders, which Mr Joyce commended her for.

Gladys Berejiklian has vowed not to close state borders, which Mr Joyce commended her for

Mr McGowan and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk are expected to be tougher nuts for Mr Joyce to crack but there is hope that after their elections they will be more open to compromise.

WA goes to the polls on March 13 and Mr McGowan is certain to win in a landslide.

Top public servants are working on a proposed set of national standards for life after the vaccine is rolled out.

'Hopefully we can have a nationally consistent approach to that, but it just stands to reason, as you get your front-line workforce starting to move through the vaccination program... the risk is deemed lower and there are more things you can do,' Mr Andrews said.
The headlines were about the fact that, when Megyn Kelly appeared on Bill Mahers HBO show on Friday, she complained about the way her childrens pricey private schools in New York were indoctrinating them with pro-transgender values and anti-white animus. Bill Maher to his credit, agreed with Kelly that matters are getting seriously out of hand, at least when it comes to the anti-white hatred thats becoming the norm in education. Mahers always been a bit of maverick, though. The real surprise was the enthusiasm his audience showed for that sentiment.

For conservatives, nothing that Kelly said about her childrens experiences in New Yorks toniest private elementary schools came as a surprise. Kelly said that, while she and her husband identify as center-right, she was okay with the fact that the schools were on the left side of the political aisle. That changed, though, when they went hard left, and then they started to take a really hard turn toward social justice stuff.

One of the hot-button issues was the schools efforts to normalize transgenderism, a form of body dysphoria thats recognized as a mental illness when the subject is anorexia, not sex. Kelly told Maher that, when one of her sons was in third grade  that is, 8 years old, the school unleashed a three-week experimental trans-education program.

Not only did the children find it terribly confusing, but Kelly also said that what was going on was more like coercion than teaching tolerance. Thus, she said, It wasn't about support  we felt that it was more like they were trying to convince them. Like, come on over.

The same pressure was applied to her other son who, in kindergarten was made to participate in a class project that saw the children writing to the Cleveland Indians to complain about their mascot. Hes six, she said. Can he learn how to spell Cleveland before we activate him?

Thats when Kelly dropped a line that should be at the forefront of every single parents brain as he or she fights the schools efforts to coopt American children: If hes going to be activated, Doug [Kellys husband] and I should do it. Its up to the parents, not the schools, to set values for the children  but of course, thats not how leftists see it.

Maher then chimed in that hed been hearing from parents  leftist parents  about the relentless anti-white activism the New York schools, both public and private, are pushing.

And this is what Ive heard from parents  and these are all liberal, by the way  who say, My kids are not ready to be told theyre white supremacists. You know, Im not ready to be told. [snip] You talked about this letter the school put out.  Can I read some of the things that are from this letter, lest people think Im losing my mind? Theres a killer cop sitting in every school where white children learn. White children are left unchecked and unbothered in their homes, one sentence starts. Well, how old do you have to be before you can just be unchecked and unbothered. You know, what age to you get bothered? Im tired of white people reveling in their state-sanctioned depravities, snuffing out black lives with no consequences. You know, go reform white kids. You know, it bothers me so much that I have to be on this side [Kellys side] of this issue. Because Ive always been a civil rights advocate. You know, dont make me Tucker Carlson. Youre the f***ing nuts. This is insane. As black bodies drop like flies around us by violent white hands. There is racist problems in this country. But this is hyperbole, and this is making people crazy.

It was with those words that the amazing thing happened: Mahers audience applauded. Over the years, Mahers audiences have always been trained seals, reliably clapping at every hard left, anti-George Bush, anti-Trump, pro-Obama statement the host utters. But this time, he said that the BLM rap pushing Critical Race Theory (CRT) on American society is dangerous insanity  and the audience clapped.

When evil or crazy people -- that would be the BLM, CRT crowd  take the bit in their mouths, there is no stopping the extremes to which theyll go. Perhaps the reaction from Mahers audience is telling us that the American people are finally ready to rein them in. After all, a leftist audience realized, as Kelly and Maher did, that the lefts anti-white racism is going to destroy America.

IMAGE: Bill Maher. YouTube screengrab.
President Joe Biden speaks on supply chains last week in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington.
The Labour Party's paltry 3pc opinion poll rating last week couldn't but bring to mind the immortal line uttered 40 years ago by then leader Frank Cluskey.

"Trust Michael D. Faced with a choice between saving the world or saving the Labour Party, he takes the easy option," Cluskey quipped, only half in jest, on being told at a crisis party meeting that Mr Higgins was on an emergency mission in the Middle East.

If anything, the challenge now looks even more daunting for Alan Kelly, the latest man charged with 'saving' Labour.

This weekend 10 years ago, Kelly had been newly elected to the Dail, one of 37 Labour TDs savouring the party's best ever election result.

But unbeknown to them, the seeds of their party's near destruction were already being sown.

Once in government, Labour did, despite what those on the hard left and on Twitter would have you believe, what had to be done to sort out the public finances.

However, an association with austerity is toxic for any left-wing party, and Labour paid a massive price for saving the country before saving the party. It continues to do so.

At least in Cluskey's time, Labour could count on being the third-biggest party. Today it is battling it out with the Social Democrats for sixth place - and this time it really is no exaggeration to talk about an existential crisis.

Last week's poll result must have been particularly demoralising because it had seemed Kelly and Labour had been making progress.

Kelly has an extraordinary work ethic and a real nose for news. He had also been seriously getting under Sinn Fein's skin, building a media profile on subjects such as Covid, CervicalCheck, direct provision and student nursing.

The Dail dressing-down Dublin Fingal TD Duncan Smith gave to the Healy-Rae brothers was eulogised by journalists and lifted spirits in the party, but it seems the public weren't paying a blind bit of notice.

There's no question the Tipp man has been dealt a bad hand.

With just six TDs, the party lacks the critical mass - and hence speaking time - to really make its mark in the Dail. It has to deal with not only the Social Democrats, but the Greens, the hard-left parties, Independents and, most particularly, Sinn Fein eating its lunch.

Even the irrepressible Cluskey might have wavered at that prospect.

Kelly has never been one to walk away from a challenge. He is not blessed with the natural 'hail fellow, well met' persona suited to Irish politics, but through sheer hard work and a willingness to listen to advice and learn, he won a seat - against the odds - in the Seanad, the European Parliament and the Dail.

He also became party leader despite the clear misgivings of many Labour grandees. He will be up for the fight.

But inevitably questions will be asked as to whether he is the right man to revive Ireland's oldest political party.

Assuming the party's traditional working-class vote is largely lost to Sinn Fein - at least until SF goes into government and has to take difficult decisions - then left-leaning, liberal middle-class voters offer the best potential for growth.

This could see seats in former heartlands Dublin Bay South, Dun Laog haire and Cork South Central come back into play.

However, there are those who question whether Kelly's aggressive, salt-of-the-earth, 'man of the country' persona will appeal to those urban voters who used to give their No.1 preferences to Ruairi Quinn in Sandymount, D4.

Do they like what they see in 'AK-47', even if he has softened that persona of late?

He has overseen his party making the running on direct provision, a citizenship referendum and period poverty: liberal issues that would appeal to those voters (and wouldn't be naturally associated with Kelly).

But those same voters might have been less impressed with his highlighting of 2,000 people from Brazil arriving in the past month - a comment called out by the Taoiseach as "populist and wrong".

While the charge of "Sinn Fein-lite", levelled privately by some in Government, might be unfair, the adoption of a Zero Covid strategy is puzzling given that at least two of Labour's TDs depend on votes from Dublin airport workers.

The tactic was likely heavily influenced by a fear of being outflanked by Roisin Shortall and the Soc-Dems.

A merger with that party would go a long way towards addressing Labour's lack of critical mass.

It will inevitably happen some day. But not, it seems, while Shortall and her co-leader Catherine Murphy are in place. They won't countenance it. The truth is there is no magic bullet for Kelly and Labour.

The word is that, characteristically, Kelly is doing the spadework across the constituencies. He is reportedly on Zoom calls across the country every night of the week.

With the brand struggling to gain traction, Kelly is effectively going to have to get 10 to 12 Independents elected for the party - the likes of senators Mark Wall in Kildare South, Rebecca Moynihan in Dublin South Central and Ivana Bacik in Dublin Bay South.

That won't be easy, even if Labour did enjoy a good local elections in 2019. Nor is it guaranteed to hold its current six seats. Only Kelly, Sean Sherlock and the Wexford seat held for decades by Brendan Howlin are bankers.

A lot depends on Kelly. Can he be bigger than the Labour Party, a la Dick Spring 30 years ago? Does he have enough experienced people around him (always a Labour strength in the past)?

And, given progress will be in inches rather than yards, will he have the patience to play the long game, to slowly and incrementally rebuild the party rather than risking a big-bang approach?

Patience is a trait not readily associated with Kelly, to put it mildly. But at 3pc in the polls, he is going to need that and steady nerves for the long game ahead.

Shane Coleman co-presents Newstalk Breakfast, weekdays from 7am


Many people remain waiting on lists to be vaccinated as county health officials and private businesses work to establish herd immunity in Michigan.

Michigan has administered 2,131,955 vaccine doses as of Friday, Feb. 26, according to the states vaccine dashboard.

Michigan has recorded 586,425 COVID-19 cases and 15,454 confirmed deaths as of Feb. 26.

Heres a look at the latest vaccination updates from counties across the state:

 Bay County Health Department preparing for multi-county vaccination clinic at Delta College

 Genesee County vaccination rate hits 15%

 Jackson County working through COVID vaccinations for eligible residents

 Kalamazoo County: COVID-19 vaccine has reached nearly 19% of those eligible

 Kent County: About 155K COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far in Kent County

 Muskegon area residents under 65 could start getting COVID-19 vaccine in April

 Saginaw County develops plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccine to socially vulnerable populations

 Washtenaw County: 20,000 residents waiting for COVID vaccine appointment

Visit the states vaccine page to find out more about the process to get vaccinated.

Read more:

39% of Michigan seniors have gotten COVID-19 vaccine; see numbers in your county

Participation increasing in Michigans long-term care vaccination program, but many workers still hesitant

In midst of Michigan vaccine shortage, program for long-term care homes has 280,000 unused doses

Johnson & Johnson vaccine effective against COVID-19, analysis says, clearing way for FDA authorization

In Michigan, Biden says end of coronavirus pandemic will come when Americans take vaccine

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SAN JOSE, Calif.  From the isolated ranch towns of the eastern Sierra to the immigrant communities of San Jose and other cities, Californias health experts eagerly await the arrival of Johnson & Johnsons one-dose COVID-19 vaccine, saying it will expand supplies and boost access for the states most hard-to-reach residents.

Its like having a gun with 10 bullets in it  and now I have 10 more. Thats a better gun, said Frank Laiacona, director of pharmacy for the rural Northern Inyo Health Care District, home to Mount Whitney and Death Valley, where residents may drive up to 200 miles to get a shot.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine behaves much more like a regular vaccine than existing vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna, which both require two doses three to four weeks apart.

They wont have to wait long. On Friday, a panel of Food and Drug Administration experts voted in favor of the new vaccine, saying it was proven safe and effective in clinical studies and completely protective against hospitalizations and deaths. On Saturday, the FDA gave the official go-ahead for use.

With approval, California is scheduled to receive 380,000 doses next week and 1.1 million total doses overall the next three weeks, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference in Fresno on Friday. He did not specify where supplies will be targeted.

It can be stored in a traditional refrigerator for at least three months, making it simpler to use for areas in the state that do not have the ability to keep the mRNA vaccines at super cold temperatures. And because it is a single shot, it does not require a follow-up visit.

While studies show the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were roughly 95% effective in protecting mild, moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 after a second dose, Johnson & Johnsons trials showed somewhat lower efficacy of 86% against severe forms of COVID-19 and 72% against moderate and severe illness. But comparing the three vaccines is challenging because of differences in the designs and dosing regimens of the clinical trials  and the new vaccine has important advantages, say experts.

This will be a game-changer, said Santa Clara County supervisor Otto Lee at Fridays opening of a new COVID-19 vaccination location at East Valley Clinic in urban East San Jose, which serves a predominantly Latino community hard hit by the virus.

The most immediate advantage, said experts, is expanded supplies. Pfizer and Moderna, alone, cant make enough vaccines to quickly protect everyone. The recent emergence of variants has heightened the urgency of vaccinating as many people as possible. If the virus cant multiply, it cant mutate.

Johnson & Johnson has promised to deliver enough doses by the end of March to vaccinate more than 20 million Americans. It expects to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June.

The J&J vaccine also uses a more traditional approach than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines  enlisting a harmless virus called an adenovirus, rather than messenger RNA, to carry a genetic code. So it does not require extremely cold freezers.

Its the jackpot. It is wonderful. It will allow us to go to farms without refrigeration constraints, said San Jose physician Dr. Walter Newman, who vaccinates agricultural workers in the fields of Monterey, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

After a compressor malfunctioned in a Mendocino County freezer last month, 830 doses of the Moderna vaccine had two hours to be injected before they spoiled. Faced with a use-it-or-lose-it crisis, and far from any backup facilities, Adventist Health Ukiah held a last-minute and stress-filled mass vaccination clinic.

In the vast and windswept Owens Valley, having patients come in for a single dose, logistically, is incredibly much more simple than having to arrange two separate visits, said Laiacona. The high desert region has lots of space to roam  but that makes people more dislocated from a health care facility.

With easier access, more people will opt to be vaccinated, he predicted. And if fully vaccinated, the regions isolation will prove a blessing, he said. There is a real ability for us to become a safe harbor, free of virus.

Returning for the second dose is hard for other reasons too, said physicians.

Its difficult to track and schedule a second dose for migrant farmworkers who move from one county to another county, so a vaccine requiring a single dose is a better option, Newman said. Vaccine distribution is a county specific process, with little intrastate coordination.

People also miss their second dose appointment because of scheduling conflicts due to work, childcare or other responsibilities, said Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate chief medical officer of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center

Or maybe someone felt a little achy just after the shot, and thats not an exciting thing to go through again, she said. So they hope that one dose might be enough.

For vaccine administrators, the single-dose regimen will ease operations and record-keeping.

We have a very complex Excel spreadsheet that helps us track second dose appointments and make sure that we keep adequate inventory, said Tong. This would certainly simplify things, operationally.

And with a one-shot vaccine, storage isnt committed to second doses.

It doubles our capacity for that type of vaccine, she said. This allows us to vaccinate twice as many people.
Dhaka, Feb 28 : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for greater emphasis on science and technology, and technical education to ensure employment opportunities for the people in keeping with the requirements of the modern age.

Hasina said this while speaking at the inaugural event for the distribution of stipends, tuition fees, admission assistance and financial grants among poor and meritorious students under the Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust via video conference on Sunday, bdnews24 reported.

She said the government is setting up various universities in the country with the aim of providing the necessary tools to succeed in the modern workplace.

"We have established the Maritime University, the Civil Aviation and Aerospace University. In other words, we are looking at the subjects and the kind of education that is very important in different parts of Bangladesh and setting universities accordingly. We are doing this so that everyone can receive a proper education." Education in science and technology alongside technical training is crucial as it improves job prospects, according to the Awami League chief.

"It's relevant both at home and abroad. And it's necessary in our country in light of the 100 economic zones that we are creating. There will be domestic and foreign investment. It will take a lot of people with technical expertise there. Therefore, we want to create a skilled workforce." "If we create skilled manpower, they will be able to make a huge contribution to our economic development. Therefore, we are taking various measures to that end." The Prime Minister also highlighted the steps taken by her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to modernise and develop the education system of the country while outlining the various initiatives taken in this regard by her Awami League government.
A man has been stabbed during a burglary in Moneymore.

Detectives are appealing for information following an incident on Saturday afternoon.

A PSNI spokesperson confirmed two men have been arrested.

"A report was received just after 2.30pm that two men forced entry to a house in the Woodvale Crescent area," they said.

"It was reported the male occupant, aged in his fifties, was assaulted, sustaining a stab wound in his thigh.

"Two men, aged 27 and 54 years old, have been arrested on suspicion of offences including burglary with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

"Both men remain in custody, assisting with our enquiries.

"We would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time and may have seen a black VW Passat to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 1115 of 27/02/21."

A report can also be made using the online reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport or to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

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Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Finance ministers from the group of seven rich nations (G7) will vow this week to support their economies as they emerge from the pandemic and reach an "ambitious" deal on a minimum global corporate tax in July, a draft communique showed. G7 officials, set to meet in London on June 4-5, will also say that once the recovery is well established, they will need to "ensure long-term sustainability of public finances", which is understood to be code for a gradual withdrawal of stimulus. The G7 comprises the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada.
Seguin, Texas (78155)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Heavy downpours are possible. Low 66F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Heavy downpours are possible. Low 66F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

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Christian magistrate fired for sharing views on gay adoption loses appeal

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An appeals court has upheld the firing of a British magistrate for telling media that he believes adopted children are better off with a mother and father instead of same-sex couples. The Christian man says he will take his case to the Supreme Court.

Richard Page, who is from the Headcorn area of Englands Kent County, was suspended by the NHS in 2016, a year after he shared on national television his Christian views on parenting following a same-sex adoption case.

The basis on which he was dismissed was entirely lawful and involved no breach of his human rights, said Lord Justice Underhill of the Court of Appeal on Friday, according to BBC.

The extent to which it is legitimate to expect a person holding a senior role in a public body to refrain from expressing views which may upset a section of the public is a delicate question  The issue raised by this case is not about what beliefs such a person holds but about the limits on their public expression, the judge added, according to Christian Concern.

Lord Justice Jackson said Page was not free from bias. A child's future is to be decided on the evidence before the court and in accordance with the law ... It is not open to individual judges to superimpose their own beliefs, however sincerely held.

Page called it another deeply concerning ruling from the courts against Christian freedoms.

I intend to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, he said.

The Christian Legal Centre, which supported Page, also called it an unfair and chilling decision.

The judgment sends a direct message to Christian public servants that if they allow their beliefs to influence their decision-making while in public office, they must self-censor and be silent, and are ultimately unfit for that office, the groups chief executive Andrea Williams remarked.

Williams noted that this is the first time the Court of Appeal has endorsed the perverse distinction between unlawful discrimination for Christian beliefs and lawfully dismissing someone for offending an LGBT audience by expressing those beliefs.

This is simply an artificial way to exclude Christian beliefs from the protection of the law. Nobody would get away with applying a similar distinction to any other protected characteristic. You would not get away with dismissing a homosexual for coming out as a homosexual, and then saying: we duly respect your sexual orientation as long as you keep it to yourself, she added.

"This ruling provides a green light for employers to punish Christian employees who do not fall in line with and unquestionably support LGBT ideology."

Page had worked for the NHS for over two decades before becoming a part-time director in 2012. After his suspension, he reapplied for his role as a part-time non-executive director but was denied. In August 2016, Page was told that an NHS panel ruled that it was not in the interests of the health service for [him] to serve.

In October 2017, a three-judge panel at the Croydon Employment Tribunal ruled against Page, saying he wasnt turned away from employment because of his religious beliefs but because he voiced his religiously motivated beliefs on parenting on national television.

The role at the NHS wasn't the only thing Page lost because he voiced his beliefs. He also lost his position as a magistrate with the Maidstone and Sevenoaks courts because of his comments on television.

My responsibility as a magistrate, as I saw it, was to do what I considered best for the child, and my feeling was therefore that it would be better if it was a man and woman who were the adopted parents, Page told the BBC in 2015.

During his legal battle earlier, Page said in a video posted by the Christian Legal Centre that he was simply trying to glorify God.

Were not here to look after me, he said. I ask people to pray that whatever happens, it actually does glorify God.
Only half of all young people are solely attracted to members of the opposite sex, a poll has revealed.

In a sign that attitudes towards expressing sexuality are shifting, a survey of 18 to 24 year-olds in the UK found just over 50 per cent are 'only attracted to those of the opposite sex'.

As the age groups got older, the proportion of people who were only attracted to the opposite sex got higher, The Times reports.

Countless celebrities have revealed they are attracted to both sexes in recent years - including model Cara Delevingne, Riverdale actress Lili Reinhart, pop star Miley Cyrus, Will Smith's daughter Willow and actor Keiynan Lonsdale.

Of those aged between 41 to 54, the survey found 76 per cent were solely attracted to the opposite sex - but 81 per cent of 55 to 75 year olds gave the same answer, the Ipsos Mori poll found.

Only half of all young people are solely attracted to members of the opposite sex, a poll has revealed. Countless celebrities have revealed they are attracted to both sexes in recent years -including model Cara Delevingne (left) and Riverdale actress Lili Reinhart (right)

In a sign that attitudes towards expressing sexuality are shifting, a survey of 18 to 24 year-olds in the UK found just over 50 per cent are 'only attracted to those of the opposite sex'. Will Smith's daughter Willow (left) and actor Keiynan Lonsdale (right) have revealed they are attracted to both sexes

The survey asked 1,127 adults in the UK and 1,005 in the US and got similar results.

Expert in the psychology of sexual orientation at Trent University in Ontario, Canada, Karen Blair told the paper: 'The increases at least partially represent an increase in willingness and ability to come out.

'Each recent generation has faced fewer and fewer external pressures to conform to heterosexuality.'

She said under-25s are having a 'drastically different' experience to the older generations due to changes in how sexuality is perceived.

A US survey this week found that a record 5.6 percent of Americans now identify as LGBTQ - with the majority saying they are bisexual.

As the age groups got older, the proportion of people who were only attracted to the opposite sex got higher, The Times reports. Pop star Miley Cyrus (pictured) has dated both men and women

Gallup on Tuesday published its latest update on LGBTQ identification, showing a 1.1 percent increase since the poll was last conducted in 2017.

It marks the largest increase since the survey began in 2012, with an estimated 18 million adults in America identifying as LGBTQ last year.

The results, based on more than 15,000 interviews conducted throughout 2020 with Americans aged 18 and older, found that younger generations were more likely to say they are LGBTQ with one in six Generation Z adults aged between 18 and 23 - or 15.9 percent - identifying as such.

This dropped to less than two percent in respondents who were born before 1965.

An estimated that a record 5.6 percent of all Americans now identify as LGBTQ

A record 15.9% of Generation Z Americans now identify as LGBTQ, according to a new poll from Gallup published Wednesday. Less than 2% of those born before 1965 do

'One of the main reasons LGBT identification has been increasing over time is that younger generations are far more likely to consider themselves to be something other than heterosexual,' wrote Gallup senior editor Jeff Jones.

'It reflects what we are seeing in society and the way society is changing.'

'The pronounced generational differences raise questions about whether higher LGBT identification in younger than older Americans reflects a true shift in sexual orientation, or if it merely reflects a greater willingness of younger people to identify as LGBT,' Jones added.

'To the extent it reflects older Americans not wanting to acknowledge an LGBT orientation, the Gallup estimates may underestimate the actual population prevalence of it.'

Prior to this year, the most the percentage of Americans who identify as LGBTQ had increased was by .4 points between 2016 and 2017.

It has climbed from 3.5 percent in 2012, just over a two percent increase in 18 years.

In last year's survey, Gallup reported that 86.7 percent of Americans say they are heterosexual or straight, while 7.6 percent do not answer the question about their sexual orientation.

This response had grown from an average of 5 percent in previous surveys.

In prior years, Gallup had not asked respondents to identify their exact sexual orientation, only asking for yes or no answers in response to whether or not they were LGBTQ.

With the inclusion of the question in 2020, it found that 54.6 percent identify as bisexual while almost a quarter say they are gay.

Another 11.7 percent identified as lesbian and 11.3 percent as transgender.

And a further 3.3 percent volunteered another non-heterosexual preference such as queer or same-gender-loving.

The results found that an estimated 11.5% of Gen Z Americans identify as bisexual. This drops to below 2% for Americans born before 1980, as pictured above

The Gallup poll found that most LGBTQ Americans identify as bisexual, as pictured

The Gallup poll in 2020 had marked the biggest increase in Americans identifying as LGBTQ

A record 15.9% of Generation Z Americans now identify as LGBTQ, according to a new poll from Gallup published Wednesday. Less than 2% of those born before 1965 do

Gallup estimates from these results that within the entire US adult population, 3.1 percent of Americans identify as bisexual, 1.4 percent as gay, 0.7 percent as lesbian and 0.6 percent as transgender.

The number of Americans identifying as bisexual is far higher among younger generations.

The Gallup poll found 72 percent of Generation Z adults who identify as LGBT say they are bisexual compared to half of millennials. It falls significantly lower in older generations.

The survey estimated as a result that 11.5 percent of American Gen Z adults identify as bisexual. This falls to 5.1 percent among Millennials, 1.8 percent in Generation X and 0.3 percent in Baby Boomers and Traditionalists.

As well as the divide by generations, the poll also found significant gender difference among the respondents.

According to the Gallup report, women are more likely than men to identify as LGBT - 6.4 percent vs. 4.9 percent, respectively - and women are also more likely to identify as bisexual.

Political differences also showed up with 13 percent of liberals identifying as LGBT, 4.4 percent of moderates and 2.3 percent of conservatives.

The divide was not as significant among party lines. The survey estimated that 8.8 percent of Democrats identify as LGBTQ, 6.5 percent of independents and 1.7 percent of Republicans.

However, the survey also found that there appears to be no meaningful divide in terms of education.

College graduates identify as LGBTQ at 5.6 percent compared to 5.7 percent of college nongraduates.
(Reuters) - Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared at a court hearing via video conferencing on Monday as supporters marched in several towns and cities in defiance of a crackdown after the bloodiest day since the Feb. 1 military coup.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters in the main city of Yangon on Monday, witnesses said. They later combed through side streets firing rubber bullets and at least one person was hurt, media reported.

In an evening address on state television, army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said protest leaders and "instigators" would be punished. The army was also investigating financial abuse by the civilian government, he said.

Suu Kyi, 75, looked in good health during her appearance before a court in the capital Naypyidaw, one of her lawyers said. Two more charges were added to those filed against her after the coup, she said.

"I saw Amay on the video, she looks healthy," lawyer Min Min Soe told Reuters, using an affectionate term meaning "mother" to refer to Suu Kyi. "She asked to meet her lawyer."

The Nobel Peace laureate, who leads the National League for Democracy (NLD), has not been seen in public since her government was toppled and she was detained along with other party leaders.

She was initially charged with illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios. Later, a charge of violating a natural disaster law by breaching coronavirus protocols was added.

On Monday, two more charges were added, one under a section of a colonial-era penal code banning publication of information that may "cause fear or alarm", the other under a telecommunications law stipulating licences for equipment, the lawyer said.

The next hearing will be on March 15. Critics of the coup say the charges were trumped up.

'SEVERE ACTION'

Myanmar has been in chaos since the military seized power after alleging fraud in a November election that the NLD won in a landslide, with daily protests getting increasingly violent as police and troops try to stamp them out.

Story continues

In his speech, read out by a newsreader on state-run MRTV, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said action would be taken against civil servants refusing to work for the junta.

He said the military was investigating what he called corruption by the civilian government, accusing the authorities of misusing money meant for COVID-19 prevention efforts.

"The respective ministries are working to find out such financial abuse," he said, adding that action would be taken against organizations where foreign currency funds were found.

He said a committee formed by ousted lawmakers from the civilian government, which has announced the formation of a government-in-exile, was illegal and anyone associated with it would be punished.

The junta has promised a new election but not set a date.

On Monday, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, whose name uses the Burmese word for the Myanmar parliament, declared the junta a terrorist group and condemned the violence against protesters as a "declaration of war on unarmed civilians".

On Sunday, police fired on crowds in several places, killing 18 people, the United Nations human rights office said. A committee representing lawmakers elected last year said 26 people were killed but Reuters was unable to verify that.

"We have to continue the protest no matter what," Thar Nge said after tear gas volleys from the police forced him and others to abandon a barricade in a Yangon street.

The military has not commented on Sunday's violence and police and military spokesmen did not answer calls. The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper warned that "severe action will be inevitably taken" against "anarchic mobs".

Demonstrators marched on Monday in the northwestern town of Kale holding up pictures of Suu Kyi, and live video on Facebook showed a crowd in the northeastern town of Lashio, chanting slogans. Police and soldiers later raided a church in the town and detained 11 people, a church group said.

After nightfall, a journalist for the Democratic Voice of Burma live-streamed security forces outside his apartment in the coastal town of Myeik, where he had been filming protests. "They are shooting," he cries out, appealing to neighbours for help as sounds of broken glass can be heard and smoke seen.

It was not clear whether the journalist had been detained.

'ABHORRENT'

The coup brought a halt to Myanmar's tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, and has drawn condemnation from the United States and other Western countries, and growing concern among its neighbours.

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, will hold a video meeting on Myanmar on Tuesday and listen to representatives of the Myanmar military, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said.

Balakrishnan called for the security forces to desist from the use of lethal force, for Suu Kyi's release, and for talks on solutions and a way back to democratic transition.

Tom Andrews, a U.N. special rapporteur, said it was clear the junta's assault would continue so the international community should ratchet up its response.

He proposed a global arms embargo, more sanctions on those behind the coup and on military businesses and a U.N. Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court.

(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols and Matt Spetalnick; Writing by Martin Petty, Robert Birsel, and Poppy McPherson; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Mark Heinrich)
The Egyptian tourism ministry denied on Friday social media allegations that the iconic gold funerary mask of the boy-king Tutanakhamun had been allowed - outside of its showcase - to be photographed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Several artifacts of the Tutanakhamun collection have been transferred from Upper Egypts Luxor to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), set to be inaugurated this year in Giza.

The chosen pieces underwent restoration.

The mask is also among those pieces that are to be moved to the new museum, that is one of the largest worldwide, shortly before it is opened.

Director General of the Egyptian Museum in Cairos Al-Tahrir square Sabah Abdel-Razek affirmed that the showcase of the young kings mask has never been opened since it underwent restoration in 2015.

Abdel-Razek said the ministry has denied a large number of requests from professional photographers and foreign media to take photos of the mask outside of the showcase in exchange for large sums of money.

She affirmed that this kind of request is rejected in order to keep such unique and prominent pieces preserved.

The 3,300-year-old burial pharaonic mask was discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb along with other artifacts by British archaeologists in 1922, sparking worldwide interest in archaeology and ancient Egypt.

It was restored after the beard of the mask became detached during work on the relic's lighting in August 2014 and then was hastily re-attached with epoxy.

Short link:


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its emergency-use approval for Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine, Saturday evening, the New York Times reported.

The single-shot could start rolling out as early as next week, and will be distributed in the United States for people ages 18 and older, according to a press release from the FDAs website.

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., said the approval for the third-vaccine shows standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.

The authorization of this vaccine expands the availability of vaccines, the best medical prevention method for COVID-19, to help us in the fight against the pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States, said Woodcock.

The approval of the vaccine shows there was an effectiveness in preventing COVID-19, the press release states.

Johnson & Johnson pledged they would provide 100 million doses by the end of June to states across America, the report states.

Unlike the other two vaccines, Johnson & Johnson can be stored at standard refrigeration temperatures for at least three months, the report states.

According to the NY Times, Johnson & Johnsons vaccine has a 72-percent efficiency rate, within the clinical trial, compared to the 95-percent rate found in studies testing Moderna and Pfizer.

However, it is also reported by the NY Times that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has shown 85-percent efficacy against severe forms of COVID-19, and 100-percent against hospitalization and death.

In an interview, Dr. Anthony Fauci told. Americans not to look at the numbers, but to be focused on the fact that there are now three highly effective vaccines. Dont get caught up, necessarily not the number game, because its a really good vaccine, and what we need is as many good vaccines as possible, said Fauci.

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) committee of vaccine experts will discuss on Sunday which population groups should be a high priority for the vaccine, the report states.

Prior to the FDAs approval, Johnson & Johnson stated they would ship close to four million doses, and another 16 million by the end of March, the report states.

Vaccine arrivals could occur as early as Tuesday.
Talking up Ohios plusses, as Gov. Mike DeWine wants to do  albeit at a possible cost of $50 million, if the General Assembly will go along  isnt a bad idea.

Trouble is, Ohios leaders have some explaining to do:

Such as  why Ohio incomes, on a per-capita basis, lag the nations.

Such as  why, in an America made digital-first by COVID-19, Ohio continues to futz around about statewide broadband access. Talk, talk, talk: Thats Ohios broadband strategy.

Such as  why Ohios purportedly liberal Democratic Party has yet to elect a Black Ohioan to a statewide executive elected office. (Democrats did nominate and help elect Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart, a Greater Cleveland Democrat.)

Republicans nominated Ohios first elected Black statewide executive officeholder, Cincinnatis J. Kenneth Blackwell, who was state treasurer, then secretary of state, and in 2006, Republicans nominee for governor. And in 2002, Republican Gov. Bob Taft chose Columbus City Council member Jennette Bradley to be his running mate, as GOP candidate for lieutenant governor. The Taft-Bradley ticket won, making Bradley the first Black female lieutenant governor of any state. (In fairness, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate that year, Tim Hagan of Greater Cleveland, also chose a Black running mate, Columbus Charleta B. Tavares.)

Moreover, Republican Gov. James A. Rhodes appointed, and voters subsequently elected, the Ohio Supreme Courts first Black justice, the late Robert M. Duncan.

Democrats have nominated Black Ohioans for statewide executive office, most recently in 2014, when they nominated then-state Sen. Nina Turner, a Cleveland Democrat, for secretary of state. But none of those Democratic nominees won. (Turner is running for Congress in a what will be a special 11th District election held after the U.S. Senate confirms Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat chosen by President Biden to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development).

As to selling Ohio, some other topics also need explaining:

Such as  why the Ohio General Assembly has repeatedly tried to fetter Roe v. Wade.

Such as -- how Ohio, realistically, can lure Californians and New Yorkers to move to Ohio to take a likely pay cut. Example: The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that two years ago, per-capita personal income in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area was $79,844. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area, it was $66,684.

But in the Cleveland-Elyria metropolitan area, it was $55,451. In the Columbus metropolitan area, it was $52,477. In the Dayton-Kettering metropolitan area, it was $49,161  and in the Cincinnati area, it was $56,033.

The inevitable counterargument: Taxes are killing New Yorkers and Californians, and scaring off businesses. But according to the U.S. Regional Economic Analysis Project, statewide per-capita personal income in New York in 2019 was $71,717; in California, $66,619; in Ohio, $50,199  and, nationwide, in all 50 states, it was $56,490.

Then comes whats supposed to be the ultimate, unbeatable argument for why people should leave Manhattan and Beverly Hills for suburban Ohio: Your dollar goes further in Ohio.

Actually, it doesnt go very far at all. You send dollars to the electric company and the insurance company a few counties away. The electric company and insurance company pay Statehouse lobbyists to persuade Ohio politicians to boost your electric rates or make it harder for you to win a personal-injury lawsuit  a perpetual motion machine that strip-mines your checkbook.

As Ohio attractions go, the State Fairs butter cow and Saturdays in Ohio Stadium are decent lures. But they cant hide the fact that, yeah, sure, some people in Ohio are making money  but you may not be one of them.

The late James P. Celebrezze

Besides criminal cases, the Ohio Supreme Courts real role is to referee fights between statewide foes: utilities versus consumers; policyholders and their lawyers versus insurers. In that connection, theres a lot to be said about former Justice James P. Celebrezze, who died Feb. 10, brother of the late Chief Justice Frank D. Celebrezze (1928-2010).

Journalists reported. Voters voted  and unseated Justice Celebrezze in 1984 and Chief Justice Celebrezze in 1986. Thirty-five years later, the Supreme Courts history is there for anyone to judge.

Its possible to wonder if what really bugged foes of the Celebrezze brothers was their arguable tendency to see state law not as holy scripture but as a framework for solving the real problems of real Ohioans  Ohioans who might perhaps belong to veterans posts or bowling leagues, not country clubs.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-408-9474

Have something to say about this topic?

* Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication.

* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this opinion column to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Feb, 2021 ) :The UN human rights office, OHCHR, Sunday strongly condemned the "escalating violence" in Myanmar after police and security forces killed 18 anti-coup protestors, and called for an immediate end to the use of force.

More than 30 demonstrators have been wounded as security forces used live rounds against crowds nationwide protesting the month-long military takeover, according to the Geneva-based OHCHR, citing "credible information".

The military has claimed, without evidence, that the ruling party of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi  the National League for Democracy (NLD)  fraudulently won parliamentary elections. Arrested on 1 February, she and other leaders have remained in detention and according to news reports she is due in court on Monday.

Sunday's violence comes days after a dramatic appeal from Myanmar's UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who publicly broke ranks with the ruling junta while addressing the UN General Assembly.

He said he was speaking on behalf of the ousted Aung San Suu Kyi civilian government and called for international intervention to help end the coup.

"We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup," he said on Friday.

On Saturday, Myanmar's state broadcaster reported that the diplomat had been fired because he had "betrayed the country and spoken for an unofficial organization which doesn't represent the country and had abused the power and responsibilities of an ambassador." "I decided to fight back as long as I can," Kyaw Moe Tun told Reuters news agency in New York.

In a statement released in Geneva, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, said, "The people of Myanmar have the right to assemble peacefully and demand the restoration of democracy".

"These fundamental rights must be respected by the military and police, not met with violent and bloody repression." According to OHCHR, police and military confronted peaceful demonstrators using disproportionate force with deaths reported in the largest city Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myiek, Bago and Pokokku. "Tear gas was also reportedly used in various locations as well as flash-bang and stun grenades", said Ms. Shamdasani.

"Use of lethal force against non-violent demonstrators is never justifiable under international human rights norms", she said. "Since the beginning of the coup d'tatthe police and security forces have targeted an ever-increasing number of opposition voices and demonstrators by arresting political officials, activists, civil society members, journalists and medical professionals.

"Today alone, police have detained at least 85 medical professionals and students, as well as seven journalists, who were present at the demonstrations. Over 1,000 individuals have been arbitrarily arrested and detained in the last month - some of whom remain unaccounted for  mostly without any form of due process, simply for exercising their human rights to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly."The Spokesperson reiterated OHCHR's call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained by the military authorities, "including members of the democratically elected government.

"The international community must stand in solidarity with the protestors and all those seeking a return to democracy in Myanmar", Ms. Shamdasani added.
UPDATE: A week after this column was published, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill changed his mind and decided not to support the bill supporting no-excuse absentee voting.

This is an opinion column.

Im surprised, actually. Or slightly. Though I shouldnt be.

I knew Republicans were mad. Steamin mad. Still, I thought theyd be smarter than this. At least for a minute.

I thought after a presidential election in which more Americans voted than in at least a century, if not in history, Republican lawmakersthough upset at the resultwould be savvy enough to eschew any new legislation restricting future voting in any fashion. At least for a minute. Because any such proposal would be immediately exposed and derided for what it was: voter suppression.

Shameless, in-broad-daylight voter suppression.

Blatant, unabashed Black voter suppression.

Knee-jerk voter suppression after unprecedented numbers of Americans took advantage of the loosening of early-voting and absentee ballot requirements. All over the nation, particularly in large cities with a significant African American population, voters showed up and shoved Donald Trump out.

Notwithstanding losing the White House, Republicans seem blind to the reality that the party outperformed pre-election polls and gained five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

With those victories as a pacifier, I really thought Republicans would be smarter. At least for a minute.

I was clearly mistaken.

GOP state lawmakers nationwide are having a suppression partyand were not invited.

In Arizona, theyve introduced 19 bills designed to change how people may vote in the state that famously turned blue last November to become a tipping point in the 2020 presidential election. They impose stricter ID requirements, limit or scrap no-excuse absentee voting, and snatch oversight from election officials and give it to, well, themselvesthe state legislature.

Oklahoma State Sen. Rob Standridge introduced a bill this month proposing a U.S. Constitutional amendment requiring voters to complete a notarized application signed by two witnesses to receive an absentee ballot. Its one of nine bills in seven states seeking to make it more restrictive for election officials to send out absentee ballots, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School.

In Pennsylvania, State Sen. Patrick Stefano introduced a bill to revoke the states permanent early voter list. Currently, once a voter makes a written request to be placed on the list, theyll automatically receive an early vote ballot each election as long they are legally registered. If the bill becomes law, voters must apply each election.

In Georgia, GOP lawmakers are so spittin mad their state turned blue, a member of the House wanted to prevent people from voting on Sundaya blasphemous aim at church-going Black folk. (Sunday voting was restored before the bill was passed by a committee on Wednesday.) The same bill, though, contains various other means of choking absentee and early voting in the state. Gwinett County Republican election official Alice OLenick doesnt even try to hide her colors. She told the Gwinnett Daily the legislature should make changes so that we at least have a shot at winning. Bless her heart.

Thirty-three states, all in, have introduced, pre-filed, or carried over a total of 165 voter restriction bills this year, according to the Brennan Center. Last year at this time, 35 such bills were introduced in 15 states.

We pretty much wrote the script on voter suppression. For real: Its called Selma.

Though I was pleasantly surprised Wednesday to hear Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, a Republican, supports a House bill eliminating the need for an excuse to request an absentee ballot. More than 300,000 absentee ballots, a state record, were cast in the state last year, three times the typical number, after Merrill issued an emergency rule lifting the requirement due to concerns over the possible spread of COVID-19.

Is Merrill the only leading Republican nationally to not support voter suppression? If not, some of yall better check your folks. [UPDATE: A week after this column was published, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill changed his mind and decided not to support the bill supporting no-excuse absentee voting.]

Opposition to the Alabama bill was expressed by probate judges and circuit clerks. In essence, they told the House Constitution, Campaigns, and Elections Committee: All those ballots made us work too hard.

One Republican on the committee, Rep. Matt Simpson (Daphne) seemed skeptical: If its not broken, why try to fix it?

Surprise. Surprise.

A voice for whats right and wrong in Birmingham, Alabama (and beyond), Roys 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
MANISTEE COUNTY  After taking Manistee County students on a pair of trips to Europe through Education First Tours, Manistee High School teachers Amanda Clemons and Kris Johnson had planned on leading a trip to Peru this past summer.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic put the kibosh on the trip.

Clemons said international trips used to be common at MHS, but eventually went away for some time before she and Johnson decided to bring the opportunity back to students.

We started talking about it and we planned a trip for 2018 and it was awesome, Clemons said. We had a great time, the kids all had a great time, so we went ahead and planned a trip for 2020 for Peru, and then COVID happened.

The Peru trip was initially postponed until this upcoming summer, but with the likelihood of travel still up in the air, Clemons and Johnson decided to cancel it altogether.

Now, the pair have their sights set on 2022.

We didnt want the whole concept of trips to just fall apart, Clemons said. Its still really important for us to provide this opportunity to kids, so we planned a trip for next summer to Europe. Were going to Paris, Normandy and London, and its a 10-day trip.

Students from any Manistee County school currently in grades eight through 11 can sign up for the trip.

There will be a virtual informational meeting held via Google Meet on Thursday, March 4 at 6 p.m.

Anyone wanting to attend the meeting must register at https://bit.ly/3ki4K2J.

Those who register for the meeting will receive a Google Meet link via email.

Clemons said the meeting will be beneficial for students and parents alike.

During that meeting we go over the itinerary. A lot of students like to know what am I going to get to see? What are we going to do? Clemons said. ... So we will go through all of the itinerary of things were going to get to see and do, and then its also really good for parents to attend because they can ask all of the financial questions that the kids have no idea they even need to ask.

Clemons said an EF representative will also be present for the meeting.

Its really great for parents who might still have concerns about safety, Clemons said. Sending your kid to Europe without you can be a little bit intimidating or overwhelming, so those kinds of questions  safety questions  will all be answered also. So its really geared for anybody who might be interested in going, but its really nice if parents can attend because they get that kind of information that parents need.

Anyone with additional questions can email Clemons at aclemons@manistee.org.

European trip is an educational experience

Getting educated on unique places

Manistee group takes educational trip to Ireland
It is exactly 12 months since medics were summoned to what became the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Since then, over 155,000 infections have led to more than 1,900 deaths.

While Nigeria, like most African countries, has not suffered from the worst effect of the pandemic, unlike its European and American counterparts, the Nigerian government has made some blunders and faced some challenges in managing the virus. PREMIUM TIMES highlights five of those challenges.

It was a Thursday afternoon on February 27, 2020, when authorities announced that an Italian tested positive for the disease, two days after he flew into the country via a Turkish airline that landed at the Lagos airport.

The case was the first in West Africa and just the third to be confirmed in Africa after those in Egypt and Algeria.

According to Lagos health authorities, the Italian upon arrival stayed in a hotel near the airport on the evening of February 25, 2020 before proceeding to his place of work in neighbouring Ogun state the following day.

Lafarge Africa Plc, a cement manufacturing company in Ogun State, invited the unidentified Italian to inspect some installations of machines bought from a Swedish firm, the companys Industrial Director, Segun Soyoye said.

He fell ill on the 26th February and was transferred to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing. COVID-19 infection was confirmed by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, the Lagos health ministry said in a statement.

All those that had contact with the Italian  a total of 39 people, including four health workers at the companys clinic  had to be quarantined by the Ogun State Government while contact tracing of the people on the same flight with him was initiated by the Lagos State Government and the NCDC.

Response started at snail pace

In its initial response, Nigeria was slow to act at a time when each day of inaction mattered in terms of both the eventual public health harm as well as the severe economic costs, health experts say.

COVID-19 was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in early January 2020, meaning that Nigeria and much of the African continent had some time to make key decisions.

By the end of February 2020, COVID-19 had proliferated around the globe, emerging in every continent except Antarctica, prompting many governments and businesses to try to stop people travelling or gathering in crowded places.

Two days after Nigeria reported its second infection  a contact of the Italian national  the World Health Organisation (WHO) upgraded the status of the COVID-19 outbreak from an epidemic to a pandemic on March 11, with a strong call for countries to detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilise their citizens to ensure that those with just a handful of cases could prevent the wider spread of the deadly virus.

The global health agency also warned that porous borders, a continuing flow of travellers and poorly resourced healthcare systems meant the risk of an outbreak across Africa was very, very high. It raised significant concerns about the ability of fragile health systems to cope.

Health professionals including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) warned the Nigerian government to shut its skies and borders to prevent further importation of the virus from European and Asian nations where the disease had started to spread.

But the government appeared not to heed that advice until the countrys caseload rose to at least 30. International flights were still operating despite rising cases overseas, making Nigeria particularly vulnerable.

On March 18, the government announced it was restricting entry into the country for travellers from China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, U.S., Norway, UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. All five cases reported that day came from some of the blacklisted countries.

Three days later (on March 21) when the Nigerian government announced it would close its two main international airports in the cities of Lagos and Abuja for one month, 10 additional cases were announced, nine of whom are Nigerians that had travel history to the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Canada, and France.

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The real question is why let the virus into the country in the first place? This is important because, for all intents and purposes, COVID-19 arrived Nigeria not as a matter of inevitability, but almost by the governments own invitation, Oyewale Tomori, a virologist said in an article published by Daily Trust.

The federal government had at least three clear windows of opportunity to shut the virus out of Nigeria altogether. Unfortunately, the government did not take any of them, Mr Tomori, the immediate past president of the Nigerian Academy of Science, noted.

After a prolonged silence amid rising concerns, President Muhammadu Buhari on March 29 eventually announced the shutdown of Lagos, Abuja, and Ogun State initially in what heralded the countrys response to the outbreak.

Sweeping lockdown measures followed in other states with the banning of interstate travels, shutting of schools, offices, sporting, and social activities with services considered to be non-essential closed.

Opaque Management of funds

The president had on March 9 constituted the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, with membership from various sectors.

Since then, the PTF has coordinated a multi-stakeholder response to the pandemic while providing technical and material support to states to manage the outbreak.

The PTF also serves as an advisory body to the president on specific decisions such as imposing and lifting lockdowns. It provided daily feedback to Nigerians on the work being done to contain the pandemic through media briefings.

Sani Aliyu was appointed as the national coordinator of the PTF.

Apart from the local and international support Nigeria received, one response many Nigerians paid attention to was the philanthropic donations by big companies, organisations and individual Nigerians.

As of May, 2020, about N36.3 billion had been raised.

This was considered a noble gesture in response to the outbreak prompting public scrutiny on how the money would be spent.

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, last September stated that over N30 billion, representing 84 per cent of the N36.3 billon, was expended between April 1, 2020 and July 31, 2020, leaving the balance of N5.9 billion.

The accountant-general was responding to the Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated August 10, 2020, and sent to him by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Connected Development (CODE).

He said the PTF spent N22 billion, and 36 states spent N7 billion to support their COVID-19 initiatives.

Unsatisfied with the response, the groups in a statement said, we also note that the documents sent to us do not contain other significant details as indicated in our FoI request including details and breakdown of the number of Nigerians who directly or indirectly have benefited from the spending, and details on plans to spend the balance of N5.9 billion

While the subsequent response is being awaited, another group, a youth-led NGO, Follow the Money, wrote 57 FOIs to 27 state agencies, requesting how the COVID-19 funds they received was spent.

Only six states provided sparse information, assuring that palliatives were distributed accordingly, even though there were no details of distribution and evidence of the same, the group said in a statement that came with a throve of documents.

Reports of lopsided distribution of palliatives based on political and sectional prejudices were further exposed in the aftermath of the #ENDSARS protests in October 2020, when warehouses piled with palliative were discovered and raided by hungry Nigerians.

Weak enforcement of safety protocols

Despite the announcement of mandatory safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus, many Nigerians violated them and enforcement was lax among law enforcement agencies.

Lock down restrictions were partially lifted in May 2020 and with the economic downturn, job losses, rise in domestic violence and health emergencies, people started seeing the pandemic as a lesser threat.

Safety protocols such as wearing of facemasks, maintaining social distance, hand washing and cleaning routines were not adhered to. The #EndSARS protest erupted across the country with thousands of youth trooping out in defiance to repeated calls by the NCDC and health experts to avoid mass gatherings.

Two governorship elections were held amid the outbreak last year and large political gatherings held without social distancing and the use of face masks.

There were mass travelling and gatherings during the holiday period last December amid the resurgence in infections officially declared the second wave.

Health experts traced the spike in cases to the violation of safety protocols and community transmission.

With the resumption of international flights in Nigeria on September 5, 2020, weak enforcement of COVID-19 testing protocols in Abuja and Lagos airports also aided the resurgence of the disease, a PREMIUM TIMES check revealed.

Poor testing

While Nigerias national COVID-19 strategy is being centrally developed, it relies heavily on individual state governments to localise and enforce national guidelines.

The states are solely in charge of the coronavirus management and response while the countrys infectious disease outfit, NCDC, supports and receives daily infection information from them.

The daily infection update is then published by the NCDC, which ultimately serves as the yardstick by which Nigerias COVID-19 outbreak is measured.

However, the reliability of these figures is in doubt due to several loopholes and challenges, including states not turning in enough test samples.

For example, Kogi has only conducted a meagre 3,370 tests, which is less than one per cent of the states 3.5 million population, according to the latest weekly general fact sheet published by the NCDC.

On April 28, 2020, the Nigerian government announced its target of testing at least two million people within the next three months. Almost a year later, Nigeria has yet to conduct two million tests.

As of Saturday evening, Nigeria has conducted 1,489,103 tests.

With that figure, Nigeria has conducted nearly 7,000 tests for every one million of its population, according to data from worldometer.info.

This pales in comparison to South Africa, which has tested 146,751 samples for every one million citizens  or Morocco at nearly 150,000 per one million, the highest of any African country, according to worldometer.info data.

There are over 80 testing labs in the country, according to the NCDC director, Chikwe Ihekweazu, but many citizens say getting a coronavirus test has been a challenge.

While testing is free in state-owned laboratories, there are few of these facilities and they are in major cities and those seeking to be tested would wait in long queues for days, a PREMIUM TIMES check revealed.

Also, many Nigerians are also unwilling to get tested for the disease and there are concerns that people are self-medicating and self-managing their symptoms at home.

Sketchy preparation for COVID-19 vaccination campaign

Nigeria wants to vaccinate as much as 50 per cent of its population against COVID-19 to achieve herd immunity.

Authorities are expecting to receive anytime soon, the first batch of the 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX, a World Health Organisation-backed programme set-up to divide about two billion doses of vaccines across 92 low-and middle-income countries.

Nigeria will also get millions of doses of vaccines from other arrangements such as that put in place by the African Union.

However, what has remained sketchy is an actual plan for a massive vaccine roll out.

Vaccine hesitancy, poor roads and storage infrastructure especially in rural communities as well as insecurity present significant barriers to the successful distribution of vaccines, health experts say.

Results from an ongoing survey by PREMIUM TIMES is already showing that many Nigerians could reject the vaccines due to misconceptions about the jabs and the disease.

By now, there should be an ongoing massive awareness campaign to disabuse minds and enlighten the people on why it is important to take the vaccine, Nzube Ezeh, a public health researcher said.
NEW YORK (AP) - Hundreds have gathered in New York City to denounce an uptick in attacks on people of Asian descent in the city and across the country. Saturday's rally at Foley Square in lower Manhattan was not far from where an Asian man was critically injured Thursday in what police said was an unprovoked stabbing by another man. Jo-Ann Yoo is executive director of the Asian American Federation. She says the Asian American community is terrified by the attacks. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Stop Asian hate is the message that needs to be spread across the country.
A too-dry February left San Francisco with only 38% of normal rainfall for the month, and forecasters say residents should get used to it: With the wet season ending, its almost impossible to see the water year ending with anything close to a normal soaking.

San Franciscos rain total for February  typically the heart of the rainy season along with December and January  was just 1.71 inches, compared to the 4.46 inches thats considered normal, National Weather Service Bay Area officials said. A year ago it was even worse: February 2020 brought no rain to San Francisco.

The water year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. Since Oct. 1, San Francisco has recorded 7.1 inches of rain, 30% the full-season normal 23.65 inches, which means a huge catch-up would have to occur to reach that level, Bay Area forecaster Duane Dykema said.

When that happens, its really hard to end your water year with anything close to normal precipitation. Its highly unlikely well be able to catch up at this point, Dykema said. An extraordinarily wet March and April would have to wallop the region, he said, adding, I think its highly unlikely that would happen.

Dykema said theres a little bit of hope for some rain next week.

Despite the back-to-back dry years, the longer-term climate significance is unclear, he said. Its just not enough data to draw any conclusions about what this means to have a couple of dry Februarys in a row.

In February 2019, for example, San Francisco recorded nearly 8 inches of rain  showing how big the swings can be from year to year depending on what is going on in the atmosphere, he said.

When we talk about averages for the weather, were looking at 30-year averages. The actual weather rarely conforms to those averages. So some years youll be well above that, some years youll be well below that.

As to the consecutive dry Februarys, he said, another two or three in the coming years could draw more of a conclusion, that perhaps something like climate change is driving it.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
Amid the ongoing farmers' protest against the three contentious farm laws, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait will hold a Kisan Mahapanchayat at Lakhnaur in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

According to news agency ANI, a company of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and personnel from at least four police stations have been deployed to maintain law and order in the state during the gathering.

Police will also monitor the speeches of Kisan Mahapanchayat.

Five-state tour

The Mahapanchayat is part of a five-state tour to be taken up by Tikait to drum up support for the farmers' protest.

"Farmers' meetings will be held in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, while two meetings will also be held in Uttar Pradesh in March," BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik had earlier said.

Two meetings will be held in Rajasthan and three in Madhya Pradesh. The last three meetings will be held on 20, 21 and 22 March in Karnataka, Malik said.

The convener of south Indian states farmer's movement KT Gangadhar had also earlier said that Tikait and another BKU leader Yudhvir Singh will participate in the farmers' protest rally in Shivamogga city on 20 March.

"The central government passed the farm bills through an ordinance, which is undemocratic. We decided to boycott the laws including the Karnataka state land reforms amendment act. We decided to unit all organizations including pro-Kannada groups, Dalit organizations, we will meet at Shivamogga to show the strength of farmers," Gangadhar told ANI.

"Farmer leaders including Yudhvir Singh and Rakesh Tikait will participate in the rally. Shivamogga has a history of socialist and farmers movements. Great leaders like Kagodu Thimmappa is with us. This will be a mega movement and we will give a new message to the government, it will gradually expand to southern states," he added.

Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since 26 November 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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SAGINAW, MI  After COVID-19 delayed them for a year, jury trials are finally set to resume in Saginaw County.

The Saginaw County Courthouse, located at 111 S. Michigan Ave., has been closed to the public since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, March 1, the first trial since then is to commence, but within the Red Room of The Dow Event Center, 303 E. Johnson St., rather than the courthouse on the opposite side of the Saginaw River.

Officials arranged to use the Red Room thanks to funds secured by Saginaw County Controller Robert V. Belleman through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Chief Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson said trials have been cleared to proceed by the Michigan State Supreme Court Administrators Office, based upon coronavirus numbers supplied by the Saginaw County Health Department.

Our COVID positivity rate must be below 10 percent and our cases per million must be below 70, Jackson said. This week, our positivity rate was 3.6 percent and our cases per million were 56, and both of those numbers are trending downward.

Trials were originally set to begin in the Red Room on Nov. 9, but that plan was changed when the countys COVID positivity rate increased to about 9.8 percent, with the then-seven-day average of cases per million being 301.6.

A diagram of how the Dow Event Center's Red Room will be set up for Saginaw County trials beginning March 1, 2021.

As of Feb. 26, Saginaw County has had 15,055 positive cases resulting in 502 deaths.

Jackson said there are at least 45 defendants charged with capital offenses  meaning they carry life imprisonment as a possible penalty awaiting trial in Saginaw County. There are currently 17 defendants in jail on charges of open murder, though some of those cases remain at the lower District Court level.

The oldest cases with defendants in jail are being given priority. Trials have been scheduled through May 28, Jackson added.

Its an attempt to provide people with their day in court and clear up our backlog of cases that have been on hold since last March, the judge said.

Only one trial will proceed at a time and while civilians will not be allowed to physically attend trials, the public may view live proceedings on YouTube.

The first trial set to begin is that of Daveon J. Thompson, 23, who has been charged with open murder and four related firearms offenses since February 2018. Thompsons charges stem from the Jan. 27, 2018, shooting death of 26-year-old Antonio Parham in the 500 block of South Bond Street in Saginaw.

Thompson first went to trial on the charges in September 2019, but that ended with a hung jury. The prosecution argued the killing was motivated by Thompsons belief that Parham had killed 21-year-old Brandon C. Pennywell, a good friend of Thompsons, on Nov. 4, 2017. No one was ever charged in Pennywells killing.

The defense argued Thompson was innocent of the crime.

Jackson is to preside over Thompsons trial. One-hundred potential jurors are to report to the Red Room Monday for jury selection.

Every precaution has been taken to ensure the safety of all participants, Jackson said. The Dow Red Room has the capacity to hold 1,200 people, so it will allow for proper social distancing. And everyone will be required to wear a mask at all times.

Read more:

While hockey games and concerts are on pause, Saginaws event center to host court trials instead

Saginaw County court trials on hold until 2021 due to high coronavirus rates

Hung jury results in mistrial for Saginaw man charged with murder
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
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A man from the southwestern region of Vietnam started his business with a female buffalo that was then extended to hundreds of buffaloes, earning him annual revenue of over a billion VND.

Though busy during the last days of the lunar year, Mr. Nguyen Hong Ngu, a resident of Long My district in Hau Giang province, spent time to tell us his destiny: becoming wealthy from buffaloes.

Resting on a meadow, he shared his childhood memory about buffaloes. When he grew up, he chose the buffalo to start his business.

Twenty-seven years ago, Luong Nghia land was so heavily contaminated with alum that there was only one crop per annum. Only about 600 kilograms of grain per labor per crop were harvested. What frustrated me was thzt no buffalo was available for the crops.

Back then, I had just got married. I decided to take the money and gold received from the wedding to purchase a female buffalo for VND5 million. I just thought of using the buffalo for our own crop, not yet getting rich from it, said Ngu.

The buffalo was not only used for his own farm. It was rented by his neighbors too. At the end of the harvest, Ngu bought nearly one tael of gold. A couple months later, the buffalo got pregnant. Ngu started to develop her breed. So far, I have had a herd of hundreds of buffaloes. The first buffalo was dead after delivering 16 calves."

His buffaloes are raised in different southern provinces, namely Hau Giang, An Giang, Dong Thap, etc. for trade convenience. Every day, the buffaloes are out in the grass field and soak in the water for about an hour. Then, they return to the stables for the lawn. Cutting lawns is a hard job but does not cost much money as food does for pigs, chicken, and ducks, said Ngu.

Ngu uses 20 acres of land for grass for the buffaloes. When there is no grass on the meadow, he has to buy rice roots from newly harvested fields. During these times, the buffaloes are well fed and chubby.

VND3 billion house from buffalo sale

Ngu bought cheap thin and weak buffaloes to nurture them. He sells them when they are healthy and meaty. Annually, he sells 500 buffaloes for meat, bringing him a profit of over VND500 million (nearly $25,000). He also sells the calves of 40 female buffaloes, earning about VND600 million.

Other strong and healthy male buffaloes are rented out for crops. At the year end, those male buffaloes return to me. They dont cost my energy or time but bring income. Totally, he earns more than a billion per annum.

From his childhood experience, Ngu knows what buffaloes like and how to take care of them. Understanding them well, he can sell them at a better price than other people. The good and healthy buffalo has small hips and big buttocks. Buffaloes are gentle when meeting humans, said Ngu.

Nowadays, Ngu owns such a huge number of buffaloes that whenever tens of buffaloes are caught in the West, they probably belong to him. Whenever there is a good meadow, there are Ngus buffaloes. They are a great asset. Thanks to the business, he owns 200 acres of land.

The cost of a female buffalo is about VND50 million. A young female buffalo costs VND30-VND40 million. I sold 110 young female buffaloes for over VND3 billion to build a house. My family has a better life from the buffalo business. Whenever I hear about land opportunity, I sell some buffaloes for land, said Ngu.

Mr. Ngu and his buffaloes.

Thien Chi

Making buffalo statues at 500-year-old pottery village in Hoi An Weeks before the lunar New Year (Tet holiday), craftsmen of Thanh Ha pottery village were busy making buffalo statues  the mascot of the new lunar year to serve customers.
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GBP/NZD Exchange Rate Rallies as NZ Trade Balance Falls in Deficit

A New Zealand trade deficit and underwhelming consumer confidence index reading both helped to boost the Pound to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate heading into the weekend.

While forecasts had pointed towards the trade balance falling into a state of deficit in January the New Zealand Dollar still came under significant pressure in the wake of the data.

A sharp drop in export volumes dented confidence in the health of the New Zealand economy, offering a fresh reminder of its vulnerability to deteriorating global trade conditions.

As Februarys ANZ Roy Morgan consumer confidence index also fell short of forecast, failing to pick up on the month, this added to the weakness of NZD exchange rates.

This helped to overshadow the underwhelming nature of the latest UK car production data, keeping a floor under the GBP/NZD exchange rate.

Pound (GBP) Exchange Rates Set to Weaken Ahead of Finalised UK PMIs

Februarys finalised UK manufacturing and services PMIs could prompt some fresh volatility for GBP exchange rates in the week ahead.

Confirmation that the service sector remained in a state of contraction this month could encourage investors to sell out of the Pound once again.

As long as the services PMI continues to trail below the neutral baseline of 50 the risk of a negative first quarter UK gross domestic product report continues to grow.

Unless the finalised figure shows an upward revision from its initial reading the mood towards the Pound looks set to sour once again on Wednesday.

The release of Januarys UK mortgage approvals data on Monday may also put pressure on Pound exchange rates.

With forecasts pointing towards a drop in approvals, suggesting weakness within the domestic housing market, the mood towards the Pound could easily sour at the start of the new week.

GBP to NZD Exchange Rate Forecast to Soften on Stronger NZ Terms of Trade

In the wake of the disappointing January trade data markets are wary of the prospect of a similarly underwhelming fourth terms of trade reading.

Unless the quarterly terms of trade show a solid rebound from the third quarters -4.7% contraction worries over the outlook of the New Zealand economy look set to pick up further.

If export volumes show signs of recovering on the quarter this could encourage NZD exchange rates to return to a stronger footing once again.

However, any fresh souring in the general sense of market risk appetite could still weigh heavily on demand for the risk-sensitive New Zealand Dollar in the days ahead.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut



on Sunday said there is a need to restructure the UPA, and the new alliance should be led by a senior leader like as many regional parties are not ready to work under the leadership of the Congress.

The future of this alliance would depend on the sacrifice and liberality of the Congress, he said.

He added that there was no Democratic Alliance (NDA) left in the country as its allies have quit it, but similarly, the existence of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is not visible as it has very few parties now.

The Rajya Sabha member was speaking at the 'Jaybhim Festival' organised by a former corporator in Aurangabad. The programme began with Raut's interview.

"The allies have left the NDA and there is no such alliance now. In the same way, there are a very few parties left with the Many regional parties are not ready to work under the Congress leadership in the Therefore, to create a group against the incumbent government, there is a need to go for the restructuring of the UPA," he said.

"This new alliance should be led by a senior leader like If that happens, then many more parties can join the alliance in future. But this is not possible without the consent of the Congress. This future of the (restructured) alliance will depend on the sacrifice and liberality of the Congress," Raut added.

The Sena leader said that he has been witnessing a change in the political atmosphere of Delhi now.

"Today, Delhi is deaf and dumb and there are no activities in the capital. There are a few people who are speaking. The people of the party who are in majority have no freedom of speech. They don't have freedom to meet each other and they don't even smile after looking at us," he said.

They fear that if they wave at us, the move might get captured on CCTV, he added.

Raut said he feels that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray should be in Delhi for national-level now.

"I always tell this to Uddhav Thackeray that he should go to Delhi now. The nation is waiting for you and it needs you. Opposition parties, regional parties want a leadership and such a leadership can be seen in Maharashtra," he said.

On Lok Sabha member Mohan Delkar's death, he said, "His death is mysterious. I have spoken at least twice on this issue with CM Thackeray. He could have committed suicide at his home, but he came to Mumbai and this could be out of the faith he has in Mumbai police that they would investigate his death. There are names related to BJP in his suicide note.

(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.)
PHILIPSBURG:--- On February 27, across the globe, we celebrate World NGO day. As the name suggests, the day brings awareness to non-governmental organizations work and those efforts that contribute to making the world a better place. These efforts often go unnoticed, so it is important that we take this time out to recognize these generous contributions as we did this morning during the Virtual NPOwer NGO World Day  SXM Conference under the theme 2 for 1.

The day established by Marcis Liors Skadmanis, a UK-based social entrepreneur, is celebrated by many European countries. In 2014, the day became recognized by the United Nations and the European Union.

All over the world, NGOs safeguard human rights, the rights of individuals to access basic human needs, and developing effective policies through advocation.

On World NGO day, I thank local NGOs. They give so selflessly and work so tirelessly to better our society, including our citizens who volunteer, our business community who collaborates and take up their corporate social responsibilities via these NGOs.

Volunteerism and civil society are crucial elements of a society that cares about those less fortunate than us. Government and the private sector play essential roles in our societys development. Still, civil society can fill gaps untouched by these groups and do so even more efficiently for many reasons.

COVID-19 is providing a perfect example of this critical role played by civil society. Through various programs, our community received support for income loss, which complemented the programs being executed by the Government of St. Maarten.

For this reason, the Government of St. Maarten commits to the continued partnership with NGOs. It helps to facilitate the success of the work being done by NGOs with inclusive policies. The Government will continue to engage with NGOs of all sectors to build a stronger community and adverse some of our community members challenges.

I encourage every capable citizen of St. Maarten to get involved in civil society and experience the reward of being a part of something greater than yourself. Happy World NGO Day!
MILFORD  The citys offerings for area foodies just got bigger.

A new Asian megamarket featuring products from China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan has opened at the former Shoprite site on Cherry Street.

Jeff Gee, part owner of G Mart along with his father and others, said they decided to open in Milford because an employee at one of his fathers out-of-state locations, a University of New Haven student, said this area would be a good market as there are many potential customers but no supermarket with a heavy presence of the products from that region.

Gee, who is from China, said people often say, I miss the food I had in China.

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media

The supermarket at 155 Cherry St. opened Feb. 20 in a retail strip that has seen significant changes over the last five years. The retail site was purchased by Stoneham Milford LLC in 2008 for $28.1 million, according to online property data by Vision Government Solutions.

The former Shoprite at the property moved across Cherry Street in 2016 to a much larger site that had been home to a movie theater complex and also abuts the Boston Post Road. Shoprite owner Harry Garafalo, who also owns stores in Orange and East Haven, among others, had operated on his former Cherry Street site since 1992.

Gee said G Marts opening weekend was busy, although they didnt advertise or promote the opening because we didnt want too many people here with the pandemic.

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media

Gee said they expect to draw customers from all around the area, likely from as much as a 30-minute drive away.

G Mart  named in honor of Gees father, Shunwah Gee, is spacious and open.

Customer Bethany Quion, who left the store with a cart full of products, said she lives in Orange and its nice not to drive to New Haven or New York to shop.

Im having a great time, she said. Its a lot more convenient.

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media

Shopper Helen Jin said the store is organized and clean, but best of all she doesnt have to drive 40 miles to New York for ingredients she needs.

3 1 of 3 Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3





They have most of the products here and the price is reasonable, too, Jin said, noting she wished there were more products from other parts of the world, including Mexico.

Jennifer Yao said her shopping experience was good, and she found some items she had never had before.

Its my first time here, she said.

The store has rows of more types of soy and other sauces than many Americans realize exist, as well as a huge variety of noodles, tea, dumplings, spices and Asian-style desserts, such as the popular ice bars.

Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media

The produce section is chock-full of vegetables not always found in most American-oriented grocery stores, including baby butter bok choy, enoki mushrooms, red meat dragon fruit, Korean pears and Chinese leek.

The store also has a huge selection of fresh and frozen meats - including the popular Asian sliced beef.

Also, there is a broad variety of fresh and frozen seafood, including cuttlefish, squid, octopus, and all kinds of shrimp, along with live, Dungeness crab in tanks - a rare sight in other area groceries - and fresh lobster in tanks alongside the crabs.
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New Delhi:

Police on Wednesday arrested Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar when she was on her way to Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh to meet Sardar Sarovar Project oustees.

"We have arrested her as she insisted on going back to meet the oustees. We have told her that it is not possible to allow her to go to Dhar as section 144, CrPc has been imposed in the area," Ajay Sharma, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Indore range, said.

After arrest, Medha was immediately taken to Dhar district jail.

The police stopped Patkar and informed her that she could not proceed to Dhar, but as she refused to relent, she was placed under arrest at the border of Indore and Dhar districts, and subsequently, taken to Dhar, he added.

We will ask her to furnish a bond stating that section 144 will not be violated. If she furnishes it, we will release her, the ADGP said.

Subsequently, Patkar was produced before a sub-divisional judicial magistrate at Dhar who sent her to jail.

Patkar (62) and 11 others were forcibly removed from Chikhalda in Dhar on August 7, where they were staging an indefinite fast demanding a proper rehabilitation of the oustees, and were admitted in different hospitals.

With PTI inputs

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Bigg Boss 14 finalist Rakhi Sawant has been busy taking care of her ailing mother who is battling cancer and has also undergone treatment. Ever since she stepped out of the BB house, the actress is constantly sharing videos and photos from the hospital and from home on her social media handle, urging fans to pray for her mother.

And now, Rakhi has shared a new post on her Instagram, where we can Bigg Boss 14 challenger Vikas Gupta visiting her mother, Jaya Bheda. She shared a series of heartwarming pictures and called Vikas her 'sweetheart brother in the caption. For the unversed, Vikas addressed Rakhi as his sister inside the BB house, and the duo has continued the relationship even outside.

She shared the pictures and wrote, "My sweetheart brother Vikas gupta ,completed my family.love you brother !! @jaya.sawant.3597 @lostboyjourney." Check out the post below:

Vikas too shared the same pictures on his Instagram account and lauded Rakhi for being so strong and entertaining everyone. He wrote, "#RakhiSawant I am so proud of you that even when you knew your mother is going through such serious illness you continued to entertain people, you worked hard so you could earn and justify the money you get from #biggboss14 which today you are using to get your mother treated. I shall be chanting for auntie and the operation to go successful. I had so much fun being with her & also I think her new hairstyle is super cool. By now after meeting me she also believes the same  I am here and you know it #vikasgupta " (sic)

For the uninitiated, many celebrities have extended their support to Rakhi. Recently, Kashmera Shah and Sambhavna Seth visited her ailing mother in the hospital. Rakhi and her mom have also thanked Salman Khan and his brother Sohail Khan for their love and support in a video message.

ALSO READ: Kashmera Shah & Sambhavna Seth Meet Bigg Boss 14 Finalist Rakhi Sawants Ailing Mother In Hospital [Photos]

ALSO READ: Rakhi Sawants Ailing Mother Jaya Sawant Is Sad As Her Daughter Didnt Win Bigg Boss 14
South Africa: Vaccination programme gains pace

With the country due to mark one year since the first case of COVID-19 was reported, the vaccination programme continues to edge forward, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.

Government said the President, has long held the view that vaccines would be the most decisive measure to combat COVID-19.

In the 10 days since the launch of South Africas COVID-19 vaccination programme got underway, more than 67 000 health workers have been inoculated.

The President said this as a new batch of 80 000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrived in the country on Saturday.

The start of our vaccination campaign has gone extremely well. It has shown what we can achieve when we work together as government, the scientific community and the private sector, said the President in his address to the nation.

To date, all provinces have established vaccination sites and have put in place plans for the expansion of the programme as it gains momentum. From next week, the number of sites that will be available for vaccination will be expanded from 17 to 49 sites.

Of the 49 sites, 32 will be at public hospitals and 17 sites in private hospitals. This includes sites in rural areas to improve access to rural healthcare workers.

Phase two

Once the vaccination of healthcare workers has been completed, phase two of the vaccination roll-out will begin in late April or early May.

Phase two will include the elderly, essential workers, persons living or working in institutional settings and those with co-morbidities.

For the second phase, more sites for vaccination in the public and private healthcare sector will be activated.

We have recently signed an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to secure 11 million doses. Of these doses, 2.8 million doses will be delivered in the second quarter and the rest spread throughout the year.

The President who last addressed the nation on 1 February, said government has also secured 20 million doses from Pfizer, which will be delivered from the second quarter.

Additionally, we have secured 12 million vaccine doses from the COVAX facility and are in the process of finalising our dose allocation from the African Union. We are in constant contact with various other vaccine manufacturers to ensure that we have the necessary quantities of vaccines when we need them, he said.

Overcoming the pandemic

The President also reflected on the time since the country reported its first case of COVID-19 on 5 March 2020, this as nearly 50 000 people have been reported to have died from the disease.

So much has changed in our country and in our lives. But the spirit of our people has not changed, he said in the televised address.

South Africas people, he said, have endured the greatest hardships, but remained resolute, united and hopeful.

This pandemic has taken much from us, but it has not taken our strength, our courage or our sense of solidarity as a people. It has not dampened our spirit or weakened our resolve.

Our uniquely South African spirit has allowed us to remain steadfast in the face of an unprecedented threat, and which will continue to inspire us as we chart a path to recovery, he said.

As the vaccination campaign gathers pace, the President appealed to the public to exercise extreme caution to protect ourselves and others.

Together with our scientists and experts, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and to adapt our approach in a responsive and flexible manner, he said. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A number of domestic businesses have announced their plans to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for use among their employees and family members following the arrival of the first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine has arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.



Coteccons Construction Joint Stock Company and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam have already registered to purchase tens of thousands of doses which would be distributed among their employees and family members, according to a reports thanhnien.vn.

Dat Xanh Group, a real estate developer, has also announced plans to fund inoculations for over 7,300 employees working at 68 of its affiliates nationwide.

Furthermore, Phu Nhuan Jewelry, one of the countrys leading gold and gem stone firms, has agreed to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for staff members. It has also raised a total of VND270 million in support of the free vaccination campaign for groups of underprivileged people in society, including the poor.

Meanwhile, the Canada International School Vietnam has also decided to allocate a fund of VND3 billion for its immunisation campaign in an effort to vaccinate its teachers and staff, as well as the parents of students, providing the conditions allow.

Despite this initial interest, the Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC), the only agency assigned by the Ministry of Health to receive, preserve, and distribute COVID-19 vaccines domestically, has said due to limited supplies, imported vaccines will be available for priority groups first. Specifically, frontline healthcare workers would be at the head of the queue.

Vaccination inoculations will be regulated by the Government, according to a VNVC representative.

Vietnam imported its first batch of more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on February 24.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) subsequently published a list of 11 groups of people that will benefit from the vaccination campaign, with priority to be given to frontline healthcare workers, soldiers, border forces, policemen, and those on duty in isolation areas and quarantine facilities.

The MoH is currently considering licensing two additional COVID-19 vaccines produced by Moderna of the United States and Generium of Russia.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the country requires at least 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines which can be used to inoculate citizens this year. However, he confirmed the MoH is likely to get only 90 million doses in 2021.

Along with the import of 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine agreed with AstraZeneca and COVAX, Vietnam is in the midst of negotiating to import a further 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine of the US, said Long

Four Vietnamese research institutes and companies are now researching and developing COVID-19 vaccines, with two locally-produced vaccines, Nano Covax and Vovivac, carrying out human clinical trials.

During a recent Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested the MoH and relevant agencies to speed up the national vaccination campaign, considering this to be key to slowing the spread of the virus among the community.

Our strategy is to vaccinate approximately 100 million Vietnamese people, PM Phuc said.

Due to limited supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, the country has yet to launch paid immunisation services, said Associate Professor Tran Dac Phu, former director of the National Preventive Medicine Department and currently a senior member of National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Vietnam to license two more COVID-19 vaccines

The Ministry of Health is considering importing two more COVID-19 vaccines produced by Moderna of the United States and Generium of Russia.



The Ministry of Health is considering licensing Moderna vaccine of the US. (Photo: Reuters)

The National Advisory Council in charge of granting drug circulation registration numbers approved the two new vaccines and submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Health for consideration at their meeting on February 25.

If the proposal is green-lighted, Vietnam will have three licensed vaccines, namely AstraZeneca of the UK, Moderna of the US and Generium of Russia.

Vietnam needs at least 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to vaccinate its people this year. However, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long has said Vietnam is likely to get 90 million doses this year.

Besides 60 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine that the ministry has reached agreements with AstraZeneca and COVAX, it is negotiating to import 30 million doses of Pfizer vaccine of the US.

The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine numbering more than 117,000 doses arrived in Vietnam on February 24.

The Ministry of Health is scheduled to kick-start a vaccination campaign in early March, with priority given to frontline healthcare workers. VOV
Dhaka, Feb 28 (UNI) Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh's graduation from the group of the least developed countries (LDCs) to a developing country stemmed from her government's relentless efforts, planning and hard work for the last 12 years.

The people of the country did all these things. Remaining there in the government, we just gave policy support to create the scope. It's a historic and price moment for the nation, she said in her written speech at a virtual press conference marking the UN's final recommendation for Bangladesh's graduation from the LDC group.

She joined the press conference from her official residence Ganobhaban. It was organized at the Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister's office.

Sheikh Hasina expressed her strong hope that Bangladesh would get its place as a dignified country at the world stage following its graduation as a developed nation.

She extended heartiest congratulations to the Bangladeshi citizens both at home and abroad for achieving this feat.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu had turned Bangladesh into a least developed one pulling the war ravaged country into just three and a half years' time. And Bangladesh Awami League - a party founded in the hand of the great leader - established the country as a developing nation in this Golden Jubilee year of independence, she said.

The Prime Minister gave the credit for this to the people of this country saying the coordinated efforts of all have made the milestone achievement possible and congratulated all the citizens at home and abroad.

Being the daughter of the Father of the Nation, Hasina said she feels proud of this achievement as she herself remained engaged in the process of development strides.

UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) reviews the issue of a country's graduation from LDC based on income per capita, human assets, and economic and environmental vulnerability, she said.

In continuation of Bangabandhu's fulfillment of these criteria in the first triennial review meeting of the CDP in 2018, she said Bangladesh also met all the three criteria this year for graduation from LDC status to a developing country.

According to the UN, a country is eligible to graduate from the LDC capacity if it has a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $1,230 or above for three years, a Human Assets Index (HAI) of 66 or above and an Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) of 32 or below.

Bangladesh has continued to fulfill the three years with its GNI per capital was $1,827 in 2020. The HAI is 75.3, while the EVI is 25.2.

UNI MAZ GNK 0821
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar described conspiracy theories spread by some anti-lockdown protestors as bonkers, comparing them to the QAnon movement.

The Sunday Times reported today that some protestors said RTE is part of conspiracy theory in which babies are killed and harvested for adrenochrome which helps RTE celebrities look young.

Mr Varadkar dismissed the theories, saying: Thats pretty bonkers, isnt it? And not far off the kind of QAnon stuff that weve seen in America and other parts of the world, which bizarrely gained a certain degree of traction.

QAnon is a movement involving a set of conspiracy theories which claim that former US President Donald Trump is waging a secret war against paedophiles in government, business and the media.

When it comes to combating these conspiracies, the Tanaiste told Newstalk: Im reluctant to do anything that would involve infringing free speech but I think there are things that can be done.

Read More

Certainly, with the online safety commissioner being established, it will be possible to order platforms to take down harmful content that incites harmful content, if they dont do that already, he said.

And anything that incites violence in my view is harmful content.

And I think theres a responsibility on some of the social platforms as well to do the exact same.

But often this stuff as you know isnt hosted on the major platforms that are household names. There are some fringe ones out there as well that arent regulated in Ireland.

As for his thoughts on yesterdays events, Mr Varadkar said: It wasnt a protest, it was a riot.

And theres no excuse for using that kind of violence to advance a political cause, no matter what that cause is. I think were just lucky that somebody didnt get seriously injured or killed.

The Tanaiste commended the gardai for their efforts during the protest yesterday afternoon.

The fact that we saw people being brought to court that very night was a really good example of very swift and very quick policing, he said.

But in a pandemic really there shouldnt be any protests. Gatherings of this nature are not allowed in Level 5 lockdown and while social distance protests are possible, this certainly wasnt that.


Prime Minister Florin Citu sent a message on Romania's Civil Defence Day on Sunday, underscoring that the activity of all those involved in disaster prevention and response has a significant impact, those acting for saving communities threatened by natural disasters or other on the brink situations.

"Today, on the occasion of the Civil Defence Day of Romania, we celebrate the entire activity carried out by the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations, as well as the other specialists involved in the disaster prevention and response supply. (...) The contribution of the Department for Emergency Situations is relevant in the management mechanism of emergency situations, through continuous modernising and acquiring new responsibilities in the area of civil protection. These have been operationally approved, through numerous interventions in front of challenges occurred including in the COVID-19 pandemic context, through the activity of the National Coordination and Intervention Management centre," the Prime Minister mentioned.

According to him, the integrated system of emergency situations coordinated by the Department for Emergency Situations and the structures in its coordination have visibly evolved and managed to place themselves in the top raking alongside similar international services.

Citeste si: INEDIT Confesiunile unui calugar in timpul pandemiei: Mi-e frica de o viitoare casta a talibanilor ortodocsi!

"The national and international context force us to maintain the same quality standards, be resilient, and in their support the governance programme grants a major importance to developing and consolidating this vital sector for the population. Given that on March 1 we also celebrate World Civil Defence Day, I reaffirm the professionalism and expertise which the representatives of civil protection gained these years, confirmed in the support missions provided to other states, such as Albania, Lebanon, Croatia, strongly affected by explosions, earthquakes, floods, as well as through the fast international assistance aimed at providing equipment or material for subsistence," Florin Citu added.

AGERPRES .
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/28/2021



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[ Spoilers Warning: This report contains spoilers revealing if Rebecca and Zied are still together or if the couple has split up.]

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So are Rebecca and Zied still together now or did the couple break up?

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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.

's eighth season has shown Rebecca Parrott afraid Zied Hakimi might eventually leave her to have children, so what do spoilers reveal about whether Rebecca and Zied got married and are still together or if the couple broke up?Rebecca was a 47-year-old private investigator when she fell hard and fast for Zied, a then-26 year old from Tunisia whom she had met online.Zied and Rebecca, who has three kids and was previously married three times, first starred on Season 3 of : Before the 90 Days.Rebecca said her first two marriages were with "average, run-of-the-mill American men" and her third marriage turned out to be a nightmare because the Moroccan man -- who moved to America to be with her on a spousal visa -- became overly jealous and controlling once he arrived in the U.S.Rebecca was sure, however, her relationship with Zied would be different and Zied is a better man with the right intentions.Rebecca therefore traveled over 15 hours to Tunisia with the goal of getting engaged to Zied, but her third divorce had yet to be finalized. (Rebecca hadn't filed the paperwork although both she and her ex signed the papers).Rebecca and Zied loved being reunited, but Rebecca looked for some evidence that Zied wasn't using her for money, and Zied had to come to grips with the fact Rebecca was still technically married and once had a relationship with a woman.Despite their differences and surprising pasts, Rebecca and Zied determined that they wanted to be together forever -- and so Zied proposed marriage during a picnic in the Sahara Desert.Rebecca thought the marriage proposal was "perfect," and then she returned to America and filed for the K-1 visa.Rebecca pointed out there were no red flags with Zied, who also insisted he wanted to work in the United States and was already making his own money.On the premiere of 's eighth season, Rebecca was working hard to make and save money by managing a local fast-food restaurant, but she was still waiting for the K-1 visa to be approved.Zied had to prove in his final interview that he was in his relationship with Rebecca for the right reasons."It was a very difficult decision for me to take the risk and do this again, and if it turns out that I'm wrong about Zied, I don't know if I'll ever trust my judgment again or be able to be in a relationship again," Rebecca shared.After a final interview, Zied's K-1 visa was finally approved -- and Rebecca was absolutely ecstatic.This moment was the culmination of two years of paperwork and phone calls and being patient. Rebecca said it finally felt real that she and Zied were going to become a family and would be able to see each other every single day.Rebecca wondered how Zied would mesh with her family and friends, but the next step was moving into a new place so Zied would have a home once he arrived in the United States.Zied was then shown buying Rebecca a nice bracelet. He had saved money that would apparently last him in America for a few months and wanted to show Rebecca how much he loved her.Zied's parents hoped for a better life for Zied, but they were upset Rebecca is not Arabic and doesn't share their religious views.Zied's father asked Zied to stay connected with him and try his best to succeed and be happy, but the whole family was sad about being split up.Rebecca was then shown moving into a new apartment -- with seemingly only a bed and some dishes -- and she worried Zied wouldn't be happy once he found out she had previously lived in the same apartment building with her Moroccan ex-husband.Rebecca said she couldn't wait to cook for Zied and make him happy.Zied had a tough time saying goodbye to his family at the airport because he said they mean the world to him, and he admitted he was "so nervous" about starting a new life in America -- although it would probably be a better life.It had been a little over a year since Rebecca was able to kiss or touch Zied, and she was shown getting ready to pick Zied up at the airport in the United States.Tiffany had never met Zied in person, so she wanted to take the same car as Rebecca and Zied to and from the airport, which rubbed Rebecca the wrong way because she was getting the feeling Tiffany and Micah wanted to act as chaperones.Tiffany and Micah said they wanted to get to know Zied better and try to find out his true intentions. But this isn't the type of energy Rebecca wanted in the car since she had been waiting for this day to see Zied for 13 months.Rebecca wanted her reunion with Zied to go perfectly, and when Zied finally arrived, the couple hugged tight and she said he smelled and looked so good. Zied told Rebecca that he missed her so much and was so happy to be with her again."We've been through this before, where she's met foreign men who are half her age pretty much, and it just always goes bad," Tiffany complained. "It's like she's a love-sick teenager. But we still don't know his intentions."Tiffany and Micah then asked Zied what he planned to do for work in the United States, which rubbed Rebecca the wrong way since it was only Zied's first day in America.Zied said he couldn't work for six months after getting married but he definitely planned to get a job. Rebecca said Zied is certified in plumbing repair but would be open to pretty much anything, and Rebecca asked her daughter to just trust her.Once Zied saw the apartment in which he'd be living, he thought it was nice but noticed there was no furniture yet. He seemed very quiet around his fiancee."Zied doesn't really seem like himself right now, maybe it was leaving his family and friends or maybe it was the third degree he got from Tiffany and Micah," Rebecca explained in a confessional.Rebecca acknowledged that Zied didn't seem happy, but he insisted that he was just tired and needed to shower and get some rest. She could tell Zied was off and hoped he wasn't second-guessing his decision.During Zied's first morning in America, he said he was so happy to be with her. Rebecca wished she didn't have to go to work, but she had to make money to support him during his stay in America.Zied could feel the distance from his family and said it made him feel very sad, but he could tell Rebecca was doing everything possible to make him feel comfortable, including shopping for groceries.Zied also gave Rebecca the bracelet he had purchased for her in Tunisia."Zied is absolutely the most romantic, thoughtful and caring man I've ever been in a relationship with. He surprises me constantly!" Rebecca gushed.Zied already wanted to visit his family soon, but Rebecca said he'd probably have to wait a year due to his paperwork. Zied was clearly struggling to adjust to life in the United States without his loved ones."I want to feel like Zied is ready to be my husband and build a life here with me. As homesick as he is, if Zied isn't happy here, I don't know if this marriage will even happen," Rebecca shared.Rebecca's good friend Melanie then showed up at the apartment to meet Zied in person. Melanie had once done a background check on Zied, so Zied was feeling uneasy about the meeting.Melanie said she was prepared to "ask the hard questions," including what Zied did while Rebecca worked all day. Melanie said Zied could work in many different businesses nearby rather than sit at home all day, but Rebecca said he couldn't work until they filed for him to be a legal immigrant.Melanie admitted there were similarities between Zied and Rebecca's ex who had crushed her heart, but Rebecca snapped that Zied is a different man and their relationship was totally different."Didn't you and your ex live right down the hall?" Melanie asked Rebecca."What?!" Zied asked in surprise.Rebecca apologized to Zied and insisted their situation was different from what she had with her ex."The same home. I hate this," Zied admitted. "She is my fiancee now. Of course that makes me jealous -- any man in the world [would be]. But I don't like to see Rebecca upset [and cry]."Zied therefore comforted Rebecca, and Melanie insisted that she just wanted to see her friend happy and in a good place after she had gone through a brutal divorce.Zied said he was tired of people talking about Rebecca's ex and comparing him to the ex. Zied told Melanie that he didn't care about Rebecca's Moroccan ex and the fact Rebecca had stayed with him in the same apartment building.Rebecca said Melanie was borderline disrespectful to Zied but she was just thankful Zied had handled the situation so well.Rebecca insisted she didn't have anything to prove to anyone except for her fiance, but Melanie -- a private investigator -- said she was going to continue looking for red flags and would need the full 90 days to come to a conclusion about Zied's intentions.In the first few days of Zied's time in the U.S., Rebecca was trying to make Zied laugh and show him a good time.Zied and Rebecca then went out to dinner with Tiffany, Tiffany's friend Hannah, and Tiffany's fiance Micah, who still wasn't sure if Zied was "playing" them.Zied revealed the biggest difference for him in America was that people aren't allowed to kiss in public in Tunisia and would go to jail for a public display of affection.Rebecca said she felt a bit uncomfortable Hannah, "a young and hot blonde" was at the dinner table and seemed so interested in Zied. Hannah even offered to help Zied move his things with her truck, which rubbed Rebecca the wrong way.Rebecca explained Zied's culture wouldn't allow a pretty, young single woman to be at his apartment, but Tiffany believed Hannah was just trying to be genuinely helpful and Rebecca was showing she was jealous and insecure.Rebecca warned Zied that women in America are not the same as the women in Tunisia.Things weren't normal between Rebecca and Zied after the dinner they had with her daughter Tiffany and Tiffany's fiance Micah and pretty blonde friend Hannah.Rebecca told Zied that he didn't seem to realize Hannah had been flirting with him."If a woman in America offers to help you with anything, you say, 'No,'" Rebecca shared.Zied told the cameras that Hannah was cute but Rebecca was cuter and he loved her more than anything. Zied promised Rebecca that he was not looking for another woman and she needed to trust him.With that being said, Rebecca told Zied that she loved him and dropped the tension.Rebecca then brought Zied to meet her son Brandon, daughter-in-law Kristen and the couple's young kids.Rebecca has five grandchildren and Zied joked, "I am happy because I am a grandfather."Brandon said he appreciated Zied's big smile, handshake and hugs, and he added that Zied appeared to be a good guy with a good heart.Rebecca bragged about how good Zied is with children, and Zied apparently missed his niece and nephew back in Tunisia. Zied said he was fine with not having children of his own considering Rebecca could not have any more kids.Rebecca previously had a partial hysterectomy due to a tumor, but she admitted not having any more children was "a sore subject" for her.Later on, Rebecca asked Zied if he was sure that he wouldn't want children of his own someday because she felt guilt about taking that possibility away from him.Zied said he enjoyed playing with children but he was totally okay with that. Rebecca worried Zied might change his mind in the future since he was only 27 years old, like six years down the road, but Zied said she shouldn't fret about that.Rebecca told Zied that she wouldn't allow him to divorce her if he woke up one day and realized having a child was very important to him."He could definitely change his mind at any time," Rebecca lamented.In the trailer for what's to come on Season 8 of , Zied tells Rebecca he's not going to stay with her if she doesn't agree to marry him in the United States before Ramadan."Zied seems dead set about getting married as quickly as possible," Rebecca tells the camera, "and it's making me question his motives."Rebecca and her ex-husband from Morocco finalized their divorce on July 9, 2019, according to divorce documents obtained by In Touch Weekly.According to Rebecca, Zied's visa was approved less than four months after they applied for it, which was a short period of time considering they both anticipated it could take anywhere from six months to a year.Rebecca told Us Weekly in a late December interview the K-1 visa process "wasn't too bad" after all."We were very fortunate at that time... He got here and within two days, COVID hit and everything was locked down. So we just [got him to America] under the wire," Rebecca said.Rebecca and Zied reportedly obtained their marriage license on April 14, 2020.Rebecca and Zied exchanged vows and got married in Lumpkin County, GA, on April 19, 2020, according to a representative from the Probate Court in Cherokee County, In Touch reported.Zied is therefore now a married man seemingly living with Rebecca in Canton, GA.Although Zied wouldn't confirm whether he was in the United States this past summer, it was apparent he and Rebecca were still going strong in June.On June 10, Rebecca posted a photo of Zied on Instagram and added the following hashtags to her post: "sexy" and "mine."And on July 16, Rebecca shared a picture of Zied lying in bed on a pink pillow."#sexyaf #mine #rebeccaandzied #90dayfiance @tlc_90day_zied I love you more than all the sand in the Sahara," Rebecca wrote with many heart and kissing emojis.Rebecca later gushed about Zied in mid-August by posting a photo of the couple on Instagram with "I love you forever" written across the image."I love you so much @tlc_90day_zied. Thank you for making every day of my life since April 24, 2018, happy and so full of hope for the future," Rebecca captioned her post."I'm so thankful I found you. You are the extraordinary, crazy kind of love that only happens once in a lifetime. I'll spend the rest of my life making you happy. Wallah #90dayfiance #rebeccaandzied #mylove."Zied also spilled a spoiler on October 15 that he and Rebecca were still happy and in love.Zied posted a photo of Rebecca kissing him on the cheek when they were both wearing winter hats."I love you so much my love @tlc_90day_rebecca #tlc #90dayfiance #rebeccaandzied," he wrote alongside the picture with numerous heart-eyes emoticons.Rebecca then replied in the comments section, "Babyyy I love you more. Mahboulla bik habibii."Zied and Rebecca's main Instagram photos also feature one another.But Rebecca admitted Zied didn't adjust well to life in America at first."He's never been married before. He's never been in a long-term relationship before. He's never been to another country before... He basically said, 'This is not what I thought it was going to be,' and he was very unhappy," Rebecca shared with Us in her December interview."He missed his family and it was really hard. It was a struggle."Rebecca also said "a rather large argument" made matters worse when Zied and Rebecca were trying to adjust to life together in America shortly after Zied's arrival."I know if I were going to Tunisia and I was going to live there, I would have something in my head of what [to expect]," Rebecca said."I don't know what it would be, but I guarantee you sitting in quarantine wouldn't have crossed my mind. That's not something that's in your toolbox to consider."Rebecca noted Zied just sat around and couldn't drive or go anywhere, and she admitted life didn't get any easier in subsequent months after Zied's big move."If I were in any -- literally almost any -- other field of work, this would have been a blessing in disguise," Rebecca told Us, referencing how she manages a fast-food restaurant."Can you imagine [if] I would have gotten the stimulus checks and probably gotten unemployment to stay home? We would have thought it was written just for us. We would have gotten to stay together, like, 'This is amazing!' Or we would have killed each other, I don't know."Rebecca continued, "But you know, because of my job, it was just the worst possible scenario. So it wasn't the best... It was really bad."Rebecca had been hoping to travel with Zied -- including stops in Miami and New York -- before the coronavirus pandemic, and so she said life recently has been "a bit of a letdown."More recently, Zied dropped huge hints he is still living in the United States, presumably with Rebecca, in January 2021 Instagram posts.Zied posted a slideshow of images with his family at the airport in early January and captioned them, "I want to say to my mother, father, sister, family and friends @ssen10 @khalilaymen3 and the other goodbye. I promise to come back to see you soon .. I love you all very much .. #90dayfiance #rebeccaandzied #tlc."Saying he'll "come back" to see his family in Tunisia "soon" indicates he still resides in America.On January 13, 2021, Rebecca wished Zied a happy birthday on Instagram by posting a photo of the two of them."Happy Birthday @tlc_90day_zied I hope you have a wonderful day full of all the blessings you deserve," Rebecca wrote, along with a heart. "#rebeccaandzied #90dayfiance #happybirthday #tlc."On January 18, Rebecca posted an entire slideshow featuring sweet and affectionate photos of Zied and herself, with many of them apparently having been taken in the United States.Zied also took to Instagram in late January with a seemingly-recent picture of Rebecca and himself wearing cowboy hats.And in February, Rebecca posted on Instagram suggesting she and Zied remain a team against haters and skeptics."I'm so fortunate that [Zied] has been so patient with all the comparisons to you-know-[who] from everyone around me. To everyone who has been telling me I should've stuck up for him, I actually did, it just wasn't shown," Rebecca captioned a video of her friend Melanie calling Rebecca out for having lived in the same apartment complex with her ex-husband."And that's okay. I appreciate the many messages I have received since last night. Also please remember I had a tough time meeting his friends and family as well. Everything will work itself out, one way or another.""Ultimately, we knew our relationship would face a lot of tests," she continued."It's how we handle these tests that will determine if we make it or not. But I really wish it were easier for Zied. No matter what, he does not deserve to be compared to anyone else. We really appreciate everyone's support. Thank you."In fact, Rebecca revealed on 90 Day Bares All she is no longer friends with Melanie and will never forgive her for telling Zied about the apartment building.In mid-February, Rebecca posted a photo of herself wearing an apron that reads, "I [love] you like Zied [love]s Rebecca.""Y'all when I saw this, I literally got tears in my eyes!! One of my wonderful followers on Facebook sent this to me. She had this made as a Valentine's Day gift," Rebecca gushed in the caption."Tame Nunes Tess, you made my day! I hope your hubby loves it! Happy Valentine's Day to you both #valentines #love #90dayfiance #rebeccaandzied #90dayfiancefansarethebest."Around that same time, Zied posted a video montage featuring Rebecca and himself for Rebecca's birthday. He wished Rebecca a "happy birthday" and clearly appears to still be smitten with her.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
David Shers ComebackTown giving voice to the people of Birmingham & Alabama.

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A friend from Mountain Brook recently sent me an article about Southlake, Texas that turned my stomach.

Southlake is a city that appears to have a lot in common with Mountain Brook.

Southlake is an elite, mostly white suburb 30 miles northwest of Dallas (that) has a reputation as one of the best places in the country to raise a family, thanks in large part to its highly ranked public school system: The Carroll Independent School District, home of the Dragons, where the median home costs $650,000 and average SAT scores are good enough to get students into top-tier universities.

Mountain Brook might similarly be described as an elite, mostly white suburb South of Birmingham that has a reputation as one of the best places in the country to raise a family, thanks in large part to its highly ranked public school system where the median home costs $699,000 and average SAT scores are good enough to get students into top-tier universities.

Each community, however, has experienced a dark incident.

In 2018 a student at Carroll High School in Southlake posted a Snapchat video showing several white high school students laughing as they filmed themselves shouting the N-word at a party that went viral.

Last year a Mountain Brook Facebook group posted a Snapchat video of a high school student with two large black swastikas and the word heil scrawled on his back while a group of boys laughed at him that also went viral.

The 2018 Southlake video triggered an immediate reaction from school leaders. The district hosted listening sessions with parents and students, gathering numerous accounts of racist, xenophobic and anti-gay comments Afterward, the school board created a diversity council of more than 60 parents, teachers and students to come up with a plan to make Carroll more welcoming and inclusive.

The Mountain Brooks School System likewise responded to its video by forming a 17 member blue ribbon Diversity Committee to examine its efforts to enhance structures and practices to ensure that the school district honors individual differences, diversity, and the dignity of all, and that all members of the school community are treated with respect.

But Southlakes well-intentioned efforts had an unexpected backlash.

The school board unveiled a plan that would require diversity and inclusion training for all students as part of the K-12 curriculum.

Within days, outraged parents  most of them white  formed a political action committee and began packing school board meetings to voice their strong opposition. Some denounced the diversity plan as Marxist and leftist indoctrination designed to fix a problem that doesnt exist.

The dispute grew so heated that parents on both sides pulled children out of the school system, while others made plans to move out of town. One mother sued the district, successfully putting the diversity plan on hold.

Mountain Brook, fortunately, appears to be headed in a more positive direction.

A local diversity and inclusion advocacy group, MB Listens, has been organized with a vision for everyone, regardless of ability, age, ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status; to be accepted, welcomed, and treated equally in Mountain Brook.

Kevin Cornes, Chairman of MB Listens, wrote in a recent column for ComebackTown, that the initial response to MB Listens demonstrates two things: (1) there are many in our community that want to be accepted for who they are and feel welcome in Mountain Brook; and (2) there are many more who want to open their hearts, listen, learn, and be a part of the solution.

According to Mountain Brook Patch, MB Listensrecognizes that the school district has been working for some time now on studying the feasibility of several key initiatives regarding diversity and inclusion. (It) believe(s) the timing is perfect to immediately adopt one of those initiatives: a new policy that would allow the children of MBS faculty and staff, who do not reside in the district, to attend Mountain Brook Schools.

The Mountain Brook School System is the only system in our area that does not allow children of full time-employees to attend its schools.

Mountain Brook Patch goes on to say, Mountain Brook City Schools received an A+ in every category but one: Diversity. The system received a D+ in that category, while excelling in the categories of Academics, teachers, Activities, College Prep and Health and Safety.

I talked with Kevin Cornes of MB Listens before I published this piece and he said that the response has been positive with everyone showing a lot of empathy and determination to make real progress.

We should not be proud of our racial history, but Birmingham and Mountain Brook often seem to get a bad rap because of the actions of few bad players in the past.

Mountain Brook people are overwhelmingly kind, decent people, who want the best for their children and community.

Mountain Brook is not Southlake.

David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. Hes past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

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MONTREAL - Before flying to visit relatives in Taiwan during a family health scare earlier this year, Dr. Rosa Wu, a psychotherapist who lives in the Vancouver area, weighed the pros and cons of travelling as Canada promised to implement stricter travel measures in the coming weeks.

A guest looks out from a window at the Sheraton hotel near the Pearson International Airport, in Mississauga, Ont., Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

MONTREAL - Before flying to visit relatives in Taiwan during a family health scare earlier this year, Dr. Rosa Wu, a psychotherapist who lives in the Vancouver area, weighed the pros and cons of travelling as Canada promised to implement stricter travel measures in the coming weeks.

What she didnt anticipate was how difficult it would be to comply with those measures, which include a requirement that travellers book hotel stays for three days on arrival. When Dr. Wus husband called the government phone line set up for travellers to make the bookings, it took him three tries and nearly 10 hours to get through to an agent, she said.

Im not angry at the fact that we have to do this, Dr. Wu said from her room at the Westin Wall Centre, Vancouver airport. I think its about time Canada implemented strict measures. I just wish the measures worked.

Travellers like Dr. Wu say they have paid the price of a chaotic rollout for the quarantine program even as they travel to Canada for reasons other than vacations.

Gogul Kumar, who flew to Vancouver this week from India to start a new job, said he spent hours on hold on the phone only to be disconnected each time. Some calls lasted as long as 10 hours and were never answered by an agent, he said.

The hotel requirement went into effect on Monday, as the federal government cracks down on non-essential travel amid increasing concern about more infectious variants of COVID-19. Flights on Canadian airlines to sun destinations have been suspended until April 30, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging Canadians to postpone their vacation plans.

Under the new program, travellers must show proof of a three-day hotel booking before boarding their flight to Canada. The only way to book a room is through a dedicated phone line run by the Public Health Agency of Canada. There is no online option.

Upon landing, travellers undergo COVID-19 testing at the airport and have to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense for three days, or until they receive a negative test result.

Prices for the non-refundable hotel stay range from roughly $1,000 to $2,000 depending on the hotel, according to staff members and travellers who spoke to The Canadian Press.

However, the logistical difficulties have led to headaches for travellers. At the time Dr. Wus hotel was booked, the Westin was the only hotel in Vancouver listed on the Public Health Agency of Canada website, she said. But when several cheaper options were added, Dr. Wus husband tried to call back to change the reservation, but wasnt able to get through despite several hours of waiting, she said.

Dr. Wu ended up paying nearly $2,000 for three nights in the hotel, even though she received her test result after one night. Kumar also received his test result after one night in the hotel.

Keta Ketrushi, who travelled to Albania after her mothers death, said she was prevented from boarding her flight home to Canada on Feb. 22 because she did not have a hotel booking. Her husband waited hours on the phone to book a hotel for her, she said, but when he wasnt able to get through he managed to book a room with a hotel directly.

And David Anjo, who is moving back to Canada in July after 10 years of living in Vietnam, estimates that he has spent a total of 12 hours on the phone trying to make a hotel booking, but has yet to reach anyone.

The experience calling on a phone system that really wasnt designed from the get-go to be very effective has been pretty frustrating, Anjo said. Theres no doubt in my mind they could have done this a lot better.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says the average wait time to reach an agent is two hours, down from the first two days of the program, according to spokesman Andre Gagnon. Once a call is answered, it takes on average 20 minutes to make a booking, he said.

The phone line received 20,000 calls on Feb. 19, the first day it was introduced. That figure was 15,000 on Feb. 20 and 10,000 on Feb. 21, Gagnon said. In total, 1,492 rooms have been booked for February, he said.

Megan Kat, a spokeswoman for American Express Global Business Travel, which is running the phone line for hotel bookings, said the company was aware of the high volume of inquiries and the wait times that callers were experiencing. The company didnt respond to a question about the average wait time experienced by callers.

We will continue to work with the Public Health Agency of Canada to mitigate caller wait times and provide the necessary support to those people arriving in Canada that need to book a hotel room, Kat said.

Instructions to people in quarantine at the Westin Wall Centre, Vancouver airport, which were reviewed by The Canadian Press, offer a window into the quarantine experience, with intensive staffing and cleaning protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Those measures include providing each guest with a cleaning kit consisting of sanitizing spray, gloves, cloths and garbage bags, since hotel staff do not enter the rooms to clean them. Public areas are disinfected every hour, with special attention to door handles and elevator buttons, the memo says.

Hotel guests are entitled to one 20-minute supervised outdoor visit per day, which they can arrange by dialing hotel guest services, whose staff will accompany guests outside via the hotels fire exit, the memo says. Elevators and stairwells are disinfected after each scheduled outing or arrival, it says.

"Im just hoping that theyll figure out something more efficient, in terms of booking the hotels," Dr. Wu said, "because right now, its a complete disaster."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2021.
RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bryn Pharma, LLC ("Bryn" or the "Company"), a privately held pharmaceutical company dedicated to finding a better way for patients and caregivers to treat anaphylaxis, today announced positive clinical results from its multi-dose study of BRYN-NDS1C (bi-dose epinephrine nasal spray). Results from the study demonstrated that administration of epinephrine with one spray/dosing from Bryn's two-dose nasal spray device resulted in a favorable release profile with both short- and long-term pharmacokinetic (PK) outcomes that were comparable to or greater than those seen with administration by a single 0.3 mg epinephrine auto-injector. No safety issues were seen and there were no serious or unexpected adverse events with either intranasal (IN) or intramuscular (IM) dosing.

Full results from the late-breaking poster were presented today at the 2021 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) virtual annual meeting. The study abstract is published in the February 2021 online supplement to The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and the poster presentation is available online.

"These clinical results show that a single spray from our bi-dose nasal spray device delivered epinephrine at levels equaling or exceeding those administered with a single 0.3 mg epinephrine auto-injector, potentially allowing patients to replace two auto-injectors with a single nasal device," said David Dworaczyk, Ph.D., CEO of Bryn Pharma. "Up to 30% of patients experiencing an anaphylactic event require a second dose of epinephrine, and our bi-dose nasal spray device meets this critical need along with other advantages including needle-free delivery, ease of use and portability. We will continue to work diligently to complete the required steps remaining to gain FDA approval."

About the Study

The open-label, randomized, 5-treatment, 5-way crossover study compared the pharmacokinetics of intranasal (IN) and intramuscular (IM) epinephrine administration in 25 healthy adults 19-45 years of age. Epinephrine administrations were as follows: 6.6 mg IN (1 x 6.6 mg), 4.4 mg IN (2 x 2.2 mg), 8.8 mg IN (2 x 4.4 mg), 13.2 mg IN (2 x 6.6 mg), and 0.3 mg IM (1 x 0.3 mg). Epinephrine concentrations and cardiovascular effects were measured (-30-360 minutes). PK parameters (AUC 0-10 , AUC 0-20 , AUC 0-30 , AUC 0-60 , AUC 0-360 , C max(10 min) , C max ; ANOVA analysis) and safety were assessed. Epinephrine bioavailability and cumulative PK data showed that the single 6.6 mg IN epinephrine was comparable to or greater than 0.3 mg IM epinephrine auto-injector, with similar epinephrine related pharmacodynamic effects. Other key results of the study were as follows:

At most time points, a comparable percentage of participants reached epinephrine plasma concentrations of 100 and 200 pg/mL at key time point intervals after administration of Bryn's IN as compared to IM administration.

There were no clinically significant differences in heart rate or blood pressure after administration of epinephrine IN or IM

Researchers in the study concluded that Bryn's bi-dose nasal spray is a novel therapeutic option in anaphylaxis treatment which allows patients to administer a second dose readily if the first dose does not abate symptoms.

BRYN-NDS1C Bi-Dose Epinephrine Nasal Spray

Bryn Pharma's Bi-dose Epinephrine Nasal Spray (BRYN-NDS1C) is a single, portable, needle-free device capable of delivering two therapeutic doses of epinephrine, ensuring compliance with clinical guidance while replacing the need to carry two epinephrine auto-injectors. The two therapeutic doses contained in each bi-dose IN device provides assurance that a second dose is readily available if another dose is needed for symptom control, a critical need that occurs in 30% of patients experiencing an anaphylactic event. In early 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track Designation to BRYN-NDS1C. The Company has completed three human clinical studies of BRYN-NDS1C and has put in place a commercial-scale, high-speed manufacturing line in preparation for the anticipated market launch. BRYN-NDS1C is not currently approved for sale by the FDA or any international regulatory authority.

About Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is a serious, life-threatening allergic reaction. The most common anaphylactic reactions are to foods, insect stings, medication and latex.1 A major difference between anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions is that anaphylaxis typically involves more than one system of the body.2 Anaphylaxis requires immediate medical treatment, driving approximately 100,000 emergency room visits in the U.S. each year.1,3 Because 30% of patients who develop anaphylaxis will require a second dose of epinephrine to control symptoms, practice parameters recommend that physicians provide patients with two auto-injectors.4 If not treated properly, anaphylaxis can be fatal.2 However, studies have shown that the majority of people at risk for anaphylaxis often do not carry two epinephrine auto-injectors due in part to size and cost of the products, putting patients at greater risk of severe complications during an allergic reaction.

About Bryn Pharma

Bryn Pharma is a privately held pharmaceutical company founded by patients for patients. Bryn is focused on positively disrupting the existing market for epinephrine auto-injectors by delivering an accessible, easy-to-use alternative that better meets the needs of patients. Bryn Pharma seeks to provide this growing population at risk for anaphylaxis with A Better Way to be prepared for a life-threatening allergic reaction. For more information visit www.brynpharma.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release that look forward in time or that express beliefs, expectations or hopes regarding future occurrences or anticipated outcomes or benefits are forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties, such as risks related to product development and commercialization efforts, results of clinical trials, ultimate clinical outcomes and benefit of the Company's products to patients, market and physician acceptance of the Company's products, intellectual property protection and competitive product offerings, could cause actual events to differ from the expectations indicated in these forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to put any undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to purchase any particular securities. Any such offer or solicitation will be made only pursuant to definitive legal agreements prepared specifically for such purpose. An investment in the Company's securities entails significant risks and is suitable only for sophisticated investors who can afford a loss of their entire investment; no assurance can be given that investment objectives will be achieved. In considering the performance information contained herein, you should bear in mind that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results; there can be no assurance that the Company will achieve comparable results or that any projected returns will be met. The Company does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Available at https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/allergies/anaphylaxis. Accessed on December 21, 2020. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Available at: https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions-dictionary/anaphylaxis. Accessed on December 21, 2020 . Fromer L. Prevention of Anaphylaxis: The Role of the Epinephrine Auto-Injector. Am J Med. 2016 Dec; 129(12): 1244-1250. Anaphylaxis a practice parameter update 2015; Lieberman, Phillip et al.; Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Volume 115, Issue 5, 341-384

SOURCE Bryn Pharma, LLC

Related Links

http://www.brynpharma.com


Police commissioner describes decision not to prioritise frontline workers for vaccine as a real kick in the teeth for officers

This article is old - Published: Sunday, Feb 28th, 2021

A police boss has hit out after extremely disappointing news that frontline officers wont be given priority for Covid jabs.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones spoke out after it was revealed that people aged 40 to 49 will be the next group to receive a the vaccine when the over 50s have been given the jab  currently expected to be by mid April.

On Friday the UK scientific advisors whose recommendations have been used by all the governments in the UK  including Wales  ruled against giving priority to police officers and teachers in the next phase of the vaccine rollout.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said that focusing on age would provide the greatest benefit in the shortest time.





This means that in phase two, priority will be given in the following order:

 All those aged 40-49

 All those aged 30-39

 All those aged 18-29

It concluded that the most effective way to prevent death and hospital admission is to carry on prioritising people by age.

The Welsh Government has followed the independent advice on vaccine priority from the JCVI since the start of the vaccine rollout as have all the devolved administrations.

The refusal to give police officers priority was condemned by Mr Jones who said: Police officers deserve better treatment than this because they are among the heroes of this pandemic.

The recommendation that they, along with teachers, should not be given priority is a real kick in the teeth when they potentially they put their lives on the line every time they go out on duty.

The Covid pandemic has added another layer of risk to an already dangerous job, especially when new and more contagious variants of the virus are spreading the disease.

Unbelievably, police officers have had to deal with the additional threat from a small minority of offenders spitting or coughing in their faces, saying they are infected with coronavirus.

As a matter of urgency, am calling on the Welsh Government to put this right by including police officers among those given priority to receive a jab so they can continue to protect our communities across North Wales during the pandemic.

North Wales Police Federation general secretary Mark Jones said: We represent over 1,500 brave, hard working and dedicated police officers in North Wales.

Throughout this period since Covid-19 gripped our communities, the vast majority of police officers have had no option but to continue working.

Sadly, in North Wales, we have seen many colleagues who have become unwell with Covid-19 and many more having to self-isolate.

Many of my members have passionately described their fears in bringing Covid-19 back to their family homes and thus putting their loved ones at significant risk of contracting this deadly virus.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 chair for JCVI, said: Vaccinations stop people from dying and the current strategy is to prioritise those who are more likely to have severe outcomes and die from Covid-19.

The evidence is clear that the risk of hospitalisation and death increases with age.

The vaccination programme is a huge success and continuing the age-based rollout will provide the greatest benefit in the shortest time, including to those in occupations at a higher risk of exposure.

The JCVI said modelling studies for phase 2 of the vaccination programme also indicate that the speed of vaccine deployment is the most important factor in helping prevent severe illness and death.

These groups will be vaccinated once all those in phase 1 (the over-50s and most vulnerable) have received a jab.

There has been sustained pressure for police officers and teachers to be given priority access to vaccines because of the amount of face to face contact they have as part of their job.
https://www.aish.com/jw/s/Discovering-What-Happened-to-My-Great-Grandfather-in-the-Holocaust.html

A new memorial helped me learn about his deportation to the Lodz Ghetto 80 years ago.

After a lifetime of wondering, I finally found out how my great grandfather Arthur Alt died.

Ive had a photo of Great Grandpa Arthur on my bookshelf: the only photo of him that is extant. He is sitting at the head of a table in a cafe, wearing a suit. The one story I know about him is that he once thwarted a violent bank robbery where he worked and was shot in the arm. For the rest of his career, the bank sent a car to pick him up and drive him home.

Hes flanked by relatives: his son and daughter, and two cousins. A sixth guest snapped the picture.

The photo was taken sometime in the late 1930s. War loomed on the horizon, perhaps it had already been declared. Anti-Jewish feeling was running high. My grandmother told me that in the 1930s in Vienna there was so much hatred directed at Jews, even Jews themselves had internalized these negative feelings.

Viennas city government recently announced construction of a new memorial, "The Shoah Wall of Names Memorial to be erected in Ostarrichi Park in the middle of Austrias capital. Its the brainchild of Kurt Yakov Tutter, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor from Vienna. Kurts parents managed to hide Kurt and his sister during the Holocaust; his parents were deported to Nazi death camps and murdered. Kurt later moved to Canada, and spent twenty years lobbying for the memorial, finally winning approval in 2018.

Inspired by the Hall of Names in Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Viennas memorial will include the names of the over 64,000 Jews from Austria who were murdered by the Nazis. The memorials website features a search function where relatives can look for lost relatives.

After a lifetime of not knowing what happened, it only took a few seconds on the memorials website to bring up the information my family had longed for.

Born in 1885 in the town of Peterswald, which today is in the Czech Republic, Arthur Alt lived in Vienna at Sensengasse 7, in the same Viennese district as the planned memorial. I looked up the address on Google Maps and saw a grand, imposing apartment building. On October 26, 1941, according to the memorials website, Great Grandpa Arthur was sent first to Prague and then on to the notorious Lodz Ghetto in Poland. He perished there on July 9, 1944.

Great Grandpas imprisonment in Poland was part of a long-planned strategy to eliminate Viennas thriving Jewish community, and an experiment that would inform the Nazis plans to deport Jews from throughout Europe.

On October 2, 1940 the rabid Nazi Baldur von Schirach who governed Vienna, met with Adolf Hitler. Schirach complained that there was a housing shortage in Vienna and asked for permission to remove the citys Jews. Within months Hitler assented to this plan.

Two local Viennese schools  a Jewish school and a public school that had a large Jewish student body  were set up as points of Jewish deportation. In 1938 senior Nazi Adolf Eichmann had set up a Central Office for Jewish Education; this office was responsible for identifying Jews to deport. Each Jew was allowed to take 50 kilograms of luggage and was warned that this should include bedding.

Eighty years ago, February 1941, the first Jews from Vienna were deported to near-certain death in Poland. At first, Viennese Jews were sent to small Polish towns. The displaced Jews soon ran out of money and had to rely on local Jewish charities in the tiny Polish towns to which theyd been exiled. A deportee named Jakob Engel, who was forced onto the first transport out of Vienna, described his three-day journey to the impoverished Polish town of Opole. I didnt know that such... villages existed at all, and you cant get any idea of the misery at all The population is poor, as you can hardly imagine. He went on to describe how he and his fellow Jewish deportees from Vienna faced death by starvation.

July 1941, Great Grandpa Arthur was deported to the Lodz Ghetto. He was one of 40,000 Jews sent there in 1941 and 1942. They joined the 160,000 Jews of Lodz  over a third of the citys population, hemmed in by barbed wire fences and patrolling Nazi guards. Over 5,000 Roma were also sent to Lodz and imprisoned there. No longer a distinguished bank employee, Great Grandpa became a slave laborer in the ghetto.

The Lodz Ghetto measured just 1.5 square miles. The buildings were old and most lacked plumbing. Eight to ten people shared each room. The Jews lacked enough food, water and fuel. There was nowhere to dispose of human waste.

Living conditions in the ghetto were horrendous, the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum explains. Most of the quarter had neither running water nor a sewer system. Hard labor, overcrowding, and starvation were the dominant features of life. The overwhelming majority of ghetto residents worked in Germany factories, receiving only meager food rations from their employers. More than 20 percent of the ghettos population died as a direct result of the harsh living conditions.

The remaining Jews were deported to killing camps. The Germans at first required the Jewish council to prepare lists of deportees, writes the museum. As this method failed to fill required quotas, the Germans resorted to police roundups. German personnel shot and killed hundreds of Jews, including children, the elderly, and the sick, during the deportation operations.

The Lodz Ghetto was considered a model ghetto, where Jews could prove their worth by working. The ghetto was filled with other a hundred factories making shoes, textiles, German military uniforms, mattresses and other items.

Once I discovered that Great Grandpa Arthur lived in the Lodz Ghetto for over two years, I found more online information about him. In the Lodz Ghetto records, he is designated as a Weber, or weaver. I imagine him toiling long hours in an unventilated factory, receiving only starvation rations as pay.

Some of our only records of life inside the ghetto came from an inmate named Henryk Ross, who was charged with taking ID photos of ghetto workers, and who also secretly photographed ordinary ghetto scenes. Yad Vashems website describes the scenes he captured: He photographed workers in the ghetto who had to go barefoot while pushing the carts that moved feces out of the ghetto  a dangerous job that often led to death by typhus. He photographed scenes of misery near the ghetto prison, and public hangings. He caught on film the deportations of the Lodz Jews to their deaths at (the nearby death camp) Chelmno. He photographed people writing their last notes to their families, and children waiting behind chain-link fences to be taken to an unknown distant destination during the Sperre, the horrifying deportations in September 1942 where almost all the children under ten years old were taken from the ghetto, and later murdered at Chelmno.

Another record of the Lodz Ghetto is the infamous speech given by Chaim Rumkowski, the head of the Nazi-appointed Jewish Council of Elders which was charged with keeping order inside the ghetto. Rumkowski was told time and again that if the Jews inside the ghetto met the Nazis demands, some of them might somehow be saved. This was a lie. Chaim Rumkowski himself was sent to Auschwitz on the last trainload from the Lodz Ghetto when the Nazis liquidated it in 1944.

On September 2, 1942, the Nazis ordered the Jewish Council to draw up a list of 2,000 Jews to deport. This was to include the sick, the elderly, and young children. The Nazis promised that if these 2,000 Jews were delivered, the rest of the ghettos Jews would be spared. If no list was forthcoming, many more Jews would die.

Two days later, Rumkowski delivered a horrific speech to the Jews. A grievous blow has struck the ghetto. They are asking us to give up the best we possess  the children and the elderly. I never imagined I would be forced to deliver this sacrifice to the altar with my own hands. In my old age, I must stretch out my hands and beg. Brothers and sisters: Hand them over to me! Fathers and mothers: Give me your children! Great Grandpa Arthur was there, possibly listening to these horrendous words and hearing the wailing all around him.

My great grandfather's daughter was with him in the ghetto for some time, before she was deported to a Nazi death camp (she miraculously survived). I cant imagine his grief. Did he thank God that his wife never lived to see such misery? Did he dare imagine that his daughter might somehow survive this hell?

Arthur Alts son, my grandfather Henry, in Chicago with his children playing in the background.

I wonder what his final months and days were like. He was 56 years old when he was deported to Lodz and 59 when he died  possibly from disease or hunger or overwork. For the first time, I feel like hes so close I could almost speak to him. I wish I could tell him that against the odds, his two children survived. That we somehow rebuilt the family that the Nazis tried so hard to wipe out, that he has several great great grandchildren around the world (including one more on the way). That we have not forgotten his name.

Was someone with my great grandfather when he died? Did anyone say the Shema with him or hold his hand? Ill never know. The most I can do to honor his memory is to remember him and teach my children about their great great grandfather, about his death and about his life.

The night after learning about his fate, I took aside my son who is named for Arthur (Aaron in Hebrew) and told him all that Id discovered about his ancestor. I want him to know everything he can about the man whose name he carries. I told him that one day well visit the Shoah Wall of Names Memorial in Vienna. Well search for the name Arthur Alt, remembered at last in the city that betrayed him. In the meantime we give tzedakah, recite prayers and study Jewish texts in his memory.
MUMBAI: Actress Alia Bhatt, who is gearing up for the release of her film 'Gangubai Kathiawadi', a biographical crime drama based on Hussain Zaidi's book 'Mafia Queens of Mumbai' has been winning praise far and wide for her character. The makers recently unveiled the first teaser of the film on social media and the talented actress once again blew everyone's mind with her terrific performance. Overwhelmed with compliments she received from her fans, the 'Raazi' star took to social media and penned a note of thanks to her fans and well-wishers.

Alia hopped on to Twitter and wrote in Hindi, "Aap sab ne Gangu ko itna pyar diya, uske liye THANK YOU!!"

Along with the thank you note, she shared a poster of the film. It shows the actor dressed in a white saree standing near a luxury car and holding a shiny purse in her arm with a 'beedi' (leaf cigarette) in her hand.

On February 24, Alia thrilled her fans by dropping the 1.5 minute-long teaser of 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' showing her portraying an eponymous character in the flick. The teaser opens with a dialogue that says, "They say...nights in Kamathipura are always moonlit because Gangu lives there!"

The teaser is set in a theme where the 27-year-old named Gangubai Kothewali, a brothel owner and matriarch from Kathiawad who had no choice but to embrace the ways of destiny and swing it in her favour. She is transformed from a brothel queen to a politician.

The teaser showcases Alia in a catchy dialogue, "Live with dignity. Never fear anyone. Neither police, nor MLA, or minister or any bloody pimp...NOBODY!!" and the rising crescendo of a thrumming soundtrack.

The makers have announced the theatrical release date of the film on July 30 this year. The film marks Bhansali's first collaboration with Alia. This project will also see Bhansali Productions collaborating with Jayantilal Gada's Pen India Limited.
An epidemiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham projected that the country, and Alabama, could reach herd immunity to COVID-19 as early as May or June.

Were getting closer to herd immunity, thanks to the vaccine, and also new scientific data that shows us that more people had COVID than were tested, said Suzanne Judd, a PhD epidemiologist at UAB.

Judd said her calculations are based on the current pace of delivering COVID-19 vaccines, coupled with a recent study from Columbia University that estimated that more than a third of the U.S. population may have already been infected with the virus by the end of January.

Herd immunity occurs when the virus cannot spread through a population uncontrolled because enough members of the population have some kind of immunity, either from a vaccine or from antibodies if they had the disease and recovered.

Scientists already know how many people have been vaccinated against COVID and how many people have tested positive for the disease. But theres a huge, and unknown, number of people who got the virus and were never tested.

If that number is large enough, spread of the disease could drop dramatically in the coming months.

Current estimates are that well see [herd immunity] sometime late spring, early summer in Alabama, Judd said. Somewhere between May and June is likely, but this depends on many factors.

Judd said new studies at Columbia, Johns Hopkins University and UAB suggest that many more people may have already had the disease than we thought. In New York City, she said, one study showed a nearly 10-to-1 ratio of people who currently have antibodies to people who tested positive for the virus.

Judd said thats less surprising because New York was hit hard by the virus early in the pandemic, when it was much harder to get a COVID test. She said at UAB, the ratio is closer to 5-to-1. Her forecast, in an attempt be conservative and not over-estimate, assumes there are three people who actually had COVID in Alabama for every positive test reported.

The more people that have immunity, the less the virus will spread, the safer it will be for us to interact with one another again, Judd said.

Estimates vary on how much of the population needs to be immune to truly disrupt the viruss spread, but Judd said her calculations were based on a threshold of getting immunity in 72% of the population.

Theres no magical number that is herd immunity, Judd said. Each virus, each bacteria is different, and they mutate at regular intervals, so this number can move. But at the moment, scientists are shooting for about 72% of the population with immunity, so hopefully well see that soon.

For Alabama, Judd said that would mean 3.5 million people need to be either vaccinated or infected. Current statistics show that 12.5% of Alabamas population had received at least one COVID dose of vaccine and another 10% had tested positive for the virus.

As of Friday, Alabama had reported 491,849 positive tests. Assuming a 3-to-1 ratio, that would indicate that almost 1.5 million Alabamians have had COVID already. If the 5-to-1 ratio turns out to be true, that would equal more than 2.4 million people have already been infected, bringing the state closer to that herd immunity threshold.

Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said he was familiar with Judds work and said she did a tremendous job forecasting herd immunity for Alabama.

Dr. Judd is a great researcher, and so I think that what she put together was very intriguing and makes a lot of sense, Harris said Thursday.

Still, Harris said there were many unknowns about herd immunity, including how many Alabamians may have already gotten COVID but never got tested.

A little over 10% or so of our state we know has tested positive, and has been infected, Harris said. But certainly the percentage that has antibodies on board is a lot higher than that.

Mutations also could be key to whether herd immunity holds up, she said, or if booster vaccines are needed.

It really depends on how the virus mutates, she said. There are some mutations that well be completely covered by the immune response the body has already developed. There are other mutations that could escape the immune system and require a vaccine booster or actually lead to reinfection.

So the variants are something we have to watch very carefully.

Judd said Alabamians should not let their guard down, or begin leaving their masks at home just yet.

Were not going to know that were at herd immunity, theres no magical, all of a sudden were at 72% and were safe, Judd said. The things were going to monitor are the number of cases per week, were going to continue to watch that very carefully. And as long as it trends down and stays below about 10 or 5 [cases] per 100,000, and we have decent testing in the state, then well know that its safe to get people back together.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed almost 73 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country as of Saturday, with more than 96 million doses distributed.

The tally is for both the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, both of which involve two doses.

In total, some 72,806,180 doses had been administered out of 96,402,290 doses.

It's the first time since November the figure has dipped below 50,000 hospitalizations

Saturday's figures show there are currently 48,870 people in hospital with virus. Another 1,822 deaths were reported Saturday bringing total to 511,787 lives lost

The numbers break down further to reveal that as of Saturday, 48,435,536 people had received at least one vaccine dose while 23,698,627 had received both doses.

A total of 7,043,540 vaccine doses have also been administered in long-term care facilities, the agency said.

On Saturday night it was revealed another 1,822 people had died from the disease bring the total to 511,787 lives lost across the United States.

There are still 48,870 people in hospital with the virus across the nation. It's the first time since November the figure has dipped below 50,000 hospitalizations.

Jean Zabielski, 95, receives her coronavirus vaccination at Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit, Michigan on Saturday

Lines are long at Petco Park vaccine superstation in downtown San Diego,pictured Wednesday

Those eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine are able to pull up in their cars to get the shot

The numbers are sure to rally further in the coming weeks following the approval of a third vaccine to combat the coronavirus which was formally approved as of Saturday evening.

The Food and Drug Administration is to allow distribution of Johnson & Johnson's Covid jab as early as Monday.

The vaccine is the first of the approved injections to require just one dose instead of two.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will sit alongside those already offered by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, with shipments expected to start within days.

'We're going to use every conceivable way to expand manufacturing of the vaccine  the third vaccine  to make even more rapid progress at getting shots in people's arms,' President Biden said on Friday while visiting Houston.

Biden described the federal government's mass inoculation drive as 'the most difficult operational challenge this nation has ever faced logistically.'

He said there were to be expected challenges in reaching people in remote areas, and in persuading others who were 'hesitant to take the shots.'

'We all know there's a history in this country of subjugating certain communities to terrible medical and scientific abuse, but if there's one message that needs to cut through all this: The vaccines are safe. I promise you,' Biden said.

People wait in line to receive COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic held by the L.A. County Sheriff's Community Advisory Council in Los Angeles

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine which required just a single shot dose

The United States has recorded about 28.5 million coronavirus cases and 511,787 deaths.

Daily case numbers are roughly where they were in October and well below the single-day record of about 300,000 infections set in early January, but federal health officials are warning impatient governors not to relax pandemic control measures, fearing a recent steep drop in cases and deaths could be about to level off.

Concerns have been raised after the seven-day average for new cases  67,744 as of Saturday evening  had been creeping upwards.

The latest coronavirus variant was discovered in New York City this week and another worrying version of the virus is spreading through California.

'Things are tenuous,' Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Friday. 'Now is not the time to relax restrictions.'
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe might have had a secret nest egg in the form of two plots of land given to him by a female admirer, his brother revealed yesterday.

Mick Sutcliffe said a fellow inmate of his brother claims to have seen title deeds to land in Scotland under the Ripper's name, apparently earmarked for a housing development.

But details of the serial killer's will have been kept secret from his family by his remarried ex-wife Sonia Woodward. Sutcliffe died in November, aged 74, after contracting Covid-19.

Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, pictured with wife Sonia might have had a secret nest egg in the form of two plots of land given to him by a female admirer

Mr Sutcliffe said Mrs Woodward, who was said to have held power of attorney over the Ripper's affairs, failed to share details of the funeral. He also believes his brother might have wanted to pass on something sentimental to him.

Mrs Woodward, 70, still owns and spends much of her time at the 279,000 detached house in Bradford where she was living with Sutcliffe when he was arrested.

Days ago she was seen waiting at a bus stop near the house  the first time she has been spotted in public since Sutcliffe's death. Mr Sutcliffe, 70, said he was told about the land in a letter sent a week ago by a friend of his brother at HMP Frankland, Co Durham.

A woman called Pauline is said to have given the land to Sutcliffe years ago when he was in Broadmoor with gangland killer Ronnie Kray, who is said to have offered to buy the land from him. The Mail cannot verify the authenticity of the letter and no further details are known about the land in Scotland.

The inmate, who Mr Sutcliffe asked not to be named, wrote: 'As for the two plots of land up in Scotland, it looked like plots to build on as the map was set out like a housing estate and the title deeds were in Peter's original name Sutcliffe.

'So it must have been a long time ago when Pauline bought it for him. He even told me a story about one of the Kray twins wanting to buy the land off him.'

Days ago Sonia Woodward was seen waiting at a bus stop near the house  the first time she has been spotted in public since Sutcliffe's death

Mr Sutcliffe said: '[The letter] was the first I'd heard about this as Peter never told me this himself. His friend said he knows it's right because he'd seen the deeds.'

The killer's brother said speculation surrounding the estate is down to Sonia Woodward's failure to communicate with the family.

Mr Sutcliffe, a grandfather, who lives in Bingley, West Yorkshire, said: 'I have not spoken to Sonia in 40 years, but I would like to now. I suspect she knows a lot more than I can even begin to think of questions to ask. She has been so secretive all this time that I wonder what she knows.

'It was only when Peter became ill that I realised I had no control whatsoever and everything had to go through Sonia.

'I had to find out from the news that he had Covid-19 and even when he died. Up until that point I would ring and speak to Peter every Monday. Sonia hadn't even spoken to Peter for five years.'

Mr Sutcliffe said he knows details of the last will and testament will eventually be made public, but would like to speak to his former sister-in-law about 'what is happening to his belongings'.

He added: 'I would like to know if there was anything Peter wanted me to have. I know what he did is monstrous, but he was also my brother and I should have rights.

'I don't think Peter would have wanted this.'

The Mail has been unable to contact Mrs Woodward for comment.

Sutcliffe was transferred to high-security Frankland from Broadmoor in 2016 after he was deemed to no longer be mentally ill. He was given 20 life sentences in 1981 for murdering 13 women and attempting to murder another seven.
Missing conwoman Melissa Caddick may have been alive for months after suddenly vanishing from her $6.1million mansion.

The 49-year-old millionaire was declared dead by police on Saturday after DNA testing revealed that her severed foot, wedged inside a sneaker, drifted ashore on Bournda Beach on the NSW south coast.

Then a large piece of torso flesh which included a belly button was found in the sand 150km away at Mollymook Beach on the same day, and two bones washed up on Turra Beach on Sunday.

Remains resembling human intestines were also found 200km north at Cunjurong Point.

Forensic testing is underway to determine whether the latest body parts belong to Caddick, but detectives believe the remains are too fresh to have been in the water since November 12 when she went missing.

Pictured: Melissa Caddick and herhusband Anthony Koletti before she went missing on November 12

Two bones were found on a beach near where missing conwoman Melissa Caddick's decomposing foot was uncovered last week

This would quash the theory that the mother-of-one took her own life immediately after vanishing from her home in Dover Heights in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Her disappearance was just days after police raided her home in an investigation that found she swindled at least $20million from clients, including friends and family.

Ms Caddick was believed to still be alive until the decomposing foot was found, and though she is confirmed dead, when she died is still to be determined.

Superintendent Joe McNulty, commander of NSW Marine Command, said the condition of her body made it appear she was on the run for weeks before her death.

'Something in the water for that long, say a bit of flotsam or jetsam that washes on to the shore, has got green growth on it,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

'At first examination the shoe doesn't appear to have been in the water for three months. The shoe needs extensive analysis to see how long it was in the water. It's a vital clue where hopefully marine biology can provide some answers.'

Mr McNulty, who has been working in marine recovery for 30 years, said he has never heard of a case where a body that entered the water in Sydney could float hundreds of kilometers down the south coast.

Human remains including what appeared to be stomach flesh and a belly button have washed ashore on a beach 150km away from where missing Caddick's (pictured) foot was found

A walker made the grisly discovery on Saturday afternoon at Tura Beach on the NSW south coast, a day after police confirmed Caddick's death after her foot was found inside a shoe at nearby Bournda Beach

Discovery of the human remains on Friday night comes after the decomposed foot of Melissa Caddick (pictured in the shoe) was found by campers on the NSW south coast on February 21

Experts have started mapping the tidal patterns to determine whether is was possible that Caddick entered the ocean around her clifftop home, but police scoured the area following her disappearance and did not see a body.

Search teams would likely have spotted clothing in the ocean or buoyant jewellery.

But Mr McNulty explained that dead bodies will float for a few days in the water, before the lungs, stomach and intestines fill with heavy salt water and sink for two or three days.

The bloated corpse then resurfaces in a state of decomposition, meaning it was very likely police would have seen Caddick's inflated corpse in the ocean during intensive search operations.

Though it is possible for a body to get caught in the East Australian Current and float along for 100km in a single day, investigators with decades of experience say it is unheard of.

Pictured: Police and locals at the site of grizzly human remains on a south coast beach

The bones are now being tested to determine if they are human remains or if they belong to an animal

Pictured: Map shows the distance between where Caddick's foot was found, where she was last seen and Friday night's latest discovery of decomposing body parts

'That's never happened in my time in the water police,' Mr McNulty said.

Investigators believe the likelihood of some or all remains, aside from the foot, belong to a Canberra man who went swimming just north of Bateman's Bay with his family.

The 39-year-old disappeared on January 25 with goggles, a snorkel and flippers at about 3pm, and was never seen again.

Police over the weekend expanded their search to a third beach, with officers sent to Cunjarong point - about 30km north of Mollymook where the stomach was found.

Expert criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett said if the decomposing stomach belongs to Caddick, it could mean she was alive much longer than suspected and prove she was murdered and did not commit suicide.

'For a stomach to be recovered three months later, after summer months, is a little more unusual. It could suggest the person died more recently. There's certainly a lot of questions around this,' Dr Mallett told The Sunday Telegraph.

Experts previously thought Melissa Caddick (pictured with her husband Anthony Koletti) suicided

The discovery of stomach flesh including a belly button on Friday is being DNA tested to confirm if they belong to missing conwoman Melissa Caddick (pictured right with her husband Anthony Koletti)

'Three months is quite a long time, I would be interested to know the decomposition level to determine if the body was in the water immediately after she disappeared.'

Police initially suspected Caddick took her own life, because she could have reached the Dover Heights clifftops - 300m from her home - without being tracked by CCTV cameras.

Dr Mallett also admitted it was possible Caddick entered the water at Dover Heights and for her body parts to then wash ashore hundreds of kilometres away on the NSW south coast, although three months is a long time for body parts to remain intact.

She also said when she heard Caddick's foot had been recovered she was not convinced at that stage she was dead because a person could still be alive without the limb attached.

The rotting limb was found by campers inside an ASICS Gel Nimbus shoe 50km north of the Bournda National Park.

The group of three teenage campers were near Tathra on Sunday when one of them found the shoe lying on the sand.

The route from Caddick's $6.1million home on Wallangra Road in Dover Heights (pictured) to nearby clifftops is believed to not have any CCTV cameras facing the road or street

Police were called to Mollymook Beach (stock image) on the NSW South Coast about 9.30pm on Friday

When he turned the shoe upside down as he went to throw it out, he discovered there were human remains inside.

Police later used footage from the raid of Caddick's home - which had featured vision of her feet - to help identify her as the shoe's owner.

Days after she was reported missing on November 13, NSW Police used modelling to determine where her body might wash up if she had died in the water near her Dover Heights home.

The modelling deemed it possible that her body could have drifted as far south as Bermagui, about one hour north of Bournda.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing said the modelling was done in the wake of Ms Caddick's disappearance, as crews conducted extensive land, air and sea searches.

In a sworn statement tendered at the Federal Court, and recently made public, ASIC investigator Isabella Allen alleges Caddick hit her with a barrage of questions when authorities raided her $6.2million Dover Heights mansion on November 11.

ASIC investigator Isabella Allen alleges Caddick hit her with a barrage of questions when authorities raided her $6.2million Dover Heights mansion on November 11 (pictured is bodycam footage of the raid)

Caddick (pictured centre) is survived by her husband Anthony (pictured right), a 15-year-old son, parents Barbara and Ted Grimley and brother Adam.

Caddick allegedly demanded answers on how she was to abide by a court order freezing her assets.

Those questions includes: When would she have to appear in court? Where would she drop off her passports? Did one order mean she couldn't use her credit cards, because she used them for all transactions?

Caddick also asked how quickly she had to write up a description of her assets and liabilities, and asked: 'how am I supposed to do that when you have taken my computers?'

The investigator replied: 'I am unable to answer that question and it may be best that you speak to a lawyer. Do you have a lawyer?'

It is believed ASIC had been investigating her for three months before the raid.

Caddick is survived by her husband Anthony, a 15-year-old son, parents Barbara and Ted Grimley and brother Adam

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing (pictured on Friday) confirmed remains of the missing businesswoman have been found on the NSW far south coast. Also pictured is an exhausted looking Gretchen Atkins (left), the detective who has led the investigation

Mr and Ms Grimley are said to be 'furious at ASIC' for the death of their daughter.

The conwoman used investors funds to prop up a lavish lifestyle, including extravagant overseas trips and designer items.

Her victims were mostly wealthy friends, some of whom invested life savings in Caddick believing they were making returns.

When ASIC and the Australian Federal Police raided the clifftop home, they seized about $1million in couture gowns, designer clothes, handbags, shoes and jewellery.

Corporate watchdog ASIC said on Wednesday the investigation into Caddick and her company would continue as they try and return funds to investors.

'ASIC's priority is to seek the return of funds to investors in the most efficient way possible,' an ASIC spokesperson said.

If Ms Caddick had been found alive, NSW police would have been able to arrest the high-flying financial fraudster.

Liquidators allege the self-styled financial adviser 'meticulously and systematically' deceived those who entrusted millions of investment dollars to her over seven years, then used the money to fund her lavish lifestyle.

'Melissa's family were informed of the identification last night and are obviously distressed,' NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing told reporters on Friday.

Campers found a decomposed foot and ASICS shoe washed up on Bournda Beach (pictured) on the NSW far south coast near Tathra

'Police have always kept an open mind in relation to what the circumstances were for her disappearance, including the fact that Melissa may have taken her own life.'

One of the investor victims ripped off by Ms Caddick reacted with shock when told by 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham.

Cheryl Kraft Reid entrusted almost $1million of her superannuation with Ms Caddick, whom she considered as a friend and last heard from two months prior to her disappearance.

'Wow, that's a sad tragic outcome for her son but its also just a sad tragic outcome for us because we just don't get closure,' Ms Kraft Reid told the radio program.

'Besides the news we're unlikely to see any return of that, it's pretty devastating.'

'It's not just the money, it's the consequences of what's happened to us and for the many years we've worked for zero returns because she decided to live an entitled and frivolous life.'
A 47-year-old man was seriously injured Sunday afternoon after being shot in Worcester, according to police.

Officers responded to a report of the shooting at a home on Piedmont Street around 2:20 p.m., Lt. Sean Murtha, a spokesperson for the Worcester Police Department, told MassLive in a statement.

Police found the man who was shot, and he was given medical assistance by the first responding officers. He was then turned over to paramedics, who drove him to the hospital by ambulance, according to Murtha.

The departments detective bureau soon arrived and took over the investigation, the department said in a press release.

Anyone with information about the shooting has been urged to call detectives at (508) 799-8651, send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD or send an anonymous web-based message at worcesterma.gov/police.

Tom Hoppel is still trying to collect about $6,000 in owed rent over the past several months on some of his eight Scranton units.

I appreciate people are struggling, but so are the little landlords, Hoppel said. I wish the government would appreciate that a little bit.

A nearly yearlong moratorium on evictions protected tenants, but created financial hardships for many landlords.

Housing advocates and landlord associations say theyre hopeful a newly approved round of federal funding for rent relief will help ease the burden on both.

Congress recently approved a $25 billion package to help low- to moderate-income residents pay back rent and utilities, of which Pennsylvania received $847.7 million. Lackawanna County, which plans to begin accepting online applications within the next few weeks, received $6.2 million and Luzerne County, $9.4 million.

The program is open to both tenants and landlords, who can file on their tenants behalf as long as they notify the person theyre doing so.

Officials say the funding comes at a critical time for renters as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium on evictions is set to expire March 31.

Its a lifeline for many landlords pushed to the financial brink.

We are now at a juncture where many landlords need to sell their properties because they cant meet the financial obligation, said Rita Dallago, executive director of the Pennsylvania Residential Owners Association, a trade association for real estate investors and landlords.

Officials say the funding is a big help, but whether it will be enough to make all landlords whole remains to be seen.

Nationwide, tenants owed $30 billion to $70 billion in back rent as of Dec. 31, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. About 9.6 million households reported they were behind in rent as of Feb. 1, according to a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Dallago said her groups roughly 10,000 members reported they are owed $6 million in back rent dating back to April.

Right now, the numbers we are looking at, its probably not going to be completely sufficient, but it may be very close, she said of the funding.

Hoppel, 61, said hes also relieved to learn help is on the way. He did not file eviction proceedings against any of his tenants because most were making a good faith effort to pay.

These people are like my family, he said. I try to work with them.

It has taken a toll on his finances, he said, causing him to fall behind on taxes. The rent relief program hopefully will help him recover most of the owed back rent so he can pay property taxes, he said.

This is exactly what I need, he said.

Two other programs for Scranton residents are also encouraging, said Lori Molloy, executive director of North Penn Legal Services.

Scranton earmarked $1.1 million of federal funds it received for a separate program to help city residents who owe back rent and utilities. That program, administered through the citys Department of Economic and Community Development, expects to accept applications starting in mid-March.

Scranton also is creating a mediation program for landlord-tenant disputes. If both parties agree, the case would go before a mediator to help them try to resolve the dispute instead of going to court.

The program, funded by a $10,000 grant from the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, is expected to begin soon, said Lackawanna County Court Administrator Frank Castellano. Initially, it will only be offered at Magisterial District Judge Joanne Corbetts office.

The county may expand it to other offices if funding is available.

There are hundreds and hundreds of tenants facing eviction who dont have enough income to pay rent, Molloy said. These programs will help them.
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Thunderstorms likely, especially during the morning. High near 80F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
A single-shot COVID-19 vaccine by US drugmaker Johnson and Johnson is likely to be approved for use in the European Union in early March, a French minister said Sunday.

The vaccine was cleared for emergency use in the United States on Saturday, becoming the third available vaccine there.

The single-shot vaccine is highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19, including against newer variants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said before giving it the green light.

French Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told France 3 television that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was also evaluating information transmitted by the US pharmaceuticals company.

An EU approval in early March would allow the vaccine to be rolled out in late March or early April, she said, adding this was "good news" because it offers protection with a single shot in contrast to other vaccines requiring two.

She said it was possible that a booster shot was needed later "but we can't be sure yet".

The EU hoped to receive 600 million doses of the vaccine by the end of June, she said.

France has so far vaccinated 1.5 million people, the minister said. By June all 15 million people belonging to the country's most vulnerable population segments will have been vaccinated, she added, acknowledging however that reaching that target might require a faster vaccine rollout.

In large clinical trials, the J&J vaccine's efficacy against severe disease was 85.9 percent in the United States, 81.7 percent in South Africa, and 87.6 percent in Brazil.

The J&J shot appears less protective than Pfizer and Moderna's two-shot regimens, which both have an efficacy of around 95 percent against all forms of COVID-19 from the classic coronavirus strain.

 2021 AFP
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy speaking at CPAC on Saturday. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The group that puts on the Conservative Political Action Conference is called the American Conservative Union, but the first two days of speeches at this years CPAC in Orlando suggest the right-wing activists who attend the annual conclave have embraced a foreign political ideology.

Its not that the event wasnt patriotic. Each day began with the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem and countless speakers professed their love of country. Instead, it marked the further transition of the American right away from its libertarian roots to a more European model of populist politics. Government no longer was the enemy, but instead a tool to combat threats like big tech and cancel culture.

This political shift was most notable in what was not mentioned onstage. While the House of Representatives was passing a $1.9 trillion COVID bill that would, if enacted, be the most expensive piece of legislation in American history, there was little discussion of it or the national debt or a host of other former right wing bugaboos. When speaking onstage about the legislation, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was riled that spending in the legislation was misdirected in his view. He didnt criticize the underlying cost but instead waste  like what he termed a Silicon Valley subway, a provision to extend a mass transit line from San Francisco through to San Jose.

Instead, the focus was on the type of culture-war red meat that had been a staple of Trumpism. There were strident warnings about Marxism and Black Lives Matter, hardline stances set out on immigration and the rise of China and newfound zeal to combat and regulate social-media companies.

Politicians took turns touting their willingness to take on the left as they all tried to tap into the but he fights ethos that fueled Trumps rise.

This is not to say that libertarian tendencies disappeared. The mandate that all attendees at the event wear masks provoked ire among some attendees and required prominent signs and a reminder onstage. Speaker after speaker celebrated that they were in Florida, a state with relatively lax restrictions in place due to the coronavirus. Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, heralded her states approach to COVID, saying proudly that she never mandated masks or ordered a single business or church to close to loud applause. More than 1 in 500 South Dakotans have died of COVID-19 in the past year and the state has the second highest rate of cases in the country. But as COVID restrictions have become a culture war battleground and mask-wearing a political signal almost as potent as a hybrid Subaru or a pair of cowboy boots, these attitudes seemed to be as much about owning the libs as libertarianism.

Another sign of the Europeanization of the American conservatism was the growing presence of the international far right at the conference  and even the looming specter of white nationalism. There were recorded video messages from Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, as well as hard-right politicians in Spain and Croatia.

During breaks in the conference, a video from samurai futurologist Gemki Fuji repeatedly played proclaiming Trump to be a real American samurai while a right-wing South Korean politician claimed his country saw left-wing voter fraud too.

Perhaps most unsettling was the appearance of Congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona on Saturday. Gosar, a hard right-wing backbencher who touted false claims of voter fraud before the assault on the Capitol on January 6, appeared on a panel on immigration less than 12 hours after appearing at a separate white-nationalist event sponsored by those who found CPAC full of squishy sellouts.

At that gathering, the six-term Arizona Republicans speech was followed by remarks from a Holocaust denier who said America needed to protect its white demographic core and called the attack on the Capitol awesome. While onstage at CPAC, Gosars first remarks, without prompting, were I want to tell you, I denounce . . . white racism before shifting to the topic at hand.

Gosar is still an outlier at CPAC, but the annual event traditionally follows where conservative activists lead it, and the new nationalism of politicians like Josh Hawley has clearly replaced what Florida governor Ron DeSantis derided as the failed Republican Establishment of yesteryear. The party of Lincoln is looking more and more like the party of Le Pen.
It's a mystery that has been compared to a jigsaw puzzle with too many pieces missing  until now. In 2007, while on vacation with her parents at a beach resort in Southern Portugal, 3-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bed, sparking one of the biggest missing child investigations in history.

Despite a global media storm and a multinational search and investigation, years passed with no answers until June 2020, when German authorities announced they had a suspect  a sex offender with several previous convictions. His name is Christian Brueckner.

On May 3, 2007, Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bed in her family's vacation rental at a resort in Portugal. In a desperate bid to find their daughter, Madeleine's parents distributed photos they had taken of her from that vacation, including the photo seen here. / Credit: McCann Family/Handout

"He absolutely matches the profile of a person who could potentially abduct and or kill a little girl like Madeleine McCann," says Mark Hofmann, a Germany-based crime and intelligence analyst.

"His cellphone was tracked at the crime scene or at least next to the crime scene the night Maddie disappeared," Hofmann tells "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant, who has been covering the case since 2007.

Is the arrest of Brueckner the key to solving the case and finally solving the mystery of what happened to Madeleine McCann?

"It's when you put those things together that you get that clear focus where the jigsaw becomes much, much more complete," says Jim Gamble, the former head of the United Kingdom's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

"For the first time in 13 years, I have to say  I actually feel here is a credible suspect," says Gamble.

WHERE'S MADELEINE?

KATE MCCANN [to reporters, May 2007]: We would like to say a few words to the person who is with Madeleine.  Madeleine is a beautiful, bright, funny, and caring little girl. She is so special.  We need our Madeleine and Madeleine needs us.  Please give our little girl back.

It's been more than a decade of waiting for Kate and Gerry McCann.

Gerry and Kate McCann plead for the safe return of their 3-year-old daughter Madeleine.

GERRY MCCANN [to reporters, May 2007]: We will leave no stone unturned in the search for our daughter, Madeleine.

Story continues

Years of searching since their daughter disappeared on May 3, 2007.

KATE MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: We have to be hopeful. It's what keeps us going and keeps us focused.

Now, they finally may be closer to finding out what happened to Madeleine.

This past June in Braunschweig Germany, prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters held a press conference and made a stunning announcement: that German police had a suspect: 43-year-old Christian Brueckner. He also had devastating news. He declared that Madeleine McCann was likely dead.

Peter Van Sant: Mr. Wolters, it's been said that German prosecutors are always very tight lipped  You must have some strong evidence that allowed you to make that statement to the public.

Hans Christian Wolters: We have strong evidence that Christian B. killed Maddie McCann.

Peter Van Sant: But you don't have a body, correct? There's no body?

Hans Christian Wolters: No, we have no forensic evidence.

Peter Van Sant: Then how can you be so certain?

Hans Christian Wolters: We have other evidence.

Just as German law does not allow Wolters to use Brueckner's full name, he also cannot say what that evidence is.

Jim Gamble: I heard the news that the Germans had a credible suspect  and my first thing was, here we go again.

Jim Gamble was head of the U.K.'s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and involved in the early investigation.

Jim Gamble: Madeleine's case was complex.

Over the years, he has seen countless leads end up as dead ends. But this time, he believes the Germans may be on the right track.

Jim Gamble: Everyone, including myself, who's touched this case is more hopeful with the German case than, than we've been in 13 years.

Back in May of 2007, British doctors Gerry and Kate McCann were on vacation with their family in Praia da Luz, a resort town in the Algarve region of Portugal.

Jane Hill: The coastline is beautiful. The sunshine is beautiful.

Jane Hill is a BBC News anchor who covered Madeleine's story.

Jane Hill: It was just a regular, relaxed week in the sun.

Gerry and Kate McCann with their children. Madeleine is lower right. / Credit: Spindrift

The five members of the McCann family, including Madeleine and her younger twin brother and sister, stayed at the Ocean Club. They were joined by several other families.

Jim Gamble: The Ocean Club Resort was seen as a place  where families went. They'd gone there for generations. It would seem to be family friendly and safe.

KATE MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: We were having a great holiday. It was  we had lots of fun.

Especially fun for Madeleine.

GERRY MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: She might look like Kate but in terms of personality she's much more of a McCann. She's very extroverted and lively.

KATE MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: She is very sociable.

But their idyllic holiday would soon come to an end. On May 3 at around 8:30 p.m., the McCanns left their sleeping children alone in their unlocked apartment and went to meet friends at the resort's tapas bar about 50 yards away.

Jim Gamble: That was their routine behavior. They had been doing it all week.

Jane Hill: And the friends would take turns. So, every 15 minutes or so one of the adults from the group would go back  and just check on their sleeping children and check that everything was OK.

At 10 p.m. when it was Kate's turn, she found the twins sound asleep. But Madeleine's bed was empty.

The empty bed that Kate McCann discovered when she went to check on Madeleine and her two younger siblings at around 10 p.m. on May 3, 2007. / Credit: Solarpix.com

Jane Tanner: And Kate said to me, "Jane, Madeleine's gone. Madeleine's gone."

Jane Tanner was one of the friends who was dining with the McCanns.

Jane Tanner: It's the least thing you'd ever think in a million years that you know a child is going to be abducted in a safe family resort. When Tanner heard that Madeleine had disappeared, she says she remembered that earlier in the evening as she walked near the Ocean Club, she passed a man who had caught her attention.

A sketch of the man and child family friend Jane Tanner had reported seeing at the Ocean Club resort. / Credit: AP Images

Jane Tanner: As I was walking up the road this man was walking across the top of the road, carrying a small child, and the thing I noticed the most was he holding her and I could see the  her bare feet and the bottom of the pajamas.

Tanner told the Portuguese police what she had witnessed that night. But investigators didn't appear to take immediate action.

Jane Hill: There was quite a laissez-faire attitude  she's wandered off somewhere. She's probably got lost. We'll find her. She'll come back.  And that was one of the criticisms that the police activity didn't really get going until the next day.

By that time, Madeleine's disappearance was making headlines across the world.

Jane Hill: My editor took me off the air the day after she disappeared and said get on a plane to Portugal.

Hill was one of the first British journalists at the scene.

Peter Van Sant: Why did this capture people's attention so?

Jane Hill: It is every parent's nightmare, isn't it?

In some ways, Madeleine was more than a daughter to the McCanns. She was their miracle. Unable to conceive, the couple endured a series of grueling in vitro fertilization procedures until Kate finally became pregnant with Madeleine.

Peter Van Sant: What was it like for Gerry and Kate when Madeleine was born?

John Corner: Well, they were walking on air quite frankly.

Family friend Jon Corner spoke to "48 Hours" back in 2007.

Jon Corner: The bond between Kate and Madeleine was  is something that, amazing, really.

GERRY MCCANN [to reporters in May 2007]: Please, if you have Madeleine, let her come home to her mummy, daddy, brother, and sister.

Within days, Madeleine's face fueled one of the largest international searches for a missing child in history.

Jane Hill: Madeleine's face became so familiar. She became ubiquitous.

Missing posters on the windshield of a car parked outside the Luz Ocean Club, the vacation resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal where 3-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared while on vacation with her family in 2007. / Credit: AP

Jane Hill: It was heartbreaking because photographs were released that the family had taken on that holiday.

GERRY MCCANN [to reporters in May 2007]: It's obviously extremely difficult 

Jane Hill: Every day me and my team were there, we just watched the press pack grow and grow and grow.

As the cameras followed the McCanns everywhere, it seemed Kate was never without Madeleine's pink stuffed animal.

KATE MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: Well it was something that Madeleine has with her every night. And if she was upset or not well, then she has cuddle cat. So, it provided me with a little bit of comfort, something of Madeleine's close to me.

Days passed and the McCanns grew frustrated as the Portuguese police conducted their investigation and shared very little.

Jane Hill: Portuguese police are not allowed to reveal any details of an ongoing investigation, not just to people like me, to the family involved.  And what happens when you have no information? You get rumor, gossip, and speculation  there was no proof of anything, that's the trouble 

ALL EYES ON THE MCCANNS

Jane Hill: There were  rumors circulated, all the time. I can't tell you what a rumor mill it was.  And you would think  where is this coming from?

A week after Madeleine's disappearance, suspicion fell on a man who lived just down the street from where Madeleine had vanished.

Peter Van Sant: Tell me, who is Robert Murat?

Jim Gamble: Robert Murat is a British expat who lives in Praia da Luz.  So, he had local knowledge. And he spoke Portuguese, and  engaged with a number of reporters and others in proximity to the investigation and offered himself up to provide help by way of translation or advice.

Police quickly named Murat a suspect. Witnesses say Murat showed up at the Ocean Club after Madeleine disappeared, and claimed he was acting suspiciously. Murat's mother said that wasn't possible.

JENNY MURAT [2007 interview]: They couldn't have seen him. He was home all night.

Then, the public began to turn on the McCanns for leaving their daughter alone.

Peter Van Sant: Did it go from, "We feel so sorry for you" to "How could you have done that?"

Jane Hill: There were  people saying that.  I recorded an interview with a man from the Algarve Tourist Board.  He said, "I mean, you keep an eye on your suitcase. Why would you not keep an eye on your child?"

It's a question Jane Hill had to raise when she became the first reporter to interview Kate and Gerry McCann.

JANE HILL [2007 BBC interview]: A lot of people, in the last three weeks, have  said, 'I can't imagine doing such a thing. I wouldn't be able to leave three children, in that situation." How do you deal with those sorts of comments?

GERRY McCANN [2007 BBC interview]: I think, you know  no one will ever feel more guilty than us.  If you thought for a minute that someone could abduct your child, of course, you would never have left them.

Portuguese investigators also began eyeing the McCanns. Three months after Madeleine vanished, specially trained sniffer dogs were flown in to scour the family's vacation rental.

Traces of blood were detected inside the apartment and in the trunk of the McCann's rental car.

Partial samples of the blood were recovered and sent to a British lab for DNA testing, but the results indicated that the blood found in the apartment did not belong to Madeleine and the results from the DNA in the rental car were inconclusive.

Jim Gamble: Well I've seen the letter from the forensic science lab.  The forensic tests  didn't say, this DNA is Madeleine McCann's.  Because actually, the full analysis of that  says that up that up to half the forensic scientists in the lab would have had similar DNA characteristics. It was not a complete DNA sample.

What's more 

Jim Gamble: The car wasn't actually retained by the McCann's until weeks after Madeleine had gone missing.  And if you are to believe that Madeleine was in the boot of the car, they must have either killed her and/or hidden her sometime earlier, recovered her body whilst the media were surveilling them, hidden it in the car  then moved it to a place where they could dispose of it, where no one could see that happen, and then bring the car back. It just doesn't add up. The forensics don't add up.

And yet, four months after Madeleine vanished, Portuguese police declared the McCanns "arguidos" suspects in their own daughter's disappearance.

Peter Van Sant: The enormous media coverage in this, do you believe in some ways that pressured Portuguese authorities to say, we have our real suspects? It is Kate and it is Gerry.

Jim Gamble: Well, I can't speak to that.  You'd have to talk to the senior investigating officer from the Portuguese police. But in my opinion, do I think that that type of pressure would focus the attention of a senior investigating officer? Of course.

"48 Hours" reached out to the Portuguese police for comment, but they did not reply.

Jim Gamble: The McCanns should have been suspects day one, minute one, hour one. And I don't believe for one second the McCanns committed this crime. But what I'm saying is  Your attention should be, first of all, to look at the parents and actually to rule them in or rule them out - not to wait until your months down the line where you have exhausted all of your other ideas, and to then say, "Well, actually, it must be the parents." Because that's not fair on anyone.

Surprisingly, almost immediately after being declared suspects, the McCanns were allowed to fly to the U.K., returning home for the first time without their daughter.

GERRY MCCANN [statement at airport, 2007]: We have played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter, Madeleine.

Kate McCann told her family that Portuguese investigators had pressured her to sign a confession, in which she was to admit that Madeleine had died accidentally, and that Madeleine's disappearance had been staged. Kate refused. "48 Hours" spoke to Kate's mother in 2007.

SUSAN HEALEY [2007 interview]: Kate said, "Why  why would I sign that confession?" you know.  If an accident had happened, Madeleine had fallen, Kate and Gerry wouldn't have hidden that.

Peter Van Sant: When the McCanns were named as suspects in Portugal, were they seen as suspects in the U.K. as well?

Jane Hill: I'm sure there were people in the U.K. who did think that they had some involvement. And that was reflected particularly in the British tabloid press.

Some British newspapers began running unsubstantiated, sensational storylines.

Jim Gamble: And what happened  is, the war of the tabloids began to take place.

The onslaught of wild accusations continued for months, effectively portraying the McCanns as killers.

Jim Gamble: And then you get the armchair detectives.  With social media you've got the geeks, freaks and morons.  But when you've got this world of bile being created online, then people continually feed it.

It wasn't until the following summer, in July 2008, that Portuguese investigators cleared the McCanns. By then, Gerry and Kate had spent nearly a year under a cloud of suspicion.

Gerry and Kate McCann speak out in July 2008 after Portuguese investigators cleared the couple in their daughter's disappearance.,

KATE MCCANN [2008 interview]: It's hard to describe how utterly despairing it was to be named arguido and subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our own daughter's abduction.

The police also cleared Robert Murat. But what had happened to little Madeleine? The McCanns remained singularly focused on finding out.

KATE MCCANN | May 2011 BBC interview: I think there's a really good chance she's still alive.  [takes a deep breath] I guess I feel she's out there.

A NEW LOOK AT THE CASE

More than two years had passed since Madeleine McCann's mysterious disappearance, and Portuguese investigators were no closer to knowing what happened to her. As head of the U.K.'s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, Jim Gamble knew he had to take action.

Jim Gamble: We produced a viral video called "A Minute from Madeleine McCann" 

"A MINUTE FROM MADELEINE MCCANN": Madeleine disappeared on the 3rd of May, 2007, while on holiday with her family in Portugal.  If you know who's involved, and you're keeping this secret 

Jim Gamble: A video  that said  "It's never too late to do the right thing.  And if you know something, go to your local police."

Peter Van Sant: I understand that the video was in seven different languages, is that right?

Jim Gamble: Yes, it was in Chinese, in Arabic, in Spanish  It was downloaded in every part of the world.

And as the views ticked up, so too did the number of potential leads.

Peter Van Sant: Give me a sense of the number of sightings  that were pouring in from all over the world during these years.

Jim Gamble: There's been a number of sightings of Madeleine McCann in  Australia, in parts of Africa, across Spain, Portugal and beyond.

Jane Hill: All turned out to be nothing. The trail went cold.

But things were about to heat up. In 2010, Gamble was asked by the British government to officially review the case.

Peter Van Sant: When Portuguese police began this investigation, you believe they made some fundamental errors.

Jim Gamble: I  I do think they  made some critical errors.

A poster of Madeleine McCann outside the Ocean Club in Portugal.

Gamble says Portuguese investigators failed to take a close look at everyone staying near the Ocean Club at the time.

Jim Gamble: It was clear that the, you know, searches  were ad hoc. The fact is that all of the details of all of the people who'd stayed in that apartment block  or been in proximity at the time, hadn't been captured.

Gamble also found that cellphone data around the Ocean Club the day Madeleine went missing hadn't been properly analyzed.

Jim Gamble: The telephone companies captured all of that information in 2007. Yet  there was absolutely no evidence that any of that cell site data had been  investigated.

In June 2010, Gamble finished his case review and submitted recommendations to the British government. But for almost a year nothing happened. Until

Jim Gamble: Gerry McCann wrote an open letter on the front page of a popular tabloid  to the prime minister.  And in a day, Operation Grange was commissioned.

Operation Grange became one of the largest and most expensive investigations in British history. The full weight of Scotland Yard was now brought in to assist the Portuguese investigation.

Jane Hill: There was a sense in the U.K. that this was almost a fresh start.  Let's regroup.  Let's see what wasn't looked at. Let's go through witness statements. Let's see whether we can make fresh appeals for information and really revitalize this.

That meant taking another look at every possible scenario of what might have happened that night.

Jim Gamble: Could this be that the child simply walked away?  Could it be an abduction? Could it be a burglary that's gone wrong?

Jim Gamble: Could someone have broken into the room and might they have been disturbed by Madeleine  and could they have responded, you know, out of fear  out of anger and nervousness  and taken her away?

There was one dark scenario that weighed most heavily; the possibility that Madeleine had been kidnapped by a sex offender.

KATE MCCANN [2011 BBC Interview]: Obviously that was our biggest fear.  But just the thought of someone so lovely and beautiful, our child, being subjected to something like that was, was enough to destroy us.

Operation Grange solved one early mystery: the identity of the man seen in a police sketch, whom that family friend had reported seeing. Scotland Yard determined it was just a man on vacation with his child.

An age-progressed image created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children depicting what Madeleine may look like at age 6. / Credit: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Aged-progression technology was also used at the time to further the investigation.

Jim Gamble: I have on many occasions looked at images of children who have been found. And the likeness sometimes is remarkable.

By 2016, the number of alleged Madeleine sightings had grown to over 8,600, spanning more than 100 countries. Scotland Yard investigated every credible lead, but none led anywhere.

Jane Hill: How could it be that years later, there was still no trace of this little girl. How was that possible? Nothing.

Jim Gamble: What we're waiting for over these years as all these bits start to fall into place - the cell site data, information about suspects, other sex offenders in the area. We're waiting for that last piece  to fall into place.

Then, in June 2020, from a small German city, some startling news:

CHARLIE D'AGATA [CBSN, June 4, 2020]: German police revealing that a convicted sex offender, currently serving a jail sentence, is now the prime suspect.

After years of dead ends, finally a promising suspect- a 43-year-old German man. A look into his past would reveal a monster.

WHO IS CHRISTIAN B.?

In 2017, Gerry and Kate McCann marked a grim anniversary. It had been 10 years since their daughter disappeared.

GERRY MCCANN [2017 interview]: On anniversaries and her birthday they are by far the hardest days, by far.

KATE MCCANN [2017 interview]: Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, there is still hope we can find Madeleine.

GERRY MCCANN [2017 interview]: Certainly, from my point of view, somebody knows what happened.

Little did the McCanns know, more than 500 miles away in Braunschweig, Germany, police had received a game-changing new tip.

Hans Christian Wolters | German prosecutor: In 2017, a person contacted the German police and gave us the name of Christian B.

When German authorities looked into Christian Brueckner,, they uncovered a long and disturbing criminal past, including convictions for burglary, drug trafficking, sexual assault and a history of targeting little girls. / Credit: Speigel-TV

According to news reports, Brueckner  who German authorities refer to as Christian B.  allegedly made a drunken confession to a friend that he knew what had happened to Madeleine.

Germany's highest police agency conducted an investigation. And what they uncovered was that Brueckner had a long and disturbing background of crime spanning three decades.

Peter Van Sant: Who is Christian B.?

Mark Hofmann: Christian B. is a  criminal who committed a lot of financially motivated crimes like burglary or drug trafficking.

Mark Hofmann is a crime and intelligence analyst based in Germany who has studied Christian Brueckner.

Mark Hofmann: But he also has a darker side.

Authorities say he had a history of targeting little girls.

Mark Hofmann: He is very likely a psychopath with no empathy  and no deep feelings who is interested in feeling some sense of power over defenseless victims, especially young children.  So, he absolutely matches the profile of a person who could potentially abduct and or kill a little girl like Madeleine McCann.

Official documents obtained by "48 Hours" show that Brueckner's life of crime began when he was arrested for theft at the age of 15. Two years later, in 1994, he sexually abused a child in Germany. Brueckner fled to Portugal to escape serving his sentence.

Mark Hofmann: He moved from job to job. He moved from crime to crime.

Until 1999 when he was extradited to Germany to serve his sentence. But he would soon return to Portugal, where Brueckner lived out of a VW camper van before eventually moving to a house.

At the time of Madeleine McCann's disappearance, Christian Brueckner was living in Portugal - about a mile away from the resort where the McCann's were staying. / Credit: Google Earth/CBS News

Mark Hofmann: He lived in a house right about one mile from the crime scene where Madeleine was  abducted.

While living in Praia da Luz, investigators say Brueckner had returned to a life of crime, often stealing from hotels and holiday apartments.

Mark Hofmann: He was known for burglary in hotel resorts and Maddie disappeared from around a hotel resort. So, it's possible  that this crime maybe started as a hotel burglary and it ended as the potential kidnapping and/or killing of Maddie McCann.

Jim Gamble says that theory is certainly possible.

Jim Gamble: The hypothesis that it was a burglar who responded in an opportunistic way is one that I've always thought is credible.

In fact, just one year before Madeleine disappeared, Brueckner was arrested in Portugal for theft. But it is unknown what the Portuguese police knew about his past sexual offense in Germany. "48 Hours" reached out to them to find out, but they did not respond.

But it is clear that Brueckner should have been looked at more closely by the Portuguese authorities from the beginning. German investigators now believe they have discovered a key piece of evidence. On May 3, 2007, a call was made to Brueckner's cellphone approximately one hour before Madeleine disappeared.

Peter Van Sant: The cellphone information that you received  do you believe that placed him around the resort area at the time that Maddie McCann disappeared?

Hans Christian Wolters: The phone number placed Christian to the Ocean Club, but we have to find out which person uses this phone at this time. Normally it was used by Christian B. But we don't know which person used it on the 3rd of May in 2007.

Gamble says this lead could have been pursued at the time if Portuguese police had only analyzed the cellphone data.

Jim Gamble: I believe the information that now ties the present suspect's phone to the area would have been available at that time if someone had looked for it.

And German investigators also learned that immediately after Madeleine went missing, Brueckner did something suspicious: he put his car in someone else's name.

Mark Hofmann: He deregistered his car one day after the disappearance.

Shortly after that, he quietly slipped out of Portugal and returned to Germany once again. Brueckner eventually settled in Braunschweig, and briefly ran a small general store by a school and kept a low profile.

Mark Hofmann: Pretty often these child molesters  this is like their dirty little secret. They don't talk about it to anyone  But they talk about their crimes and fantasies quite openly to other child molesters or other offenders.

As it turns out Wolters and his team learned Brueckner was still operating in the darkest shadows of society. In 2013 he posted in a pedophile chat room on Skype.

Mark Hofmann: This was a Skype chat where he openly discussed his fantasies of torturing little children and using them and raping them for a couple of days.

Although Brueckner's posts made no mention of Madeleine McCann, the search of an abandoned factory once owned by Brueckner would uncover photos and videos that would raise more questions.

THE MYSTERY CALLER

As Wolters and his team continued their investigation into Christian Brueckner's past they learned that long before that alleged drunken confession in a bar, his name had been linked to Madeleine McCann's. In 2013, German police had received their first tip that Christian Brueckner could be involved in her disappearance.

Hans Christian Wolters: There was a first hint to our suspect in 2013. But the police contacted Christian B.  and there was nothing found to investigate it any longer.

While it didn't pan out, just one year later he was back on police radar. According to documents obtained by "48 Hours," in 2014, 391 photo files and 68 video files of child pornography were confiscated from Brueckner's home while he was living in Braunschweig. During this time, he was also charged with sexually abusing a 5-year-old. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison for committing both offenses.

But before serving his sentence, he fled once again to Portugal.

Mark Hofmann: If I look at his life and criminal record, it seems a little bit like he was always fleeing and trying to escape law enforcement. So, whenever he committed a crime, whenever he was investigated in connection with some crimes, he left the country.

Brueckner would later be extradited to Germany once again to serve his sentence.

And then, if there is a house of horrors in this tragic mystery it may be a deserted factory deep in the woods of Saxony Anhalt, Germany, that Christian Brueckner once owned.

In 2016 investigators conducted multiple searches of this property. "48 Hours" has learned these searches were part of a broader investigation into child pornography. And what they found was troubling.

Mark Hofmann: Law enforcement confirmed that they found at least three girl's swimsuits in his camper van. So, of course, you need to ask the question, who do these swimsuits belong to?

Investigators have not revealed if they know the answer. But that's not all they found.

In 2016, investigators conducted multiple searches of a deserted factory deep in the woods of Saxony Anhalt, Germany, that Christian Brueckner once owned.

Mark Hofmann: On this property they found  USB drives containing  pictures and videos, including videos and pictures of child abuse. And also, videos which he produced himself.  And these USB drives were in a plastic bag buried under his dead dog in the ground.

It seems that Brueckner had a long fascination with recording his crimes. In 2018, a witness came forward saying they had seen a videotape from 2005 of Brueckner raping a 72-year-old American woman at her home in Portugal. Up until then, the attacker's identity had not been known.

Mark Hofmann: This was not just rape. This was the most brutal form of rape I ever heard of.

That assault had taken place close to the Ocean Club and 2 years before Madeleine McCann disappeared. Brueckner was charged and convicted for these crimes in 2019. His DNA matched DNA found at the scene.

Mark Hofmann: He is definitely a bad guy. He's definitely a psychopath. And he is definitely a full-time criminal.  But the question is  is he really guilty in the Maddie McCann case?

Wolters will not reveal details about his current investigation into Christian Brueckner, but he is adamant about one thing.

Hans Christian Wolters: We're sure that Christian B. murdered Madeleine McCann because of the evidence we have.

Peter Van Sant: And may I speculate that that evidence may include photographs or video of Maddie McCann?

Hans Christian Wolters: You may speculate. But I'm not allowed to tell you if you are right or if you are wrong.

But despite the evidence he says he has, Wolters admits he needs more of it in order to charge Brueckner.

Hans Christian Wolters: And in Germany, we  charge someone only if we are sure that he will be sentenced by the court. If there are doubts  we don't charge him.

Wolters says one key piece of evidence they need is to find the person who made that call to Brueckner's cellphone approximately one hour before Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007.

Mark Hofmann: This might be the only person who could confirm that indeed, Christian B. was holding his cellphone  in his hand that night.  And this would be proof that not just his cellphone was at the crime scene, but that he was at the crime scene.

Although investigators made an appeal to the public, they have been unable to identify the mystery caller.

Hans Christian Wolters: The phone which was used for the call to Christian B. was a prepaid phone.  So, we are not able to find this person in an easy way.

The McCanns have not commented on Christian Brueckner, but on their website they posted: "We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace."

Meanwhile, Brueckner has remained silent behind prison walls where he is serving a 7-year sentence for raping that 72-year-old American woman. Brueckner's lawyer spoke to 9 News Australia.

FRIEDRICH FULSCHER: He is innocent until proven guilty.

Wolters admits that without a body or forensic evidence this case will be hard to solve, but he is not backing down.

Peter Van Sant: And do you believe there are people out there, whether it be in Portugal or Germany, who have information about this case that is important?

Hans Christian Wolters: We think that there are people who can help us and we hope that these people will contact us or the police.

Jane Hill: I have spent many years hoping that there will be a resolution.

Madeleine McCann / Credit: Metropolitan Police

BBC News anchor Jane Hill, who covered Madeleine's story from the start, hopes this new investigation will finally provide answersas painful as they may befor the McCanns.

Jane Hill: I hope  that there can be closure in some way for a family that has spent 13-and-a-half years not knowing what happened to their little girl, not knowing what they can say to her younger brother and sister about where she's gone.

KATE MCCANN: Madeleine is a beautiful, bright, funny and caring little girl. She is so special.  We beg you to let Madeleine come home 

HAVE INFORMATION?

If anyone has information about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, please visit www.findmadeleine.com

Produced by Chris Young Ritzen, Josh Gelman, and Anthony Venditti. Anna Noryskiewicz and Paolo Marenghi are the field producers. Michael Loftus is the broadcast associate. Michael Baluzy, Gary Winter and Greg Kaplan are the editors. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

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Two Longford companies, N & E Precision Engineering and John Stone Fine Foods, are among 43 companies that have been selected as finalists for the SFA National Small Business Awards 2021.



N & E Precision Engineering, Longford is a finalist in the manufacturing category (up to 50 employees), sponsored by NSAI.



John Stone Fine Foods, Longford is a finalist in both the food & drink (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Bord Bia; and Exporter of the Year (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, categories.

About John Stone Fine Foods

Allan Morris is the Managing Director of John Stone Ltd, Ballymahon. Allan started his career at the age of 15 as an apprentice butcher in one of Dublins famous market trading areas, Moore Street.

By The age of 19 he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of three butcher shops in Dublin. In 1995 Allan travelled to Jersey in the Channel Islands where he teamed up with John Stone MBE and became the concessions manager for Russell Meats at Le Riche Group operating meat counters in a total of 20 stores across the Channel Islands.

On his return to Ireland Allan became a consultant for several large meat companies and this led to him joining Kepak Group as an Account manager with responsibility for launching Irish Angus Brand to the European marketplace as the first breed specific meat brand at retail level. Allan became the General Manager of Donald Russell International Ltd a joint venture between John Stone MBE and Kepak Group.



The sale of Donald Russell UK to the Vestey Group in 2012 meant that the Irish business would need to be rebranded to John Stone and relaunched to current and new customers alike.



This rebrand allowed the business to grow considerably in Europe and further afield to Asia and the Middle East.



The John Stone Brand of dry aged beef products is currently available in 32 countries globally from three Michelin starred chefs to the finest restaurants globally.



Its been an interesting last quarter at John Stone owing to the Global pandemic. The uncertainty of the rapid closures and opening has affected business greatly.



Food service has also evolved in that some of John Stones wholesale partners have created e commerce platforms for their internal markets.



The other is that restaurants have turned their hands at retail in offering their own branded food products, weekend boxes or dine at home boxes.



This format has seen John Stone further produce branded portioned products for sale so their customers can dine in at home. They also linked up with some Irish celebrity chefs in helping create a cookery book that is selling online. The enhanced fats, Jus will also be available for our Chefs early this year for them to use at their restaurants.



The website www.Johnstonebeefshop.com has seen considerable sales, from an idea of how to move products that we were unable to sell to foodservice to now a fully profitable business. We have employed two new van drivers and this month a new product manager for the site.



Our use of social media and targeting marketing has taken a brand that not many people in Ireland know to a more recognised brand. Their recently printed John Stone Guide to Meat and brand book Meat John Stone will be part of their marketing for the year ahead.

The PSNI has removed a Facebook post showing them visiting a bar in Ballymoney after a complaint from a local councillor.

The post, on the Police Causeway Coast and Glens Facebook page, detailed PSNI officers visiting the area conducting checks relating to the coronavirus regulations.

It showed officers outside the Ballymoney bar and the post said: "Police were conducting license premises checks in accordance with current health regulations".

Police also listed the name of the bar in the post.

After it was posted a number of local people commented expressing concern that the post could lead people to believe the bar had broken the regulations.

Local UUP councillor Darryl Wilson said he was concerned the post could be "misconstrued" by the public and other business owners.

He then contacted the police who agreed to take the post down.

Thankfully after a short dialogue with the PSNI they agreed to remove the post," the Ballymoney councillor told the Causeway Coast Community website.

Relations between sections of the local community and the PSNI have been strained as of late due to pandemic restrictions and other factors.

I will be continuing dialogue with the PSNI to look for opportunities to rebuild confidence in policing and the relationship between the PSNI and local communities.

A PSNI spokesperson confirmed that they had decided to remove the post after complaints.

"A decision was taken yesterday (Saturday 27th February) to remove a post from the Causeway Coast & Glens Facebook page, which included photographs, in relation to licensed premises checks in Ballymoney after a complaint was received," the spokesperson said.

"In this instance, the post was not representative of the range of duties conducted by officers in regards to licensed premises checks in the area."
Anti-government protests took place across Kazakhstan on February 28. Police detained protesters in Aqtobe, while a rally in Oral that had been sanctioned by local authorities took place without detentions. Protesters demanded political freedoms and slammed the enduring power grab by former President Nursultan Nazarbaev. The rallies were organized by two opposition groups -- the Democratic Party and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  Alphonso Plummer scored 19 points, Timmy Allen added 15 points and eight assists and Utah pulled away late in the second half to beat No. 19 USC 71-61 on Saturday.

Plummer made five 3-pointers and Ian Martinez scored 10 points off the bench to help the Utes (10-11, 7-10 Pac-12) beat a Top 25 opponent for the first time this season.

The best part of my game is Im not just a scorer, Allen said. My mindset was just to come out and make plays, regardless of that being me scoring or getting a teammate a shot.

Ian Martinez scored 10 points off the bench for Utah. The Utes shot 48% from the field and had 19 assists on 27 baskets.

Drew Peterson scored 19 points, and Evan Mobley added 11 points and eight rebounds for suddenly struggling USC (19-6, 13-5), which shot 37% from the field and lost for the third time in four games.

Our second half of basketball was our worst half of probably all season, Trojans coach Andy Enfield said. The starting five played very poorly on both sides of the ball in the second half.

Utah hit 12 of its first 15 shots after halftime and built a 13-point lead, going up 50-37 on a jumper from Allen. The junior forward made five baskets and assisted on four others in that stretch.

USC cut the deficit to 55-50 on a three-point play from Peterson. But thats as close as the Trojans got. Plummer scored four baskets over a four-minute stretch  including three 3-pointers  to extend Utahs lead to 69-56 with 2:01 remaining.

For us, the ball has got to pop, Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak said. We dont have a great isolation team. Some teams can get by with that. Were in the top three in our league at assisted baskets even though we havent made a lot of the looks that weve (had). And I think we can get better.

Sloppy basketball defined the first half as the Trojans and Utes combined for 19 turnovers before halftime.

USC set a defensive tone by pressuring Utah into several early turnovers, opening the door for the Trojans to take an early 18-8 lead. Peterson and Isaiah White scored three baskets apiece to fuel the 18-4 run that gave USC that double-digit cushion. Two of Whites baskets came off turnovers.

Story continues

The Utes answered with a 10-2 run and cut USCs lead to 22-20 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Plummer. Utah limited the Trojans to just four baskets over the final 11 minutes of the first half to keep within striking distance.

Allen scored back-to-back baskets on the back end of an 8-0 run to finally give the Utes a 35-29 lead early in the second half.

Once Utah got cooking, USC could not keep up.

If you look at our numbers from a shooting percentage, turnovers, it was really our worst performance probably in the entire season, Enfield said.

THE BIG PICTURE

USC: An inability to attack from the perimeter hurt the Trojans. USC went 0 for 6 from long distance before halftime. The Trojans missed their first 10 shots from the perimeter overall before Peterson knocked down the teams first outside basket with 12:21 remaining. They finished 2-of-13 from 3-point range.

Utah: The Utes came to life on offense in the second half without starting point guard Rylan Jones on the floor. Jones exited late in the first half when he suffered an apparent shoulder injury after diving for a loose ball. He spent the second half on the bench with his right arm in a sling.

HOME AGAIN

Mikael Jantunen returned to the starting lineup for Utah after missing four games while playing with Finland in the 2022 EuroBasket Qualifier. The Utes lost four straight in his absence. Jantunen finished with six points and seven rebounds against USC and his defensive play helped shut the Trojan offense down during critical stretches.

Hes a battler, Krystkowiak said. Hes kind of a glue guy for our team. Does a lot of the intangibles and little things. Just having his minutes back on the court enhances our team without a doubt.

STREAK LIVES ON

USC has lost six of its last seven against Utah in Salt Lake City dating to 2013. The Trojans are 6-12 vs. the Utes since the Pac-12 expanded in 2011.

UP NEXT

USC: hosts Stanford on Wednesday.

Utah: hosts Oregon State on Wednesday.

___

More AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Salzgitter, Germany's third largest steelmaker, has declared force majeure due to inclement winter weather conditions which have impacted transportation of its steel deliveries via road, rail and inland waterway, the company confirmed to S&P Global Platts.

Thyssenkrupp, Germany's largest steelmaker, also said it was facing plant disruption due to the weather aggravating conditions, said a Platts Breaking News report.

A Salzgitter spokesperson confirmed a letter to customers that there have been dramatic weather conditions with no relief on shipments yet.

Both Salzgitter and Thyssenkrupp have been impacted by snowfall and strong winds as extreme winter weather conditions have hit Germany in recent days.

Salzgitter's letter to customers stated that the Salzgitter-Beddingen freight station, which is important for the rail transports of several Salzgitter Group companies, could not be accessed at this moment, with train congestion throughout the entire rail freight network.

Since the continuous supply of raw materials and inert gases, which is absolutely necessary for our plant, has come to a standstill in the meantime, we can no longer exclude production disruptions in the next few days. Until further notice, it is not possible to ship goods by rail or inland railway, the letter said.

Steelmaker Thyssenkrupp also sent a customer letter on February 11 declaring an aggravation of the supply situation. A Thyssenkrupp spokesperson told Platts that starting February 15 the steelmaker was seeing some easing of the supply situation.
Related Egypt approves emergency use of Russian Sputnik V vaccine

Last month President Vladimir Putin ordered a review by March 15 of Russian-produced vaccines for their effectiveness against new variants spreading in different parts of the world.

(A) recent study carried out by the Gamaleya Centre in Russia showed that revaccination with Sputnik V vaccine is working very well against new coronavirus mutations, including the UK and South African strains of coronavirus, said Denis Logunov, a deputy director of the centre, which developed the Sputnik V shot.

Results of the trial are expected to be published soon, but this was the first indication of how the tests are going. No further details were available yet.

So-called viral vector shots - such as Sputnik V and a shot developed by AstraZeneca - use harmless modified viruses as vehicles, or vectors, to carry genetic information that helps the body build immunity against future infections.

The revaccination used the same Sputnik V shot, based upon the same adenovirus vectors. The trial indicated this did not impact effectiveness, Logunov said in a statement to Reuters.

Some scientists have raised the possible risk that the body also develops immunity to the vector itself, recognising it as an intruder and trying to destroy it.

But developers of Sputnik V disagreed this would pose long-term problems.

We believe that vector-based vaccines are actually better for future revaccinations than vaccines based on other platforms, Logunov said.

He said that the researchers found that antibodies specific to the vectors used by the shot - which could generate an anti-vector reaction and undermine the work of the shot itself - waned as early as 56 days after vaccination.

This conclusion was based on a trial of a vaccine against Ebola developed earlier by the Gamaleya Institute using the same approach as for the Sputnik V shot.

Vector immunity is not a new issue but has come under renewed scrutiny as companies including Johnson & Johnson anticipate regular COVID-19 vaccinations, like annual influenza shots, may be needed to combat new variants of the coronavirus.

Short link:


A heavily tattooed gentleman has shocked crowds with his secret musical talent.

Barry 'Bazza' Leadbetter first revealed his talent on a second-hand piano at the 'Posh Op Shoppe' in Elsternwick, in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, years ago.

The Collingwood resident had been shopping for old music records when he stumbled across the dusty piano and began to play.

The 76-year-old's talent caught the attention of op shop owner Rosalie Silverstein, who said his discovery of the unused piano was 'meant to be'.

Barry 'Bazza' Leadbetter, 76, plays classical tunes outside a Melbourne op shop every weekend

Pictured: Barry 'Bazza' Leadbetter playing outside the 'Posh Op Shoppe' in Elsternwick

A video of Mr Leadbetter playing outside the op shop, where he performs classical tunes for the public most weekends, was uploaded to Reddit on Sunday.

The video has touched the hearts of hundreds of online viewers, with many sharing experiences of watching the musician play.

'I moved away from Elsternwick four years ago and he was playing there for several years before that! Always made me smile,' one said.

'I used to talk about records with this guy every second morning in Collingwood. Legitimately nice and well spoken guy', another shared.

Other people said Mr Leadbetter was an example of someone who could be too quickly underestimated.

'It's silly to judge people by their tattoos nowadays. So many people have them', one person wrote.

'See everyone, people with tattoos are not scary. Too often we are quick to judge!', another commented.

Mr Leadbetter performs for crowds every weekend outside the Elsternwick op shop, but has dreams of someday playing in a live venue

The talented musician told The Leader music has always been his passion and he started piano lessons at just six years old while living in England.

After his family immigrated to Australia, Mr Leadbetter pursued his love of music and studied at the Adelaide College of Music in 1954.

The passionate pianist was forced to put his music career on hold to work as a factory worker for the majority of his adult life.

Mr Leadbetter performs for crowds every weekend outside the Elsternwick op shop, but has dreams of someday playing in a live venue.
Imperial Valley News Center

Southern Colorado Man Sentenced to More Than 19 Years for Plotting to Blow Up Synagogue

Denver, Colorado - A Colorado man was sentenced Friday in federal court in Colorado for plotting to blow up a synagogue. Richard Holzer, 28, was sentenced to over 19 years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release. Holzer previously pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and explosives charges for plotting to blow up the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado, conduct that constituted acts of domestic terrorism. Holzer told undercover FBI agents that he wanted the bombing to send a message to Jewish people that they must leave his town, otherwise people will die.

Holzer pleaded guilty to intentionally attempting to obstruct persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs, through force and the attempted use of explosives and fire, in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 247, and to attempting to maliciously damage and destroy, by means of fire and explosives, a building used in interstate commerce.

The Department has combatted hate-based violent extremism and domestic terrorism since our inception, said Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin. Today there is no higher priority. This sentencing serves as a reminder that these crimes will not be tolerated, and we will hold the individuals who engage in them fully accountable. From our Civil Rights Division, our National Security Division, and the FBI, to the Office for Victims of Crime and our Community Relations Service, the Department of Justice will use every tool at its disposal to identify, disrupt, deter, and prevent hate-based, extremist threats to members of the American public.

Todays sentence is another step forward in our on-going fight against extremism, said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn of the District of Colorado. About two-and-a-half years ago, my first day as U.S. Attorney took me to a vigil for victims from the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue attack. Today, my last day in the office, we have sentenced the extremist responsible for the attempted bombing of the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo. We must remain ever vigilant in this battle and I am confident the Department will continue to lead this fight.

Protecting our communities from terrorism, both domestic and international, is a top priority for the FBI. Mr. Holzer targeted a place of worship for violence and destruction to drive people of the Jewish faith from our community," said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider. "Todays sentence demonstrates the commitment by the FBI and our law enforcement partners to ensure that if a crime is motivated by bias against a religion or any other federally protected status, it will be aggressively investigated, and the perpetrators held responsible for their actions. We are grateful for the collaborative efforts of the FBIs Southern Colorado Joint Terrorism Task Force, Pueblo County Sheriffs Office, Pueblo Police Department, and the U.S. Attorneys Office to hold Mr. Holzer accountable for plotting violent acts of hate.

Holzer, who self-identifies as a Neo-Nazi and white supremacist, admitted that he planned to destroy Temple Emanuel, a synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The planned bombing, which Holzer declared was a move for our race, was born from years of Holzer consuming and promoting white supremacist ideology. Holzer regularly used social media to glorify violence and advocate for white supremacy. After an undercover FBI employee contacted Holzer, he sent pictures of himself holding automatic weapons and said he was getting ready for RAHOWA, shorthand for a racial holy war.

Holzer talked to associates for months about attacking Temple Emanuel, and he visited the synagogue to observe Jewish congregants. During a meeting with undercover agents to discuss his plans, Holzer repeatedly expressed his hatred of Jewish people and suggested using explosive devices to destroy the Synagogue. Holzer told the undercover agents that he wanted to get that place off the map. Holzer further admitted that he coordinated with the undercover agents to obtain explosives, including pipe bombs.

On the evening of Nov. 1, 2019, Holzer met with undercover agents, who provided Holzer with inert explosive devices that had been fabricated by the FBI, including two pipe bombs and 14 sticks of dynamite. Holzer removed a copy of Mein Kampf from his bag and told the undercover agents that the explosives looked absolutely gorgeous. Holzer admitted that he planned to detonate the explosives several hours later, in the early hours of Saturday morning, Nov. 2, 2019. After his arrest, Holzer explained that The event planned for tonight would define me as a person who would die for his people.

The actions Holzer admitted in the plea agreement meet the federal definition of domestic terrorism, as they involved criminal acts dangerous to human life that were intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population.

Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Martinez prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Pueblo Police Department and Pueblo County Sheriffs Office.
Regional

Signing of peace accord deferred: KA insurgents

Correspondent Diphu, Feb 28 | Publish Date: 2/28/2021 12:32:17 PM IST

Four Karbi Anglong underground organizations, who recently laid down arms, have stated that due to certain technical snags on the summary of the proposed written accord, the peace accord supposed to be signed on February 25 has been deferred.

This was stated in a joint press meeting held at the residence of chairman of the Karbi Longri and NC Hills Liberation Front , P. Dilli also attended by leaders of KLNLF, Karbi Peoples Liberation Tigers (KPLT) led by chairman, Donri Kramsa and the KPLT faction led by chairman, Ron Rongpi and United Peoples Liberation Army (UPLA).

P. Dilli said, The peace negotiation with the Central and State government is going on the right track. The talks have not been stopped and its continuing. The date for signing of the peace accord has to be deferred due to some technical snags appearing in the draft.

The organization leaders therefore, advised everyone to not misguide the people in the name of peace accord and also appealed to all political parties, social organizations and student organizations to refrain themselves from passing any comment targeting the groups who are going through the peace procedure with the government.

Dilli further called upon KarbiAnglong Autonomous Council, Assam and Centre to extend their cooperation for accomplishing the signing process. Not signing the peace accord does not mean it is a failure of the ongoing talks with the Central government. We are very much positive that we can bargain with the government to sign the peace accord, said KPLT chairman, Ron Rongpi.
Bollywood's legend Amitabh Bachchan's health condition has deteriorated once again due to a medical condition and he will undergo surgery for the same. However, it is unclear if the medical procedure is complete.

The megastar, in a cryptic message, revealed this on his blog but stopped short of mentioning the nature of his ailment.

The 78-year-old actor said on Saturday, February 27, that he will not be able to write due to the surgery.

Also Read: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan becomes first Indian celebrity voice on Amazon's Alexa

Amitabh Bachchan had earlier said that he would begin shooting soon for Vikas Bahl's upcoming movie.

The veteran actor's upcoming film Jhund, is slated to hit the screens on June 18, while his other movie 'Chehre' will release in theatres on April 30.

Also Read: Bachchan family bungalows turn into COVID-19 containment zones; Amitabh, Abhishek stable in hospital

The actor recently shared the details about the projects his family members -- wife Jaya Bachchan, son Abhishek Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan -- were currently working on.

The screen icon was last seen in Shoojit Sircar's "Gulabo Sitabo", which had a digital premiere last year in the wake of the coronavirus-induced shutdown.

One of the busiest stars in the Hindi film industry, Amitabh Bachchan was recently shooting for "MayDay", directed by and starring Ajay Devgan.

The veteran actor, who regularly keeps in touch with his followers whom he calls his 'extended family' via social media, was also one of the first Indian film personalities to be diagnosed with coronavirus last year.

Amitabh Bachchan, along with Abhishek Bachchan, 45, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, 47, had tested positive for COVID-19 in July 2020. His granddaughter, Aaradhya (nine) too had contracted the virus.

They were admitted to a private hospital here for treatment and were discharged later.

(With inputs from PTI.)

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Screenshots of douyin account of Oil-paper Master

HANGZHOU - Wen Shishan, 57, wandered in a bamboo grove, holding a machete in search of ideal materials to make oil-paper umbrellas, an old craft dating back to over a millennium ago.

Situated in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, Wen's workshop boasts more than 800,000 fans on the popular Chinese short-video platform Douyin. The digital renaissance of the ancient handicraft can be traced in part to Zhang Jianhua, a short video maker born in the 1990s.

In 2018, Zhang began to help Wen film the production process of the oil-paper umbrellas, driven by a fierce reluctance to let the fine art vanish into thin air.

As Wen and his delicate artifacts flicker across hundreds of millions of smartphone screens, the old master feels increasingly heartened. "For the first time in my over 30 years of making the umbrellas, so many people are taking an interest in the craft. The life of craftsmen like me changed beyond recognition thanks to the Internet," Wen said.

In the digital era, master craftsmen have increasingly turned to online channels to promote their craft and earn the social recognition that comes with it, according to Zhao Pu, head of the China Arts and Crafts Center.

In contrast with Wen's unfamiliarity with the internet, Zhao He, a 33-year-old enamel dial maker, feels in command when he introduces details about the dial-making process and shares anecdotes about watches and brands in front of the camera.

Since May 7, 2020, when Zhao uploaded his first video on Douyin, he has attracted more than 10 million followers. One of his most popular clips has attracted more than 100 million views on the platform, in which he managed to make a watch out of extraterrestrial meteorites.

Liu Tong, another online celebrity who is a master of paper folding, now cooperates with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to display endangered wildlife in the form of art. In 2016, Liu made a paper rhino out of a 10-meter-long square sheet of paper in memory of Sudan, the world's last white rhino.

"We want people to realize that today's paper folding art is not merely an ornamental handicraft, but something that can convey ideas, culture and emotions like protecting our environment," Liu said.

"Traditional craftsmen blending with China's livestreaming economy and new retail business models is the current trend," said Zhao Pu, adding that China plans to establish more platforms like forums and universities for the craftsmen to better promote their ancient crafts.

"Everyone hopes that the Internet can help the craftsmen find their niche and allow consumers who are interested in handicrafts to purchase their latest products," Zhang said.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 28, 2021 - 20:15 | World, All

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Sunday reiterated her government's commitment to promoting freedom and democracy as she attended an annual ceremony to commemorate a 1947 massacre of civilian protesters.

"We must adhere to our values of freedom and democracy, which cannot be exchanged for anything else," Tsai said at a ceremony held at Kaohsiung's 228 Peace Memorial Park to mark the 74th anniversary of the Feb. 28, 1947 massacre.

Tsai said the government's commemoration of what is known as the "228 Incident" is an occasion to re-examine abuses committed during the martial law era and take stock of Taiwan's progress since then.

Historians estimate that at least 20,000 people were killed on that day and during the military crackdown on dissent that followed under the authoritarian rule of former Nationalist Party (KMT) dictators Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo, in what has been dubbed the "White Terror Era."

In addition to praising Taiwan's freedom and democracy, Tsai, of the Democratic Progressive Party, vowed to protect human rights and uphold personal dignity.

As the National Human Rights Commission was established last year, Tsai said this independent body will not only publish reports on human rights violations but also examine relevant regulations to see whether they conform to international standards.

She said given that democracy may be regressive and dictatorship may be revived, "the awareness of human rights must be internalized into the DNA of the government system."

Tsai noted that a Transitional Justice Commission, an independent government agency responsible for the investigation of actions taken by the KMT between 1945 and 1992, has just published more declassified documents in its online database.

She said they help people better understand how an authoritarian government violated human rights, while reminding them that only a democratic government exercises self-control of its power and has the courage to reflect on its wrongdoings.

Finally, Tsai called for unity.

"Let our children and children's children unify and work together," Tsai said. "Let's write our own history and let freedom and democracy flourish on the beautiful island for generations to come."

At the end of the ceremony, Tsai handed family members of three political victims of the 228 Incident a certificate with a view to restoring their reputations in the eyes of the public.

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SC tells political parties to upload on website, why tickets were given to criminal candidates

Websites to come under ambit of Section 69(A) of IT Act

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 28: The websites of traditional media houses which have not come under the ambit of Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, will now do so, following the new rules that were introduced for the digital media by the government.

The websites will age to separately furnish the details of their operations. This would include the email address of a contact person.

Sources tell OneIndia that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and electronics and inforamtion officials are slated to meet on Monday to discuss the issue.

Following this meet, the government will provide the format within which the details would be furnished.

Under Section 69(A), the government can take action against posts and accounts that can pose a threat to public order or the soveriegnty of the country. So far the traditional media houses have been governed by the Press Council of India Act.

Digital news media on the other hand was not under any regulation and was only brought under the ambit of the I&B ministry.

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Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 8:29 [IST]

Coronavirus fragments have been detected in wastewater in Melbournes west, with residents urged to get tested.

The Department of Health and Human Services has urged residents in Werribee, Werribee South and Hoppers Crossing to get tested should they have coronavirus symptoms, no matter how mild.

As Victoria recorded no new local or international cases of coronavirus for the third day in a row, the viral fragments were found in a Werribee wastewater plant on February 25 with no known people in the area who have recently had COVID-19. Independent testing confirmed the result on Monday.

The detection comes as 75 per cent of Victorian office workers were able to return to the workplace on Monday following an easing of restrictions on Friday.

Victoria had 11 active cases on Monday, four fewer than yesterday, and the state reported 6972 tests had been processed on Sunday.

MBABANE  The SiSwati adage kute fecela wamfenyana appears to be true for junior officers in the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS).

For seven years now, there has been a significant gap in the pay scale of the junior officers compared to the seniors after a salary restructuring exercise that was supposed to review all officers salaries was only applied to benefit those at the top.

The restructuring exercise was supposed to be in two phases; with the senior officers being the first in line and then followed by the juniors, but only the first phase was implemented.

In July 2014, the Ministry of Public Service issued Circular No.2 of 2014, which outlined the format that the restructuring would take.

The first phase shall implement the strategic and part of tactical levels of the two institutions and is being promulgated by the circular as espoused below. The second phase shall be implemented subsequent to the implementation of the first phase and shall address the tactical and functional/operational/levels with the two institutions, the circular stated.

structure

For the first phase, the structure and grading of the REPS was reviewed such that the number of senior superintendents was increased by seven, from 16 to 23; assistant commissioners were also increased by seven, from nine to 16; there was then the creation of a new grade of senior assistant commissioner and six were appointed into this rank; and then the position of deputy commissioner was reviewed to that of deputy national commissioner and the number of officers in this rank was maintained at four. There also remained one national commissioner.

This saw the salary scale of the senior superintendents hiked by four per cent; those promoted from senior superintendent to assistant commissioner realised a pay increase of 22.5 per cent; the six who were moved from the position of assistant commissioner to the newly-created rank of senior assistant commissioner realised a pay rise of about 8.99 per cent; the four deputy commissioners whose rank was reviewed to that of deputy national commissioner had their pay increased by 5.9 per cent; and the national commissioner had his salary increased by 9.99 per cent.

The restructuring resulted in the number of senior police officers (between senior superintendent to national commissioner) increasing from 37 to 53.

What was happening at the REPS was also taking place at the HMCS, where the same salary increment and grading was being implemented.

At the HMCS, the number of superintendents was increased by eight, from 15 to 23; assistant commissioners went up by eight, from 10 to 18; four officers were appointed into the newly-created rank of senior assistant commissioner; the rank of deputy commissioner was reviewed to that of deputy commissioner general; and that of the commissioner was reviewed to commissioner general.

This led to the number of senior officers (between senior superintendent and commissioner general) increasing by 20, from 29 to 49.

As if that was not enough, for both the REPS and HMCS, the number of senior officers was increased even further and their salaries were also hiked to the current pay structure.

For the REPS, the number of senior officers further increased by 22, from the 53 recommended in the 2014 restructuring to the current 93 officers as reflected in the Government Establishment Register for the 2020/2021 financial year. The second drastic increase in the number of senior REPS officers saw the complement of senior superintendents rising by 15, from 26 to 41; followed by the creation of the rank of assistant commissioner, which has 18 officers occupying it; there was then the creation of the rank of senior assistant commissioner, which had 13 officers appointed to it; there was also creation of a new rank referred to as assistant national commissioner, which had six officers appointed to it; the number of officers occupying the rank of deputy national commissioner was increased by six, from four to 10; an additional rank of senior deputy national commissioner was also created and four officers were appointed to it; and then the national commissioner completes the senior ranked police officers.

At the HMCS, the number of senior officers has been increased by a further 32 officers, from 49 to 77.

The number of senior superintendents was increased by two, from 23 to 25; assistant commissioners were increased by five, from 18 to 23; senior assistant commissioners were increased by six, from four to 10; there was then the creation of a new rank known as chief assistant commissioner, into which eight officers were appointed; deputy commissioner generals were doubled from three to six officers; a new rank of commissioner was also created and four officers were appointed to it; and the commissioner general completes the list.

salaries

All these senior officers, both at REPS and HMCS enjoy high salaries, with the National Commissioner/Commissioner General earning E53 226.75 a month (E638 721 a year); senior deputy national commissioners are paid E50 692.08 a month (E608 305 annually); deputy national commissioners earn E48 388 a month (E580 656 annually); assistant national commissioners are each remunerated at E44 953.66 a month (E539 444 a year); senior assistant commissioners are each paid a monthly salary of E43 512.42 (E522 149 annually); and assistant commissioners are each paid a monthly salary of E39 919.75 (E479 037 a year). As these senior officers enjoyed their improved salaries that came with the restructuring exercise that came with Circular No.2 of 2014, the junior officers remained disadvantaged as the second phase was not implemented.

Instead, the junior officers depended on the cost of living adjustments (CoLA) that were awarded to civil servants after prolonged strikes and negotiations between government and Public Sector Associations (PSAs).

It is to be noted that the junior officers are not members of the PSAs as they are not allowed to unionise, hence they have no bargaining power. There were two CoLA awards in 2015 and 2020 and a salary review in 2016, which became popularly known as dvuladvula, that improved the junior officers salaries; the senior officers also benefitted from these salary adjustments on top of the improvements that came with the restructuring. Before these, junior officers in the police service holding the rank of Constable I were paid E4 267 a month; and those in the Constable II rank were earning a minimum of E7 056 and a maximum of E9 207.

The majority of officers in the police service occupy the rank of Constable; in the 2020/2021 Government Establishment Register it is shown that out of the total number of 5 985 officers currently in the REPS, 4 451 occupy the rank of Constable, which is 74 per cent of the police service. Following the 2015 CoLA and 2016 dvuladvula, these junior officers had their basic salaries increased to E5 313 a month for Constable I and, for Constable II, a minimum of E8 785 and a maximum of E11 462.

They went on these salaries until 2020 when the 2020 CoLA increased their pay by three per cent, which currently sees those under Constable I earning E5 472 while those in the rank of Constable II are now paid between E9 048 and E11 806 monthly.

Sergeants, before the 2015 CoLA and 2016 dvuladvula, earned between E9 483 and E10 993 a month; after the 2015/2016 their pay rose to between E11 825 and E13 709; and after the 2020 CoLA they are currently paid between E12 180 and E14 120 a month.

Inspectors were earning between E13 173 and E14 297 before 2015/2016 CoLA; and had this hiked to between E16 426 and E17 828 after 2015/2016; and they are now paid between E16 919 and E18 361 after implementation of the 2020 CoLA. Superintendents were earning between E20 801 and E27 720 a month before 2015/2016; and had this improved to between E25 939 and E28 411 after 2015/2016; and, subsequent to the 2020 CoLA, they are now remunerated at a minimum E26 717 and a maximum E29 195 a month.

The same was happening at the HMCS, where junior officers in the ranks of Warder II, Warder I, Warder Inspector, Sergeant, Sergeant Instructor, Chief Officer, Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent were left out of the restructuring and depended on CoLA awards to civil servants for their salary increment.

Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni, defending the failure to restructure even the junior ranks through second phase as demanded by the Circular, said the process was still ongoing and cuts across the rank stratum of the REPS because during postings and deployment of police officers which happens routinely with the service, officers are posted to strategic positions in order to address specific emerging security challenges and needs.

She said the core objectives of the restructuring exercise was to realign and re-engineer the structural make-up of the police service in order to deal decisively with emerging safety and security threats in the rapidly changing and dynamic landscape being operated in today.

accomplishment

Mnguni said the exercise was also aimed at strengthening and streamlining the command and control system of the police service to ensure efficiency in service delivery as well as the accomplishment of the organisations mandate.

Another aim of the exercise, she said, was to ensure alignment of the REPS with the operational structures and systems of other police services and forces within the SADC region.

To this end, the objective of the restructuring exercise was never about improving the grades and salaries of a select category of officers i.e. senior officers. The aim as already pointed out was a holistic review of the police service to ensure that it is geared for the policing challenges of today, the Deputy PICO said. She said the widening gap between senior officers and junior officers remuneration was a natural or a given in any salary structure. At present, the salary structure of the police service is a product of the 2016 Government-wide Salary Review Process. Therefore, any observed or apparent discrepancies can only be addressed through another salary review, Mnguni said.

She said the significant number of senior officers from the ranks of senior superintendent to national commissioner following the 2014 Circular were for addressing specific operational needs, and authority to have them in the Establishment was granted by the relevant authorities. Adding, Mnguni said the need to add and realign ranks at various levels of the police was motivated by a desire to strengthen supervision or enhance command and control.

For instance, at the lower tiers of the organisation structure, a rank of Assistant Inspector was introduced as part of the restructuring process which serves as a supervisory intermediary or link between the Sergeant cadre and the Inspectorate, she said. On the other hand, HMCS Public Relations Officer Superintendent Gugulethu Dlamini said they were not the ones responsible for the implementation Phase 2 of the 2014 Circular.

revise

May I request that you refer such to the Ministry of Public Service, she said.

Hlobisile Vilakati, the Communications Officer in the Ministry of Public Service, cited the 2016 Circular (dvuladvula) as having been implemented in a bid to revise the salary grading and pay structure across government.

The armed forces were an exception to that instrument. And therefore it was expected that all grievances be forwarded within 30 days after issuance of the aforementioned circular, she said.

That notwithstanding, Vilakati said government did conduct a salary review every five years and it is during such exercise that anomalies in widening salary gaps are corrected. Asked if the ballooning of the senior officers salaries over the past seven years would be sustained by government, the communications officer said government has over the years been cognisant and in admission of the ballooning wage bill hence some intervention strategies that have been effected to mitigate the situation. She said among these is the freeze of overtime through Circular No.8 of 2010 and implementation of the hiring freeze through Circular No.3 of 2018. A senior legal expert who is well acquainted with the matter said both the REPS and HMCS had meted unfairness on the junior officers.

The Circular No.2 of 2014 is not optional but mandatory as it states that the second phase SHALL be implanted after the first phase; it doesnt say MAY, which would have made the instrument optional, he said. The legal eagle said the sad part was that the junior officers have no bargaining power or union representation to force government to implement the Phase 2. He opined that the courts could be their only option but noted that the junior officers might fear being at the forefront of this legal challenge because of likely victimisation by their bosses.






The House Democrats suffered a blow after they were forced to pass the $1.9 trillion Biden relief bill without the federal $15 minimum wage following the ruling of the Senate parliamentarian that under Senate rules, it should not be included in the bill.

Minimum wage to remain in House version of the bill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the federal minimum wage increase to $15 will remain in the House version of the Biden relief bill, otherwise known as the America Rescue Plan Act, The Guardian reported. She said that "House Democrats believe that the minimum wage hike is necessary," in response to the Senate parliamentarian ruling.

The massive stimulus bill, reflects President Joe Biden's proposal to distribute cash to individuals, businesses, states, and cities hit by COVID-19. A White House economic adviser said that Biden is not giving up on the federal $15 minimum wage increase. If passed, it would be the first time that the federal minimum wage is increased since 2009 with the current rate at $7.25.

Brian Deese, the White House national economic council director, told MSNBC that increasing the federal minimum wage "is the right thing to do."

"We're going to consult with our congressional allies, congressional leaders today to talk about a path forward, about how we can make progress urgently on what is an urgent issue," added Deese.

Democrats argued that the hard economy and the half-million American lives lost demanded immediate, decisive action. According to polls, GOP lawmakers were out of contact with a public that overwhelmingly supports the bill. According to The Washington Post, Republicans believed the bill is too high and laden with gifts to Democratic constituencies such as trade unions. They also see it as funneling funds to troubled pension plans and other programs unrelated to the pandemic.

To get around Republican resistance to protect the Senate filibuster bills, Democrats, with narrow margins of control in both houses, are trying to pass legislation using a fast-track budget procedure known as reconciliation.

Read also: $15 Minimum Wage Becomes a Barrier for Lawmakers to Immediately Pass the Stimulus Bill

Biden's stimulus bill faces objections from Republicans

Democrats moved to support a large pandemic aid package that will include billions of dollars for unemployed Americans, distressed households and companies, colleges, and the distribution and deployment of coronavirus vaccinations.

Individuals earning up to $75,000 a year and couples earning up to $150,000 a year would receive $1,400 in cash benefits, and a weekly federal unemployment benefit would be increased from $300 to $400 through to the end of August. It will also include more than $50 billion for vaccine delivery, monitoring, and tracing, nearly $200 billion for primary and secondary schools, and $350 billion for the state, local, and tribal governments, as well as an increase in the size of the so-called child tax credit.

Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said, "We believe this is something that meets the moment." Yarmuth described the legislation as "an incredible piece of work dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in all manifestations and in a truly effective way," NY Times reported.

Read also: Will a Fourth Stimulus Check Be Possible as the Third Nears Its Distribution To Eligible Americans?

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center on Monday will start providing hybrid learning to students with in-person instruction one day per week, according to the schools website.

The school suspended in-person learning in October in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Luzerne County. Starting Monday, Crestwood and GAR high school students will have in-person classes on Mondays.

Meyers and Hanover Area high school students will go on Tuesdays. Coughlin and Pittston Area high school students will go on Wednesdays.

Students from Greater Nanticoke Area, Old Forge, Riverside and other high schools will go on Thursdays. The school will not have in-person classes on Friday. Students are asked to contact their school districts regarding transportation.
As our blog community predicted, the warmer temperatures spark greater violence on local streets . . . Sadly, it looks like this year's carnage is just getting started despite a homicide count that is already keeping pace with last year's ground breaking count.



Read more . . .



KSHB: Two shot, one killed at 12th & Grand early Sunday

Deets:

Two people were shot, one killed at 12th & Grand early Sunday morning.



Police were called to the scene just before 4:00 a.m. on a reported shooting.Upon arrival, officers found a vehicle with a victim in it who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Again, this is the 21st homicide so far this year compared to 23 at this time last year.

Developing . . .

When we think of hyenas, we think of animals who avoid strong prey. Instead, they find the weak and the wounded, first tentatively attacking them and, as their prey fails, becoming increasingly aggressive. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, last years golden boy, is this years wounded prey, and the Democrats are out to get him. Expect that same pattern  a golden boy who is seen as weak and will suddenly be destroyed  to happen to Biden soon.

I reported on Lindsey Boylan in December, when the former aide accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her. Back then, while finding Cuomo loathsome, I was a bit dubious about Boylans claims. Reading her texts about her experience, her narrative had internal contradictions that didnt ring true.

In December, Boylans claims sort of vanished. The media certainly werent interested because Cuomo was still the anti-Trump who had shown America how good politicians handled the Wuhan Virus.

Everything changed when New Yorks Attorney General, Letitia James, attacked Cuomo from the left, revealing that he had misrepresented the number of elderly people his nursing home policy killed. (I assume that James plans to run for New York governor and wanted to knock Cuomo out early.)

Instantly, the floodgates opened. The feds are investigating Cuomos policies, the New York legislature wants to strip Cuomos emergency authority (too little, too late), Bill de Blasio agreed that Cuomo is a jerk, and theres now talk of impeachment. So of course, last week Boylan was back again, giving details about what Cuomo had allegedly done to her:

Lindsey Boylan, the former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to Cuomo, published an essay on Medium this week and is accusing the governor of unwanted kissing and touching while she worked in his office. She also claimed Cuomo had staffers arrange meetings with her where he made inappropriate comments. "Let's play strip poker," Boylan said Cuomo remarked on a flight from an event in October 2017.

Thanks to Cuomos new status as a political pariah, another woman has emerged to accuse him of sexually inappropriate behavior:

A second former aide said she was sexually harassed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who responded with a statement Saturday saying he never made advances toward her and never intended to be inappropriate. Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governor's administration until November, told The New York Times Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men.

Cuomo has denied all accusations of sexual improprieties. Either the women are lying or Cuomo is lying. I dont believe any of them. For leftists, agendas always trump honesty, which makes me suspicious of the women. On the other hand, its hard to express how low Cuomo is in my estimation, so I wouldnt be at all be surprised to learn that he behaved badly.

The real point of this post, though, isnt to delve into the truth. Its to point out that were witnessing an agenda here. Cuomo, who was the ideal Democrat politician last year, is almost certainly on the Democrat destruction this year because, believe it or not, hes too moderate. Letitia James is a radical leftist who thinks that her politics are now the ascendent ones in America. The word is out; Cuomo has lost the benefit of the media omerta, and hes hyena meat now.

Expect the same thing to happen  and with the same rapidity  to Joe Biden. As Dan Bongino has pointed out, Bidens mental decline is getting obvious.

Currently, the media are enraptured with Biden, assuring everyone that hes a man of charm, intellect, moral probity, and statesmanlike principles. Within the next three months, expect a trickle of worried stories about him, followed by a flood of dementia narratives, culminating with Biden being escorted from the White House.

Thats how were going to end up with Americas first female president, a woman so charmless, so insincere, and so untrustworthy that she couldnt even make it to the Iowa Caucuses. And at least in the beginning, shell be sold to Americans as the golden girl, the perfect hard-left Democrat, a woman of true probity and statesmanlike qualities  until such time as the order goes out from Swamp central that she too is a problem.

IMAGE: Hyenas. YouTube screengrab.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

As New Mexico and the rest of the country slowly inch back toward a post-COVID world, a travel explosion just might be on tap as folks cooped up for the better part of a year seek new venues to explore.

And thanks to a little help, Santa Fe County is well positioned to be at the forefront of peoples minds when that happens.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Noted PBS traveler Darley Newman has included two packages from the area as part of a new project to highlight some of the worlds top vacation destinations.

Darley Vacations was originally set to launch last spring, she said, but the virus derailed those plans for a year.

One of my initial thoughts was to go on one or two trips a year and lead a group in Santa Fe, said Newman, whose PBS travel series, Travels with Darley, has won two Emmy Awards. I love Santa Fe. Its such a great destination. A lot of people have been to Santa Fe and a lot havent necessarily been to the great natural parks. Its such a sense of Santa Fe.

Newman started the project with six itineraries: two in California, two in upstate New York, and the two in and around Santa Fe.

The local itineraries include a Luxury Santa Fe vacation and a Santa Fe Spa and Downtown vacation.

The Luxury Santa Fe vacation package spans six days and five nights, and includes a stay at Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado, horseback riding, exploring National Parks and Pueblos, sightseeing and an art walk, and touring the historic Santa Fe Plaza.

The Santa Fe Spa and Downtown vacation spans six days and six nights, and includes stays at Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort and Casa Culinaria, as well as exploration of national parks and area pueblos, downtown Santa Fe, art walking tours, cooking classes and diving into the culture of the area.

I think Santa Fe is a great place to go and will be a great place to go once the vaccines are given out and the pandemic is over, Newman said. Theres still an opportunity around Santa Fe to do so many things in nature, which is a big part of these trips. Theyre a mix of things Ive done. A mix of being outside, wellness, the culinary aspect of Santa Fe, and arts and culture melds it all together. I could probably put together a bunch more trips because there are so many different things to do in and around Santa Fe.

Getting publicity like this is something that should be beneficial for the area very soon, said Elias Bernardino, Santa Fe County deputy manager.

I think its a great opportunity to shine a light on the diversity in the Santa Fe County open spaces, he said. And everything in between those spaces. Its an outsiders perspective. She travels all over the world. To put Santa Fe in the top three places, competing and having the competitive edge with New York and LA is something special.

With the end of the virus beginning to emerge, this is a good time for Santa Fe County to be featured, Bernardino said.

Its a great opportunity, the timing is perfect, he said. It really exemplifies the diversity of Santa Fe County, with its richness and natural landscape elements  and strong, historical cultural significance.

The idea behind the project, which is operated in conjunction with a travel agency, is to provide an easy, informative way for people to learn about the area and plan their own trip to suit them.

The trips are customizable, Newman said. We wanted to make it even easier by publishing information so its readily available. We put together these itineraries so they can call up and book trips, and, with the travel agent, customize it even further. Like mountain biking. You can be at different skill levels and still do it. If you wanted to, you can focus more on the culinary aspect. We wanted to give people more options.

For more information, see darley-newman.com/dvacation/usa-vacations/.
Former president Trump disavowed speculation that he would start a third party on Sunday, in his first public speech since leaving office at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Trump also spent much of the speech slamming the Biden administrations immigration policies and calling out the so-called Republicans in name only  those who supported his impeachment and criticized his fomenting of the Capitol Hill riot.

We need Republican leaders with spines of steel, we need strong leadership, Trump said. We cannot have leaders who show more passion condemning their fellow Americans than they have ever shown for standing up to democrats, the media, and the radicals who want to turn America into a socialist country.

Trump then listed all seven senators who voted to convict him, saying the Democrats dont have grandstanders like Mitt Romney, little Ben Sasse, Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, [and] Pat Toomey.

The former president also named the ten House lawmakers who voted to impeach, singling out the warmonger, a person that loves seeing our troops fighting, Liz Cheney, how about that.

Hopefully theyll get rid of her with the next election, Trump said. Get rid of them all.

While he trained much of his fire on fellow Republicans, he also attacked President Joe Biden on the grounds that he is turning the U.S. into a sanctuary nation. While administration officials have warned migrants not to attempt to cross into the U.S., illegal border crossings from Mexico rose in recent weeks. Some migrants have cited the perception of more lenient immigration policies as the reason for crossing.

We did such a good job, Trump said of his immigration policies. Nobodys ever seen anything like we did, and now [Biden] wants it all to go to hell.

Trump added, Joe Biden has triggered a massive flood of illegal immigration into our countryWere one country, we cant afford the problems of the world, as much as wed love to.

Story continues

Joe Bidens decision to cancel border security has singlehandedly launched a youth migrant crisis that is enriching child smugglers, vicious criminal cartels, and some of the most evil people on the planet, Trump said. The Biden administration has put the vile coyotes back in business.

Since Trumps defeat in November, some Republicans have supported the creation of a third party as a vehicle for the former president. However, Trump began his speech by mocking the notion that he would split off from the Republican party.

You know they kept saying, hes going to start a brand new party. We have the Republican Party: its going to unite and be stronger than ever before, Trump said.

I am not starting a new party. That was fake news, the former president added. Wouldnt that be brilliant? Lets divide our vote so that we can never win.

However, Trump indicated he could run for president in 2024, and again implied that he had not lost the election to Biden.

Actually as you know they just lost the White House, Trump said, referring to Democrats. I might even decide to beat them for a third time.

Circling back to claims of election fraud, Trump called to advance policies to strengthen election integrity.

Trump has refused to publicly concede losing to Biden, instead alleging that Democrats stole the election via widespread voter fraud. However, allies of the former president failed to prove the allegations in court, and in some cases did not challenge the legality of enough votes to change the results of the election.

Our election process is worse than that, in many cases, of a third world country, Trump said, complaining that The Supreme Court didnt have the guts or the courage to do anything regarding his fraud claims.

More from National Review
Syria condemned U.S. airstrikes in Eastern Syria, describing them as a negative indication of the new U.S. administration policies, CGTN reports,

The airstrikes killed at least 17, Reuters reported, citing a medical source.

The "cowardly" attack is against international law, Syria's foreign ministry argued, warning it would lead to an escalation in the region.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday directed the airstrikes against facilities belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militia.

"At President Biden's direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria. These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against American and Coalition personnel in Iraq, and to ongoing threats to those personnel," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

A source from the Syrian military told a correspondent of China Media Group that there were multiple airstrikes near the port of Abu Kamal, a town in eastern Syria on the border with Iraq, around midnight on Thursday.
Several Trump supporters, who are charged in connection with the US Capitol riots, have said that Antifa and other left-wing groups werent involved in the attack. According to CNN, the baseless claim that left-wing infiltrators were responsible for the horrifying attack was reiterated by former US President Donald Trumps impeachment lawyers, several GOP lawmakers and at least one speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 26. However, the alleged rioters facing charges have explicitly pushed back the theory and said that they and other Trump supporters deserve the credit for storming the Capitol and not Antifa.

A day after the January 6 attack, Jose Padilla, who was a first-hand observer of every point, had posted on social media that the rioters were not Antifa. Padilla added that they were Patriots who were trying to restore the Republic. Another alleged Capitol rioter, Jonathan Mellis also wrote, Dont you dare try to tell me that people are blaming this on Antifa and BLM. We proudly take responsibility for storming the castle. As per reports, both Padilla and Mellis are among the defendants that are charged with assaulting police officers in addition to misdemeanour trespassing offences.

Another Capitol riot defendant also called out GOP lawmakers for blaming Antifa. Thomas Robertson, a former police officer, had also touted his ties to law enforcement and conservative groups. He wrote on social media post that he is a pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League member and a serving soldier and a police officer. He said Antifa didnt cause the riots, however, he added that they mightve been there.

READ: 'Blame Trump' Defense In Capitol Riot Looks Like A Long Shot

READ: FBI Uncovers New Video Of Capitol Cop Being Sprayed With Chemicals Before He Died

GOP members support conspiracy

Their social media posts undercut the baseless conspiracy that shifts the responsibility from Trumps supporters onto Trumps opponents. However, several GOP members still believe that Antifa and other left-wing groups had stormed the Capitol building. At least one speakers at CPAC had also promoted the lie, though he admitted that some Trump supporters participated in the Capitol assault.

Hundreds of pro-Trump had pushed through the polices barricades along perimeters of the Capitol building that forced the lawmakers to run for cover and both chambers of Congress were promptly evacuated. After 90 minutes of a scuffle between police officers and the mob, doors to the House and Senate were locked and the House floor was emptied as unruly Trump supporters had managed to barge in. The armed standoff took place between officers and the mob at the House front door at about 3pm ET.

READ: Oath Keeper Charged In Capitol Riot Renounces Militia Group

READ: US Acting Capitol Police Chief Admits Intelligence Failed During January 6 Attack




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(Natural News) The Department of Defense (DoD) said that about one-third of U.S. military troops have declined to get the Wuhan coronavirus vaccine. Top Pentagon officials commented that despite this percentage, the majority of the armed forces had accepted the jab. They reiterated that efforts to educate troops on the importance of the vaccines would be continued, in line with officials aiming to vaccinate the entire armed forces.

Acting Defense Secretary for Homeland Defense and Global Security Bob Salesses laid down military COVID-19 vaccination figures during a Feb. 17 House Committee on Armed Services hearing. Of the almost 916,000 doses administered to Pentagon personnel, 359,000 have received the initial dose. Meanwhile, 147,000 have completed the vaccines two-dose regimen.

Salesses told lawmakers during the hearing that vaccination for the DoDs civilian, military and contractor workforce will probably happen sometime in late July or August 2021.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Director for Operations Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro said vaccination acceptance rates in the military amounted to two-thirds of the forces headcount. Our initial look  [on] very early data is [that] acceptance rates are somewhere in the two-thirds territory. And of course, it varies by different groups, he told lawmakers.

National Guard Bureau Operations Head Maj. Gen. Steven Nordhaus seconded Taliaferros estimate. He said that the National Guard had a vaccine acceptance rate of two-thirds to 70 percent, which mirrored that of the military.

Taliaferro commented that military officials want personnel to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and said they would bolster efforts to encourage vaccination. He told legislators: We believe that  the vaccine is the right thing to do. Its clearly safe for service members, [and] we need to continue to educate our force and help them understand the benefits.

The U.S. military is administering the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, which were both given emergency-use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Pentagon for comment on the matter.

Outside of the medical field, vaccine hesitancy is also gaining ground in the armed forces

Also on Feb. 17, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told POLITICO and other news outlets that the DoD did not have a system in place for monitoring vaccinations among troops. Furthermore, the department did not specify how many soldiers declined the COVID-19 jab. But he debunked rumors that the Pentagon is withholding information from the general public.

Nobody is hiding data. We dont have a system in place across the services to specifically track data with respect to those individuals who, for whatever reason, are declining, Kirby said. (Related: Incoming CDC director to use the military and medical students to increase vaccinations across the country.)

Based on the testimonies by Pentagon officials, it appears that vaccine hesitancy is rising in the armed forces. Doubts regarding the Wuhan coronavirus jabs have been around in the medical field, as anti-vaccine organization Childrens Health Defense pointed out.

The anti-vaccine group referenced a survey conducted from September 2020 to October 2020 that asked more than 1,000 health care workers in metropolitan Los Angeles. The survey results showed that 66.5 percent of respondents intend to delay vaccination for COVID-19, preferring to review available safety information before getting the jab. Many of the health care workers cited concerns about [the vaccines] expedited development for delaying their immunization.

The death of three medical professionals following their vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine bolsters medical workers doubts regarding the vaccine. Three American health workers join the ranks of those who suffered serious reactions from the jab.

Nurse aide Janet Moore was found dead in her car after driving home from work. The Ohio medical workers death came within 48 hours after she was vaccinated against COVID-19, which her employer required. Moore had no known comorbidities but had reported experiencing nausea and migraine. Her brother Jacob Gregory said he believes the nurse aide got the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

Radiologic technician Tom Zook passed away after getting his second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The California medical worker was excited to get the second dose, which he received. But he complained of abdominal pain and difficulty breathing two hours later. Zook was subsequently admitted to his workplaces emergency room. He was then transferred to a different hospital where he died.

Dr. Gregory Michael died after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab. The Florida obstetrician developed an autoimmune disorder after being vaccinated, later dying of a stroke even before undergoing a last-ditch procedure for his condition. Michaels wife Heidi Neckelmann said his death was 100 percent linked to the vaccine.

Vaccines.news has more about plans to vaccinate the armed forces against COVID-19.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

POLITICO.com

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

MedRxiv.org

Thank you for reading!

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Im a Brazilian YouTuber and I create goofy videos and generate entertainment options for families all over the world. who speak Portuguese, which outside Brazil, Portugal and Angola are like, five families. But Im not here today to goof around in front of a brand new audience. to speak seriously, you know the circus is probably on fire. Americans like to boast about being the world leader at everything. That America is the greatest place on earth. And since the Covid outbreak, you are leading in Covid deaths. That is partly, of course, thanks to your president, Donald Trump, who many of you claim to be the absolute worst head of state in the democratic world today. Well, Im about to show you that the 200 million people here in Brazil have you beat. OK, for the moment, were only second in deaths, but Im certain that our leader, Jair Bolsonaro, is the worst Covid president in the world. [MUSIC PLAYING] Bolsonaro is a military man who has defended the use of torture under Brazils dictatorship. He then rose to presidentship using statements like this. [CHEERING] Do I need to say anything else or do you get the picture? Brazil is the fastest-rising Covid country in the world. And the W.H.O. has considered us the new epicenter of the pandemic. Still he shows no sign of taking the crisis seriously. In short, he makes Donald Trump seem like Patch Adams. Since the very beginning of the crisis, he has not stopped going out, thereby encouraging others to do the same. You guys got pissed off because of a measly Trump rally in Tulsa, three months after the outbreak in the U.S. But Bolsonaro does that all the time. He goes to demonstrations against the Congress. He goes to demonstrations calling for military intervention. He goes to packed city markets. He goes to military ceremonies. He goes barbecue hopping on a jet ski. He goes to protests against the Supreme Court. Thatd be disgusting even with no pandemic. Much like Trump, Bolsonaro justifies his actions by professing to believe in miracle cures. For starters, theyre both obsessed with the hydr hydrocloq hydroxyclq shut up, Im Brazilian. They are both obsessed with a drug with no evidence of working against the disease. But theres a big difference between Trump talking about this in press conferences and what our guy is doing. Bolsonaro has asked the health authorities to forcibly change the official medicine leaflet of hydro [INAUDIBLE] to include coronavirus as a prescribed use case. Hes also using the armys industrial capacity to produce the medication while public hospitals face shortages of other drugs, like sedatives and painkillers. Bolsonaro also actively retaliates against any public authority who promotes safety. He fired a health minister after he insisted quarantine was a good thing. He fired the next health minister after he refused to prescribe chloroquine to all Covid patients. He then put a military man in charge of the health ministry and fired most of the technical staff who had been there for years. Hes also trying to incite violence. In April, he held a cabinet meeting in which he said: And he didnt stop at words. He also took actions a few days later, upping the limits on how much ammunition we can buy and eliminating all gun-tracing regulations. Finally, as the crisis worsened, Bolsonaro began mocking the deceased and their families. When Brazil reached 2,500 dead, a reporter asked him for a statement on it and his answer was this. When we reached 5,000 dead. When the death toll got to 30,000. When we reached 50,000 dead, he got musical. And when we reached 60,000 he said nothing, which was probably for the best. Its so ugly that even Donald Trump admits were not in good shape. Ask them how are they doing in Brazil? Hes a great friend of mine. Not good. But theres something else that Trump says that Id like to leave you with. Trump calls Bolsonaro a good friend, and that friendship is crucial to Bolsonaro retaining his popularity. It legitimizes Bolsonaro. Youre the world leader in Covid deaths, and right now, youre leading us into the abyss. Your president has little proxies operating all over the globe. We are their casualties. So if youre wondering what you can do to help Brazil deal with our lunatic, please do not re-elect yours. This November, vote to keep Trump out of the White House.
Mumbai: Amid mounting pressure and fierce attacks from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Forest Minister Sanjay Rathod, whose name cropped up in the death of TikTok star Pooja Chavan, resigned on Sunday (February 28).

Rathod met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and tendered his resignation on the eve of the Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature starting Monday.

A prominent leader of the Banjara community, Rathod (49), accompanied by his wife Shital, met Thackeray at the latters official residence and discussed the issue for around 30 minutes before handing his resignation to the CM.

The Chief Minister also refused to consider pleas from the mahants of the Banjara community even as the probe report into the social media stars death is awaited.

Toughening BJPs stance, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis threatened to withdraw the BJP legislators from the joint select committee of the Shakti Bill, which is being brought on the lines of the Disha Act proposing crucial changes to the existing laws on violence against women and children.

"Sanjay Rathod resigned... However, it does not imply that he is innocent," said Pravin Darekar, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Council.

Both the leaders have demanded that an FIR should be lodged against Rathod in the Chavan case, though the ex-minister has consistently denied all the allegations levelled against him.

Rathods name cropped up after the death of Chavan (22) in Pune on February 7.

"The opposition is playing dirty politics on this matter... The truth will emerge in the probe. They threatened not to allow the Legislature Session and disrupt the proceedings," Rathod said after quitting.

Chavan hailed from the Banjara community and was a native of Parli-Vaijanath in Beed district.

Her family wrote to the CM decrying the moves to politicise her death, and killing her multiple times after she died.

They also dismissed the moves to link the minister with her and said they had never sought Rathods resignation, but had full faith in the ongoing police probe.

Chavan died after falling from the balcony of an apartment in Punes Hadapsar area. The police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) and are probing the matter.

After Chavans death, Fadnavis had shot off a letter to DGP Hemant Nagrale along with 12 audio clips vis-a-vis the incident, demanding an investigation.

Though Thackeray had assured a probe, Rathod continued as a minister and staged a massive show of strength at the Poharadevi temple in Washim district last week.

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Support for Scottish independence has plummeted amid the bitter row between SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor as First Minister Alex Salmond.

The majority of people in Scotland no longer want to break away from the rest of the United Kingdom following recent infighting, a bombshell survey has revealed.

The Survation poll, carried out for the Sunday Mail, concluded that support for independence has fallen from 58 per cent in the same poll carried out in October to just a 50 per cent split.

It is the first time in 22 consecutive polls that a Yes vote has not been favoured.

The row has broken out amid the ongoing Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government's 'botched' investigation of sexual harassment claims against Mr Salmond.

The last poll on how voters will cast their ballots in the May Holyrood election makes better reading for the SNP, however. Ipsos Mori put the SNP on 52% (-3), Scottish Conservatives on 23% (+1) and Scottish Labour on 15% (+1). That would likely give Sturgeon a narrow outright majority.

Support for Scottish independence has plummeted amid the bitter row between SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon (left) and her predecessor as First Minister Alex Salmond (right)

The survey, carried out on Thursday, asked 1,000 residents across Scotland how they would vote in an independence referendum if it was held tomorrow (results as a graphic above)

The survey, carried out on Thursday, asked 1,000 residents across Scotland how they would vote in an independence referendum if it was held tomorrow.

It found that 44 per cent said they would vote 'No' - with only 43 per cent opting for 'Yes'.

If those who were undecided are excluded from the statistics, support for the referendum was left at 50 per cent which is the lowest it has been in nine months.

Pamela Nash, the chief executive of Scotland in Union, speaking about the results, said: 'It's welcome that support for remaining in the UK is on the rise. People are recognising, as we navigate out of the Covid crisis with a successful UK-wide vaccination programme, that we are stronger together.

'The SNP is obsessed with trying to divide Scotland but the priority should be working together on a recovery for everyone in the country.'

But the poll also revealed that 50 per cent believed Ms Sturgeon, who is due to give evidence to a committee of MSPs this week, should resign if she is found to have broken the ministerial code of conduct.

And a further 39 per cent believe there has been a Scottish Government cover-up over its disastrous handling of sexual harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.

A spokesman for the Scottish Tories said only they could 'prevent an SNP majority, stop another divisive referendum and get the Scottish parliament 100 per cent focused on rebuilding Scotland'.

The majority of people in Scotland no longer want to break away from the rest of the United Kingdom following recent infighting, a bombshell survey has revealed. Pictured: Previous rally in Glasgow

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond are fighting like ferrets in a sack, but the divisions run through the SNP. It is beyond them and infecting the whole party.

'People need honesty and accountability in their politicians. Sadly, we have seen little of that from the SNP in recent weeks and months.'

SNP deputy leader Keith Brown said: 'With the election fast approaching, polls are tightening. The SNP believes Scotland's future should be decided by the people of Scotland, not Boris Johnson.'

It was the first time he had spoken at length about the Government's probe into sexual misconduct allegations against him.

After he was cleared of 13 charges against nine women in March last year, he said evidence that he had not been able to lead during his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh would 'see the light of day'.

And, earlier today, it was revealed Mr Salmond is set to launch a devastating second attack on Ms Sturgeon - in a move which could force her to resign as First Minister.

He is due to give evidence in private on Monday or Tuesday to a second inquiry - set up to establish whether Ms Sturgeon has broken the Ministerial Code.

Ms Sturgeon is already set to face tough questioning from MSPs at the Holyrood inquiry on Wednesday - the same day the UK Budget is announced.

What are the key issues in the row engulfing SNP? How and why did the Scottish government mishandle allegations against Alex Salmond? The Scottish government launched an investigation in 2017 after two women made formal complaints against Alex Salmond. He launched legal action against the government's handling of the investigation and won a judicial review in January 2019, receiving 512,000 to cover his legal fees. The parliamentary inquiry is examining how ministers and civil servants conducted the probe. Mr Salmond was charged with 13 counts of sexual assault, including attempted rape, but was acquitted of all charges in March 2020. Mr Salmond has claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy by senior SNP figures to end his role in public life. What did Nicola Sturgeon know and when? Ms Sturgeon originally told MSPs she learned of complaints against Mr Salmond on April 2, 2018, when the pair met at her house. That meeting is crucial as it is unclear whether it was SNP business, or government business - which should have been officially recorded. Peter Murrell, the chief executive of the SNP and Ms Sturgeon's husband, initially said he was not at home, but later revealed that he arrived home during the discussion. He insists he did not ask what they were talking about. Ms Sturgeon has also admitted she 'forgot' about a discussion with Mr Salmond's ex-chief of staff four days earlier where they talked about the issue. The ministerial code says that 'ministers who knowingly mislead the parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the First Minister'. Ms Sturgeon is facing a separate independent investigation led by James Hamilton, who has to decide if she broke the ministerial code. However, it is thought that she is the final arbiter of whether the code has been breached. Does Mr Salmond have evidence of a conspiracy against him? Mr Salmond has said he is the victim of a 'prolonged, malicious' conspiracy by senior SNP and government figures. He has suggested Mr Murrell was part of efforts to damage him. Ms Sturgeon has demanded he presents hard evidence that is the case. However, he insisted that he is not in the dock and the government has already conceded it acted illegally. Why was Mr Salmond's evidence to the inquiry redacted? Mr Salmond's submission to the inquiry was released online on Monday, but the Crown Office raised concerns with Holyrood about it, asking for redactions. He has raised questions about why the step was taken and whether it amounted to inappropriate interference. Advertisement

Last night, a source close to Mr Salmond said: 'He will be able to say things in private which he hasn't been able to mention up until now.

'It will likely be damning and devastating for Nicola Sturgeon.'

Appearing before a Holyrood inquiry on Friday, Mr Salmond launched an astonishing attack under oath on Ms Sturgeon's leadership - and accused her of multiple breaches of the Ministerial Code and of misleading parliament.

He disputed her account of their meetings at her home and said she was aware beforehand that they were arranged to discuss complaints to the Government about him.

However, he said he was unable to talk about some aspects of the crucial meetings because of legal restrictions.

Now he will give evidence to the second inquiry led by James Hamilton, QC.

If this probe establishes Ms Sturgeon broke even one of the rules governing ministerial conduct, she will face calls for her resignation - just weeks before the crucial Scottish parliament election.

Mr Salmond's delivery of evidence to the Holyrood inquiry highlights the astonishing levels of bitterness that now exist between the former SNP leader and Ms Sturgeon - a pair who for many years seemed to have forged one of the most rock-solid partnerships in politics.

He also called for the resignations of Ms Sturgeon's chief legal adviser, the Lord Advocate James Wolffe, and some of those closest to her, including her husband, the SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans and her chief of staff Liz Lloyd.

Mr Salmond said some in the SNP and Scottish Government had been involved in a 'deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort' to put him in prison.

Sources have since confirmed he will speak directly to Mr Hamilton, the former director of public prosecutions in Ireland, by video link tomorrow or on Tuesday.

They said it could be even more devastating than the evidence he gave to the committee on Friday.

That is because he will not be limited in what he can talk about by the Crown Office and Holyrood lawyers.

It is also understood Mr Hamilton has received evidence from Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond's former chief of staff, whose evidence to the Holyrood committee could not be published.

If that corroborates Mr Salmond's version of events, rather than Ms Sturgeon's, it could dramatically increase pressure on the First Minister.

The evidence is said to include claims she knew of harassment allegations 'weeks earlier' than she admitted.

It also suggests Ms Sturgeon's team leaked the identity of a sexual assault complainant against the former first minister - which Ms Sturgeon rejects.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Tories will this week lodge a motion of no confidence in Deputy First Minister John Swinney over the publication of legal advice, the party has announced.

On two occasions, MSPs have voted to compel the Scottish Government to produce legal advice taken as part of the legal challenge brought by Alex Salmond over its harassment complaints procedure but ministers have so far not handed the advice over.

The Scottish Government went on to concede the judicial review into the investigation of Mr Salmond which Judge Lord Pentland said was 'tainted with apparent bias'.

In a letter to Linda Fabiani, the convener of the committee looking into the handling of complaints against Mr Salmond, in December, Mr Swinney said he was keen to find a 'practical way' that the advice could be handed over to the committee, but no such arrangement has been put in place.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said the move was to give the Scottish Government 'one last chance' to release the advice, and they would 'gladly' rescind it should the advice be released.

He said: 'Twice, opposition parties united to call for the legal advice to be released. The cross-party Holyrood committee have pleaded with the Government to produce it.

'The Government said they would listen but they clearly have not. The legal advice remains hidden.

'This evidence is crucial to uncovering the specific mistakes that lost more than 500,000 of taxpayers' money and let the women at the heart of this investigation down.

'We urge other opposition parties to support this move. It is not about politics, it's about getting to the truth of what happened. Without the evidence, that will not happen.'

The Scottish Lib Dems have already said they will support the motion, with MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton, a member of the Salmond inquiry, saying: 'There is a simple way for John Swinney to avoid another no confidence vote and that is to release the legal advice as parliament has twice made very clear it expects him to do.

'The Scottish Government have gone out of their way to obstruct the investigation into their handling of some very serious allegations.

'This displays contempt for our parliament and a casual disregard for all those who have raised concerns or are considering whether to do so in the future.'

If the motion goes to a vote, it would be the second time in less than a year that Mr Swinney would face such a debate on his position.

In August the Deputy First Minister, who also holds the education portfolio, came under heavy criticism from opposition parties over a scandal that developed around the qualifications process put in place as a result of Covid-19.

Under the new system, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), would moderate teacher-estimated grades, a process that saw more than 124,000 marks downgraded and disproportionately affected those from more impoverished areas.

Mr Swinney survived that vote thanks to the backing of the Scottish Greens.

It is understood that the Greens will wait to see what is said in the motion before making a decision on their vote.

A spokesman for new Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: 'Anas is speaking to colleagues today ahead of his first week as leader.

'But what is clear is that the committee must be able to scrutinise any evidence and Parliament has voted to publish the legal advice - so ministers should end this democratic outrage and hand over the documents.'
Phuket Opinion: Gunning for a duty of care

PHUKET: The shooting of 25-year-old noodle vendor Aroon Thongplab on Bangla Rd by a drunken off-duty police officer this week has again cast into the spotlight the need to prevent any police officers from carrying firearms in public while not on active duty.

opinionpoliceSafetyviolencepatong

By The Phuket News

Sunday 28 February 2021, 09:00AM

Cpl Pornthep Channarong during his re-enactment of his actions that led to the shooting of noodle vendor Aroon Thongplab early Tuesday morning. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

The shooting, by Cpl Pornthep Channarong, shocked the island and all who visit here regularly, but should not have come as a shock that it involved a drunk off-duty police officer. Police in Phuket being involved in off-duty shootings is not new.

Top-ranking police have taken the front seat in the public relations campaign to appear in public to be doing the right thing. One has to wonder what for? If they are looking to be perceived as upholding decency or true sympathy, they have done nothing extraordinary to support the family other than what police are supposed to do for any victims of such a crime. Perhaps Mr Aroons wife and mother are expected to be grateful that such important people had taken time out of their busy schedules to offer their sympathies.

Top-flight police are also playing the bad apple card, as if such incidents are force majeure, as one officer called it. So far police have taken no serious steps to prevent police officers from carrying guns in public while off duty. All that has been delivered is yet another message to the troops to behave  or at least not get caught misbehaving  while in public or face the consequences.

Such statements trigger the standard kowtowing in being received, but even among Thais ring hollow. When do any officials face the full force of the law, as so often promised? Only in December did a court not only half a former Thalang police officers sentence because he confessed, but halved it second time during a failed appeal of all things for the same original confession. Add that one up.

https://www.thephuketnews.com/former-thalang-police-chief-has-corruption-sentence-reduced-78287.php

So far there has not been one mention that Cpl Pornthep  and yes, we will maintain calling him Cpl Pornthep in recognition of his rank at the time of his crime  will face double the penalty for his crimes due to the fact that he was government officer at the time of his crime.

Worse, Phukets illustrious police had Cpl Pornthep stripped of his rank and dismissed from the Royal Thai Police as quickly as possible, as if he will be presented in court as an ordinary citizen at the time of his arrest.

Patong Police Chief Col Sujin Nilabordi told the Thai media on Thursday that the shooting this week was the first of its kind in Patong. We are not sure how he came to that understanding, but it most certainly is not. To be fair, most police shootings in recent years have happened outside of Patong, but Patong has had its share too.

Among the best remembered police shootings happened in Phuket Town, when two Phuket City Police officers killed each other in a gunfight outside a restaurant near Nimit Circle (the Seahorse Circle) in 2016, a year that saw several people killed by off-duty police carrying guns not just in public, but in pubs and bars.

The Royal Thai Police silencing any investigation in that incident, however, paled in comparison to lack of explanation to a waitress being shot in the head outside the Saraphan Pleng bar near Chalong Circle by a policemans gun just before 4am  hours after the pub was supposed to have closed by law.

Karaoke hostess Nootsika Glaseuk, 36, from Ranong, had just walked out of the pub, which is literally around the corner from Chalong Police Station, when she was hit in the head by a bullet fired from a passing pickup truck.

Provincial anti-narcotics officer Sen Sgt Maj Sompong Santathiwong turned himself in the next day. He affirmed the gun that fired the deadly shot was his, but denied that he murdered Ms Nootsika.

As for Patong, in an fatal shooting in 2013, Sgt Phongsagorn Treeyut of the Kathu Police (now called the Patong Police) said he was playing with his gun when it went off, shooting dead 27-year-old waitress Sawitree Kaewnin while sitting at a table outside the Fong Beer pub on Phang Muang Sai Kor Rd, now called Phra Mettha Rd.

As with all the previous police shootings, police in that case confirmed that Sgt Phongsagorn had been investigated, but any conclusion failed to reach the public.

That case followed another policeman a year earlier shooting dead a man in the middle of the street, in Phun Phol Soi 11, in what was claimed to be self-defence. Again, news of any legal action in that case failed to reach public ears.

The lack of sincerity in making any genuine attempt over the years to prevent further accidental killing and maiming of innocent people by off-duty police officers screams loudly of the contempt the ranks of the Royal Thai Police hold for the average citizen.

With their uniforms, firearms and ranks, the Royal Thai Police by definition is a quasimilitary organisation. Its officers are issued orders, and are required to obey them.

An order banning all police officers from carrying firearms when not on active duty is long overdue. It is the least the Royal Thai Police can do for the victims of their wayward officers, if police in Thailand want to salvage any credibility in caring for the people the police are supposed to protect.
New Delhi:

Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala sons Vikas Barala will be produced in Chandigarh court along with his friend in connection with the stalking case. According to sources, accused Vikas Barala has accepted during interrogation that he was stalking Varnika Kundus car.

On Wednesday, the police decided to press attempt to kidnap charge against Vikas Barala and another person, who had allegedly stalked and tried to abduct the daughter of an IAS officer, officials had said.

Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, and the other accused were arrested by the police .

"We have decided to press attempt to abduct charge against the two accused," Chandigarh DGP Tejinder Singh Luthra had told media persons.

Also Read: Chandigarh stalking case: Victims father expresses happiness on Police action

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  This month across the United States, people are shining the spotlight on the achievements of African Americans.

President Gerald Ford officially designated February as Black History Month in 1976 in an effort to highlight history that is often neglected or overlooked.

The idea was not new.

In 1926, historian Carter G. Woodson and Association for the Study of Negro Life and History declared the second week of February as Negro History Week. The second week was significant because it marked the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, the president who abolished slavery, and Frederick Douglass, a man who escaped slavery and went on to become the leader of the abolitionist movement and an author.

Blacks in New Mexico experienced several firsts in 2020. Harold Pope was elected as the states first Black senator, Gerald Byers became the first African American district attorney and Shammara Henderson became the first Black appellate judge.

We talked to a few African American leaders in New Mexico to learn who influenced them along their road to success and which Black leaders or historical events they think more people should know about.

Gerald Byers

Gerald Byers, 62, became New Mexicos first African American district attorney in November, running unopposed in Dona Ana County, the 3rd Judicial District. Byers attended the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and graduated in 1980. Byers came to New Mexico in 1992 to attend law school at the University

of New Mexico after being honorably discharged from the military.

Influence

Byers said an encounter with four-star Gen. Daniel James Jr. as a young man in the military bolstered his self-confidence. James flew in both the Korean and Vietnam wars and attended the famous Tuskegee Institute during WWII where he instructed pilots. He received numerous awards and medals and was the commander in chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

He was very inspiring, Byers said. He made me believe You can do this. Its doable. America IS this place you can accomplish your dreams.

History

Byers said he wishes more attention was given to historic Black educators in American history. He said it was educators who helped him push forward and process negative emotions he had when he experienced or witnessed racism.

One example, he said, is Dorris Hamilton, the first Black principal in Las Cruces. She was also the first African American woman to enroll at the University of Arkansas. Hamilton is in her 90s and still lives in Las Cruces.

Isatu Kaigziabiher

Cytogeneticist Isatu Kaigziabiher, 45, works as a scientist in Santa Fe at LabCorp. He recently participated in the Black Story//Black Songhistory project aimed at infusing local classrooms and communities with more Black history. His portion of the project focused on the science contributions of Black people, including the invention of automatic closing elevator doors and the addition of the yellow light to the stoplight.

Influence

An African American who has inspired me greatly is Benjamin Banneker, who was a tobacco farmer, and a self-taught engineer, he said. He mingled with many of the men who were responsible for putting together the American system as we know it today and through his intelligence, dispelled the unfounded myth that intelligence is linked to skin color.

Banneker was born Nov. 9, 1731, and educated by his grandmother as well as receiving a formal education. He was responsible for surveying Washington, D.C., and also engineered the first all-wooden clock.

History

Kaigziabiher said His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was an important ally during World War II and is hailed by some for resisting Italys attempts at colonization during that time. Selassie was a founding member of the League of Nations, which would become the United Nations. Selassie has also been credited with modernizing his country. He helped establish the African Union while elevating his country to the global stage.

Shammara H. Henderson

Shammara H. Henderson, 38, became the states first Black appellate judge in February 2020. Henderson was born and raised in Albuquerque and the first in her family to attend college. She started her career as a litigator in the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office and started her own law firm in 2017.

Influence

A major African American influence in her life was Raymond Hamilton, founder of the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association and the first Black civil chief at the U.S. Attorneys Office.

He pushed me to work hard, to be open to all opportunities, and I knew he would always support me, she said. His passing in 2019 was one of my greatest losses, but I have never forgotten what he taught me, and when I decided to become the first Black appellate judge, I knew he was looking down on me telling me I could do it.

History

She said more people should learn about retired District Court Judge Angela Jewell, who was the first Black woman to hold the position. Jewell was born in 1952 in Montgomery, Alabama, but raised on Kirtland Air Force Base. As a teen, her family relocated to an air base in Germany where she finished high school. She received a law degree from UNM in the 70s. She married fellow lawyer Tommy Jewell, who also would become a judge, and the two started a law firm.

Sonya Smith

Earlier this month, the New Mexico Senate confirmed Sonya Smith, 54, as Cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services. Smith has a background in health care, and served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a medical technician in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.

Influence

Smith was influenced by her grandmother and mother growing up and professionally by Daun Hester, the city treasurer for Norfolk, Virginia, who is the first woman to hold the position there.

Ms. Hester is a lifelong public servant having started her career as an educator, then city council member, former vice mayor, and state representative, she said. Her servant leadership inspired me to serve on the Norfolk Economic Development Authority, and to run for city council.

History

Smith said the legacy of Shirley Chisholm has inspired many women of color, including Vice President Kamala Harris, to run for office and take active roles in their communities. Chisholm became the first Black candidate to run for president in 1972 and was also the first black woman to serve in Congress, being elected in 1968.

My favorite quote by Ms. Chisholm is, Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth,  Smith said. I agree.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Sunday defended President Biden's response to a United States intelligence report that directly linked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but questions over whether the administration went far enough seem likely to remain.

The Biden administration announced sanctions on dozens of Saudis involved in Khashoggi's killing, but did not include any direct penalties on the crown prince. Psaki said "historically" presidential administrations have not imposed sanctions on leaders of foreign governments with whom the U.S. has diplomatic relations. "We believe there are more effective ways to make sure this doesn't happen again," she told CNN's Dana Bash, adding that the White House wants to leave room to work with Riyadh on areas where the two governments agree.

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Bash seemed unconvinced by Psaki's explanation, questioning if Biden's response really holds the crown prince accountable, and she wasn't alone. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that Biden deserves "credit" for the sanctions that were announced and acknowledged it's a challenging situation for the new administration, but said "there ought to be something additional" focused on Salman. Portman's fellow Ohioan Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) agreed further steps are needed to hold the Saudi royal family accountable, though he told a skeptical Chuck Todd on NBC's Meet the Press that he doesn't think Friday's sanctions represent the final say on the matter.

More stories from theweek.com

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Police in Myanmar have escalated their crackdown on demonstrators against this month's military takeover, deploying early and in force as protesters sought to assemble in the country's two biggest cities.

Security forces in some areas appeared to become more aggressive in using force and making arrests, utilising more plainclothes officers than had previously revealed themselves.

Photos posted on social media showed that residents of at least two cities, Yangon and Monywa, resisted by erecting makeshift street barricades to try to hinder the advance of the police.

Myanmar's crisis took a dramatic turn on Friday when the country's ambassador to the UN declared his loyalty to the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi during a special session of the General Assembly, and called on the world to pressure the military to cede power. He was later fired by the Mayamar junta.

There were arrests in Yangon and Mandalay, the two biggest cities where demonstrators have been hitting the streets daily to demand the restoration of the government of Ms Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy party won a landslide election victory in November.

Police have increasingly enforced an order by the junta banning gatherings of five or more people.

Many other cities and towns have also hosted large protests against the coup, which came after the military alleged there had been irregularities during the November vote, and also criticised the handling of the pandemic.

The takeover has reversed years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. Ms Suu Kyi's party would have been installed for a second five-year term in office, but the army blocked parliament from convening and detained her and President Win Myint and other top members of her government.

 Associated Press
Facebook hasn't been shy about expressing its concerns about the changes coming to iOS 14. Last summer, Apple announced the changes, which include the requirement that apps include a privacy nutrition label to show users what data is collected and how its used, as well as what Apple calls App Tracking Transparency (ATT), which requires apps to request permission before tracking users.

Apple delayed the implementation of the latter to give advertisers and developers time to adjust to the change. Now, however, it should arrive with the next update of iOS.

In the meantime, Facebook has taken its fight public. The company released a pair of ads in three of the most widely-circulated newspapers in the country, accusing Apple of attacking small businesses and the open internet. Mark Zuckerberg also attacked Apple's motivations during the company's quarterly earnings report last month, and there are reports that he has been considering filing an antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker.

Now, the company has launched a new campaign, including an ad titled "Good Ideas Deserve to Be Found." The new ad is a little hard to follow but is meant to show the value of personalized ads to small businesses. Facebook wants to make it very clear that personalized ads make for a better experience on Facebook and Instagram, which it also owns.

In a blog post, Facebook explains why:

Everyone's News Feed is unique, which means you're more likely to see content you want to watch, groups you want to join, creators you want to follow, and products and services you want to buy. This discovery is all powered by personalization, and it's the not-so-secret sauce that helps people discover products and services that match their needs. It's also the engine small businesses use to reach their most likely customers, at an affordable price. We believe that's good for small businesses and for the people that love their products. And we want more people to know why.

There's a lot to unpack in that statement, but it's worth noting what Facebook doesn't say. Facebook never talks about tracking, because it doesn't want you to think about tracking. It doesn't want you to think about the fact that the company's goal is to get you to allow it to track everything you do online so that it can show those personalized ads.

The thing is, that's not at risk. Apple isn't ending personalized ads--or even tracking, for that matter. It's just requiring apps to ask permission first.

This leads to an interesting question. Who is the ad for? Is Facebook hoping Apple will change its mind? That doesn't seem likely. Tim Cook has already made the company's position clear.

The company won't stop Facebook from tracking you, but it will have to ask you for permission first.

Why, then, is Facebook so worried? Because it knows what everyone else already knows--that when given a choice, most people will choose to not allow Facebook to track them.

If that happens to be bad for Facebook's business, that isn't Apple's fault. It just means that Facebook's business model is based on something most people would prefer it didn't do.
Damian Dovarganes/AP

Amid a burgeoning recall effort and ugly poll numbers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has now become the butt of jokes on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

The new sketch released Saturday, called "Vaccine Game Show," features Dr. Anthony Fauci (played by Kate McKinnon) hosting a game show titled "So You Think You Can Get the Vaccine," with prominent governors serving as the show's judges.
Former American ambassador to India Richard Celeste has come out with his memoir in which he shares many interesting facts including the sensational defection of Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana from India on a US visa.

Celeste, who served as ambassador from 1997 to 2001 when Bill Clinton was president, first came to India in the 1960s as an assistant to the then envoy here Chester Bowles.

In "Life in American Politics & Diplomatic Years in India: An Unvarnished Account", Celeste shares "as honestly as I can the influences that led me to devote my life to public service - both in and beyond the political arena".

He says he has tried to "illuminate some of the dark corners of political life" in his book, published by Har-Anand Publications.

On a March night in 1967, Celeste was suddenly called to the American embassy. On reaching there, he came to know that a woman Svetlana Alliluyeva was at the embassy with a pair of suitcases asking for asylum. She had presented a Russian passport and claimed to be Stalin's daughter.

"It didn't take much imagination to suspect the Russians were up to something. A few weeks earlier the Soviets had sent a new number two to their embassy in New Delhi who, according to the agency, specialised in black propaganda," the author says.

" There were regular efforts to recruit young American officers by Soviet intelligence. The Stalin daughter ploy might be another effort to embarrass us," he claims.

"Her story was hard to believe. Not only did this woman say she was Stalins daughter, she claimed to be the common-law wife of an older Indian gentleman who worked at the Foreign Language Press in Moscow

"Her husband had died the previous November. She had promised to bring his ashes from Moscow to immerse them in the Ganges. Six months had passed. She had stayed in India after scattering the ashes. She now wanted asylum," Celeste writes.

According to him, all were worried that at "any moment that she might cry rape or that the Soviet Embassy would allege we had kidnapped her. We would be ordered to produce her and she would confirm whatever wild accusations had been made by the Soviets".

Svetlana told the American officials she had come back to Delhi that weekend - March 5 was a Monday - and taken an apartment at the Russian Embassy compound. The Russians expected her to take the Aeroflot flight to Moscow very early Thursday morning.

The last straw, she alleged, occurred when the Soviet Ambassador invited her to lunch that afternoon and served Polish ham. She ate the vegetables on her plate but didn't touch the ham, thus offending the ambassador.

"What's happened to you," he asked her, adding whether she has become a "vegetarian, a Hindu", the book says.

After talking to her at the consular office here, the Americans were left with three options - inform the Indian government and make a formal request for its help in facilitating her departure, turn her away or give a visa to the US but buy her a ticket only half way, Celeste recalls.

So it was decided to "give her the visa and let her know she has got to get on the plane on her own".

Soon a cable message was sent to Washington around 2030 hours: "Individual claiming to be Stalin's daughter arrived at Embassy 1910 hours seeking asylum. Unable to confirm identity. Concerned that individual may be a provocation. Propose to issue a US visa but send her to Rome on Quantas ETD 0100 hours. Seek your guidance."

There was a Quantas flight to Rome that would leave at one in the morning.

Thus Svetlana reached Rome from where she travelled to Geneva later.

"An already delicate situation became more delicate the next day when, at every post around the world, meetings between Soviet and American diplomats were called off. One of the reasons behind the Soviet Ambassador's eagerness to persuade Svetlana to return home was that he himself was headed back to Moscow for reassignment," the book says.

The KGB chief too was livid and demanded an answer from the CIA station chief in Delhi on why Svetlana was "kidnapped".

Celeste claims that later it was found out that the "Soviets had decided that Svetlana's departure was an Indian, not an American, problem".

"The Indians had simply not taken proper care of this very important visitor. The Soviets went very hard at the Indira Gandhi government. After a couple of weeks LK Jha, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister at the time, was sent by Indira Gandhi to meet Svetlana in Switzerland, where she'd moved," he writes.

"Jha tried to talk her into returning to Moscow saying that her defection was harming relations between two countries she loved and because her children wanted her back in Russia. One of her children was a doctor and the other was an academic, and she talked to them on the phone with Jha observing.

"The children urged her to return, but she refused, saying that she simply would not return to Moscow under any circumstances," the book says.

Eventually, Svetlana left Switzerland and came to the US. "The brouhaha in Delhi subsided."
People stood in long lines for water and food at grocery stores and food distribution sites, stayed overnight in warming centers, and crashed with friends and family while electricity cut out and pipes burst in their homes.

Although its unclear how many people are still displaced because of the storm, reports from various cities suggest that thousands across Texas may have been forced to seek shelter.

In Fort Worth, almost 200 people took refuge at a convention center. In Dallas, a convention center housed about 650 people, The Texas Tribune reported, and one site in Houston had almost 800 people, while some 500 people were living in emergency shelters in Austin, officials said. Even in Del Rio, a smaller city, officials reported that almost 40 people had to stay at the citys warming center.

There are very real possibilities that the coronavirus either had superspreader events or was more easily transmissible because people were congregated indoors for long periods of time, Dr. Jetelina said. It is a little bit worrying.

But cases could also go the other way, she said, because millions of people were forced to stay home while work and school were largely canceled. With the data reporting lags, it is still too early to tell, she noted, so the full impact from the Texas storm on case numbers will not be known for at least another week. Even then, Dr. Jetelina said, it will be hard to tell whether an uptick in cases is related to the storm or to new, more contagious variants  or to a combination of both.
Sen. Sasse Rebuked by Nebraskas GOP Committee

Nebraskas Republican Party has voted to rebuke Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) for his vote to impeach former President Donald Trump earlier this year and other aspects of Sasses service in Washington, arguing that he wasnt representing his constituents wishes.

The Nebraska GOPs State Central Committee approved an expression of disappointment resolution against Sasse, who won reelection last year with Trumps backing,

The resolution also says Sasse, when first elected, promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, but has failed to take any meaningful action to fulfill that or any other promise he made during campaign season.

It also noted that Sasse requested and received an endorsement from Trump but now criticizes supporters of the former president, including Nebraska Republicans.

And it highlighted how Sasse has said he refused to vote for Trump in 2016, which, if broadly followed, would have led to a win for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Sasse also was criticized for his reaction to lawsuits brought on behalf of Trump but not saying anything about the approximately 200 lawsuits brought by Democrats seeking weaker election security protocols, his silence on the closure of major industries due to President Joe Bidens halting of the Keystone XL pipeline, and his failure to take steps to reform the U.S. immigration policy.

Sasse voted Feb. 13 to convict Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection, even as 43 of his GOP colleagues voted no. Trump was acquitted.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Nebraska Republican Party Central Committee expresses its deep disappointment and sadness with respect to the service of Senator Ben Sasse and calls for an immediate re-adjustment whereby he represents the people of Nebraska to Washington and not Washington to the people of Nebraska and stands rebuked, the resolution concludes.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) leaves the chamber as the Senate voted to consider hearing from witnesses in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2021. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

The resolution was passed in lieu of a censure. Other Republican senators who voted to convict Trump were censured by state parties, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Sasse has been censured by county GOPs.

The executive committee was divided on whether to censure Sasse, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Carol Friesen, chairwoman of the Lincoln County GOP, said she wanted a censure, but would support the resolution if that was the only choice.

Pat McPherson, who used to be a member of the Nebraska State Board of Education, argued a censure could end up boosting Sasse. When you start using the term censure, you turn around and promote what he thinks will be helpful for his run for the presidency, McPherson said.

In a response statement, Sasse said, There are lots of good people involved in party activism and I care about them, but most Nebraskans dont think politics should be about the weird worship of one dude.

His spokesman added: Bens won far more votes and also earned more censures than anybody in Nebraska history, so maybe the two actually go hand in hand. He doesnt stick his finger in the wind.
New Delhi: The Centre has told the states witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases that there's a need for effective testing and comprehensive tracking. The Centre has also directed these states to monitor the mutant strain and clustering of cases for early hotspot identification and control.

The Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba chaired a high-level review meeting with Chief Secretaries of Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir. These states/UT have been reporting a high active caseload in the last week.

In the meeting, it was underlined that they need to follow effective surveillance strategies in respect of potential super spreading events.

"Need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation of positive cases and quick quarantine of close contacts were also strongly emphasized," said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The meeting to review and discuss the COVID-19 management and response strategy, held through video conference, was attended by the Chief Secretaries and senior health professionals of the states/UT along with the Union Health Secretary, DG ICMR, NITI Aayog Empowered Group members, and representatives from Home Ministry.

Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have shown a surge in new cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 8,623 and is followed by Kerala with 3,792 while Punjab reported 595 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours.

In the last two weeks, Maharashtra has shown the highest rise in active coronavirus cases from 34,449 on February 14 to 72,530 currently.

A detailed presentation was made on the current status of COVID-19 in these states with a focus on districts reporting an increasing number of new cases, increasing trend in positivity and having a concerning testing trend. This was followed by a comprehensive review with all the states/UT.

The Chief Secretaries briefed about the current situation in the states and their preparedness to tackle the recent spike of COVID-19 cases. They informed about the enforcement of COVID Appropriate Behavior by levying heavy fines and challans, reviewing the surveillance and containment activities closely with the District Collectors, and other steps being taken in line with the guidelines provided by MoHFW and MHA.

The Cabinet Secretary reiterated that states need to maintain a continued rigorous vigil in terms of containing the spread and not squander away the gains of the collective hard work of the last year. They were advised not to lower their guard, enforce COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour and deal firmly with violations.

The states were advised to take the following steps:

1. Improve the overall testing in districts reporting a reduction in testing.

2. Increase RT- PCR tests in states & districts having high antigen testing.

3. Refocus on surveillance and stringent containment in selected districts reporting reduced tests/high positivity and increased cases.

4. Monitor mutant strain and clustering of cases for early hotspot identification and control.

5. Focus on clinical management in districts reporting higher deaths.

6. Undertake priority vaccination in districts reporting higher cases.

7. Promote COVID-appropriate behavior ensure effective citizen communication to not let complacency set in, especially in light of vaccination drive entering the next phase; and enforcing stringent social distancing measures.

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The United States on Sunday said it was disappointed Iran had ruled out an informal meeting to discuss ways to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers as observers say Tehran's rejection threatens to further stoke tensions with Washington.

'While we are disappointed at Iran's response, we remain ready to reengage in meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to compliance with JCPOA commitments,' a White House spokeswoman said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran nuclear deal.

She said Washington would be consulting with its P5+1 partners, the four other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom - plus Germany on the best way forward.

The White House reacted to the Iranian government's decision to reject a European offer to arrange direct negotiations with the United States. News of Iran's refusal was reported on Sunday by The Wall Street Journal.

The Biden administration on Sunday expressed disappointment that Iran's government turned down a European offer to arrange direct talks between American and Iranian diplomats. President Joe Biden is seen left. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is seen right

Before resuming discussions with Washington, Iran is insisting that the Biden administration lift all unilateral sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump.

'Considering the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, Iran does not consider this the time to hold an informal meeting with these countries, which was proposed by the EU foreign policy chief,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, according to Iranian media.

Germanys foreign minister on Wednesday urged Iran to accept diplomatic overtures coming from the West in order to preserve the 2015 nuclear accord.

Heiko Maas accused Tehran of further undermining the transparency it is required to show under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, after Iran began restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities on Tuesday.

In this file handout photo provided by Maxar Technologies on January 8, 2020 shows an overview of Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), northeast of the Iranian city of Qom. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran is enriching uranium at levels well beyond the limits called for under the 2015 nuclear accord

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had added 17.6 kilograms (38.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 20 per cent to its stockpile as of February 16  far past the 3.67 per cent purity allowed under the JCPOA.

'In the end, Iran needs to understand that whats important is to de-escalate and accept the offer of diplomacy thats on the table, including from the United States,' Maas said.

Irans violations of the JCPOA pose a significant problem for President Joe Biden, who is seeking to reverse the Trump administrations decision to pull the US unilaterally out of the deal three years ago, triggering the re-imposition of crippling economic sanctions on Iran.

Iran this week effectively set a deadline to lift those sanctions within three months, after which it said it would erase surveillance footage of its nuclear facilities

Maas said the transparency required of Iran under the JCPOA wouldnt be fulfilled during that period.

'But we still want to use these three months, together with other partners in the nuclear agreement, to discuss step by step how the US can return to this accord,' Maas said.

'And in particular (the discussion) will be about the sequence of measures. That is, who needs to take which step so that a general agreement can be achieved at the end of which the US are part of this agreement again.'

Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear late Tuesday that his country doesnt have confidence in the accord with Tehran.

Iran on Saturday condemned US air strikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria, and denied responsibility for rocket attacks on American targets in Iraq that prompted Fridays strikes. Pictured is a map showing the location of the compound on the Syria-Iraq border

The airstrike was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, after repeated tensions between Iran and the Trump White House over the previous four years which reached a peak following Qassem Soleimani's killing in early 2020

Despite the devastating scene, Pentagon sources said the attack was 'the more restrained option' which they took to 'draw a line' with the Iranians. Pictured is damage on the ground

'We have already seen the quality of agreements with extremist regimes such as yours, in the past century and in this one, with the government of North Korea,' he said.

'With or without agreements - we will do everything so that you will not arm yourselves with nuclear weapons.'

Tensions between the US and Iran remain high.

Iran on Saturday condemned US air strikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria, and denied responsibility for rocket attacks on American targets in Iraq that prompted Fridays strikes.

Washington said its strikes on positions of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah paramilitary group along the Iraq border were in response to the rocket attacks on US targets in Iraq.

Western officials and some Iraqi officials have blamed those attacks on Iran-backed groups.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday condemned the US strikes as 'illegal and a violation of Syria's sovereignty'

However, Tehran has denied any involvement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday condemned the US strikes as 'illegal and a violation of Syria's sovereignty' in a meeting with his visiting Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, Iran's state media reported.

'Zarif said some recent attacks and incidents in Iraq are suspect, and could be designed to disrupt Iran-Iraq relations and Iraqs security and stability,' the media reports said.

'We emphasize the need for the Iraqi government to find the perpetrators of these incidents,' Zarif was quoted as saying.

Hussein gave assurances that 'Baghdad will not allow incidents in this country to be used to disrupt the excellent relations between the two countries,' state media reported.

Progress has been made in talks on Iran's frozen funds and Baghdad would facilitate Tehrans access to its funds, Hussein added.

Some $6billion in Iranian funds have been blocked in Iraq because of US sanctions.

Iran's top security official, Ali Shamkhani, met Hussein earlier and said Friday's US air strikes encouraged terrorism in the region.

Hussein is in Iran 'to discuss regional developments, including ways to balance relations and avoid tension and escalation' with Iranian officials, according to an Iraqi foreign ministry statement.

An Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the US strikes killed one fighter and wounded four.

US officials said they were limited in scope to show that the Biden administration would act firmly while trying to avoid a big regional escalation.
I am so pissed, reading about all of these racist and violent attacks, are there places or resources to donate to or contribute to?

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Here there are links to local orgs in the Bay and LA, but not sure about NY based. If anyone knows of them, feel free to share!

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Thank you bb!

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/nymag.com/strategist/amp/article/where-to-donate-to-help-asian-communities-2021.html NY (and national links)

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I donated to a local facility near me in LA! Thank you for sharing!

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This is Jacob Azevedo. He is organizing volunteers to help him accompany seniors & anybody in Chinatown who feels unsafewhile running errands.



Hes working with the Chinatown Chamber to connect with businesses.



To volunteer you can email him at CompassionInOakland@gmail.com pic.twitter.com/cYmbsjRtsj  Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) February 5, 2021 This is for people in Oakland and idk if he's still doing this (he's not accepting anymore GoFundMe donations), but I saw this a few weeks back:

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https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfaxA211RRDy6f8zZ4HN3s6O4_hezDrJmY7YoOtTt-He3GKmQ/closedform This page for MINARI Virtual Movie Screening, is closed but it has a small list of places:

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Good for her tbh!

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Half-white Asians being the only acceptable/marketable Asians is a conversation but this isn't the fucking time or place. And I feel like our elders need armed escorts at this point, tbh.

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I agree with that but I'm assuming there's been times in her life when people have seen her as full.... that's definitely happened to me. Within the span of like 2 weeks I had one guy tell me I spoke really good English and then a professor tell me it wasn't even noticeable I was mixed race.



Edited at 2021-02-28 10:31 pm (UTC)

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i've started to respond to "you speak really good english" with "wow, so do you" to these clueless yts and their confusion and offense is priceless. also, i hate that half the time, it's some guy using it as a flirting tactic. it's like their go to after dropping the nihao or konichiwa or more recently, the annyeonghasaeyo. gross at your professor though. you think they'd know better with that big bad education. it's those microaggressions that really mess with your psyche.

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people always have to share their opinions on what they think you are. it's so insulting and frustrating because no one realizes the damage they're doing when they bring it up.

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that whole story is so fkn scary and awful, glad the mfker got caught

That lady who got pushed, she's younger than my mom. My mom is white, mind you, that's not what this is about... it's just I can't imagine having to worry about my tiny little angel of a mom getting attacked in public like that. In her fifties. She hit her head, she easily could have died. And it's shocking to me to see how little every bystander does to help? They don't rush to help her, and they don't rush to stop him. They seem scared, and I get that, but why does nobody rush to see if she's okay??? ughhh this sucks on so many levels but I'm so so glad social media worked. and above all, that she recovered.



i love what Olivia said and the way she said it. not sure i quite understand the other person's reactions but the fact that she stood up for herself like that, idk, it was cool to see.

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Has she written anything about her childhood in Japan?

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Glad they caught that POS.

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Genuine question, has attacks on asian descent people been on the rise or has it always been there, its just finally being reported on? I feel like its the latter. People doing this especially to elderly people belong in hell.

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Not an expert, but I think it's both  always been there, but probably on the rise because of the state of the world/having an American leader who actively promoted racism against Asians by associating them with a deadly pandemic. I feel racists in general have feel empowered by 45. Just because he's out of power won't magically make things better. If anything, his followers are feeling wounded and needing to lash out at someone.

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Other people have put it more eloquently than me lol:



The past year has seen rampant demonization of China, escalated by the politicization of the pandemic and associated "China virus" discourse.



This is not simply an Asian American issue devoid of global context. We must name Sinophobia in order to fight white supremacist violence  MTP (@tsengputterman) February 8, 2021



Edited at 2021-02-28 10:27 pm (UTC) It has always been happening but skyrocketed this past year due to COVID scapegoating and increased Sinophobia (and since racists can't tell different Asians apart they attack anyone they think is Chinese).Other people have put it more eloquently than me lol:

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ive seen sinophobic comments on ontd too, esp with posts about tiktok. acting like china is an enemy for it when the US literally has facebook.

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Its just like after 9/11 racists attacked, verbally and/or physically, anyone they thought was middle eastern. If corona started in Sweden would they attack any blonde with blue eyes? Nope.

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like the user above said, a sad mix of both, but it's skyrocketed because of covid and I don't hear much about it... if it wasn't for social media, I mean. but it's an absolute emergency

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I know some members of ONTD are going to eyeroll this claim and say "the world doesn't revolve around the US", but the reason why things have gotten violent at such a wide scale is because of Trump (and other racist politicians in the US and beyond using similar rhetoric). He emboldened racists and xenophobes because he was able to spread anti-Asian/Sinophobic rhetoric with a global microphone without any real repercussion, and he provided an easy scapegoat to all the problems people are facing due to COVID (especially financial hardship during COVID because Asians are already seen as economic threats so the COVID leap is even easier). It is not a coincidence that media studies found a sharp increase (I can't remember the exact number, but it was about 10x iirc) in anti-Asian rhetoric on Twitter and 4chan (both sites that are not US only) starting from when Trump called COVID "China virus" for the first time.



And honestly, this increase has always happened since the start of lockdown. The only reason why it's getting attention now is because A) an Asian elder died, B) there's video, and C) it increased EVEN MORE than it already did because of Lunar New Years. Otherwise, people still wouldn't care and pretend it isn't a problem. And that's the part that makes me fucking sick is that it took THAT MUCH for people to even acknowledge it. It shouldn't take that much suffering from our community to have our experiences of racism and violence taken seriously, but that's model minority myth for you.



(Sorry if I'm ranting a lot, anti-Asian discrimination during COVID is my research area at the moment; and a part of me is extremely bitter that my concerns, research, and stress as an Asian student of color were not taken seriously until recently. That, and ONTD does have a history of being anti-Asian, so there's also resentment in how ONTD ~suddenly cares~ when some of them said really fucked up shit or still support celebrities that have a history of being anti-Asian)



Edited at 2021-02-28 11:06 pm (UTC) It's on the rise, but has always existed. There have been cases such as the death of Vincent Chin , but there is a definite rise. At its core, Vincent Chin's death and the violent attacks against Asian elders is tied to xenophobia and "yellow peril" beliefs (that Asians are perpetual foreigners, threatening invaders that challenge White/Western dominance, and uncivilized people with questionable practices and carriers of disease). Looking beyond violent attacks, it's pretty much the history of Asian Americans in terms of structural racism (immigration/Chinese Exclusion Act, citizenship, land ownership, Japanese American internment, etc).I know some members of ONTD are going to eyeroll this claim and say "the world doesn't revolve around the US", but the reason why things have gotten violent at such a wide scale is because of Trump (and other racist politicians in the US and beyond using similar rhetoric). He emboldened racists and xenophobes because he was able to spread anti-Asian/Sinophobic rhetoric with a global microphone without any real repercussion, and he provided an easy scapegoat to all the problems people are facing due to COVID (especially financial hardship during COVID because Asians are already seen as economic threats so the COVID leap is even easier). It is not a coincidence that media studies found a sharp increase (I can't remember the exact number, but it was about 10x iirc) in anti-Asian rhetoric on Twitter and 4chan (both sites that are not US only) starting from when Trump called COVID "China virus" for the first time.And honestly, this increase has always happened since the start of lockdown. The only reason why it's getting attention now is because A) an Asian elder died, B) there's video, and C) it increased EVEN MORE than it already did because of Lunar New Years. Otherwise, people still wouldn't care and pretend it isn't a problem. And that's the part that makes me fucking sick is that it took THAT MUCH for people to even acknowledge it. It shouldn't take that much suffering from our community to have our experiences of racism and violence taken seriously, but that's model minority myth for you.(Sorry if I'm ranting a lot, anti-Asian discrimination during COVID is my research area at the moment; and a part of me is extremely bitter that my concerns, research, and stress as an Asian student of color were not taken seriously until recently. That, and ONTD does have a history of being anti-Asian, so there's also resentment in how ONTD ~suddenly cares~ when some of them said really fucked up shit or still support celebrities that have a history of being anti-Asian)

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https://instagram.com/p/CLXj7OurMs_



In some places it has really skyrocketed.



Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu have been very vocal about it. They are also both very hot, which is unrelated but worth noting. In some places it has really skyrocketed.Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu have been very vocal about it. They are also both very hot, which is unrelated but worth noting.

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At least the crime statistics have shown it's gone up significantly in proportion compared to previous years. It's really quite alarming because of how random they are. The fact that this has been spurred by rhetoric blaming "the Chinese" for COVID-19 and that being taken to mean "any Asian" is so fucking bleak. Reminds me of the post-9/11 increase in attacks on anyone South Asian or Middle Eastern. Our country is so fucked in the head.

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It's been around, I would always read about it, usually just verbal attacks/confrontations on sites like "angry asian man".

But this past year it's up like 2000%, and it's more physical attacks.



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Attack on Asian elders are not new but they've not been as blatant and confrontational as they are now. It doesn't get reported because news outlets don't deem it newsworthy or the victims don't want to cause more of a stir because they don't want to get jumped a second time, compounded by the fact that they don't want to deal with the police because they're not fluent enough to express their outrage and the severity of the attack.



After a certain age, falling in the wrong way can really put to perspective how fragile your body's become and a lot of these elderly never heal right afterwards. The last thing they want to is piss more people off.

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It's on the rise. Someone else replied with a statistic. From the trade war to calling covid "China virus", Trump definitely riled up his base by spreading hatred, fear, and distrust of China. My coworker's Chinese-American mom had a man tell her to go back to her country recently.

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"basically white" if your concept of white is based on three passive-aggressive tweets about race and nothing else.



my fiance is half korean and while he's experienced a lot of racism over the years, he's said that it's skyrocketed since the pandemic hit. he says he can take care of himself, which i don't doubt but i still worry, but he worries for his grandmother since she enjoys taking walks. we've all taken turns accompanying her but the worry is still there.

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It feels like the Asian American community's vocal expression of hurt and pain has somehow fueled even more attacks, probably because the perpetrators know how much these hate crimes have been affecting us from the attention it's been getting. They know that their actions are leaving a great psychological impact on the community at large, and that they're likely to get away with it due to casual downplaying of anti-Asian rhetoric. Idk what the solution to this would be since we can't stop being outspoken about it.

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I've also been thinking about how the perception of Asian American communities as robust, insulated, and self-supporting has possibly contributed to the lack of urgency on the part of casual observers. Like the story about the family being targeted relentlessly by groups of teenagers, leading to the neighborhood organizing a nightly watch. It's framed like a heartwarming story that makes people think that the majority of people will go to bat for the Asians in their lives since these families are just being "good Americans", in a sense. In reality, a lot of people of Asian heritage living the U.S. don't necessarily have these supportive networks in place, especially if they're recent immigrants or are part of a more marginalized/socioeconomically disadvantaged ethnicity. There's a lot of stratification even within the community.



Edited at 2021-02-28 10:59 pm (UTC)

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NGL i'm not asian and there's this idea in my community that most asian communities (young and old) have always stuck to themselves and sort of segregated themselves and when other pocs would speak out against discrimination, they would be looked down upon by them. Therefore they should solve this current wave of racism by themselves. There's a lot of bitterness but also people forget how close most of our histories and experiences are. That 9/10 most of our parents and grand parents immigrated to the West for much of the same reasons and that most of us in our 20-30's have to deal with racism in ways that are so relatable and would be the foundation for mutual empathy.

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exactly. it's also why media like 'crazy rich asians' and 'bling empire' are so harmful. of course representation is important and these are probably the stories that the studios find marketable, but my god the real world impact in perpetuating the model minority myth is horrible.



those narratives completely erase the refugees, undocumented Asians, and impoverished Asian immigrants who miss out on public services because they are all lumped into one demographic.



Edited at 2021-02-28 11:48 pm (UTC)

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Oh I thought she was half Japanese bc I saw this , but according to Google her fam was stationed in Japan and then minored in Japanese in college. Interesting.

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I feel like there are aspects of her response that are problematic, but overall I get what she means. this post reminded me of a conversation I had with my mom the other day: I'm adopted, born in South America but live in the US now, and my adoptive mom is white, raised me in suburbia, sent me to a liberal arts college, etc. we were talking about something the other day and she made a comment to the effect of, "well, you're basically white," and there are not enough therapy sessions in the world lmao. like, I understood what she meant and it's true that I was raised by a white parent and am definitely more white-passing than not and I had the privilege of many "white" experiences, but like.......there was not a day in my life when I wasn't reminded, subconsciously or not, of being Other.

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too fucking relatable. i get a lot of, "you sound white" well ok, but my skin is still brown so... 



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If youre not in a transracial adoptee group you might want to join one, there are some good ones im in on Facebook

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this is a really great suggestion and not something that ever occurred to me! do you have any particular ones you found really helpful? I definitely have felt a lack of, and subsequently resistance to, any kind of community throughout my life and it's something I'm really hoping to change.

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I mean... she's always been problematic, especially her need to fake an accent whenever she's quoting her mom for laughs. I wouldn't be surprised if she internalized a lot of racist micro-aggressions from co-hosting Attack on the Show where she's basically their T&A. But when it comes to talking about racism in this instance, I'd cut her some slack.



It's a problem Asian Americans have always struggled to discuss because the Black community have always had it worst. At the very least, Asian Americans don't get shot for leaving their house. Micro-aggressions, passive aggressive racist jokes have always been directed to Asian Americans, almost daring those who are the punch line of the jokes to not laugh. It's hard to talk about how these types of jokes are racist when no one in the room sees it that way, and it makes it even worse when other Asians in the room (if any) don't even back you up to avoid confrontation. Not talking about it, not having real conversations about it means it's hard to contextualize the issue and find the right words to express the hurt and outrage. So yeah, I'd give her a pass in this instance.



That person who accused her of being white is a racist, gate-keeping dick.



Edited at 2021-03-01 02:43 am (UTC)

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I saw a white guy on Instagram saying that Asians are different colored white people. I wanted to throw him in a volcano. We are white when it benefits white narratives (look at those model minorities who shut up and work hard and make so much money) and non white when they want to blame someone for something (COVID, lack of jobs re: see Vincent Chin whose killers paid a fine and NEVER served time).



We are NOT and NEVER will be white and like Olivia said, we dont want to be white. I am fed the fuck up with this violence and scared for my fellow Asians, especially the elders. Im glad that more attention is being brought to this bc for a while no major news outlets were even covering this.

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"Okay... I'm surprised she's missing this but..."



Lol I hate that HLN host

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Yeah I was like "uh she's probably busying healing???" wth lol.

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Has anyone seen The Takes video on Jewish American Princesses. I know there have been posts on some of their video but this one in particular is hard to watch because the narrator and some of the video clips they show (I think mostly from crazy ex girlfriend) keep on saying the abbreviation of Jewish American Princess aloud and I dont know if they realize that term is a slur/hate speech towards Asians. It seems that the abbreviation of Jewish American Princess is being reclaimed by those affected by it but there is a whole other community that is still hurt by that term. Like I couldnt finish the video cause it made me wince each time I heard the word.

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Ive been INCREDIBLY vocal on my hate of The Take but people eat that shit up here.

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lol I feel this way about that slur too but a lot of my friends actually don't know it's a slur (and i'm in asia). it might be a little antiquated at this point because it stems from wwII

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Although the word stems from ww2 era, its still a relevant term that still does harm to those it is aimed at. I think its more known as a slur/hate speech in the u.s. than in Asia because anti Japanese sentiments during ww2 was also targeted towards to Japanese/Asian Americans living in the u.s.

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Also, Jewish Australian Princess.

The first time I heard someone use that term I was so alarmed (a couple of friends were using it to describe themselves).

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I'm very thankful Olivia and other high-profile AA actors like Daniel Dae Kim and Simu Liu have been speaking out and doing what they can to help the community. She talks about her Asian American experience all the time in interviews and I found her relatable.



I also cannot stand how people erase half Asian identities. YES, half Asian people can benefit from their European features (for White half-Asians at least) but how they identify with their cultures is their own experience and people shouldn't be so entitled to take that away from them.

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A father-of-five died in a hail of bullets outside a pool hall during a night out in in what police think was a botched drive-by shooting of the wrong man.

Ikenasio 'Sio' Tuivasa, 33, was outside the All Star Lounge pool hall on Westwood Drive in Ravenhall, Melbourne, when he was shot at midnight on Saturday.

There was no warning, as Mr Tuivasa, originally from Samoa, was enjoying his night with family and friends.

Father-of-five Ikenasio 'Sio' Tuivasa, 33, was shot dead outside a pall hall during a night out with friends and family at midnight on Saturday

Ikenasio 'Sio' Tuivasa with his beloved family. His grieving friends and relatives can't understand how a night out could lead to his being shot dead in a flurry of bullets

His family rushed him to hospital where he died.

Distraught relatives posted messages of loss online on Sunday, sharing their grief for the much-loved father and brother.

'You took a piece of my heart with you so make sure you look after it properly, OK,' wrote one grief-stricken relative on Facebook.

'We love and miss you so much, our brother shorty, rest in god's loving arms bro til that glorious day.'

This 24-year-old man from Williams Landing was shot in the leg. Pictured: he limped back the next day to retrieve his car from outside the All Star Lounge pool hall in Ravenhall

The All Star Lounge pool hall on Westwood Drive in Ravenhall where the shooting occurred

Victoria Police Homicide Squad Detective Sergeant Simon Quinnell said the midnight shooters may have got the wrong man, as it was unlikely they deliberately targeted Mr Tuivasa.

'He was a family man and certainly someone you wouldn't expect this to occur to,' he told reporters on Sunday.

'We've looked in to the deceased's criminal background - very little is there, and certainly nothing to suggest anything he'd be involved in would lead to this.'

As the gunmen fired shots from their moving vehicle, another man caught a bullet in the leg and was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Mr Tuivasa lost his life after he was shot outside the pool hall. Family and friends rushed him to hospital but he couldn't be saved

Detectives and local police set up markers around the scene and bagged a tomahawk that was found outside the venue on Sunday

The 24-year-old from Williams Landing limped back to the scene yesterday to retrieve his car, telling news crews he was just unlucky to be hit.

'Wrong time, wrong place,' he said.

Lounge owner Makram Richani said loud music drowned out the noise of the shots - the first he knew was when people ran in with the man who was shot in the leg.

'People started running in, no one knew what was going on,' he told the Herald Sun.

'We brought the man upstairs and I was on the phone to the paramedics.

'The guy who got shot in his right leg, near the knee, I was applying pressure to it. He'd been a patron for three years.'

Police forensics office found a black tomahawk on the ground outside the hall on Sunday, which was taken as evidence.

A number of shots were fired from a moving vehicle outside a pool hall on Westwood Drive at Ravenhall around midnight. Pictured: the scene

The reckless killers who shot into a crowd of people outside a pool hall on a Saturday night are still on the run.

Police said on Sunday afternoon that nobody has yet been arrested or charged.

'No arrests have been made and the investigation into the incident remains ongoing,' Sergeant Julie-Anne Newman said in a release.

Police are urging nearby businesses who may have CCTV footage to help them with their recordings.

Police asked anyone who witnessed the incident or with any information to call them.
Lately, the cat hasnt been dragging in much of anything. Pet food has become the latest pandemic item to fall prey to supply shortages and panic-buying.

Companies like Nestle Purina and Freshpet are experiencing major production obstacles that have left some pet food shelves and fridges empty across the country.

The causes are manifold. Manufacturers are juggling extreme winter weather, a meteoric rise in pet ownership, COVID-19 cases that can cause delays on the factory floor and overzealous shoppers stocking up on pet food just like they did toilet paper in March.

Honestly, were just having trouble keeping up, Freshpet President Scott Morris told NJ Advance Media.

About 500-employees large, Freshpet is a healthy pet food company headquartered in Secaucus. A canvas of stores in Union County found one Freshpet refrigerator half stocked and another wiped virtually clean.

An Freshpet refrigerator sits empty in a New Jersey retailer.Josh Axelrod | NJ Advance Media

On an earnings call this week, CEO Billy Cyr acknowledged the company has spent the first quarter of 2021 digging out of a trade inventory hole we dug. He estimated it would take at least mid or late April to fully restock fridges.

When asked about shortages in their stores, spokespeople from Wegmans Food Markets and Stop & Shop pointed first to the disruption caused by recent snowstorms.

We are experiencing a shortage on some wet cat food products due to challenges from the winter weather across the country the past few weeks, Wegmans Spokesperson Marcie Rivera wrote NJ Advance Media in an email. Manufacturers arent able to produce and distribute as many cases creating shortages across the industry. We are working with our suppliers to secure as much as product as possible and hope to get more product back on the shelves soon.

A New Jersey retailer posts a "temporarily out of stock" notice in front of a pet food product.Josh Axelrod | NJ Advance Media

For Freshpet, where almost all manufacturing takes place in Bethlehem, Penn., the winter weather that slammed the Northeast derailed production.

When youre running right on the edge, and you have to all of a sudden shut down manufacturing  we lost two days from a couple different snowstorms and that just kills you, Morris said.

Of course, the skyrocketing demand for pet food is a primary factor as well. By now, most are familiar with the idea of pandemic puppies  the rise in pet adoptions among those whove suddenly found themselves at home all the time and in need of a companion.

So, with plenty of new pandemic pets boosting demand, its only natural that supply would fall. Throughout the pandemic, thats often led to panic-buying which only exacerbates supply issues.

When people start feeling that theres some scarcity and then they start buying a lot, the problem just balloons, fres said.

The Pet Food Institute, a trade association representing most of Americas pet food manufacturers, strongly encourages pet-owners to keep a supply of at least two weeks worth of food, but to only buy what they regularly need, in order to help minimize additional strain on distribution.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Josh Axelrod may be reached at jaxelrod@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
George Floyd: Minneapolis to Hire Influencers During Derek Chauvin Trial

Minneapolis officials will be paying six locally popular social media influencers to disseminate messages in an effort to deter riots during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer charged with the killing of George Floyd. Chauvins trial is set to begin on March 8.

On Friday, $1,181,500 was secured for the plan to keep the community calm. The influencers will be communicating specifically with black, Native American, and Latin American communities among other minority communities. Each one of the social media personalities will be paid $2,000, according to WCCO.

The City is collaborating with social media partners to share public information with cultural communities and to help dispel potential misinformation during the upcoming trials of the former officers involved in the killing of George Floyd, stated the Minneapolis City Council.

The Council says that their goal is to: Increase access to information to communities that do not typically follow mainstream news sources or City communications channels and/or who do not consume information in English. Its also an opportunity to create more two-way communication between the City and communities. The recommendations for which social media messengers to partner with come from the Citys Neighborhood and Community Relations staff. The agreements with the social media partners have not been finalized. The City is adhering to procurement requirements for the selection and contracting processes.

Some people have expressed concern over possible bias involved in this plan.

The thing that is unique here is that youre actually talking about individual people who are considered influencers that then become authorities, Blois Olson, a local political analyst told KSTP. Or theyre using taxpayer dollars to pay a person, and whats thats persons politics? Whats that persons agenda?

An LAPD vehicle is set on fire by rioters in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 30, 2020. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Its a unique strategy for the city to compensate influencers to comment. But were in an era of great distrust, and everyone has different sources they trust, he said.

Its not clear what social media platforms the influencers will use.

Toussaint Morrison, a Minneapolis community activist expressed his concern to KSTP: If you go through lengths and measures to buy a narrative, what does that say about the leadership and trust that has been eroded in the past few years? he said.

You buy people to tell you that your emotions arent valid, or that you should stay home and not protest, or that certain things are more important than justice. So I really feel that them trying to buy the narrative from social media influencers is really disappointing, he added.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Feb, 2021 ) :President South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Iftikhar Ali Malik on Sunday said establishment of modern state of art multi billion Dollar central business district project would attract foreign and local investors besides generating economic activities in the country.

Talking to a delegation of investors led by Muslim Khan Binowari, he said the government has offered an excellent package of incentives to investors to set up their business concerns in this superb project ideally located in the heart of city.

He said Punjab government on the special directive of the Prime Minister Imran Khan had also chalked out a master plan for timely execution of this project.

He said that project of central business district would be reflections of modern hub of commercial activities under one umbrella.

He said it would match top world class business establishments, adding that 300 acres tract of project land would meet the business needs of the investors.

Iftikhar Ali Malik asked the corporate sector to come forward and take full advantage of this one of the best opportunity for secured investment.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was taking keen interest in this project and directed to give him briefing on its progress monthly.

He further said Prime Minister has attached great importance to projects of Ravi Riverfront Development Authority and CBD which, he added, would play key role in further stimulating commercial activities besides enhancing economic growth.
New Delhi, Feb 28 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be campaigning in Assam for two days from Monday where the Congress-led alliance is contesting against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be in Assam for campaigning on 1st and 2nd March," said her office.

On the first day, she will pray at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati and attend a cultural programme.

After that she will visit Sonari Gaon Panchayat in North Lakhimpur district to address party functionaries, and will also launch a statewide protest campaign for unemployed youths in Lakhimpur.

During the day she will also visit Madhavdeb Janamsthan and Rangajaan, and will pay homage to the Kanaklata Baruah statue in Gohpur.

As the Congress has focused on the situation of the tea estate workers, Priyanka on the second day will interact with women labourers in the Sadharu tea estate. She will also pray at the Mahabhairav temple in Tezpur and will address a rally later.

Priyanka Gandhi has so far been confined to Uttar Pradesh, but is now on a full fledged campaign spree and will also travel to Kerala, Puducheryy and West Bengal, sources say, while Rahul Gandhi will hold the fort in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the Congress got a shot in arm after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) estranged ally Bodoland People's Front (BPF) announced to snap ties with the party and join the Congress-led grand alliance to fight the Assembly polls.

The Congress had earlier formed the Mahagathbandhan with three Left parties -- CPI(M), CPI and CPI-ML -- as well as the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and the Anchalik Gana Morcha, two regional parties having a political base among the Muslims and indigenous people, respectively.

The Congress and the AIUDF had fought separately in 2016, and managed 26 and 13 seats, respectively.

The BJP has decided to fight the polls in western Assam's tribal dominated Bodoland area in alliance with new ally UPPL besides Asom Gana Parishad. In 2006 and 2011, the BPF was part of the Congress-led government in Assam, but before the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, the party broke ties with the Congress.

Huge budget deficits will dog every federal government into the 2030s, with the nations top economists urging Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to keep spending to help drive down unemployment and get the economy growing faster than it was before the pandemic recession.

The Scope survey of economists by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age show that on average, they expect the government to preside over a $161 billion deficit in the coming financial year, followed by a $111 billion shortfall in 2022-23.

Some of the nations top economists dont expect a return to surplus this decade, while predicting gross debt to reach $1.4 trillion.

That would follow a $197.7 billion deficit the government is forecasting for the current financial year.

The earliest any Scope economist expects the budget to get to surplus is 2025, but many believe it will not return to the black until the early 2030s. In its mid-year budget update, the Treasury projected deficits would be a feature of the nations finances at least to 2030-31.
Technology Business Incubator set up in Fakir Mohan University

Bhubaneswar, Feb 27 (UNI) A Technology Business Incubator was established in Fakir Mohan University at Balasore, in presence of Union Minister of state for MSME, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Pratap Chandra Sarangi on Saturday.



Addressing the faculty members, students and staff of F.M University, Mr Sarangi urged the students to stand on their own feet and to work towards the development of the country.



While lauding the University, the minister said: "I am happy that F.M University is the first among the state funded universities in the state to establish a Technology Business Incubator.



Mr Sharangi said and his ministry will help in all possible manner to the newly established TBI.



The MSME, the Union Minister said, can play a major role in boosting the employment potential of the country. He urged the students to rediscover their hidden talent and use this for not only their personal career development but also for development of the society.



Odisha ,he said, has a lot of scope in the field of fishery and animal husbandry, where value addition and innovation could be made to create more employment.



The TBI would play a major role in this direction, he added.



F.M University Vice Chancellor Dinabandhu Sahu said establishment of a Technology Business Incubator was long overdue. This will help the students and youth in building entrepreneurship, incubating new innovations and nurturing big ideas.



Balasore having a strong industrial background and of being close to Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, this TBI can work wonders in terms of economic boost, he said.



Mr. Sahu said since Bhubaneswar has already become an Information Technology City, Balasore would now become a Business hub and Technology hub.



UNI BD DP GK 1908
A blast from a cannon rang out in downtown Conroe where at least 400 people came out to Heritage Park to celebrate Texas history on Saturday.

Following the cancellation of the annual Washington on the Brazos event due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County teamed up with numerous historical and nonprofit groups to carry on with a free public event with a Conroe flair.

The event celebrated the stories of all peoples, lands, races, and creeds in Texas together.

We need to remember our independence and where we came from to come together, Heritage Museum Executive Director Joy Montgomery said. Weve been so divided, so under quarantine, and everything else that we have been through, I think it is important to celebrate those times and to come together, if we can.

Thats the wonderful thing about Montgomery County  we have the freedom, so we can celebrate, she continued. Those who want to wear masks, wear masks, and those who dont, dont. Everybody has a common heritage, a common theme here together. We need to remember that, especially the way the world is today.

The 185th anniversary celebration of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence was held at park on Metcalf Street with a Texas salute, over 20 vendors, numerous reenactments, volunteers, performances by the Alabama Coushatta and Chikawa Dancers, and more.

I think it was very interesting to hear the history of the Indian tribes here, Spring resident Ho Nguyen, 48, who moved to the area from Virginia, said. We lived here for about five or six years, and we are still learning the history of Texas. This is great to learn about the history of the area.

The Sons of the Republic of Texas Lone Star Chapter, Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Daughters of the American Revolution, Buffalo Soldiers, NAACP, Grimes County Historical Commission Veterans of Foreign Wars, Childrens Books on Wheels and more organizations were also on-site.

Its awesome to celebrate Texas heritage. I want to thank the Montgomery County Heritage Museum because if it werent for them, we would not have this here today. Its a great event, you see all the great people, all the great entertainers, people just having fun out here, its really nice, Carl White, Montgomery Countys NAACP Chapter 6304 president, said.

The attendees had a chance to hear not only about Texas history, but also about the rich history of the citizens of Montgomery who played a role in the events that unfolded. The historians also shared information about the early settlers of Stephen F. Austins colony that, according to 1838 Clerk Returns, included Robbins, Shannons, Montgomerys, Greenwoods, Clarks, Hollands, Corners, Parkers and Cartrights who arrived to the area in the early 1820s.

February of 1836 saw the citizens of Montgomery called up to fight against Santa Anna with the Provisional Governor, James W. Robinson calling up J.G.W. Pierson ( Papers of the Texas Revolution, Vol. 9, pg. 153), event information stated. Where we stand today was once part of this Washington Municipalitylater original Montgomery County established in December of 1837. We are today celebrating the Independence of Texas and those who fought for it against all odds facing cold winds and a dictator who had already ravished the Mexican countryside.

The event included the portrayal, stories and legacies of representative signers Charles B. Stewart, who lived in Montgomery and designed the Texas flag, and Jesse Grimes, to whom the last letter of the Alamo was sent, according to information from Montgomery County historians.

Grimes lived in original Montgomery County and served as the first senator and judge. Dr. Robin Montgomery, a historian with a Ph.D. in political science, shared Grimes story during the event.

History is in danger, Montgomery said. I think right now we are in a critical time, and we need to grasp our history, or we are going to lose it.

A few descendants of the signers attended the event and provided their own John Hancock at the bottom of a large reprint of the historical document.

It has been great, Donna Summers, descendant of Collin McKinney, said.. We are so glad that Conroe opened it up for the descendants to come out. Summers was joined by her sister Dianne Taylor-Kebodeaux.

The event was supported in various ways, including by the City of Conroe, Quest Engineering, Emery Heuerman, the Spirit of Texas Bank, Conroe Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce, VFW Post 4709 and H-E-B.

This is a wonderful event celebrating Texas history, said Ron Saikowski, owner of Quest Engineering and Montgomery County Historical Commission board member. We love our history. I proudly fly my Texas flag 24/7 over my house. If you are not a Texan, you dont understand why. Our Texas culture is so interwoven with the Indians, the Tejanos and the Americanos

Some attendees and their children traveled from beyond the county lines for the event and commended it.

I am very grateful they were able to have it, considering COVID, Houston resident Shelly Sieger, 55, said. Weve been to the same event before, and it was a lot bigger, but we are actually very excited to teach the kids more about Texas history. I enjoyed the contributions of the Alabama Coushatta. I did not know that story. That they had helped to contribute and were commissioned by Sam Houston.

I did not know that story and I have been here for over 30 years, so that was nice to learn.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
Police appeared to be ramping up fines this weekend as they issued 70,000 in penalties to just two parties in central London and cracked down on beach-goers flouting lockdown.

Northumbria Police were seen battling to keep motorists from arriving at the beach in South Shields, South Tyneside, today, as they handed out compliance letters to people travelling outside their local area.

Earlier this morning, at 1.30am, Metropolitan Police issued penalties of 800 each to 50 people at an illegal gathering at a property in Green Street, Mayfair, central London.

Police officers stop to issue compliance letters to motorists travelling from afar to South Shields seaside, in South Tyneside this afternoon

The organiser of the party, a 29-year-old man was reported and issued with a fine of 10,000 for breaching Covid regulations.

Just half an hour later at 2am the force were called to another party within 1,600ft of the first, at a flat in Brooks Mews.

A further 20 people were handed 800 fines - an investigation is ongoing to identify the organiser of the event.

Crowds of people walk close together along South Shields beach, in South Tyneside, this afternoon

Sunseekers flock to the seaside ignoring Government appeals to stay indoors to stop the spread of Covid

Inspector Kevin Fagan of the Central West Command Unit which covers Westminster said: 'Despite recent announcements about how and when Covid restrictions may be eased, nothing has changed in terms of the regulations.

'Illegal gatherings like this are irresponsible and put pressure on the emergency services who have do deal with the consequences of these people's selfish actions.

'The rules are clear, as should be the message that the police will enforce them where wilful breaches are found to have taken place.'

Green Street, near Hyde Park, Mayfair, where 50 people were fined 800 each for partying and an organiser was handed a 10,000 penalty

Brooks Mews in Mayfair, Westminster, where 20 guests were found partying on Sunday morning

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: 'We can confirm officers were on patrol at Sandhaven Beach in South Shields on Saturday and Sunday.

'During the course of the weekend they engaged with members of the public, which included handing out letters to motorists reminding them of the Government guidance and asking they adhere to it.

'As we have done throughout this pandemic, we will continue to work closely with our communities.

'However, as we have made clear, where individuals are choosing to ignore the measures in place, we are committed to taking enforcement action to protect our communities.

'We would ask everyone to continue to play their part to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.'

Authorities have identified a 23-year-old Whitehall Township man they say opened fire in a Walmart parking lot Friday evening, killing one person and leaving another hospitalized.

Edward Joel Rosario-Jimenez was charged early Sunday with criminal homicide, attempted criminal homicide and aggravated assault, as well as carrying a firearm without a license, all felonies, said Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and Whitehall Township Police Chief Michael Marks.

The shooting happened shortly before 7 p.m. at the Walmart Supercenter at 2601 MacArthur Road (Route 145). Officers responding found two victims near a parked vehicle with the engine still running in the parking lot, authorities said. Both victims were suffering from gunshot wounds.

A woman was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, where she was pronounced dead at 7:40 p.m. Friday, according to the Lehigh County Coroners Office.

Lehigh County Coroner Eric Minnich ruled the case a homicide and said the cause of death was from a gunshot wound or wounds. The victim has not yet been identified by authorities. An autopsy is scheduled Monday.

The second victim remains hospitalized and is currently receiving medical treatment, authorities said Sunday.

Investigators were able to review video surveillance footage from the Walmart store, showing the victims vehicle arriving and parking in an area of the merchandise pick-up lot, authorities said. Within a few minutes, a black Toyota SUV entered and parked directly in front of the victims vehicle.

Several witnesses were interviewed by investigators with one reporting she went to the Walmart parking lot to pick up her child, who also is the child of one of the shooting victims. The witness was a passenger in the Toyota, along with Rosario-Jimenez and two other people, police said.

Rosario-Jimenez then allegedly got into an argument with one of the victims. The witness reported hearing a gunshot and leaving in the Toyota, but Rosario-Jimenez allegedly remained in the parking lot.

Another witness reported seeing Rosario-Jimenez fire several gunshots at the victims, authorities said. Investigators seized a handgun in a snowbank adjacent to where the shooting happened.

Rosario-Jiminez was arraigned Sunday before District Judge Donna Butler without bail. He was then taken to the Lehigh County jail. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for noon on March 8 before Butler.

In a separate case in December 2019, Rosario-Jimenez was charged with making terroristic threats, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He pleaded guilty in that case to simple assault while the other two charges were later withdrawn and received probation for 12 months, according to court records.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
An iPhone user views the TikTok app on the Apple App Store in January 2021. Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Jason Campbell, a doctor who has amassed a large TikTok following, is facing sexual assault allegations.

The allegations against "TikTok Doc" were leveled by a former coworker in a $45 million lawsuit.

The harassment occurred for three months, from January to March 2020, according to the suit.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Jason Campbell, a doctor with more than 260,000 TikTok followers, is facing a $45 million lawsuit by a former coworker that alleges inappropriate touching and sexual harassment, The Oregonian first reported.

The allegations, leveled in a lawsuit filed Friday, were made by a social worker who was Campbell's former coworker at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Portland, where he worked on occasion as an anesthesia resident as part of his second-year residency at Oregon Health & Science University, according to the suit.

The $45 million lawsuit against Campbell and Oregon Health & Science University alleges that the harassment occurred for three months, from January to March 2020. On March 12, the woman alleges Campbell "snuck up quietly behind plaintiff and without plaintiff's express or implied consent," and pressed his body and erection against her.

After the incident, Campbell, 32, said he "should've asked" for permission in a text message after the plaintiff confronted him, according to a screenshot in the suit.

The harassment also included unwanted sexually explicit text messages and videos as well as a photo of his penis sent in January.

Campbell's actions caused the plaintiff to suffer "severe, substantial, enduring emotional distress, discomfort, and interference with usual life activities," the lawsuit alleges.

According to the suit, the plaintiff has remained anonymous due to "retaliation and vandalism" after she reported Campbell's behavior to school officials.

As Insider previously reported, Campbell gained fame on TikTok in April 2020 in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, earning him the nickname "TikTok Doc." Campbell was known for uplifting, positive dances that often involved the participation of his colleagues. He appeared on Good Morning America and was featured by local news outlets.

Story continues

In August, OHSU conducted an investigation about Campell's conduct, according to the suit, that found he violated its policies and had "repeatedly" sent "electronic messages of a sexual nature" to the plaintiff "despite multiple warnings" she was uninterested in such a relationship, the suit said. The investigation also found he had approached her "from behind in her office at the VA Medical Center" and pressed his body against hers.

As of Sunday, Campbell's TikTok and Instagram profiles were made private. His lawyer did not return Insider's request for comment Sunday. Campbell is no longer a resident at OHSU and is now a citizen of Florida, according to the suit.

The plaintiff reported the incident to the Veterans Affairs police, according to the report, but no criminal charges were filed in the case, according to The Oregonian. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff also made allegations against OHSU, claiming it "buried" allegations of sexual misconduct.

"OHSU does not condone behavior as described in the lawsuit," a spokesperson for the school told The Oregonian. "We are continuously working to evolve our culture, policies and practices to provide an environment where all learners, employees, patients and visitors feel safe and welcome.

"We take our role seriously in being part of the change that needs to happen across our country to end discrimination and power dynamics that allow for harassment," the spokesperson continued. "We remain committed to these ideals and will continue to prioritize them as a public leader in health care, education and research."

Read the original article on Insider

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Indian students in Bahrain may get a chance to sit suspended JEE exams soon: Indian Embassy

Indian students in Bahrain may get a chance to sit suspended JEE exams soon: Indian Embassy

TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com Students might get a chance to sit for the India-based Joint Entrance Examination or JEE (main) 2021 in Bahrain after the exam to be held on 23rd this month was suspended at the last minute, citing COVID-19 restrictions. Students might get a chance to sit for the India-based Joint Entrance Examination or JEE (main) 2021 in Bahrain after the exam to be held on 23rd this month was suspended at the last minute, citing COVID-19 restrictions.

Indian Embassy, in a statement to The Daily Tribune (TDT), said they were in touch with the National Testing Agency (NTA) of India regarding the conduct of JEE (main) 2021 in the Kingdom."

Talks are also ongoing regarding the February session exams not held in Bahrain due to Covid-related restrictions.

The embassy confirmed: "A suitable plan will come for the conduct of B.Arch/ B.Planning papers, in the interest of the candidates."

For B.E./B.Tech, the embassy said, "The candidates could appear in the March session, along with other candidates."

For further updates, the embassy said, "The students should remain in touch with the National Institute of Bahrain, as well as NTA and Embassy websites, and social media handles."

Many students had told TDT that the authorities left them in the dark until the last minute regarding the decision to cancel the exam.

The exam centre informed an hour before the first batch was supposed to write the exam on 23rd that due to COVID-19 restrictions the exams cannot be held, students and parents said.

The JEE Main comprises two papers. The Paper1 is for admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programmes (B.E/B.Tech) at NITs, IIITs, other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs), Institutions/Universities funded/recognized by participating State Governments, as well as an eligibility test for JEE (Advanced), which is for admission to IITs.

Around 200 students were supposed to appear for this exam on 23rd this month in Bahrain.

Parents say they approached the Indian Embassy but were told, Since they were involved at the last minute, they were unable to assist.

Parents said they are now left worried about their kids and wondering if Bahrain will continue to be an examination centre.

Most of the students and parents said their recommendation is to conduct the missing exam again.

The best course of action would be for the missing exams to be held again for these students, parents told TDT.

They also urged to ensure that Bahrain will continue to be a centre for such examinations in the future.

According to the Ministry of Education, India, "The JEE (Main) is being conducted in multiple Sessions (February/March/April/May 2021) for admissions in the next academic session."

The message "End Racism" is seen in the one end zone at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., on Sept. 13, 2020. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

On the Peculiar Character of American Racism

Commentary

That America is a racist country is the great self-evident truth of the Left and of the ruling class whose moral opinions are shaped by it. This truth is self-evident in the sense of being readily apparent to them, as evidenced by the countless disparities in life outcomes between blacks and whites. No explanation for these disparities is ever required. Their mere existence is proof of racism.

The disparities between Asians and whites, between Indians and whites, and between Nigerian immigrants and whites all go studiously ignored, since these groups generally outperform whites in income and educational attainment. Also ignored is the role that the pathologies of inner-city black culturefatherlessness, crime, nihilistic alienation, and the exaltation of thuggeryplay in producing and sustaining disparities.

Americas racist nature is also self-evident in the philosophical sense. It is an axiomatic truth: the predicate (racism) is contained in the subject (America). In the same way that all bachelors are, by definition, single, so is America, by definition, racist.

Formulated as such, the self-evident truth of American racism cannot be refuted. It is impervious to counterarguments, data, and historical developments. Believers in American racism dont care about your facts.

In 1991, Derrick Bell, one of the founders of critical race theory, declared that blacks had made no progress in America since 1865. He made this claim with a straight face at Harvard University, where he had been a tenured professor for two decades. In 1865, Harvard did not admit black students.

In 2020, the claim that America is fundamentally racist is a lie. But it is a lie tenaciously defended by those on the Left who most benefit from it: the Democratic Party, its progressive allies in the academy, the intelligentsia and the media, and black political leadership. As the ultimate arbiters of all racial controversies, leftists have positioned themselves to occupy the moral high ground in Americathe most important strategic position in any political conflict.

The accusation of racism is their most powerful political weapon. Playing the race card allows them to detract attention from their own corruption and the radical ideas they espouse. Whatever faults they have, at least theyre not racists like Donald Trump, the Republicans, and their base of deplorables. The Right is thus constrained to fight the enemy on the enemys own terms. Republican claims that Democrats are the real racists inevitably fall flat.

The national obsession with racism is also obviously beneficial to those who work in the diversity and grievance industries. It is perhaps most useful for corporate and financial elites, who use it to distract Americans and direct their ire away from urban oligarchs like themselves toward the nebulous forces of racism. Corporate America is afraid of socialism, not of Black Lives Matter. The anti-capitalists hate the rich and corporations. The anti-racists do not; they can readily be bought off with performative wokeness and a sprinkling of diversity hires in the C-Suite.

Well-intentioned Americans of all races must understand that these powerful constituencies have a vested interest in keeping America racist forever. No set of attainable conditions would ever lead them to admit that America is no longer racist. No sooner would the reparations checks be issued than new demands would arise.

None of this is to deny that America was racist for centuries, that the legacy of racism is still with us, and that some racism endures to this day. But the Constitution of the United States is colorblind, and Americas Declaration of Independence proclaims that all men are created equal. There are no racist laws or regulations on the books anywhere in Americanot at the federal level, not in any of the 50 states, and not in any of the 19,502 incorporated cities, towns, and villages.

Since 1964, America has also had a Civil Rights Act that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in both the public and private sectors. In explicit violation of the legislative history and text of the law, the act has been interpreted by the highest court of the land to countenance so-called affirmative action, i.e., racial preferences to benefit blacks (and to a lesser extent, Hispanics). America thus finds itself in the paradoxical position of being a purportedly white supremacist nation that officially sanctions and practices discrimination against whites.

Well, a critic might say, the laws may not be racist, but dont police enforce them in a racist way? The overpublicized deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, James Blake, and others before them supposedly prove that a legalized genocide of colored people is taking place. Yet none of the major studies of lethal shootings by police officers find evidence of racial bias. In fact, controlling for the very high black crime rateAfrican-Americans make up 13 percent of the population but commit more than 50 percent of homicides and about 60 percent of robberiesand the higher rate at which black suspects resist arrest, the share of blacks killed by cops is lower than one would expect.

Somehow, America remains a racist country even as elected officials in both parties openly pander to racial minorities, blacks in particular, while paying no attention to whites as a group. The Republican Party studiously ignores whites, busy as it is courting the naturally conservative Hispanic vote, while the Democratic Party increasingly adopts the anti-white animus of Black Lives Matter and the rest of the woke Left. Because the demand for racism so completely outstrips the actual supply, we are left with unfalsifiable accusations of dog whistlingnon-racist statements that supposedly send covert racist messages.

Once every few years, it is true, a Republican will put his foot in his mouth and speak indelicately about race. Whenever this happens, the offender is universally condemned, with the loudest denunciations coming from the Republican Party and the conservative establishment, and the offender promptly apologizes. Such is the odd nature of systemic American racism, that racists are immediately denounced and eager to repent.

African-Americans occupy a larger place in the countrys collective imagination than any other group. They exert enormous cultural influence not just in America, but across the globe. At home, no group is more honored for its accomplishments, real or fake (no, a black man did not invent the lightbulb). The closest thing America has to a secular saint is Martin Luther King Jr. Even the recent allegations that he may have been a serial philanderer who laughed as a woman was raped in front of him did not dent his reputation.

In the public square, at school, and at work, Americans are also increasingly compelled to profess devotion to the creed of Anti-Racism. The thought police are everywhere. No one gets canceled for abandoning their children, betraying the country, or committing any number of immoral, indecent, or criminal acts. There is only one unforgivable sin: to deviate from the accepted script when speaking of African-Americansand to a lesser extent, any of the other protected identity groups.

Amid widespread sympathy for blacks, affirmative action policies, and the absence of racist laws, we are told that racism is nonetheless institutionalizedthough there are no institutions of any significance in America committed to racism, let alone to white supremacy.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, an alarmist fundraising machine for its now disgraced founder Morris Dees, keeps track of about 940 hate groups operating within our borders (more than a quarter of which are black separatists). By focusing on the number of groups, the SPLC can ignore their insignificant size, lack of funds, and complete marginalization in American life. By the SPLCs count, there are 47 Ku Klux Klan groups in Americabut their total membership is between 5,000 and 8,000. (The Anti-Defamation League puts the total at 3,000.) At its peak in the mid-1920s, the Klan had 6 million members (in a country with a third of our current population).

So much for the institutions of hate. Meanwhile, corporate America, the media, Hollywood, professional sports, philanthropic foundations, nonprofits, churches, the academy, the arts, and the military all vociferously denounce racism. All eagerly embrace the diversity agenda. All are obsessed with hiring and promoting people of color.

And this brings us to perhaps the strangest feature of Americas purportedly racist society: the growing phenomenon of whites passing as nonwhites. Elizabeth Warren claims to be Cherokee, BLMs Shaun King claims to be biracial, and a Jewish professor of African history at George Washington University is the new Rachel Dolezal. Needless to say, no Afrikaner ever pretended to be coloured under apartheid.

Where, then, is racism to be found in America, if it is not in its law, its public rhetoric, and its institutions? Polls make it hard to find, too. Eighty-seven percent of Americans approve of black-white marriage, up from 4 percent in 1954. Gallup calls it one of the largest shifts of public opinion in Gallup history. When researchers asked teenagers to name the most famous Americans in history (excluding presidents), their top three picks were MLK, Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman.

The last frontier is now the subconscious. Because the quantity of racism is held to be constant throughout American history, the absence of racist sentiments in people can only mean that racism is hiding deep in the recesses of their minds. With the help of Harvard Universitys widely touted Implicit Association Test, everyones latent racism can now be brought to the fore. The test, of course, reveals no such thing. A peer-reviewed study found little evidence to support [its] more provocative claim: that people possess unconscious racist attitudes. Even Vox had to admit that it might not work at all.

In the end, all we are left with as the definitive proof of American racism today is systemic racism, the meaning of which boils down to: America is racist because, well, it just is. Racism somehow suffuses the whole even though it is not visible in any of its major parts. Whereas all other racist regimes in history openly proclaimed their racism, America has pulled off the amazing feat of purging its laws, institutions, and culture of racismall in the interest, of course, of perpetuating racism.

From RealClearWire.

David Azerrad, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Hillsdale Colleges Van Andel Graduate School of Government in Washington, D.C.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Former President meets Gotabaya, Mahinda and Basil to seek clarification; holds meetings of SLFP leadership groups

President Rajapaksa tells Wimal to stop campaigning to make him the leader of the ruling SLPP alliance

Govt. faces tough challenges from UNHRC; Indias Geneva envoy makes thought provoking speech Early this month, former President Maithripala Sirisena, learnt from his sources that he had come under the adverse notice in the Report of the Commission of Inquiry that probed the Easter Sunday massacres in 2019. Yet, he was not sure what it said.

So, he hurriedly sought appointments with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Basil Rajapaksa, founder cum strategist of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the main partner in the ruling alliance. He made a plea to all three of them in separate meetings  asking for photocopies of the Report where there were references made to him.

Premier Rajapaksa met him in the afternoon of February 4, hours after he had taken part in the 72nd Independence Day celebrations. They discussed Sirisenas concerns but did not have a copy of the Report. The following week, President Rajapaksa drove to Parliament, when it was in session, to meet Sirisena. Sirisena made the same plea. The President listened to his plea but had not brought a copy.

Basil Rajapaksa, who received a request for the meeting, had told Sirisena that he would come to his residence. When he went there, there were many others present. They included Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Mahinda Ameraweera, Duminda Dissanayake and Shantha Bandara. The subject turned to the Report. Basil Rajapaksa said he was not aware of the issue raised but assured it would be conveyed to President Rajapaksa.

By Tuesday, key elements of the Report became public. A copy sent to Parliament and received by Speaker Mahinda Abeywardena had been sent to the library. Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) frontliner Harin Fernando walked in, used the camera in his mobile phone to take pictures of the pages containing the conclusions and recommendations. Later, others also obtained similar copies. Fernando hurriedly tweeted it and the news spread worldwide. The Governments communications machinery is in such shambles that the officials were not wise enough to disseminate it. They were also embarrassed. The next day, all parliamentarians received copies.

The well-known Sinhala adage gahen watuna minihata gonaa anna wagey or a bull goring a man who had just fallen from a tree aptly describes Sirisenas reaction. Paradoxical enough, it was then President Sirisena who appointed the five-member Commission of Inquiry five months after the April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday bombings. It was headed by Supreme Court Justice Janak de Silva.

Now it is widely known that the Commission had recommended in its 472-page report criminal proceedings against Sirisena for criminal liability on his part in the ghastly Easter Sunday incidents. He hurriedly summoned a meeting of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee to discuss the Commissions findings. Speakers lamented that the blame should not have been placed on the former President. They cited similar incidents in other countries. One was the bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001 and the attack on a mosque at Christchurch in New Zealand during Friday Jummah prayers on March 15, 2019. Speakers noted that the leaders of those countries (President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern) were not slapped with allegations of criminal conduct.

The SLFPs All Island Executive Committee was hurriedly summoned for a meeting on Thursday. It was held at the Galle Face Hotel. Here was a party, founded by the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike for the common man, choosing a five-star hotel for the event when it had its own multi-storied headquarters building at Darley Road. The Committee endorsed a decision made by the Central Committee to reject the recommendations against Sirisena by the Commission. In reality, such a decision would be of no use. If for example, the Attorney General chooses to indict a member of the SLFP for any alleged offence, would a resolution by a party body be of any help? The meeting also took the opportunity to re-appoint Sirisena as the SLFP leader.

Ranil censured

The Commission also held that the lax approach of (former) Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, towards Islam (sic) extremism was one of the primary reasons for the failure to prevent the attack. It said, Even after his (re) appointment as Prime Minister in December 2018, he was not invited by President Sirisena for any National Security Council meetings. The COI sees no justifiable reason for the failure to do so on the part of President Sirisena. However, it was incumbent on the Prime Minister to have raised this in Parliament or at the Cabinet in order to ensure that the status quo is restored. The failure on the part of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to do so and after the Easter attack and take up the position that he was not invited is unacceptable. It has also recommended criminal proceedings against the then Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, the then Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera, the then Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendis and other senior police officers. Details of the Commissions findings appear elsewhere in this newspaper.

There was considerable embarrassment at the highest levels of the government over the early leak of the Commissions Report. President Rajapaksa had named a six-member Committee to identify the overall process including the measures that need to be taken by various agencies and authorities such as Parliament, the Judiciary, the Attorney Generals Department, security forces, state intelligence services, to implement the recommendations.

The Committee is headed by Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and includes ministers Johnston Fernando, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Prasanna Ranatunga, Udaya Gammanpila and Ramesh Pathirana. The appointment drew an acerbic remark from Colombos Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith that some in the committee had not even passed their GCE (OL). He also raised issues over why a political committee was appointed to review a report of a commission comprising members who are serving or retired members of the judiciary.

There is also a disconnect. In his address to the nation on February 4 (Independence Day) President Rajapaksa said, I have advised the Attorney Generals Department to quickly act upon matters that have caused great concern to the public, such as the Easter Sunday attack and the Central Bank bond scam. However, the AG declared thereafter that he had not received a copy of the report of the Easter Sunday attack Commission of Inquiry. Last week, he received only the first volume of the report, prompting him to request the Presidential Secretariat for the other volumes including records of evidence.

Though factually not correct, the differences that existed when the yahapalana government was in power surfaced again last Thursday with fresh allegations. Many who took part in the SLFPs All-Island Executive Committee charged that the recommendations of the Commission were the result of a conspiracy by their erstwhile UNP partner. They came up with their own theories. A senior UNPer who did not wish to be identified declared, President Sirisena appointed members on whom he had trust. Why cry now when they have brought out the facts. Government leaders were of the view that the legal process would be followed through by the Attorney General.

Serious shortcomings

The Commissions findings, which have received a mixed response in the political spectrum, do reflect serious shortcomings. One of the terms of reference of the Commission is to identify persons and organisations who are directly or indirectly connected to these terrorist acts. The Commission has not been able to throw more light on who funded, armed, and carried out those acts. In this respect, though the Commission has clearly identified IS (Islamic State) links. This is in stark contrast to the remarks of the Criminal Investigation Department (CIDs) retired Deputy Inspector General, Ravi Seneviratne. He had declared both before and outside the commission that they had not come across any evidence to link foreign entities. One need hardly say that under the previous yahapalana government, the CID was not in full thrust in its investigations. It is no secret that the CID came under pressure from political parties that backed the then government and were influenced by various groups.

Wimals controversial remarks

The issues related to the 2019 Easter Sunday incidents surfaced at a time when another political issue went on without the glare of media publicity. It was the aftermath of remarks made by Minister Wimal Weerawansa that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should be made the leader of the SLPP. He was backed by his ministerial colleague Udaya Gammanpila. He made those remarks to our sister newspaper the Irida Lankadeepa. Their strategy, a senior SLPP member who did not wish to be identified, said, was to isolate Basil Rajapaksa, the founder of the SLPP and widely regarded as the man behind the success of the party at both the presidential and parliamentary elections. Other key members charged that the strategy was to split the Rajapaksa family members, an allegation the duo denied. However, they have kept away from meetings summoned by Basil Rajapaksa in his capacity as the head of the Task Force on Economic Recovery.

During a meeting with Weerawansa, President Rajapaksa had urged that that he should attend meetings of the Task Force since they were involved with development activities of the government. That was his message to Minister Gammanpila too. The President said he had to contest the presidential election under a political party. That was why he became a candidate of the SLPP. That was the reason why the people voted for him with an overwhelming majority. He then re-iterated that the matter ended there and he had no ambitions for other party positions. Therefore, he urged Minister Weerawansa not to proceed with his campaign to find positions for him.

Later, both Weerawansa and Gammanpila together with another group wrote to President Rajapaksa on February 12, urging him to summon a meeting of partner leaders of the ruling alliance. They said that even Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa should be invited. The reason was to discuss the current situation in the country. Among the signatories to the letter were Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Ven. Athureliya Rathana thera, Gevindu Kumaratunga and Asanga Navaratne.

UNHRC challenges

Other than the domestic issues, a new resolution on Sri Lanka, now handed over to the UN Human Rights Council secretariat in Geneva by the United Kingdom on behalf of the core group is causing serious concern for the government. The western monopoly of the group has now been diluted by the advent of Malawi from the African region. The full text of the resolution, which is subject to change when informal discussions begin tomorrow, appears in a box story on this page.

On Thursday, Foreign Ministers, and envoys of 40 countries made their contributions to the UN High Commissioners Report during an Interactive Dialogue which began on Wednesday and was continued on Thursday morning in order to exhaust the speakers list. Also addressing the event were representatives of 12 Non-Governmental organisations. There were speeches for and against UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michele Bachelets latest Report on Sri Lanka and also on the progress achieved by the country on the related issues. If a vote is to be instituted on the adoption of the draft resolution, a close analysis of the statements by Council member states could provide an indication of their final position, though it would be more difficult to adduce abstentions.

The positions enunciated by some countries do give a deeper insight into their thinking. One such significant case is that of India whose envoy made a thought-provoking speech. Ahead of that, first to the highlights of Sri Lanka Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardenas statement. He said, The OHCHR Report, which is presented today, emanates from the Resolution 30/1 and 40/1, from which the Government of Sri Lanka announced its withdrawal of co-sponsorship, at the 43rd Session of this Council last year.

Sri Lanka rejects the High Commissioners Report which has unjustifiably broadened its scope and mandate further, incorporating many issues of governance and matters that are essentially domestic for any self-respecting, sovereign country. This is in complete violation of Article 2 (7) of the Charter of the UN that states: Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorise the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state

The trajectory that has emerged about the recommendations and conclusions reflects the preconceived, politicised and prejudicial agenda which certain elements have relentlessly pursued against Sri Lanka. These recommendations are based on ill-founded allegations.

The call for asset freezes, travel bans, references to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the exercise of universal jurisdiction by individual States, based on evidence that up to date has been denied access to and retained by the High Commissioners Office with some of it unreleased for thirty years, particularly in relation to a country like Sri Lanka which has consistently and constructively engaged with the UN and its mechanisms, points to a distinct and eminent (sic) danger which the international community as a whole need to take note of. Such unilateral actions by certain countries are unacceptable and a violation of the principles of natural justice.

It is arguable whether Foreign Minister Gunawardena did use the five minutes allotted to him, to drive home the most pertinent points at issue. One of them is to seek a closure on the subject in the UNHRC. His speech was more general and dealt with known realities.

One of the more significant speeches, especially important, in todays context, was made by Indias Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Indra Mani Pandey. He said, We have taken note of the High Commissioners report on Sri Lanka and her oral remarks. The Council has adopted 7 Resolutions on the question of human rights in Sri Lanka since May 2009, when the three decades old conflict in that country ended. India has been an active participant in the discussions on these Resolutions and has remained engaged with Sri Lanka as its close friend and immediate neighbour. Indias consistent position rests on two pillars:

i). Support for Sri Lankas unity and territorial integrity, and

ii). Abiding commitment to aspirations of the Tamils of Sri Lanka for equality, justice, peace, and dignity.

These are not either-or choices. We believe that respecting the rights of the Tamil community, including through meaningful devolution, contributes directly to the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka. Therefore, we advocate that delivering on the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community is in the best interests of Sri Lanka.

We call upon Sri Lanka to take necessary steps for addressing such aspirations, including through the process of reconciliation and full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

The assessment of the High Commissioner regarding developments nearly 12 years from the end of the conflict raises important concerns. The Sri Lankan Government has articulated its position on these issues as well. In evaluation of both of these, we should be guided by a commitment to find a lasting and effective solution for this issue.

Is it by coincidence that the two pillars Pandey refers to have resonance in the draft Resolution? The support for Sri Lankas unity and territorial integrity, as pledged by him, is reflected in the preambular para (PP) 3 together with his countrys abiding commitment to the aspirations of Tamils of Sri Lanka and therefore calling for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment is well ensconced in PP 7. Does this portray that India has contributed to the draft resolution now at hand? It cannot be forgotten that the May 2009 Resolution on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, was the first text which internationalised the implementation of the 13th Amendment. That too in return for their full support in ensuring the adoption of a counter text termed at that juncture. This short-sighted initiative even gave way to self-aggrandisement with hoardings in Colombos streets praising the leadership of then delegation to the HRC. So here is the 13th Amendment again emerging in a global context, an issue which otherwise is domestic in nature.

It is interesting that envoy Pandey makes a moot point that 12 years after the end of the conflict the High Commissioner (in her Report) raises important concerns and balances by pointing out that that the Sri Lankan government has articulated its position as well. By this, India has taken cognisance of the contents of the UN High Commissioners Report and has not sought to reject it, as called for by Sri Lanka. True India has acknowledged Sri Lankas stated position on the Report. Following this, India has declared that in evaluation of both of these, we should be guided by a commitment to find a lasting and effective solution for this issue. A well-crafted position by India, thereby keeping options open to derive the best from Sri Lanka be it on the political and/or economic fronts. After rejecting the Human Rights High Commissioners Report, can Sri Lanka now go back and provide a reassurance to what Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena calls a resolution motivated by political reasons? Would that not be eating humble pie for a second time after withdrawing mandatory cremation of Covid-19 victims?

The UNHRC events turn the focus more pointedly on the conduct of the countrys foreign policy. A review of the past 15 months, when the ruling alliance has been in office, shows more minuses than pluses. For example, with India, there has been no Sri Lanka High Commissioner in New Delhi for over a year. The manner in which the Colombo Ports East Container Terminal issue was handled bruising good relations is unimaginable. Foreign Secretary, Jayanath Colombage once declared India is Sri Lankas first priority. Last week, he officially announced that President Rajapaksa had written to Indian Premier Narendra Modi requesting his governments support at the UNHRC in Geneva and openly divulged the non-receipt of a response.

In Colombo, some sections of the diplomatic community opine that this could be an embarrassment to the Indian Premier and in such situations normal diplomatic practice is for officials to seek discussions to arrive at a strategy. It is not clear whether the Sri Lankan authorities had such consultations primarily with India and other South Asian neighbours in making its way forward. This is a basic need for such a process. Judging by the current development, one could guess that India will abstain at a vote at the UNHRC on this issue. Regrettably, this could give rise to other Asian states also following suit, thus injuring solidarity in the region. Indias message at the Council will soothe the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (ADMK), the ruling Bharatiya Janatha Partys partner at the Tamil Nadu elections on April 6, for their legislature.

In another development yesterday, there are moves to dispatch Milinda Moragoda, who earlier refused his appointment as Sri Lanka High Commissioner to India, to fly urgently take up the appointment. Even during a normal dpl assignment has the government come under international pressure to do so?

Foreign Secretary Colombage also declared earlier that United States President Joe Biden should put his house in order. That was his response to US Ambassador Allaina B. Teplitz conducting a news conference and making remarks on behalf of her country. This week, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, who addressed the UNHRC had some extraordinarily strong words against Sri Lanka. After the adoption of the Resolution, would such a situation place in jeopardy Sri Lankas garment exports to the United States, the principal market? This is besides travel bans.

Negativities galore

The mandatory cremation of Muslims who die of Covid-19 was lifted after visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan raised issue with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Just this week, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperations Secretary General had to use some strong words in Geneva before the ban was lifted. Could this not have hampered Sri Lankans seeking jobs in West Asia? Or did it have to come to pressure being applied to a basic domestic issue? This does not augur well for the government which seems to be heaping negativity on itself, especially in the international context. If the argument that the cremation of Covid-19 victims were made mandatory for scientific reasons, a tweet from Pakistan High Commissioner Saad Khattak makes interesting reading. It says, Allowing burial of Covid victims is a visionary decision promising greater ethnic harmony leading to prosperity @Imran Khan PTI personal involvement and the decision taken has proved the depth of our relationship and mutual respect.

Similarly, what about GSP plus from the European Union and the countrys fish exports to member countries? Will they not face a threat? Some ill-informed quarters claim there will not be punitive action. They are woefully unaware of the pitfalls of the current draft resolution, which has its sting in couched language rather than blatant references from the Human Rights High Commissioners Report: Whilst this Resolution welcomes the said recommendations of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), that too after 2015 to 2019, being the period of co-sponsorship of 30/1 and those that followed thereby forcing responsibility on issues, some of which are of a questionable basis and already rejected by the government.

Furthermore, this Resolution gives way to future action, that too in the soil of third countries, where Universal Jurisdiction could come into play. This is outlined in preambular para 14 where the responsibility of states to comply with their relevant obligations to prosecute those responsible for gross violations of international humanitarian law should be read with Operational Paragraph 6 where it calls for the preservation of evidence and information and support judicial proceedings in member states with competent jurisdiction. It is further noteworthy for the government that this operative paragraph speaks in terms of future accountability, an area which can bring home more internationalised problems.

It is interesting to note that for the first time the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelem (LTTE) is being held accountable for the violation and abuses of human rights in Sri Lanka in operational para 4. Does this mean that the provisions in the preambular paragraph (PP) 14 and (OP) 6 to the rump LTTE in western countries? Maybe the UK, as the prime mover of the Resolution, could lead by example by acting on the likes of Adele Balasingham, who is resident there and is known to have worked closely with the Tiger guerrilla womens corps.

One wonders if this unprecedented censure is a sop to appease the people of Sri Lanka who did not take to the co-sponsorship of the resolution and sought to give marching orders to the yahapalana government that took such an unconventional step which some part of the polity described as treason. In fact, it would be recalled that the core group represented in Colombo went out of its way to give an explanation to the Sri Lankan people on its basis to move a resolution on the country which is out of the norm. Was the core group worried of a backlash from the people? This initiative and that with the accountability reference to the LTTE can be surmised to being sensitive to the countrys polity.

Some senior government leaders are worried that the UNHRC Resolutions impact on the economic sphere, elements of which were pointed out above. There is a need for the Foreign Minister and his Ministry to be more proactive to prevent the deterioration of this worrying situation, said one of them. He questioned whether President Rajapaksa had given the Minister a free hand to produce results. While there is an affirmation in this regard, there are also reports that much of the foreign policy issues are handled in the realm of the Presidential Secretariat. It is also evident that meetings with foreign dignitaries at the Presidential level continue without Foreign Ministry officials at hand, at best the Foreign Secretary who has some limitations on aspects of diplomatic practice and institutional memory. Records of such discussions are important for the institution when formulating respective policies both in the present and the future.

The need of the hour is not feeding a media frenzy about the prospects defeating or stifling the resolution and giving the numbers of countries that will support. It lies in telling the people of Sri Lanka the true picture in Geneva. If it works in the governments favour, billboards can come up again. If it fails, the question is whether those who make colossal blunders will continue to do so.

Text of the core group resolution against Sri Lanka H ere is the full text of the draft resolution handed in by the United Kingdom and other members of the core group of countries to the UN Human Rights Council Secretariat in Geneva. The wording or provisions are subject to change after informal discussions that begin tomorrow. Voting will take place in the afternoon of Monday, March 22. 46th Session of the Human Rights Council Promoting reconciliation, accountability,

and human rights in Sri Lanka The Human Rights Council, PP1: Guided by purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling the International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant instruments, PP2: Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 19/2, 22/1 25/1, 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1 on promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka, PP3: Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, PP4: Reaffirming also that it is the primary responsibility of each State to respect, to promote and fulfil human rights as well as to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of its entire population, PP5: Deploring the acts of terrorism which occurred in Sri Lanka in April 2019 leading to high numbers of injuries and deaths, PP6: Acknowledging the holding of free and transparent democratic elections in November 2019 and August 2020, PP7: Taking note of the passage and operationalization of the twentieth amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka while stressing the importance of democratic governance and independent oversight of key institutions, and also encouraging the Government to respect local governance including holding of elections for provincial councils, and ensure that all provincial councils are able to operate effectively, in accordance with the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, PP8: Reaffirming that all Sri Lankans are entitled to the full enjoyment of their human rights without distinction of any kind such as religion, belief, or ethnic origin, in a peaceful and unified land, PP9: Acknowledging the progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in rebuilding infrastructure, demining, land return, resettling internally displaced persons and improving livelihoods, and encouraging further efforts in these areas, PP10: Welcoming the continued commitment by the Government of Sri Lanka to remain engaged with and seek the assistance of the United Nations and its agencies, including human rights mandates and mechanisms, in capacity building and technical assistance, PP11: Reaffirming also that measures taken to combat terrorism must comply with States obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, PP12: Emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive approach to dealing with the past incorporating the full range of judicial and non-judicial measures, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice, provide remedies to victims, avoid recurrence of violations of human rights and promote healing and reconciliation, PP13: Recognizing that mechanisms to redress past abuses and violations work best when they are independent, impartial, and transparent; and use consultative and participatory methods, that include the views from all relevant stakeholders including, but not limited to, victims, women, youth, representatives from various religions, ethnicities, and geographic locations as well as people from marginalized groups, PP14: Recalling the responsibility of States to comply with their relevant obligations to prosecute those responsible for gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law, PP15: Noting with appreciation the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights towards the promotion and protection of human rights and truth, justice, reconciliation, and accountability in Sri Lanka, OP1: Welcomes the oral update presented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Human Rights Council at its forty-third session and the report of Office of the High Commission for Human Rights at its forty-sixth session. OP2: Also welcomes the positive engagement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2015 and 2019, urges the continuation of such engagement and calls on Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. OP3: Acknowledges the progress achieved by the Office on Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations and stresses the importance of maintaining support to these institutions, safeguarding their independent and effective functioning, providing both offices with sufficient resources and technical means to effectively fulfill their mandates, allowing them to proceed with interim relief measures for affected vulnerable families, with a gender focus, and resolving the many cases of enforced disappearances so that families of the disappeared can know their fate and whereabouts; OP4: Stresses the importance of a comprehensive accountability process for all violations and abuses of human rights committed in Sri Lanka, including those by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as highlighted in the OISL report of September 2015. OP5: Notes the persistent lack of accountability through domestic mechanisms and regrets that the domestic Commission of Inquiry announced on 22 January 2021 lacks independence and does not include a mandate to pursue accountability for past gross violations of human rights, or for serious violations of international humanitarian law, OP6: Recognises the importance of preserving and analysing evidence relating to violations and abuses of human rights in Sri Lanka with a view to advancing accountability and decides to strengthen the capacity of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to consolidate, analyse and preserve information and evidence and develop possible strategies for future accountability processes for gross violations of human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law, to advocate for victims and survivors, and to support relevant judicial proceedings in Member States with competent jurisdiction; OP7: Expresses serious concern over emerging trends over the past year, which represent clear early warning signs of a deteriorating human rights situation in Sri Lanka, including the accelerating militarization of civilian government functions, erosion of the independence of the judiciary and key institutions responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights, ongoing impunity and political obstruction of accountability for crimes and human rights violations in emblematic cases, policies that adversely affect the right to freedom of religion or belief, surveillance and intimidation of civil society and shrinking democratic space, arbitrary detentions, allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman degrading treatment or punishment and sexual and gender based violence, and that these trends threaten to reverse the limited but important gains made in recent years and risk the recurrence of policies and practices that gave rise to the grave violations of the past; OP8: Expresses further concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on freedom of religion or belief and exacerbated the prevailing marginalisation and discrimination suffered by the Muslim community, and that the Government of Sri Lankas decision to mandate cremations for all those deceased from COVID-19 has prevented Muslims and members of other religions from practicing their own burial religious rites, and has disproportionately affected religious minorities and exacerbated distress and tensions, OP9: Calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure the prompt, thorough and impartial investigation and, if warranted, prosecution of all allegations of gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law including for longstanding emblematic cases, OP10: Also calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure the effective and independent functioning of the National Human Rights Commission, the Office on Missing Persons, and the Office for Reparations. OP11: Further calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to protect civil society actors, to investigate any attacks and ensure a safe and enabling environment in which civil society can operate free from hindrance, insecurity, and reprisals. OP12: Requests the Government of Sri Lanka review the Prevention of Terrorism Act and ensure that any legislation to combat terrorism complies with its international human rights and humanitarian law obligations. OP13: Urges the Government of Sri Lanka to foster religious freedom and pluralism by promoting the ability of all religious communities to manifest their religion, and to contribute openly and on an equal footing to society. OP14: Encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to continue to cooperate with special procedures mandate holders, including responding formally to outstanding requests. OP15: Also encourages the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant Special Procedures mandate holders to provide, in consultation with and with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka, advice and technical assistance on implementing the above-mentioned steps, OP16: Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to enhance its monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, including progress on reconciliation and accountability, and to present a written update to the Human Rights Council at its forty-ninth session, and a comprehensive report including further options for advancing accountability at its fifty-first session, both to be discussed in interactive dialogues.
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Not conducting survey from helicopter but taking stock of ground situation: Uddhav hits back at BJP

Vaccine drive to get faster after adequate supply starts from June: Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray

COVID-19: Be alert about any symptoms in children, Uddhav Thackeray to parents

Maharashtra Lockdown-like Covid curbs to continue beyond June 1, unlocking to be in phased manner

PM, Shah should ask officials to cooperate in probe: Uddhav Thackeray

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Mumbai, Feb 28: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said he will request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to direct the authorities in Dadra and Nagar Haveli to cooperate with Mumbai police in the probe in Lok Sabha member Mohan Delkar''s death.

Delkar, seven-term MP from the Union Territory, was found dead in a south Mumbai hotel room on February 22. A suicide note in Gujarati was also found at the spot.

"I will request the PM and Shah to direct authorities there to cooperate with Mumbai police when they visit Dadra for investigation in Delkar''s death case," Thackeray told reporters here in the evening.

Addressing a Press conference on the eve of the 10-day budget session of the state legislature, Thackeray said the Independent MP had left a suicide note of 13 to 14 pages.

"The note includes names of some people. Why is nobody speaking about it," Thackeray said, in a veiled reference to the BJP.

Face mask only shield against coronavirus: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

The chief minister declined to comment on the nature of the probe to be undertaken by the police.

"The probe hasn''t started yet. But I will request the Prime Minister and Home Minister to instruct the authorities in the Union Territory to cooperate with the Mumbai police when they reach there for investigation," he said.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut asked why the people who raised a hue and cry in actor Sushant Singh Rajput''s death were silent over Delkar''s "mysterious" death.

In his weekly column "Rokhthok" in the Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'', Raut said an actor''s suicide and demolition of illegal construction by an actress created sensationalism.

How could there be silence over the MP''s death, the Rajya Sabha member wondered.

Delkar, who has houses in Delhi and Gujarat, must have thought that the Mumbai police will act on his suicide note and arrest the guilty, he said.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 20:51 [IST]
1.15pm update: There are no new COVID-19 cases in the community today, says the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield during a 1pm live Beehive update.

Despite there being no new community cases, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is still urging people to stay home and for anyone with symptoms to immediately get tested.

Auckland is back at alert level 3 this morning, while the rest of the country has moved to alert level 2 following two new Covid-19 community cases that could not be directly linked to earlier cases.

Ardern made the announcement at a briefing at 9pm last night saying that the alert level changes would come in from 6am today and would be in place for seven days.

This morning the government confirmed genomic sequencing showed the latest community case of Covid-19 in Auckland is linked to the South Auckland cluster.

"Case M is the same variant of the virus, identified first in the UK," says Bloomfield says.

This case's virus appears to be linked to the second family to have the virus in this cluster, and this case and that family are known to one another.

Bloomfield says there were 755 tests completed by 10.30am this morning.

He reiterates that people do not need to get tested unless they were at a location of concern, at the specified time. This information is on the health ministry's website.

Health officials are continuing to interview the new cases, and are taking particular interest in MIT, where Case M attended. Some 25 close contacts have already been identified.

"Healthline has brought in additional staff today," says Bloomfield. More than 2000 people were spoken to yesterday.

"This new variant of the virus, the B117, does seem to be presenting with symptoms that are not the typical respiratory symptoms," says Bloomfield. If you have muscle aches, do consider this might be a Covid-19 symptom.

He says he wanted to acknowledge people will be disappointed not to attend the Round the Bays event in Auckland this morning.

We have thankfully been without loss of life of Covid-19 for some time, but this is the primary reason why we take these strict, sharp measures - because Covid kills people.

Ardern is reiterating that if you are asked to miss work to await a Covid-19 test, or are asked to self-isolate, people need to do this.

"We are so close to getting an extra layer of protection in our border system," she says referring to vaccinations of border workers.

"We have a possible person to person link for how Case M and N may have picked up the virus. That is good news."

This could eliminate concern that there are other chains of transmission to identify.

Finding the source was only one reason for the alert level change, says the Prime Minister. The other is to work out how many people might have been exposed at numerous possible exposure events. Any spread of the virus could take days to present itself in testing.

Ardern said if there were any concerns that people are who should be isolating are not, health will work with police to make sure this is happening.

There is financial support available to employers and employees when people need to self-isolate.

"Please check with your workforce to see if any are close or casual contacts," says Ardern of businesses.

She asks businesses to make sure their workers don't come to work if they are meant to be isolating, and provide support. The wage subsidy is available nationwide through this period.

We want to save peoples lives and livelihoods. We need people to stay home to break the chain of transmission.

We have broken COVIDs chain of transmission before and we can do it again. We just need to keep going.

12.50pm LIVE: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will provide a COVID-19 update in the Beehive Theatrette at 1.00pm.

The government has confirmed genomic sequencing shows the latest community case of Covid-19 in Auckland is linked to the South Auckland cluster.

Auckland moved into alert level 3 for seven days from 6am today, with the rest of the country going to alert level 2.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says genomic sequencing links the latest community cases of Covid-19 in Auckland to the second family in the South Auckland cluster.

The cases have resulted in Auckland going to alert level three for seven days, and the rest of the country to level two.

A spokesperson for Chris Hipkins' office has also confirmed the two cases - in one south Auckland family - have the UK variant of the virus. A younger of the family attends Papatoetoe High School, but they have tested negative three times for the coronavirus.
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Denver: A man has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for plotting to bomb a historic Colorado synagogue by a judge who described the case as dripping with Nazism and supremacy.

Judge Raymond Moore set the 235-month sentence for Richard Holzer, 28, and imposed a 15-year term of supervised release.

Signs, flowers and candles expressing love for the Jewish community stand outside the Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, Colorado after news of the threat emerged in July 2020. Credit:AP

Throughout the sentencing trial, Moore expressed harsh criticism of Holzers previous statements to undercover FBI agents and social media accounts  describing Holzers life as filled with violent and hateful imagery.

It is one of the most vulgar, aggressive, evil crimes that can be committed against an entire group of persons, Moore said.
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Total dues owed by electricity distribution to power producers rose nearly 24 per cent to Rs 1,36,966 crore in December 2020 compared to the same month a year ago, reflecting stress in the sector.

The distribution (discoms) owed a total of Rs 1,10,660 crore to power generation firms in December 2019, according to portal PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators).

The portal was launched in May 2018 to bring in transparency in power purchase transactions between the generators and

In December 2020, the total overdue amount, which was not cleared even after 45 days of grace period offered by generators, stood at Rs 1,27,498 crore as against Rs 97,835 crore in the year-ago period.

According to the latest data on the portal, total outstanding dues in December dipped on a month-on-month basis. In November 2020, the total outstanding dues of stood at Rs 1,40,741 crore.

The overdue amount in December 2020 has decreased from Rs 1,27,539 crore in November 2020.

Power producers give 45 days to to pay bills for electricity supply. After that, outstanding dues become overdue and generators charge penal interest on that in most cases.

To give relief to power generation (gencos), the Centre enforced a payment security mechanism from August 1, 2019. Under this mechanism, discoms are required to open letters of credit for getting power supply.

The central government had also given some breathers to discoms for paying dues to power generating companies in view of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The government had also waived penal charges for late payment of dues in the directive.

In May, the government announced Rs 90,000 crore liquidity infusion for discoms under which these utilities would get loans at economical rates from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC Ltd.

This was a government initiative to help gencos to remain afloat. Later, the liquidity infusion package was increased to Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

Discoms in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana and Tamil Nadu account for the major portion of dues to power gencos, the data showed.

Overdue of independent power producers amount to 32.14 per cent of the total overdue of Rs 1,27,498 crore of discoms in December. The proportion of central PSU gencos in the overdue was 33.57 per cent.

Among the central public sector power generators, NTPC alone has an overdue amount of Rs 17,946.97 crore on discoms, followed by Damodar Valley Corporation at Rs 6,682.61 crore, NLC India at Rs 6,123.78 crore, NHPC at Rs 3,141.43 crore and THDC India at Rs 2,022.23 crore.

Among private generators, discoms owe the highest overdue of Rs 16,878.25 crore to Adani Power followed by Bajaj Group-owned Lalitpur Power Generation Company Ltd at Rs 4,462.10 crore, SEMB (Sembcorp) at Rs 2,735.62 crore and GMR at Rs 2,195.12 crore. The overdue of non-conventional energy producers like solar and wind stood at Rs 12,117.78 crore in December.

(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.)
Life fell apart for Maggie O'Connor when she was just 12 years old in 1930s Ireland. Her mother died during childbirth. The tragedy left Maggie and her brothers and sisters to fend for themselves, as their father was serving in the British army.

The children were hauled before a court in their native Galway city, charged with destitution, and sent to industrial schools, said her daughter Annette McKay.

"She was criminalised because she lost the most important person in her life, instead of cared for," said Annette, a councillor in Bury, a town near her native Manchester.

"I wish I could say that was the worst tragedy to befall my mother. But it was only the beginning."

Maggie was sent to Lenaboy Castle industrial school in Galway with her sisters, while her brothers were sent to a boys' industrial school.

"It was like an internment camp, she was regularly beaten and humiliated. Her father would come and visit when he was home and ask how she was. All she could say was 'fine' because a nun was standing behind her with a cane concealed in her dress, listening. She told us, 'I tried to tell him with my eyes to save us.'"

Maggie worked in the kitchen, meaning she could feed her two younger sisters scraps from the nuns' leftovers. At night-time, the little girls would crawl into Maggie's bed for comfort. Then, at age 17, life became even more unbearable for Maggie. She was raped by a caretaker at the industrial school and fell pregnant. "She would have known nothing whatsoever about sex. Once they found out she was pregnant, she was sent to Tuam."

Alone, pregnant and separated from her sisters, Maggie became a resident at the now infamous mother and baby home. "She only spoke once about Tuam. She was scrubbing the hallway and a nun walked by and kicked her in the stomach. That one sentence encapsulated for me what she suffered there."

Maggie gave birth to a baby girl, Mary Margaret, at Tuam in December 1942, according to official records. Annette doesn't know how long her mother spent with the infant before she was abruptly sent to St Brigid's Industrial School in Loughrea. "My mother only once spoke about it. She said Mary Margaret was a bonny baby. A few months later when Mum was in the industrial school in Loughrea, someone came and told her, 'your baby is dead'. As simple as that. As if it was nothing."

Official records obtained by the family confirmed the death of Mary Margaret in June 1943 at Tuam, aged six months. Soon afterwards, Maggie became an adult in the eyes of the law and left the industrial school.

"She'd six years of being beaten and tortured. She was raped and had a baby. She was separated from her baby, who later died. And no one told her why. It's a wonder she survived. But my mother was a formidable woman."

Later, Maggie met a Tipperary man and they married. But the relationship was not a happy one. The couple relocated to Manchester but the change of scenery didn't improve their marriage.

"My father came in and out of my mother's life, would get her pregnant and then disappear again. He wasn't in our lives at all since we were little children." Maggie once again found herself facing major upheaval in her young life. Being an Irish single mother to three young children in 1950s and 1960s England was 'no picnic', Annette explained.

At one stage, it all become too much for Maggie. She attempted suicide. Her three young children were briefly in care while she was hospitalised. "The first thing my mother did when she got out of hospital was come and get us. What happened to her was not going to happen to us.

"She always made sure we were well dressed and well fed and raised us well. She was staggeringly beautiful. People say she looked like Elizabeth Taylor. But more than that, she was an indomitable woman."

Maggie's life improved as the children began to grow. She met Annette's stepfather and began to enjoy some happiness. But then, at the age of 70, she dropped a bombshell.

Annette took her mother to meet her great-grandchild, a baby boy, but noticed she wasn't herself. "She wouldn't hold the baby. I could tell something was wrong. I dropped her home but then I went back to her house. I could hear her crying. I asked her what was wrong. She said, 'It's the baby.' I told her there was nothing wrong with the baby, that he was perfect. She said, 'Not that baby. My baby'.

"Then, for the first time, she told me all about being raped, having Mary Margaret in Tuam and that her baby died. My mother was 70 years of age. Something about the birth of her great-grandchild stirred something in her. I'm convinced she would have taken it to her grave otherwise."

Maggie made it clear that she didn't want to discuss the death of her daughter again. She had told her secret and that was the end of it. Life went on for the family.

"What could we do? She wouldn't talk about it again. I just presumed there was a little grave somewhere in the west of Ireland for my sister."

Then, out of nowhere, a newspaper headline in 2014 changed everything.

"It read: 'Horrific Discovery of Mass Children's Grave in Tuam.' And I knew immediately," said Annette.

At this stage, Maggie was in her mid-80s and suffering from dementia, but her family wanted to tell their mother's story. Annette gave recorded submissions to the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. Later, Maggie was awarded just over 30,000 compensation. "It meant nothing to Mum, that money. She asked me, 'Do you think I'll get 40 pounds so I can go to Marks and Spencer's?' What we wanted was her story investigated, recognised. That is not what we got."

Maggie died in 2016 at the age of 92 in a care home in Manchester. In recent weeks, Annette got a phone call from the commission. "They told me the testimony was going to be locked away for 30 years. They said I could have a copy of it. Then three days later, it was destroyed. Now there is talk of retrieving it. It's a farce. The victims have been treated with contempt. If she was alive today, my mother would stand in the Dail and scorch them. She would say to them, 'Tell me how what happened to me is my fault.'"

Annette intends to visit Tuam when Covid-19 permits. She won't stop fighting for her dead sister and mother. There is only one thing she wants, echoed by many other victims and previously promised by Government: the exhumation of Tuam's mass grave.

"My mother's name is still not on her gravestone and won't be until my sister is exhumed. After everything that was done to my mother, does she not deserve Mary Margaret to be returned to her?"
Back in 1994, Harris County prosecutor Elsa Alcala won a death sentence against Houstons Gerald Eldridge, accused of murdering his wife and daughter. After the trial, her boss, storied district attorney Johnny Holmes, gave her a little gift. Congratulations, killer, he said as he handed over a novelty pen made to look like a small plastic syringe.

Many years later, after serving as a prosecutor and a judge on Texas highest criminal court, Alcala began to change her mind about the death penalty. She didnt have a come-to-Jesus moment. Her transformation was gradual. Over a long period of time she saw too many incompetent defense attorneys, too much racial discrimination, too much miscarriage of justice. She came to see the flaws in the system, and she could no longer abide with those flaws.

My intention is not to laud Alcala, and its certainly not to condemn her. It is to suggest that, once you move beyond moral certitude, societal change in belief toward capital punishment has been not sudden but incremental, not moral so much as practical. This is particularly true in Texas, known as the death penalty capital of the world.

All of this falls in line with a new book by Maurice Chammah, Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty (Crown, $28). Chammah, a journalist for the nonprofit Marshall Project, zeroes in on individuals  victims families, criminals, lawyers, activists, judges, prison guards, chaplains  and allows them to tell a story with a great many moving parts. The book uses humanity to dig deep into policy. It will frustrate anyone looking for a jeremiad either for or against capital punishment (although you can certainly read between the lines to figure out where Chammah stands).

I chose very deliberately to not make an argument for the death penaltys abolition, says Chammah by phone. I felt that, as a reporter and journalist, I wanted to show the system rather than write a polemic and make arguments against it. But I think that, over time, Ive seen an incredible array of reasons why the death penalty has been questioned.

Some of these reasons are financial. The capital punishment system costs a lot of money. Some of them are moral. (For what its worth, this is where I fall. Eye-for-an-eye justice has never made sense to me, and I find it barbaric for the state to commit murder. Then again, no one I love has been the victim of a violent crime).

Some, conservative and liberal, see capital punishment as a government overreach. Some believe in the possibility and power of rehabilitation. Some point to the inherent racism of the capital punishment system. I was seeing a lot of black and brown people on death row, Alcala says by phone, and for crimes that just werent as serious as crimes that other people were getting life sentences for, who werent people of color. Anytime you do any kind of detailed analysis of the death penalty, you realize it has been misused throughout history primarily against people of color. She says that 70 percent of those on Texas death row are people of color.

Chammahs story of capital punishments rise begins in 1972, when the Supreme Court shut down the death penalty on the federal level. The ruling sent individual states, including Texas, scrambling to rewrite their own death penalty laws. Eventually every state that wanted to have the death penalty came up with a law that the Supreme Court would allow. After four years, in 1976, the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty under a model of guided discretion. During those four years, 37 states, including Texas, enacted their own new death penalty laws.

From there it grew in stages. A big step came in 1994 when President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act expanding the federal death penalty. At the state level, Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia continued to kill at a rapid clip, with Houston leading the way in Texas. According to Chammah, by 2001, with the death penalty surging at the state level, Harris County was responsible for 10 percent of all executions nationwide. Big stories came out of the city, including that of Karla Faye Tucker, convicted of murdering two people with a pickaxe in 1983 and later, on death row, became a passionate and vocal born again Christian.

Houston has tremendous symbolism in the death penalty context, Chammah says. It was the epicenter of the death penalty in Texas, which was itself the epicenter of the death penalty in the country.

Then theres the matter of proximity. Its only 70 miles from Houston to death row in Huntsville. The city also had officials such as Holmes, the former district attorney, known for his outsized persona and for seeking the death penalty whenever possible. His power was as fortified as his Old West image, Chammah writes. The long handlebar mustache, the rich drawl, the tobacco pipe, the deer rack and animal hides that lined his office walls.

He was a Texas-sized figure, seeking what had become Texas-style punishment. As Chammah writes, of the roughly 1,500 executions that Americans have carried out since the 1970s, Texas has been responsible for more than 500. Part of that is due to the states early development of a lethal injection system. Part is due to the states conservative judicial ranks. And part is a sense of retribution that runs throughout the culture of the state.

Yet, recent years have seen a slow but steady fall in the use of the death penalty. The 2005 passage of a state law allowing life without parole sentences gave juries what they may consider a humane option. Alcala has witnessed it first hand as shes changed her own outlook on capital punishment.

As a prosecutor she would see a small enough sample size of death penalty cases to convince her she was seeing, as she says, the worst of the worst criminals. But when she started her tenure with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in 2011, she got a broader view, and she began to see massive systemic problems with the states application of capital punishment.

She came to see it was rife with human error, and unreliable. She became more familiar with the financial costs, especially for small counties, which can be bankrupted by the trials and executions. She saw those racial disparities.

And she saw no benefit to society.

Theres zero benefit other than revenge, she says now. Were really mad at this person and its a revenge killing. But we should be better than revenge.

Killing sprees, including the Trump administrations recent run of 13 federal executions from July 2020 to January 2021, are very rare. No president has overseen so many federal executions. But Chammah says the pendulum is clearly swinging the other way. According to the Washington Post, lawmakers in Virginia, which has executed 113 people since 1976 (second only to Texas), this week passed two bills to abolish the death penalty. Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to sign them. (Many non-Southern states have already abolished it.) President Biden has made his anti-death penalty beliefs known, and human rights and civil rights organizations are pressing him to abolish the federal death penalty and incentivize states to follow.

As Chammah points out, the anti-death penalty groundswell is part of a larger debate over criminal justice reform. Among the questions being asked: Are prisons too full? Is sentencing disproportionate to crimes? Should prisons be primarily for punishment or rehabilitation? Is everyone redeemable?

The death penalty is the symbolic peak of this system, Chammah says. I think it was only a matter of time before we all collectively decided to question it and think about whether it has a place in our society.

Alcala went on to become a lobbyist for death penalty reform. After years of recognizing flaws in the system, she now firmly believes in abolition. She has moral reasons, but for her thats not enough: shes seen too many pro-death penalty advocates cite moral grounds, including the Bible. Alcalas reasoning is more practical.

Is capital punishment barbaric? Some would argue so. Its also bad policy. And thats why it is on the way out.

Vognar is a Houston-based writer.
Egypts cabinet will submit a draft law to the House of Representatives to amend Real Estate Registration Law 186/2020, which had previously amended some provisions of Law 114/1946, a cabinet statement said on Sunday following a ministerial meeting.

These new proposed amendments, the statement added, will give authority to the cabinet to delay the enforcement of the new Real Estate Registration Law  which was initially set for 6 March  till the end of December 2021.

According to Law 186/2020, which was approved by the House last August, citizens are required to pay new fees in order to register properties at the Real Estate Registration and Notarisation Authority starting 6 March.

These new registration fees range from EGP 500 for properties up to 100 square metres to EGP 2,000 for properties exceeding 300 square metres.

The new fees, according to amendments to the law that were approved in 2020, would to be paid when property owners request a government agency install facilities such as water, gas, or electricity metres or when they apply to transfer ownership of the property.

Property owners already pay a fee of 2.5 percent on property value, known as the "Real Estate Disposal Tax," a provision which has been in place since 1939 and is a component of personal income taxes.

The new real estate registration law has stirred controversy on social media platforms and among the public in general in the past several days as the initially scheduled date of enforcement approached.

Postponing the enforcement of this law until the end of this year will provide an opportunity to cooperate with parliament in putting forward some new ideas to make things easier for citizens and motivate them to register [their properties], Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Sunday.

On top of these ideas, Madbouly says, would be separating the process of the payment of the Real Estate Disposal Tax and completing real estate registration procedures.

Madbouly stressed that the first goal of the state is the interest of the citizens."

About 95 percent of our real estate in Egypt is unregistered, and the government hopes that all citizens will register their properties, with the aim of securing their properties, the prime minister said, stressing that the government would work on its part to facilitate the procedures for real estate registration.

Meanwhile, Minister of Justice Omar Marawan stated that registering at real estate and notarisation offices allows the state to take stock of real estate wealth, create an identity for each property, and give space to the planned expansion of construction sites.

Registering also secures citizens ownership rights and maximises their benefits; regulates and boosts the real estate market; and, simultaneously, eradicates the phenomenon of illegal construction and slums, Marawan added.

On Wednesday, Madbouly ordered the formation of a ministerial committee to facilitate the procedures required for registering real estate. He also ordered that the procedures and the objective of registration be explained to citizens in order to prevent the spread of rumours and false information on this issue.

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(CNN)  Jack Ma's tech empire may still be facing tough new regulations in China, but Alibaba seems to have won at least a little bit of favor this week from President Xi Jinping.

Alibaba was one of hundreds of companies that Xi commended on Thursday during a ceremony intended to bolster his years-long campaign to wipe out extreme poverty in the country.

Alibaba is a "model" of "national poverty alleviation," according to the certificate it received from the government. The company posted the certification on its Weibo account.

The company also received kudos for its efforts from Chinese state media, which this week called attention to Alibaba's efforts to help farmers sell some $155 billion worth of agricultural products through its e-commerce websites in support of Xi's campaign. State-run China Youth Daily published a report on Wednesday praising the company for its innovations, such as using AI algorithms to help farmers raise chicken, helping people sell agricultural products through live-streaming, providing education and training to poor women in the countryside, and extending loans to rural regions through its online banking services.

The government-backed praise is welcome news for Alibaba and Ma, which for months have been caught up in an intensifying crackdown by Beijing on the country's tech sector, including an anti-trust investigation.

The e-commerce giant's financial tech affiliate, Ant Group, is also expected to undergo major restructuring to satisfy regulators who are concerned about its vast reach in digital payments and finance. Ant's highly anticipated IPO was called off late last year after Ma criticized Chinese regulators.

The criticism of Ma in particular  who had not been seen in public for months before he briefly reemerged in January  even appeared to make its way into state media. Last month, he was left off a list of major Chinese business leaders compiled by the Shanghai Securities Journal.

And late last year, The People's Daily  the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party  published an opinion piece urging tech firms to take more responsibility and focus less on short-term results.

"Internet giants with massive amounts of data and advanced algorithms should have more responsibility, more aspirations, and more accomplishments in technological innovation," the piece read.

Alibaba "is privileged to have participated in [the anti-poverty campaign]," Alibaba wrote in a Weibo post Thursday.

Toeing the party line has a lot of benefits for Alibaba. Xi made clear last September that he expected private companies to support the work of the Communist Party.

Tech firms contributing to Xi's anti-poverty campaign are fulfilling their obligation of "serving the state," according to Alex Capri, a research fellow at Hinrich Foundation and a visiting senior fellow at National University of Singapore.

"This reflects well upon the party and wins support," he added. "As long as Big Tech is seen to be in proper alignment with the [Party's] nationalist message, they will be spared further public chastisement."

Even so, Capri cautioned that the praise for Alibaba this week "is not a contradiction of the Chinese Communist Party's hard line against Big Tech."

He still expects that the government will continue its crackdown, which is fueled by concerns that tech firms have too much influence over China's financial system. Several media outlets have reported that Ant, for example, has agreed with authorities to become a financial holding company  a move that could force it to scale down its aspirations to be a dominant force in the tech world.

 Jill Disis contributed to this report.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Alibaba is back in Beijing's good books for helping to fix poverty".
NEWS

Pentagon transforms Campia Turzii unit into a NATO air hub at the Black Sea A former Soviet airbase in central Romania could become a hub for US Air Force operations in south-eastern Europe, where the Pentagon is seeking to Mai mult

Nuclearelectrica shareholders approved to terminate negotiations with Chinese for building reactors 3 and 4 from Cernavoda Nuclearelectrica's Board of Directors has been mandated to initiate proceedings to terminate negotiations with China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), as well as legal effects Mai mult

Renault holds expansion of its plant in Romania, 15,000 jobs cancelled at global level "Putting capacity growth projects planned in Morocco and Romania on hold" - is one of the measures included in the draft plan of Renault Group Mai mult

Romania is a net importer of electricity in 2020 as well Romania imported an amount of electricity of almost 796 GWh in the first month of this year, by more than 36% above what it exported Mai mult

Shareholders of Galati steel plant promise investments of one billion euros GFG Alliance has committed to invest one billion euros to upgrade Galati steel plant in order to reduce emissions and increase production. Another EUR 1 Mai mult

Top 3 reasons why young people leave Romania Lack of trust in authorities, corruption and low living standards are the main reasons why young people leave Romania. The data is part of a Mai mult

IMM Invest Romania  program implementing rules have been published The Ministry of Public Finance announces that it has issued the methodological norms for the implementation of the Program for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises Mai mult

Pollution import and car park expansion: comparisons with the other EU states Romania is the EU country with the fewest cars in terms of the number of inhabitants, according to data recently published by Eurostat. We appear Mai mult

Laura Codruta Kovesi remains alone in the race for European Chief Prosecutor French Prosecutor Jean-Francois Bohnert will be appointed as head of the European Financial Prosecutor's Office, a position for which he was heard on Thursday, 11 Mai mult
A star on the hit TLC show 90 Day Fiance says his ex-girlfriend is in a better place financially thanks to him and the show.

Ed Brown, 55  known as 'Big Ed,'  says his Filipina ex Rose Vega, 24, is now 'in a better financial situation,' due to their relationship, opening up about it in an interview with People magazine.

First meeting his younger potential wife online, he traveled to her home in the Philippines to court her before things quickly went south.

Better off: Big Ed, 55, from the hit TLC show 90 Day Fiance says his ex Filipina girlfriend Rose Vega, 24, is now in a 'better financial situation' because of him

Lap of luxury: Thanks to her appearance on the show, Rose has been afforded viral fame and has been able to support herself financially in ways she had never imagined; pictured February 26

Despite being broken up, Big Ed said that Rose has been very successful thanks to him and the fame the show afforded them.

'She's in a better financial situation, and that's because of us meeting, than she could ever imagine. She's very successful with her online business. She's modeling, she added a second story to her sister's house,' he shared.

The pair reunited virtually on the spinoff 90 Day Bares All, where he addressed the shortcomings that caused their relationship to fall apart, eventually making amends.

Learning from the past: On 90 Day Bares All he got his chance to apologize telling her 'Today, I apologize. You've helped me in so many ways'; pictured July 2020

Thriving: He told People magazine 'She's very successful with her online business. She's modeling, she added a second story to her sister's house'; pictured January 2020

Career driven: Rose has parlayed the show's viral fame into a modeling career, also posting YouTube content; pictured October 2020

On the show he lied about his 4'11 height before meeting her, insinuated she was sleeping around by asking her to get an STD test, and even bluntly remarked at her personal hygiene, telling her she had hairy legs and bad breath.

While over there he also publicly gawked at her family's living quarters - freaking out over their makeshift roof, freely roaming livestock and the presence of rats in the shower.

Ed confessed, 'What was great about that is I got to be complete with Rose. And I got to apologize. And I was kind of forgiven,' saying they both decided to 'move on.'

He admitted that her previous resentment towards him was valid, but above all she was thriving now and that was the important thing.

Moving forward: The pair reunited virtually where he addressed the shortcomings that caused their relationship to fall apart, eventually making amends

Offended: Throughout the course of the show, things between the pair became increasingly hostile - most notably his comments about her personal hygiene and his insinuation she was sleeping around

Terrible time: 'She had always said, 'This was the worst thing that ever happened to me and you came to the Philippines and you just took advantage of me and used me,' he shared

'She had always said, "This was the worst thing that ever happened to me and you came to the Philippines and you just took advantage of me and used me."'

Ed told Rose, 'Today, I apologize. You've helped me in so many ways. I'm very happy. I'm growing, I still have a lot to learn, but you admired me and you touched my heart  even though it didn't work out.'

Rose said she was 'happy to accept' the apology, also saying that she did not regret that part of their lives.

Not her style: Rose began dating a woman after she and Ed split (though they are no longer together) also sharing, 'I'm happy for him, for whoever he wants to give his sperm to.'

Shortcomings: While courting her in The Philippines he publicly gawked at her family's living quarters - freaking out over their makeshift roof, freely roaming livestock and the presence of rats in the shower; pictured April 2019

'I don't really regret it because, first of all, it already happened. I accept everything because that's the past and it became part of my life. And also, for me to regret it, for what? For what purpose? Am I right? Because I moved on already,' she said.

Rose also said she did love him at the time, but after they split she began dating a woman (though they are no longer together) sharing on the reunion, 'I'm happy for him, for whoever he wants to give his sperm to.'

The photographer turned interior designer told her: 'Well, I'm happy that you're happy and I don't regret meeting you at all. You changed my life for the better. So thank you.'
Saying goodbye until the next session, Rep. Stuart Bishop, R-Lafayette, left, and Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans, knock knuckles after adjournment during the last day of the special legislative session June 30, 2020. Bishop heads the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, which will have principal jurisdiction over tax reform bills this year.
Berlin, Feb 28 : A senior German immunologist, Carsten Watzl, has urged his country to change its mind and start allowing persons aged over 65 to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

In a BBC interview, Watzl, head of the German Society for Immunology, predicted regulators would have to reverse their decision to not recommend the jab for older people.

He urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to have the vaccine live on TV to prove it is safe.

Germany's vaccine commission is currently reviewing its recommendation.

Watzl's call comes after recent studies in Scotland showed the AstraZeneca jab to be effective among the elderly.

Germany is one of several EU states that have expressed doubts over the efficacy of the vaccine in older people.

The country is currently struggling to avoid a third wave of infections as cases remain stubbornly high.

The EU's medical regulator approved the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for all age groups in January.

But the rollout was met by some public scepticism after regulators in countries including France, Germany and Italy recommended that it should not be used for people over 65. They citied insufficient data on its efficacy for older people.

German health authorities have so far used fewer than 300,000 of the 1.17 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine the country has received.

In January, French President Emmanuel Macron said the jab was "quasi-ineffective" for older age groups - a claim strongly refuted by the UK government and British medical regulators. AstraZeneca itself says the vaccine is effective at all ages.

The UK is among countries that have approved the jab for all age groups.

The decision was boosted by recent research led by Public Health Scotland, which found that four weeks after the first dose, hospital admissions were reduced by 85 per cent and 94 per cent for the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca jabs respectively.

Among the over 80s, there was an overall 81 per cent reduction in the numbers admitted to hospital when the results for both vaccines were combined.
Atleast he doesn't hide his reality: Ghulam Nabi Azad praises PM for being frank about his past as tea-seller

Cong leaders shower praises on Azad, say he has major role to play in coming months

India

pti-Deepika S

Jammu, Feb 27: Several Congress leaders on Saturday praised party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad, who retired from the Rajya Sabha recently, with Manish Tewari saying the veteran leader has a major role to play in the coming months as the nation is facing a "threat" to its identity from the ruling BJP.

Azad retired from the Upper House of Parliament on February 15.

"When this country is facing a threat and attempts are being made to change its identity, we need a leader like Azad and his guidance to take the ship of this country to the shore," Tewari said at a function organised by the Gandhi Global Family here.

"The time has come when progressive, nationalist and secular forces should come together on a single platform. Azad has a major role in this," he said.

The former Union minister said senior Congress leaders are here on the invitation of the Gandhi Global Family to thank Azad, who has held high posts and served the country and the party at various levels over the past four decades.

"Azad is a dedicated Congress party worker and it is not wrong to say that he is the among a few who understand the party as he had been in charge (of party affairs) of various states," Tewari said.

Mallikarjun Kharge to replace Ghulam Nabi as Leader of Opposition

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre, he said it is responsible for the prevailing situation in the country due to its alleged misrule over the past six-and-a-half years.

"Jammu and Kashmir was hit hard by its unilateral decision on August 5, 2019. It has never happened in the history of the country that a full-fledged state was bifurcated into Union Territories. J&K has a golden history and is the crown of India and we promise to fight for the restoration of statehood to it," the Congress leader said.

He claimed that the Centre''s move was "against the Constitution and justice".

In his address, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said questions are being raised as regards "why are we here".

"We live in India and it is our right to go anywhere in the country. We do not need permission from anyone. We have come here to give a message that with a person with whom we have spent over 40 years, we are with him," Sharma said.

However, he said, "We have raised our voice to improve the health of the party and strengthen it so that the youth join the party."

"We have seen good times and do not want to see the decline of the party as we grow older. We will take the political fight from Jammu to Nagpur and will fight it together," Sharma said, adding those who are attempting to mislead the public and create a wrong notion should note that "Congress is our identity and we are the identity of Congress".

"We have given our prime to the party and walked a long distance. None of us was dropped by a parachute and we used the doors to enter the party instead of the window. We will strengthen the Congress and become the hope of the people, India will reach new heights," he said.

Showering praises on Azad, Sharma said nobody should be of the opinion that his career is over with his retirement from the Rajya Sabha.

"This was not the right time to retire him from the Rajya Sabha as the country is faced with challenges. We feel the pain of Jammu and Kashmir and will continue with our fight to ensure that the erstwhile state gets its statehood back," he said.

He said this is for the first time after 1950 that the Rajya Sabha has no representative from Jammu and Kashmir after the retirement of Azad.

"The Jammu and Kashmir assembly election has not taken place and none of its representatives has been elected to the Rajya Sabha," he said.

Taking a dig at the BJP, he said India cannot be run on a single ideology.

Another Congress leader Raj Babbar said there are some who are terming them as "G-23" leaders.

"I am saying we are Gandhi-23 and the Congress leaders are with the ideology of Gandhi," he said.

"This G-23 wants a strong Congress and we are determined that Gandhi-23 will work to ensure the party''s victory in the upcoming elections in different states," Babbar said.

"The journey of Azad has not finished. It has not even not reached the half-way mark. We need the support of every Gandhian and Congressman to ensure that Azad completes his journey," he said.

Senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Boopinder Singh Hooda described Azad as a nationalist by core.
REUTERS

Satirist, actor, and prominent internet activist Sacha Baron Cohen escalated his attacks on Big Tech on Friday, accusing the billionaires who run Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, and Twitter of promoting and profiting off violence and murder.

In an online interview with Time magazine editor in chief Edward Felsenthal as part of the Time100 Talks series, Baron Cohen recalled how Big Techon the night of last Novembers electionwas a super-spreader of the lie that millions of votes were being stolen from President Donald Trump.

That lie was spread via Facebook, via YouTube, via Twitter, and the heads of these organizations knew very well that they were enabling this lie to become a mass movement, and that the end result would be violence, Baron Cohen said, citing other instances of mob violence that had been connected with social media. So they knew very well at that time what would be happening in Januarya reference to the lethal Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Baron Cohena Cambridge-educated Brit who in real life bears zero resemblance to such iconic characters as Borat and Ali Ghas dubbed Big Tech The Silicon Six for the six leaders of the five dominant companies, notably including the actors particular bete noire, Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg.

Borat 2 Exposes the Insidious Racism of Trumps America

They are unelected. They are white billionaires. Why is it that they should be deciding what happens with democracy? Baron Cohen demanded.

He argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Actwhich protects social-media companies from legal liability when they platform big lies, slander, bigotry, Holocaust denialism, and other forms of hate speechneeds urgently to be overhauled.

In every other industry, you can be sued for the harm you cause, Baron Cohen said. Publishers, as you know, can be sued for libel, people can be sued for defamation. I have been sued hundreds of times. In fact, Im still being sued now by a very eminent judgea sarcastic reference to former Alabama Senate candidate and accused pedophile Roy Moore, one of Baron Cohens unwitting victims in 2018s Showtime series Who Is America?

Story continues

By contrast, social-media companies are protected from such litigation, and Facebook cannot be held liable for the harm that it does, including deaths, Baron Cohen said. There were deaths that were the result of the inability to hold these people liable. There were a handful of deaths. There would be ethnic minorities. Some Jews would be killed in a synagogue, Muslims would be killed in a mosque, and the video would go online on YouTube and on Facebook, and you could not sue them.

Baron Cohen added: We do need some accountability for these people. They must be held liable for the deaths they cause because without it, we are relying on the whims of individuals.

Sacha Baron Cohen Pulls Epic Prank on Far-Right Militia Event

Aiming at Zuckerberg, Baron Cohen continued: One man controls Facebook. It isnt a board. Its Mark Zuckerberg. And not only that. When Mark Zuckerberg passes away, the ultimate control of Facebook goes to his child. So this is the old system of emperors He has decided internationally how 3 billion people get their information, and at a whim, he can shut off news to a country like Australia.

In a dispute over money, Facebookwhich raked in $86 billion in 2020abruptly shut off news content to that country as the Australian parliament was about to pass a law requiring Facebook and Google to pay for repurposing the content of media outlets for their news-feed algorithms. Facebook grudgingly reversed the shutoff after it was widely accused of abuse of power and bullying.

Baron Cohen noted that there already are some exemptions to Section 230. For example, Facebook and other companies can be sued for enabling pedophilia. So my argument is, if theres an exemption for people who want to have sex with children, then surely there should be an exemption for people who are attempting to murder childrenwhose ideologies fundamentally advocate the death of children because they are from a different race or ethnicity.

For more, listen to Sacha Baron Cohen on The Last Laugh podcast.

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A centralised hi-tech control room has been set up by at Haridwar railway station ahead of Kumbh Mela 2021, informed Senior divisional commercial manager of Moradabad railway division on Saturday.

"A centralised control room has been set up at Haridwar railway station ahead of Kumbh Mela 2021. All the nearby railway stations have been connected through CCTV, with their feed being streamed at this control room. A telephone line has also been set up at the centre," they said.

The preparations are underway for Kumbh Mela 2021 to be held from 1st to 30th April in Haridwar.

The Uttarakhand government has decided to limit the Kumbh this year to 30 days due to pandemic.

Officers in charge of the Kumbh Mela said that those who attend the religious congregation should do prior registration at a portal and should have a COVID-19 negative report.

Kumbh Mela is not only a religious pilgrimage, but one of the largest mass gatherings at one place. It is celebrated four times over a course of 12 years and spans four locations namely Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.

The Maha Kumbh is celebrated in a cycle of 12 years at four river-bank pilgrimage sites across India.

(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.)
Scotland Yard detectives have a saying about their less talented bosses: He couldnt investigate his way out of a paper bag. The phrase perfectly sums up former Met commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howes internal review into the mass shredding of police corruption files.

After an embarrassing grilling from MPs in 2014, the countrys most senior police officer promised to get to the bottom of findings by a barrister-led inquiry that four bin bags relating to police corruption in the bungled investigation into the 1993 murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence had been shredded. Years passed and the Met never mentioned what had happened to the review. Until now.

Former Met commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe was in charge of an internal review into the mass shredding of police corruption files which lasted around eight months

The silence may explain why Home Secretary Priti Patel thought Lord Hogan-Howe not to investigate would be the best person to solve another scandal: how 200,000 DNA, arrest and fingerprint records went missing from the Police National Computer. But after a tortuous round of emails with the Met press office, the force last week admitted Hogan-Howes shredding review went on for about six months, spoke to over 100 people and, in August 2014, found precisely nothing. Hogan-Howe was unable to determine what corruption documents were shredded, whether they were saved beforehand (as was claimed at the time), or indeed, whether the documents ever existed. But it gets worse. The Met refused to say if Hogan-Howe had spoken to his predecessors, Lords John Stevens and Ian Blair, the key witnesses under whose watch the shredding occurred.

Last week, Hogan-Howe, whos currently under pressure to explain his role in the bungled VIP child abuse Operation Midland, refused to comment.

Nor would Stevens and Blair. To be fair to Stevens, he may have been too busy attending to his 31 registered outside interests. Hes spoken just 25 times in the House of Lords since donning ermine in 2005 and only once since 2018. The last time he voted was in 2019.

Perhaps its time Lord Stevens vacated his seat and the select committee called him, Blair and Hogan-Howe to explain themselves.

What a paper-thin excuse

Every little helps will be a slogan familiar to former Tesco boss Ian (now Baron) MacLaurin. So who can blame him for recently using Lords headed notepaper to write a personal note lobbying for a local planning application? When MacLaurin stood down from the Lords in 2017, he must have forgotten to leave the stationery. Last week, he had to formally apologise for breaching rules forbidding retired peers from using official notepaper.

Baron MacLaurin used the headed paper to write a note for a local planning application

The reason he gave the watchdog is a gem: lockdown denied him access to his office and his own printing paper. We all remember how panic-buying stripped shelves at Tesco of toilet paper, but printing paper (2.85 for 500 sheets)? His apology was ungentlemanly, too: It was my mistake with my secretary. He has since said all HofL paper has been shredded  perhaps along with any shred of respect his secretary had for hi
Several blasts were heard in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday and the cause was not immediately known.

Saudi cities and infrastructure have frequently come under missile and drone attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebel fighters in neighboring Yemen. Saudi Arabia heads a military coalition thats been battling the Houthis for six years.

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The province has invited a total of 993 candidates so far in 2021.

Manitoba invites 207 in new PNP draw The province has invited a total of 993 candidates so far in 2021.

Manitoba invites 207 in new PNP draw The province has invited a total of 993 candidates so far in 2021.

Manitoba invites 207 in new PNP draw The province has invited a total of 993 candidates so far in 2021. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Manitoba invited 207 immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination on February 26.

This is the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)s fourth draw of the year. Skilled workers and international graduates were invited through the following three streams:

Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration

The Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs) and the Expression of Interest (EOI) score requirement were issued as follows:

Skilled Workers in Manitoba: 158 LAAs and a minimum score of 457;

Skilled Workers Overseas: 21 LAAs and a minimum score of 698; and

International Education Stream: 28 LAAs (no EOI score requirement).

In this draw, five LAAs went to Express Entry candidates.

Express Entry

Express Entry is the main way Canada manages skilled worker applications. It is possible to receive a permanent residence invitation by applying through Express Entry directly. Such invitations are issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In addition, one can enter the Express Entry pool and then receive an invitation from a province such as Manitoba.

To enter the Express Entry pool, you need to meet the requirements of one of the three Express Entry programs. You are then ranked based on a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score that takes into consideration factors like your age, work experience, education, and language skills.

The highest-scoring candidates receive invitations to apply for permanent residence through regular Express Entry draws.

You gain an additional 600 CRS points if you receive a provincial nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). This effectively guarantees you will get an Invitation to Apply (ITA) from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

About the MPNP

If you want to benefit from a provincial nomination from Manitoba, you need to register an Expression of Interest with the MPNP. This enables you to potentially receive an LAA through the Skilled Workers in Manitoba and Skilled Workers Overseas streams.

Manitoba then ranks candidates out of 1,000 points for their human capital factors as well as their connections to Manitoba.

The Skilled Workers Overseas Category and Skilled Workers in Manitoba streams are designed to allow the province to identify candidates who meet its labour market needs.

Candidates overseas need to demonstrate connections to Manitoba through the likes of close family ties, previous experience in Manitoba, or an invitation through one of Manitobas Strategic Recruitment Initiatives. You do not need to be living in Manitoba at the time of your application to be eligible.

In order to receive an invitation under the Skilled Workers in Manitoba category, you need to have a full-time job offer from a provincial employer.

International graduates who complete education in Manitoba can receive an LAA under the International Education Stream if they demonstrate that they have in-demand skills.

Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
I expect all bureaucrats at the department to back the secretary and the executive team, and focus on doing their jobs. They must stop hiding behind ideology as a reason to oppose change, and recognise that these policy reforms are about students and student outcomes. Get on board - or get out of the way. But there is also a view that Mr Latham has hit a nerve; that he has highlighted weaknesses in the education system that have been glossed over or ignored for years, and is forcing the sector to face some uncomfortable truths. Late last year, Mr Latham claimed policy victories on Twitter. Mandatory year 1 phonics check - done, he wrote. Clean out [NSW Education Standards Authoritys] 42,000 professional development courses - done. Earned autonomy replaces [Local Schools Local Decisions] - done. Introduction of Teach for Australia - done. He now adds the recent announcement of ambassador schools to that list. That was similar to our best practice schools initiative [in the education committee report], Mr Latham told the Herald, to get the best schools to mentor others. Publicly, the government brushed off the tweet. Privately, it was said to be furious.

But many believed Ms Berejiklian to be sympathetic to Mr Lathams views, and that he had a direct line to her office. He says any such access was cut off abruptly when he raised information about her personal relationship with disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire in parliament. Mark Scott, head of the NSW Department of Education, at the 2021 Sydney Morning Herald Schools Summit Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Few in education - which is heavily dominated by people from the political and social left - would dream of publicly admitting Mr Latham has raised legitimate questions on some issues because they disagree so deeply with his views on others. But some will do it anonymously. Most of them have a kernel of reasonableness, but theyre just over-stated, said one. Sometimes he puts pressure on to deliver the undeliverable. But some of it is good pressure. Over the years, the Teachers Federation has played this role too, they said. Mr Latham might ask blunt questions about what the department is doing to improve academic outcomes, but no-one else had been asking those questions. There was a vacuum. Latham fills that vacuum, the insider said. The issue is the mix of cutting through what is traditional lethargy by the department, versus sorting out and putting aside the way he demands things are done that are genuinely unreasonable.

One issue that has caused deep consternation within education circles is the decision last year from the NSW Education Standards Authority to disendorse almost all of the 40,000-plus private sector teacher training courses after Mr Latham questioned the legitimacy of a few of them. He attacked, for example, a NESA-accredited NSW Teachers Federation course on how to be a union organiser. Soon after, NESA announced that almost all accreditation had been withdrawn and providers would have to re-apply. He put the wind up the minister or the government or NESA, and they pulled the plug on all professional learning, said Denis Mootz, the president of the NSW Professional Teachers Council. Its members are among those that will have to seek re-accreditation. All endorsements, all accreditation, thousands and thousands of them, just because they were criticised by a politician. If there was something wrong with it, fine. Overhaul it. Dont shut them down and then start again. Loading

Some within the government admit it could have been better handled, but argue it would have been absurdly resource-intensive to comb through 42,000 courses. There was also a fear the area would be a gold mine for Mr Latham, and needed to be shut down. Mr Latham applauded the governments action. Nobody knew what was in [those courses], he said. I exposed the folly of that, and the misuse of it. We wont end up with a porridge bowl of 42,000 unchecked, unverifiable courses. The NSW Teachers Federation argues Mr Latham should be ignored, saying his party attracted only 6.9 per cent of the vote. The views expressed by One Nation are extreme, fringe political views at times antithetical to evidenced-based educational theory and practice that inform the profession, said president Angelo Gavrielatos. No Government should ever allow political interference in our curriculum. Mr Latham says he has always been interested in education, and was alarmed upon returning to NSW politics many years after his federal career that MPs no longer took on subject specialties. Just about every MP has become a generalist.
Shaheed Al-Hafed, February 28, 2021 (SPS) - On Saturday, the President of the Republic, the Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Mr.Brahim Ghali, received the credentials of the Zimbabwean Ambassador, Mr. Vusumuzi Ntonga, as Zimbabwe's ambassador to the Sahrawi Republic (SADR), at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic.



In a statement to the press, the Zimbabwean ambassador resffirmed the support of his country to the Sahrawi people and continuation to accompany its struggle for the realization of its legitimate rights to freedom and independence.



The Zimbabwean ambassador congratulated the Sahrawi people and its leadership on the occasion of the 45 anniversary of proclamation of SADR. (SPS)



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Cincinnati, Ohio - A former contractor with the U.S. Air Force pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio Thursday to illegally taking approximately 2,500 pages of classified documents.

Izaak Vincent Kemp, 35, of Fairborn, was charged on January 25, 2021, by a Bill of Information.

According to court documents, Kemp was employed as a contractor at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) from July 2016 to May 2019, and later as a contractor at the U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). While working at AFRL and NASIC  both located on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn  Kemp had Top Secret security clearance.

Despite having training on various occasions on how to safeguard classified material, Kemp took 112 classified documents and retained them at his home.

Law enforcement discovered the documents which contained approximately 2,500 pages of material classified at the Secret level, while executing a search warrant at Kemps home on May 25, 2019.

Unauthorized removal or retention of classified documents is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division of the Department of Justice; David M. DeVillers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Cincinnati Division; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; and Fairborn Police Chief Terry Bennington announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice. The Department of Justices Deputy Criminal Chief Dominick S. Gerace and Trial Attorney Matthew J. McKenzie of the National Security Division are representing the United States in this case.
Police fired tear gas and water cannons and there were reports of gunfire Sunday in Myanmar's largest city where another anti- protest was underway with scores of students and other demonstrators hauled away in police trucks.

The violence erupted early morning when medical students were marching in Yangon's streets near the Hledan Center intersection, which has become the gathering point for protesters who then fan out to other parts of the city.

Footage showed protesters running away from police as they charged at them, and residents setting up makeshift roadblocks to slow their advance. Nearby, residents were pleading with police to release those they picked up from the street and shoved into police trucks to be taken away.

There was no immediate word on casualties. Sounds of gunfire could be heard and what appeared to be smoke grenades thrown into the crowds.

Security forces now appear to become more aggressive in using force and making arrests as the popular uprising against the February 1 military takeover gathers steam.

Myanmar's crisis took a dramatic turn on the stage over the weekend at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly when the country's UN ambassador declared his loyalty to the ousted civilian government of and called on the world to pressure the military to cede power.

Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun declared in an emotional speech to fellow delegates Friday that he represented Suu Kyi's civilian government elected by the people and supported the fight against military rule.

MRTV, a state-run television channel, broadcast an announcement Saturday from the Foreign Ministry that the ambassador was fired because he had abused his power and misbehaved by failing to follow the instructions of the government and betraying it.

Kyaw Moe Tun had urged all countries to issue public statements strongly condemning the coup, and to refuse to recognize the military regime. He also called for stronger measures to stop violence by security forces against peaceful demonstrators.

There were arrests Saturday in Myanmar's two biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, where demonstrators have been hitting the streets daily to peacefully demand the restoration of the government of Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy party won a landslide election victory in November.

Police in Dawei, in the southeast, and Monywa, 135 kilometers (85 miles) northwest of Mandalay, also used force against protesters. Both cities, with populations of less then 200,000 each, have been seeing large demonstrations.

Nearly 800 people have been reported arrested since the

The junta said it took power because last year's polls were marred by massive irregularities. The election commission before the military seized power had refuted the allegation of widespread fraud. The junta dismissed the old commission's members and appointed new ones, who on Friday annulled the election results.

(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.)
Jordan's interior and justice ministers were sacked Sunday for breaching health regulations to stem the spread of coronavirus, with their replacements named by royal decree.

The pair were asked to step down by Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh, a move immediately endorsed by King Abdullah II, according to a statement from the royal palace.

They are accused, according to a government source, of ' having violated the emergency law" put in place to curb Covid-19.

The Jordanian news website Ammon claimed interior minister Samir Mobaideen and justice minister Bassam Talhuni had attended a dinner in a restaurant in Amman with a total of nine people, when the law allowed a maximum of six.

Tawfiq Krishan, deputy prime minister and in charge of local administration, was appointed as the new interior minister.

Ahmed Ziyadat, State Secretary for Legal Affairs, was named as justice minister.

Following a surge in virus cases, Jordan toughened this week its Covid-19 restrictions, returning to rules imposed in March last year, and which were only eased last month.

Jordan, which began vaccinations last month, has officially recorded more than 386,000 novel coronavirus cases and 4,675 deaths out of a population of 10.5 million people.

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Food delivery giant Uber Eats will help its riders stay injury-free on Australian streets by making them the first in its global workforce to access a new set of technology and safety gear following rider deaths that dragged attention toward regulation of the industry.

A week after Facebook agreed to pay news publishers in Australia under threat of regulation, Uber became the latest tech titan to adjust its practices in the face of pressure from Australian courts, unions and parliaments over the consequences of its business model.

Uber Eats boomed during the pandemic. Credit:James Brickwood

From Tuesday, it will roll out a new object recognition feature in its app to detect whether its riders are wearing a helmet, require them to complete a checklist of their bikes roadworthiness, and later this month, start distributing lights, reflective vests, bells and phone holders (though not helmets).

But the more resources a company provides to its workers, the more likely they are to be classified as employees than independent contractors and therefore entitled to the minimum wage, workers compensation and unfair dismissal protections.
Russias coronavirus case tally rose by 11,359 in the past day to 4,246,079, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Sunday, TASS reports.

In relative terms the growth rate reached 0.27%. The lowest growth rates were registered in the Tuva Republic (0.04%) and the Magadan Region (0.06%).

Moscow confirmed 1,737 COVID-19 cases over the past day. Some 939 daily COVID-19 cases were recorded in St. Petersburg, 617 in the Moscow Region, 387 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 295 in the Voronezh Region and 284 in the Rostov Region.

Currently, 348,160 people are undergoing treatment in Russia.
Colombia received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines on Monday and will soon begin to vaccinate its population of 50 million people, the third-largest in Latin America.

Colombia's government says it is aiming to vaccinate 35 million people this year including hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants and refugees.

On Monday a yellow DHL plane carrying Colombia's first 50,000 vaccines arrived at Bogota's international airport and was welcomed by President Ivan Duque and his health minister.

The shots were supplied by Pfizer, which has signed an agreement to sell 10 million vaccines to Colombia.

"We all walk forward with the "V" of vaccines, with the "V" of victory," said Duque from a podium set up on the airport's runway.

Colombia will be one of the last countries in Latin America to start vaccination.

Neighboring countries like Ecuador and Panama began inoculating their populations in January while Chile has already vaccinated one million people.

Duque had come under criticism for not having vaccines shipped to the country sooner, but said that he preferred to start rolling out the shots when Colombia could secure a steady supply.

Government officials say more than 1.6 million vaccines will be arriving in the coming month.

The government is aiming to provide one million coronavirus shots during the first 30 days of its vaccination campaign.

(Image Credit: AP)

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has deemed food pantry staff and volunteers ineligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine (as front-facing grocery store workers are) because these dedicated women and men and the work they do is not considered essential. St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry has provided essential services to residents of Pine Hills and Eagle Hill neighborhoods in the city of Albany for 38 years.

Not essential, really? Perhaps the governor does not fully understand how essential food pantries locally and across this state are to low-income families, people with disabilities, individuals struggling on unemployment checks and homebound seniors and frail elderly  especially during the pandemic. St. Vincents food pantry is a choice pantry, meaning we allow our guests to shop much like you would in a grocery store. We have modified our system to allow only two guests to shop at a time and limit the number of volunteers in the pantry to help with choosing groceries. Volunteers and guests follow the required protocols of social distancing and wearing masks.
Today, the abdication of moral authority in thousands of Christian churches nationwide dangerously perpetuates a disproved notion, but one held by millions, that Joe Biden was illegitimately elected.

The clergys unwillingness to denounce such outrageous, polarizing deceptions, created and spread by malign sources, makes one wonder if church attendance and full coffers have trumped their ethics and courage.

When churches that claim to stand for social justice, equality and peace recoil from calling out false rhetoric that intensifies bigotry, racism and violence, is it any wonder that a neutral observer might question how all that comports with Jesuss teachings?

Its true, as John Adams once stated, that facts are pesky things. But pesky . . . or critical to Americas survival? In our current misguided, violent, enraged state, if churches fail to advocate for truth and humanity, are they still relevant as sacred, life-affirming institutions?

In 1930s Germany, Lutheran and Catholic churches adopted a disastrous policy of accommodation towards Adolf Hitler. Today, we see a similar approach here, including, silence in the face of evil, paving the way to authoritarianism or worse.

Ultimately, in its silent complicity, the church, once again, will undermine its claim to the legitimacy and stature it craves.

William H. Schneider, Mechanicsburg Pa.
Is the 500m bath that Denis OBrien took on Irish media ownership the low watermark for how bad it can get for industry investors?

Maybe not.

The case of Facebook and Australia is a warning that there may still be tough times to come.

While OBrien turned a 650m-plus investment into something closer to around 150m over his ownership tenure here, some of the lessons he didnt heed may be on repeat down under.

There, the newspaper industry is betting a portion of its future  and maybe some of the worlds media interests  on magic beans.

In case you missed it, Facebook agreed to follow Google in bunging some cash to the biggest Australian media conglomerates in exchange for the government there not subjecting it to a link tax.

Regardless of how my esteemed colleagues try to sell it, it was an out-and-out shakedown, with little grounding in business sense or economics.

The government basically bought the argument of Rupert Murdochs News Corp that whoever the biggest firms on the internet are should pay him for any discussions or links about stories published by him (even if not broken by him).

That means cash transfers from Google and Facebook, as the biggest internet companies.

And that seems to be the sum of the rationale: no evidence or figures to back anything up (the economics ironically suggest a reverse dependency), no assurances of funding for journalism, no hints of media business model readjustments. Just pay this industry because you guys are doing well.

Facebook and Google, after some pushback, now seem to be content; its another few hundred million (out of billions they earn) to quieten down a lobby.

But for anyone looking to the future of the media business, its a depressing turn of events. It looks for all the world like a corporate stroke from a generation of older newspaper proprietor owners, many of whom still struggle to comprehend online business models and cannot accept their gradual loss of power and influence.

For much of his tenure as a media owner in Ireland, Denis OBrien partially fit this mould. To be clear, he doesnt need to prove anything to anyone when it comes to building businesses: he remains arguably Irelands single most successful entrepreneur over the last 25 years.

But he seemed blinded for around a decade as to the real long-term business impact of online platforms. He argued continually that internet firms should be paying telecoms companies (like his) a cut for the money they were making from services delivered across telephone lines. This was never going to happen and he only really shook off this doomed trope fairly recently.

But that same antipathy toward the Googles and Facebooks may also have prevented him seeing what was happening in publishing  that information and sales and ads and other business processes was irrevocably moving to the more efficient medium of online platforms.

So he kept building up his shareholding in INM and radio stations.

Because of that  and possibly other motivations  he has lost hundreds of millions. But the Australian publishing heist suggests he may not be the last to believe he can beat the onset of technology and public attention trends.

Journalists and media executives have lingering notions around the equivalence of social media platforms with media companies. Facebook now has many eyeballs on it. But those used to be our eyeballs, so wheres our compensation?

But basing the future of our media businesses on internet sites paying us for their users mentioning our story headlines or links is the 2021 equivalent of OBrien appealing to Google to pay Eir or Vodafone for carrying the search giants ad-generating traffic. It may be framed in the language of rebalancing relationships and fairness but is really just an admission of being passed out by technology and modern business.

Local newspapers are shrinking not just because Google is a more efficient place for ads but because Whatsapp and Facebook groups have replaced chunks of their original purpose  to inform people about whats going on in their locality.

This cant be helped. Its a straight, logical evolution of the communication networks we now have. No amount of taxing, pleading or threatening individual tech companies will change it.

This is not to say that there is no innovation or evolution in the media business. Many of the big companies are absolutely competing with the tech platforms in areas they want to, such as audio or video.

The New York Times is almost as much of a media-tech conglomerate now as it ever was a straight newspaper: it debuts dozens of new products every year, learning from its mistakes and building some powerful new tools that people clearly like. Smaller groups are also shifting their focus.

INM, the company I work for, has done creditably well in signing up some 35,000 paywalled subscribers from scratch in a year. Its also starting to move into some promising business information verticals, areas that online platforms themselves would probably take an interest in.

But theres still a lingering air of being owed something by social media companies, that theyre getting attention (and ad cash) on the back of our work.

The 89-year-old Rupert Murdoch, who led the Australian lobby against the tech firms, is a chief proselytiser of this theory. But its only true in the same way that we (media companies) get attention (and online ad cash) off the back of telecoms firms broadband pipes.

The difference is that the telecoms firms, including OBrien, have moved on from this trope. Sooner or later, for the good of building a sustainable media industry, we should too.
Egypt's parliamentary majority Mostaqbal Watan Party (The Nation's Future) announced in a statement on Friday that it intends to propose amendments to a new controversial law regulating the documentation and registration of real estate property in public notary offices to simplify matters for citizens and ease financial burdens.

According to the statement , the party said "it has followed with utmost concern broad-scale reactions and debate on social media over the new law regulating the documentation and registration of real estate property in public notary offices."

It added that "as a result of the above and in line with our principles, which are based on meeting the needs of ordinary Egyptian citizens, the party announces that it intends to submit a proposed amendment to the law related to the documentation and registration of real estate property in public notary offices in a way that will help citizens register their real estate rights in a much simplified way and also guarantee the state's right in regulating the performance of public notary offices."

The party's statement explained that its decision to introduce an amendment to the public notary law also comes in line with the directives of the president of the republic which aim to relieve citizens of financial burdens and modernise the legislative process in a way that serves development objectives.

A number of other political parties in parliament also announced on Saturday that they support Mostaqbal Watan's initiative, saying in a statement that "there is a pressing need to amend the new public notary offices law or better postpone its implementation for at least one year."

The law, which was passed by parliament in August 2020, is scheduled to go into effect next Saturday.

MP Hesham Hussein, the secretary general of parliament's Proposals and Complaints Committee, told the media on Saturday that the majority party of Mostaqbal Watan intends to amend Article 35 of the public notary law (l186/2020), which requires citizens to pay a lot of money and follow many cumbersome bureaucratic measures in order to be able to register their real estate properties.

"This article requires citizens to pay documentation fees ranging from EGP 500 to EGP 2000 as well as a 2.5 percent property tax and in any way that will take one year or more in order to be at last able to have their property documented," said Hussein.

He added that "the article also makes it impossible for citizens to have access to electricity, water and natural gas services unless they first pay the required fees and finish the long complicated measures."

The Parliamentary Spokesperson of Al-Wafd Party Soliman Wahdan also told Ahram Online on Saturday that the party fully supports Mostaqbal Watan's initiative, agreeing that article 35 should be amended or completely scrapped.

"Article 35 of the new public notary offices law in its current form will freeze the property market, making it almost impossible for citizens to sell or buy any real estate units," said Wahdan, adding that "it is very bad and unsuitable to impose new heavy fees on citizens while they are feeling the pinch of the coronavirus crisis in their daily lives."

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Another New Jersey business is prepared to permanently close its doors due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 23,000 lives in New Jersey.

Golds Gym in Howell is set to close March 25, according to a Facebook post made by owner Mark Steinfield Friday evening.

Unfortunately, it saddens me to say Golds Gym Howell has become another casualty, Steinfield said about the pandemics impact on business.

The gym has been part of the Howell community for 32 years, Steinfield said.

Gyms were among the businesses shuttered during a shutdown of non-essential business in New Jersey last March, which was lifted on September 1, when gyms were able to reopen at 25% capacity.

That was not enough to keep this business afloat.

After six months of government-mandated shutdown and six months of stifling restrictions, we are faced with the harsh reality that keeping Golds Gym operating is no longer sustainable, Steinfield said.

A prorated adjustment will be made to customers accounts to make up for the loss in services next month. The closest Golds Gym branch is in Long Branch and customers can transfer their memberships over, Steinfield said.

The Howell Golds Gym joins a long list of New Jersey businesses forced to make the painfully hard decision to close over the last year. Nearly a third of New Jersey small businesses shuttered by the end of 2020.

I cant thank you enough for 32 fantastic years and I hope we have been a positive influence for all of you, Steinfield said.

Tennyson Donyea may be reached at tcoleman@njadvancemedia.com.
During the surge that prompted the statewide stay-at-home order, crowds were sparse at Downtown Disney, the shopping and dining district outside Disneyland, which is the only part of the resort thats currently open to guests.

But now, the guests are coming  so many of them that it has been causing traffic disruptions in Anaheim. On the morning of Feb. 24, over a mile of cars were queued up to park before the gates to the Disney lot even opened. Attendance has been so high that Anaheim police have been in the area in the mornings to manage traffic and the crowds.

Once visitors park, there could be up to an hour wait in line to get through security and temperature check, just to get inside and line up in real or virtual queues to get inside the stores to shop, which also have had waiting times up to several hours long this week.

So whats all the fuss over? In short: Star Wars.

On Feb. 19, Disney opened a new Star Wars Trading Post in the long-vacant Rainforest Cafe space, and despite the pandemic, fans have been turning out in droves.

I visited Downtown Disney on Feb. 22, the Monday after it opened, expecting the same kind of virtual queue wait there was in the fall for World of Disney  maybe two hours at the outside. After navigating a 40-minute wait to get into Downtown Disney, an employee outside the trading post told me at 3:30 p.m. that the virtual queue was already shut down for the day. They expected the more-than-four hour virtual queue to extend to close at 8 p.m.

Being there felt like a regular Disney day. A ton of people, Antonio Reynoso tweeted after visiting that same Monday. Also asked an employee there how the weekend was and he said much worse. Meaning a lot more people than weekdays. He said its a stuffed place.

Once guests are called back through the virtual queue system, theres another wait in an in-person line, which could extend up to an hour.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

There was a temporary Star Wars Trading Post in the Wonderground Gallery space in Downtown Disney for months, but that has since closed. The Disney art gallery has now reopened. While the merchandise is largely the same as what was previously available in that store and the the World of Disney gift shop, the draw is being immersed in an environment that is reminiscent of Star Wars: Galaxys Edge inside Disneyland park.

There is also a new, 7-foot-tall Lego Chewbacca statue outside Downtown Disneys Lego store, made of more than 36,000 bricks.

For some Disneyland fans, any new experience at the resort at all is worth visiting. Theres also a recently opened WandaVision photo op in Hollywoodland, where people can put themselves inside the show by shooting through a television frame onto a recreation of the set.

Other factors are contributing to the crowd size at Downtown Disney lately, including the return of outdoor dining at fan favorites like the Carthay Circle Lounge; that's inside Disney California Adventure, but currently accessible as part of the DTD extension into the Buena Vista Street and Hollywoodland areas of the park.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

A steep Legacy Passholder discount has also been a huge draw. Monday through Thursday, Legacy Passholders  those who held active passes when the parks closed last year  can get up to a 30% discount on food and merchandise at Downtown Disney, as opposed to what was as low as 10% when the Annual Passholder program was active. That discount is scheduled to end March 11 and will likely result in a decline in attendance.

Went to Downtown Disney to get a fix after the year long closure but it didnt help, Los Angeles Eateries tweeted on Feb. 24. Overcrowded, escaped in less than an hour. Insanely long lines to enter stores. Not worth it IMO.

The overcrowded atmosphere is happening while Orange County is still in the purple tier and capacity to the area is limited to 25%. The county, though, is inching closer to the red tier, which would allow indoor dining at 25% capacity, and increase capacity for both outdoor dining and Downtown Disney at large. Another factor that will soon draw more people: A Taste of Disney, a ticketed experience happening in California Adventure starting March 18.

I'm going to Downtown Disney next week before all this starts but only for a few hours, Sarah S. tweeted on Feb. 24. It just gets too crowded as the day goes on even though cast members are so good about mask policing and lines.
Importance of quality tea Letter View(s): View(s):

It is most encouraging to note the meaningful comments made by young minister Kanaka Herath on the post-harvest damage caused to green tea leaves during transportation.

Post- harvest damage leads to degradation of quality and consequently enormous loss in revenue. I earnestly and sincerely appeal to the tea farmers to adhere to the basic principles of plucking. This should be ably supported by the Tea Smallholdings Development Authority and Tea Research Institute at the national level by carrying out vigorous and effective practical sessions. After all there is equal dignity in plucking green leaf as in writing a poem. The utmost priority should be given to this aspect. It is obvious that to make quality teas you need quality leaves.

The practice of transporting already damaged overgrown and boiled leaf in plastic crates will nullify the intended purpose. It is like putting a dead horse in front of the carriage. The factories should strictly follow good manufacturing practices for the benefit of the industry and the country.

Much time and energy has been spent and wasted on debating these vital issues. Let us move on and resolve to walk the talk.

S. Sebastian Retty

Proprietor, Orange Field Tea Factory
Israel, UAE sign tax treaty

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Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor"

Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections

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Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win

Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy

EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU

Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head

EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior

Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman

Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit

Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections

Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control

Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents

Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree

Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge

Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation

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Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan

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Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

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Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

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Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

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Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

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Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

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UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

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Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

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Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

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No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

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Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

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2 people die in Armenia road accident

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Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

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Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

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The search for the remains of missing Dover Heights woman Melissa Caddick has been widened after human remains were found on Mollymook Beach last Friday night.

NSW Police have confirmed they have expanded the hunt for the Sydney businesswoman. Teams have been combing Cunjurong Point, Mollymook and Tathra on the NSW South Coast today. The search was assisted by SES members.

Melissa Caddick and (inset) the shoe found at Bournda Beach, near Tathra, last Sunday. Credit:SMH, Seven News

A police spokesman said the remains found at Mollymook had not yet been linked to Ms Caddick and that it was usual for DNA testing to take up to a week.

The Mollymook find came just days after Ms Caddicks badly decomposed foot in an ASICS running shoe was found at Bournda Beach, near Tathra, last Sunday.
Media companies are facing mounting calls to explicitly commit to using the money sealed through landmark deals with Google and Facebook to invest in newsrooms and journalism jobs.

Following intense negotiations over the governments media bargaining code, the countrys biggest media companies - Nine Entertainment Co (owner of this masthead), News Corp Australia, Seven West Media and Guardian Australia - have in recent weeks signed multimillion-dollar agreements for their content with Google. Seven, Private Media and Solstice Media and Schwartz Media have signed agreements with Facebook and others are expected to soon follow.

The AAP newsroom in 1964. Credit:

But as yet, just how media companies plan to spend this money, if and when the agreements become legally binding, remains unclear.

The union representing journalists, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, said last week that while the tech giants deals provide a welcome revenue stream for the sector, they will be pointless if they are not used to produce news content.
https://www.aish.com/jw/s/6-Little-Known-Jewish-Languages.html

Jewish communities around the world created their own language.

When the ancient Israelites were slaves in Egypt, they assimilated into Egyptian society  with three key exceptions. They never lost their distinctive Jewish mode of dress, they maintained their Jewish names, and they kept their Jewish language. These three features enabled them to just barely hold on to their Jewish identity.

Scattered far and wide, Jewish communities have carved out distinctive languages, keeping them somewhat apart from the larger non-Jewish communities surrounding them. Dr. Mary Connertey, Teaching Professor Emeritus at Penn State Behrend, explained to Aish.com that Anywhere we (Jews) have lived we created our own language.

Sometimes these Jewish languages are very similar to the dominant language around them, yet Jewish forms of languages contain clearly distinct elements. Hebrew words, quotes from Jewish prayers and elements from other languages picked up in the Jewish diaspora mark Jewish minority languages. The history of exile is etched into Jewish languages.

Here are six Jewish languages, spoken amongst Jews as a way of preserving their communities through the years.

Yiddish

Yiddish evolved among Jewish communities in Slavic and Germanic-speaking lands in the Middle Ages. Incorporating German, Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic and other language elements, Yiddish is written using Hebrew letters. It was widely spoken in central and eastern European communities from the early Middle Ages until the decimation of Jewish communities in the Holocaust, and continues to be spoken in some Jewish communities in Europe, Israel, and in North and South America today.

Frontpage of Haynt, Today, a Yiddish newspaper published in Warsaw from 1906 to 1939.

In time, a number of different Yiddish dialects arose in Jewish communities throughout eastern Europe. In each new setting elements from local vernaculars have been absorbed, modified to suit the Yiddish idiom, noted historians Mark Zborowski and Elizabeth Herzog. Whoever knows Yiddish can understand the Yiddish of anyone else, even though some of the words may be incomprehensible. Yet each region has its own accent and idioms, which can be recognized and identified. (Quoted in Life is With People: The Culture of the Shtetl by Mark borowsky and Elizabeth Herzog, Schocken Press: 1952.)

Ladino

Ladino  sometimes variously called Judeo-Spanish, Judezmo, Judio, Jidio, or Spanyolit  is a language written with Hebrew characters that has been spoken by Sephardi Jews around the world for generations. It has its origins in Medieval Spain where the countrys large, vibrant Jewish community developed a unique way of speaking, blending Hebrew and even some Arabic words with Medieval Spanish.

Facing persecution from Islamic rulers in Spain, some Spanish Jews moved to North Africa in the 1300s and 1400s, bringing Ladino with them, establishing Ladino-speaking communities in Morocco.

A sample of Ladino

When Spain was unified under Catholic rule in 1492, the monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella marked the milestone by forbidding any Jews to live in the country on pain of death. 200,000 Jews fled the country, bringing Ladino with them.

Ladino-speaking Jewish communities existed for hundreds of years in North Africa, Yugoslavia, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Egypt, and the Land of Israel. Through the years, local variants incorporated new linguistic elements from Turkish, French, Arabic and Italian. Today, Ladino is still spoken by thousands of Jews, many of them elderly.

Listen to this beautiful Ladino wedding song, Bayla, Bayla (Dance, Dance):

Yevanic

Jews living in the northern regions of Greece developed their own language called Yevanic, also known as Judeo-Greek. The area was home to Romaniote Jews. Prof. Mary Connerty explains they werent Sephardi nor Ashkenazi, but a separate group of Jews who traced their origin to Jews from the ancient Byzantine empire.

Romaniote Jews developed their own dialect of the local Greek language; Prof. Connerty believes that became more distinct and changed into Yevanic during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Beginning with the Ottoman invasion (the Ottoman empire captured Athens in 1458), the language started changing, Prof. Connerty explains. The local Jewish dialect evolved into something that was unintelligible to non-Jewish Greek speakers. The name Yevanic derives from the Hebrew word for Greece: Yavan.

Yevanic contained many Greek words and also incorporated Hebrew, Arabic and Italian. It was traditionally written using Hebrew letters, though some Jews began to switch to writing the language using Greek letters in the 1800s. Romaniote Jews prayed from Jewish prayer books written in Yevanic. There were also some small communities of Yevanic speakers in Turkey. The Constantinople Pentateuch (Jewish Bible) is one of the oldest surviving books written in Yevanic, dating from 1547.

There is still a tiny population of Yevanic speakers in Turkey, Prof. Connerty explains, and a few still in Iran. She estimates that only a few hundred people speak Yevanic today. In northern Greece, there were about 10,000 Yevanic speakers on the eve of World War II. After the Holocaust, just 149 Yevanic speakers had survived. Today, the language is kept alive by a few families in Jerusalem and New York  and by scholars who continue to research Yevanic and other small Jewish languages.

Bukharian

For generations, Bukharian Jews live in scattered communities across Central Asia, primarily in present day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. They trace their history back to Biblical times, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia conquered ancient Israel, destroying the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 587 BCE, and exiled many Jews north into Babylonia. Although many Jews soon returned to Jerusalem and other Jewish lands, some Jews remained in exile, migrating even further north into Central Asia.

Bukhari alphabet introduced in 1930

These Jews were sometimes known as Bukharian Jews because many lived under the reign of the Emir of Bukhara. Jews often called themselves Isro-il (Israelites) or Yahudi (Jews). They developed a distinct dialect of the local Tajik language which incorporated many Hebrew words, as well as language elements from elsewhere in Central Asia, and became known as Judeo-Tajik. It is also known as Bukhori or Bukharian. Bukharian became the first language for many Jewish communities in the area. Even when they were living in areas where their non-Jewish neighbors spoke Uzbek, not Tajik (which was much more similar to Bukharian), Bukharian Jews would communicate among themselves using Judeo-Tajik, or Bukharian.

In the late 1800s, many Bukharian Jews began immigrating to Israel. The Bukharian Quarter in Jerusalem became a thriving center of Bukharian culture. Rabbi Shimon Hakham, a Central Asian-born Bukharian Jew living in Jerusalem, translated many works into Bukharian and sent them back to his co-religionists in Asia. The Bukharian language, which had been primarily oral for centuries, began to develop a literary character in the Jewish state.

Between 1910 and 1916, a Bukharian-language newspaper called Rahamim was published, first in the town of Skobelev and then in Kokand, both in Uzbekistan. Another Bukharian language newspaper called Roshani (Light) ran from 1920 to 1930; in 1930 it changed its name to Bajroqi Minat (Life of the Workers) and continued running until 1938. During this period, Jewish schools in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan taught students in Bukharian, using Bukharian-language schoolbooks. This period also saw a transition from using Hebrew letters to write Bukharian texts to using Latin or Cyrillic letters instead.

Today, there are over 200,000 Bukharian Jews: many live in Israel and the United States. While Bukharian is no longer widely spoken, many older Bukharian Jews continue to remember and speak this distinctive Jewish language.

Watch an interview about Bukharian conducted in the language:

Judeo-Arabic

Distinct forms of Arabic spoken by Jewish communities in the Middle East began to evolve as early as the 8th century, according to New York University Prof. Benjamin Hary. He spoke with Aish.com, describing various versions of Judeo-Arabic as a language variety rather than a fully distinct language. I consider Judeo-Arabic in general a language variety that has its own history and variety all the way from the 8th century until today  and in the past two to three hundred years local varieties have developed in Yemen, the Maghreb, Iraq, and Egypt that are unique to this local variety.

Sample of Judaica-Arabic, from the Cairo Geniza, The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia.

One of the most distinctive aspects of all these diverse Judeo-Arabic dialects is the use of Hebrew letters  rather than Arabic  to write many Judeo-Arabic texts. Another difference from non-Jewish forms of Arabic is pronunciation. Prof. Hary gives the example of Egyptian Judeo-Arabic: Jewish speakers use a long oo vowel sound whereas standard Egyptian pronunciation would say i. In Yemen, Judeo-Arabic dialects sounded even more distinct from the language spoken by non-Jews. at times employing radically different pronunciation from that of local non-Jewish Arabic speakers. Judeo-Arabic dialects also incorporate Hebrew and Aramaic words, as well sometimes as older Arabic words that have fallen out of use in the wider non-Jewish population.

Prof. Hary notes that some of the most notable works of Jewish literature were written in Judeo-Arabic. Judah Halevi (1075-1141), for instance composed his 12th-century classic work, The Kuzari (Kitab al-Xazari), in a part of the Iberian Peninsula that had recently been re-conquered by Christians, but he nonetheless wrote it in Judeo-Arabic, the language of the educated Jewish classes. Maimonides wrote his classic Jewish work Guide for the Perplexed in Judeo-Arabic while he was living in in the late 1100s, Prof. Hary notes; the name in Judeo-Arabic was Dalalat al-Hairin.

Judeo-Italian

In the Middle Ages, Italian Jews developed a unique mode of speaking known today by scholars as Judeo-Italian. Written in Hebrew letters, Judeo-Italian flourished after Jews were confined to small ghettos: all-Jewish neighborhoods in Italian towns where Jews were forced to live. Prof. Sandra Debenedetti Stow, who retired after a career teaching at Israels Bar Ilan University, recently shared her research into this distinctive language with Aish.com.

Since Italian Jews were so confined in the Middle Ages, the language traditions they developed were intensely local. What the Jews spoke and wrote was mainly the dialect spoken in their places of residence, so we speak of Judeo-Roman, Judeo-Piedmontese, Judeo-Venetian and so forth, Prof. Stow explains. Italian Jews incorporated Italian archaic terms and... the presence of Italianized Hebrew terms.

From illustrated Haggadah edited by the noted 17th century Venetian rabbi and author, Leone da Modena, who provided a Judeo-Italian translation.

Judeo-Italian used verbs like achlare (to eat), from the Hebrew leechol and the verbal ending -are, lechtire (to go) from the Hebrew lalechet, and the ending ire, dabberare (to speak), from the Hebrew ledaber, adjectives like ammazzallato (lucky) from the Hebrew mazal, Prof. Stow explains. Some Hebrew terms became adapted to Italian linguistic components too. Prof. Stow notes that talledde was a Judeo-Italian form of the Hebrew word tallit (prayer shawl).

Some Judeo-Italian words were interesting syntheses of Italian and Hebrew terms. Sone meant anti-Semite in Judeo Italian: it came from the Hebrew word sone (hater). Marorre meant an ugly thing in Judeo Italian; it was derived from the Hebrew word for bitter, maror.

Beginning in the Renaissance, Judaic languages in Italian became more Italianized; soon they were simply dialects of local forms of Italian. Today there are no genuine speakers of Judeo-Italian dialects left inside of Italy, Prof. Stow notes, and to the best of my knowledge there arent any speakers outside of Italy. However, in Rome today there is movement among some younger Jews to revive Judeo-Italian and its traditions.

Today, most of these Jewish languages  and other even smaller and lesser known Jewish languages  are considered endangered, their native speakers aging and dwindling. In part, this abandonment of traditional Jewish languages reflects the robust state of Israel as the homeland of the worlds Jewish communities. As Jews have moved to Israel from across the globe, their children grow up conversing in Hebrew. In some cases, Jews have abandoned their traditional languages as anti-Semitism decreased and Jews were allowed to socialize and educate their children in their countries dominant languages.

These Jewish languages reflect the history of our ancestors around the world. The poetry, songs, sayings and writings in Jewish languages are a crucial record of how our ancestors lived; they are a tribute to the rich Jewish lives that our forbearers led.
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy:

Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways,

and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith

to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word,

Jesus Christ your Son;

who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,

one God,

for ever and ever.

Amen.
It is now uncontroversial to say that the future of humankind is intertwined regardless of the status of individual entities. The COVID-19 pandemic has further proved that the international community is a family that shares weal and woe. Given the current problems and challenges, especially in the face of the ongoing global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, what should countries across the globe do to move forward?



China has offered its answer. On several occasions, the country has explained its vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and called for the international community to work together to achieve mutually beneficial and win-win development.

This vision is one of the cornerstones of China's foreign policy in the new era, which underlines China's cooperative approach in various areas, including trade, climate change and security. It also reflects China's expectations and vision for its desired future world.

China is the world's largest developing country, and Africa is home to the largest number of developing countries. With past experiences and a common mission, China and Africa have helped each other and embarked on a distinctive path of win-win cooperation by seizing the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to turn China-Africa cooperation into a pacesetter for building a community with shared future for mankind.

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Over the past two decades, China has implemented 10 cooperation plans and eight major initiatives with African countries. Under the framework of the FOCAC, a large number of infrastructure projects, such as railways, highways, airports and ports, as well as economic and trade cooperation zones have been established in countries across the continent.

At the opening ceremony of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, China made cooperation on health care a priority area, pledging to offer more support and assistance to help African countries build hospitals and promote exchanges and information cooperation on public health.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people in Africa became further marginalized by economic downturns and lockdowns due to the acute weakness of their health systems. China has signed debt service suspension agreements with 12 African countries and provided waivers of matured interest-free loans for 15 African countries to mitigate the negative effect of the pandemic.

China also rebuked so-called vaccine nationalism by carrying out extensive international vaccine cooperation and acting on its promise of offering its vaccines as a global public good to ensure vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries. It is providing vaccine aid to 53 developing countries. In Africa, Zimbabwe and Senegal have received Chinese vaccines, and more are expected to reach Namibia, Ethiopia and Algeria in the coming days.

China's pledges and actions have become a strong illustration of its unwavering resolve to work with Africa to achieve a shared goal of building an international community with a shared future. They are also a demonstration of China's strong sense of responsibility to work with the rest of the world to advance common goals.

Confronted by rising uncertainties and global challenges, only with solidarity and cooperation can countries achieve lasting stability and development. In 2021, officials from China and Africa will gather in Senegal for further FOCAC meetings. More positive outcomes are expected to be achieved, and the China-Africa partnership will further benefit the Chinese and African people so as to build a stronger shared future between China and Africa.

Stephen Ndegwa is a Nairobi-based communication expert, lecturer-scholar at the United States International University-Africa, author and international affairs columnist.





Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
London: The minister in charge of the worlds most successful coronavirus vaccination rollout says countries such as Australia should consider copying Israels new green pass regime, which bans people from entering a swathe of indoor venues if they have turned down the jab.

An unapologetic Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said there was growing international interest in Israels carrot-and-stick approach because it would help control transmission, revive the economy and act as a powerful incentive for young and hesitant groups.

The public is very fond of it. There are some voices opposed but you really have to look at the alternatives, Edelstein told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

If the options are to keep society and the economy closed, or open up to people who have got the vaccine, I think the answer is quite obvious.

Seguin, Texas (78155)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Heavy downpours are possible. Low 66F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Heavy downpours are possible. Low 66F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Cooler sunny weather is due to settle over the UK in the first week of March following a February of temperature extremes.

The highest and lowest temperatures of the winter were both recorded in February, with a 41.4C difference between the two peaks, according to the Met Office.

The mercury hit -23C (-9.4F) in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, on February 11, and on February 24 it rose to 18.4C (65.12F) in Santon Downham, Suffolk.

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Monday, which marks the first day of meteorological springtime, is expected to bring foggy mornings with spells of sunshine breaking through by midday, and average temperatures of around 6C (42.8F) in London.

Northern Ireland and western areas of the UK mainland are set to see the best of the sunshine, which could also bring warmer temperatures in the low teens.

A similar outlook is forecast for Tuesday but rain showers are likely to move in from the south on Wednesday, Met Office meteorologists have said.

On Sunday evening, the Environment Agency had issued one flood warning for areas near the River Burn from South Creake to Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk ahead of the week.

People enjoying the sunny weather in Broadstairs, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Some 31 flood alerts for areas where flooding is possible are also in place for scattered locations, with most concentrated in the south of England and north-east Yorkshire.

No warnings have been issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales or for Northern Ireland.

The cooler climes come after the final weekend of winter saw people flock to parks and beaches to soak up the unseasonal sunshine.

Revellers across the nation from Aberdeen to Plymouth enjoyed temperatures in the mid-teens.

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With more sunny weather on the way, Met Office forecasters have echoed the Governments message to stay at home while lockdown restrictions remain in place.
Alarm over return of leprosy: Rising cases among children By Chrishanthi Christopher View(s): View(s):

An increase in the number of young children reporting with leprosy in the country in the past 10 years has prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare Sri Lanka as a highly endemic country in the region.

The WHO has determined that the high proportion of children among new cases reported in Sri Lanka in 2019 proved the disease, which is curable, be actively being transmitted.

According to the Anti-Leprosy Campaign (ALC) statistics, 181 children under 15 years have reported positive in 2019 amounting to 10.9 % of the total cases reported for the year. The number of afflictions among children has been fluctuating in the past 20 years (2000 and 2019) within a margin of ten percent.

The figures indicate that the Western Province has the most number of child patients with 81 reporting with symptoms. This is followed by the Eastern Province with 36 cases, the Southern Province with 17 cases, the North Central Province with seven cases and the Uva province with six cases.

Among the new cases in the Western Province last year, the Gampaha district reported the most number of afflictions among children with 36 cases, including 12 deformities. The Colombo reported 26 cases with 14 deformities.

In total, 93 cases of leprosy related deformities were reported around the country. The ALC attributes the trend to lack of awareness, delays in diagnosis due to inaccessibility to health services and economic constraints.

ALC Director Champa Aluthweera said health workers in some areas did not have the skills and training to identify the cases at their early stage and this also had contributed to the increase in cases.

The total number of patients afflicted with leprosy last year was 1,749 including 43 relapse cases and 44 defaulters.

Statistics also show about 455 patients presented themselves late for treatment, six months after the appearance of the first symptom.

The ALC said New Case Detection Rate (NCDR) in 2019 had been 7 to 12 cases per 100,000 patients or some 2000 new cases every year for the last 20 years.

Cases with deformity ranged between 6 and 8 until 2015, then increased to 10 in 2016 but are gradually decreasing in the last three years.

Last year, the highest number of 224 new cases was reported from the Colombo district, followed by 213 cases in the Gampaha district, 136 in the Kalutara district and 16 in the Ratnapura district.

The Batticoloa districts 126 new cases and the Ampara districts 50 new cases last year were the highest for the two districts in the past 20 years.

These shocking figures have underscored the need to strengthen the process to detect unreported cases in the two districts, Dr. Aluthweera said.

The ALC has intensified its screening facilities in untouched pockets. Last year 5,004 contacts of patients were identified and screened. Of this, 108 turned out to be positive.

The increased prevalence of the disease among young children and females has made the health authorities focus on pockets among factory workers and in schools.

Special medical inspections are being carried out in schools by public health inspectors.

In Katunayake and Biyagama, the ALC, through its mobile service, is conducting tests, going house-to-house checking for early diagnosis among the BOI and free trade zone women.

Also it has introduced 19 satellite clinics around the country. Last year, 15,559 people among slum dwellers and crowded populations were screened, leading to the detection of 47 new cases, including two cases with serious deformities.

In various untouched pockets, ALCs awareness programmes have brought in positive results, with patients voluntarily seeking treatment.

Private doctors also has been contributing in a great way referring patients to dermatological units in state hospitals.

Sri Lanka eliminated leprosy as a public health problem in 1995 when it reported less than one patient in 10,000 people. But in 2013 leprosy was declared as a notifiable disease.

Between 2016 and 2020, Sri Lanka joined the global drive towards a leprosy-free world by initiating action, ensuring accountability and promoting inclusiveness in its leprosy eradication task.

But 25 years after eliminating the disease, the country is once again faced with the task of containing it. It is argued that the low priority given for leprosy control after 1995 has contributed to the present hike.

Health experts said it is important to keep leprosy in the agenda of regional district health services and epidemiology units for effective eradication.

Now they have set a 2030 target to eradicate leprosy completely.

The health sector is also lobbying lawmakers to repeal the Lepers Ordinance 4 of 1901 introduced by the British under which patients with leprosy were segregated and treated.

With the introduction of the mutli-drug therapy, leprosy patients are now treated in their home settings.

This has rendered admission to leprosy hospitals in Hendala, 6 km from Colombo, and at Manthivu in Batticoloa redundant.

Early detection of symptoms and seeking treatment immediately rescue patients from damage to peripheral nerves that can result in deformities, experts say.
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Mobiles Africatown community is poised to open a new museum this year, and other attractions are soon to follow with a Welcome Center and walking and water tours.

The potential is due to the 2019 discovery of the slave ship Clotilda, which brought 110 enslaved Africans to the U.S. in 1860. Some predict the region becoming a massive draw that rivals the Equal Justice Initiatives national lynching museum in Montgomery.

But existing environmental issues that have spanned decades continue to plague the community. Activists believe those issues could be a hindrance to Africatowns potential, and are taking their case to city officials. On Thursday, concerns were expressed over a lack of environmental justice that has harmed the community for decades, and which should be addressed within the rewrite of Mobiles zoning and land development code - the first major revision of the citys codes since the mid-60s.

As we continue to make plans for Africatown as an African American cultural site and destination, I am imagining the tours that will take you past the industrial area surrounding this 150-year-old community, said Lella Lowe, a west Mobile resident. That would demonstrate, right now, environmental injustice in action.

Lowe was among the representatives with the Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition (MEJAC) and the Mobile County NAACP who participated in a virtual public hearing about the citys Unified Development Code.

Africatown District

Africatown in Mobile. Mobile photos 2021. (Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com).Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Their comments focused on a chapter of the overall code called the Africatown Overlay District, which is one of only a handful of special districts listed within the new code. The groups believe the Africatown version of the code is not a strong enough effort by city officials to keep new heavy industry from creeping into or near a community that has long been surrounded by smog-producing paper plants and other facilities that continue to bring large trucks, smog and noise to the neighborhood.

City officials argue that the new code is a living document that can be changed and adjusted over time. They want the entire code adopted, and the citys planning commission will consider it during a meeting early next month.

The new code replaces one that was last adopted in the 1960s. Only smaller revisions have occurred since then, and city officials say its past time to move the rewrite forward.

The current proposal represents four years of work, and comments from over 1,300 residents.

Our existing, 50-year-old code is broken, said Shayla Beaco, the citys senior director of community affairs. Its antiquated, hard to administer  it does not serve anyone well. The draft (revision) is a giant step forward. We have to start somewhere. We believe this (revision) creates a platform we can build upon.

The Africatown activists hope the city considers their concerns, which highlight the issue of environmental justice and racism in a community of approximately 2,000 residents. The community is almost exclusively Black after it was, long ago, created by the survivors of the slave ship.

This is a community that has not received justice from the day they arrived, said Herbert Wagner, a Mobile resident who has concerns over heavy industry near Africatown.

He added, If we say we are supporting Africatown, its time we also do that walk and protect Africatown from encroachment of any industry. When I sit on the front porch with friends, you hear heavy machinery. All day you hear the trucks coming. People will come to Mobile to see Africatown and what they (will) see is industry and what they (will) hear is industrial equipment. I dont know how likely they are to encourage their friends to come down and visit.

Environmental concerns

MEJAC and the NAACP also believe the code is lacking in other areas, including fair housing and waterfront conservation. Some of the highlights based on a MEJAC blog posting and from statements made during Thursdays meeting:

-Weak definitions of protection buffers between the fence lines of Africatown residences and industry. MEJAC believes the code should allow for 10-foot brick or concrete walls separating residents from the neighboring industry, and that chain-link fencing is not a suitable buffer.

-Does not do enough to address blight and should implement beautification requirements for non-residential developers.

-Omits waterfront conservation and should address efforts to bolster cleaner water and other efforts to promote tourism.

-Does not adequately protect residential communities  like Africatown  from new coal handling facilities. MEJAC is pushing for coal operations to be taken up separately from the zoning code rewrite.

-Ignores the metrics the city has already set forth in its fair housing goals.

In addition, MEJAC is concerned about the lack of stringent prohibitions against new oil storage tanks from locating near Africatown. That issue resurrected what seemed to be resolved issues from about five years ago, when the Mobile City Council agreed on a 1,500-foot space between new oil tanks and residential areas. MEJAC is pushing to have oil and storage tanks and any hazardous substance storage removed from within the Africatown Overlay District.

How to regulate oil storage tanks became a hot button issue that first surfaced in 2013 when, at the time, there was growing fears over tank leaks and explosions. The issue sparked heated debates pitting big-business interests and the Alabama State Port Authority against environmental advocates over the presence of oil storage tanks near Africatown.

Africatown Overlay must prohibit above-ground tank creation in Africatown, said Ramsey Sprague, president with MEJAC and president of the Mobile NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice committee. If we all agree we should be past the petrochemical tank farm episode, then lets please be past it.

Said Joe Womack, an Africatown native and activist for the community, Africatown is what will bring people to Brookley, GulfQuest, the Convention Center. It will bring people to Mobile to eat dinner and stay in hotels and it will push the revenue up in the city of Mobile. But you cant have storage tanks anywhere around Africatown.

The environmental issues raised over the zoning code discussions are rooted in a long and racist history for Africatown. The area remains rooted in generational distrust of the neighboring factories that exist or are long gone. Theres widespread belief, for example, that International Paper Co. left the neighborhood riddled with carcinogens and other contaminants when it closed more than two decades ago. More than 1,000 Africatown area residents signed onto a class action lawsuit, first filed in 2017, that accused the massive IP plant of releasing harmful toxins.

The case was settled late last year, but the terms have not been disclosed.

The plant was built in the 1920s on land leased by the family of Timothy Meaher, who unlawfully smuggled the Africans aboard the Clotilda, and whose descendants still own hundreds of acres in Africatown, with heavy industry leasing some of that land.

And rezoning by Mobile, decades ago, opened the area up to the heavy industry.

For someone like me, it comes down to the moral issue of justice for all citizens, said Lowe, who has been with MEJAC for seven years. This new zoning code is a moral code that makes justice happen.

Related content:

Amid slave ship discovery, Africatown still in pollution fight

60 Minutes tells story of Clotilda find, Africatowns hopes

Where the Clotildas story ended, Africatowns began
India has been able to perform well on various COVID-19 management parameters and maintained one of the lowest fatality rates and highest recovery rates in the world due to a preemptive, proactive and graded approach, Health Minister said Sunday.

He made these remarks at the Global Indian Physicians Congress, organised by the Global Association for Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), through video conference, the ministry said in a statement.

Vardhan praised the contribution of medical professionals in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As the world faced the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, it has been our doctors, nurses and healthcare workers who have cemented their position as the foremost champions of humanity, saving humankind as it was staring at an existential crisis," Vardhan was quoted as saying in the statement.

"I salute their courage, valour and selflessness in serving society. No words are enough to express gratitude towards all the Corona Warriors, who risked their own lives to save the lives of others. It's unfortunate and a great personal loss for me that so many of them lost their lives during this time," he said.

In this context, the Union Minister also noted GAPIO's efforts towards establishing the Global Indian Physician COVID-19 Collaborative to continuously share their knowledge and experiences to arrive at the best possible approach for the management of COVID-19, the statement said.

Vardhan took the occasion to highlight the government's efforts in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It has been a result of our pre-emptive, proactive and graded approach that India has been able to perform well on various parameters related to COVID19. We have continuously maintained one of the lowest fatality rates and highest recovery rates across the world," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

"Even with all the attention directed towards managing COVID-19, our government did not lose sight of ensuring continuity of other essential health services. Various policy interventions as well as the use of technology like telemedicine services played a key role in this regard. Our e-Sanjeevani platform has recorded millions of doctor-patient consultations in a short span of time," he said.

The Health Minister also noted the contribution of scientists.

"Our scientists have done remarkably well, working round the clock to provide us with two vaccines which are being indigenously manufactured and have been approved for emergency use in India. The world's largest vaccine drive is underway in the country and is moving forward at a rapid pace with more than 1 crore doses administered already," he said.

"In what is a remarkable endorsement of our spectacular talent and capabilities, India which is often referred to as the pharmacy of the world, is now also emerging as the COVID19 vaccine manufacturing hub of the world," he added.

Detailing the ongoing work within the ministry, he said it is now working towards further augmenting healthcare systems through a paradigm shift of policies and overarching programs like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana.

A new thinking is taking shape with the establishment of the National Medical Commission, Nursing Commission Bill and National Commission for Allied Healthcare Professions Bills. Ambitious plans have been made for expanding medical colleges and revamping the healthcare infrastructure in India, he said.

"We are constantly working to revolutionize the delivery mechanism of healthcare services in the country," he said.

Vardhan also mentioned that all the endeavours of the government can greatly benefit from the support and assistance of associations like GAPIO.

He added that facilitating exchange of ideas and knowledge will not only help formulate best practices but also expedite their implementation which will ultimately benefit society.

Vardhan expressed his appreciation to GAPIO which since its inception in 2011 has endeavoured to bring 1.4 million physicians of Indian-origin across the world on a single platform to facilitate exchange of knowledge, skills and research, Vardhan said, according to the statement.

(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.)

Oman has succeeded in transporting the first consignment of foodstuff to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) through the application of the international road transport systemTransports Internationaux Routier (TIR). This system will cut customs fees by 30% and timeframe by 50%, compared to the ordinary transport system, an Oman News Agency (ONA) report said.

The accomplishment celebrates efforts exerted by Asyad Group in cooperation with the Directorate General of Customs, Royal Oman Police, to facilitate cross-border transport and eventually promote commercial exchange between the sultanate and countries of the world.

The systems launch also seeks to round up the series of import and market the sultanate as an international logistics hub offering integrated services and competitive incentives to its clients.

The logistics sector plays a major role in supporting other economic sectors in the sultanate and enhance the growth of its national economy. By activating TIR, Asyad aims to back Omani exports heading to neighbouring countries, save time and cost of export and encourage Omani industrial establishments to benefit from the system in exporting their products.

Senyar, the company serving as the local guarantor of TIR, will support small and medium enterprises. It enabled Al Ayadi Al Fidhiya company to open the first cargo record book.

The International Road Transport Union has hailed the sultanates efforts made by the Customs Directorate General and Asyad. It described the first TIR-based consignment transportation as a turning point in regional trade and a step forward in accelerating electronic procedures. -- Tradearabia News Service
One Saturday night, during a pre-pandemic party, the 10 p.m. dopamine surge that accompanied the release of the next days Mini had set in. Someone I didnt know approached me for help with the Mini and, in that moment, it was not about fingers tapping furiously across the keyboard or zipping through clues to beat my friends. Instead, this joint solve was a way to get to know someone better. It offered a quick glimpse into that persons thought process. For the first time, I talked about how I had solved the puzzle, rather than how fast I had solved it.

After a congratulatory high-five, I turned my attention back to the rest of the room. In small groups around the apartment  sitting on the couch, leaning against the wall  other people were engaging in the same collective task: solving that Mini. Surprisingly, a newly released Mini was enough temptation to draw their attention away from partying and toward a collaborative mental exercise. For these students, it became a different vehicle for social interaction.

With our hectic lives and busy schedules, the Mini offered a fleeting yet inspiring outlet for college students to work our intellectual muscles in ways that sitting in a lecture hall did not. It allowed us to seem knowledgeable without doing the reading, as is common in college. More than anything, the Mini is powerful enough to bring us together as we await the unknown challenges ahead.

For so many people, the crossword is a type of glue, capable of forging new relationships and strengthening old ones over a common passion.

One evening  deep into my second year of solving  a good friend pulled out her own spreadsheet, which was formatted a bit differently from mine. Hers was filled in less consistently with daily solves, but involved far more people who were committed to the Mini cause. Yet another friend loved the crossword so much that, for her birthday, her friends gifted her a pillow printed with the first puzzle they had solved together. I even know a few people who have listed the New York Times Crossword as an interest on their resumes in hopes of starting a conversation with a potential employer. For so many people, the crossword is a glue, capable of forging new relationships and strengthening old ones over a common passion.

Now, I am just as grateful for the social experience of the crossword as I once was for a speedy solve. During a solve, I would often miss a humorous clue or witty wordplay because I would complete the puzzle on the Acrosses alone. By always typing without thinking, I had missed out on the fun. And the camaraderie.
GERMANTOWN - A Columbia County club continued with its squirrel hunting event on Saturday despite pleas from animal rights groups and others that said the winter tradition is immoral and cruel.

A spokesperson for Germantown Sportsmens Association, which was organizing and hosting the event, said some members were getting vulgar phone calls from across the country in the wake of the opposition.

Germantown police were present at the event on Saturday and said there were legitimate reasons to be there due threats some local residents said they had received.

But on Saturday morning, there were no protesters outside the Germantown Sportsmen's Association clubhouse, where members were preparing to venture into the forest on a snowy and gray day.

By 2:30 p.m., there were about a half-dozen people standing across the private property, with posters, one of which read: love for all creatures, according to two people present at the event.

A Germantown police officer was parked near the clubhouse all day and said the protesters were exercising their freedom of speech peacefully and caused no trouble.

The New York State Humane Association had asked for the event to be called off because it focused on the wanton destruction of helpless animals.

A change.org petition aiming to stop the Squirrel Scramble in Germantown had close to 25,000 signatures as of Saturday.

Related: New York Humane Association asks for end to Columbia County squirrel hunt

There are so many fun activities that families can engage in, the petition reads. You dont have to destroy wildlife and senselessly murder innocent sentient beings to have fun.

But participants in the Squirrel Scramble, which is now in its seventh year, said the event was just about giving youngsters a chance to be outdoors.

One commenter on the sportsmen's Facebook page said of the event Saturday: "My son and myself hunted all day! We did not have any luck but my son told me it was the best thing he has done in a long time ! So lucky to have stuff like this to do ! Great Job ! Keep it up."
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address his monthly radio show Mann Ki Baat on Sunday (February 28) at 11 AM. This will be 2021`s second address through the radio programme.

After the address in January, the Prime Minister had invited the people of India to join his next radio programme. Asking them to record inspiring stories, he set up a toll free number for people to call and record.

"Tune in tomorrow at 11 AM. #MannKiBaat," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (February 28).

On February 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited people of the country to share their inspiring stories in the field of art, culture, and tourism.

"Through inspiring examples, Januarys #MannKiBaat highlighted diverse topics ranging from art, culture, tourism and agri innovation. Would love to hear more such motivating anecdotes for the programme in February, which will take place on the 28th," PM Modi tweeted and shared a link for the people inviting ideas for the next Mann Ki Baat.

Prime Minister Modi had also shared a toll-free number for people to record their message in either Hindi or English.

In the last Mann Ki Baat in January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to the countrymen to write about freedom fighters and stories of their struggle to mark the countrys 75th Independence Day this year.

Mann ki Baat is the Prime Ministers monthly radio programme to the nation, which is broadcasted on the last Sunday of every month.

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Photo: Extinction Rebellion Vancouver

A show of "peaceful civil disobedience" in the name of climate action that blocked the Hornby and Smithe intersection for much of Saturday afternoon ended when Vancouver Police stepped in to arrest three demonstrators.



The arrests were made after protestors "refused multiple requests by police to leave," according to a news release issued by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) Saturday evening.



The Feb. 27 protest was organized by Extinction Rebellion's Vancouver chapter and kicked off on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery at noon, featuring a set of speeches calling on governments around the world to do more in the face of the ongoing climate crisis.



About 50 protestors then marched through the city's downtown core to the BC Supreme Court, where the group spilled imitation blood throughout the street, "in mourning for our dying human and non-human relations who are victims of the greed driving human inequity and extinction of species," according to a post on the group's Facebook page.



Among the demands the group says it is calling for are the creation of a citizens assembly to address climate and ecological justice, swift action to combat biodiversity loss and the lofty goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in the next four years.



After arriving at the intersection, protesters set up a pair of tripods that rose several feet into the air and were topped by wooden platforms. The two protestors who sat perched on these platforms for several hours were among those arrested, after Vancouver firefighters were called in to assist in clearing the intersection. Firefighters used a crane in their efforts to remove one of the individuals atop the tripods, and reportedly used chainsaws to gradually cut down the legs of one of the tripods so police could reach the other.



Vancouver police said the protest was peaceful, overall. The three people taken into custody were arrested for mischief and intimidation by blocking a roadway"both Criminal offences," police explained.



The trio was taken to the Vancouver Jail. Each protestor was subsequently released on undertakings after agreeing to attend court at a later date, according to police.



We do not want to cause disruption to people going about their everyday lives, but we have no other choice to get the message across, said Grace Grignon, a volunteer spokesperson for the Extinction Rebellion movement, in an online statement posted by the group during Saturday's demonstration.



Policies put forward by the Canadian government, including continued development of the TMX pipeline, gloss over the existential threat of global warming and ecological collapse. Climate disasters like melting ice caps and huge forest fires get more terrifying by the day, but instead of taking action, they allow emissions and habitat destruction to increase. We demand that the Canadian government create a Citizens' Assembly on climate and ecological justice to create an emergency action plan.



Extinction Rebellion is a global movement that began in the U.K in 2018. It claims to use non-violent civil disobedience to call for increased climate action, which group members say is necessary "to halt mass extinction and minimize the risk of social collapse."
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As COVID-19 vaccine supplies ramp up across the country, most provinces and territories have released details of who can expect to receive a shot in the coming weeks. Here's a list of their plans to date:

As COVID-19 vaccine supplies ramp up across the country, most provinces and territories have released details of who can expect to receive a shot in the coming weeks. Here's a list of their plans to date:

Newfoundland and Labrador

The province says it is in Phase 1 of its vaccine rollout. Health-care workers on the front lines of the pandemic, staff at long-term care homes, people of "advanced age" and adults in remote or isolated Indigenous communities have priority.

Chief medical health officer Dr. Janice Fitzgerald has said Phase 2 will begin in April if vaccine supply remains steady. The second phase prioritizes adults over 60 years old, beginning with those over 80, as well as Indigenous adults, first responders, rotational workers and adults in marginalized populations, such as those experiencing homelessness.

Adults between 16 and 59 years old will be vaccinated in the third phase of the rollout, and Fitzgerald has said she expects that to begin this summer.

Nova Scotia

Health officials in Nova Scotia announced Tuesday that vaccination rollout plans for the month included the province's first pharmacy clinics. Prototype pharmacy clinics will launch in Halifax and Shelburne on March 9, Port Hawkesbury on March 16 and Springhill on March 23.

Nova Scotia plans to have vaccine available to at least 75 per cent of the population by the end of September 2021.

Prince Edward Island

Health officials in Prince Edward Island say they will shift their focus to getting a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults by July 1, even if it means delaying the second shot for some.

Chief medical officer Heather Morrison has said people over the age of 80 will get a second dose based on their existing appointments. Going forward, she said, other residents will get a longer interval between their first and second doses, but she didnt specific how long that will be.

New Brunswick

The province is also focusing on vaccinating those living in long-term care homes, health-care workers with direct patient contact, adults in First Nations communities and older New Brunswickers in the first phase, which lasts until at least March.

The next phase is scheduled to begin in the spring and includes residents and staff of communal settings, other health-care workers including pharmacists, first responders and critical infrastructure employees.

The government website says once the vaccine supply is continuous and in large enough quantities, the entire population will be offered the shots.

Quebec

Quebec started vaccinating older seniors Monday, after a first phase that focused largely on health-care workers, remote communities and long-term care. In Montreal, mass vaccine sites including the Olympic Stadium opened their doors to the public as the province began inoculating seniors who live in the hard-hit city.

The government announced last week it would begin booking appointments for those aged 85 and up across the province, but that age limit has since dropped to 70 in some regions, including Montreal.

Quebec announced Tuesday it had reached a deal with pharmacies that will allow them to start administering COVID-19 vaccines by mid-March.

Health Minister Christian Dube said about 350 pharmacies in the Montreal area will start taking appointments by March 15 for people as young as 70. The program will eventually expand to more than 1,400 pharmacies across the province that will administer about two million doses.

The Montreal region is being prioritized in part because of the presence of more contagious variants, such as the one first identified in the United Kingdom, Dube has said.

Ontario

The province began vaccinating people with the highest priority, including those in long-term care, high-risk retirement home residents, certain classes of health-care workers and people who live in congregate care settings.

Several regions in Ontario moved ahead Monday with their plans to vaccinate the general public, while others used their own systems to allow residents aged 80 and older to schedule appointments.

Toronto also began vaccinating members of its police force Monday after the province identified front-line officers as a priority group.

Constables and sergeants who respond to emergency calls where medical assistance may be required are now included in the ongoing first phase of Ontario's vaccine rollout, a spokeswoman for the force said.

A day earlier, Toronto said the province expanded the first phase of its vaccination drive to include residents experiencing homelessness.

The provincial government has said it aims to begin vaccinating Ontarians aged 80 and older starting the week of March 15, the same day it plans to launch its vaccine booking system, which will offer a service desk and online portal.

It has said the vaccine rollout will look different in each of its 34 public health units.

When asked about the lack of provincewide cohesion, Health Minister Christine Elliott said that public health units know their regions best and that's why they have been given responsibility to set the pace locally.

She also says the province will soon share an updated vaccine plan that factors in expected shipments of the newly approved Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The province will do that after getting guidance from the federal government on potentially extending the time between first and second doses, like B.C. is doing, of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to four months, Elliott says

She also says Ontario seniors won't receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine since there's limited data on its effectiveness in older populations.

Manitoba

Manitoba is starting to vaccinate people in the general population. Appointments are now available for most people aged 94 and up, or 74 and up for First Nations people. Until now, vaccines have been directed to certain groups such as health-care workers and people in personal care homes. Health officials plan to reduce the age minimum, bit by bit, over the coming months.

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of the province's vaccine task force, has said inoculations could be open to all adults in the province by August if supplies are steady.

---

Saskatchewan

The province is still in the first phase of its vaccination rollout, which reserves doses for long-term care residents and staff, health-care workers at elevated risk of COVID-19 exposure, seniors over the age of 70 and anyone 50 or older living in a remote area. In all, nearly 400,000 doses are required to finish this stage.

The next phase will be focused on vaccinating the general population by age.

It hopes to begin its mass vaccination campaign by April, but there if there isnt enough supply that could be pushed back to June. Saskatchewan will begin immunizing the general population in 10-year increments, starting with those 60 to 69. Also included in this age group will be people living in emergency shelters, individuals with intellectual disabilities in care homes and people who are medically vulnerable.

Police, corrections staff and teachers are among the front-line workers not prioritized for early access to shots. The government says supply is scarce.

The province said this week that it may follow British Columbia's lead in delaying a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to speed up immunizations. The government says it hopes a national committee that provides guidance on immunizations will support waiting up to four months to give people a second dose.

If that happens, the province could speed up how soon residents get their first shot.

Alberta

Alberta is now offering vaccines to anyone born in 1946 or earlier, a group representing some 230,000 people.

Appointments are being offered through an online portal and the 811 Health Link phone line.

Shots are also being offered to this cohort at more than 100 pharmacies in Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton starting in early March and the government has said there are also plans to include doctors offices.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro has said all eligible seniors should have their first shots by the end of March.

But he said Monday that the province will not give Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to anyone over the age of 65 after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization expressed concerned there is limited data on how well it will work in older populations.

The first phase of the vaccine rollout also included anyone over 65 who lives in a First Nations or Metis community, various front-line health care workers, paramedics and emergency medical responders.

Phase 2 of the rollout, to begin in April, is to start with those 65 and up, Indigenous people older than 50 and staff and residents of licensed supportive living seniors facilities not previously included.

British Columbia

British Columbia will extend the time between the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines to four months so all adults could get their initial shot by the end of July.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says evidence from the province and around the world shows protection of at least 90 per cent from the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

The province launched the second phase of its immunization campaign Monday and health authorities will begin contacting residents and staff of independent living centres, those living in seniors' supportive housing as well as homecare support clients and staff.

Seniors aged 90 and up can call to make their appointment starting next Monday, followed a week later by those aged 85 and over, and a week after that by those 80 and up.

Henry says the approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine means some people will get their first shot sooner than planned.

She says B.C. will focus its rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine among essential workers, first responders and younger people with more social interactions who would have to wait longer to receive their first doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

It's now possible that all adults could get their first shot by July, Henry says.

Nunavut

The territory says it expects enough vaccines for 75 per cent of its population over the age of 18.

After a COVID-19 vaccine is administered, patients will be tracked to ensure they are properly notified to receive their second dose.

Nunavut's priority populations are being vaccinated first. They include residents of shelters, people ages 60 years and up, staff and inmates and correctional facilities, first responders and front-line health-care staff.

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories its priority groups  such as people over 60, front-line health workers and those living in remote communities  are being vaccinated

The territory says it expects to vaccine the rest of its adult population starting this month.

Yukon

Yukon says it will receive enough vaccine to immunize 75 per cent of its adult population by the end of March.

Priority for vaccinations has been given to residents and staff in long-term care homes, group homes and shelters, as well as health-care workers and personal support workers. People over the age of 80 who are not living in long-term care, and those living in rural and remote communities, including Indigenous Peoples, are also on the priority list for shots.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2021.
Huntington, WV (25701)

Today

Cloudy. High near 80F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early with showers later at night. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
MBABANE  On December 13, 2020, Their Majesties and the Eswatini nation lost Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, who served the country as prime minister.

He died at the age of 52. He was in office from October 27, 2018 to December 13, 2020. May his soul rest in peace!

His death has created a vacancy at Hospital Hill. This post must be filled because a prime minister is the third most important in Eswatini. In our monarchy, the Head of State is ceremonial in many spheres of his leadership and delegates his executive powers to the prime minister who is responsible for running the country with the approval of His Majestys Cabinet.

While the prime minister executes his duties, the King continues to symbolise the unity and integrity of the country at home and abroad.

Regardless of the fact that some people could possibly be still mourning the death of Mandvulo, as his passing is still fresh in their minds, there would come a time when he should be honoured with a perfect replacement.

Pertaining to the appointment of a prime minister in Eswatini, His Majesty is unpredictable, you cant read his mind. The good thing about the Head of State is that he supported the inclusion of 67 (1) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, which states that the King shall appoint the prime minister acting on recommendation of the Kings Advisory Council.

That is why, for the first time, candidates earmarked for the post of premiership were given an opportunity at the cattle byre (the nations meeting place) to make submissions on what they could do or influence government to do if they were to be appointed as prime minister. Mandvulo was one of them.

Since Mandvulo had not fully served his five-year term in office, it is possible that the appointing authority might consider someone with qualities to hit the ground running.

experienced

When King Mswati III dismissed Prince Mbilini on May 8, 1996, he looked for an experienced politician who could succeed him. He was in office for two years, five months. Therefore, Mbilinis successor was to be in office for slightly over two years. On July 25, 1996, the King appointed Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini as the PM. Sibusiso had served the country as the minister of finance from 1984 to 1993.

He also worked for International Monetary Fund (IMF) as an executive director. He did not need an orientation on House of Assembly and Senate Standing Orders, how to craft a Cabinet paper, how a Bill is passed by Cabinet and presented to Parliament or how to chair Cabinet meetings and later keep the King informed of government proposals, decisions and successes.

creation

The person to be appointed into the post of prime minister is left with less than three years to lead government to economic recovery and massive job creation. He is left with less than three years to strengthen health and educational institutions. Of course, he is left with less than three years to improve infrastructure. It is our hope and prayer that anyone who will take up the role can add value to governments Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan. He must have qualities to lead from the back and front to ensure realisation of the countrys dream for food security, energy self-sufficiency, job creation, strengthening of health and educational institutions.
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Demonstrators clash with riot police officers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Burma, on Feb. 28, 2021. (Stringer/Reuters)

At Least 18 Killed in Burma on Bloodiest Day of Protests Against Coup

Police in Burma (also known as Myanmar) fired on protesters around the country on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup. At least 18 people were killed, the U.N. human rights office said.

Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police.

Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after being brought to a hospital with a bullet in the chest, said a doctor who asked not to be identified.

Police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force thataccording to credible information received by the U.N. Human Rights Officehas left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded, the U.N. human rights office said.

A riot police officer fires a rubber bullet toward protesters during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Burma, on Feb. 28, 2021. (Stringer via Reuters)

Burma has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb. 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

The coup, which brought a halt to tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries.

Among at least five killed in Yangon was internet network engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, who a day earlier had posted on Facebook about his concern at the growing crackdown, medics said.

Teacher Tin New Yee died after police swooped to disperse a teachers protest with stun grenades, sending the crowd fleeing, her daughter and a fellow teacher said.

Police also hurled stun grenades outside a Yangon medical school, sending doctors and students in white lab coats scattering. A group called the Whitecoat Alliance of medics said more than 50 medical staff had been arrested.

Riot police officers fire teargas canisters during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Burma, on Feb. 28, 2021. (Stringer via Reuters)

Three people were killed at Dawei in the south, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Reuters from the town. Two died in the second city of Mandalay, Myanmar Now media and a resident said. Resident Sai Tun told Reuters one woman was shot in the head.

Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Police broke up protests in other towns, including Lashio in the northeast, Myeik in the deep south and Hpa-An in the east, residents and media said.

Instill Fear

Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing said last week authorities were using minimal force to deal with the protests.

Nevertheless, at least 21 protesters have now died in the turmoil. The army said a policeman had been killed.

The crackdown would appear to indicate determination by the military to impose its authority in the face of defiance, not just on the streets but more broadly in the civil service, municipal administration, the judiciary, the education and health sectors and the media.

We are heartbroken to see the loss of so many lives in Myanmar. People should not face violence for expressing dissent against the military coup. Targeting of civilians is abhorrent, the U.S. embassy said.

The Canadian Embassy said it was appalled. Indonesia, which has taken a diplomatic lead within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the crisis, expressed deep concern.

State-run MRTV television said more than 470 people had been arrested on Saturday. It was not clear how many were detained on Sunday.

Youth activist Esther Ze Naw said people were battling the fear they had lived with under military rule.

Its obvious theyre trying to instill fear in us by making us run and hide, she said. We cant accept that.

A day after the junta announced that Burmas U.N. envoy had been fired for opposing its rule by calling for action from the United Nations, the foreign ministry announced that diplomats at several other embassies were being recalled.

It gave no reason, but some diplomats have been among civil servants to join a Civil Disobedience Movement that has paralyzed a swathe of official business.

While Western countries have condemned the coup and some have imposed limited sanctions, the generals have traditionally shrugged off diplomatic pressure. They have promised to hold a new election but not set a date.

Suu Kyis party and supporters said the result of the November vote must be respected.

Suu Kyi, 75, who spent nearly 15 years under house arrest, faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and of violating a natural disaster law by breaching coronavirus protocols. The next hearing in her case is on Monday.
Denis O'Brien is a successful Irish businessman and philanthropist who has invested heavily in the Irish media - more than 500m reportedly. But he made his fortune by winning the licence to operate Ireland's second mobile phone network, a victory still wrapped in controversy.

He could have done worse. He did not turn his media organisations into the likes of the shocking Fox News, with its deliberate and savage bias, or reduce newspapers in which he had a major interest to the level of some of Rupert Murdoch's tabloids. His Communicorp group of radio stations includes Newstalk, Today FM and Spin.

Those cheering the sale by O'Brien of Communicorp to German company Bauer Media are glad to see him go. But there is no guarantee that what comes next will be better. In Ireland, as elsewhere, the media and internet challenge remains that of accountability, range, reliability and survival. A single individual was never the problem.

O'Brien has been praised by Bill Clinton for investing in Haiti. He successfully sued the Daily Mail for suggesting he was "acting the saint" there to look good at home.

Demonising Denis is easy. He has done himself no favours by being quick to sue or threaten to sue journalists in other media who dared to criticise him or to report his activities in ways that he disliked. His most negative editorial influence may have been the suppression of stories due to the actual or feared receipt of his solicitors' letters. The threatened expense of a possible defamation action in Ireland, no matter how convinced one is that a story can be defended, is enough to deter some editors and chill free speech. He may not give up the habit even now.

As with any media funder, either private or public, O'Brien's personal editorial influence within the media organisations in which he invested was hard to quantify - including at Independent Newspapers before he earlier unloaded his major interest there to the Belgian Mediahuis company. What happens behind closed media doors stays behind closed doors, and influence is often exerted subtly rather than by a crude diktat or phone call from the top. Management knows on which side its bread is buttered, and makes decisions about editorial policy and staffing accordingly. It was clear that O'Brien was no fan of the Sunday Independent.

Serious questions remain about the internal use at INM of some of its own journalists' emails without their knowledge or consent. High Court papers reportedly suggest that O'Brien, then a 29 per cent shareholder in INM, was kept informed about the searching of data in 2014. The Data Protection Commission has found a breach of privacy by INM. The axiom that he who pays the piper calls the tune applies to all media at some level, an axiom worth remembering amid growing calls for the Government to fund "serious" journalism across the board. When you sup with the devil, bring a long spoon.

There were allegations that journalists or presenters risked being dropped from his radio stations if their work threatened O'Brien's interests, with questions raised about the treatment of Sam Smyth in particular.

And when Newstalk blocked journalists of the Irish Times from appearing on its programmes after coverage by that newspaper angered O'Brien, there was too little outrage from the political establishment with whom he has had a controversial relationship.

He has been particularly associated with Fine Gael, most notably due to the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal with respect to Fine Gael's Michael Lowry when minister of communications at the time of the award of a major mobile phone licence.

Judge Moriarty found (Report 60.23) that, "Mr Lowry and Mr Denis O'Brien had at least two interactions in the course of the process. It is beyond doubt that, in the case of the latter interaction, Mr Lowry imparted substantive information to Mr O'Brien, of significant value and assistance to him in securing the licence".

Lowry's behaviour, as found by Judge Moriarty, put the Irish State at risk of having to pay out a fortune in damages to unsuccessful bidders.

The official tribunal was satisfied (Report 60.39) that, "payments and other benefits were furnished by and on behalf of Mr Denis O'Brien to Mr Michael Lowry, and that these were demonstrably referable to the acts and conduct of Mr Lowry in regard to the GSM [mobile phone licence] process, that inured [operated] to the benefit of Mr O'Brien's winning consortium, Esat Digifone".

Moriarty found (Report 60.44) that, "Mr O'Brien had made or facilitated payments to Mr Lowry of 147,000.00, [and] Sterling 300,000.00 and a benefit equivalent to a payment in the form of Mr O'Brien's support for a loan of Sterling 420,000.00".

O'Brien condemns the Moriarty Tribunal, and its outcome. He claims that the process was unfair and malicious, but has not found a court to agree with him. Voters re-elected Lowry. Asked by the BBC's Lesley Curwen in 2011, "Did you make corrupt payments?" O'Brien replied, "Not at all. No." He added, "Get on with my life is the best thing, Lesley. If you are from a small country, you are a tall poppy and that can be a disadvantage."

O'Brien was not always a tall poppy. I remember the sense of excitement at the offices of his first radio station in Dublin when I visited 98FM soon after it started in 1989. His was an enthusiastic new presence as Ireland came late to open airwaves, and he was not guaranteed success. RTE had overstayed its domestic monopoly but fought a sustained rearguard action to harass Century Radio, TV3 and other media from quickly posing a threat to its massive share of the Irish market.

O'Brien met some of the same kind of snobbery that Michael O'Leary did when each in his own way rattled the bars of an Irish society that is conflicted when it comes to change and choice. RTE still gets to define anything it wants to do as public service and pays some presenters scandalous "public-service" salaries that it boasts the private sector cannot afford (or else they would be poached, it's claimed). It does not even keep a register of wealthy programme-makers' interests. Ironically, there are times when O'Brien's Newstalk sounds more like RTE at its public service best than RTE itself does.

O'Brien's ambitions saw him expand his radio interests across Europe. Visiting one of his Prague stations early on, I found in that Czech city a resentment of brash capitalists who were flooding into former communist countries to exploit financial opportunities. Some of his employees caused offence when they mounted a station promotion in front of a memorial to a victim of the Russian crack-down of 1968.

But it was his acquisition of a stake in Independent Newspapers that undid him as a media mogul, when he poured hundreds of millions into a struggle with Irish media baron Tony O'Reilly for control of Ireland's leading newspaper group. It looked to some observers more like big ego than good business.

Now both O'Reilly and O'Brien have left the media stage, and the Irish companies that they controlled are in foreign hands. But the threats to media freedom and quality always remain real.

Dr Colum Kenny is professor emeritus of DCU and a former board member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
On Sunday's episode of Married At First Sight Australia, bride Beth Moore was left sobbing when she didn't feel a spark with new 'husband' Russell Duance.

According to The Wash, the romance goes pear shaped just a few weeks into the show.

On Sunday, the website claimed that Dan Andrews lookalike Russell, 37, allegedly spilled the details of his split with Beth, 39, to a woman at a Sydney bar in December.

Over: On Sunday's episode of Married At First Sight Australia, bride Beth Moore was left sobbing when she didn't feel a spark with new 'husband' Russell Duance (pictured). According to The Wash, the romance goes pear shaped just a few weeks into the show

During conversation, Russell, who was visiting Sydney from his native Adelaide to do some promotional work, reportedly said the couple were done.

The woman alleged to the website: 'He kept showing his empty ring finger when everyone asked if he was still together.

'I think he told me he made it to about week six from memory,' she added.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel Nine for comment.

Moved on? On Sunday, the website claimed that Dan Andrews lookalike Russell, 37, spilled the details of his split with Beth, 39, to a woman at a Sydney bar. During the conversation, Russell reportedly said the couple split six weeks into the show. Pictured with Beth

On Sunday's episode, after posing for pictures on the sand, an emotional Beth told producers: 'This is not what I was expecting.'

The retail worker then broke down as she admitted she didn't feel a connection to Russell.

'I feel like a sh*t person because I don't have that feeling that I wanted to have,' Beth said in tears.

She continued: 'It's just so early and obviously my emotions are heightened because of all these expectations.'

Upset: On Sunday's episode, after posing for pictures on the sand, an emotional Beth told producers: 'This is not what I was expecting.' The retail worker then broke down as she admitted she didn't feel a connection to Russell

'It's not anything that he has done wrong or who he is. He seems like a great person. He has been a true gentleman.'

'I was just hoping for that automatic connection, but let's just see what happens from here.'

Beth, who is from Western Australia, and Russell, who resides in South Australia, tied the knot but no guests were able to attend their wedding due to border restrictions.

After walking down the aisle, Beth admitted: 'He seems lovely but he is not the type of guy I'd normally go for.'

Married At First Sight continues Monday from 7:30pm on Channel Nine
New Delhi: The practical exams for Class 10 and 12 students of Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) are set to begin from tomorrow, i.e. Monday (March 1). The board has allowed the schools to complete the practical exams by June 11, which is the last date of the theory exams.

CBSE has issued a set of guidelines to conduct the practical exams which includes including projects and internal assessment. It has said that the exams will be held in students respective schools and authorities will have to upload the marks immediately after the assessment.

In a letter addressed to the Principals and Heads of Schools, the board said that both internal and external examiners will be present during the exam. The board has also provided detailed marks distribution for the assessment.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the practical exams will conducted by the schools while adhering to all necessary guidelines of the local government.

In case the guidelines are not followed, the exams will be cancelled and the students will be awarded marks based on their score in the theory exam of the respective subject. An observer will also be appointed by the board to supervise the conduct of the exam.

The students will be divided into two sub-groups with 25 students in each. The labs where the exam will be conducted have to be sanitised before holding the exam.

Students and staff will be required to wear masks, maintain social distancing during the entire exercise. The schools are required to prepare separate entry and exit for students and take adequate measures for the safety of students and staff.

Live TV
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COVID-19 vaccination: Govt. set to give second shot from mid-April, says task force chief By Kumudini Hettiarachchi & Ruqyyaha Deane But mayhem in Colombo city as CMC runs its own centres in ad-hoc manner View(s): View(s):

The first batch of people who have been vaccinated from January 29 will be expected to have their booster or second shot by mid-April, Presidential Vaccine Task Force Chief Lalith Weeratunga told the Sunday Times.

We have plans for the second round, Mr. Weeratunga said but admitted well-designed plans could go wrong on the ground and added that the State Intelligence Service (SIS) was keeping a tab on the situation.

Governments rollout of the 500,000 vaccine doses (Phase II of community vaccination) which arrived in the country from India this week began on Friday in the high-risk areas of the Colombo and Gampaha districts of the Western Province.

Mr. Weeratunga said the programme would start for over 30s in the most vulnerable Grama Niladhari (GN) divisions and then be rolled out to the least vulnerable GN divisions covering the whole of the Western Province population of around 4.5 million people, while the Director-General of Health Services had sent out instructions that both permanent and temporary residents in these areas should be vaccinated.

Mr. Weeratunga said that would also depend on the number of doses the country had in hand.

When we get the doses, they will be used in that fashion. If we get a million and a half in the next month or so, then that will be used at that time, he said, adding that at the same time, the health authorities would be keeping tabs on all other areas outside the Western Province to see whether COVID-19 raised its head and would vaccinate people in those areas, if there was a need.

Its the Western Province first and then a rollout to the other areas but in case there is some unusual activities (outbreak), we will deploy the vaccines there as well, Mr. Weeratunga said.

He pointed out that they were looking at the countrys situation on a daily basis and there was a fantastic chart that was prepared and sent to the President every morning before he met with the Secretary of Health and other high-level health officials. The high-risk areas can be determined from this.

We want to stop the transmission of COVID-19 by vaccinating as many as possible in the red divisions, as the Western Province has around 80 percent of the infected, he said.

However, in Colombo city, the vaccination programme went into disarray with the Municipal Council running a haphazard, disorganised system with six centres catering to a population of more than half a million residents.

Health Ministry officials said the CMC was running its own centres without seeking the help of the ministry to support it. In many centres this week, residents were unaware how to get vaccinated, with haphazard registration systems and many being turned away from centres as vaccinations ran out and separate queues announced for over 60s, non-existent.

(See also Page 10)
Thailand started its first vaccination Sunday with 200 public health officials receiving China's Sinovac vaccine.

Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul was given the first shot at a hospital near Bangkok, followed by the deputy health minister and other senior officials.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who attended the vaccination ceremony said the public should have confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine as it has been approved by authorities in Thailand and other countries.

Prayut did not receive the vaccine today because he is older than Sinovac's recommended age which is 18-59.

Prayut is 66-years-old.

Thailand received the first 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine on Wednesday.

It is part of the Thai government's plan that has so far secured 2 million doses from Sinovac and 61 million doses from AstraZeneca.

Thailand has more than 25,000 confirmed cases and 83 deaths with most cases reported during the second wave of the pandemic in December.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Feb. 28WATERTOWN  The executive director of Neighbors of Watertown thinks that the proposed downtown business district would have been approved last year without a major issue.

But then the pandemic hit, said Reginald J. Schweitzer of Neighbors of Watertown.

"It's a more difficult time," he said. "Money is tight for everybody."

Joseph A. Wessner, president of the Downtown Business Association, started working on the business improvement district in 2019, well before the pandemic hit last March.

He continues to garner support for the proposal during the ongoing pandemic.

Mr. Wessner, also assistant general manager of Coughlin Printing Group, acknowledged some of downtown's biggest property owners, including Jake Johnson and Brian H. Murray, are not supporting the proposal while he's tried to convince the 107 property owners affected by establishing a BID that the proposal is a good idea.

Opponents expressed concerns about how much it will cost individual property owners to pay for the services that would be provided by having the district. He mentioned that local developer Michael A. Lundy, who owns the former professional medical office buildings on Clinton Street, signed the petition.

Proponents need 51 percent approval from the property owners to move forward with the plan. The BID would collaborate on marketing and beautification programs to promote the district and its businesses, be responsible for cleanup and snow removal, provide security, add more downtown events, work on economic development, coordinate and partner with other downtown groups, as well as make other improvements.

The boundaries of the district would be made up of Public Square and its surrounding area.

But Mr. Johnson, who has the most number of properties in the proposed district, said he hasn't decided whether he'll support it. He said it's not so much about the financial expense on him, but who will be hired to run it, saying they'd have to find someone who is "absolutely qualified."

Story continues

"They'd have to be A+, not a C. Until I know who it is, I can't say yes or no," he said.

Donald G.M. Coon III, managing partner in 200 Washington St. Associates, which owns two large downtown office buildings and the Paddock Arcade, expressed some of the reasons why he and other bigger property owners have not signed the petition.

The owners with the most downtown property already do some of those services on their own, such as snow removal and cleaning sidewalks in front of their buildings, so what the BID would provide would be redundant, he said.

They don't see the benefits of the district that some smaller property owners might, he said.

The BID would have an annual budget of $194,000, funded by its members through a special assessment billed to property owners. That works out to $2.62 per $1,000 of the assessed value with a cap of $5,000 per property. Residential properties up to three units per building are exempt from the levy.

Under that formula, it would equate to a 20 to 25% property tax rate on the buildings that Mr. Coon and his partners own. It would cost about $22,000 a year, he said.

It's a lot of money, especially for the types of businesses, such as the Barton and Loguidice engineering firm, that occupy their office buildings, so those businesses would not benefit from the BID's marketing program and added events, he said.

But there is support for the proposal, too.

Mary Ann Wert, owner of Wing Wagon on the north side of Public Square, signed the petition after talking about the proposed BID with Mr. Wessner.

"It seems like a good idea," she said. "It would pick up on new businesses on the square and encourage other businesses to come."

She also likes beautification efforts to spruce up downtown with hanging planters, more landscaping and flower beds.

Other longtime downtown enthusiasts also would like to see the BID established.

Donald W. Rutherford, CEO of the Watertown Local Development Corp., also known as the Watertown Trust, has seen how business improvement districts helped other communities.

The Watertown Trust, the city's economic development agency, recruits new businesses to downtown and helps them with low-interest loans and rental assistance.

He became familiar with efforts in Corning when he talked to officials there while he was looking for advice about marketing downtown and its businesses. Albany's business improvement district is also a strong organization that helped make its downtown better, he said.

A few years ago, he was among a group of business and community leaders who visited the city of Kingston, Ontario, to see what that business district does for that downtown. That district is so popular that businesses were lobbying to expand its boundaries so they could be included and benefit from its marketing and other efforts, he recalled.

Watertown needs a downtown business district for the services it would provide, he said.

"I think it's the right thing to do," he said. "They do much for downtowns."

Former City Councilman Cody J. Horbacz, executive director of Watertown First, a local group that helps boost and raise the visibility of local business in downtown Watertown, also sees all the benefits that the district would do for downtown.

But it's up to the property owners to decide.

"I'm interested to see how it all plays out," he said.

In the past year or so, Dr. Jason White, Advantage Watertown's chairman, has made a point of visiting Geneva, Ithaca, Corning, Auburn and Canandaigua to see how their BIDs helped their communities.

He liked what he saw. He walked through downtowns and stopped in shops.

Just last weekend, he and his wife were in Geneva, located in the Finger Lakes region, on their way to Watkins Glen. They stopped in at the Geneva Gelato's for an ice cream and talked to the shop owner.

A one-way downtown street full of restaurants has been blocked off and tables put outside the establishments.

Dr. White says the Geneva BID does a good job for its downtown.

A full-time executive director would be hired to run the BID. That person would become "a point person" to provide better communication for all of downtown, Dr. White said.

While some have voiced concerns about the costs to them, he also thinks that the district, would, in the end, raise property values.

"A BID is what you make of it," he said. "If you craft it well, it will serve you well."

Mr. Schweitzer agrees, adding that downtown needs a more comprehensive approach to marketing and promoting downtown with more events and attracting more visitors to the central business district.

Neighbors just recently took over the leasing responsibilities of the Franklin Building, a mixed-use building of apartments and ground-floor businesses. The organization also operates several residential buildings.

He said all downtown businesses would reap the benefits from the BID. But he says he can also see the apprehension from "the big guys" who own downtown property, some of whom have wondered about the timing to establish a BID during a pandemic.

But Mr. Wessner thinks that this is the time to act on the BID. Do it now, so downtown is ready for immediate growth as soon as it ends.

Business improvement districts have been around since the 1980s. A BID was proposed for downtown in 1993, but several business owners voted against it and quashed it.

City Council will have the final say whether it gets implemented. Mr. Wessner plans to make a presentation to the council at a March 8 work session. It's unclear when council would vote on the proposal.

So far, Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith has expressed major concerns, contending that he doesn't like that the assessment fee would go through the city. He'd rather see businesses form it on their own.

Councilwoman Lisa A. Ruggiero said she's open to the proposal. She and Councilwoman Sarah V. Compo want to first talk to those impacted by the proposal before committing to it.

Mr. Wessner is still working on getting property owners to sign the petition to support the business district. He hopes to finish up that process in about a week.

"Is it going to get the support out there that's enough? I don't know," he said Friday.

He would like to clear up some of the concerns that opponents have about the proposal and the services it would provide. He would do a better job at marketing the idea about why all businesses would benefit from it.

If it doesn't move forward, he plans to take up the issue again next year and hopes he could convince opponents why there should be a business improvement district in Watertown's downtown.

Downtown needs the district, he stressed.

Business Improvement District Boundary

A tract of land within the downtown area of Watertown, being more particularly described as follows: Starting at Mill Street Bridge, it continues east down Factory Street until High Street.

From there, it goes south down Polk St, then east down State Street until it hits Winthrop Street.

Then it heads south down Parker Street until Sterling Street and heads west down Sterling Street until it reached Washington Street.

It goes south down Washington Street until gets to Mullin St. It heads west down Mullin St. until it hits Sherman St.

From there it goes north up Sherman St. until Stone Street and west down Stone Street until it hits Massey Street.

It heads north up Massey Street until Court Street Bridge and extends east along the waterfront to Mill Street Bridge.
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Nunes Rips Strict Capitol Security Measures as Hollywood Production Scene Meant to Vilify Republicans

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) called the strict security measures imposed in the District of Columbia in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach part of a narrative to cast Republicans as dangerous domestic terrorist threats.

Nunes made the remarks in an interview on Fox News on Sunday morning, in which he was asked if he has seen the kind of intelligence that would warrant what youve got going on, forcing you and your colleagues to go through metal detectors to do a vote on the House floor, seven-foot fencing, and barbed wire around the Capitol.

No, he replied. This is nothing compared to the threats weve seen over the last two decades since 9/11/2001 of radical Islamic potential attacks on the Capitol and the targeting of politicians and other government buildings, Nunes said.

This is a Hollywood production scene, he said, adding, This is all about narrative building. What they want to do is they want to label every conservative and Republican across this country as some type of dangerous domestic terrorist threat, Nunes told Fox News Maria Bartiromo Sunday morning.

I think its going to blow up in their face, I dont think its going to work. It looks ridiculous. It looks worse than a third-world country, he added.

Nunes is among a growing league of Republican lawmakers and commentators denouncing the enhanced security measures, which include National Guard troops deployed in the city and barbed-wire fencing around the Capitol complex.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, in an op-ed published by Fox News, urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to remove the fencing, calling the security measure an eyesore and an embarrassment for the United States around the world.

There is no excuse for razor wire to be blocking the American people from our Capitol. It is the Peoples House. The fencing is more than an eyesoreit is an insult, Gingrich wrote, suggesting that the fence is part of a campaign to vilify conservatives.

American conservatives, according to the Left, are so dangerous we must keep the National Guard in our nations capital and surround the Capitol Building with razor wire and fencingnever mind that the group of thugs who attacked the Capitol in January in no way represent the 74 million people who voted Republican in 2020, he wrote.

The fencing was erected amid security concerns following the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, fueled by fears of a repeat of that days violence at President Joe Bidens Jan. 20 inauguration.

Inauguration Day came and went, yet the fence remained, prompting more than 40 Republicans to sign onto a letter two weeks ago calling on Pelosi to remove it.

We write with concerns about the security measures and enhanced fencing around the U.S. Capitol even though high profile events like the inauguration are over, they wrote. In particular, we are concerned with recent reports that the fencing surrounding the Capitol may become permanent.

Its time for healing and its time for the removal of the fencing so the nation may move forward, they said in the letter.

The acting Capitol Police chief has said vast improvements are needed to improve the physical security of the Capitol complex and that she would recommend permanent fencing to help better secure Congress.

I can unequivocally say that vast improvements to the physical security infrastructure must be made to include permanent fencing, and the availability of ready, back-up forces in close proximity to the Capitol, the acting chief, Yogananda Pittman, said in a statement last month.

The Senate held its first hearing on Feb. 23 to examine the Capitol breach, calling in the former chief of Capitol Police and the former heads of security for the House and Senate, all three of whom resigned in the wake of the incident.

The hearing came almost seven weeks after the breach and over a week after the Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection, an allegation that his lawyers panned as a monstrous lie that didnt reflect the reality of what happened on the day the Capitol was overrun.
Exclusive: Biden in no rush to lift Venezuela sanctions, seeks 'serious steps' by Maduro FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Bidens administration is in no rush to lift U.S. sanctions on Venezuela but would consider easing them if President Nicolas Maduro takes confidence-building steps showing he is ready to negotiate seriously with the opposition, a White House official told Reuters.

Signaling that the new U.S. president may be unlikely to loosen the screws on Venezuela anytime soon, the official emphasized that existing sanctions have enough special provisions to allow for humanitarian aid shipments to help Venezuelans cope with economic hardships and the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Maduros Socialist government has been actively preventing the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

This suggests that for now Biden is prepared to stick with the specific sanctions, including crippling oil-sector penalties, imposed by former President Donald Trump on the OPEC nation, despite the failure to force Maduro from power.

But Biden, by contrast, intends to move away from the mostly unilateral approach of Trumps maximum pressure campaign and enlist more countries to help seek a diplomatic solution, the official said in an interview.

Bidens administration has made clear it will continue to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas interim president. Dozens of countries have backed Guaidos claim following Maduros re-election in 2018 in a vote Western governments called a sham, though cracks recently have appeared in Guaido's international support.

Were in no rush to lift sanctions, the official said. If the regime undertakes confidence-building measures that show that they're ready and willing to engage in real conversations with the opposition ... if they're ready to take serious steps, then we will consider the alleviation of sanctions."

The official did not specify what steps Maduro would need to make but said he could not be allowed to use negotiations as a delaying tactic to consolidate power and divide the opposition, as he has been accused of doing in the past.

Story continues

Maduro, who calls Guaido a U.S. puppet, has shown no signs of giving ground. Having retained support of the military as well as Russia, China, Cuba and Iran, he has rejected or ignored previous demands for such concessions.

The Biden administration also appears to have little sense of urgency for major gestures toward Cuba despite hopes for a softer approach after Trump, often citing its support for Maduro, rolled back historic Obama-era detente with Havana.

Some Biden advisers had suggested earlier that he could start by loosening up the flow of remittances from Cuban Americans and ease restrictions on family travel to the Communist-ruled island.

But while acknowledging such changes could have a positive impact, the official said a Cuba policy shift was not currently among Bidens top priorities, which include the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery and rebuilding alliances abroad.

Frankly, first things first, the official said.

There has also been no sign of any immediate plans to rescind Cubas designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, though Biden officials have said Trumps last-minute decision to return Havana to the U.S. blacklist is under review.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Mary Milliken and Nick Zieminski)
Police say two men remain in custody assisting officers with their enquiries. (Niall Carson/PA)

Police have confirmed local man Michael 'Micky' O'Doherty was killed in a road traffic collision in Limavady on Saturday.

Mr O'Doherty was 48-years-old.

The collision on Glenhead Road outside the town involved his blue Kawasaki motorbike and was reported to police on Saturday at around 4:20pm.

Emergency services, including police and NIAS responded but Mr O'Doherty was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are urging anyone who witnessed the collision, or may have dash cam footage, to get in touch with them on 101, and quote reference number 1351 of 27/02/21.
Police have arrested the woman accused of fatally shooting a rapper at his La Cantera-area apartment last month.

Sasha Skare, 21, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder for the death of 34-year-old Martell Derouen.

On Jan. 28, San Antonio police were called to Derouen's residence at The Towers apartments, located at 16735 La Cantera Parkway, around noon after a 911 caller asked for a welfare check on the rapper. The caller said they hadn't heard from him in several days and were concerned.

READ ALSO: Beyonce's cousin identified as man shot to death in La Cantera-area apartment

When officers arrived, there was a single bullet hole through the front door. Inside, they found Derouen lying next to the door in a pool of blood, an arrest affidavit said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators spoke with Derouen's wife, who said the two had been separated and he had been living with Skare, his new girlfriend, the affidavit said.

According to a witness, Skare and Derouen were heard loudly arguing that ended after Derouen told Skare to get out and slammed the apartment door. The witness then heard Skare banging on the door before hearing a single gunshot, the affidavit said.

Investigators believe Skare fired from outside as Derouen stood inside the apartment, behind the door.

After the shooting, Skare was seen walking the halls of the apartment complex with a cell phone in one hand and a handgun in the other, according to the affidavit. Investigators later discovered that Skare had placed the 911 call after allegedly shooting Derouen, the affidavit said.

On the call, Skare identified herself as Derouen's wife, claiming she was locked out of the apartment and worried that her husband may be hurt, the documents continued. However, when asked for the apartment's address, Skare accidentally said "O'Connor" the street where she used to live.

READ ALSO: Brother of rapper killed at La Cantera apartment offering $5,000 reward as police search for suspect

Derouen, who went by the stage name Kardone, was a rising musician signed under a label owned by Sony Music. He was also Beyonce's cousin, according to The Source's May 2019 coverage of the rising musician. Derouen had produced a single for Skare in April called "Zoom."

It is unclear when the two started a romantic relationship.

Skare was charged with an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge  a first-degree felony  after a 2019 Austin shooting that left her then-boyfriend dead and another injured, court records show.

On Jan. 3, Derouen posted a photo on Instagram with a group of friends with Skare tagged in the photo. She left a comment with the praying hands emoji.

Skare's bail was set at $500,000.

Mark Dunphy contributed to this report.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for ExpressNews.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
More than one per cent of Kiwis have reported consuming amphetamines in the past two years, despite Covid-19 reducing illicit supply chains in New Zealand.

Methamphetamine is the most commonly detected illegal drug nationwide at wastewater testing sites, with detection levels highest per person in Northland, Bay of Plenty and East Coast.

In December, the Drug Foundation's 2020 State of the Nation report revealed a staggering 1.8 tonnes of meth was seized by police and customs in 2019, three times as much as the previous year.

However, information released by the National Drug Intelligence Bureau stated the quantity seized by police in 2020 dropped significantly to just 23.7kg.

Despite the decrease, a Drug Foundation survey of addiction and mental health services found referrals had increased by more than 300 per cent.

A snapshot of 19 emergency departments during one night in December 2019 found 1.9 per cent of presentations were methamphetamine-related, up from 0.7 per cent in 2018.

More than 50,100 Kiwis received treatment in 2019.

However, district health boards across the country decreased support equivalent to 17 full-time roles between 2018 and 2020.

Number of people getting alcohol and drug treatment in New Zealand since 2014. Image: Ministry of Health.

Funding in the 2019 Budget ensured many existing services in danger of collapsing were now sustainable, according to the report.

This included more beds in addiction treatment facilities, managed withdrawal services and peer support.

There are still large holes in treatment provision across the country," the report explained.

Lynette Hutson, Salvation Army director of addictions, says the number of staff and community-based services had not increased.

"We havent been able to impact our wait list, particularly for young people wanting access to addiction-specific counselling or support."

Number of cannabis and meth convictions since 2010. Image: Ministry of Justice.

Due to the way statistics are gathered, report writers did not have a clear picture of how long waiting lists were.

However, anecdotal reports suggest the longest wait is for residential beds, which has been further exacerbated by the stress and uncertainty of Covid-19.

Meanwhile, methamphetamine convictions have steadily increased since 2013.

Between 2019 and 2020, the number of people charged with methamphetamine offences overtook cannabis for the first time.

More than 2720 Kiwis were charged with a meth offence, and 2482 people were charged with cannabis offences.

The amount of methamphetamine seized by police and customs since 2015. Image: NZ Police.

Recent changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act had not stopped charges as the Drug Foundation had hoped.

In August 2019, laws were changed so police had discretion to only prosecute for possession or use of drugs if it was required in the public interest.

Police must now determine whether a health approach would be more beneficial to the public interest than a prosecution.

If the law change was working as intended, we would expect to see court actions decrease and non-court actions, such as warnings, increase, the report explained.

Early indications show court actions for low-level offences went down slightly since the law change, from 1247 to 1096.

While this is positive, it does not reflect the level of reduction that was anticipated by the law change.

Between August 2019 and July 2020, only 10 per cent of total proceedings resulted in a health referral  much less than forecasted.

It's too early to calculate the full impact of the law change. However, we can say the impact has been significantly less than expected or hoped."

The overall number of people sentenced to prison for low-level drug offences has increased each year since 2013, with 853 people jailed between 2019 and 2020.

WHERE TO GET HELP

1737, Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 to talk to a trained counsellor.

Alcohol Drug Helpline 0800 787 797

Care New Zealand 0800 682 468

Lifeline 0800 543 354

NZ Drug Foundation 04 801 6303

Rural Support Trust 0800 787 254

Salvation Army Alcohol and Drug Support 0800 530 000

Samaritans 0800 726 666

Suicide Crisis Helpline 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)

If it is an emergency, click here to find the number for your local crisis assessment team.

In a life-threatening situation, call 111.

-Stuff/Sam Kilmister.
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Mike Pompeo attacked Democrats environmental plans during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, blasting the Paris Climate Accords and warning that a Green New Deal could harm the military.

When I hear Democrats say they want a strong America, I know that they are working to undermine it, the former secretary of state told the crowd in Orlando. Theyre going to cut the defense budget that we worked so hard to build. Theyll do it to pay for their Green New Deal. Kind of makes me mad, right? Theyre going to trade army green for AOC green. That is a bad, bad trade.

This is not entirely accurate. The Green New Deal is a less a single defined plan than a set of related proposals from a variety of progressives and environmentalists who want large-scale efforts to re-shape the country to better prepare it for climate change.

Theres the well-known Green New Deal resolution in Congress from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, senator Ed Markey, and others, which calls for a 10-year national mobilisation on the scale of WWII and New Deal programs to make America more sustainable.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez has suggested a 60 to 70 per cent tax on the very wealthy could pay for the plan.

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who introduced his own version of the New Deal, has suggested some military cuts, but those would come from the military itself relying on oil less, and spending less to protect oil shipping lanes.

Finally, theres Joe Bidens proposed climate agenda, smaller in scale than the Green New Deal, which would actually direct more resources to the military in an effort to invest in the the climate resilience of our military bases and critical security infrastructure across the U.S. and around the world, according to the text of his campaign proposal, which notes that extreme weather events caused $8 billion in damages to defence installations in 2019 alone. The president has also called for higher taxes to pay for the plan.

Despite its frequent invocation in partisan contexts, the militarys priorities usually dont map neatly onto the agendas of the two parties. The defence establishment is deeply preoccupied with climate change, which threatens its globe-spanning infrastructure and exacerbates conditions that lead to instability. The military has officially considered climate change a national security threat since 2010.

During his address at the annual conservative gather, Mr Pompeo, a rumoured 2024 presidential candidate, said he was going to let it rip, and dismissed other environmental causes, too.

At one point, he called former secretary of state John Kerry, now the Biden administrations climate envoy, a green geek and said he doubted fossil fuel workers would switch over to green jobs.

He thinks these folks are all going to go make solar panels. Ill tell you what, you ask the good people of midland Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, or South Dakota, Pennsylvania, he said. You think petroleum engineers and rig hands are going to go out and make solar panels?

Elsewhere, the former top diplomat called the Paris Climate Accords, which the US left in 2017, a fantasy for elite diplomats and said the Trump administration hadnt been willing to compromise jobs for the sake of the environment.

We didnt protect the environment on the backs of American workers, he said.

After his 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package narrowly got approved by the House, US President Joe Biden encouraged that Senate to waste no time in passing the American Rescue Plan.

Biden Urges Senate to Quickly Pass $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package

In his statement, Biden also said that he has already spoken with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding the passing of the bill. Biden also stated that now that the bill has been moved in the hands of the Senate, he hopes that there will be quick action. He also emphasized that there is no time to waste regarding the issue.

The president also added that if actions are taken boldly, decisively, and quickly the country can quickly get ahead the pandemic. He also stated that it could be the key to have the economy of the US running again, CBS News reported.

During the house vote on Saturday, Biden's American Rescue Plan was approved with 219-212. Two Democrats, Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon sided with the Republicans and voted against the bill. Meanwhile, all Republicans were united against the bill.

Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package includes the $1,400 stimulus checks for Americans who earn less than $75,000 annually. It also includes a supplemental unemployment bonus of $400 per week, funding to help state and local governments, and money intended for vaccine distribution. Moreover, it also includes a $25 billion emergency rental assistance, and tax credits for low-income workers without children have been expanded.

In addition, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package also has a provision that raises the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by the year 2025. The minimum wage provision was included despite the Senate parliamentarian's decision that it cannot increase the federal minimum wage if the budget reconciliation process is used by Congress, GBP reported.

Read also: $15 Minimum Wage: Democrats To Continue Fight in the Senate

The budget reconciliation maneuver was used by Congressional Democrats so that the bill will only need a simple majority to be passed in the Senate. Amid the ruling by the Senate Parliamentarians, Senate Democrats are now in a rush to finalize a tax provision that aims to penalize large companies and businesses that pay their employees low wages.

Ron Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee is currently working on drafting the bill and is in close consultation with Bernie Sanders, chair of the Senate Budget. The new proposed provision would penalize "very large" companies with 5% payroll tax if they do not pay their workers with certain amounts set by the Senate, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to Congressional Democrats, they hope that the $19 trillion COVID-19 relief package will be passed to Biden's desk by mid-March. They are also hoping that it would be signed before the critical relief packages that were established by Congress at the end of 2020 expires.

The package is also expected to allocate at least $128 billion in grants in order to aid K12 schools in reopening. There is also a $39 billion allocation for higher education. Despite being disappointed by the parliamentarian's ruling, Biden stated that he respected the decision and simply urged the House and Senate to quickly pass the bill.

Related article: House Passes $1.9T Biden Relief Bill With $1,400 Stimulus Checks

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
An Irish animation studio is having a virtual staff party tonight as they take part remotely in the Golden Globes.

Animators at Kilkenny's Cartoon Saloon will tune in via video to cheer on Wolfwalkers, which is up for Best Animated Feature Film at the glitzy awards.

This year's Golden Globes sees the strongest Irish showing in years, with Normal People nominated for best limited series and its star, British actress Daisy Edgar-Jones, in the running for best actress.

Brendan Gleeson is also in contention for an acting nod for his fearsome portrayal of Donald Trump in miniseries The Comey Rule.

The virtual party has been organised by Wolfwalkers' directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart who are hosting the celebration from the spacious animation studios in the run up to the awards.

"There are no animators in work at the moment, so we may as well use it for something," smiled Tomm as they revealed their plans.

Read More

The co-directors and their partners will be in the studios while hundreds of animators are joining in from home.

"They've made a little living room. Two of our editors, Alan and David, are great cameramen. So they've set up the cameras, it will be a bit of an event. We'll have some Prosecco and snacks. It'll be nice, because we've all been at home. We're doing it all on video conferencing."

Tomm and Ross are dusting down their tuxedos as they will be on camera during the show which is being broadcast around the world.

"I haven't worn real pants in a year. I've been going around in dungarees and elasticated waists," said Tomm.

"I tried to put on my old tux from four years ago, for (colleague Nora Twomey's film) The Breadwinner and there wasn't a hope in hell. Thankfully, Louis Copeland sorted me out.

Wolfwalkers tells the story of a young apprentice hunter and her family who come here from England to help wipe out the last wolf pack.

But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumoured to turn into wolves at night.

The movie has become an international smash after being picked up by Apple TV. It marks the biggest success yet for the Kilkenny animation studio set up 21 years ago.
Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson have written a number of books on antiques. If you have an item youd like to know more about, contact them at Joe Rosson, 2504 Seymour Ave., Knoxville, TN 37917 or at treasures@knology.net. If youd like your question to be considered for the column, please include a high-resolution, in-focus photo of the subject.
Following the ousting of the CEO of Brazils state-controlled oil group Petrobras by President Bolsonaro earlier this week, experts fear what greater intervention might do to the countrys oil industry.

The removal of CEO, Roberto Castello Blanco, from his position at the head of Petrobras came following a conflict with the President over energy price hikes. Fears that price increases in diesel would cause protests led Bolsonaro to oppose a Petrobras price hike under Castello Blanco.

President Bolsonaro quickly replaced Castello Blanco with former Defence Minister Joaquim Silva e Luna, who has no previous experience in the industry. However, the outspoken ex-CEO is hitting back, warning that a policy of state intervention could put artificial limits on the price of fuel. Castello Blanco explained, If you want to have a market economy, you have to have a market price. Prices below have many consequences, some predictable and others unpredictable, but all negative,.

The former CEO seemed to also make a statement in his clothing choice, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan Mind the Gap. This reflects the 2019 Petrobras slogan, which referred to its aim of closing the performance gap with top oil and gas firms around the world. It is thought that greater state intervention could further widen this gap.

Following the change in leadership, Petrobras stocks plummeted, losing 20 percent of their value on Monday, around $13 billion. This also had a negative effect on Brazils currency, which decreased in value by 2 percent.

Related: How High Can Oil Really Go?



This is not the first time that Brazils oil industry has battled with state intervention. Petrobras was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy under former President Dilma Rousseff, who subsided fuel prices wreaking havoc on the industry.

At present, Brazil pegs its oil to international rates, however as the state has a 36.8 percent stake in Petrobras, and 50.5 of the voting rights, Bolsonaro holds the cards for fuel pricing.

While the president has assured the public that his actions do not equate to interference, based on previous fuel subsidies by the state, international investors are unsure of the presidents intentions.

With the general election set to take place in 2022, Bolsonaro is trying to win public support from key demographics. Reducing fuel costs could significantly influence thousands of truck drivers, who have been protesting against increasing fuel costs.

The President has also hinted at greater intervention in the energy sector over the coming weeks, this time with a focus on electricity. If the press is worried about yesterdays switch [in CEO], next week there will be more, he stated. We will put a finger on electricity, which is also a problem.

However, greater intervention in the energy sector could discourage foreign investment in the country. Having been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, this is a worrying prospect for Brazils economy.

James Gulbrandsen, chief investment officer for Latin America at NCH Capital stated of the move, If Bolsonaro interferes with electricity pricing, its probably game over for his ability to attract foreign capital,".

Castello Blanco had won national and international favour for Petrobras, reducing the companys debt, pushing for greater independence, and making the company attractive to growing oil markets such as India. We are yet to see if Silva e Luna will garner the same respect.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Problems with ham radio licensing in Brazil Brazil's amateur radio society LABRE has written to the communications regulator ANATEL expressing their concern about the bureaucratic problems in becoming a radio amateur



A translation of the LABRE post reads:



LABRE has recently met with regulator ANATEL to address several topics sensitive to Amateur radio, such as approval of homemade equipment and the mandatory use of approved cables and connectors, as stated in the article published in February issue of LABRE's QTC, see

https://labre.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/QTC-LABRE-02.2021.pdf



On February 23, 2021, LABRE filed a letter on a topic that has caused much repercussion at the national level: the change in the procedures necessary to become a radio amateur.



Despite the excellent new online tests, which where suggested by LABRE and accepted by the Agency last year, many amateurs of radio amateurs have faced dificulty in obtaining the much desired license to enable them to operate legally in our bands. There has been difficulty with the ANATEL systems and website, the need to register on several different systems, each with different requirements, excessive delay and lack of communication by ANATEL, among many other problems. In addition to these, the radio amateurs themselves who have gone through the process for class progression have also reported several similar problems.



This was addressed in the document filed with ANATEL, as well as a real case of the difficulties faced by a colleague recently passed the online exams until finally receiving their license, corroborating the problems listed. To read the letter, see

https://labre.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Oficio-050-ANATEL-exames-de-ingresso-ao-RA.pdf



LABRE reiterates its commitment to the promotion and defense of National Amateur Radio, including our willingness to continue to the last instance so that these and any other obstacles are properly removed. Our goal is that both radio amateurs and those who intend to join the service can enjoy our hobby in a much more simplified and less bureaucratic way.



Source LABRE https://tinyurl.com/IARU-Brazil




Position Objective:

Under supervision of a pathologist, assists with preparing, dissecting, and selecting pathology specimens for analyses.

Essential Job Duties:

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

Espouses the principals of Lean Thinking and creates a work environment that positively promotes continuous process improvement. Explores opportunities to add value to job (innovative ideas) to benefit the organization and taking ownership of the outcome. Proactively finds other work-related tasks during low census.

Maintains safe and clean working environment by complying with procedures, rules, and regulations.

Maintains inter- and intradepartmental work flow by fostering a spirit of cooperation (hand offs).

Maintains laboratory supplies inventory by checking stock to determine inventory level; anticipating needed supplies; placing and expediting orders for supplies; verifying receipt of supplies. Conserves laboratory resources by using equipment and supplies as needed to accomplish job results.

Orders or accessions appropriate tests in Laboratory Information System (LIS) as requested by authorized provider by accurately reading and interpreting orders and being familiar with test mnemonics.

Under the general supervision of a Pathologist, assists in the collection (autopsy) and gross examination of surgical and autopsy specimens for diagnostic evaluation and reporting. Performs functions to established productivity guidelines with minimal errors.

Assists Pathologist with frozen section by preparing tissue and producing slides.

Operates and maintains laboratory instrumentation. Performs preventative maintenance and troubleshoots problems to the full extent of ability

Participate in the training of new staff and students by serving as a mentor and technical resource.

Actively participates in the laboratory quality plan/program (ex. investigative reports, notification of delays, etc.)

Educational/Experience Requirements:

Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university with course work sufficient to meet the requirements of the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) for certification as a Pathologists Assistant.

In lieu of ASCP certification as a Pathologists Assistant, consideration will be given to those who have completed a four year medical degree and at least one year of pathology residency.

Preferred Qualifications: One year of experience working in an acute care facility as a PA(ASCP). 2+ years experience grossing complex surgical specimens such as breast, lung, gastro-intestinal, and gyn is preferred.

Required License/Certifications:

Certification as a Pathologist Assistant

Working Conditions, Equipment, Physical Demands:

There is a reasonable expectation that employees in this position will be exposed to blood-borne pathogens.

Physical Demands - Medium

Medium work. Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.

The physical demands and work environment that have been described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The above job description is an overview of the functions and requirements for this position. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list encompassing every duty and requirement of this position; your supervisor may assign other duties as deemed necessary.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Another new business will soon open in the 12 points neighborhood of Terre Haute.

It's part of an overall goal to bring 12-businesses to 12 points in 12-months.

A grocery store could open as soon as this spring.

A virtual public meeting was held today to talk about the store.

"Terre Foods" is a member-owned market that has been in the area for more than a decade.

"Terre Foods" president of the board Josh Price says this new grocery store will bring local organic food to the community.

He says it will also support local farmers and be located in what is now a food desert.

"Ya this is very exciting! I've been on the board for four or five years and like I said this project has been ongoing for over a decade and to reach this point is very exciting for everyone involved," says the president of Terre Haute Josh Price.

The store's eventual address has not yet been released.

Price says he's looking forward to opening the doors and inviting the community inside.
Anil Kapoor Recalls He Almost Strangled Rahul Bose During A Scene In Dil Dhadakne Do: Aiese Hi Meri Reputation Kharab Hai

Actor Anil Kapoor revisited his film Dil Dhadakne Do and revealed the intensely dramatic scene which he was most looking forward to shooting and how it almost ended up in him strangling actor Rahul Bose for real. The Bollywood veteran who shone in this multi-starrer as Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singhs father speaks in the voice-over revealing what made the particular sequence his favorite in the movie.

Anil spoke about how he kept enquiring throughout the filming of Dil Dhadakne Do when the scene will be shot and it was ultimately filmed in Mehboob Studio in Mumbai. The scene is one where Rahul Bose and Zareena Wahab confront Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor and family.

Talking about the part of the scene where Rahul starts humiliating Priyanka in the scene, Anil recalls how he was supposed to pin down the actor and he was preparing for the shot in his head and going over his lines. Of course, when the confrontation between Rahul and the actor finally happened it went down rather differently than anyone had planned, even Anil Kapoor.

The actor recalls how when the sequence was called to action something came over him and he almost strangled Rahul Bose. Suddenly, I dont know what happened. The wire came and I almost strangled Rahul and almost killed him, you know. And everybody was like AK what happened yaar? Ye shooting ho rahi hai. And you know I was so worried, aiese hi meri reputation kharab hai, and it was just an accident. Then obviously I became a little conscious and felt that I wont be able to do this scene well and I was looking forward to the scene. But ultimately, we got the shot.

The actor said that everyone was terrific in the scene but thats not why its his favourite. It is, in fact, the last bit of the scene where Priyanka tries to reach out to him but he walks away after finally standing up for her is why Anil really loved it.
The Irish fashion designer Simone Rocha has been busy celebrating 10 years in business. This week she presented her fall 2021 collection as part of London Fashion Week. And on March 12, a long-awaited collaboration with H&M will hit stores. As part of a special fashion week series, she spoke to The New York Times from her studio in East London.

This interview has been edited.

Elizabeth Paton You presented your latest collection this week, but London Fashion Week was a fully digital experience. What are the big differences compared to a putting on a physical fashion show?

Simone Rocha There were challenges given the current lockdown in London. We had only eight models to show 32 looks, but I still wanted to approach it as I would any collection. I wanted it to have a narrative, with a beginning, middle and end. And I really wanted to give a sense of place.

So I staged a show  with no audience, of course  in a Gothic church near Hyde Park with amazing stained glass windows. Given that we would be shooting the whole day, I thought itd be nice to do it somewhere with windows so that you could really see time pass from morning to noon and then dusk.
The state Department of Labor is looking into whether it needs to take action on any of the hiring and wage practices described in an arrest warrant affidavit for restaurateur John Vazzano.

The labor department, which enforces fair wage and employment standards, in a statement told Hearst Connecticut Media it is examining the arrest warrant to determine next steps.

Vazzano was arrested on bribery and other charges Feb. 17. He is accused of allegedly interfering in a sexual assault investigation of two longtime staffers at his Vazzys establishment on Broadbridge Road in Bridgeport.

The affidavit, which was signed by an investigator from the Office of the Chief States Attorney, includes summaries of witness interviews and other information collected in the investigation that suggested Vazzano was paying some workers off-the-books in cash and keeping insufficient records.

In response, his lawyer, Edward Gavin, said, John Vazzano has done nothing inappropriate with any employee.

The labor department noted that it had no prior record of complaints against Vazzys.

Vazzys dishwasher Jaime Sena was arrested and charged last February 2020 with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old female co-worker. An arrest warrant was also issued for a second suspect in the case, cook Jose Tsenkush, who remains at large.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit Vazzano told an investigator that he paid Sena by allowing him to take the restaurant's empty deposit bottle returns. Vazzano also told police he did not believe he filled out W9 forms (an Internal Revenue Service form) for Sena and Tsenkush and probably did not pay them using his restaurants payroll account service.

Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

Vazzano stated he paid Tsenkush with checks from his restaurants Peoples United Bank checking account under the name Mickey Perez, Michael Perez and/or Miguel Perez. The seized check ledger does not document the issuance of any checks to Mickey Perez, Michael Perez, and/or Miguel Perez, it also says in the warrant.

In addition, the unidentified girl who filed the criminal complaint against Sena and Tsenkush told an investigator she worked under the table and Vazzys paid her in cash at the end of each work shift.

The seized spiral bound restaurants check ledger does not document the issuance of any checks to V, reads the affidavit, referring to the victim.

The affidavit also notes: The Connecticut Department of Labor records for Vazzys Restaurant did not list Jaime Sena, Jose Tsenkush and V as wage earners.

Investigating officers also relayed that two people interviewed in the case  the teenage victims father and then-Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez  indicated they understood Vazzano had undocumented immigrants working for him.

The victims father said Vazzano told him of one undocumented staffer. And Perez, a friend of Vazzanos, told investigating officers he believes John Vazzanos concerns over Vs criminal complaint stems from Vazzanos employees being illegal immigrants.

Perez was arrested last September for and subsequently pleaded guilty to charges unrelated to Vazzano  cheating on the 2018 police chiefs exam that got him the job. Perez declined to be interviewed by the Chief States Attorneys office, according to the affadavit.

The Office of the Chief States Attorney declined comment when asked if it was taking any action over Vazzanos employment and wage practices or whether it had forwarded any evidence to other agencies like the state Department of Labor.

Depending on what action, if any, that latter agency takes regarding Vazzano, other government entities could become involved. The labor department said that all workers, regardless of immigration status, are afforded Connecticut Department of Labor protection from wage exploitation. ... Employers are responsible for filing complete and accurate tax, payroll, employment and other information with state and federal entities. If an employer falsifies documents or fails to follow the law, they can be subject to fines and penalties from both state and federal agencies.

Staff Writer Daniel Tepfer contributed to this report.
Attack on law student: BASL wants zero tolerance for Police brutality By Chris Kamalendran View(s): View(s):

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has called on the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General to take legal action against policeman responsible for the alleged assault on a third year law student inside the Peliyagoda police station. which has left the student with serious injuries.

The letter was sent as the victim Migara Gunaratne was warded at the Ragama hospital after being seriously injured in the alleged assault by policemen on Thursday night. This had happened when he came to the police station to hand over a parcel of food to a suspect in custody.

The BASLs outgoing President Kalinga Indatissa in a letter to the IGP said that an immediate inquiry should be held and and disciplinary action taken against the policemen responsible for the attack, criminal charges should be filed against the policemen responsible for the alleged attack. He said all officers on duty that night should be subjected to identification.

The BASL said the victim had visited the police station to hand over a parcel of food to a client of his brother and lawyer Charitha Gunaratne.

The BASL called on the Attorney General to consider directing the Police to file a B report initially under the Code of Criminal Procedure Act of 1979.

Meanwhile the Police on Friday submitted a B report to the Colombo Magistrates court seeking to remand the victim on the grounds of obstructing police duties.

The Police have accused Migara Gunaratne of criminal intimidation and obstructing the duties of the Police.

However, Additional Magistrate Lochana Abeywickrema turned down the request on the grounds there was reason to remand him and fixed the case for tomorrow. The Magistrate also requested the Wattala Magistrate to visit Mr Gunaratne at the Ragama hospital and submit a report.

The victim was produced before the Judicial Medical Officer S. Wijegunawardena on Thursday night. The Police had informed the JMO they were to remand him, but in view of the injuries suffered the JMO had ordered that the victim be admitted to hospital.

Attorney Vishwa Gunaratne, an uncle of the victim told the Sunday Times that Police had allegedly tried to mislead the JMO that the injuries had been caused due to a fall inside the police station.

He said the victims father Maithri Gunaratne, a former Governor of the Central and Uva provinces, had visited the police station on the day of the incident around 9.00 p.m., but the police had not told him that his son had been taken to the JMO.

It was only around 1.00 a.m. my brother found out that his son had been admitted to the Ragama hospital, the victims uncle said.

Attorney Charitha Gunaratne had visited the Peliyagoda police station on Tuesday and raised objections to an alleged attempt to file charges against his client relating to drug offences, even though the suspect was arrested on a financial issue.

Vishwa Gunaratne claimed even on Tuesday the lawyer had been treated badly by the officer at the Peliyagoda police station, and even after producing the BASL identity card he had been abused.

He said it was possible there was a mis-identification when Charithas brother visited the police station on Thursday, but the assault could not be accepted.

Meanwhile four policemen, including Linton Silva, the Officer in Charge of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Peliyagoda, have been interdicted pending an inquiry.

The Kelaniya Divisions Senior Superintendent D. S. Wickremesinghe said the interdicted policemen had given statements and a further report would be submitted to the IGP.

Police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said two police teams have been assigned to investigate the incident.

It is the position of the BASL that there is no room and there must be zero tolerance for Police brutality whether it is against a member of the profession or any other person. People cannot be treated like this. It is a violation of the very law the Police are expected to protect, the BASL said.
Officials at Fort Worth-based private equity firm Mission Consumer Capital had been eyeing an investment in the San Antonio maker of Andy Garcia Foods for at least four years but could never strike a deal.

Andy Garcia Foods had become an iconic San Antonio brand, producing tamales, chorizo and barbacoa. It had been around since the 1950s, when founder Andrew Garcia bought a small barbacoa business for $15. He and his wife, Dilia, began making barbacoa on weekends in their garage.

Their son, Kenneth Garcia, started running the business in 1999 and eventually bought it through his company Papa Grande Gourmet Foods in 2014. But starved for cash and under-invested in for three or four years, the business struggled, according to Mission Managing Partner Robert Bobby J. McGee.

The financial troubles of Papa Grande, which did business as Garcia Foods, pushed it into bankruptcy in 2019. Kenneth Garcia fought to hang on, but the business was put up for auction. Mission was the winning bidder with a $4.8 million offer.

On ExpressNews.com: Fort Worth firm buys San Antonio food company at bankruptcy auction

Since taking control, Mission has spent about $5 million to revamp the San Antonio plant by installing new equipment, including a refrigeration system, cookers, ovens and a machine that allowed it to produce 5 million tamales from October through December.

The machine stuffs the meat in the masa, which is then sliced by a wheel cutter. Every tamale is still wrapped in corn husks by hand. Some 400 are wrapped per minute by 28 workers on the line.

It is the fastest tamale line in the country  and I keep telling everybody in the galaxy, boasted Mitch LaBrasseur, chief operating officer for the new company, called Nuevo Garcia Foods.

Mission took ownership just a few months before the pandemic. It was immediately presented with various challenges  from restaurants shutting down to ensuring the coronavirus didnt spread among workers in the plant. It has about 50 employees.

The business is in the process of introducing new food items, including carnitas  or slow-cooked pork  and shredded chicken breast in seasoned broth.

McGee, 66, who also is Nuevo Garcia Foods chairman, said part of the allure of the Garcia company was the growth potential in the market.

In looking at that data, he said, I can tell you that the Mexican food business is accelerating. And its accelerating at a more rapid rate than the Hispanic population is accelerating. ... And so we think authentic Mexican food  and Im not using the word Hispanic, I mean Mexican when I say Mexican  authentic Mexican flavors are attractive to people of every kind of background. The data shows thats true across the country, whether youre in San Antonio or California or New Jersey.

The pandemic, however, created a unique set of challenges, and it hit at a time when new ownership was faced with multiple obstacles - the business was coming out of bankruptcy and the staff was wary.

We brought a couple of emergency room docs in, McGee said. They spoke Spanish. We spent two hours with the docs answering questions. And we asked the employees, What do you want to do? We think this is a dangerous time. We dont understand this virus. We have a choice. We can shut down. Or you are essential workers (who can continue to work). ... And we have orders. H-E-B and other grocery stores are begging for meat products. What do you want to do? They said they wanted to work.

pdanner@express-news.net
NJ Advance Media recently ran the article, After charges of toxic 2017 campaign, Murphy tries to turn a page  but new allegations emerge.

Allegations regarding the behavior of Gov. Phil Murphys 2017 campaign manager, Brendan Gill, are repeatedly denied in this article by multiple sources that the authors cite. Support for Gill, who is also an Essex County commissioner, comes from women and men who have worked closely with him throughout his career, all lauding his professionalism and commitment to equity issues.

As NJ Advance Media has reported, we are at a critical juncture concerning sexism and misogyny in New Jersey politics  issues against which Gills proactive efforts have consistently cultivated powerfully diverse coalitions for decades. While women continue to be dramatically underrepresented in American political life, Gills public service record is one of always building diverse teams that center and amplify womens voices.

In my over 20 years of knowing and working closely with Gill, I have found him solidly in support of women. Throughout this time, he has demonstrated the utmost sincerity, professionalism and integrity.

Tanya Poteat, Vice Chair, Montclair Democratic County Committee

Dont target men like Brendan Gill

Concerning the article After charges of toxic 2017 campaign, Murphy tries to turn a page  but new allegations emerge, which focuses mainly on Brendan Gill, Gov. Phil Murphys 2017 campaign manager:

I have known Gill since the early 1990s, since he was a student at Montclair High School. He was a volunteer for my campaign for the township council, to which I was twice elected. When I ran for Essex County freeholder in 2002, he was a volunteer for that campaign as well.

I have watched the trajectory of Gills career with enormous pride. To say I was disappointed by the Star-Ledgers new allegations emerge article would be a gross understatement.

Sexism and misogyny are serious issues in New Jerseys political landscape. By targeting Gill, the Star-Ledger manages to avoid those issues. It identifies someone who, as some of those cited in the article reflect, has no more serious flaws than an occasional short temper and who, in his youth, got involved in a barroom altercation with another man.

Please focus on the institutional issues and the individuals who, in my experience, either take advantage of women or who permit institutional sexism to flourish. Please do not target men like Gill, because they are prominent and, therefore, easy marks. Ive been a faithful reader for more than 40 years. You can do better.

Jessica de Koninck, Montclair

SALT, not silence, needed from Washington

When Donald Trump was president and implemented the 2017 tax-reform law he backed, the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), previously unlimited, was capped at $10,000.

There was a great outcry from politicians and homeowners, especially in states with high property taxes, that this was unjust and a burden on people.

Well, now that we have a new administration in Washington, where are these same politicians? They should be arguing more forcefully for tax relief for their constituents, especially in this time of COVID-19.

Not once in the 2020 presidential campaigns am I aware that any candidate broached the issue of restoring the full SALT deduction.

Congress and the Biden administration are trying to pass all different forms of pandemic stimulus, but they could easily help homeowners, many of whom are still unemployed, by simply restoring the unlimited deduction.

The silence on this issue from our elected officials is deafening. The 2017 tax law also took away deductions for union dues. Once the government takes away something, very rarely do they give it back.

Anthony Tremarco, Cedar Grove

Five for fighting for women as EMTs

Caroline Fassetts recent article ( Its empowering. Five female rescue squad members become EMT-certified during COVID) about the Tewksbury First Aid & Rescue Squad, brought a smile to my face. With it, came the fervent hope that many more women will decide to follow in their footsteps, serve their communities and bring reassurance and calm to those women and men who need emergency and first aid services.

It takes dedication, perseverance and grit to go through the national certification process in normal times. To do this during a pandemic shows us all that these five women are indeed extraordinary. Kudos to all of them!

Paula Zevin, Somerset

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The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
Chinese lawmakers held group discussions on Saturday to deliberate the work report of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

The work report will be submitted to the annual assembly of the legislature in March for deliberation.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, attended the deliberation, which was also attended by members of the NPC Standing Committee and members of NPC special committees.

The attendees agreed that since the previous NPC annual session in May 2020, the NPC Standing Committee has aligned its work with the overall work of the Party and the state, scrupulously performed its duty prescribed by the Constitution and laws and made new progress in various aspects of its work.

The standing committee promoted the implementation of the Constitution by safeguarding the authority of the Constitution and improving related laws, according to the group discussions.

The attendees noted that the standing committee accelerated legislation in key areas, with major progress achieved in legislation in fields such as public health, national security, environmental protection and social governance.

By effectively exercising its supervision power, the committee promoted the work of the government, the National Supervisory Commission, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, they said.

The committee also facilitated the completion of the economic and social development goals set for the country's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) and assisted with the drafting of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), according to the group discussions.

Members of the NPC Standing Committee endorsed the work report and agreed to submit it to the upcoming NPC annual session for deliberation.

The attendees proposed suggestions on modifying the work report and on improving the work of people's congresses.
The Army has cancelled an examination for pan-India recruitment of general duty personnel after paper was found to have been leaked, officials said on Sunday.

They further said that at least three people have been arrested from Baramati, Pune, in connection with Army exam paper leak.

"The Indian Army has zero-tolerance towards corrupt practices in the recruitment process for selection of suitable candidates," an official said.

Based on a proactive joint operation with local police at Pune, a case of possible leakage of question paper prepared for Common Entrance Examination for Recruitment of Soldiers (General Duty) was reported last night, the official added.

Further investigations are underway, officials s

The eligibility for the general duty category in the Army entails SSLC/Matric with 45% marks in aggregate, (All Arms) and 32% in each subject. No percentage required if higher qualification, then only pass in Matric i.e 10+2 and above. Ae criteria: 17 - 21 years

Meanwhile, the Indian Army has notified as many as 90 vacancies for Indian Army 10+2 TES 45 Recruitment 2021 for the July session.

Online applications are now open for 12th pass candidates, who have cleared their 10+2 exams with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (PCM) subjects and fulfil the eligibility criteria. Apply before the last date, the online application process for Indian Army 10+2 TES 45 Recruitment 2021 will end on March 2, 2021

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Chinese Businessman Charged With Conspiring To Steal Trade Secrets

Washington, DC - Chi Lung Winsman Ng, aka Winsman Ng, 64, a Chinese businessman residing in Hong Kong, was indicted Thursday for conspiring to steal General Electrics (GE) trade secrets involving the companys silicon carbide MOSFET technology worth millions of dollars.

Winsman Ng and his co-conspirators allegedly chose to steal what they lacked the time, talent or money to create, said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers of the Justice Departments National Security Division. Theft of American intellectual property for the benefit of foreign firms deprives American companies of the fruits of their creativity and American workers of their jobs. The Department will do all it can to disrupt this illegal and economically destructive conduct.

As alleged in the indictment, Winsman Ng conspired to steal trade secrets from General Electric to start a competitor, said Attorney for the United States, Elizabeth C. Coombe, for the Northern District of New York, Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C.  515. This scheme, and others like it, seek to undermine American ingenuity, which often depends on maintaining the secrecy of technological advances. We will continue to work with the FBI to hold accountable those trying to steal trade secrets from innovative companies in our district.

Innovation by American companies brings good things into our lives, but we shouldnt have to buy those good things from a foreign company that stole American technology to compete against us, said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBIs Counterintelligence Division. The FBI urges any U.S. business to contact us if they suspect someone, regardless of nationality, is attempting to steal or has stolen trade secrets. Only through robust engagement with U.S. businesses can we protect our economic and national security.

According to the indictment, Mr. Ng conspired to steal valuable and sensitive technology from GE and produce it in China, said Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Relford of the FBIs Albany Field Office. Our office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and GE coordinated closely and worked quickly to prevent that theft and the resulting damage to our economic security. Theft of trade secrets is a constant and dangerous threat to our American companies and the remarkable work they do to invent and manufacture unique technology that can change the world. FBI Albany's Counterintelligence Task Force remains committed to protecting American innovation and technology, American security and American jobs.

The charge in the indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The indictment alleges that between about March 2017 and January 2018, Ng and at least one co-conspirator plotted to develop a business that would manufacture and sell silicon carbide MOSFETs using trade secrets stolen from GE. MOSFETs, or silicon carbide metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors, are small electronic semiconductors/switches that regulate the flow of electricity through devices and are used in a variety of products.

Ng conspired with at least one other person, a GE engineer of more than seven years, to steal MOSFET trade secrets and other proprietary information from GE. Ng and co-conspirator #1 allegedly used those trade secrets to create a business plan and develop PowerPoint presentations which they gave to prospective investors. Ng and co-conspirator #1 told potential investors that their business could be profitable within three years and that their start-up business possessed assets  tangible and intangible  they estimated to be worth $100 million. As part of the scheme, they sought approximately $30 million in funding in exchange for an ownership stake in their start-up company. In August 2017, Ng and co-conspirator #1 allegedly met in China and gave presentations to a Chinese investment company that was considering providing funding to Ngs start-up company.

We have no evidence that there was an illegal MOSFET technology transfer to any Chinese companies, including the company that Ng and his co-conspirator were trying to start.

Ng has yet to be arrested. If convicted of this offense, Ng faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Albany Field Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss and Trial Attorney Matthew Chang of the National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

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A young male wolf has been tracked to Mono County, east of Yosemite National Park, the furthest south a wolf has been spotted in the state "in modern times," the Center for Biological Diversity said. The news was reported first by Mother Lode News.

OR-93 started life in Oregon's White River pack, which lies south of Mount Hood. As a youngster, he was fitted with a tracking collar, which has helped fish and wildlife officials monitor his journey. Early this year, he departed Oregon, likely in search of a new territory.

Given the time of year, we assume OR-93 has traveled such a long way in search of a mate, Center for Biological Diversity wolf advocate Amaroq Weiss said in a statement. I hope he can find one.

In early February, OR-93 was tracked to Modoc County before he quickly traversed hundreds of miles south, trotting between Sierra state highways 4 and 108. Recently, he moved to Mono County, just east of Yosemite National Park. Previously, the furthest south a grey wolf was spotted was the Lake Tahoe Basin; that wolf, OR-54, then went back north after his Tahoe vacation.

The gray wolf was hunted into extinction in California by the 1920s, primarily by farmers concerned about the threat to livestock. OR-93 is only the 16th documented gray wolf found in California since then. The state has two wolf packs  although one disappeared in 2015. The Lassen pack has reproduced each year since 2017, but the Shasta pack only had pups in 2015. That year, a breeding pair had five pups and a few months later, fell off the map. One of the then-grown pups was found in Nevada in 2016. (For more on the known gray wolves in California, see this updated list here.)

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will continue to monitor OR-93 as he travels through the state.

Were thrilled to learn this wolf is exploring deep into the Sierra Nevada, since scientists have said all along this is great wolf habitat, Weiss said. Hes another beacon of hope, showing that wolves can return here and flourish as long as they remain legally protected.


Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-01 00:09:34|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel group swapped on Sunday 36 prisoners in the country's turbulent northeastern province of Marib, a military official told Xinhua.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the local military source said the Houthi rebel group released 18 prisoners linked to the government forces following a tribal mediation.

Meanwhile, the government forces released 18 fighters of the Houthi group seized during previous battles, the source added.

The exchange of the prisoners between the two warring rivals took place in southern Marib under the auspices of local tribal chiefs, he noted.

Intense fighting erupted early in February as the Houthis tried to advance toward Marib, where dozens were killed or injured from both sides in the non-stop armed confrontations amid heavy airstrikes carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition.

Escalation of fighting between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia has displaced nearly 1,500 families from Marib's western areas so far.

Yemen has been mired in a 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 Yemeni military conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. Enditem

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It is not unusual for manipulative and coercive abusers to harness their resources to weaponise the criminal justice system against their victim. It is dubbed gaming the system and the nuances of coercive control are so complex there is a real risk that a new law hastily introduced could end up empowering perpetrators rather than victim-survivors.

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Take this example. A husband comes home after a night of drinking and gambling. The couple argues, he pushes her up against the wall in a stranglehold, the children witness it, the neighbours call the police, the husband is arrested. Later his solicitor argues that he is a victim. A victim of coercive control. Because of his chronic gambling, his wife had taken control of all the finances and put a tracker app on his phone. She had also moved to the spare bedroom and refused to have sex with him until he fixed his addictions. The police now have evidence that the wife is the perpetrator.

It is well documented that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are significantly over-represented in our criminal justice system. In a Queensland study, 69 per cent of women who were sentenced to serve a period of imprisonment for a contravention of a domestic violence order in 2013-14 were Indigenous women. They are only 3.3 per cent of the Queensland female population. A new law risks increasing these already intolerable levels of incarceration among Indigenous women.

If the laws we already have prohibiting intimidation in domestic relationships are not being used to keep women and children safe, then more criminalisation alone wont change that. What we do need now is community and police education, research and monitoring, and co-ordinated and consistent resourcing of specialist domestic and family violence services. The most important education step is a universal national definition of domestic and family violence that includes the elements of coercive control, used by all frontline services and legal processes.
By Aziz El Yaakoubi and Marwa Rashad

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have been spared direct punishment after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but he has not emerged unscathed.

The declassified report, based on CIA intelligence, concludes that the prince approved an operation to "capture or kill" Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

President Joe Biden's decision to publish a report that his predecessor Donald Trump had set aside brings with it a broad refocusing of Washington's stance on dealing with the kingdom, on its human rights record, and on its lucrative arms purchases.

By pointing the finger so publicly at Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's ruler in practice but not in name, Washington has also made it harder for its Western allies to deal with him directly.

But while it may want to cut the 35-year-old crown prince down to size, Washington knows it can ill afford to break entirely with its oldest Arab ally and the main counterweight to Iran in the region.

"What we've done ... is not to rupture the relationship but to recalibrate it to be more in line with our interests and our values," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters.

Elisabeth Kendall, senior research fellow in Arabic & Islamic studies at the University of Oxford, said the report was "supremely embarrassing for Saudi Arabia" and "places other world leaders in the awkward position of having to decide if, when and how to continue dealing with the crown prince".

HUMAN RIGHTS IN FOCUS

Prince Mohammed has denied any involvement in Khashoggi's killing, for which eight people were jailed in Saudi Arabia last year, but has said he bears ultimate responsibility because it happened on his watch.

The U.S. administration imposed sanctions on 76 Saudis, including close collaborators of the prince, sparing the crown prince himself.

Story continues

But Biden has indicated he will look more widely at human rights in Saudi Arabia, where the prince has crushed dissent and sidelined or even imprisoned rivals, including close relatives, in his drive to consolidate power.

Biden said on Friday he had made it clear, in a call with King Salman, that killings of political opponents were not acceptable and that human rights abuses must be tackled.

Already, two Saudi political activists with U.S. citizenship have been freed on bail pending trials. Prominent womens rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was also freed after nearly three years in prison, where her relatives said she had been tortured, something the authorities denied.

A source familiar with Riyadh's thinking said both moves were "part of leverage for a new relationship with the Biden administration".

The call to King Salman was evidence of Biden's stated intention to revert to standard protocol by communicating with the ruler, not his heir.

"It is just symbolic enough to show that Trump put Prince Mohammed in a position that he doesnt deserve, not one that fits him, and it is time to put him back where he belongs," said a Western diplomat in Riyadh.

ARMS FOR OIL

Biden may well go beyond the symbolic, as his administration has signalled that it may cancel arms sales to one of its biggest buyers if they pose human rights concerns, and limit future deals to "defensive" weapons only.

Washington has also lifted Trump's ban on dealing with the Iranian-backed Houthi movement that ousted a Saudi-supported government in Yemen and is now at war with Saudi forces and their allies.

The war has left millions destitute and near starvation, and Washington wants it to end.

Yet Biden must still tread carefully. King Salman is 85 and infirm, and his son may be in charge of the world's top oil exporter - and an important ally against their common enemy, Iran - for decades.

Neil Quilliam, associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank, said the report constituted "a strong rap on the knuckles" - but that, even with ties on a more formal footing, Washington would remain the kingdom's main defence and security provider.

The alliance dates back to 1945, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt met Saudi King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud on a U.S. Navy cruiser and promised military protection in exchange for access to Saudi oil reserves.

One Western diplomat in the Gulf said simply: "Joint interests will not be at risk."

(Marwa Rashad reported from London, additional reporting by Raya Jalabi in Dubai; Editing by Michael Georgy, Samia Nakhoul and Kevin Liffey)
Managua (Nicaragua) February 28, 2021 (SPS) - President of the Republic of Nicaragua, Mr. Daniel Ortega, has reaffirmed in a message marking the 45th anniversary of the proclsmstion of the SADR to President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Mr. Brahim Ghali, the firm position of the Latin American country in support of the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.

The President of Nicaragua congratulated the Sahrawi people and their leadership on this occasion, recalling "the sacrifices and struggle led by your heroic people for justice and right to live in prosperity, enjoying freedom and sovereignty on its land."

The Latin American president also affirmed his determination to continue strengthening brotherhood and friendship relations between the two countries and two peoples. (SPS)

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A pensioner is taking legal action against one of Britain's largest housebuilders in what could be a landmark case for thousands caught up in the leasehold scandal.

Terry Dodd, 70, claims he was 'conned' into buying a 327,750 four-bedroom detached home by Morris Homes because its sales team failed to reveal it was a leasehold property, rather than a freehold.

Other residents on the 28-home upmarket estate say they also had no idea they were not buying the freeholds to their homes until they moved in.

Terry Dodd, 70, claims he was 'conned' into buying a 327,750 four-bedroom detached home by Morris Homes because its sales team failed to reveal it was a leasehold property, rather than a freehold

Instead Morris Homes sold the freeholds to third-party firms which have demanded 300 annual ground rent, set to double every decade, for 999 years. These firms have also been accused of trying to sting residents for minor alterations, such as changing windows and front doors.

Now a judge has given the green light for Mr Dodd to have his case heard at trial in June. He is suing Morris Homes for 10,000 in the small claims court, alleging that he was mis-sold the house in Saughall, near Chester. The firm denies mis-selling the properties.

If he wins it could set a precedent for the estimated 100,000 other families thought to be caught in the 'leasehold trap'.

Mr Dodd, who runs a roofing business, bought his home in September 2015. 'Nowhere on the paperwork did it say I was buying the leasehold and not the freehold,' he said. 'If I had realised it was a leasehold property I would never have considered buying it.'

Other residents (pictured with Terry Dodd centre) on the 28-home upmarket estate say they also had no idea they were not buying the freeholds to their homes until they moved in

Other residents on the estate claim they only realised they didn't own the freehold after they moved in and started receiving letters from firms demanding ground rent. All fear their properties are worthless because buyers are reluctant to purchase leasehold homes.

Teacher Stephen Moffatt, who lives on the estate with his wife, said they believed they were 'mis-sold' their home. He said no Morris Homes sales adviser and none of the firm's marketing material mentioned that the property was leasehold. Instead, on the day of completion his solicitor alerted them.

Mr Moffatt said they were then reassured by the firm that they would have the chance to buy the freehold after two years for 3,000. But when he wrote to the freehold owner he was quoted 7,150. He said they could not afford that lump sum, adding: 'We are therefore still locked into our leasehold nightmare.'

Last month Morris Homes tried to have Mr Dodd's case thrown out on a technicality after it emerged that the 335 trial fee he had been ordered to pay had got lost in the post.

Terry Dodd is suing Morris Homes for 10,000 in the small claims court, alleging that he was mis-sold the house in Saughall, near Chester. Pictured: The housing estate

But Deputy District Judge Brown, sitting at Chester Civil Justice Centre, said it would be wrong to deny Mr Dodd his day in court. He said he believed he had posted the cheque.

In 2019 the Government banned the sale of new-build leasehold houses to protect families from rocketing ground rent charges.

The Competition and Markets Authority regulator has vowed to crack down on home builders responsible for tying homeowners into the leasehold nightmare.

Mr Dodd eventually sold his home to his daughter, Holly, at a 23,000 loss. But he said he is determined to fight Morris Homes in court to highlight the issue and to help his daughter protect her financial future.

A spokesman for Morris Homes said: 'We have in the past sold properties on a 999-year-long leasehold basis in the north-west of England. Purchasers are always offered the opportunity to purchase the freehold at point of sale.

'Mr Dodd was advised by his own solicitors, who accepted the terms of the sales. We believe that he resold the property within two years of his purchase and incurred no loss. We have received no similar complaints on this development.'


The director of a detention center in Greece is using television to teach the young men there who have no other way to get an education.

Petros Damianos is the director of the school at Greeces Avlona Special Youth Detention Center. He started the school in 2000. The men held at the detention center are between the ages of 18 to 25. Attendance at the voluntary school became popular. By September 2020, 96 percent of the prisoners had signed up.

Students can earn graduation certificates similar to any Greek school. Teaching follows the national rules for education from grade school up to college levels.

But, in-person classes were canceled because of restrictions meant to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. In addition, internet connections are not permitted at the center. So, Damianos decided to create a TV channel to teach the young men.

Our teachers couldnt reach the kids like they reach all other kids in Greece, said Damianos. This was a big problem, a very big problem that seemed almost insurmountable.

Education can be an important tool that prisoners can use to improve their lives. Many of Avlonas prisoners have never graduated and or even completed early grades.

Our students are those who...before they got to prison, the education system expelled them, Damianos said. These kids are kids we didnt catch in time. To whom we as a society, when we should have, didnt give what we should have given. With the help of friends with technical knowledge, Damianos was able to create a TV channel to broadcast classes.

Nikos Karadosidis is Avlonas music teacher. He used his experience from technical work on musical performances and YouTube teaching videos to learn how to use the equipment for the channel. I very quickly realized that this whole thing is essentially DIY, Karadosidis explained. Do it yourself, with whatever materials you have, with whatever tools you have, to try to do the best you can.

With the help of donations, volunteers and online orders, the employees collected the equipment they needed. A classroom in the prison was changed into a studio with a video camera.

One month later, the channel was ready. It was named Prospathados TV, which means Trying TV in the Greek language. The prisoners could watch the new channel on their televisions.

The first program was a half-hour math class. Now the channel operates 24 hours a day. It continuously shows six hours of pre-recorded classes during the week, and eight hours of classes on the weekend. Teachers record new classes each day with subjects like math, economics and music. Karadosidis works at night and broadcasts the classes the next day.

Going to class provides more than just an education. School is a short escape from the difficulties of prison life.

Based on the prisons rules, prisoners can only be identified by the first letter of their first and last name. M.S. is a 21-year-old who earned his high school diploma in Avlona. He has two years left in his sentence for stealing and beatings.

He is now taking college-level classes at the school in photography and similar arts. He says the TV channel has become popular. School is something different. Its a bit more human than the rest of the prison, said M.S. We come here and we joke around with our teachers. They take care of usIts a bit like a family.

Once the coronavirus crisis is over, Damianos would like to expand the channel to include documentaries and other programs for teaching. While the TV channel is a temporary answer to a problem, he knows that televised classes are not the same as in-person classes.

Lets be honest, the channel cant replace the education that takes place in school, Damianos said. It is very important, but it is not enough.

Im Armen Kassabian.

Elena Becatoros from The Associated Press reported this story. Armen Kassabian adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

channel  n. a television or radio station

certificates  n. a document that is official proof that you have finished school or a course of training

insurmountable  adj. impossible to solve or get control of

studio  n. a place where radio or television programs are broadcast

diploma n. a document which shows that a person has completed a course of study or has graduated from a school

replace  v. to be used instead of (something) else

What do you think about the topic of educating people who are in prison? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
Hungarian President Janos Ader receives an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 26, 2021. (Photo by Noemi Bruzak/MTI/Handout via Xinhua)

BUDAPEST, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian President Janos Ader received an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 on Friday, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

Ader's doctors have advised him to get vaccinated as soon as possible, MTI said.

Meanwhile, in a short message aired by Hungarian public television M1, Ader called on all Hungarians to register for the vaccination as soon as possible.

"Anyone who gets the chance to receive the first and then the second vaccine with any product approved by the Hungarian authorities and Hungarian experts should do so," Ader said.

"Let's trust our doctors, let's trust our healthcare system," Ader said, adding that he hoped that Hungarians would soon leave the pandemic behind.

Hungary currently has stocks of vaccines from five producers, including China's Sinopharm. The first shipment of the Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Budapest on Feb. 16. Hungary has started to administer the Sinopharm vaccine on Feb. 24.

As of Friday, 521,283 people had received at least the first shot of a vaccine, while 240,622 had two jabs, according to the government's coronavirus information website.
Trump's former Aide Max Miller got his endorsement as a contender against Rep. Gonzalez. The representative voted to convict in the impeachment trial.

Former Trump Aide Max Miller Endorsed by Trump

All GOP members who dared vote to impeach Trump were backlashed. Most of them are having indefinite political futures as many see Trumpism as the future of the Republicans.

Last Friday, former President Trump gave an endorsement to Miller to go head-to-head against incumbent Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio). The representative dared to convict the ex-president along with DEMS in a sham trial, reported the Epoch Times.

Trump said that the former aide did a great job at the White House, and will do well as a congressman. Citing that he was a Marine Veteran, from Ohio and an American patriot via his Save America PAC. He alleged that Rep. Anthony Gonzalez is not representing everyone in the 16th district. He added Miller is the one he trusts.

He was one of the senior advisers in the last administration to Donald Trump. Has the previous service in the marine corps reserve.

On Twitter Miller posted his responses, He said that he is honored that Trump gave an endorsement for his congress campaign. Adding that he will never back down and uphold his constituents. Join Miller and save America together.

I am honored to be endorsed by President Donald J. Trump as I begin my campaign for Congress.



I will never back down and will never betray my constituents.



Join us. We will save America together.



Read President Trump's statement below! https://t.co/s4r2WEpv43 pic.twitter.com/0va1b1XF3P  Max Miller (@MaxLMiller) February 26, 2021

Miller's Promise

According to the text of former Aide Max Miller and his campaign that mentions that growing up in Ohio, he saw what politicians sacrificed and its awful effects on the middle class. They allowed the transfer of work to cheap foreign labor that exploited people.

Also read: Biden Officials Including John Kerry, ex-Obama Officials, Undermine then President Trump on Iran Policy

Another is the big corporations that sold addictive drugs for profit. Those who bought these dangerous drugs did not know the risks they posed to them. He lambasted that those in Northeast Ohio feel the frustration from congress and its failure to make laws for people not to waste time on the politics that mean nothing to anyone.

Millers shares the disenchantment of how lawmakers are ignoring to serve people, not the opposite. He summarized that the Lower House composed of Democrats is not doing enough for the people. That is not ideal when congress serves the will of the people. Miller then said that constituents want real leaders to foil and stand up those political usurpers who'd fool and lie.

He places these enemies of the people as foreign adversaries, domestic profiteers, or anti-American ideologues. Worse are the anti-American ideologues willing to subvert the constitution.

His campaign for congressman is to stand up for northern Ohio and its constitutions to have representation in Capitol Hill. Miller will do what's right and be their champion.

Endorsement of Miller by Trump was declared after the ex-aide called his challenge to Gonzales. Miller stated that his goal is to continue the America first agenda that Northeast Ohio answered the call to.

He said on Twitter that Gonzalez betrayed Trump when a convict vote with Democrats was given to impeach a civilian. He added that he'll push back and never betray them if Northeast Ohio said yes to him.

I'm running for Congress to stand up for Northeast Ohioans.



They overwhelmingly voted for the America First agenda.



But their Congressman betrayed them when he voted to impeach President Trump.



I won't back down. And I'll never betray them.



Join me. https://t.co/s4r2WEpv43  Max Miller (@MaxLMiller) February 26, 2021

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez chooses to align with Democrats in a sham impeachment. Trump's former Aide Max Miller gets endorsed for congress and believes in America First.

Related article: WaPo Reporter Gets Attacked Online Because of Tweet About Neera Tanden

soovle

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Authorities have identified the woman killed in Fridays shooting outside the Walmart Supercenter as a 20-year-old Allentown woman, Nicolette Law.

Laws cause of death was due to gunfire and it was ruled a homicide, the Lehigh County Coroners Office said in identifying Law. A full autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

Nathaniel Law II of Georgia, Nicolettes uncle and her mothers brother, told lehighvalleylive.com Sunday he helped raise Nicolette since she was an infant.

She attended Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, where she was a member of the schools marching and competition bands, The Georgia Bridgemen. Nicolette has a passion for music and served as first-chair clarinet as a freshman.

During her sophomore year of high school, Nicolette moved back to Allentown, where she graduated from Agora Cyber Charter School. She began working for ManorCare Health Services in Allentown and had plans to study nursing.

Her personality and spirit were infectious, Nathaniel Law, a Philadelphia native, said of his niece. She had a way of making even strangers smile.

Authorities have identified the woman killed in Fridays shooting outside the Walmart Supercenter as 20-year-old Nicolette Law of Allentown.

Nathaniel Law said Nicolette was especially close to her biological older sister, Sherrel Law of Allentown, who was her best friend and treated her more like a daughter than a sister. She also was fond of Nathaniels total seven children and stepchildren, who were biologically cousins but treated her more like siblings. Her 1-year-old niece, Empress, was her pride and joy, he said.

Nathaniel Law believes Nicolettes late grandmother, Sarah Law, was behind her spirit in helping others at the nursing facility, he said. In her younger years, Nicolette traveled to visit the sick and those who were shut-in with her grandmother to help give Holy Communion, he said.

She was loyal and giving, thoughtful and caring, Nathaniel Law said. She would give her all for those she cared about.

Nicolette also enjoyed fishing and camping with her uncle. Her favorite holiday was Christmas. She was religious and of the Catholic faith. Her death comes just a few months shy of plans to ring in her 21st birthday, Nathaniel Law said.

Aside from Nathaniel and her sister, Sherrel Law, Nicolette leaves behind her mother, Natalie Law of Allentown; stepmother, Amie Law of Allentown; and her cousins (like siblings to her): Nathaniel Law III; Alexis Law; Alecia Kaelke; and Santana Law; and step-cousins, Karl Rosip and Makai and Makaela Adams.

A candlelight ceremony is planned by family and friends to honor Nicolettes memory in coming weeks, Nathaniel said. Services are being handled by Bachman, Kulik & Reinsmith Funeral Homes in Allentown.

Authorities say Edward Joel Rosario-Jimenez, 23, of Whitehall Township opened fire in the parking lot of the Walmart, 2601 MacArthur Road (Route 145) in Whitehall. Responding officers found two victims shortly before 7 p.m. near a parked vehicle with the engine still running in the parking lot, authorities said. Both victims were suffering from gunshot wounds.

Law was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, where she was pronounced dead at 7:40 p.m. Friday, according to the Lehigh County Coroners Office. The second victim remains hospitalized and is currently receiving medical treatment, authorities said Sunday.

Investigators were able to review video surveillance footage from the Walmart store, showing the victims vehicle arriving and parking in an area of the merchandise pick-up lot, authorities said. Within a few minutes, a black Toyota SUV entered and parked directly in front of the victims vehicle.

Several witnesses were interviewed by investigators with one reporting she went to the Walmart parking lot to pick up her child, who also is the child of one of the shooting victims. The witness was a passenger in the Toyota, along with Rosario-Jimenez and two other people, police said.

Rosario-Jimenez then allegedly got into an argument with one of the victims. The witness reported hearing a gunshot and leaving in the Toyota, but Rosario-Jimenez allegedly remained in the parking lot.

Another witness reported seeing Rosario-Jimenez fire several gunshots at the victims, authorities said. Investigators seized a handgun in a snowbank adjacent to where the shooting happened.

Rosario-Jiminez was arraigned Sunday before District Judge Donna Butler without bail. He was then taken to the Lehigh County jail. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for noon on March 8 before Butler.

Laws death is being investigated by the Whitehall Township Police Department, the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force and the District Attorney of Lehigh County.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Beijing-based AIIB approves US$180mn loan to Sri Lanka for COVID-19 response View(s):

The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a US$180 million loan to Sri Lanka under its COVID-19 Emergency and Crisis Response Facility.

The decision was conveyed to Sri Lankas Ambassador Palitha Kohana during a meeting on Friday with AIIB Vice President D. J. Pandian in Beijing. The ambassador was informed that the bank was ready to fund the suspended Light Rail Transit Project in Sri Lanka.

According to the meetings details faxed to Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundera and copied to Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle (among other recipients) by the embassy, this facility will be disbursed through the Bank of Ceylon and the Peoples Bank.

During the meeting, Dr. Pandian requested the embassy to inform the private sector of this facility and also encouraged the private sector to access the extensive funding available for the renewable energy sector, including solar and wind power.

He has said that solar power generation now costs only US$3 cents per unit and that the AIIB has enough funds to provide assistance to the private sector to develop renewable energy power sources at low rates.

Dr. Pandian said that if such projects were undertaken by the private sector, 35 percent of the project cost would be covered (by the AIIB) while in the case of a government entity undertaking this project, 80 percent of the project would be funded by the AIIB.

The AIIB Vice President also explained that the banks funding would be available for water projects, and electric public transport because the current emphasis at the bank was on renewable energy.

He said the bank would also be happy to fund Sri Lankas Light Rail Transport project, which has been suspended due to a lack of funds

Ambassador Kohonna noted the absence of Sri Lankans on the staff of the AIIB and urged the Finance Ministry to encourage more Sri Lankans to apply for positions in the bank given that Sri Lanka was a founding member of the bank.

The AIIB founded in January 2016 is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. The bank currently has 103 members and 21 prospective members from around the world.
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RTHK: Six dead as Myanmar forces target protesters

Myanmar security forces shot dead at least six protesters on Sunday in the bloodiest action so far to smother opposition to the military coup four weeks ago.

The junta is battling to contain a massive street movement demanding it yield power and release ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with top political allies at the start of the month.

Police and soldiers had already fired rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon on demonstrations in recent weeks in an effort to bring the civil disobedience campaign to heel, with live rounds used in some isolated cases.

Large numbers were again mobilised on Sunday morning to scatter crowds in several parts of the country, after online calls for protesters to once again flood the streets.

Three men were killed and at least 20 others injured when security forces moved on a rally in the southern coastal hub of Dawei, a volunteer medic and a media outlet based in the city said.

Rescue worker Pyae Zaw Hein said the trio were "shot dead with live rounds", while the injured were hit by rubber bullets.

"More wounded people keep coming in," he told AFP.

Two teenagers were also gunned down in Bago, a two-hour drive north of commercial capital Yangon.

Ambulance driver Than Lwin Oo told AFP he had sent the bodies of the 18-year-olds to the mortuary at Bago's main hospital.

The deaths were confirmed by media based in the town.

Officers in Yangon began dispersing small crowds minutes before the slated beginning of the day's protest, with one 23-year-old shot dead in the city's east.

"His wife is heartbroken," Win Ko, a social worker who visited the man's widow, told AFP. "She's three months pregnant."

Local lawmaker Nyi Nyi who was ousted from his parliamentary seat by the coup, confirmed the details of the death in a Facebook post.

Elsewhere in the city, protesters took up positions behind barricades and wielded homemade shields to defend themselves against the onslaught, with police using tear gas to clear some rallies.

One man in Mandalay was taken to hospital in critical condition after a projectile pierced his helmet and lodged in his brain.

A doctor in the city, Myanmar's second-largest, said it was not known whether the 41-year-old had been struck by a live round or a rubber bullet.

At least one journalist documenting Sunday's assaults by security forces was beaten and detained further north in Myitkyina, a city at the headwaters of the Irrawaddy river, according to local outlet The 74 Media.

Another reporter was shot with rubber bullets while covering a protest in the central city of Pyay, their employer said.

Since the February 1 military takeover, Myanmar has been roiled by giant demonstrations and a civil disobedience campaign encouraging civil servants to walk off the job.

Sunday's crackdown followed a similar wave of violent action against angry but largely peaceful anti-coup rallies around the country a day earlier. (AFP)

______________________________

Last updated: 2021-02-28 HKT 18:48

This story has been published on: 2021-02-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Subject to weather conditions, the blastoff is scheduled at 10.24 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, where the countdown for the mission commenced at 8.54 am on Saturday. (Representational Photo: PTI)

Nellore: All remained set for a rocket launch with a big difference from the Sriharikota spaceport on Sunday. The first-time launch of a Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1, this being the first launch of ISRO in 2021, will also see the sacred Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita, being carried to the Space in secured digital (SD) card format.

This apart, a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain engraved atop the panel of a co-passenger satellite. There will also be some 25,000 names onboard SD SAT, all sent in by people on request from Space officials for placement in Space.

Subject to weather conditions, the blastoff is scheduled at 10.24 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, where the countdown for the mission commenced at 8.54 am on Saturday.

The PSLV-C51 rocket, which is the 53rd mission of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, will launch Amazonia-1 of Brazil as the primary satellite and 18 co-passenger payloads from the first launch pad of the Sriharikota spaceport in Nellore district.

These co-passenger satellites include the Satish Dhawan Sat (SD SAT) from Chennai-based Space Kidz India (SKI). The picture of PM has been engraved atop the panel of this spacecraft.

The 18 co-passenger satellites include four from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe). Among the four, three are UNITYsats from a consortium of three Indian academic institutes and one of the Satish Dhawan Sat from Space Kidz India, and 14 from NSIL.

Among the 14 satellites, 12 USA satellites are christened as SpaceBEEs meant for 2-way satellite communications and data relay.

The Space Centre is fortified in view of the launch. CISF and police teams were deployed as additional forces to tighten the security at the spaceport.

ISRO officials including its chairman Dr K. Sivan were camping at Shar to oversee the launch. Sivan offered prayers at the holy shrine in Tirumala as well as at the Changala Parameswari temple in Sullurpeta for the success of the first mission in 2021.

US President Joe Biden said his administration would make a statement on Saudi Arabia on Monday following an intelligence report according to which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Reuters reported.

The Biden administration has faced some criticism that the President should have been tougher on the Crown Prince, who has not been sanctioned despite being accused of approving of Khashoggis assassination.

Khashoggi, known for his criticism of the prince's policies, was killed and dismembered by a group of operatives associated with the prince at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

The Saudi Arabian government, which denies any involvement of the crown prince, issued a statement rejecting the findings of the US report and reiterating its previous claims that the murder of Khashoggi was a heinous crime perpetrated by a group of crooks.

U.S. sanctions against Riyadh include visa bans for some Saudis believed to have been involved in the murder of Khashoggi, and sanctions on others, including the former deputy chief of intelligence.
Dozens of Facebook moderators are suing the social media giant for severe mental trauma after being exposed to violent and sexually disturbing images at work.

The 30 staffers, whose job was to spot and remove harrowing material on the site, claim they were not given adequate training to deal with the content or access to doctors or psychiatrists while working for Facebook.

Their lawyers revealed that several have attempted suicide, while others have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), similar to the torment some soldiers suffer after returning from battlefields.

Some of the current and former Facebook workers have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder

Others have developed severe depression, disturbing flashbacks and anger issues, while some have complained that changes in character have led to the breakdown of relationships.

The staff  a mix of former and current employees  have lodged their case at the High Court in Dublin, where Facebook has its European headquarters.

The moderators, who worked at Facebooks Irish headquarters and at bases in Germany and Spain, were hired by recruitment agencies such as CPL Solutions, Accenture, Majorel and CCC. The agencies are also being sued.

The 30 staffers, whose job was to spot and remove harrowing material on the site, claim they were not given adequate training (stock image)

The court case is the biggest damages claim ever made against Facebook by staff in Europe, and the Silicon Valley giant could be forced to pay millions of pounds in damages if it loses the legal battle.

Last year, Facebook agreed to pay 37 million to former moderators in the US who brought a similar claim in a California court, blaming the horrific content for causing mental trauma.

A Facebook spokesman said: We are committed to providing support for those that review content for Facebook as we recognise that reviewing certain types of content can sometimes be difficult.

Everyone who reviews content for Facebook goes through an in-depth, multi-week training programme on our Community Standards and has access to extensive psychological support to ensure their well being.

This includes 24/7 on-site support with trained practitioners, an on-call service, and access to private healthcare from the first day of employment. We are also employing technical solutions to limit their exposure to graphic material as much as possible. This is an important issue, and we are committed to getting this right.
Australian oil and gas giant Woodside Energy is facing rising pressure to rule out working in Myanmar until democracy is restored following a military coup that seized power from Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government.

The $24 billion ASX-listed company said on Saturday that it would pull its offshore drilling teams out of the south-east Asian country and had put all business decisions there under review until political stability has improved.

University teachers march with the images of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Credit:AP Photo

Woodside has one of largest offshore petroleum holdings in Myanmar and had been targeted by human rights groups after the military junta seized control on February 1, arresting Ms Suu Kyi and launching a violent crackdown on protesters.

Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility director Dan Gocher said that while Woodsides review was a welcome move, the company had left the door open to working under the military junta in the future.
America committed a war crime last night. Another one. Were so used to it happening that weve installed a special filter  one reaction for when America bombs someone, and a completely different reaction whenever someone else does the same.

But the US is not exceptional, and its bombs are not special or justified or less bomby just because they have the stars and stripes painted on the side.

Syria is a sovereign nation, and any military action on its people or within its borders, without the express consent of the Syrian government or the United Nations, is considered a crime under international law. This is an important fact, which most everyone in the mainstream seems happy to ignore.

So why did this particular war crime happen?

Well, the US claim the strikes were on a border crossing point used by Iranian backed militias, in retaliation for an alleged rocket attack on US service personnel in Iraq last month.

In the now cliche use of twisted Orwellian language, the Pentagon actually called it a defensive strike.

Is there any evidence the 22 people killed were those who conducted is this alleged rocket attack?

Not that weve seen.

Is that all there is to it?

Very unlikely.

The signs are there that this could be a step to further escalation against both Syria and Iran.

On January 16th the Pentagon announced they had moved Israel from European Command to Central Command (CENTCOM), what some refer to as the Middle East NATO. This would, to quote the Times of Israel:

allow for greater regional collaboration against Iran.

The day after Bidens inauguration, a column of US military vehicles entered Syria. Just last week Israel conducted airstrikes on targets near Damascus.

Meanwhile NATO has added 3500 troops to its mission in Iraq, and Iran is threatening to walk away from the IAEA after facing censure from the West.

In short, Bidens first few weeks in office have been accompanied by a rush of activity in the Middle East.

How has the media covered the attack?

Not that much. Far more screen time has been devoted to the US report that Saudi Crown Prince Muhamad bin Salman was responsible for the death of journalist Jamaal Khashoggi  an obvious smokescreen that means almost nothing.

The Guardian hasnt even seen fit to keep it on the front page for more than a few hours, while CNN buries it behind Khashoggi and other useless detritus. Predictably, nobody in the MSM was really outraged.

The NYT calls it a calculated move which wont hurt a possible nuclear deal with Iran. Some other hacks are firmly back on the anti-Syria bandwagon, with Jonathan Freedland writing in the Guardian about Assad and the age of impunity. The irony is apparently lost on him.

But combining those reactions, you could argue Syria was the real target here, not Iran, and Syria is in more danger going forward.

The social media reaction was far more revealing, with political journalists trying to sell that Biden dropping bombs politely is somehow better than Trump dropping bombs whilst being boorish.

Biden is developing a smart strategy for Iran (show that it can't attack US troops with impunity but also show willingness to negotiate) and Saudi Arabia (don't sever the alliance but recalibrate it). Mercifully absent are Trumps juvenile taunts. https://t.co/ucdhZUaWkd  Max Boot (@MaxBoot) February 26, 2021

Amy Siskind, an activist and author for POLITICO is a great example, tweeting this reaction, before being forced by weight of public mockery to delete it:

Its a good example of what many in the alt-media have been saying for a while  they will attempt to sell Biden/Harris as progressive bombers.

But what does this mean for the bigger picture?

There are certainly mixed messages here.

While so many are pushing for a New Normal, it seems the US military and their regional allies and some members of the press are looking to carry on as usual in the Middle East. This directly contradicts the UNs urging for a global ceasefire during the pandemic.

Is this a sign they powers that be might be turning away from the pandemic narrative?

Is it possible there are diverging paths or even a civil war in the Deep State?

Are some factions looking for a New Normal, and other happy with the Old Normal?

As always, discuss below.
Maharashtra lockdown: Full list of what is permitted and what is not

This village in Maharashtra is COVID-19 free, thanks to its youngest sarpanch

Covid-19 cases surge in Maharashtra; Curfew in Hingoli from March 1 to 7

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Aurangabad, Feb 28: In the wake of a rise in daily COVID-19 cases in Hingoli, the local administration has decide to impose curfew in the district from March 1 to 7.

A total of 46 new COVID-19 cases were found on Saturday in Hingoli, located in the state's Marathwada region, raising its tally to 4,083, as per official figures. Hingoli Collector Ruchesh Jayvanshi in an order issued on Saturday evening said the curfew will come into force from 7 am on Monday and continue till March 7 midnight.

Schools, colleges, religious places and function halls shall remain closed during the period, while banks will operate only for administrative work, said the order. Bank officials are instructed to carry their identity cards while travelling to their workplace, it said.

Milk shops will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5 pm. Medical stores are also permitted to remain open during the curfew period, said the order. Government offices will continue to work, it said.

Flying to UP from Maharashtra, Kerala? You will need to take a COVID-19 test

The administration has also allowed continuation of highway maintenance operations, and works related to the departments of health, electricity, telephone, water drainage and sanitation.

Petrol pumps are instructed to sell fuel only to vehicles of the government, and those engaged in essential and agriculture services, the order said.

Hotels and other food suppliers for students, who hail from other districts and are currently residing in Hingoli, are instructed to operate parcel service between 9 am and 7 pm during the curfew period, it said.

On Saturday, Maharashtra reported more than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases for the fourth straight day, raising the caseload in the state to 21,46,777. The death toll in the state due to the pandemic has reached 52,092, as per official data.

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Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 16:39 [IST]
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The coronavirus claimed 500,000 lives in the United States as of last week, a milestone noted by editorial cartoonists.

Phil Hands of the Wisconsin State Journal leads the gallery with a candlelight tribute. Michael Ramirez of the Las Vegas Review-Journal breaks out the Were No. 1 foam finger for the Grim Reaper. And Walt Handelsman of the New Orleans Advocate invites you to visualize 1,370 headstones every day for a year to add up to the number of U.S. dead.

But there is hope, as Covid-19 vaccines continue to roll out. Bill Bramhall of the New York Daily News adapts the muscular pose of a masked Rosie the Riveter rolling up her sleeve for the shot.

Cartoonists also commented on the political troubles of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo is beset by twin scandals: an alleged cover-up of the true number of nursing home deaths from Covid-19, and accusations he sexually harassed a former state employee. Cuomo denies the allegations.

Other topics in the news last week include the Covid relief bill being debated in Congress; more fallout from the winter storm that knocked out power in Texas; former President Donald Trumps influence on the Republican Party; President Joe Bidens China gaffe; and an accident involving a Boeing jet that lost an engine in midair, trailing debris across suburban Denver, Colorado.

Cartoons were drawn by Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dan Wasserman, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Phil Hands, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and A.F. Branco, Mike Luckovich and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate.

View more editorial cartoon galleries.
Romania has delivered the first batch of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shots to Moldova, enabling one of Europe's poorest countries to begin its vaccination campaign.



Moldova has struggled in the global scramble to gain access to vaccines and welcomed donations for its 3.5 million people.



In December, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis pledged Moldova 200,000 vaccine doses from its quota allotted by the European Union during a visit to Chisinau meant to support the country's new pro-Western president, Maia Sandu.



It was the first visit by Romania's president to Moldova in six years, representing a clear thaw in relations between the neighbors after years of poor ties under former pro-Russian President Igor Dodon.



Moldova is deeply divided between those who support closer ties with Russia and those who advocate links with EU member Romania, with which it shares a common culture, history, and language.



"Romania keeps its promise.... Today we deliver the first doses, 21,600 of AstraZeneca," Romanian Prime Minister Florin Citu wrote on his Facebook page on February 27. "It is the first batch of the 200,000 does that we offer as humanitarian aid. The rest will follow in the coming months."



Sandu said the first shots would go into the arms of doctors, health-care professionals, and front-line workers in the pandemic in the next few days.



"Thank you, Romania! Thank you, European Union!" she wrote in a message on Facebook.



The government also expects a first shipment of 14,400 AstraZeneca doses under the global COVAX scheme for poorer countries to arrive in Moldova by March 3.



Moldova this week authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines, the two shots registered for emergency use by the World Health Organization.

It also approved Russia's Sputnik V after a brief political stir when Dodon accused Sandu of trying to block the vaccine's use in Moldova.



The presidential office denied blocking the Russian shot.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service and Reuters
Due to non-compliance with the COVID-19 protocols during burials, the Shai-Osudoku District Assembly has instructed families to ensure they obtain appropriate permits before they bury their loved ones.

The assembly wants to prevent the likely spread of the disease as a result of non-compliance.



According to the assembly, those who failed to abide by this bye-law will be sanctioned accordingly.



The sanctions include a fine of not less than 250 penalty units or imprisonment of not less than six months or both in case of continuing offence as stipulated by the bye-laws of the assembly.



Even though these bye-laws already exist, the assembly in the Greater Accra Region has embarked on its strict enforcement as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.



The assembly wants to ensure compliance with section 18 (7) of the Shai-Osudoku 2020 District Bye-laws on burial permit.



In a letter written and signed by the District Coordinating Director, Mr Frederick Akitty, on behalf of the District Chief Executive (DCE) to the Presidents of the Osudoku Traditional Council, Shai Traditional Council, assembly members in the district and copied to the district commanders of the Ghana Police Service at Dodowa, Doryumu, Akuse, Afienya and the District Environmental Health Officer, which The Mirror accessed, the assembly stressed the need for all families to adhere to the law.



Part of the letter read, It is an offence to bury a deceased person in the district without obtaining an approved permit issued by the Assemblys Environmental Health Unit.



Punishment

I am by this letter reminding all the traditional councils and the assembly members in the district that the burial permit bye-laws are still in force and that community members must be guided and act accordingly in order not to have any confrontation with the assembly in that regard, the letter stated.



The letter, has, therefore, authorised and mandated assembly members and town and area councils to demand and inspect authentic burial permits issued by the district assembly through the environmental officer from the family head before the burials in the public cemeteries, private homes and stool cemeteries in the district.



According to the Environment Health Officer of the Shai-Osudoku District Assembly, Ms Agnes Maku Korletey, even though the births and deaths registry department of the assembly collects an amount of money per burial of a deceased, her department had also adopted the strategy to educate the general public on the strict observance of COVID-19 protocols at burials as announced by the President in his address to the nation.



She emphasised that the strategy and education was yielding results in most parts of the district.



The permit is to prevent the likely spread of the COVID-19 disease



All efforts to get the officer in charge of the birth and death registry of the assembly to state revenue generated so far within this COVID-19 period did not yield any result.



COVID-19 education

At an emergency Osudoku Traditional Council meeting held at Osuwem last Saturday, the Paramount Chief of the Osudoku Traditional Area, Nene Aadegbor Ngmogmowuyaa Kwesi Animle VI, who is also the acting President of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, assured the assembly that his traditional council would ensure that all the people in the traditional area complied with the order, adding we are not in normal times and we need to adhere to the assemblys orders.



Nene Animle, who educated his traditional area on COVID-19 and its implication on the area and the nation as a whole, stressed the need for his people to strictly observe the COVID-19 protocols in their own interest.



To demonstrate his loyalty to the COVID-19 safety protocols, Nene Animle ensured that all those who attended the meeting without the masks were served with the masks before they took part in the meeting.



He said the COVID-19 pandemic was deadly and nobody should take it for granted.



The President of the traditional council tasked his divisional chiefs, the sub-chiefs, as well as opinion leaders in the traditional area to assist the assemblys mandated officers in enforcing the safety protocols within their jurisdictions.



Court suit

Nene Animle briefed the traditional council on the outcome of the court suit against him, the Paramount Chief and the Osudoku Traditional Council at the Tema High Court by some members of the Osudoku State.



He explained that notice of discontinuance filed by the lawyers of the plaintiffs was granted and GH2,000 cost awarded against the plaintiffs.



Nene Animle said they were one people and it was not necessary to be litigating in court and therefore advised people who were peeved and aggrieved about any issue in the traditional area to remain calm and seek redress from the traditional council rather than go to the law courts.

















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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The FBI has pinpointed a suspect in its investigation into the death of a U.S. Capitol Police officer in the Jan. 6 attack on Congress by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, The New York Times reported Friday.

The Times, citing two unnamed law enforcement officials briefed on the inquiry, said investigators have zeroed in on an individual seen in video footage of the riot who attacked several officers with bear spray, including Brian Sicknick, the policeman who died.

Sicknick, 42, was among a vastly outnumbered group of police officers confronted by the mob who stormed the Capitol in a bid to stop Congress from certifying the election of President Joe Biden.

The violence led to the impeachment of Trump by the U.S. House of Representatives on a charge of inciting an insurrection, but he was acquitted by the Senate in a trial held after he left office.

According to The New York Times, FBI agents began to suspect soon after opening a homicide probe that Sicknick's death was related to his inhalation of a chemical irritant, such as mace or bear spray, which both law enforcement officers and rioters were armed with during the insurrection.

According to one of the officials cited in the Times' report, video evidence shows that Sicknick's suspected assailant discussed attacking officers with bear spray beforehand.

Medical examiners have yet to rule on the cause or manner of Sicknick's death, as the autopsy is pending results of toxicology tests, the Capitol Police said in a statement on Friday.

More than 100 officers were injured in the riot, and five people died.

Although investigators have narrowed potential suspects seen in video footage to a single person this week, they have yet to identify that individual by name, the Times reported.

The newspaper said the U.S. Justice Department declined to comment. The FBI declined to comment to Reuters.

More than 200 people have been arrested for their role in the Capitol siege, a number of them associated with militant groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, underscoring rising concern about threats posed by right-wing extremists.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
Married At First Sight viewers have sympathised with bride Beth Moore after she sobbed uncontrollably after tying the knot with Russell Duance on Sunday's episode.

The 39-year-old admitted in a piece to camera that she was hoping for more chemistry and an immediate connection with her husband.

Many fans of the show sympathised with Beth, with one posting on Twitter shortly after their nuptials: 'Russell and Beth belong together like water and oil.'

'They belong together like water and oil!' Married At First Sight viewers sympathised with a sobbing Beth Moore (pictured), 39, as she admitted to being disappointed with her husband Russell Duance during Sunday night's episode

Another wrote: 'Beth knows she's been given a complete idiot in Russell. He wants hot chips for his wedding!! What were the experts thinking??'

One also posted: 'We [are] all crying inside with Beth. Unfortunately not looking good.'

However, it wasn't all negative for Russell, with some suggesting Beth should give the 37-year-old diesel mechanic, who requested hot chips at his wedding, a chance.

Online: One posted on Twitter: 'We [are] all crying inside with Beth. Unfortunately not looking good'

One shared online: 'C'mon Beth... give Russ a go. Seems like a nice lad... who doesn't like hot chips and a dad joke?'

Another said: 'Oh Beth - give him a chance. He's actually quite cute.'

On Sunday's episode, after posing for pictures on the sand, an emotional Beth told producers: 'This is not what I was expecting.'

Giving up too soon? However, it wasn't all negative for Russell (pictured), with some suggesting Beth should give the 37-year-old diesel mechanic, who requested hot chips at his wedding, a chance

Support for Russell: One shared online: 'C'mon Beth... give Russ a go. Seems like a nice lad... who doesn't like hot chips and a dad joke?'

The retail worker then broke down as she admitted she didn't feel a connection to Russell.

'I feel like a sh*t person because I don't have that feeling that I wanted to have,' Beth said.

She continued: 'It's just so early and obviously my emotions are heightened because of all these expectations.'

'It's not anything that he has done wrong or who he is. He seems like a great person. He has been a true gentleman.'

Emotional: On Sunday's episode, after posing for pictures on the sand, an emotional Beth told producers: 'This is not what I was expecting'

Will they last? The retail worker then broke down as she admitted she didn't feel a connection to Russell

'I was just hoping for that automatic connection, but let's just see what happens from here.'

Beth, who is from Western Australia, and Russell, who resides in South Australia, tied the knot but no guests were able to attend their wedding due to border restrictions.

After walking down the aisle, Beth admitted: 'He seems lovely but he is not the type of guy I'd normally go for.'

Married At First Sight continues Monday from 7:30pm on Channel Nine
The US government authorised Johnson & Johnsons single-dose Covid-19 vaccine, enabling millions more Americans to be vaccinated in the coming weeks and setting the vaccine up for additional approvals around the world. The J&J vaccine is the third authorised in the United States, following ones from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, both of which require two doses. Shipments to vaccination sites are expected to begin on Sunday or Monday.

US virus cases may stick at 70,000 a day, fears Fauci The case baseline at 70,000 a day, needs to fall further before the US can confidently resume normal activities, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. China rolls out its single dose Covid-19 vaccine China has given conditional approval for a single dose vaccine, touted to be a rival to Johnson & Johnsons one-jab shot cleared by the US drug regulator on Sunday.

Ad5-nCoV was rolled out on Friday. New Zealand calls 7-day lockdown in largest city New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a lockdown for its largest city Auckland while authorities investigate a new case of Covid. Auckland will enter the lockdown from 6 am on Sunday. UAE cases drop 22% from late January peak Covid cases in the United Arab Emirates have fallen by more than a fifth from a late January peak, a slower rate of decline than in Israel and the United Kingdom. Cases started rising again at the end-2020.
Standing tall both architecturally and spiritually By Lakshman Welikala 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF ALL SAINTS CHURCH, GALLE View(s): View(s):

A familiar landmark within the Galle Fort, All Saints Church was built in 1868 under the guidance of the second Bishop of Colombo Bishop Claughton and the dynamic leadership of Rev. Dr. George Justus Schrader, later Archdeacon of Colombo.The construction was completed in 1871, with its consecration taking place on February 21,1871. It has been recorded in the register that 480 civil and 45 military personnel were present at the service of consecration and that the days collection amounted to 105 pounds, 10 shillings and 4 pence.

The church was built in Victorian Gothic Revival style but modified to suit the local conditions with arches in local kabuk and lime mortar strong enough to last many more years.The heavy pews with Jewish emblems of the Star of David are all done in Burma teak. The beautiful tall stained glass windows are another feature of the church.

The 150th anniversary celebrations took place on Sunday, February 21 under the guidance of the Archdeacon of Galle, Ven. John Marshall.The Service of Thanksgiving was celebrated by Bishop of Colombo, Rt. Rev.Dushantha Rodrigo and Bishop of Kurunegala, Rt. Rev.Keerthisiri Fernando who in the sermon traced the history of Christians in Sri Lanka and the values of Saints as the church was named.

Bishop of Galle, Rt. Rev. Raymond Wickremasinghe together with religious leaders of all religions and Christian denominations in Galle too graced the occasion along with past clergy who had served in the church and officers of Government Departments and Police.Although celebrations were limited due to the ongoing pandemic, the congregation mingled with the clergy after the service recalling the past and sharing the joyous occasion.

I first stepped into this church in 1949 with my parents when my father, late Rev. E. O. P. Welikala was appointed as the vicar. I thank God for allowing me to worship and serve in various capacities in this Church for more than five decades and pray that this beautiful church will serve many more Christians for generations to come.
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP)  Mike Beaudry passed for 296 yards and two touchdowns, including a 25-yarder to Hayden Hatten in the closing seconds, and Idaho beat Eastern Washington 28-21 on Saturday in the season opener for both teams in a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Beaudry completed 22 of 45 and threw one interception and Hatten finished with six receptions for 138 yards.

Beaudry threw a 14-yard TD pass to Cutrell Haywood to make it 21-all with 5:42 left in the third quarter. Neither team scored again until he led an eight-play, 68-yard drive capped by Hatten's touchdown reception that gave the Vandals their first lead of the game with 54 seconds to play.

Eric Barriere was 32-of-57 passing for 339 yards and two touchdowns with an interception for Eastern Washington.

Anthany Smith returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown with 6:45 left in the first quarter and Barriere hit Dennis Merritt for a 27-yard TD early in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead.

Nick Romano scored on a 3-yard run and Roshaun Johnson added a 5-yard TD run to make it 14-all going into the half. EWU opened the second half with a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by Anthony Stell Jr.'s 16-yard scoring reception.

EWU coach Aaron Best missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. Defensive coordinator Eti Ena is filling in until Best returns.

Seth Harrison's 24-yard field-goal attempt for the Eagles early in the fourth quarter appeared to go through the uprights and bounce off the scoreboard but was ruled no good by the official  seemed to have missed the play while adjusting the mask on his face.

___

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball
New Delhi:

The pro-Kannada organisation Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) held protest outside State Bank of India head office in Bengaluru to press in their demand to hire Kannada speaking employees in banks on Wednesday.

The organisation protesting in front of the bank also demanded that all bank employees should learn Kannada within six months or leave their jobs.

KRV president T Narayanagowda talking to media said, How will bank employees serve customers if they dont know Kannada? Our demand is that all banks, nationalised or private, hire employees who are from Karnataka or know the language,

He added that they are protesting due to improper treatment by a bank employee with a customer in Mandya.

The KRV president told the media that in Mandya a bank employee could not communicate with a Kannda speaking farmer.

The bank employee further dare to ask the poor farmer to learn Hindi to avail bank services, said Narayanagowda

A State Bank of India manager not authorised to talk to the media said that the bank has always encouraged employees to speak in Kannada and three language policy is followed by the bank.

However, the pro-Kannada group has demanded Kannda speaking in all levels.

However, now the group has demanded that not just at clerical level but also senior posts in the bank which is mostly occupied by staff from other states  should also learn Kannada.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.


Peter Nordens first experience of navigating the byzantine aged care system was after he had an operation last year.

The 71-year-old founder of Jesuit Social Services, prison reform advocate and honorary fellow at Deakin University is no intellectual slouch, but he says the process of organising support in his home was confusing and bureaucratic.

Ive been working at a fairly high level  teaching and writing and research  and I couldnt understand what it was all about, Dr Norden says.

Peter Norden found the aged care system difficult to navigate. Credit:Justin McManus

When I started trying to change providers, there were so many barriers and hoops to jump through that you almost felt it was a waste of time; you make so many damn phone calls. I found it bureaucratic, complex and difficult to feel any sense of control or that I was a partner in this.
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Showers and a few thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 77F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.
Nearly a year after the coronavirus tore through Louisiana nursing homes and left thousands of residents dead, new infections reached their lowest point this past week, a sign that the threat the nearly yearlong pandemic has had on the elderly is close to rounding a corner.

Since the late-December rollout to vaccinate millions of Americans living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, new cases and deaths in those homes have fallen steeply. That downtrend is likely a result of an overall drop in cases within communities, as well as more of the state's most vulnerable residents receiving the life-saving shots, health experts say.

Only 19 of the states more than 270 nursing homes reported having at least one case or more in the past week, for a total of 47 infections overall. That's the lowest level recorded since the Louisiana Department of Health began publishing case counts within long-term care homes. Thirteen of those homes reported only one resident testing positive for the virus.

Cases in nursing homes have also fallen more than 90% since a post-holiday surge of infections, an encouraging sign that centers housing the elderly are near a turning point in shielding the states most vulnerable residents from COVID-19 after a lengthy dark period.

It provides great relief to the experience weve been having month after month, said Louisiana AARP Director Denise Botcher. While its tremendous relief, we shouldnt drop our guard. We should do everything we can to protect residents and staff because theres a lot we dont know.

The virus has been especially deadly in settings where elderly people live in close quarters and often have underlying conditions that enhance the viruss deadliness. Roughly one-third of the nation's more than 500,000 deaths were long-term care residents, a figure that mirrors Louisiana's human toll.

Despite taking steps to seal off their campuses to visitors and enacting other policies, the virus still managed to seep in. It also exposed other problems, such as low staffing and struggles to control infections  issues predating the virus's global outbreak.

As coronavirus left Louisiana nursing homes short-staffed, some residents were left without care Andre Monceret remembers the horror he felt as he helplessly watched a camera feed that showed his mother squirming in her chair after soiling

Many long-term care facilities were caught flat-footed when the virus gained a foothold in Louisiana, leading to some of the grimmest days in the early weeks of the pandemic.

The steepest rates of infections happened last April, and more than a thousand residents died from the virus by the end of May, according to health department records compiled by The Advocate and The Times-Picayune. The first few months alone accounted for 40% of the more than 2,750 fatal cases tied to the virus as of last week.

We didnt close them down quick enough, said Tulane Epidemiologist Susan Hassig. It was probably in a lot of nursing homes before we even knew.

The virus has continued to haunt nursing homes as cases within facilities mirrored large outbreaks in communities during the summer and, recently, after the holidays. Its also had secondary effects that have led to worries about residents welfare worsening because of the prolonged isolation.

Lockdowns left family members with little knowledge about how their loved ones were faring for months. Even after the state allowed in-person visits in September, they are still in tightly-controlled and physical contact, like hugs, are not allowed.

State health leaders say its still too early to tell when restrictions can be relaxed, and officials have grown worried about emerging variants of the virus that are more contagious and will likely require more people to get vaccinated than initially thought.

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

Cases throughout Louisiana have dropped since the third wave hammered the state around the holidays, and so too have hospitalizations and deaths. That downturn is likely driving down the number of infections at long-term care homes, said Theresa Sokol, Louisianas acting state epidemiologist.

"It's clear that they're aligned. When we see increases in the community, that's when you have more introductions into the facilities and you have more transmission in the facility, she said.

At Louisiana nursing homes, testing lags likely increased the deadly coronavirus toll Charles Brown will never forget the date his mother, Hazel Dean, was diagnosed with the coronavirus: June 2.

Vaccines are also beginning to show their ability to protect people from infections.

Drugstores CVS and Walgreens were tapped by the Trump administration to administer vaccines to long-term care and assisted living centers, a program that has at times been criticized for its slow pace and missteps.

Some nursing homes were holding onto shipments of vaccines  sometimes for weeks  before clinicians came to administer them. The sluggish pace led to pushes from states to take vaccines from those caches to be used elsewhere.

Nevertheless, CVS said its completed two visits each to 130 long-term care facilities and Walgreens has completed 86% of its second visits to more than 144 facilities that its partnered with. Both are in the early stages of returning for a third and final visit to administer remaining booster shots to residents and staff.

Another possibility for the sharp decline within nursing homes could be due to the thousands of residents and staff whove already contracted the virus, even unknowingly.

More than nearly 14,000 residents and over 10,000 employees have tested positive for the virus since March, according to the latest state health department data. Though the number of people living in nursing homes changes, an average of about 22,000 people have been living in nursing homes since last May.

Even if they havent gotten both doses into the arms of residents, the fact that many of them would have had preexisting covid exposure is something to factor in, Hassig said. At least getting the first dose in could very well provide substantial benefit.

More than a half-million Louisianans have received the vaccine, and the recent authorization of a one-dose shot made by Johnson & Johnson could give the effort to inoculate Americans a jolt in the coming weeks.

Vaccinations are the key to a return to normalcy and curbing the number of people who get severely sick and require hospitalization, Sokol said.

"That is our best hope that we're seeing the light of the end of the tunnel, she said. "But It's not behind us yet, we're still going to have to be very vigilant.
President Joe Bidens latest executive order seeks to secure a variety of important supply chains. For example, in one higher-profile case, General Motors recently announced it would extend downtimes at several plants as a result of a semiconductor shortage.

As weve noted in our Rare Earths Monthly Metals Index (MMI) series, rare earths supply has long been a point of concern for the US, particularly the Pentagon. (Recently, MetalMiners Stuart Burns delved into Chinas overwhelming control of the rare earths processing market and indications Beijing is considering tighter rare earths export regulations.)

In that vein, the presidents latest executive order  his 33rd in just over a month in office, which the White House said he would sign Wednesday  aims to secure those critical supply chains.

The White House said the order focuses on six key areas:

the defense industrial base

the public health and biological preparedness industrial base

the information and communications technology (ICT) industrial base

the energy sector industrial base

the transportation industrial base

supply chains for agricultural commodities and food production

First 100 days

Meanwhile, the order calls for a 100-day review related to supply chain vulnerabilities for four key products:

APIs, or the active ingredient in pharmaceutical products

semiconductors

critical minerals

large capacity batteries, like those used in electric vehicles

Securing US supply chains for rare earths

Among the supply chains in question, as mentioned, is that of rare earths.

Critical minerals are an essential part of defense, high-tech, and other products, the White House said. From rare earths in our electric motors and generators to the carbon fiber used for airplanesthe United States needs to ensure we are not dependent upon foreign sources or single points of failure in times of national emergency.

Related: India's Largest Refiner To Invest $4.5 Billion To Boost Capacity



In January, the US took a small step toward that goal with the signing of a deal with Australias Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.

The Australian rare earths firm will build a light rare earths separation facility in the US. Lynas is the largest rare earths company outside of China.

The lack of domestic processing capability leaves the US exposed, as Burns explained.

The US even sends its ores to China for refining, Burns noted. Thats not because it doesnt have the technical know-how; the US simply lacks the facilities. Furthermore, China is more willing to tolerate the environmental damage from the dreadfully polluting refining process.

Semiconductor supply chain shortage

As noted earlier, the latest supply chain challenge impacting US businesses is the semiconductor shortage.

In addition, the shortage is impacting the automotive sector, in particular.

Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche, told CNBCs Squawk Box Europe the shortage is very serious and could impact operations for months.

The latest executive order highlights the semiconductor shortage and its impact on automotive operations (and, in turn, on US workers).

The United States is the birthplace of this technology, and has always been a leader in semiconductor development, the White House said. However, over the years we have underinvested in productionhurting our innovative edgewhile other countries have learned from our example and increased their investments in the industry.

The US-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) welcomed news of the executive order. The association represents 98% of the US semiconductor industry by revenue.

We welcome todays executive order and stand ready to work with the Biden administration to ensure the strength and resilience of Americas semiconductor supply chains, the SIA said. As part of this effort, we urge the president and Congress to invest ambitiously in domestic chip manufacturing and research.

Furthermore, the USs share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has declined from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, SIA added.

By AG Metal Miner

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
At the superficial level, the photo issue may sound very inconsequential on the list of the problems that assail Yorubaland. It is however symbolic of the total malaise; of William Butler Yeats things that have fallen apart and the falcon that cannot hear the falconer. There is a master/servant relationship today between Southern governmental leaders and the natural rulers of the people.

An old photograph currently sits regally in the living room of a top Nigerian politician. Shot sometime in 1954, some 67 years ago, ostensibly in the old Osun Division of the Western Region, it was taken after a meeting of monarchs of the Division with Premier of the region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The meeting had in attendance almost all the first class Obas of Yorubaland. They wore their beaded crowns of Dolly Partons Coat of Many Colours hue. After the meeting, the photo session took place. In the photograph, on the front row was the Premier, sitting in the middle. He wore a resplendent white agbada. Of particular significance was that Awolowo had his cap removed and held in his hands, apparently in reverence to the Obas. To the left of Awo was Oba Samuel Adenle, the Ataoja of Osogbo. On same front row was Oba Adetoye Laoye, Timi of Ede, donning his animal skin crown. On same row were: Oba Lawani Adeyemi, Akirun of Ikirun; Oba Mosees Oyinlola, Olokuku of Okuku; and four other natural rulers. Standing behind Awolowo, without his cap on too, was Chief S.L. Akintola, who by then was the Deputy Leader of the Action Group political party. S.L.A was flanked by other apparently lesser Obas and other people who, from their dressing, must have been chiefs and aides of the Obas of the Osun Division.

Last week, some 67 years after, in the same Yorubaland, a similar meeting held and, consequently, another photograph emerged. That photograph spoke eloquently and unambiguously about the tidal wave that has swept off importance and dignity of Yoruba traditional rulers and replaced this with the arrogance of the governmental elite. The occassion was a security meeting held in the Oyo State governors office in Ibadan. Present there were governors, security chiefs and Obas of the South-West geopolitical zone. The political elite present included Governors Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), and the host governor, Seyi Makinde. Unlike the earlier meeting held 67 years ago, after this one, the sitting arrangement for the photo session shows the governors, like some matadors, sitting in the front row and behind them, standing like cowed captives, were first class natural rulers in Yorubaland, ranging from the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, to the Ooni of Ife and others.

After the Ibadan meeting, I asked a foremost traditional ruler in Oyo State what the place of the Yoruba was in the current precarious equation. He sent me this text: Take a look at the picture (taken) at the governors office yesterday. The Obas stood behind the governors. It cannot happen in the North. We are just being treated like table water on the table during official functions. It is the same trouble in virtually all parts of Southern Nigeria. After quaffing champagne and whiskey of immense proportions, governors piss on the faces of their monarchs. The other day, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State tongue-lashed the traditional ruler of Omuma, King Onyekachi Amaonwu, who he accused of shaking his head while he, the Emperor with the gruffy voice, spoke.

Stop shaking your head! You!You! You are one of those who are causing problem. They gave you chieftaincy, youre a young boy, you dont know what to do with it and then when I am speaking, youre shaking your head like this He will just go and wear something bigger than him. You will think he is an elderly man. I remember when I was in school, he was running around, Wike lampooned the monarch.

Pens are reputed to be mightier than swords. So are photographs. They are mightier than a thousand words. Photographs evoke metaphors, imageries and diverse interpretations. Krista Neher, an influencer, was quoted to have said that the human brain has a cheetah-speed power to process images 60,000 times faster than words. In a November 15, 2020 piece I wrote entitled The Starved Lion of Kaduna, I cited the award-winning photograph of Kevin Carter, which appeared in the New York Times of March 26, 1993. It was the picture of Kong Nyong, a famine-struck Sudanese boy, initially thought to be a girl. Nyong had collapsed from intense hunger and lay on his face in the hot desert sun in Sudan, with an empty food bowl hidden beside his face. In the photograph, Nyong also had a beaded necklace of his Sudanese nationality jutting out of his feeble neck. He was said to be on his way to Ayod, the United Nations ration centre in Sudan, a journey of about a half kilometre away. All of a sudden, his strength failed him and he collapsed. That picture, which went mega viral, led to Kevin Carter winning the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1994. It also provoked events leading to him committing suicide.

Two issues, one interfacing the other, engaged my thoughts as the week that just ended rolled to a close. The first was the photographs menitoned above, which spoke harmlessly but evocatively about the power of pictures and their constructive and destructive possibilities. Like Carters, they spoke so glibly about the current situation of the Yoruba people of South-Western Nigeria. This provoked my delving into the second issue personified in a character called Arogidigba in the book Ireke Onibudo, one of the works of D. O. Fagunwa, Yorubas pre-colonial master of fantasy literature. Fagunwa deployed phantasm as a tool of literary expression. Piecing the two issues together and placing them side by side the two photographs referred to above, you can get an explanation into why the Yoruba are easy preys in the hands of the present-day Arogidigba.

Aside the photographs, let me delve into the second issue. In pursuit of phantasm as a literary tool, Fagunwa created queer characters to reinforce his obsession with the fantabulous. In all his creative and imaginative endeavours, he forged a retinue of unforgettable gothic characters, whose names made hairs on the skin stand up. One of such is the ebullient, mythic character he labeled Arogidigba. Sounding almost like some kind of onomatopoeia, Fagunwas characters were all carved to create evergreen effects in the mind. The characters were ebullient in their roles and names, garnished in descriptive imageries that drop the jaws in wonder at his literary prowess. The Fagunwa descriptive power was so high that his mastery of the labels of animals earned him the sobriquet of a writer-taxonomist.

Separated in time by 67 years, at a structural level, they speak eloquently and unambiguously about the regression in estimation and importance of the relationship between the political and natural leaders of the Yoruba. 1950s and 1960s Nigeria was when natural rulers and traditional title holders played significant roles in the leadership and governance of their people.

In an edition of Aditu Olodumare, for instance, there is an illustration of Baba Onirugbon Yeuke, the man with a weirdly bushy beard, who cradles his tobacco pipe mysteriously and sits on a hilltop, beside the cusp of a rock. Appended to his illustration in the book is the description: Baba onirugbon yeuke eni ti n gbe bi gegele okuta. Other characters are Ajantala, Ogongo Baba Eye (Ostrich, the King of Birds), Ibembe Olokunrun, Aramanda Okunrin, Anjonnu Iberu, Esu Kekereode, Olohun Iyo, Ojola Ibinu and ad infinitum. Each spoke to the character of the character described, thus making this mysterious writer to enrich the mind with fables. Oh, Fagunwa was in a class of his own!

Sorry, I digressed. Another great Yoruba master of cinematography, Tunde Kelani, refreshed our memory of Fagunwa during the week. (By the way, TK clocked 73 last week; Happy birthday, sir). In one of his short videos works codifying for posterity imperishable Yoruba literary works, Kelani got Fagunwas Ireke Onibudo, written in 1949 read, from Pages 63 to 76. It is the story of the protagonist, Ireke Onibudo, whose boat capsises while on a voyage on the sea. He then finds himself right inside the bottom of the sea, arrested by mythic fish world police and taken to the court of the King of the Sea called Arogidigba. This is a gothic character bearing an admixture of human features and the physiology of an aquatic being. She also has a long tail affixed to her voluptuous body.

Fagunwas descriptive power is awesomely and powerfully deployed here as he brings his characters to the reader in a scarily unambiguous manner. Soon, Ireke Onibudo is shepherded to the front of Arogidigba, whose imperial and beautiful palace, festooned with ornaments, has the inscription, Palace of Arogidigba, King of Fishes. It is there that Ireke Onibudo realises that, to celebrate her anniversary on the stool, Arogidigba specifically asks for the flesh of human beings as propitiation of her marine deities. This was reason for the deliberate capsizing of Ireke Onibudos boat.

As the fish palace guards move to drag their captive to the presence of Arogidigba, the regal fish god shouts an epigrammatic description of humanity which you cannot but find apposite: Hold it! Human beings must never get close to me! Who is a human being? He is a scorpion that inflicts immense pain on his fellow being, a rattlesnake under the grass; an object poised on a destruction of humanity. Human being possesses a blunt sword and walks aimlessly on the surface of the earth. Who has your God-given majesty, man? Human beings couch daily devious plans against fishes! Small and big fishes are preys in your hands. You kill them aimlessly. She promises to make Ireke Onibudos entrails fill her pot of soup that night.

Now, I return to the two photographs earlier described. Separated in time by 67 years, at a structural level, they speak eloquently and unambiguously about the regression in estimation and importance of the relationship between the political and natural leaders of the Yoruba. 1950s and 1960s Nigeria was when natural rulers and traditional title holders played significant roles in the leadership and governance of their people. All those monumental achievements in Awos name could never have been achieved if the traditional institution was playing the united but separated seeds-of-a-walnut role to government. While Sir Adesoji Aderemi was governor of the Western Region, the Odemo of Isara, Samuel Akinsanya, was a minister without portfolio, between 1952 and 1955. So also was the Aholu Jiwa II of Jegba, Oba Claudius Dosa Akran, who intermixed politics with traditional rulership. He had earlier been nominated as head of Jegba, Badagry quarters in 1948 and was appointed traditional leader in 1950. He represented Badagry in the 1951 parliament and was a major member of the Action Group of the Akintola rump, who later became regional minister of Finance between 1962 and 1966.

At the superficial level, the photo issue may sound very inconsequential on the list of the problems that assail Yorubaland. It is however symbolic of the total malaise; of William Butler Yeats things that have fallen apart and the falcon that cannot hear the falconer. There is a master/servant relationship today between Southern governmental leaders and the natural rulers of the people. Castrated by the Constitution and relegated to playing second fiddle in their jurisdictional enclaves, security-wise, Nigerian governors are powerless. On the insecurity that currently afflicts the south, these governors cannot be said to be strategising enough, in concert with the natural rulers. These rulers have the ears of their domains. The synergy needed to smoke out blood-sucking Fulani herdsmen who kill and maim their people is absent within them, whereas together, they and the traditional rulers can eliminate the Fulani menace without firing a single shot.

I must however add that the quality of natural rulers has dwindled shamefully. This is the Satanic outcome of appointments of less-than stellar persons onto traditional stools. On revered stools today are acknowledged fraudsters, drug addicts and vacant-minded ones. Many of them mount the stool so as to be able to superintend over the sales of wide expanses of land. No one in their right senses can take such characters seriously. One of them recently said, like one under the influence of cannabis, that he would take in smoked out murderous Fulani herdsmen into his domain. Can you blame the governor of his state if he does not strategise with such a fellow?

Neither Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Arogidigba of this destructive system and under who the Nigerian state has become finally castrated and comatose, nor Yemi Osinbajo, who can conveniently be said to have been captured by Arogidigba and her comity of flesh-eating beings within, can help southern Nigeria formulate the answer needed to the current nuisance of the Nigerian state.

Right now, Nigeria is literally quaking and gasping for breath. Untrained Almajiri children, the born-trowey  apologies to Patience Jonathan  who, as Awolowo warned decades ago, would be our national albatross, have now grown full throttle. They periodically reify their angers against the iniquitous Hausa/Fulani feudal system which literally threw them away, shortly after their births and almost from the moment they were weaned. This is manifest in their abduction of schoolchildren, and how they seek ransom from offspring of their leaders who made their lives miserable from infancy. They unleash bloody recompense against the Hausa-Fulani elites and by consequence, the rest of Nigeria.

While growing up as almajiri, they were at the mercy of the northern elite who shoved left-over foods at them to eat. Today however, the table has turned. Having now grown into adulthood, that selfsame elite is at their mercy as they kidnap their children and make life unlivable for them. They are the willing recruits of Boko Haram in the North-East and the notorious bandits of the North-West. As at last week, a security tracker said that 222 people were killed, 103 kidnapped in seven days in Nigeria and a preponderance of this figure came from the North. The previous week, one of the fat maggots of that feudal system, who today cannot go to his homestead because Boko Haram insurgents have made his ancestral abode inaccessible, blamed South-West leaders for not providing leadership. You would think he was writing a script of dramatic irony.

But in all these, what has been the response of southern Nigeria to the impending doom being ferried down South from the North? Reports had it that, towards the tail end of last week, foodstuff from the North were being stopped at Jebba and diverted to neighbouring African countries. To me, this is major news. It looks like this is the point where the true federalism we canvass and howl about would come into practical manifestation. This should be a wakeup call for the South, which should double down on food production.

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Do southern Nigerian governors know that they should have a strategic response to the ruinous violence from the Northern flank? Because these governors are castrated by the constitution, their traditional rulers are the most appropriate organs which can activate the Southern agenda under the backcloth. Today, Sheikh Gumi, a visceral hater of anyone whose descent isnt from Fouta Djallon, is traversing Northern forests and is not arrested for being an accessory after-the-fact of the spate of killings in the North. The same system that chose to be blind to Gumi as accessory after-the-fact of kidnapping and killing, is alive to its responsibility and attempting to arrest Sunday Igboho. Igboho is merely seeking to rescue his people from the hands of people who, in the name of the Fulani nationality, want to wipe them their own domains. Gumi is spewing out very foul outbursts against the offsprings of those who cultured, from birth, their own children away from a life sans education. In demanding a nebulous amnesty for gun-wielding forest-dwelling bloodhounds, Gumi wants the North to eat its cake and have it. His method is to get the Nigerian state to dedicate chunks of its national proceeds from the oil dredged in the Niger Delta to placate bandits. These are the same people who the Northern feudal system spawned as born trowey, and who have become its open sore. What nonsense!

Neither Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Arogidigba of this destructive system and under who the Nigerian state has become finally castrated and comatose, nor Yemi Osinbajo, who can conveniently be said to have been captured by Arogidigba and her comity of flesh-eating beings within, can help southern Nigeria formulate the answer needed to the current nuisance of the Nigerian state. We heard the composite of the thought of northern governors, senators and top office holders in the last couple of weeks, in defence of the killers of their people. Their voices are in support of the same bandits whose lives they fractured right from birth. You think it was a happenstance? No! It is a strategy.

The North, like the Arogidigba, seems to have arrested the South and deactivated its reasoning process. After holding the South captive, it began to spew a century-old phlegm on its face like that mythic fish god did on Ireke Onibudo. Similar to what Chinua Achebe said in his The Troube with Nigeria, the problem of strategic thinking is the trouble with Southern Nigeria. The earlier a forward-looking strategy is developed, the better for the region. Not doing this will make Arogidigba harvest Southern Nigerian entrails inside its bloodthirsty pot of soup.

Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist.
EDWARDSVILLE  Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) has named Southern Illinois University Edwardsville among 150 colleges and universities to its 2021 Transfer Honor Roll, which identifies the top four-year colleges and universities creating dynamic pathways to support community college transfer students. SIUE is among three Illinois public institutions represented.

Open to all regionally accredited baccalaureate degree-granting institutions, PTKs Transfer Honor Roll recognizes four-year colleges and universities that have developed transfer pathways that lead to excellence and success among community college transfer students. Institutions are evaluated in the areas of transfer data, admissions, cost of attendance, campus life, recruitment practices and peer reviews.
Unless youre blinded by an ill-fitting mask, it wasnt hard to recognize the impact of immigrants on our lives during the past year.

They are the kid stocking the shelves at the supermarket, the lady wiping down the elevator in your condo, the guy delivering pizza during the blizzard, the woman holding a grandfathers hand as he took his last breath.

It took a pandemic for us to acknowledge that they are essential, and the vast majority of Americans believe its payback time.

But as President Biden throws his support behind the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, the comprehensive immigration reform bill that is aimed at overhauling the cruelty of his predecessor, the lingering question is how much reform he must trade away in order to gain enough Republican support to pass it.

This task will measure the limits of Bidens political imagination, and one thing he has going for him is the right partner. At the tip of the spear is Sen. Robert Menendez, a son of Cuban immigrants who has been working on this issue for 30 years and characterizes the bill as not only an affirmation of this countrys humanity, but as an economic imperative.

Lets hope one of those arguments work.

The reason we have not gotten immigration reform over the finish line is not because of a lack of will, said Menendez, a member of the Senates Gang of Eight that passed bipartisan reform in 2013, only to have it torpedoed by House Speaker John Boehner. It is because we have compromised too much and capitulated too quickly to fringe voices who refuse to accept the humanity and contributions of immigrants to our country and dismiss everything as amnesty.

We will do the righteous thing, and make our case for bold and inclusive and lasting immigration reform. And we will have  as we have seen in poll after poll  the vast majority of Americans standing with us.

At its heart of the bill is an eight-year path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, if they pass background checks and pay taxes. But the path is shortened to three years for Dreamers, farm workers, and TPS holders. It also erases restrictions so that families can be reunited and expands worker visas.

But the bill also addresses Republican priorities, such as more funding for border security, more resources at ports of entry to detect drug smuggling, and new tools for prosecuting trafficking networks.

Public support is strong. A Quinnipiac poll showed that 65 percent of Americans said undocumented immigrants should have a path to citizenship. Dreamers are embraced as tightly as ever, with 83 percent (including 66 of Republicans) in support of them staying and applying for citizenship.

HUGE: someYuletide  from the @starledger edit. board on Christmas morn.



NJ must include immigrants in aid



These are people we cant leave behind. Christmas will soon pass, but its spirit needs to get a grip on a few more lawmakers. #Recovery4Allhttps://t.co/onMrKgLbdr  Make the Road New Jersey  (@MaketheRoadNJ) December 25, 2020

But the politics are daunting, because the Democrats need 10 Republican votes to gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Its a heavy lift. Republicans are still in lockstep with Donald Trump  whose immigration policy included family separation and the caging of children  and they often align themselves with an ideology that is opposed to the multi-cultural democracy that America has become.

So Menendez will also emphasize the economic impact. He recalls that when the Congressional Budget Office scored the 2013 bill, it broke their calculators: The CBO said that reform bill would have reduced the deficit by $850 billion over 20 years, grown the economy by $1.5 trillion within a decade, added $300 billion to the social security trust fund, and raised wages across the board.

New Jerseys senior senator is not opposed to getting it done piecemeal, however. Some GOP senators from agriculture states might be open to provisions for farm workers or meat packers, for example, but Menendez repeats that the goal is for reform, in as robust a form as possible.

It is the first major legislation from the Biden Administration that is not COVID-related, and he is swinging for the upper deck. With the lives of 11 million people at stake, we hope he connects.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-27 14:51:10|Editor: huaxia

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People take part in a rally against anti-Asian hate crimes in San Mateo, California, the United States, on Feb. 27, 2021. Senior officials of the U.S. Justice Department said Friday that the recent surge in violence and hate incidents against Asian Americans in the country is unacceptable, vowing to investigate those cases and other hate crimes. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials of the U.S. Justice Department said Friday that the recent surge in violence and hate incidents against Asian Americans in the country is unacceptable, vowing to investigate those cases and other hate crimes.

These "horrific attacks on Asian Americans across the country" have "no place in our society," Deputy Attorney General John Carlin told a news briefing on domestic terrorism, adding that the Justice Department is "committed to putting a stop to it."

Carlin said agents and prosecutors at the department will "look at recent footage from New York and California to see those horrific attacks directed at Asian Americans, to realize how dire the threats are."

One of the high-profile examples of innocent Asian Americans being insulted during the COVID-19 pandemic involved a woman waiting in line at a bakery in New York, who was shoved into a metal newspaper box by a man, and a 91-year-old man being shoved to the ground in the Chinatown in Oakland, California.

In yet another heinous crime, Vicha Ratanapakdee, a Thai American aged 84, was fatally attacked in San Francisco on Jan. 31. The suspect, 19-year-old Antoine Watson, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.

"While the rise of domestic violent extremism is a serious and growing public safety and national security threat, unfortunately violence motivated by extremism, hate, intolerance, and racism has been a persistent and tragic occurrence throughout American history," Carlin said, adding the department will commit itself to three specific pillars in dealing with the problem, "following the data and intelligence, protecting civil liberties and taking an all tools approach."

Pamela Karlan, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement earlier in the day that the United States "is currently facing unprecedented challenges, some of which are fueling increased bigotry and hatred."

She said the Civil Rights Division is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal prosecutors and local law enforcers to "evaluate possible hate crimes."

Stop AAPI Hate, a group tracking discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), said it had received more than 2,808 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate from mid-March 2020 through the end of 2020. Physical assaults made up 8.7 percent of those incidents while 70.9 percent involved verbal harassment, the group said.

Outraged by the anti-Asian violence, members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) -- a bipartisan, bicameral group in Congress -- recently called for Congress to pass the No Hate Act, which has been stalled since its introduction in 2019.

CAPAC Chairperson Judy Chu, a California Democrat, said last week that the Asian American community had "reached a crisis point that cannot be ignored," laying the blame on former President Donald Trump and Republicans' stigmatization of Asian Americans by insistently referring to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus" "China plague" or "Kung Flu." Enditem


DUBAI (Reuters) - A haven for humans craving furry feline company, a cat cafe in Dubai also doubles as an adoption centre for some of the United Arab Emirates' many strays.

The Ailuromania Cat Cafe, which was the Middle East's first cat cafe when it opened in 2015, hopes the relaxing properties of its 25 rescue and shelter cats will help find them their forever homes.

"Anyone who is stressed just has to find a cat. All your stress will go away," said Omnia Fareed, whose two cat-loving sisters Allaa and Iman started the cafe after university, taking inspiration from similar establishments in Korea and London.

The cafe's original residents were strays taken in by the family over the years. Now Ailuromania hosts cats from a government-run animal shelter in the neighbouring emirate of Ras al Khaimah, hoping to increase adoptions.

The cafe's name Ailuromania is a play on the Greek-derived English word for a lover of cats: ailurophile.

The cafe has regular customers who come seeking relaxation from the stresses of life, or because they cannot keep a cat at home.

"They are so cute, they love playing," said visitor Shaasthra. She said she appreciates how the cafe looks after the cats' welfare by advising people not to hold them or wake them up.

Another regular visitor, a street cat who would stare in through the window, was also invited and eventually adopted.

Since Dubai began lifting coronavirus lockdown measures last summer, the cafe re-opened with capacity and sanitisation restrictions.

Dubai has a large number of stray cats, with many abandoned on the streets by their owners. In 2018 UAE authorities made it illegal to abandon animals, but animal welfare activists in Dubai have for years called for a large-scale trap-neuter-release scheme and feeding programmes to bring numbers down humanely.

In August, Dubai municipality issued a circular restating a policy of fining anyone caught feeding strays, saying it increases the spread of diseases.

(Reporting by Tarek Fahmy, Abdelhadi Ramahi, Lisa Barrington; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
India Security forces battling a decades-long insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir are alarmed by the recent arrival in the disputed region of small, magnetic bombs that have wreaked havoc in Afghanistan.

"Sticky bombs", which can be attached to vehicles and detonated remotely, have been seized during raids in recent months in the federally administered region of Jammu and Kashmir, three senior security officials told Reuters.

"These are small IEDs and quite powerful," said Kashmir Valley police chief Vijay Kumar, referring to improvised explosive devices. "It will certainly impact the present security scenario as volume and frequency of vehicular movements of police and security forces are high in Kashmir Valley."

The Indian government flooded Kashmir, already one of the world's most militarised regions, with more troops in August 2019, when it split the country's only Muslim-majority state into two federally administered territories.

The arrival of the sticky bombs in India-controlled Kashmir - including 15 seized in a February raid - raises concerns that an unnerving tactic attributed to the Taliban insurgents in nearby Afghanistan could be spreading to the India-Pakistan conflict.

Afghanistan in recent months has seen a series of sticky-bomb attacks targeting security forces, judges, government officials, civil society activists and journalists. The attacks - some as victims sat in traffic - have sown fear, while avoiding substantial civilian casualties.

None of the devices seized in Kashmir was produced there, a senior security official said, suggesting they were being smuggled from Pakistan. "All of them have come via drone drops and tunnels," he said, asking not to be named.

Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan, which each claim all of the Himalayan region but rule only parts of it.

India accuses Pakistan of backing the insurgency in Kashmir, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1990s. Pakistan denies the charge, saying it gives only moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiri people fighting for self-determination.

New Delhi has attempted to maintain a tight grip over the Kashmir Valley, where high-speed mobile internet was suspended for 18 months until earlier in February, but the insurgency has simmered on.

Officials said the bombs are particularly worrying because they can be easily attached to vehicles using magnets, potentially allowing militants to carry out assassinations or target military convoys that regularly criss-cross the valley.

In February 2019, a suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives into a convoy in Kashmir's Pulwama, killing 40 soldiers - the deadliest attack on Indian forces in the region - bringing India and Pakistan to the brink of another war.

Police chief Kumar said that security forces were changing protocols to deal with the new threat. The measures included increasing the distance between private and military traffic, installing more cameras on vehicles and using drones to monitor convoys.

A difference between militants in Kashmir and Afghanistan is that the Taliban have tremendous ability to move around in urban and rural areas, which, along with the easier availability of explosives, make the bombs a potent threat.

The Taliban, which initially said it was behind some of the attacks, has since denied any involvement in the attacks.

"The Taliban has targets, can reach them, and kill them with impunity. The whole structure of the attack - and its endless repetition - is what makes the bomb effective," said Avinash Paliwal, a senior lecturer in international relations at SOAS University of London.

"In Kashmir, the space for such ability to manoeuvre with ease is limited."

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Three years ago this month, Boko Haram abducted 110 girls from a school in Dapchi, in Nigerias Yobe state. One girl remains in captivity. Her parents remain hopeful she will be freed but say the government is doing nothing to ensure her release.

A month after the February 2018 abduction at the Government Girls' Science and Technical College, the government negotiated the release of most of the girls, except for Leah Sharibu, aged 14 at the time of her capture, and the only Christian in the group.



One of the girls who was released said Boko Haram held her back because she refused to convert to Islam.

Leahs mother, Rebecca Sharibu, says she and her husband are still counting on the promises made by the government of President Mohammadu Buhari regarding her release.

Out of the 110 girls abducted, it is only my daughter that has not been released, she said. Why did [Buhari] not adopt the same means he used in gaining the release of the others to free my girl? They negotiated the release of those kidnapped in Katsina state; why wouldn't they negotiate for my daughter's release? Just one girl.

Nigerias schools are increasingly targeted by Boko Haram and criminal groups.

Gunmen on Feb. 17 kidnapped 42 people at a boarding school, including 27 students, in north-central Niger state. They have yet to be released.



In December, gunmen kidnapped more than 300 schoolboys in northwest Katsina state. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnapping; officials blamed bandits, and the boys were released in less than a week.

Boko Haram became infamous for school kidnappings in 2014, when the group took 276 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok, in northeastern Borno state. More than 100 of the girls are still missing.



Security expert Lionel von Frederick Rawlins says the government is caught in a bind when it comes to securing the release of Leah Sharibu.

The only way they can do that is by offering money, because we can't go and storm the Sambisa forest (where Leah is suspected to be held) with a forceful rescue. So, you have to give money in return for her or give up some prisoners in return for Leah. The problem with that though, is that if Leah is released and the government paid for her release, other parents who have children who were kidnapped by Boko Haram and who are also held in the Sambisa, they would ask, what about me? von Frederick Rawlins said.

There were reports in 2019 that Leah delivered a baby boy in captivity, but her father, Nathan Sharibu, says that is not true.

He is calling on Buhari to ensure Leahs safe return.

He has promised several times to the family, he promised the nation, he promised the whole world that his administration will do his possible best to see that my daughter returned home safely. So, Im pleading to him to be a father, a grandfather, to do his possible best to see my daughter return home safely. Please, I'm begging him, Leahs father said.

Buhari in 2019 said officials would ensure the release of everyone being held by Boko Haram and other armed groups.

Boko Haram alone is believed to be holding more than 100 captives, almost all of them "Chibok girls, the group abducted seven years ago.
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With Colorado coming out of its second worst drought year since 2002 and with scant expectations for a better 2021, the states public agency that deals with wildfires is hoping a California solution could help tamp down the biggest wildfires in the years to come.
The state government will ban firefighting foams containing PFAS chemicals, bringing NSW into line with Queensland and South Australia where foams containing the dangerous toxins are already outlawed.

The Herald can reveal the ban will be announced on Monday by NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean and will prohibit the use of firefighting foams containing PFAS for training or demonstration purposes from March.

NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean will introduce a ban on firefighting foams containing PFAS. Credit:Louie Douvis

Foams containing the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl chemicals will still be able to be used in catastrophic or special circumstances.

This ban on PFAS firefighting foam will significantly reduce the impact on our environment

but still enable our emergency agencies to fight catastrophic fires that can have devastating

impacts on life and property, Mr Kean said.
Get a free battery test using the service coupon available at Hyundai of St. Augustine.

Local St. Augustine dealership, Hyundai of St. Augustine, offers a free vehicle battery test available as a service coupon. This coupon expires on March 28, so any customer who is interested in taking advantage of this deal is encouraged to contact the dealership and schedule a service appointment soon.

Other service coupons include:

$25 off Timing Belt Replacement

$25 off Front or Rear Brake Pad Replacement

$54.95 In-Cabin Air Filter Replacement

10% off Clutch Replacement

10% Hyundai Wiper Blades

Again, local drivers who are planning on using any of the coupons listed above are encouraged to schedule their service appointment with the dealership before the service coupons expire on March 28. Shoppers who are not interested in the service coupons can oftentimes find different coupons once the current ones have expired, so any driver not finding relevant coupons at Hyundai of St. Augustine are encouraged to check back later, once the coupons have changed. Additional information about these service coupons can be found on the dealerships website at http://www.hyundaiofstaugustine.org.

Hyundai of St. Augustine also offers Do-It-Yourself tips and tricks for vehicle maintenance on its blog and has a wide array of Original Equipment Manufacturer parts for customers to utilize as well. Shoppers who are interested in taking advantage of these service coupons can contact the dealership at 904-567-7175. Hyundai of St. Augustine is located at 2898 US 1 in St. Augustine.
I will be flying from Dallas to Serbia, it's about a 17 hour trip. I was wondering if they count the 48 hours from when you get your test to when you enter Serbia or 48 hours from your first flight?

If it's from when you enter Serbia, do they take into account the time difference between my country and theirs? It's a really tight timeframe since I am traveling for such a long time.

Thank you!


US President has urged the Senate to quickly pass the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package, which was approved by the House on Saturday.

"Now the bill moves to the United States Senate where I hope it will receive quick action... we have no time to waste," Biden said at the White House on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"If we act now -- decisively, quickly, and boldly -- we can finally get ahead of this virus. We can finally get our moving again," he said.

"And the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long. We need to relieve that suffering," said the president. "And it's time to act."

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said on Saturday on the Twitter that as an economist and an American, she applauds "the House's favourable vote on the American Rescue Plan."

"There's a broad consensus among economists: People need more help putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their head until the virus is under control. This plan does that," she said.

The rescue plan contains direct payments of $1400 per person for working families, which is on top of the $600 check in the $900 billion relief package approved in December.

It would also boost federal unemployment benefits to $400 dollars per week and extend the measure through the end of September.

The House-approved bill also includes a provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, which would face tough tests in the 50-50 split Senate, where parliamentarians have ruled that the wage increase violates the budget reconciliation process and cannot be included.

The Senate is set to tackle the bill next week. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Saturday blasted Democrats over the House passage of the relief package, calling it a "deliberately partisan process".

"House Democrats snapped that bipartisan streak. They jammed through a bill that even liberal economists and editorial boards say is not well targeted to this stage of the fight," McConnell said.

--IANS

int/pgh

(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.)
Vote Percentage of Parties in Puducherry2021: How did the parties fare

BJP-led NDA will form government in Puducherry: Amit Shah

India

oi-Deepika S

Karaikkal, Feb 28: Lambasting the erstwhile Congress government in Puducherry, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleged V Narayansamy, who headed it, gave "cut money" to the "Gandhi family" from Rs 15,000 crore Central funds.

Addressing an election rally of BJP here, an enclave of the union territory, Shah claimed the Congress government, which collapsed earlier this month after losing majority, indulged in "petty politics" over Central schemes meant for Puducherry.

He charged the former chief minister with focussing more on serving the "Gandhi family" in Delhi and giving "cut money".

Will approach polls with agenda of development and form govt in 4 states, Puducherry: BJP

Hitting out at Narayanasamy for blaming the BJP for the fall of his government, Shah said many senior leaders were leaving the Congress "because it is collapsing across the country due to dynasty politics."

"Based on my political experience, I'm saying that a BJP-led NDA government is going to be elected in Puducherry, Shah said.

Shah also ridiculed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for saying there was no ''dedicated'' fisheries ministry, and pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set it up two years ago.

He took a swipe at the Wayanad MP saying "you were on vacation (then)."

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 13:43 [IST]
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president J P Nadda on Sunday said the party has become a medium to bring transformation in the country and take it to great heights.

The chief was in Varanasi to inaugurate a newly built party office. He inaugurated another office in Allahabad through video conferencing.

Addressing party workers, Nadda said, "I congratulate the organisers who have built this office. But friends, this is hardware. The software which we have to install in this is our workers. This office will become a medium to inculcate best quality values."



The chief also stressed that grabbing power is not their target but a medium to reach out to the the last man in the line.

Nadda, who is on a two-day visit to Varanasi, said to run an organisation, workers, executive body, programme and office are needed.

Those who got an opportunity to join the BJP, I consider them as fortunate. The party has become a medium to bring transformation in the country and take it to glorious heights," he said.

Taking a dig at the Opposition, the BJP said all parties in the country have become parties of families.

"But in the BJP, it is the party that has become a family," he said.

Nadda also claimed that the BJP has never seen a downfall since the days of the Jana Sangh.

Recalling his college days, he said, "People used to say that Nadda, you are a right person in the wrong party. I used to say that there is nothing right or wrong. If principles are right, then we will prove to be right today or tomorrow. Today, I ask them who is right? who is wrong?"



In a reference to the Left parties, the BJP chief said, "Our Comrade friends used to say Nadda, there will be a revolution. I used to tell them that India is a country of saints. Evolution takes place here, not revolution. This thing has to be understood.

The BJP chief told party workers that they aim to build 80 offices in the state, of which 53 have been built and by October, the remaining will be ready.

(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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5 things you need to know Monday

News
Egyptian filmmaker Ayten Amin will speak at one of the talks organised by the World Cinema Fund (WCH) on the theme of "Decolonising Cinema" during the upcoming 71st edition of the Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale), which will be held online 1-5 March.

Amin will participate in the talks alongside curators, scholars, activists and filmmakers from Latin America and Africa such as, Davi Pretto (Brazil), Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (Lesotho) and the founders of several community cinemas across Africa.

Meanwhile, Viola Shafik, who is an Egyptian film scholar, director and curator, will open the event with a live talk about the definition of the focus theme.

The talks will be streamed on the Berlinales Facebook and YouTube channels on 5 March from 2 - 5:30pm

The WCF is an initiative by the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival, in cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office and with further support by the Goethe-Institut.

Since 2004, the WCF has successfully supported film production in underserved regions with its increasingly differentiated funding programme (WCF, WCF Europe, WCF Africa, WCF ACP), and has also embarked on cultural diversity in German cinemas.

The WCF also promoted cooperation between production companies from these regions or countries and German/European production companies.

Four projects funded by the WCF have been selected for the 71st edition of the Berlinale, which is planned in two stages: The industry event, held online between 1-5 March, and film screenings within the Summer Special between 9-20 June.

Amins second feature film Souad is one of the WCF funded projects and will see its world premiere in Berlinales Panorama Section.

The film was also among the official selection of the 73rd edition of Cannes Film Festival, which was canceled last year due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Souad is a co-production between Egyptian producer Sameh Awaad, marking his production debut; Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, producer and screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy, Egyptian producer Mark Lotfy and Wim Wenders through Germanys Road Movies.

Amin co-wrote the script for Souad with Mahmoud Ezzat, and the film stars Bassant Ahmed, Basmala El-Ghaiesh and Hussein Ghanem.

As part of the event, directors of current funding projects and other guests will address this complex topic of decolonising cinema.

Additionally, the programme will include an event titled "Directors Talk" with directors of films from the festival selection.

Most of the projects submitted for WCF funding derive from countries and regions that have to deal with colonialism and post-colonialism, says WCF Head Vincenzo Bugno in an official statement from the festival.

But, what does that mean for the film production located there in terms of content and structure? To what extent are new decolonising efforts necessary? We have to question this in a differentiated way as we are very aware of these cultural and historical contexts," added Bugno.

"The present is a mirror of history. The consequences of colonialism are reflected in the daily life of many countries. This topic is coming through in more and more of the projects submitted to the WCF."

WCF Day shines a light on impressive and original Latin American and African projects and initiatives focused on, or inspired by, colonialism and its lasting impact.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

Short link:


In many ways Black officers are the conscience of our force and we need a stronger voice, Sgt. Jermaine Harris, president of the organization, said at the announcement. As police officers, the oath we swear requires us to take the difficult steps, no matter how uncomfortable, that are necessary to ensure civil rights are protected. We owe it to every child in a ZIP code that has more vacant lots than youth programs to be a symbol of safety and hope, not yet another system working against them.
A shakeup in stocks accelerated by the past weeks surge in Treasury yields has investors weighing how far a recent leadership rotation in the US equity market can run, and its implications for the broader S&P 500 index.

Moves this week further spurred a shift that has seen months-long outperformance for energy, financial and other shares expected to benefit from an economic recovery, while a climb in Treasury yields weighed on the technology stocks that have led markets higher for years.

Wall Street finished the w Credit:NYSE

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index rallied in choppy trading on Friday (US time), even as sentiment remained fragile after the indexs worst performance in four months the day before as fears of rising inflation kept US bond yields near a one-year high.

The S&P 500 ended little changed, while the Dow index closed lower after earlier dropping to a three-week low. The Dow still posted gains of nearly 4 per cent for the month, as investors bought into cyclical companies set to benefit from an economic reopening.
Police say two men remain in custody assisting officers with their enquiries. (Niall Carson/PA)

A man has been left in a critical condition in hospital following an incident which police are treating as attempted murder in Bangor during the early hours of Sunday.

The PSNI said in a statement that the incident followed a report made to police around 4am of concern for the safety of a man at an address in the Fernmore Road area.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and police attended the address where they located a man, aged in his twenties, with serious head injuries. The man was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition.

Detective Inspector Handley said: "As we continue with enquiries today to establish what happened, I want to appeal to anyone who was in this area this morning and has information they believe may assist our investigation to get in touch with our detectives on 101, and quote reference number 316 of 28/02/21."

A report can also be submitted via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


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Weird News: Lamprey Falls from Sky | Oregon Coast Fish Older Than Dinos

Published 02/27/21 at 5:20 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Seaside, Oregon)  Lampreys of the Washington and Oregon coastline are in the spotlight this week, and one situation is a truly strange one. Just as Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) releases a brochure about this creature that is older than dinosaurs, a lamprey fell from the sky on the north coast.

According to Seaside Aquariums Tiffany Boothe, lampreys are raining from above. Or at least one did so.

On Thursday morning, the Ally Blevins of Seaside and her family discovered a strange sight in their backyard: a lamprey was lying there, far from the ocean.

It appeared that this slimy, slithering creature had fallen out of the sky and landed in their yard, Boothe said.

It turned out the lamprey was still alive. Blevins called the aquarium and manager Keith Chandler rushed over to try and figure out what was going on. Plopping the small eel into a container of salt water, he then quickly drove it to the aquarium.



Upon closer inspection, it became obvious a bird had picked it up.

The lamprey had small talon marks along its side, and though it had been out of water for some time was still alive. So just how did it get there? It is suspected that it was seized out of the water by either an eagle or more likely an osprey.

At one point, clearly the bird fumbled its catch and down came the lamprey to initiate all sorts of jokes about this being an X-File and other quips.

Unfortunately, the little lamprey succumbed to the injuries it incurred while being held captive by whatever bird-of-prey snatched it up, Boothe said. An unusual backyard find to say the least.

Just as this happens, ODFW gladly announced a new informational brochure on the creature, which is native to Oregon coast and Washington coast seas as well as inland waterways.

Older than dinosaurs and still remaining primitive with boneless bodies, lampreys are fascinating fishes, ODFW said. A new ODFW brochure is introducing Oregonians to four of the states 10 native lamprey species.

The booklet is filled with professional illustrations by noted artist Joseph Tomelleri, providing eye-catching images and graphics that make it informative and easy to read.



Oregon Lamprey Coordinator Benjamin Clemens said lampreys are extremely diverse in their biology and in how they contribute to Oregons ecosystems.

I hope the brochure introduces readers to these unique fishes, each with a different life cycle and feeding habit. Clemens said. Larval lamprey cleanse the water through their filter feeding and aerate the substrate they are burrowed into. All life stages provide high caloric food sources for many different species of fish, birds, and marine mammals.

Clemens also noted there is a big difference between Oregon lampreys and the sea lamprey back east, which is a nuisance species that invaded the Great Lakes region.



Lampreys are also common on the Washington coast. They had started to drastically diminish in numbers along the Columbia Basin because of hydroelectric dams until the mid 2010s. About then they started a bit of a comeback. MORE PHOTOS BELOW

Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours





MORE PHOTOS BELOW













Images below courtesy ODFW / Oregon Zoo









Other Oregon Coast Species



Nudibranch - courtesy Seaside Aquarium



More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

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(Natural News) Texans survived a frosty winter storm last week. They might need to survive with frosty foods for the next several days or weeks as grocery store shelves remained empty due to the disrupted supply chain.

Food pantries were also running out of donations. The weather crisis also caused heavy damage to the states citrus and vegetable crops.

Texas nightmarish February began with a deadly 133-car pileup outside of Fort Worth. Within days, one of the worst winter storms the state has ever experienced followed. Millions of Texans lost power and water.

The cold snap disrupted the production of food, for both humans and animals, and the cold weather and power outages made it difficult for residents to stock up on supplies.

Throughout Texas, people had to rely on the food in their emergency stockpiles as they continued to lose perishable items in their refrigerators due to widespread outages. Others tried to keep their remaining supplies in coolers in the snow.

When Cristal Porter went to a local store in Austin on Feb. 15, it was already out of eggs and meat. It was also running low on milk and potatoes. The store was also full of people lining up to buy more supplies.

Two days later, one of Porters neighbors went to the same store. It was already out of food supplies.

Food banks hit hard by cold snap

Grocery stores all over Texas were affected by the lack of power and supermarkets were gradually running out of supplies. The supply shortages also affected food pantries that get their items from grocery store surplus.

School districts from Fort Worth to Houston were forced to pause meal distributions to students for several days.

In the Rio Grande Valley, fruit and vegetable crops have frozen over because of the cold snap.

According to Sid Miller, the Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner, dairy farmers throughout the state were forced to throw away $8 million worth of milk daily for several days because they couldnt transport it and the rolling outages meant they couldnt keep it at a stable temperature or clean their equipment properly.

Celia Cole, the CEO of the hunger-relief organization Feeding Texas, related that eight food banks have turned to the state for extra help to feed their communities. Some food banks working with Feeding Texas have also offered food supplies to emergency warming shelters in the states major cities.

On Feb. 17, the Central Food Bank of Texas canceled deliveries scheduled for the following day in Austin and Rockdale. In a media alert, the organization revealed that the Food Banks fleet, equipment, facilities and operations have been adversely impacted by the extremely low temperatures and hazardous road conditions.

Staff and volunteers were unable to reach the building safely and the cold snap also kept the organization from distributing food safely. Cole added that as food pantries rely on donations from retail stores and grocery chains, when store shelves are empty donations also run out.

Texans, livestock growers and farmers struggle amid weather crisis

Because of the power outages and the supply chain disruptions caused by the cold snap, Texans were left eating non-perishable canned goods or shelf stable items such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. (Related: Cascend: Data shows wind-power was chief culprit of Texas grid collapse.)

Andrez Rodriguez, a Mission resident, was without power for more than 80 hours. He also had to throw out most of his food supplies in his fridge before going to his brothers home to eat a warm meal. Despite the lack of power and supplies, Rodriguez returned to sleep at his house to keep it safe in case of looters.

Residents reported their plight on social media, with some sharing stories about being unable to find food supplies or open stores.

On Feb. 18, officials warned that disruptions to the states long-term food supply could cause more issues. According to Miller, livestock growers across Texas were out of feed for their livestock. Additionally, the lack of available natural gas has resulted in chickens and calves freezing to death.

Miller compared the situation to when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic first began, adding that things could get worse in Texas. While the milk processing plants are full, they couldnt get enough electricity to run.

Even if they could, they didnt have access to enough natural gas to pasteurize the milk, which means grocery store shelves couldnt get more milk for shoppers.

Citrus and vegetable farms in the Rio Grande Valley were also worried about massive losses.

Dale Murden, president of Texas Citrus Mutual, reported that 60 percent of the regions grapefruit crop and 100 percent of the late orange crop would be lost due to the cold snap. The area produces 230,000 tons of grapefruit annually but farmers in the Valley predicted that they would lose at least 138,000 tons of their crops.

The area also grows 40 different vegetable varieties like cilantro, dill and kale. These vegetables would most likely be affected by the cold snap as well.

Miller and Cole said that it would be difficult to predict the extent of the losses until power returns to the state. They added that the food supply would continue to suffer if power and water is not restored soon for farmers and stores.

Visit Collapse.news for more updates on the 2021 Texas cold snap.

Sources include:

TexasTribune.org

News.Yahoo.com
Company announcement 3/2021 (28.02.2021)

European Energys annual report shows strong growth during 2020.

European Energy exceeded its own guidance for 2020 and delivered strong growth in a year where parts of the global economic activities slowed down due to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. European Energy has released its annual report for 2020, and the key figures underline the remarkable growth as EBITDA grew by 38% to EUR 61.2 million, gross profit saw growth of 29% to EUR 73.9 million and equity stood at EUR 235.3 million following an incredible 71% rise since the end of 2019. European Energy is clearly on a path of strong growth, and the company is prepared for further growth in the coming year.

European Energys business model has shown its strength in 2020. European Energy has seen an increased interest from investors to invest in renewable energy projects. Renewable energy has indeed become a safe harbour in troubled waters.

In 2020, the organisation has been geared to handle the extra volume of renewable energy construction projects that the company is poised to start in the coming quarters. This ensures that European Energy can continue to develop while building, to build while managing assets and to manage assets while selling green power to the market and divesting parts of constructed assets.



Despite low electricity prices in Northern Europe, power sale has increased 41% in 2020 from EUR 30.5 million in 2019 to EUR 42.9 million and now represents 22% of the revenue.

In 2020, European Energy saw the expansion both in the number of offices and employees. Six new offices were opened in Hamburg, Glasgow, Milan, Barcelona, Sao Paolo, and Vilnius respectively, while at the same time the total number of employees was 203 at the end of 2020  a net increase of 55 new colleagues within a year.

During 2020, European Energy made its first investment into Power-to-X with a 24% stake in the Danish e-methanol company, REintegrate.

In 2020, European Energy signed seven Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with major companies who wish to minimize their global carbon footprint.

The outlook for 2021 reflects European Energys ambitions. Both EBITDA and Profit before tax are expected to grow by more than 30%. European Energys optimism stems from a world market facing a boom in green energy over the coming years. Politicians in most countries show remarkable green ambitions, and investments in renewable energy have never been higher at a time where solar and wind power are the cheapest form of energy.

By the end of 2020, European Energy has more than 600 MW under construction and more than 800 MW ready to be built.

For further information: Jonny Thorsted Jonasson, CFO: jtj@europeanenergy.dk or phone: +45 5180 0000

This announcement has been made in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation (Regulation (EU) no. 596/2014, as amended).

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Im so mad Ive lost Eight by iu and yoongi! Not to mention tracks by seventeen, Astro, the boyz, mamamoo, gfriend etc. My playlist is half empty.

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Eight is one of my top songs of 2020. Plus Blueming and Celebrity and her back catalogue. And, like you said, so many others. 2nd gen groups I loved like 4minute and Beast are also gone. My kpop playlists lost a lot.



If this doesn't get resolved, it's going to once again hurt smaller company groups, and widen the gap between the Big 3 (plus BTS) and groups from other companies.

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All my IU songs are gone noooooooooooo

And epik highs last album wtf

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MY IU SONGS!! I'M IN SHAMBLES!



Thankfully i have the Love Poem album but GIVE ME BACK EIGHT YOU GREEDY BASTARDS!





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Perfect taste, lets cry over the loss of eight together

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Pettyyyyyyyyyyyy

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Half of my kpop playlist also got snapped. Was so surprised when I opened it and saw a couple hours missing from it. Hope they'll figure stuff out and re-add them soon. It might do some serious damage for groups trying to breakthrough in international markets if they aren't available on Spotify.

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Yep I dont see how any of them will get on charts over here without Spotify streams

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Half of my kpop playlist also got snapped.



Haha. Thanks for the making me laugh during this travesty.

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This is why I have youtube music subscription lol

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damn. glad i use apple music & youtube or id be fuming at losing dreamcatcher rn

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this definitely sucks but people need to chill the fuck out. some of my friends are acting like their lives are being ruined by this and the overdramatic wailing is just too much. this might all be resolved by next week and if not then oh well i'll just listen to the artists that are still there and use a different service for the other ones.

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Music is really important to some people, and personally its one of the few things that helps me as an autistic person. So I understand why its a big deal to people, especially if they cant afford accounts on different services like I can if this ends up being permanent.

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I'm autistic too and I'm honestly fuming. Seeing comments like OP's don't make it any better for me esp since I alr had a rough month too.

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I'm really sorry for being insensitive. You're absolutely right that music is really important to people and I should have thought more about that before commenting. I was mostly thinking about my specific friends when making my comment but I didn't consider the feelings and experiences of anyone reading my comment. It wasn't my intention to imply that music isn't that important or that people shouldn't be upset by this but I did. I don't want to invalidate anyone and I should be more gracious to my friends as well. So I'm very sorry to you and anyone else that was hurt by my comment and thank you for calling me out for it.

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I won't be subscribing to a ton of different platforms just because these messy ass companies can't find a solution. Spotify is the most convenient for me and if artists aren't on it then I'll just go back to the good old days of ripping music from YouTube.

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honestly I agree. I love music and there's a lot missing, but this isn't the end of the world.

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I'm so fucking angry right now, lmaooooo. FUCK Kakao. I know this sounds super dramatic, but considering how so many artists and fans (ESPECIALLY the former) are getting screwed over by this shit, I have every right to feel this way.

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you know what's even more sad and infuriating? kakao m distributes for many artists from smaller companies as well and spotify was a platform where they were able to get global exposure, but now this has been ripped away from them... i cant even imagine how the artists feel.  nini  (@uaenaaday11) February 28, 2021

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Yeah this is whats truly upsetting for me :/ that and doing this without contacting the artists and companies before hand. Truly fucked.

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Apparently a disagreement between our distributor Kakao M & Spotify has made our new album Epik High Is Here unavailable globally against our will. Regardless of who is at fault, why is it always the artists and the fans that suffer when businesses place greed over art?    | Tablo of Epik High (@blobyblo) February 28, 2021

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just checked my playlists and half of my favourite songs are gone lmao



i hope this gets resolved because this hurts the artists. if you want to be shady, then pull them from spotify korea and not worldwide?

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Yeah melon is a Korean streaming platform so why cant they just region block them on Spotify Korea? Theyre hurting their own artists by preventing them from being discoverable on the wests biggest streaming platform. I hope agencies argue against it because theyre going to lose income because of this.

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im sure this will be resolved sooner or later but as we can see Kakao doesnt give a shit. maybe the amount of money coming in from spotify streams for their artists is minor that they didnt mind cutting off their finger basically.

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I use Apple Music anyways so didnt lose anything. Oop

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I don't understand this decision. Is Melon easily available for for non-Korean residents? Otherwise, they're just cutting off a ton of people.



I find ironic that more and more Japanese music is now accessible on Spotify (in the US at least). Oh, how the turn tables.

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AFAIK, it's not. Melon is Korea only, I believe.

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That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure if it changed in the past few years.

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Its only in korea, even registering on it requires a korean phone number

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you can adjust your location and download melon, but you need a korea based phone number to access things and to verify your account. which means you can't even trick the system. this is just a selfish decision by kakao m. don't they basically get money for every stream? seventeen's streams went from over a billion to 400m in a second. they're losing out a lot.

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Plenty of Japanese music is on-and-off regionblocked from worldwide on Spotify, so the fact that they couldn't mutually decide to just regionblock in Korea is baffling

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Spotify is the one that likely made this decision because Kakao M only wanted to region block them from accessing this library in Korea, not worldwide, from what I've read

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It's KakaoM removing their artists from Spotify but refusing to let foreigners use Melon for me  kas (@bluebirdwonnie) February 28, 2021

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this popped up on my timeline and i couldn't hit re-tweet fast enough.

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So basically, any music streaming site/app/whatever that Kakao considers a threat will always be at risk for them to come and snatch their mufckin kpop right off it. Yeah, I'm just not even going to bother making kpop playlists anywhere else. Because who knows maybe next year Apple will get her wig snatched too-then what. As long as Kakao is throwing fits, this is a fate that is promised.



I love kpop but this is too much work for me, ima just let my favs go that were taken from me lmao. I'm devastated about my HyunA loss but it is what it is. Maybe someday we'll meet again. Fuck Kakao so hard man.

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Norways National Museum says a sentence written on Edvard Munchs 1893 painting The Scream was put there by the Norwegian painter himself.

The famous painting shows a figure holding its head in its hands with its mouth wide open. The art work has become an internationally recognized symbol for the expression of human fear and concern.

The sentence written on the painting says, can only have been painted by a madman. It was written with a pencil in the top left-hand area of the painting.

The painting is being prepared to be shown at the new National Museum of Norway, which will open in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, in 2022. The painting has been the subject of a lot of careful research.

In a recent statement, Mai Britt Guleng, head of the National Museum, said, The writing is without a doubt Munchs own. Guleng added the writing was compared to the painters writing in letters. The handwriting itself, as well as events that happened in 1895, when Munch showed the painting in Norway for the first time, all point in the same direction, Guleng explained.

The writing was added after Munch had completed the painting. But for years it has been a mystery, the museum said in a statement.

Guleng said the writing was likely done in 1895, when Munch exhibited the painting for the first time. Exhibit means to make something, such as a painting or photograph, available for people to see.

At the time of its first showing, the painting caused many people to wonder about Munchs mental state. During a discussion night when the artist was present, a young medical student questioned Munchs mental health and claimed his work proved he was not sound.

It is likely that Munch added the inscription in 1895, or shortly after, in response to the judgment on his work, the statement read.

Munch was hurt by the accusations. He wrote about them many times in his letters. Both Munch's father and sister suffered from mental issues.

Munch was put into a hospital after a nervous breakdown in 1908. A nervous breakdown is an inability to live normally in daily life because of extremely strong feelings of worry or tension.

The National Gallery was temporarily closed in 2019 to secure a safe moving process to the new National Museum. The museum will show 400,000 objects, from ancient times to the present day. It will have paintings, statues, drawings and many other art objects.

Im John Russell.

John Russell adapted this story from a report by the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

figure  n. a person or animal that can be seen only as a shape or outline

madman  n. a man who has severe mental illness : an insane man

inscription  n. words that are written on or cut into a surface

response  n. something that is said or written as an answer to someones comments, opinions or statements
In West Stockbridge, Alisa Desmond sat down at her computer at 5 a.m. Sunday to begin the mornings hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. Marge Millette goes online at midnight hoping to find an open slot.

On Sunday morning, The Eagle invited online readers to share accounts of what theyve gone through to obtain the near-impossible: a vaccine appointment.

In this space today, we turn the mic over to them.

Why cant MA do a better job? asks Christine Erb of Lanesborough. There has got to be a better system, says Leonard Rosenfeld of Lenox. An exercise in futility, says Eric Pratt.

The testimony below speaks of living in laptop limbo. Of long waits and frustration  and occasional breakthroughs. Bizarre messages on wait times. No pot of vaccine gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead, the handful of listed appointments are gone. If they existed at all.

No less than 20 attempts, different times a day, to all websites, pharmacies. All with same dead end results, Marie Lavinio told us.

The Eagle wants to hear from you. Tell us about your vaccine appointment odyssey. Send an email to lparnass@berkshireeagle.com.

Marie Lavinio: Dreadful experience

My friend and I are in the 65+ category and have been on our laptops and phones since the category opened trying to find appointments in the Berkshires. The waiting room is a disaster. We were on hold for seven hours, only to be bumped out. At times we were hopeful when there seemed to be a 20-minute wait, but then the time increased to several hours.

The pharmacies in Western MA seemed hopeful and gave us a message that appointments were available. Once we filled out the info, we were told that there were not enough vaccines for the first and second doses. We were only signing up for the first dose. Mind you, we have been trying for appointments every day . I also use @vaccinetime on Twitter but have only been notified of one venue near Boston and when I click on the link I am taken to the infamous waiting room. It is more than maddening! So far, our experience has been dreadful.

Leonard Rosenfeld: Buddy breakdown

When Gov. Baker opened vaccinations to 75+ at the beginning of February, I called early and got through easily and made an appointment at the Dubois Middle School. When he started the buddy system, I thought my wife who is 73 could join me in my second appointment the 24th and get her vaccination.

I frantically kept trying to secure an appointment on the 24th for her, but the governor just before the appointments for my week became available opened the appointments to 65 and above. The buddy system disappeared in the rush for appointments. I began trying for non-Berkshire sites on the MA COVID site and finally got through and filled out my information and took pictures of my documents and was switched to the limited appointments that were available.

Just after touching an available time, it flashed no appointment available. I quickly went to the next available time and pushed select and again got the answer no time available. By then nothing at all was available.

I called the state 211 line and gave the person all my info and was told Id be called with an appointment. No call. After eight days I called back. The attendant checked and said I was still on the list and shed check to see why I wasnt called. Another week later I got called back to verify my place in line and I would be called soon. That was two days ago and Im still waiting.

Dan Parnell: Why bother?

We have two experiences to share. First, my vaccine. I am over 65 and when Charlie Baker announced 65 and over on Wednesday afternoon, we went right in and we were easily able to book an appointment for BCC ... The actual vaccination process was beyond exceptional.

Second, my wife. She is under 65 but has two comorbidities. Unfortunately when we booked my appointment we did not think she qualified. It wasnt until we drilled down on the specific comorbidities on mass.gov did we learn she was qualified to get the vaccine. We have been trying for the last 10 days to book an appointment.

Some of the frustrations: the site says there are appointments but when you go in the site is closed or; you get in and there are appointments available for, say, 500 slots, and you are told you are 96,754 in line!

Or you get in and are told you have a 6,225 minute wait, again. Why bother?

The other really annoying step is every time you do try and book an appointment you have to fill out all the information required, name, contact info, insurance info, questionnaire, etc. My siblings live in Connecticut and upon initial registration on the Connecticut website you create a login and password and the basic information is then stored for future attempts at getting an appointment.

Christine Richer: Life in quarantine

We tried two weeks ago to get a vaccine appointment for my husband (and) got through the questionnaire only to be told there were no vaccine appointments available. We are both in the 65-74 year old age range and I have two comorbidities.

When we tried this past week, we sat in the waiting room for hours while the time to wait varied wildly. We looked on vaxfinder.mass.gov and found three empty slots in Greenfield, so we went on again and eventually got through the questionnaire, only to find we could only get him on a waiting list!

I had also been calling the director of our Council on Aging and finally spoke to her. The best she could do is to put him on a waiting list here in the Berkshires. We are really needing him to get vaccinated first because he is my caregiver. I had a kidney transplant Dec. 9 and am still in quarantine until after March 9, so Ill try to get the COVID-19 vaccine after that.

Bob Parsons: Wait in vain

Problems started on Feb. 18. I opened up getvaccinatedberkshires.com at 8 a.m. and started to look for an appointment. When it went to the state site, everything crashed. I kept trying all day, about every 15 minutes or so, and got nowhere near an appointment until early evening. At that point I was able to start filling in information for an appointment at BCC only to get to save and continue and then was told no appointments were available.

While I expected that there would be heavy activity, I did not expect the whole system to crash and not be fixed all day. I found out later in the weekend that I could have signed up on Wednesday. However, since I (thought) signups didnt start until Thursday at 8 a.m., I never looked at either getvaccinatedberkshires.org or the mass.gov site to see the change.

Both my wife and I spent the next days going on either getvaccinatedberkshires or mass.gov to try to book appointments. We would see slots open and try to get one of them but by the time we got to pick a slot, they were gone. We were on line looking every half hour all day. I did call the 211 number on Friday but the person I talked to (very nice by the way) couldnt see anything that I couldnt already see.

Thursday the waiting room gave me a number of 69,424 at 6 a.m. By 10:30 it was 105,750. Since then I havent really looked too hard.

I know that the people running the clinics are doing a great job, hopefully I get to see it in action soon.

Martin Greenstein: Schedule snafu

I received the confirmation for my vaccine appointment for Feb. 27 on Feb. 16. Upon arriving at the site, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in North Adams, I provided the confirmation and other documentation required. Soon after I was advised that they were not giving first doses.

They were only giving second doses, which my wife was there to receive. My appointment had apparently been cancelled. The good news is that my wife got her shot.

There was no way for me to reschedule my first dose. I checked at Stop & Shop where I was told they too were only giving second doses and had no idea when, if ever, theyd get a supply of first doses again.

Ill be 74 in April. Im wondering when Ill be able to get vaccinated. Maybe Ill get lucky and find a way to get the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Winter weather far from Massachusetts delays new first-dose appointments in Berkshires Berkshire residents eager to sign up for their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine Monday found only frustration.

Yvonne Elder: Missed golden opportunity

My saga started on Feb. 17 with notification that 65+ could sign up tomorrow. Not being aware of the getvacinnatedberkshires website, which was telling those 65+ to say you were 75 to get into the system, I missed the golden opportunity to sign my husband and I up for an appointment.

Next comes trying to sign up when a site says there are 10 appts available but there is no schedule button  or hitting the schedule button and going through all the steps only to find at the end that there are no appointments available but the site says there are still 10. That happened probably four times in a row.

Now, enter the digital waiting room. First its 30 minutes, (then it) refreshes to 232 minutes, 18 minutes, then 684 minutes. Finally, after waiting over an hour (and) going through the same eight steps of forms, only to be told there are now no appointments available.

I realize its a lot of work to coordinate all of this, but its also very stressful and frustrating trying to beat all the techies in order to get an appointment.

Marge Millette: A broken system

I received my first shot a month ago, not easy at first, but then all went smoothly. Now that my husband is ready, the new phase is a total nightmare.

I have tried every day, staying up until midnight to try for a spot and daily off and on. All I get is the runaround. Then I hear that people are coming from areas where they have bigger clinics and more vaccine. Governor Baker and the websites dropped the ball on this one. Why not finish one phase first, or have a phase from 70 and up before you start with thousands of 65 and up? Maybe this is why a lot of people are not even going to try to get it. This is a broken system.

Alisa Desmond: An abysmal reality

My husband is 66 and I am 56, disabled  we relocated here last year. Upon the opening of vaccines for over 65, my husband and I have used two computers, two iPhones and a laptop to book an appointment without luck. I learned last night a person created a Twitter bot (@vaccinetime) to alert us when new openings appear. Just last night. and two hours too late, I learned 43 appointments opened up at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester.

We feverishly tried for hours without luck. You see my truth is that I do not want my husband investing six hours trying to get a Covid vaccine alone. But he keeps trying to get that coveted appointment time for daylight hours, ensuring his drive is safe. I want to support him by helping with the drive, but a four- hour drive, plus 60-75 minute wait in the parking lot with unknown restroom availability, for me is not an option.

But still he and I keep trying. This morning I started at 5 a.m. The system eventually lets me in and reveals appointments that do not exist.

We moved here because of the stellar healthcare for me and the pristine beauty of the Berkshires. This experience shows the abysmal reality of how living near a city reveals benefits. Massachusetts is letting me down.

Jo Ann Austin: Why doesnt it work?

Early on the first morning of the new, improved MA Covid vaccination website, I logged on and found a digital waiting room. Great! A logical, sequential process at last!

I was told that my wait would be 43 minutes. I was ready, coffee in hand and fully charged iPad. Rather quickly, the minutes ticked down in clusters, until I had only 22 minutes to go! Yay! I was excited to see that I was getting closer to success.

Then in the blink of an eye, my minutes to wait jumped up to 1,110 minutes!

Wait, what? In a few minutes I received a message saying that large numbers of users were trying to access the website. No kidding. I was told to try again. Really? Ever hopeful, I started the process over, with similar results. I had already been online for an hour when I was eventually told that my wait would be 2,943 minutes.

After many more futile attempts, I threw in the digital towel. This whole experience is frustrating, anxiety-provoking and unnecessary. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law in New Hampshire (who are younger than my husband and I) have received their two shots. The Berkshire County agencies and boards are doing their best to get us vaccinated. What is wrong at the state level? Why doesnt the state website and distribution process work for us?

Paul Tabone: Hoping logjam breaks

My wife and I are in the Phase 2 group, being in our early 70s. Since the initial rollout. I have been on the computer trying to get appointments. I have tried any and every offered site I could find, only to realize that they all seem to head in the same direction: the vaxfinder.mass.gov site.

That site will occasionally show availability, most of it in and around Boston. When it does show a local availability, the site either has only a single dose available or if it shows multiple availability I find that once I go through the machinations I am told there are no doses available. They are either disappearing during my logging in or the site itself is flawed.

The rollout could have been handled more smoothly but the illustrious leader of the U.S. had decided that each state will be in charge of its own destiny. I plan on continuing trying and am hopeful that with the introduction of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the logjams will break open soon.

Vaccine BCC (copy) A Berkshire County clinic prepares a dose.

Barbara Palumbo: Just a tease

It is a tease. There are no appointments ever! And it becomes an obsession to make one. Massachusetts is so far behind. Why?

John P. Gilewicz: WWII vet disserved

My 94-year-old father-in-law lives with us, and my 70-year-old wife is providing 24/7 care. We cannot get either vaccinated.

When we called, we were told that we would have to drive him to a clinic. When we explained he was bedridden, we were told there was nothing they could do. Really? It is physically impossible to get him into a car, let alone into a clinic, so he cannot get vaccinated?

Last time I was on the website, I was told my wait time was 8,551 minutes.

On the Walgreens site, seven times my wife was told she could schedule a first shot, and then at the end she was told they were cancelling her first appointment because they did not know if they would have a vaccine for her second appointment. And then she was disconnected. What is wrong with this country when a 94-year-old WW II veteran cannot get the vaccine?

Jeffrey Horton: Set local rule?

My experience has been very frustrating. My wife and I are in the 65-to-74-year-old group. I have been trying since the first day they opened up our group to book appointments. This past week when they made appointments available at 8 a.m. I was online and started the process and by the time I put my info in there were no more appointments.

My question is: why cant the Berkshire collaborative limit people signing up to Berkshire County? Some other collaboratives in the state are doing that.

Bob Ebbeling: Reaching for patience

I am a 72-year-old male and I have been trying to book an appointment since the window for people who are 65 and older opened. Initially, the problem was the way the system was constructed. When appointments were shown to be available you were allowed to enter your information. By the time you finished recording your information, the vaccine was no longer available. This happened over and over again to my great frustration.

At this point, trying to get a vaccine has become a full time job. I would have hoped that our state could have and would have tested the system to obtain a vaccination. This did not happen. I am starting to think that we are not capable of doing things right the first time, but rather we are stuck in a technical mess that is out of control.

I refuse to cheat or get ahead of someone else. I will wait for my turn and stay quarantined. I will try to be patient and not get angry over this incompetence.

God bless the medical workers, the first responders, and everyone who is working hard to do the best they can under these circumstances.

Lucy Prashker: Not even close

Since I became eligible for a vaccination (over 65 group), Ive spent many hours on line trying to secure a vaccination slot anywhere within 100 miles. I havent gotten close.

The first day, there was the octopus crash. Refreshing the site constantly sometimes landed me on a screen that appeared to allow you to make an appointment (with the coveted blue sign-up rectangle under certain vaccination sites tantalizingly dangled), but by the time I started to input my information, I would be booted.

When I went back in, if I managed to get through the first couple of screens, there would be no available appointments anywhere.

The waiting room  touted on the state website as helping appointment scheduling sites work smoothly for all users and ensur[ing] you have the best possible online experience has been a nightmare since launch.

On the first day, the waiting times jumped around chaotically from 60 minutes, to a few minutes, to thousands of minutes. Just this morning (after the waiting room was reportedly fixed), after a 45-minute wait with wait times going both up and down during that period, I finally got down to one minute, only to then be booted to a wait of more than a day and an invitation to try again another time.

Within a few minutes, the wait time dropped back to 13 minutes, down again to 6 minutes, and then again, back to more than a day. I gave up.

The disaster that is the vaccine sign-up process is not about our not having enough vaccine. Its about the states having failed to plan and build a website that meets even minimal performance standards.

The frustration for me is not about waiting my turn, however long that takes, according to some logical and equitable plan; its about there being no rational process for people who are eligible to get in line. I hope that the Berkshire vaccination collaborative is giving serious consideration to decoupling from the state sign-up system  as I believe I read Franklin County did.

Christine Erb: Whats up with Mass?

Im a 73-year-old with one co-morbidity. Ive been social distancing, masking, double-masking  extremely careful for more than a year. When the caregiver option was promoted, I considered trying to find a 75+-year-old to help.

However, all my 75+-year-old friends had been vaccinated, and it seemed unwise to seek out a stranger. When the state allowed 65+, I went online and phoned immediately. The website crashed. The phone line disconnected me. I check the website multiple times a day, sometimes being allowed to join the 26-minute waiting line.

My older Massachusetts friends, my friends and family in Oklahoma, New Jersey, California, Vermont, New York and Illinois (all of whom have had at least one shot) as well as my daughter-in-law in the United Kingdom (who accesses the website at 3 a.m. EST), have all tried to help.

No luck. Why cant MA do a better job?

Sri Lanka continues debt servicing without defaulting, says State Finance Minister By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka will be continuing debt servicing with adequate foreign reserves and foreign exchange inflows into the country without defaulting a cent, State Minister of Finance Ajith Nivard Cabraal told the Business Times.

He noted that the countrys fiscal and monetary authorities are taking every possible action including further restricting non essential imports and careful handling of foreign reserves for essential imports.

The Finance Ministry with the recommendation of the Central Bank Monetary Board has imposed several measures curtailing outward remittances on Capital Transactions for a period of three months.

The aim is to preserve the foreign currency reserve position of the country, minimising the existing pressure on the exchange rate and considering the possible negative impact to the Sri Lankan economy due to COVID-19, he said, adding that none of the other creditors who hold 83.3 per cent of Sri Lankas debt seem to show any sign of concern or stress about our repayment ability.

However financial analysts predicted that Sri Lankas foreign debt problem would aggravate to high proportions this year owing to contraction of trade, low tax revenue and the lack of foreign direct investment,

Sri Lanka faces a pre-determined short-term drain of US$ 6 billion on its foreign exchange reserves in 2021, based on disclosures as of end-December 2020.

Of this $6 billion government external debt service is amounting to $4 billion ($1.3 billion of interest and $2.7 billion of principal service).

January and July are large outflow months, with $500 million in January (already serviced) and a $1 billion bond repayment in July, financial analysts revealed.

The rest of the debt service is evenly spread throughout the year. In addition to external debt service, the government has $1.3 billion of Sri Lanka Development Bond (SLDB) maturities to be funded, with large maturities in January ($ 195 million) and May ($694 million).

The government has found it difficult to refinance SLDB maturities locally given tightening dollar liquidity conditions; this led to a shortfall of $450 million in 2020.

In an attempt to prove Sri Lankas commitment in debt servicing obligations, negotiations are underway with some foreign governments and multilateral institutions, Central Bank Governor Prof W.D. Lakshman told a panel organised by a Sri Lankan think-tank on Wednesday.

The Central Bank is expecting some of these negotiations to materialise in a matter of weeks, he said.
how did no one notice this earlier? they have been getting shit for shutting out black projects for years



is it that secretive who is a member?

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It's not hard to notice, they're just 80 people. The issue isn't simply that they haven't had black members - it's that the entire organization and voting body is completely irrelevant and clueless from top to bottom. If you see them on the red carpet it's indistinguishable from a Florida retirement community - old, comfortable cronies who have never been a part of a serious film critic scene.



Edited at 2021-02-28 07:33 pm (UTC)

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They have. Last year Gervais said flat out in his monologue that the reason there have been so few black nominees is because they "are very, very racist". Jokes-but-not-really about them being corrupt have been a staple at their ceremonies for ages.



The difference between them and the Oscars is that they have no issues allowing hosts to call them out. But unlike the AMPAS have had also no reason to adjust their membership requirements.



I expect a hundred jokes at the HFPA's expense tonight and that's how they will deal with it. Maybe they get a random black member because of the optics but that will be it until the next scandal.



Edited at 2021-02-28 09:01 pm (UTC)

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Wasnt it Paramount, not Netflix, that threw money and favors at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association?

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it was. no one bothered to read the articles.

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Every celeb who agreed to present an award at the globes today is gross when this news very much went public before they announced presenters.



Also, I've looked up some of the articles by some of the "journalists" who ARE part of the HFPA and their writing skills are often just absolutely abysmal. They are actively keeping potential black members out on purpose because a huge portion of the people they are letting in suck.



I want to remind everyone again of this fake interview made up by the former PRESIDENT of the HFPA. This is the caliber of entertainment journalism from the people they have RUNNING the organization:



This interview with Drew Barrymore in the Egypt Air in flight magazine is, umm, surreal. pic.twitter.com/fN3lNHXbL0  Adam Baron (@adammbaron) October 2, 2018



This is 100% a case where celebs could rectify this so easily by taking a stand and saying they won't attend the Globes or present Globes until they do a complete overhaul of their membership standards and fix their diversity issue. Legitimately what the fuck is wrong with themEvery celeb who agreed to present an award at the globes today is gross when this news very much went public before they announced presenters.Also, I've looked up some of the articles by some of the "journalists" who ARE part of the HFPA and their writing skills are often just absolutely abysmal. They are actively keeping potential black members out on purpose because a huge portion of the people they are letting in suck.I want to remind everyone again of this fake interview made up by the former PRESIDENT of the HFPA. This is the caliber of entertainment journalism from the people they have RUNNING the organization:This is 100% a case where celebs could rectify this so easily by taking a stand and saying they won't attend the Globes or present Globes until they do a complete overhaul of their membership standards and fix their diversity issue.

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Wow! At that interview. My brows are all the way up to my hairline right now.

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This is....... wow. Wouldve sued the pants off that airline if I were her.



Edited at 2021-02-28 07:15 pm (UTC)

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mega yikes to that interview



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Damn, that interview was worse than I imagined. The first words just launch into an attack. You wouldn't think from the photos that you are about to read a hit piece. Enjoy the flight, I guess.

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what the fuck

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Jeeeeeesus forking Christ!! I saw the comments and I knew it would be "bad" and then my eyes kept getting bigger and bigger.



Good lord, at that point they should have leaned into it and said, "we first asked Barrymore's current owner if she was capable of doing this interview, although we made sure to only publish was her husband allowed, as his opinion is the only one that matters"

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"The HFPA stated it will address these issue during tonight's ceremony."



Ouh i hope someone posts about this. I won't be watching (didn't even know it was tonight lol) but I want to know how they address this.



I'm thinking it will be all, 'we will do better' nonsense.

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Im glad we are having this conversation now.

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Its crazy that its taken this long for people to take a serious look at how shady the HFPA is and has been. I know people have made jokes about it for a years and reported on the gifts members have received, but it feels like this story has just been sitting there since forever.

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The Big Picture podcast had some helpful insight into why the Golden Globes are and may remain such a big thing despite the HFPA being actual garbage. I didn't know this, but their ratings have actually fallen off way less then the Oscars. Now that TV is as big if not bigger than movies, there's more appeal for a mixed TV/Movie awards show. This means the globes are critical in terms of marketing for studios and streaming services. NBC also has a bunch of years left on their contract with HFPA and it's still a ratings hit for them. It's not clear what the pressure points are on actually getting rid of it. You'd have to have a lot of big names boycott, which...idk



FWIW I think the SAG awards could be a decent replacement if it was picked up by a major network, got buzzy hosts and encouraged attendees to get drunk -- combines TV and movies, actor-centric like the globes, usually fairly early in the season, table-seating etc.

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they used to benefit a lot form their place in the award calander, being the first big award show meant everyone wanted to go there for promo and to network

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Im in my 40s and when I was growing up award shows werent as big of a deal in general as they are now. Plenty of nominees and even winners didnt go. Then they started getting to be more important, and there were a few years when the Globes matched the Oscar winners so they started to be taken more seriously as predictors.

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SAG is also a better indicator for the oscars (since lbr that is a big part of the globes' draw) anyways since there's way more voter overlap between them and AMPAS

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The problem with SAG is that their "best ensemble" is not necessarily the "best picture". There is a lot of overlap but sometimes a well-rounded ensemble piece where everyone is doing their thing is not necessarily the same things as the Best Picture. That's why their wins and even nominations are hit and miss - I mean The Shape of Water wasn't even nominated the year it won.



I don't recall whether the GG predicted it The Shape of Water would win but they certain nominated it.

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pre-emptively annoyed at the thought of the hosts/guests making jokes at the HFPA's expense tonight, creating the illusion that the show is self-aware or self-deprecating, even though nothing will change.



this is the most bad press i've seen of them though, so hopefully the tide is genuinely turning against them.



Edited at 2021-02-28 06:56 pm (UTC)

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This is absolutely horrid but I'm glad more and more folks are exposing the sham of the "legitimacy" these awards and the entertainment industry in general. It's all smoke and mirrors and any attachments they claim to have to social justice issues goes as far as they want their dollars to go

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Very true. I dream of someone winning one these awards, getting up on that stage and saying: Hi, this is a bullshit award, k bye. And then just leave without it.

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Going Fiona.

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Marlon Brando tried, and it got turned into a huge joke, people booed, and spread lies about it. I know that was 50 years ago, but I genuinely don't think the reaction would be that different. People would turn against them for being a "spoiled snowflake" and "oh why are you even in Hollywood if you're not going to accept an award, ugh I hate people like this, it's such an insult."

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Serious overhaul is needed here clearly. How the fuck did they get away with this for so long anyway?

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how did no one dug a bit deeper to find out their racial makeup? seems like a big story was just out there



https://www.vulture.com/2015/01/who-exactly-picks-the-golden-globes-winners.html Vulture named most members in 2015how did no one dug a bit deeper to find out their racial makeup? seems like a big story was just out there

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Wtf, these people don't even have good resume. You can't even find them on Google.

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so if they reject people that don't get paid enough by LA standards and they ALSO don't let in "serious" journalists, how can they pretend they are ANYTHING other than "a group of independently rich people that wanna party with celebs every winter" lol



I'd almost admire how successful they have been in getting studios to funnel what must be millions of dollars (over the years) into their grift IF they weren't so racist!

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"A member admitted they don't let in serious journalists because they don't want to feel threaten by them."



This would be hilarious if this would be an isolated incident and not reality in many surroundings.

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Extremely disappointed but not surprised. This is embarrassing.

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what the fuck is going on in here on this day

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In CPAC Speech, Trump to Reaffirm He Does Not Want a Third Political Party

ORLANDOPresident Donald Trump will reaffirm that he does not want a third political party during his first speech after leaving office, according to former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

Lewandowski met with Trump for several hours on Thursday and went over the notes for the highly anticipated speech the president is scheduled to deliver at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Sunday.

Hes going to reaffirm that he does not want to have a third party, that he is going to be part ofand the head ofthe Republican Party, Lewandowski told The Epoch Times on Feb. 28.

Trump had previously disavowed the Patriot Party, which was started in the aftermath of the Congressional certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. Lewandowski noted that Trump will devote some time to criticizing Bidens agenda.

Hes going to talk about what he believes Biden is going to do to this country over the next four years. Weve already seen a military strike in Syria in the first 30 days of this administration. Weve seen getting away from an America First agenda, to embrace China, to allow once again, our companies to be subjected to the will of other countries, Lewandowski said.

If we learned anything in the pandemic, we learned that we must have production of the important assets here in this country and not be reliant on China and other places. Thats what Donald Trump did. Thats what Joe Biden is going to go back away from.

Excitement about Trump has been palpable at CPAC over the course of four days leading up to Trumps speech. There has been no criticism and lavish praise of the former president in the speeches and panels, which featured the whos-who of the conservative movement, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

In a series of media appearances, Trumps advisors have previewed parts of the presidents speech.

Jason Miller, a Trump spokesman, said Trump will talk about the future of the Republican Party, the America First agenda and lessons learned in the 2020 election campaign. Stephen Miller, a former Trump advisor, has said that Trump will talk about standing up to China, reopening schools, and securing the border.
Amid moral relativism, Christians need more than 'superficial understanding' of Jesus: pastor

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In a culture that increasingly subscribes to moral relativism, its crucial for Christians to have more than a superficial understanding of Jesus and a defense for both His deity and existence, a pastor and apologist has said.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Mark Clark, founding pastor of Village Church in Vancouver, Canada, said the onus is on Christian parents and teachers to have a clear, full picture of Jesus, as the next generation is going to reject Christianity based on how Christians live their lives and the hypocrisy and divisions they see in the church.

Depending on our ideological bent, we'll home in on different aspects of Jesus and then ignore other aspects, he said. Yes, Jesus was all about the Golden Rule, but He was also about the scandalous idea that you have to give up your family life if its an idol in order to follow Him. We focus on Jesus saying, I'm the truth and forget that He loved, served, and gave His life for the people and loved the poor and the marginalized and that Christianity actually flourishes among the margins.

We need to see Jesus clearly and fill in the pieces weve gotten wrong.

A recent study from Barna found that two-thirds of teens and young adults (65%) agree that many religions can lead to eternal life compared to 58% of teens and young adults surveyed in 2018. Additionally, 31% of teens and young adults strongly agree that what is morally right and wrong changes over time, based on society, compared to just 25% in 2018.

The reason for this shift, according to Clark, is twofold: Part of it is not having a biblical worldview constructed through the biblical text, he said. The Bible is very clear about the exclusive claim that Jesus is the only way.

But a more subtle reason for this shift, he said, is the philosophy of the autonomous self that has slowly seeped into both Christian and secular cultures over the last few decades.

We used to have a more collectivist attitude; now, were all about self-actualization, he said. This is about your personal feelings. This is about you flourishing as an individual. Once we've made that pivot, then everything is relativized and it becomes my truth and your truth rather than absolute truth.

As a culture, weve traded out the truth for, we all just wanted to get along, he continued This massive hermeneutic of the self has made it so that all truth becomes relative and, 'I can believe what I want to believe, don't project your values on me.'

A self-described skeptic, Clark became a Christian at age 19, after conducting exhaustive philosophical and historical research for the person of Jesus. So through his speaking and writing, Clark said, he tries to address both the believer and the skeptic.

In latest his book,The Problem of Jesus: Answering Skeptics Challenges to the Scandal of Jesus (Zondervan), Clark asks readers to grapple with the teaching, claims, and actions of Jesus. He looks at the historical and philosophical evidence of who Jesus really was, and examines how Christians should properly view Him.

I wanted to write something that both challenged, informed, and convinced the skeptic, but also helped the believer deepen their faith and inspire their affections and heart for Jesus, he said.

This question of Jesus is the definitive issue for the fate of everyone who's ever lived. Youve got to figure it out. You've got a look at it square in the face and chase it down, versus relegating it to a space that doesnt matter.

Though questions surrounding Jesus existence have become popular in post-Christian culture, both liberal and conservative scholars agree He did, in fact, exist.

Its almost relegated to a footnote, because its not even a question, Clark said. No historian worth their salt actually thinks Jesus didn't exist. There is more historical evidence for Him than any other religious figure. You have people who are enemies of Christianity that actually wrote about Jesus, confirming He actually lived.

The question then becomes: Was Jesus actually who He said He was?

The Gospels all present different presentations of Jesus, but most historians would look at the Gospels and say theyre all legitimate and have historical value, while archaeology vindicates the Gospels over and over again, Clark added.

So the question of whether or not Jesus was the Son of God has historical legitimacy in the sense that we can trust the Gospels, which of course presents Him as the Son of God. There are also reasons to believe the resurrection was legitimate from a historical vantage point, which is the moment where everything Jesus has said about Himself is vindicated and legitimized.

Either Jesus is the Son of God  or a group of people got together and created a religion that they all got slaughtered and tortured for, Clark said, adding: Nobody dies for a lie they made up. These people, who claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus, died horrible deaths.

The pastor noted that though many people emerged over the years claiming to be the Messiah, none of them claimed to have resurrected from the dead.

Neither in Judaism or pagan culture did they have this concept of one person rising from the dead and return to the physical world, he said. Christianity is so unique in the marketplace of ideas, and it just lends credence to it from a historical vantage point.



A clear picture of Jesus  the man who forever altered the course of human history  is essential to impacting all realms of society with the truth that doesnt change and shift over time.

When the believers faith is deepened and their affection for Jesus increases, their life will actually change, Clark stressed. The way they raise their children, deal with money, their marriage  everything is impacted when we have a holistic picture of Jesus and what it means to follow Him in the modern world.

What if, he posited, we let the whole portrait of Jesus actually inspire us, scandal us, confront us, and encourage us?
Will Sentell; The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La. (TNS)

Feb. 28The bid to make kindergarten mandatory in Louisiana, which has been tried before and failed, is about to spark controversy again.

Backers say the requirement would dovetail with state efforts to expand early childhood education, and that it could help get the state off the bottom of many rankings for public school achievement.

It just makes basic sense, said Senate Education Committee Chairman Cleo Fields, who has filed a bill to require kindergarten attendance for debate during the 2021 regular legislative session.

Critics contend that any such mandate would be an intrusion on an issue best left up to families.

That decision should be made by parents on an individual basis as a matter of educational choice, not by the Louisiana Legislature, said Gene Mills, president of the influential Louisiana Family Forum.

State law requires all 69 public school districts to offer kindergarten classes. However, enrollment is not required. Children are required to attend school from the ages of 7-18 years, unless they graduate from high school early.

Under Fields proposal, children who turn five years old by Sept. 30 would be required to attend kindergarten starting with the 2022-23 school year.

Fields said studies show that children who skip kindergarten do not fare as well in the first grade.

He said it goes along with the urgency to educate children early, especially since research shows how fast their brains are developing. And it is necessary, if we are going to effectively address lack of preparation for first grade and our chronically low reading scores, the Baton Rouge Democrat said.

A report last year said 43% of kindergarten students were reading on grade level, 54% of first graders, 56% of second graders and 53% of third graders.

The study set off alarm bells among state education leaders, including plans for a new push to scrutinize student performance in kindergarten, first and second grade since reading on grade level is vital to education success.

State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said he agrees with the aims of the bill.

Fundamentally I support anything that illuminates early childhood education in Louisiana, Brumley said. In a state where only 40% of Louisiana students begin school kindergarten-ready, I appreciate the opportunity to have additional conversations around the need to support our youngest learners.

One of the unknowns is how many children the mandate would affect.

The state Department of Education does not track how many children are eligible for kindergarten but not enrolled. Some families believe they can better prepare their children, both academically and socially, by keeping them home for another year.

A total of 50,423 students were attending kindergarten classes in October, 2020, according to state figures. The head count for first graders totaled 53,225.

That means the mandate would affect about 2,800 students, according to some state officials.

Others say there are a variety of reasons for that 2,800-student gap, not just families opting not to send their children to kindergarten.

Whether the change would have a big impact on state finances is also unclear.

The state spends $5,545 per student today, which means 2,800 more would cost about $2 million per year.

A total of 19 states and the District of Columbia require children to attend kindergarten, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That list includes Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Also, 39 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to offer kindergarten, like Louisiana.

Mandating kindergarten has been tried in the Legislature for years, including 2012, 2008 and 2005.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education prepared a report on the issue at the request of the Legislature after the 2008 session.

That study said kindergarten is especially helpful for students from low-income families, which is two-thirds of the states public school population, and noted that it was long touted as a way for children to learn numbers, shapes, sounds and how to play together.

Children who attend kindergarten perform better in subsequent grade levels and are more likely to graduate from high school than those who do not attend kindergarten, according to the report.

However, the BESE study said other questions were unresolved and it recommended that lawmakers not make kindergarten mandatory.

BESE President Sandy Holloway said the 11-member board will review a variety of bills for the 2021 session before staking out a position.

Aside from how many children would be affected the debate may turn on philosophical arguments.

The Louisiana Family Forum says it advocates for traditional family values. This high-stake idea is misguided because it usurps parental discretion in determining their childs academic readiness and the parents authority to guide educational decisions for their child, Mills said in a text message.

Children and families are struggling with disruptions brought by COVID and existing government mandates, which make class attendance nearly impossible to fulfill, he said.

Fields proposal is backed by the Louisiana School Boards Association. The LSBA agrees that making kindergarten compulsory is a needed first step toward moving toward universal pre-K, said Janet Pope, executive director of the group.

Brigitte Nieland, director of government affairs for the advocacy group Stand For Children, noted that many people are surprised to learn that kindergarten is not mandatory in Louisiana. Obviously, if kids are going to be prepared and we emphasize early childhood education kindergarten would be a necessary step, Nieland said.

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(c)2021 The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

Visit The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La. at www.theadvocate.com; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

As his neighbourhood smouldered after a riotous mob rampaged through the streets setting fire to homes and chanting slogans, 16-year-old factory worker Mohammad Adnan was shot in his right thigh on the evening of 24 February, 2020, and rushed to a nearby government hospital.

Even though he had a bullet in his leg, doctors covered up the wound and discharged him. A year later, Adnan, like many other victims, is living in the shadow of fear, poverty, and with lasting injuries received during the communal riots that tore through the capital last year and killed 53 people.

They refused to treat me and asked me to go to a different hospital, Adnan, who has spent most of last year in and out of hospitals, tells The Independent.
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A British Army officer faces an accusation of sexual assault over a claim he touched a woman's bum with his foot.

Colonel Martin Toney, who has a 36-year career in the Army, admitted contact but says it was an accident, not sexual.

The alleged assault was reported by the woman on January 29 last year, The Sun reports.

Colonel Martin Toney, who has a 36-year career in the Army, admitted contact but says it was an accident, not sexual

The exact location it took place has not yet been revealed, but Col Toney, who is a multi-agency Gold Incident Commander, had been based in Glasgow at the time (file image)

The exact location it took place has not yet been revealed, but Col Toney, who is a multi-agency Gold Incident Commander, had been based in Glasgow at the time.

David Richards, his lawyer, told a court martial hearing in Catterick, North Yorkshire: 'He went to get her attention with his foot and it connected with her backside, not deliberately.'

The claim against Col Toney will be considered again in June.

The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.
Basukus Basque cheesecakes have become one of the biggest hits of the pandemic, sparking long lines for pop-ups, instant sellouts online and constant frustration from those who miss out. But many other Bay Area bakers are also making the burnt-topped, crustless, creamy-centered Basque cheesecakes  and theyre infusing flavors like matcha tea and ube into the batter.

Some come from established chefs, others from home bakers who are suddenly spending all of their free time in their kitchens to fulfill demand. Local bakers predict the obsession over Basque cheesecakes is not a passing fad, in part because theres so much room to innovate within the genre.

The San Francisco Proper Hotel is serving honey-scented slices of its version for dessert, while Asian-inspired S.F. cafe Breadbelly folds in Cowgirl Creamerys triple cream Mt. Tam for an extra unctuous and cheesy version paired with crackers. Even international bakery chain Uncle Tetsu, known for fluffy Japanese-style cheesecakes, has started dabbling in the Basque style at Bay Area locations.

As with Charles Chen of Basuku, other Bay Area residents found themselves with lots of free time at the start of the pandemic and an itch to bake  and then they remembered seeing intriguing photos of the famous Basque cheesecake from La Vina in Spain. At a time when buying groceries felt particularly stressful, the recipes short ingredient list  cream cheese, sugar, eggs, heavy cream and a tiny bit of flour  added immediate appeal for bakers.

Vivi Lin

For customers, the intrigue starts at the cakes striking appearance, bakers say.

Its so unique looking: It looks burnt and the inside looks super creamy, said Tim Wong, a Daly City sushi chef of 20 years who started selling Basque cheesecakes last summer under the name Keki. Its the ultra Instagrammable product.

Unlike fleeting Instagram food trends like rainbow-hued unicorn toast and fluffy cloud bread, the Basque cheesecakes are actually delicious. Bakers arent just seeing people order one cake and move on  customers are returning regularly and buying as many as six at a time.

Flavors aside, these cakes differ slightly in texture, each an expression of the bakers own feelings about a perfect cheesecake. Still, those who have felt foiled trying to get their hands on Basukus prized cakes might want to try Keki next. Wong exhibits a similar obsession with quality ingredients and uses the same luxurious cream from Alexandre Family Farm, but he prefers his cheesecakes a little firmer and infuses flavors like black sesame and kumquats.

Vivi Lin

Oui Oui! Macaron, a French bakery in Emeryville, makes a Basque cheesecake that owner Cathleen Li believes is extremely close to the original famous version  she fed samples to friends who grew up eating those cheesecakes in Spain until she got approval. As a traditionalist, accuracy is vital to her, and it took more than 20 tries to land on the recipe she now uses.

It was tricky getting just the right caramelized top and a center that oozes like soft ice cream but also doesnt feel liquid-y. Everything mattered, from the sugar to the parchment paper. Most important was finding the right eggs. She landed on a mix of organic cage-free eggs and Japanese jidori eggs with bright orange yolks.

Once she finalized her ideal Basque cheesecake, she started playing with it. She now makes versions steeped with matcha and Earl Grey teas, as well as one of the most unusual variations available in the Bay Area right now: a plain cheesecake with a sweet-savory crust made of salted egg yolk cookies.

Li came up with the crust idea while missing her parents in Taiwan and the flavors shed normally experience on annual visits.

If it wasnt for COVID, I probably wouldnt have tried it because its so nontraditional and its such a big risk, she said.

Tristan Nguyen

The risk paid off  Li says the flavors blended together more beautifully than she expected. She suspects the future of the Basque cheesecake trend may see more bakers also incorporate crusts.

I love a traditional New York-style cheesecake, but the reason I love it is because theres that buttery, graham cracker textural contrast, she said. I think more and more people may get bored of just having a creamy texture.

Alice Hu of Caked Up SF is also experimenting with textures for a Ferrero Rocher flavor. Her first attempt featured hazelnuts and Nutella in the batter and crushed cookies on top for crunch. She sees endless possibilities for flavoring Basque cheesecakes: milk tea, coffee, guava and lychee are on her to-do list, while shes already sold plenty of Biscoff, salted caramel, ube and pandan versions. That said, creating bold flavors while maintaining the light, silky texture can be challenging.

I love Biscoff but I realized because its a dry ingredient that I cant put too much in, she said about the spiced Belgian cookies. Its finding that perfect balance.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Hu is a full-time nurse and passionate home baker who switched her work schedule during the pandemic to 12-hour shifts, giving her four days off work. She spent much of that time baking, initially feeling drawn to Japanese-style cheese tarts. She couldnt nail the crust, though, so a friend suggested she try the Basque style instead.

Tristan Nguyen

By December, shed started selling them out of her Millbrae home through Instagram, her mom making the Costco runs and Hu spending two days a week mixing, baking and stamping boxes for 12 cakes. She consistently sells out fast  though not as fast as Basuku.

I will see if I can make more cakes and see if I get burnt out. Its that fine line of how much is too much because its all on top of working full time, she said. I never would have imagined it would have gotten this big.

Bay Area Basque cheesecakes to try:

Cakes Up SF: Alice Hu sells 24 cakes weekly starting at $25. Available for preorder through Instagram, instagram.com/cakedup.sf, with pickup in Millbrae.

Keki: Tim Wong sells up to 30 cakes weekly starting at $40, plus half sizes for $23. Available for preorder through Instagram, instagram.com/kekisf, with pickups in San Francisco and Daly City. Also available at Magnolia Mini Mart in Oakland.

Oui Oui! Macaron: Cathleen Li sells around 60 cakes weekly starting at $35  and slices starting at $9  at her Emeryville shop and through San Francisco restaurants Ju-Ni and Hina Yakitori. Preorder at ouiouicheesecake.square.site, though last-minute shoppers can also find them at 5959 Shellmound St., Emeryville.

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com

It's easy to get caught up in all the good news about the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously voted Sunday to recommend the distribution of a third vaccine for Americans 18 and older: the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

And for the first time since early November, fewer than 50,000 patients are hospitalized with Covid-19.

Along with that, there's been a decrease in new cases and deaths since the abysmal January surge.

Despite that progress, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns some Americans are easing up on safety measures too soon -- threatening the same post-dip surges we suffered in 2020.

'Just look historically at the ... early spring of 2020 or the summer of 2020, when we started to pull back prematurely. We saw the rebound,' said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

That false sense of security and rebound led to another wave of shutdowns last year.

But this year, Americans face a new challenge: the increased spread of troubling variant strains -- including some that appear to be homegrown.

That's why health experts say Americans who want to get life back to normal must keep physical distancing -- and get vaccinated as soon as they're able to.

A 1-dose vaccine could save lives and costs, CDC says

With the new Johnson & Johnson approval, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky officially signed off on the recommendation Sunday.

Distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will begin Sunday night, according to senior administration officials who also cautioned that the amount of vaccine made available will be uneven throughout the month of March.

'Starting tonight, 3.9 million doses of J&J will be distributed across all channels, states, tribes, territories and pharmacies and community health centers,' an official said in a briefing call Sunday night. 'Those J&J doses will be delivered as early as this Tuesday morning.'

The official also said that Johnson & Johnson communicated with the White House 'that the weekly supply will be limited for the next couple of weeks after the initial distribution.'

'The initial distribution is nearly four million doses of J&J. That's the entirety of J&J's current inventory,' The official said. 'We do not expect any additional deliveries next week and we expect deliveries to be uneven during the weeks of March.'

The vaccine was given emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration on Saturday. An FDA analysis found the vaccine safe and effective.

It's the third coronavirus vaccine to win emergency use authorization, after Pfizer/BioNTech's and Moderna's vaccines.

A White House official said all three vaccines will be distributed evenly across all channels, but stressed that that does not mean that every vaccination site will have every vaccine.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be kept at normal refrigerator temperatures for three months and -- unlike the two other vaccines -- requires only one dose, something that committee members said would make it easy to distribute and administer.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices did not make any specific recommendations for which groups should have priority for the vaccine, made by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine arm.

The vaccine could help 'save costs and lives' and benefit health equity, Dr. Sara Oliver, an officer with the CDC Intelligence Service, told the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Sunday.

'During a pandemic, the data show that the best utilization of resources is to employ all available vaccines with acceptable vaccine efficacy. This will save cost and lives,' Oliver said.

She added the vaccine would help with health equity. A single-dose vaccine has an advantage, particularly in settings where a second dose would be challenging.

For example, it could be used to help protect the homeless, people in the justice system, and those with limited access to health care, such as people who are homebound or live in rural areas, Oliver said.

'To have a third vaccine that meets the expectations of an (emergency use authorization) for safety and effectiveness at preventing severe disease and death from COVID-19 brings us one step closer to protecting the American public, staying ahead of concerning viral variants, and finding our way out of the pandemic,' National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said.

The fact that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only a single dose makes it a game-changer, said Dr. Esther Choo, a professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University.

'It's been such a challenge to get even a single dose to many people,' she said. 'Signing up for a second one, keeping track of that, getting transportation, it's just a huge barrier for many Americans and then of course in harder-to-reach places, including rural America, it's just been a huge logistical challenge.'

Johnson & Johnson will start testing vaccine in children

Now that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has proven to be safe and effective in adults, the company will begin studies with children, said Dr. Macaya Douoguih, head of clinical development and medical affairs with J&J's vaccine arm, Janssen.

'We will conduct several immunogenicity and safety studies in children from 17 years of age down to neonates,' Douoguih told a CDC advisory committee Sunday.

'The study in adolescents, we hope, will open next week. We are also anticipating a study in pregnant women in the second and third trimesters toward the end of March, early April,' Douoguih said.

Johnson & Johnson also plans to begin study in immunocompromised individuals in the third quarter of this year, Douoguih said.

The FDA's emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is currently for use in adults 18 and older.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been authorized for people 16 and older, and the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been authorized for people 18 and older.

Both Moderna and Pfizer have started enrolling children in Covid-19 vaccine trials.

J&J vaccine will 'dramatically' increase vaccine availability

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also help boost the number of shots available to Americans as health officials race to prevent another possible Covid-19 surge fueled by variant strains.

So far, more than 48.4 million Americans have received at least their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, CDC data shows.

More than 23.6 million people have gotten both doses of a vaccine. That's about 7.1% of the US population.

'The J&J vaccine, which is easier to transport and store ... is going to dramatically increase our vaccine availability,' said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University.

About 3.9 million doses will be available for ordering right away, said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. That could add about 25% more Covid-19 vaccination capacity for states.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told CNN he expects the state will receive 'several thousand doses' over the next few days.

'We expect shots in arms this coming week,' Cox said. 'We know they have about 4 million doses on hand right now ready to go out. They'll start shipping those out, we believe, on Monday. We should have those shots, we think, on Wednesday. And shots in arms on Thursday and Friday. That's a big deal for our state and for Americans everywhere.'

Now is not the time to ditch safety measures

While news of another Covid-19 vaccine is worth celebrating, the US is still a long way off from herd immunity. That's when enough people are protected against a virus that it cannot spread through the population.

More than 48,800 people are still battling Covid-19 in hospitals, according to the COVID Tracking Project. That's down from a record-high 132,447 patients on January 6.

But more than 63,800 Americans have died from Covid-19 just this month, according to Johns Hopkins.

'This third safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine comes at a potentially pivotal time,' Walensky said in a statement Sunday.

'CDC's latest data suggest that recent declines in COVID-19 cases may be stalling and potentially leveling off at still very high numbers. That is why it is so critical that we remain vigilant and consistently take all of the mitigation steps we know work to stop the spread of COVID-19 while we work our way toward mass vaccination,' she said.
Imagine that I have my lips tight against yours with my arms around you tight  hearts beating as one, a serviceman stationed in India told his beloved, Iris, in 1941.

That impassioned prose comes from a World War II-era love letter  one of the more than 700 letters found aboard the shipwrecked S.S. Gairsoppa that conservators are working to piece together.

On Feb. 16, 1941, while the Gairsoppa, a British cargo ship, was headed for Ireland, a German U-boat torpedoed the vessel near the coast, leading to the death of all but one of the 86 crew members on board. It lay undiscovered three miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean until 2011, when an American company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, found the wreckage. From 2012 to 2013, the company recovered various treasures: personal items from crew members, more than 200,000 pounds of silver and 717 undelivered letters.

The artifacts were eventually given to the Postal Museum in London. In 2018, the museum displayed some of the letters in an exhibition titled Voices From the Deep.

After Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim on Saturday said that the poll-bound state of West Bengal has witnessed a phenomenal development under the leadership of CM Mamata Banerjee, Babul Supriyo, the Union Minister of State for Environment Forest & Climate Change, on Sunday slammed the leader and asked him that why is he lying. Taking to Twitter, Babul Supriyo while addressing Hakim said that terms like "development, driving Bengal forward under Didi's leadership" are all "hollow words".

Kahe jhhoooot bolte ho Firhad bhai Terms like "Development, Driving Bengal Forward under Didi's Leadership" R all hollow wordsYour Party & your leader Honble @MamataOfficial needed to love Bengal over her #TMchhi Politics to achieve all that

Janta-Hakim kya kehti hai dekhna https://t.co/65ktlQrFIU  Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) February 28, 2021

READ | Abhishek Banerjee's Wife Summoned: BJP Min Babul Supriyo Claims 'Unmasked Them Long Ago'

Babul Supriyo hits out at Firhad Hakim

Not only this, the Union Minister further said that Firhad Hakim, the TMC party and CM Mamata need to love Bengal, rather than prioritising their party's politics. Pointing towards the upcoming state Assembly elections, he said that the TMC party should wait for the results to know the opinions of the people of West Bengal.

These comments by the Union Minister came after Kolkata Mayor on Saturday said that under the able leadership of Mamata Banerjee, the state has seen a phenomenal development. He further said that TMC will drive Bengal forward towards yet another decade of such development. Pledging his support to CM Banerjee, Hakim appealed to the state people to support the Chief Minister.

Bengal has seen phenomenal development under the able leadership of CM @MamataOfficial & to drive Bengal forward towards yet another decade of the same, I pledge my support to Bengal's daughter!



Click: https://t.co/avMYSs02WV & pledge your support NOW!#BanglaNijerMeyekeiChay pic.twitter.com/ICDH29T26T  FIRHAD HAKIM (@FirhadHakim) February 27, 2021

READ | Babul Supriyo Counters CM Mamata's Ire against 8-phase Bengal Polls; Upholds EC's Decision

West Bengal polls

This year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that the Assembly elections for West Bengal will be held in eight phases across 1,01,916 polling stations from March 27 to April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

READ | 'Rahul Gandhi Lacks Leadership Skills, Left Left Out': BJP's Babul Supriyo On Bengal Polls

20 Assembly constituencies in 5 districts of the state will go to polls in the first phase on March 27. 30 Assembly constituencies in 4 districts will go to polls in the second phase of April 1. Later in the third phase, 31 constituencies in 3 districts will go to the polls on April 6. 44 constituencies in 5 districts will go for polling on April 10. In the fifth phase, 45 constituencies in six districts will witness polling on April 17. 43 constituencies in four districts in the sixth phase will go to polls on April 22. 36 constituencies in five districts in the seventh phase will go for polling on April 26. In the eighth and final phase, 35 constituencies in four districts will witness polling on April 29.

Besides announcing the polling dates, the ECI has also announced that it has appointed two special poll observers- Vivek Dubey and MK Das as well.

READ | West Bengal Polls: Left-Congress-ISF Alliance To Kick Off Campaign With Mega Kolkata Rally

Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-01 05:09:03|Editor: huaxia

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AMMAN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Sunday condemned the continuous violations at Al Aqsa Mosque, the latest of which was the Israeli police allowing hundreds of extremists to break into the mosque earlier in the day.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Deifallah Fayez said the continuous attacks represent a clear violation to the legal and historical status quo, the international law and Israel's commitments, according to a statement by the ministry.

The Jordanian official stressed that Al Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship "for Muslims only." He called on Israel to stop its violations and provocations.

The official also urged the international community to bear its responsibility and exert pressure on Israel to halt its ongoing violations at the mosque. Enditem
To enhance trade at in Iran, Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Deendayal Port are offering discounts on the vessel and cargo charges, as per the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

Located in Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran's southern coast, the port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties.

lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India's western coast, bypassing Pakistan.

"To promote Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar, Iran Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Deendayal Port are providing discounts on Vessel related charges and Cargo related charges for the vessels going and arriving from Shahid Beheshti," according to the ministry.

For the past six months, a 50 per cent discount on terminal handling charges for transit containers has also been granted.

"The flow of bulk cargo is steady. Transit cargo from Afghanistan is now picking up. The Shipping line has assured us of weekly container service as volumes are on the rise," as per a document from the MoPSW.

Owing to the challenges in activation of the main agreement pertaining to Chabahar port, a formal Short Lease (Interim) Contract between India and Iran was signed on May 6, 2018, with the incorporation of an Iranian SPV - India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) - for its implementation.

"The terms and conditions of this Contract are different than the 10-year Agreement. Under this Contract, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (Iranian subsidiary of India Ports Global Ltd) took over the operations at berth length of 360 mts at Shahid Beheshti Port on 25th December 2018. IPGCFZ handled its first cargo on 30th December 2018," the document said.

Till January 31, 2021, about 123 vessels have berthed at the terminal and IPGCFZ have handled approximately 13,752 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and 18 lakh tonne of bulk / general cargo, it added.

Efforts are on to improve the traffic at

The Short Lease Contract has since been renewed till June 25, 2021.

"We are now in possession of over 1,240 mts berth length and 70 Ha of back up area. Four post Panamax vessels can now simultaneously berth at our terminal," as per the shipping ministry document.

The ministry also said CONCOR has proposed to commence shipping service from the east and west coast of India to Vorsino terminal in Moscow via Shahid Beheshti port using INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) route.

This will be under multimodal using sea leg till Chabahar and thereafter by road and/or rail. It is under their internal approvals, as per the document.

On May 6, 2015, a ministerial-level MoU on Chabahar Shahid Beheshti Port - was signed between India and Iran and the historic agreement was executed on May 23, 2016, in Tehran during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The pact was signed between Aria Banader Iranian Port & Marine Services Company (ABI) of Iran and India Ports Global Ltd (SPV formed by the Ministry of Shipping in January 2015) for the development of phase one of Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.

As per the contract terms, India has to equip and operate two terminals in Phase 1 at the cost of USD 85 million and after activation of the main contract, India will operate Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar for 10 years.

In January, India supplied a consignment of two mobile harbour cranes to the Chabahar port having a total contract value of over USD 25 million.

Additional Secretary, MoPSW, Sanjay Bandopadhyaya said two more cranes are standing for loading near the port near Venice, which will reach by March-end to this port, while another two will reach by June-end.

Bandopadhyaya said after mobile harbour cranes are delivered, there are plans to procure rail-mounted cranes for which bidding is going on.

Since 2017, he has said, India had sent a consignment of 1.1 lakh tonnes of wheat, pulses and other assistance in over 4,800 containers to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port.

The bilateral contract between Iran and India was signed on May 23, 2016, with a total value of USD 85 million ?for equipping, mechanising and starting operations at the port under the first phase.

In this regard, a special purpose vehicle -- India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL), Mumbai -- was incorporated under the shipping ministry.

The government in February last year had approved the exemption of IPGL from the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) guidelines for smooth execution of the Chabahar Port project.

IPGL was incorporated as a special purpose vehicle jointly promoted by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Deendayal Port Trust (DPT) for the development and management of Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.

Subsequent to the withdrawal of the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the external affairs ministry advised the shipping ministry on October 29, 2018, to exclude and DPT from the possible impact of US sanctions.

The development of the Chabahar port will help in the expansion of economic and mutual relations between India and Iran as well as give a further boost to the maritime trade between the countries.

The location of the Chabahar port has a strategic advantage and high potential to provide connectivity between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, especially Eastern CIS nations, and boost trade.

(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 Britain, some politicians have seized on the vaccine gap as vindication of the vote to leave. On a range of issues, it is clear that the fulfillment of Brexit has not soothed antagonism toward the E.U., either in the government or among the hard-core band of Brexiteers in Mr. Johnsons Conservative Party.

On Thursday, these lawmakers, known as the European Research Group, called on the government to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol. That is the complex, hard-fought agreement with Brussels that allows Northern Ireland to preserve an open border with Ireland, an E.U. member, even after leaving Europes single market along with the other nations of the United Kingdom.

Under the terms of the deal, Britain has agreed to subject goods flowing into Northern Ireland to customs and health checks. Confusion over the new rules has interrupted some of that trade, leading to empty shelves in Northern Irish supermarkets and fears that the situation could get worse, as grace periods on some checks expire.

The protocol has already come under fire from both sides: The European Union threatened to upend it during the dispute over vaccine supplies, while Mr. Johnsons government warned last fall that it would abandon it if it was not able to come to terms with Brussels on a trade agreement.

The latest demands by the Brexiteer lawmakers may reflect a simple desire to stay in the limelight, having accomplished their defining goal of leaving Europe. But it also dramatizes the enduring appeal of euro-skepticism  a narrative of grievance that British politicians can deploy to deflect criticism for anything from trade hiccups to deeper economic problems.
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The Biden administration is reportedly preparing to open another tent facility in Texas near the US-Mexico border to house migrant families and children who have crossed into the United States in recent weeks to request asylum.

The number of unaccompanied minors who have illegally entered the country has grown to 300 per day.

The new facility, which is slated to be built near Del Rio, Texas, will be put up to deal with the sudden influx of asylum seekers who have been allowed to seek refuge in the US since President Joe Biden entered office.

The planning for the facility was revealed on Thursday by The Washington Post, which cited three Department of Homeland Security officials.

DailyMail.com has sought comment from DHS and the White House.

'CBP is currently constructing a soft sided facility in Eagle Pass, TX to help accommodate migrants in our custody,' Customs and Border Protection told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'There have always been fluctuations in the number of individuals we encounter at the border, and we continue to adapt accordingly.

'Since April 2020, CBP has seen an increase in border encounters from the Western Hemisphere due to worsening economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters impacting the area.

'Based on past experience, evaluation of operational requirements, and challenges due to COVID-19 space restrictions, we need additional processing facilities when we see rising numbers of encounters.

'As we work to build and improve permanent facilities for the safe and orderly processing of individuals at the border, temporary soft-sided facilities are sometimes necessary to meet operational needs that may arise due to rising encounters, particularly under challenging circumstances.'

Record numbers of immigrants are crossing the US-Mexico border - mainly children and teenagers without parents - prompting the Biden administration to reopen shelters to hold the children until they can be placed with a guardian.

Biden overturned many of Donald Trump's immigration policies with a swipe of his executive pen when he became president - including reversing Trump's policy of expelling minors who arrive without their parents.

The Biden administration is planning to open another temporarily facility to house migrants crossing the border illegally from Mexico. The facility will be opened in Eagle Pass, Texas - not far from the US-Mexico border crossing at Del Rio, Texas (above)

The Del Rio facility will be similar to one that was reopened earlier this week in Carrizo Springs, Texas. That facility will hold up to 700 children ages 13 through 17 to allow proper social distancing as the Biden administration struggles to deal with rising tide of immigrants - many unaccompanied minors. The image above shows the Carrizo Springs facility in July 2019

Children line up to enter a tent at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Homestead, Florida in this February 2019 file photo. The number of migrants under the age of 18 crossing the border illegally has surged to as much as 300 per day - a fourfold increase compared to several weeks ago

Migrants walk to cross the Gateway International Bridge to be processed to seek asylum in the US in Matamoros, Mexico on Friday. The Biden administration has reversed Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies which forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for months

After the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration ordered migrant children immediately returned to Mexico.

Since then, the number of minors in federal custody has tripled to more than 7,000 causing the Biden administration to reopen shelters in Carrizo Springs, Texas and in Homestead, Florida, where now-Vice President Kamala Harris protested outside of in June 2019.

The newly planned Del Rio facility in the town of Eagle Pass is expected to be similar to the one in Carrizo Springs, an emergency shelter which was reopened on Monday to cope with a flood of hundreds of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum.

The Carrizo Springs facility was reopened to provide 700 beds for migrants under the age of 18.

The administration said that reopening the facility would reduce the amount of time the migrants would have had to wait in the custody of Border Patrol.

By law, Border Patrol can detain children in custody for up to 72 hours. Afterward, they must then be transferred to shelters around the country that are licensed to care for children.

These shelters are operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency that works under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Separately, HHS is also scrambling to cope with the influx of new arrivals by opening emergency shelters and trying to speed releases of migrant kids to sponsors in the United States.

'There are no good choices here,' Biden told reporters on Friday. 'The only other options are to send kids back, which is what the prior administration did.'

Most migrants caught at the border, including families and individual adult asylum seekers, are still being rapidly expelled at the border under a Trump-era health rule in place since last March.

In the past four months, federal officials have taken more than 70,000 migrants a month into custody.

Between October and January, more than 19,000 immigrant children, most of them from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, entered the country illegally, according to Customs and Border Protection.

Migrants from Central America and other nationalities, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S., hold banners and shout slogans to U.S. President Joe Biden, at their campsite outside El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico, Saturday

The first group of 25 migrants walk to cross the Gateway International Bridge to be processed to seek asylum in the U.S., in Matamoros, Mexico are pictured

In January, the number of unaccompanied children coming over the border was more than 5,700, up from 4,855 the month before.

The sudden influx has created the potential for a humanitarian crisis in which the federal government is unable to handle the overflow of asylum seekers.

Immigration authorities and advocates said that the children are seeking to reunite with their parents or other relatives already living in the US.

Large numbers of migrants have left Central America and sought refuge in the US in recent years to escape poverty and gang violence, according to immigrant advocates.

US immigration law allows children who cross the border to apply for asylum or another form of protection that would allow them to remain in the country permanently.

While adults and families can be deported relatively quickly, children are given a chance to remain due to the risk that they have been the victim of human trafficking or were fleeing an abusive parent.

Those who favor stricter border policies claim that allowing children to apply for asylum, a process that can take years, gives parents incentive to send their kids across the border alone, putting them in danger.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday defended the administration's position and said the children were not being kept in cages but 'difficult choices' were being made.

'We have a number of unaccompanied minors  children  who are coming into the country without their families. What we are not doing  what the last administration did was separate those kids, rip them from the arms of their parents at the border. We are not doing that. That is immoral, and that is not the approach of this administration,' she said.

Psaki said the administration would not make the 'dangerous' choice of sending kids back across the border nor would they place them with unvetted guardians - leaving the only option of holding them in shelters operated by the Department of Health and Human Services.

She also pointed out that due to COVID precautions, more shelters are needed to give the children space for social distancing.

'We had to expand and open additional facilities because there was not enough space in the existing facilities  if we were to abide by COVID protocols,' she said.

'This is a difficult situation. It's a difficult choice. That's the choice we've made,' she added.

A migrant camp on the banks of the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico sits right across the river from Brownsville, Texas. The camp is currently home to 700 migrants

The migrant camp in Matamoros, Mexico, just across the river from Brownsville, Texas, is currently home to just under 700

And the situation could get worse.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement email obtained by The Washington Post shows the Biden administration is already in crisis mode when it comes to immigration policy.

'We need to prepare for border surges now,' Timothy Perry, ICE's chief of staff, wrote in the Feb. 12 email. 'We need to begin making changes immediately.'

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told senior officials 'to prepare for border surges now,' Perry wrote.

'We need to begin making changes immediately. We should privilege action over cost considerations; do what is needed, and the department will work on funding afterward.'

The Biden administration is so concerned about running out of shelter space, it authorized shelters to buy airline tickets for minors who already have relatives living in the United States, according to a HHS email obtained by The Post.

Some Democrats have slammed Biden for reopening the shelters, which were a flashpoint in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary with many contenders blasting the Trump administration for separating children from their families.

Harris was one of several Democratic presidential contenders who protested outside the Homestead facility when the candidates were in Miami for the first presidential debate in June 2019.

'This is not okay,' Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter of the Biden administration's decision to re-open shelters.

'This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay - no matter the administration or party,' she wrote.

Meanwhile, the first asylum seekers crossed the Gateway International Bridge from Mexico to the US earlier this week after Biden overturned Trump's tough immigration policies.

Men, women, and children from a migrant camp of at least 700 in Matamoros, Mexico, just across the river from Brownsville, Texas, have been crossing into the United States after spending months stuck in Mexico waiting for their cases to be processed.

The U.S. government has restarting processing those with active cases made to wait in Mexico during the Trump administration at three border crossing between the two countries

The Gateway International Bridge spans the Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border in Matamoros, Mexico. U.S. immigration authorities have begun allowing some asylum seekers with active cases into the U.S. in a reversal of Trump's immigration policy

A camp of migrants on the banks of the Rio Grande in Matamoros was a particular priority for the Biden administration and Mexico

Migrants hope by entering the US, their cases will be processed faster and it will be difficult to deport them under asylum rules.

The Trump administration created the 'Remain in Mexico' program in January 2019 in an effort to deter asylum seekers trying to enter the US through is southern border.

Trump defended policies such as Remain in Mexico  which has sent more than 69,000 people back over the border, sometimes into ramshackle refugee camps  as a way to protect US citizens from 'thugs' and 'bad hombres'.

One week ago, Biden's administration began permitting members of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program to enter the United States to pursue their court cases.

Since then, U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) spokeswoman Silvia Garduno said 27 people crossed the border from Mexico on Thursday and 100 on Friday, with the remaining 500 or so crossing by early next week.

The UNHCR agency, along with the International Organization for Migration, is in charge of the logistics of registering and transporting migrants from the camp to the United States.

The Mexican government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the goal was for 500 migrants in the Matamoros camp to enter the United States by the end of next week.

Mexican authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) referred Reuters to a DHS statement that said the registration process 'will be done as quickly as possible.'

In Matamoros, asylum seekers expressed optimism.

TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION POLICIES President Trump's policy was formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and forced migrants attempting to cross the southern border to apply for asylum in Mexico regardless of their country of origin. It led to a swelling of the number of people camped at the border.

Migrants would be held in a 'staging area' in Mexico where they would receive a health screening and could enter the U.S. only after testing negative for COVID-19.

After entering the U.S., immigrants would be taken to local shelters and would need to coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in order to avoid detention but may be subject to ankle bracelets.

Trump implemented the remain in Mexico policy in 2019, and forced immigrants fleeing dangerous situations to stay in Mexico while awaiting court hearings in the U.S.

Under the policy, the government removed more than 60,000 migrants to the Mexican border. Advertisement

BIDEN'S IMMIGRATION POLICIES President Biden's plan will allow migrants waiting at the Mexican border to enter the U.S. to apply for asylum.

The new rules would be a first step to ending former President Trump's 'remain in Mexico' policy.

Biden's new policy is expected to be officially rolled out in the coming weeks and follows an executive order signed earlier this month tasking the Department of Homeland Security to desig a plan to replace MPP.

'The situation at the border will not transform overnight, due in large part to the damage done over the last four years but the President is committed to an approach that keeps our country safe, strong, and prosperous and that also aligns with our values,' the administration said in a fact sheet announcing the order.

The Supreme Court also granted the administration's request to cancel an upcoming hearing on the remain in Mexico policy while the White House weighs a replacement. Advertisement

Migrants from Central America and other nationalities, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S., hold banners and shout slogans to U.S. President Joe Biden at their campsite outside El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico

Several migrants set up tents, in Tijuana, in the state of Baja California. Tijuana, Matamoros and, as of this Friday, Ciudad Juarez, are the three Mexican border points from where migrants are already crossing into the United States for an immigration court to review their asylum cases

The great majority of the 25,000 asylum seekers with active cases who were forced to wait out the process in Mexico under Trumps so-called 'Remain in Mexico' program, still have weeks or months of waiting ahead

After waiting months and sometimes years in Mexico, people seeking asylum in the United States are being allowed into the country

The people were told to wait in Mexico for American courts to decide on their cases. The relaxing in policy unwinds one of the Trump administration's signature immigration policies that President Joe Biden vowed to end

Migrants react as they walk towards the Gateway International Bridge to be processed to seek asylum in the U.S. The majority are asylum seekers had been waiting in Mexico as their cases wind through U.S. courts under a program implemented by former President Donald Trump which saw them 'Remain In Mexico'

Last week President Joe Biden's administration began permitting members of the Migrant Protection Protocols program to enter the United States to pursue their court cases

A migrant child is being carried by a Mexican municipal worker while crossing the Gateway International Bridge to be processed to seek asylum in the U.S. in Matamoros, Mexico

'We've just received news that tomorrow we're leaving!' said Honduran asylum seeker Josue Cornejo in a video recorded inside the camp on Friday evening, which also shows his wife and daughters wiping away tears.

But as one tent city begins to empty in northeastern Mexico, another has sprung up on the other side of the country. In Tijuana, migrants encouraged by the news that some asylum seekers were being allowed to enter the United States have begun to camp out near the El Chaparral port of entry, across the border from San Diego, California. Advocates say about 50 tents have been put up in recent days.

Biden, a Democrat, is balancing pressure from immigration advocates to unwind the hardline immigration policies of his predecessor with concerns about rising numbers of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

A woman carries a child, as migrants walk to cross the Gateway International Bridge to the U.S.

A Mexican government source has said the goal was for 500 migrants in the Matamoros camp to enter the United States by the end of next week

Migrants pray before crossing the Gateway International Bridge to be processed as they seek asylum in the U.S.

Migrants leave their camp and head towards the Gateway International Bridge to be processed as they seek asylum in the US

Children play next to migrants from Central America and other nationalities hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S., at their campsite outside El Chaparral border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico

Migrants from Central America camp outside the El Chaparral border crossing, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S, in Tijuana

A child looks out from a tent next to other migrants from Central America who are camping outside the El Chaparral border crossing, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S.

Migrants from Central America, hoping to cross and request asylum in the U.S., queue for donated food at their campsite
Four police officers were on Thursday killed by gunmen in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigerias South-south.

The police spokesperson in the state, Irene Ugbo, confirmed the killing of the officers, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The officers were reportedly killed along MCC Road, Calabar. Their identity and details surrounding the killings are unknown for now.

Ms Ugbo, a deputy superintendent of police, said the police in the state have been thrown into grief by the incident which she said was very bitter and ugly.

The killers would not have a place to hide as the force would fish them out and serve justice on them, she said.

It is quite unfortunate. We feel really sad. The Command is in mourning over the death of the four officers who lost their lives.

We are investigating the matter and will surely root out the culprits, no matter how far they run or hide. We must get them and that I can assure you, the police spokesperson she said.

The latest killing brings to five the number of police officers killed in the state in the last three months.

An assistant commissioner of police, Egbe Edum, was brutally killed with a machete by some yet-to-be-identified hoodlums in Calabar in December.

The slain officer served in the northern part of Nigeria and was on his way to visit his family when he was attacked.

The Thursday killing of the four officers underscores the insecurity in Cross River, once a peaceful state and a choice destination for both local and international tourists.

In a move to rid the state of crimes, the Cross River State Government recently set up a security outfit called Operation Akpakwu which is made up of the Nigerian Army, the police, and other security agencies.

The security outfit has been pulling down buildings, including hotels, linked to crimes in the state.

Two police officers were similarly killed about five days ago in Akwa Ibom State, also in the South-south, when suspected cultists attacked a police checkpoint in Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state.

Early this month, some gunmen killed a mobile police officer in Warri, Delta State and fled with his rifle.

There have also been a series of attacks on police officers and police facilities in Nigerias South-east states of Abia, Ebonyi, Imo, and Anambra lately.

The Nigerian Army recently recovered the corpse of four of its officers allegedly killed by the pro-Biafra group, IPOB, in Orlu, Imo State.

Several Nigerian states are grappling with severe security challenges which has prompted some Nigerians to call for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

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(NAN)
When President Joe Biden on Wednesday stood at a lectern holding a microchip and pledged to support $37 billion in federal subsidies for American semiconductor manufacturing, it marked a political breakthrough that happened much more quickly than industry insiders had expected.

For years, chip industry executives and U.S. government officials have been concerned about the slow drift of costly chip factories to Taiwan and Korea. While major American companies such as Qualcomm Inc and Nvidia Corp dominate their fields, they depend on factories abroad to build the chips they design.

As tensions with China heated up last year, U.S. lawmakers authorized manufacturing subsidies as part of an annual military spending bill due to concerns that depending on foreign factories for advanced chips posed national security risks. Yet funding for the subsidies was not guaranteed.

Then came the auto-chip crunch. Ford Motor Co said a lack of chips could slash a fifth of its first-quarter production and General Motors Co cut output across North America.

"It brings home very clearly the message that the semiconductor is really a critical component in a lot of the end products we take for granted," said Mike Rosa, head of strategic and technical marketing for a group within semiconductor manufacturing toolmaker Applied Materials Inc that sells tools to automotive chip factories.

Within weeks, automakers joined chip companies calling for chip factory subsidies, and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Biden both pledged to fight for funding.

Industry backers now aim to be part of a package of legislation to counter China that Schumer hopes to bring to the Senate floor this spring. Still, all agree it will do little to solve the immediate auto-chip problem.

Headlines about idled car plants resonated with the public that had shrugged off abstract warnings in the past, said Jim Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Lawmakers, already worried that a promised infrastructure bill will not materialize this year, decided to push for quick solution.

"Nobody wants to be seen as soft on China. No one wants to tell the Ford workers in their district, 'Sorry, can't help,'" Lewis said. "It was one of those moments where everything aligned."

The package includes matching funds for state and local chip-plant subsidies, a provision likely to heat up competition among states including Texas and Arizona to host big new chip plants that can cost as much as $20 billion.

The subsidies could benefit a factory in Arizona proposed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and one in Texas eyed by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, even though those factories would be geared toward high-end chips for smartphones and laptops, rather than simpler auto chips. And those factories would not come on line until 2023 or 2024, according to plans disclosed by the companies, the world's two largest chip manufacturers.

In the longer term, a raft of U.S. companies are also poised to benefit. Any chipmakers that build factories will source many tools from American companies such as Applied, Lam Research Corp and KLA Corp.

Intel Corp, Micron Technology Inc and GlobalFoundries - which already have U.S. factory networks - will also likely benefit.

Smaller, specialty chip factories also could benefit.

The recent chip shortage in the automotive industry has highlighted the need to strengthen the microelectronics supply chain in the U.S.," said Thomas Sonderman, chief executive of SkyWater Technology, a Minnesota-based chipmaker that makes automotive and defense chips. "We believe that SkyWater is uniquely positioned due to our differentiated business model and status as a U.S.- owned and U.S.- operated pure play semiconductor contract manufacturer."

Even with subsidies, the U.S. companies still must compete with low-cost Asian vendors over the long run, and the immediate auto chip troubles will probably persist.

Surya Iyer, a vice president at Minnesota-based Polar Semiconductor, which makes chips for automakers, said his factory is booked beyond capacity and has started to speed some orders up while slowing others down, to meet automakers' needs as best it can.

"We are expecting this level of demand to continue at least for the next 12 months, maybe even longer," he said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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I know that it is bad to blame the victim. I also know that one should not speak ill of the dead. And yet, the New York Times' two indignant editorials and two news articles in just one day (here is a sample) on Biden's soft-pedaling on his threat to make Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman a "pariah" for authorizing the sensationally gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Turkey inevitably triggered some thoughts.

That these thoughts may come across as cynical is not due to my lack of sensitivity. Rather, they reveal who I am  an ex-Soviet, whose outlook is inevitably colored by his background. I think of the Soviet defectors (of which there were not a few), and wonder  would any of them go into a Soviet consulate to get their papers fixed? Not one chance in a trillion. By a natural self-preservation instinct that needed no articulation, they'd keep as far away from any Soviet representative as they possibly could, knowing full well the Soviet hatred of traitors and the fate meted out to them if they got caught. Even Americans should know the feeling  for I very much doubt that a certain Mr. Edward Snowden is a frequent visitor to the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

So why on Earth would Mr. Khashoggi, an ex-pat and bitter critic of the Saudi regime, go into a Saudi consulate? He was no naif. A highly placed Saudi who was welcome in royal circles, after his exit to the West, he was hired by the Washington Post to provide biting insights into the Saudi ruling class. An ultimate insider, he intimately understood Saudi thinking  or so he thought. In hindsight, he didn't  or else he would have kept the same longest-possible distance from any Saudi institution as the Soviet defectors did from the Soviet ones.

In hiring Mr. Khashoggi, the Washington Post prided itself on getting for its readers a clear view into Saudi thinking. Mr. Khashoggi's gruesome death showed how little he understood the society he was hired to cover.

Not all that glitters is gold. To the Washington Post's editors, Mr. Khashoggi was a true journalistic find, yet his shine was false. In fact, he may be emblematic of a more general journalistic phenomenon. Wondering at naivete or politically correct cant of a good many reputed analysts writing in the likes of the New York Times and the Washington Post, I keep recalling the parable of the blind leading the blind. Mr. Khashoggi was, unfortunately for him, one such blind guide. Unkind as that thought is, it is by no means unfair  and speaks volumes about the quality of our journalism.

Image: apriltan18 via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
New York, Feb 28 : The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the single-shot Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, the third to be authorised against the disease in the country.

The authorisation allows the vaccine to be distributed in the US for use in individuals 18 years of age and older, the FDA said on Saturday.

"The authorisation of this vaccine expands the availability of vaccines, the best medical prevention method for Covid-19, to help us in the fight against this pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States," Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, sia din a statement.

The totality of the available data provides clear evidence that the Janssen Covid-19 Vaccine may be effective in preventing the coronavirus, the FDA said.

The Janssen Covid-19 vaccine is manufactured using a specific type of virus called adenovirus type 26 (Ad26).

The vaccine uses Ad26 to deliver a piece of the DNA, or genetic material, that is used to make the distinctive "spike" protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

While adenoviruses are a group of viruses that are relatively common, Ad26, which can cause cold symptoms and pink eye, has been modified for the vaccine so that it cannot replicate in the human body to cause illness.

After a person receives this vaccine, the body can temporarily make the spike protein, which does not cause disease, but triggers the immune system to learn to react defensively, producing an immune response against SARS-CoV-2.

The Janssen Covid-19 Vaccine is administered as a single dose.

At this time, data are not available to determine how long the vaccine will provide protection, nor is there evidence that the vaccine prevents transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from person to person, the FDA said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Flying in a biplane the likes of the 1943 Boeing Stearman we have here must be much more exhilarating than driving a mid-engine Corvette down the strip, however. After all, this is a nearly eight decades old machine whose last inspection took place in 2014. Boeing s Stearman was introduced in 1934, the same year the Stearman Aircraft company became part of Boeing. It was used ever since its introduction as a military trainer, being deployed in the service of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force.By the time it was retired, the Boeing Stearman 75 family comprised close to 11,000 members, and that meant they spread far beyond the borders of the two North American countries, reaching most of the nations in South America, but also Iran, Greece, or Yugoslavia.Having trained pilots during the war, the Stearmans got released into the civilian wild once hostilities ended, and were relegated mostly to crop-dusting duties.We dont have the operational history of this particular biplane. It is one of the A75N1 variety (PT-17), the kind that was originally fitted with blind-flying instrumentation and later agricultural spraying equipment.Total time since new on this particular one is 2,290 hours, and according to the seller on Platinum Fighters , some paint and fabric might be needed here and there. As said, the asking price for this one is lower than for a Corvette, $50,000, but no mention of its airworthiness is made.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

The Santa Fe Behavioral Crisis Center got one step closer to completion when Santa Fe County commissioners last week voted to approve the lease for service providers at the center.

This is the first time the county will have a crisis center. The center will have two parts  its existing detoxification and sobering center run by the Santa Fe Recovery Center, and its mental health services run by New Mexico Solutions. Funding for the center was approved by commissioners about a year ago under a $2 million bond.

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The yearly operating cost for the detox center is expected to be $300,000, while the $1.5M annual operating budget for the mental health services will be covered by the county, according to Rachel OConnor, community services director for Santa Fe County. The center will also receive funding from outside sources.

The center can now start providing services as early as late March in its renovated building at 2052 Galisteo Street.

I am so excited that we have been able to make it happen for our residents, and people suffering from addiction and who need these services, Commissioner Anna Hansen said.

Commission Chairman Henry Roybal shared Hansens support of the project and said the crisis center is desperately needed in the community.

Commissioner Rudy Garcia also noted that addiction is a nationwide issue and not unique to Santa Fe County.

OConnor said counties increasingly see people with significant behavioral health issues in their jails, with misdemeanor offenders who would be better served in a different environment.

She also said that, with COVID-19, people may have experienced a crisis related to job loss, the pandemic or social isolation.

The crisis center is for everyone that is experiencing a short-term crisis, OConnor said. Any of us could experience that at any point in time. It is not just for people that have chronic issues.

David Ley, executive director of New Mexico Solutions, said the nonprofit plans to begin providing mental health services out of the crisis center in three stages. They will start by receiving referrals from law enforcement and hospitals for people already screened for COVID-19. Then, the center will open up to referrals from other partner agencies that are also screening people and doing telephonic COVID-19 screenings. They hope to open the facility to the general public by this summer.

Of course, Ley said, these stages depend on the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both OConnor and Ley said the crisis center isnt designed to compete with anyone, but partner with other organizations in the community, such as hospitals, homeless shelters, law enforcement and more. OConnor said the crisis center is part of the continuum of services the county provides.

The center will operate on a living room model, which is designed to be more homey and comforting instead of clinical, OConner said. For example, the center will have a fireplace to make people feel more at home.

She said the crisis center is designed to be a safe place that will offer nursing services, therapy, navigation services and de-escalation models. The center will likely operate from 10 a.m. to midnight.

Hopefully, we can divert people from  the emergency room or  from ending up in the jails, Ley said.

He said he wants the crisis center to be a bridge for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis to the tools they need to prevent a crisis in the future.

Ley said he hopes the crisis center makes it easier for people to access care because people can easily get lost trying to navigate the health care system.
Aptera Motors is reportedly gearing up to roll out the first mass-produced solar car by the end of the year.

The car will retail for as low as $25,900, making it an affordable option compared to other vehicles on the market.

There are still roadblocks before the car hits the market, however, as the Washington Post reports distribution can't begin until safety tests are conducted and passed.

The car is considered an ultra-aerodynamic electric vehicle and moves on three wheels, which takes away a potential loss of energy, but also prevents users from collecting a federal tax credit.

The first car mass produced solar car will be sold for as low as $25,900, with higher prices attached to higher ranges

The car is able to go from 0 to 60mph in 3.5 seconds, with top speeds of 110mph

Aptera Motors is preparing to roll out its solar-powered vehicle by the end of the year

The car is covered by 34 square feet of solar cells, which can take the car around 40 miles on a day with clear skies.

Aptera's creators, Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro, say the car is four times more efficient than the average electric vehicle and 13 times more efficient than a pickup truck that uses gas as fuel.

The design of the vehicle, which features notable curves at the front and back, helps reduce drag.

'The traditional design process doesnt allow for breakthroughs,' Fambro said to the Post.

The vehicle has notable curves in front and back to reduce the drag of the car

Ultra-light carbon composites and fiberglass make up the frame of the car, which can be partially created with a 3D printer.

The car is able to go from 0 to 60mph in just 3.5 seconds, with top speeds of 110mph.

For daily use, the car is not expected to need any charging, making it the first such vehicle on the market.

The vehicle is equipped with a battery pack that provides up to 1,000 miles of range, much greater than the Tesla Model Ss 370 miles of range.

A market can already be found for these vehicles, as evidenced by preorders taken beginning on December 4.

Aptera sold out on its first 330 cars within 24 hours and have since found almost 7,500 people willing to put down a deposit for a future order.

The vehicle is equipped with a battery pack that provides up to 1,000 miles of range

Founders Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro raised over $4 million in recent Series A funding

Ultra-light carbon composites and fiberglass make up the frame of the Aptera car

The company is also receiving backing from major investors as it continues to scale production.

Last week, the company announced that it had raised over $4 million in Series A funding, including from Sandy Munro of Munro & Associates, Inc.

'Im betting on a solar future, and Im betting on Aptera,' Munro said in the press release.

In February, the company moved production design to a facility in Sorrento Valley, San Diego.

Aptera was first founded in 2005, but was forced to shut down in 2011 after running out of money, only to be revived by its original creators in 2019.
Allegations that a serving cabinet minister has been accused of raping a 16-year-old girl three decades ago are shocking. The accusation deepens the wounds of the past fortnight, in which the treatment of women in political circles made headlines but, more importantly, again highlighted how far we have to go to eliminate sexual harassment and assault against women.

The ABC revealed the historical allegation on Friday night. NSW Police released a statement saying its abuse and sex crimes squad had received a complaint from a woman in February last year and had commenced an investigation. While the woman spoke to police initially, she did not make a formal statement. She died by suicide a few months later, and the investigation was suspended.

The culture in Parliament House is now under serious scrutiny. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Police point out that it is a matter for the individual to decide whether to pursue a complaint against an alleged perpetrator, but anyone with even a passing interest in the process knows that taking such a step can be incredibly difficult for many women.

This case is tragic on many levels  that the woman felt able to make a complaint only 12 months ago despite her alleged experience as a 16-year-old in 1988; that she has since died; and that the there is little if any chance that the truth or otherwise of what happened will ever be established.
Celebrating the indomitable human spirit was rightly on the agenda as live audiences returned to Hamer Hall after a long, pandemic-induced absence.

Opera singer and composer Deborah Cheetham Credit:Eddie Jim

What better work to capture the mood than Beethovens Eroica symphony? Having snaked their way into the auditorium after completing registration requirements, socially distanced music lovers probably thought nothing of the increased physical distance between them and the orchestra, such a precaution insignificant after the emotional deprivations of the past 12 months.

Echoing the heroic vein, the first performance of Nanyubak, a commission from MSO 2020 composer in residence Deborah Cheetham provided a colourful curtain-raiser. Cheetham wrote the work, the first movement of a projected viola concerto, in 2020, a year of loss, sorrow and confusion that she likened to a physical blow and a deafening silence.

It was a surprise, therefore, to listen to a predominantly lyrical work that kept the meaning of the title (to dream in Yorta Yorta) in view. Noongar violist Aaron Wyatt was an eloquent advocate, but occasionally the works emotional power was dented when the solo material, predominantly in the violas lower and middle registers, was masked by doublings and orchestral tuttis.

Spanish maestro Jaime Martin brought a big picture approach to the Eroica, sculpting a rhythmically lithe performance that emphasised the works long lines, and generally adopted brisk tempos. This brought mixed blessings to a score that is as broadly conceived as it is finely detailed.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The time has come for Bahrain to change.

Challenges are there.

However the key here in converting those challenges into opportunities.

No matter what, the change is inevitable for Bahrain to come out strong and take advantage of the global recovery, whether its economy, judiciary or government work.

The talks His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa held the other day focused on these and more.

The meeting was also the first extensive briefing session of HRH Prince Salman after accepting the responsibility as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom.

The path-breaking discussion established new directions for the Kingdom to advance and flourish.

The wide-ranging talk also delivered a much-needed relief to the general public reeling from the pangs of the Coronavirus pandemic.

For, HRH Prince Salman had said that the Kingdom is expecting to see the start of its recovery from pandemic by the middle of this year.

Whilst the pandemic has presented the Kingdom with unique challenges, the success of the National COVID-19 Taskforce has positioned Bahrain favourably to benefit early from the global recovery. We expect by the middle of this year, we will have turned the tide and be well on the way to recovery.

But, it is not the end of it.

The kingdom is all set to capitalise on the numerous opportunities that would present itself in the post-COVID era.

For this, HRH said, We will pursue an open and free economy. An economy that consolidates the rule of law to stimulate output while protecting and preserving the fundamental rights and security of our people.

HRH also made clear, Protectionism is not the answer to economic recovery. Treating our economy as if it needed protection from competition and market forces would be a far cry from unleashing its full potential, built on competition, innovation, adaptation and growth. What needed is converting the unprecedented economic challenges into opportunities.

HRH added: The world is facing unprecedented economic challenges, and we must convert these challenges into opportunities.

Bahrain, HRH Prince Salman said, is prepared to foster an open, competitive environment, with access to the global economy that rewards creativity and excellence.

For which, the Kingdom also need an effective, efficient and appropriately sized government.

We will seek an effective, efficient, and appropriately sized government that meets our genuine future needs, underlined HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

However, the economy is just another aspect of the bigger picture.

Nothing is complete without identifying the social make-up and diversity.

Prince Salman said: Bahrains social make-up and diversity are a source of strength, not weakness, and the government appointments must reflect that diversity, based on competence and loyalty to the nation.

HRH said: Future cabinet composition should be more based on competency and further aligned with the age profile of parliament, which reflects the will of the people.

The move received a rapturous round of applause from lawmakers, ministers, top Bahraini officials and prominent citizens.

Prince Salman also made clear that next upon on his list is the overhaul of the legal and judiciary system.

We will continue to develop our legal and judiciary system, reinforce our integrated human rights system and expand our alternative sentencing programme.

HRH Prince Salman strongly urged to make conclusive forensic evidence as the basis of the law and order system.

It is important to move beyond reliance on confessions before the court and shift towards requiring the use of conclusive forensic evidence, HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister stressed.

The Crown Prince also said that the Kingdom would adopt programmes for reform centres and prisons.

We are looking forward to developing open prisons to help protect the social fabric of our community, as well as adherence to the rule of law.

Interior Minister already clarified that the ministry is fast-moving with this project and is learning from others experience.

HRH, however, said that the cornerstone of all these reforms is regional stability.

The GCC is an essential cornerstone in maintaining and protecting the regions individual and collective interests and must remain central to any negotiations regarding the security and stability of the region moving forwards.

Prince Salman highlighted the pivotal role of Saudi Arabia in ensuring regional stability and strengthening cohesion among Arab and Islamic nations.

HRH the Crown Prince made clear that the Kingdom is looking forward to strengthening its ties with the US and UK to combat terrorism and provide enhanced stability for the region.

We will work closely with the Russian Federation, the Peoples Republic of China and other nations to further our relations in areas of common interest.

On Qatar, HRH Prince Salman said, Any improvement in relations with Qatar must have individual and mutual respect at its core. A successful outcome can only be achieved through the genuine protection of the interests of all concerned.

HRH Prince Salman also stressed the importance of accountability and responsibility in government work.

Evaluating the progress of this journey will be measured through delivery and results, not intentions. We must work in the spirit of one national team, so that Bahrain can consolidate its rightful place as a standard-bearer for security, stability and opportunity in the region and beyond, His Royal Highness added.
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Activists in Newark shouted Peoples needs, not corporate greed! as they marched down Broad Street on Saturday to show support for Amazon workers push to unionize in Alabama.

The success in Alabama can lead to success in other Amazon plants, said Peoples Organization for Progress Vice Chair Larry Adams, who is also a former president of a local unit of the National Postal Mail Handlers union.

The unionization effort from Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, more the 900 miles away from Newark, is one of the largest the corporate giant has been faced with since its creation. Groups around the nation have shown their support for the workers there too.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment when reached by NJ Advance Media.

About 15 people marched in the rain during the rally organized by Peoples Organization for Progress, a grassroots civil rights group. They started from the Lincoln statue at the Essex County Historic Courthouse to Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, in downtown Newark.

And they're here at the Whole Foods now. The workers at the store aren't unionized, but protesters want to show support to Amazon employees in Alabama and here in NJ. pic.twitter.com/cn7S09ObCH  Rebecca Panico (@BeccaPanico) February 27, 2021

Workers at the Whole Foods on Broad Street and others across the nation are not unionized. Activists on Saturday marched outside the business to show their support for the workers there should they want to unionize.

Activists said they wanted to march in solidarity with the workers in Alabama because they come from similar backgrounds as people in Newark. Many of the warehouse workers in Bessemer are Black, and Newark is a majority Black city.

Peoples Organization for Progress Chairman Larry Hamm said organized labor is necessary to preserve and strengthen the middle class in the United States, which a January 2020 Pew Research report found is losing ground financially.

If we are to hold onto and improve the quality of life we have in the United States, labor must be organized, Hamm said. And when labor gets higher wages, it raises all groups.

Hamm, a former candidate for U.S. Senate, pushed for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Amazon already pays its workers $15 an hour.

Nearly three years ago, Newark officials offered a $2 billion tax incentive to Amazon to move its second corporate headquarters to the city. The company ultimately did not select Newark.

Hali Cooper, of Englewood, marched in the wet weather Saturday with a cast on one foot. She wasnt familiar with the exact details of Newarks incentive to Amazon, but didnt believe the company should get tax breaks while its workers struggle and Jeff Bezos, its CEO, is still a billionaire.

The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer, Cooper said.

Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter.

Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.
If an election were to be called this week, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Greens could form a new government if they were of a mind to - which is a moot point.

The detail is revealed in an Irish Times opinion poll published last week.

If the Government did have its time again, it would do three things differently to avoid the mess it is in now.

Four, actually: the fourth being, it would have tried even harder not to form this unloved Government in the first place.

That is how bad it got last week.

As it stands, the Government has bet the house on a hugely ambitious vaccination programme.

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Should it succeed - and it is a gamble - by summer's end, the Government will be able to relaunch the country with a massive EU-funded stimulus package.

At around the same time, the public will set off on a savings spending spree the likes of which will have never been seen before. And everybody will be fine.

At which point Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens might gel at last - but don't bet on it.

Should the Government's vaccination programme falter, however, get ready for World War III.

The man with the biggest target on his back is Micheal Martin, followed by Stephen Donnelly, the fall guy patsy of the Coalition.

This is the real takeaway from the opinion poll last week: despite the commotion, the Government parties - combined - command the same level of support that they won in the general election last year.

And whatever support Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have lost since October has gone to Independents - not to Sinn Fein, Labour, the Social Democrats or the smaller left parties advocating for a Zero Covid approach.

Between them, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Greens were on 50pc in the poll - the combined vote share won in the election.

The share, though, was distributed differently in the poll: Fine Gael at 30pc and Fianna Fail at 14pc. Cue near panic in Fianna Fail.

But we have been here before - Fine Gael at 30pc, only to bounce back with a bang when it matters.

In my view it is reasonable to expect the combined Fine Gael-Fianna Fail support to auto-correct at the next election.

And if they got their act together, there may even be vote transfers in it.

As things stand, if an election were called tomorrow, the same outcome as 2020 could be expected: with Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein each winning around 20-25pc of the vote. That leaves Sinn Fein still unable to form a government, even if it were to pick up more seats than it will lose - a hard ask.

The alternative is a Sinn Fein-led coalition of all the parts: Labour, Social Democrats, People Before Profit, the Socialist Party, and various groupings of Independents, from the Healy-Raes to Catherine Connolly.

The Greens could take a plunge with Sinn Fein, but then there could be enough Independents to go the other way and hold the line with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

The other scenario is Fianna Fail panic, ditch Martin and do a deal with Sinn Fein - which would flummox Twitter altogether.

Not that it matters at this stage: other than to doubt the sky is about to fall in with the anger of the people, as claimed by the Opposition and social media followers last week.

The public is frustrated, occasionally annoyed, angered now and then, but mostly irritated at the antics within Government, and the unloved beast that is the marriage of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Here is how it works: first the Taoiseach plans to address the nation.

Political reporters strive to 'out-scoop' each other on what he intends to say: usually, Fine Gael ministers bad mouth Fianna Fail - anonymously; rival TDs not on the ministerial 'payroll' with no prospect of promotion and no time for their leaders, present their own lost talents behind closed doors, and leak to reporters their acidic pearls of wisdom.

Then one minister says infants, first, second and third class will return to school; but another excludes third. Political correspondents scream "confusion" where really there is little, and various shades of blue murder ensue online.

Or Stephen Donnelly, boggle-eyed from stress, says something amiss and Claire Byrne pounces on her latest 'gotcha' moment on live TV. Twitter alights. The media looks online and says there is "widespread" anger. Teachers become more annoyed and parents more dismayed.

On a high from it all, the media 'gotcha' hunts again, finds something or other, usually obtuse; Twitter alights, 'confusion' is decried - and on it goes, in a loop.

By the time Martin goes on TV everyone is wound up to ninety, and then disappointed because there was no 'gotcha' moment or the public has read a version of it before.

It is all making for heightened anxiety, to the point that the public is threatening to break Covid guidelines, and the risk grows that some will not bother to get vaccinated at all.

For what it's worth, if the Government had its time again, it would have introduced mandatory quarantining nine months ago; would not have run down the test and trace system after the first wave subsided last summer, and would not have reopened for Christmas to meet the demands of the very business people crying blue murder last week.

Now the Coalition's future is dependent on its vaccination programme, a million each month from April to June. We can expect further outcry in May and demands to fully reopen when only half the country is inoculated.

At that stage, somebody in Fine Gael will bad-mouth Donnelly, somebody in Fianna Fail will back-stab Martin, and we will be told what John Paul Phelan and Regina Doherty had to say for themselves, again.

Right now, Micheal Martin is like Indiana Jones running towards a chink of light that is summer's end - all other means of escape gone.

But will he roll under the closing door just in time - and reach back under to pick up his hat? Last week he rolled the dice. A successful vaccination programme will see the Government run full term, and his leadership survive.
The United Workers Union, which represents many of the casino workers on-site, was told of the underpayments only after the inquiries by The Age. The unions casinos director Dario Mujkic said the underpayments were of concern. Ombudsman Sandra Parker said they are under pressure from the number of underpayment cases Credit:Jason South Initial discussions with Crown indicate that these underpayments primarily affect the parts of their workforce that are not covered by union collective agreements, he said. If any of our members are impacted by this we will expect any monies owed repaid in full and quickly. The risk of underpaying workers is best avoided when those workers have a union agreement and are educated about their rights and entitlements through their union. The Fair Work Ombudsman, which has been swamped by underpayment cases in recent years, confirmed the investigation and said Crown had self-reported.

We expect any employers that identify non-compliance to report to the FWO and fully cooperate with our investigation to ensure that employees are quickly repaid any outstanding entitlements, the spokeswoman said. Any workers with concerns about their pay should contact us directly for assistance. The Crown underpayments come amid an ongoing inquiry into wage theft by a Senate economics committee with one day of hearings held last September. Another two days of hearings are scheduled in March. Appearing before that inquiry, Ombudsman Sandra Parker said her organisation had been forced to redeploy staff due to the surge in the number of big corporates under investigation. We are under some pressure, she said. Weve been under pressure because of the re-focusing of our work, if you like, on the corporate sector underpayments. Investigations by The Age have exposed underpayments at dozens of businesses, including at Coles, McDonalds, 7-Eleven, at large franchises, high-profile restaurants and on farms. Last June, the Victorian Parliament passed legislation to make deliberate underpayment of wages a crime. The new laws do not come into effect until mid-2021.
As Massachusetts prepares to ease public health restrictions Monday, state officials confirmed 1,428 new coronavirus cases Sunday based on 102,571 molecular tests.

The state Department of Public Health also announced another 52 fatalities linked to COVID-19, bringing the death toll from the pandemic in Massachusetts to 15,796.

As of Sunday, there are roughly 30,062 active infections statewide, according to the department. Since the public health crisis began in March, officials have confirmed 550,302 total coronavirus cases across Massachusetts.

There are currently 760 patients hospitalized with the virus in Massachusetts, including 183 in intensive care. Another 124 are currently intubated, the public health departments data showed.

The seven-day average for the percent of positive tests sits at 1.73% as of Sunday, according to the department.

The states newest data set comes as Massachusetts prepares to return to Step 2 of Phase 3 of its COVID-19 reopening plan Monday due to public health metrics related to the virus trending in a positive direction.

As cases and hospitalizations linked to coronavirus continue to decline across Massachusetts, the number of cities and towns labeled by the state as high risk for spread of COVID-19 dropped from 66 to 28 on Thursday.

Despite a slew of mishaps experienced over the course of the states coronavirus vaccine rollout, 1,684,341 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts as of Saturday afternoon. It has the 13th highest number of doses administered per 100,000 residents out of all 50 states, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Monday, as part of Massachusetts enters the second step of Phase 3 of its reopening, capacity restrictions on certain businesses will be eased and others will be allowed to reopen.

Indoor performance venues - including concert halls, theaters and other indoor performance spaces - can reopen at half capacity, with a maximum of 500 people allowed inside, according to the state.

Other indoor recreational activities - including laser tag, roller skating, trampolines and obstacle courses - will be allowed to restart at 50% capacity as well. A host of other industries will be permitted to increase to half capacity too. Employees are not included in that count.

Restaurants will no longer have a capacity restrictions. A mandated 6 feet of social distancing, a maximum of six people per table and 90-minute dining limits will remain in effect, though, officials said.

Notably, the Gov. Charlie Bakers administrations announced Phase 4 of the reopening plan will begin March 22, allowing larger sporting venues to reopen with a strict 12% capacity limit.

Here are the total COVID-19 cases by county:

Barnstable County: 10,088

Berkshire County: 4,867

Bristol County: 55,734

Dukes County: 862

Essex County: 83,792

Franklin County: 1,978

Hampden County: 41,742

Hampshire County: 7,395

Middlesex County: 111,798

Nantucket County: 1,161

Norfolk County: 45,485

Plymouth County: 40,274

Suffolk County: 78,277

Worcester County: 65,363

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Editors note: This story has been updated to correct Sen. Siah Correa Hemphills political affiliation. She is a Democrat.

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Tensions between New Mexicos rural and urban areas is nothing new, but some senators are hoping a new position in state government could help address that issue.

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Senate Bill 139 seeks to create the new position  a rural equity ombudsman, whose job would be to address the concerns of New Mexicans living in some of the states most remote regions.

Sen. Siah Correa Hemphill, D-Silver City, told the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee on Feb. 4 that the position is necessary to address the needs of rural people that she said can go unaddressed.

In rural New Mexico  our communities are often underserved or unserved in many areas, Correa Hemphill said.

She co-sponsored the bill with southern New Mexico Republican Crystal Diamond of Elephant Butte. Both were elected to their seats in 2020.

If passed, SB 139 would create at least one position for an ombudsman who would be charged with responding to issues of concern to rural and frontier communities, according to the legislation.

The bill lists many issues the ombudsman would be involved in, including access to health care, management of natural resources and technological issues, among others.

Carol Miller, a board member for the National Center for Frontier Communities, told senators it can be difficult for rural communities to access the resources they need, esp

ecially if they have tiny populations.

Were trying to get the benefits of government and resources all the way out to the last mile, Miller said.

A resident of Ojo Sarco, a small area of around 300 people in Rio Arriba County, Miller has often advocated for New Mexicos most far-flung locales. She told the Journal it can be even more difficult for rural areas to access data they need to make informed decisions about where they live.

We realized that there was no single place even collecting data on what was happening in the state, she said. The hope is that, as we move forward as a state, well have methods for collecting information about community needs.

The ombudsman would be hired by the state Department of Finance and Administration. Sen. Brenda McKenna, D-Corrales, told the bills sponsors she could see an entire office being formed to address the issues of various communities across the state.

The bill comfortably passed the Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee and now awaits another vote at the Senate Finance Committee. As of Thursday, it has not yet been scheduled for its second committee assignment.

Its not the first time this legislative session that an urban/rural divide in New Mexico has been discussed.

Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, sponsored a piece of legislation early in the session that sought to allow counties in New Mexico to secede from the state if they so wished. Pirtle told the Journal he wrote the bill in response to what he saw as a lack of attention given to southeast New Mexico communities.

It seems like, more and more, its the ideals of Albuquerque that become law, he said.

Diamond told fellow senators that SB 139 will hopefully give rural communities a greater voice in state government moving forward.

Were here to bring a voice to rural and frontier New Mexico, Diamond said.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP)  Three Wichita, Kansas, police officers were injured by a shotgun blast when they checked out a vacant home, and authorities were investigating Sunday whether it had been rigged to fire when the door opened.

Wichita Police said Sunday that a modified, loaded shotgun discharged as the officers entered the home around 4 p.m. Saturday. Investigators determined that no one was in the home at the time, but the homeowners had called police suspecting someone was inside after noticing that some windows were open.

Police said two officers remained hospitalized Sunday with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening. One officer was in serious but stable condition and the other was being treated for minor injuries. A third officer who was hurt was treated at a hospital Saturday and released.

Officers surrounded the home for several hours Saturday before determining that no one was inside. Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said at a news conference Saturday evening that it wasnt immediately clear whether the house had been booby trapped before officers arrived.

Police spokesman Officer Trevor Macy told The Wichita Eagle that investigators are trying to determine whether the shotgun had been rigged to fire when the officers entered.

Apparently there were several modifications made to this one, Macy said.

Officers from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are helping Wichita police investigate what happened.
Demand for switchgear monitoring systems is the result of excessive use and sales of switchgear. Energy generation and more demand for energy across the globe is impacting the market share of switchgear and monitoring systems. Urbanization and industrial development in developing countries is creating more scope for the growth of the market, and development of the automation sector will complement demand for switchgear monitoring systems in future.

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Key Takeaways from Switchgear Monitoring System Market Study

Increase in global electricity production and high usage of renewable sources of energy are boosting the growth of the energy and utility sector, which is the main factor driving demand for switchgear, and thereby creating significant demand for switchgear monitoring systems.

Through research & development, new techniques are making the market competition tougher. Prime manufacturers are focusing on eco-friendly and convenient monitoring systems for users to access.

Switchgear monitoring systems offer extra safety to components and assets in industries by predetermining the risk of upcoming failure or breakdown.

Rapid urbanization and industrialization is one of the main driving factors for market grows. The industry sector is one the biggest markets for switchgear monitoring systems, with close to one-third market share.

East Asia and South Asia Pacific hold significant shares in the global switchgear monitoring system market; these regions have many developing countries where the energy & utility sector is growing and creating huge demand for switchgear monitoring systems.

and hold significant shares in the global switchgear monitoring system market; these regions have many developing countries where the energy & utility sector is growing and creating huge demand for switchgear monitoring systems. Automation in the transportation industry has increased the usage of switchgear. Thus, the transportation sector is demanding more switchgear monitoring systems.

Gas insulated switchgear are in high demand, but many manufacturers are creating updates in air insulated switchgear to promote safety and eco-friendly systems.

Demand in the U.S. is projected to expand at a CAGR of over 3%, while that is China will race ahead at close to 6% CAGR.

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Competitive Landscape Switchgear Monitoring System Market

The global switchgear monitoring system market is highly competitive at regional as well as global levels. The market is highly consolidated, and some of the key players included in the report are Schneider Electric, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, GE Grid Solutions, ABB Ltd, Siemens, and others. Top companies operating in the market are occupying hefty shares in terms of revenue. With compliance to governmental standards and regulations, these companies have a global brand presence. Key manufacturers are updating their technologies to improve their market share across regions.

Switchgear Monitoring System Market Report Conclusion

Demand for switchgear monitoring systems has shown significant growth over the years. Competition has grown among manufacturers, and they are aiming to provide monitoring systems that give real-time working conditions of switchgear with convenient and easy access. East Asia & South Asia Pacific hold a larger portion of the market share.

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BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Canada's House of Commons recently adopted a motion concerning China's Xinjiang, seriously distorting facts and wantonly attacking China's Xinjiang policy. The move is a gross interference in China's internal affairs and a malicious provocation against the Chinese people.

Some Western countries like Canada by no means care about the well-being of the people in Xinjiang. Their true intention is to hinder the development of Xinjiang under the pretext of human rights, but will never succeed.

As a matter of fact, when anti-China forces in Canada poured dirty water on China, they probably forgot their own dark record of human rights. And they should have well looked in the mirror before they slandered China's human rights development.

In the 1870s, the Canadian government put assimilation of aboriginal people on its official agenda, and implemented a policy of cultural extinction against aborigines through the establishment of boarding schools.

A native Indian girl participates in the 27th annual Squamish Nation Pow Wow in west Vancouver, Canada, Aug. 29, 2014. (Xinhua/Sergei Bachlakov)

Aboriginal school-age children were forcibly taken away from their families, forced to convert to Christianity, and banned from using indigenous languages. This policy lasted for over a century, during which many children involved were sexually assaulted, beaten to death.

After years of intensive research, Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission reached a conclusion in 2015 that the country's former policy of forcibly putting aboriginal children into boarding schools can best be described as "cultural genocide."

Moreover, the progress in human rights development in Canada has been slow. In 2008, when the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Canada, among only a few countries, voted against it. It was not until the year 2016 that Canada removed its objector status to the declaration.

So far, the Canadian government has not yet solved the aborigines' problems including their low education rate, high unemployment rate and high crime rate. The average life expectancy of aborigines is nearly 10 years lower than that of other groups. The employment rate of the aboriginal group is less than 60 percent, and their income is also markedly lower.

Native Indians participate in the Day 2 of 25th annual Squamish Nation Pow Wow in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 7, 2012. (Xinhua/Sergei Bachlakov)

Between 1980 and 2015, thousands of indigenous women and children went missing or were murdered, and many of these cases have remained unsolved. A report released in 2019 concluded that decades of missing and murdered indigenous women amount to a "Canadian genocide."

Nowadays, systemic inequalities and racism still exist in Canadian society. Polls show that more Canadians see racism as a serious problem in the country. According to research from Statistics Canada in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians with Asian backgrounds are far more likely to report noticing increased racial or ethnic harassment in their neighborhoods.

Judging by the dark history of Canada, some Canadian politicians should better keep the label of "genocide" to themselves.

Across the world, there is no one-fits-all path for human rights development. These Canadian politicians should stop being human rights hypocrites, reflect on the country's own human rights situation, and focus on improving the livelihood of the Canadian people rather than indulging in speculation and prejudice against other countries.

After all, smearing others will not help solve their country's own problems. And the mask of a hypocrite will be pulled down someday.
In a longish feature for Film Comment (May-June 1980), American journalist Elliott Stein wrote about the forays made by Indian film personalities into politics. In no country are cinema and politics more closely intertwined, he noted. Some of the events, he noted while covering Filmotsav 80, a film festival held in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), were M.G.R becoming the chief minister of Tamil Nadu in 1977, Dilip Kumar being appointed the sheriff of Bombay (now Mumbai), and the successful launch and quick folding up of a new National Party by Dev Anand. One case of Indian politics-cum-film received world attention because it involved Sanjay Gandhi, wrote Stein. In 1977, Amrit Nahata, the producer of Kissa Kursi Ka brought a suit against Mrs Gandhis son, claiming that he had stolen and destroyed all of the prints of the film, which caricatured his mothers regime.

The Kissa Kursi Ka case was a landmark example of how Indira Gandhis regime clamped down on its critics in the film industry during the Emergency (1975-1977). Journalist Coomi Kapoor describes in some detail the fate of the film in her book The Emergency: A Personal History. Just before the Emergency, in April 1975 Nahata, a Congress MP, submitted the movie Kissa Kursi Ka, starring Shabana Azmi, Raj Babbar and Manohar Singh, to the censors. The film was a parody of politics in India and featured characters who seemed to be based on real-life individuals Most offending to the government was a clear spoof on Sanjay Gandhi and his small-car project. The censor board forwarded the film to the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) and fifty-one objections were made. Eventually, the government banned the film.

But banning the film wasnt enough for [I&B minister V C Shukla] and Sanjay, writes Kapoor. All the prints of the movie, including the master proof of the film, were sent to the Maruti factory [in Haryana], where they were burnt. However, after the end of the Emergency, Sanjay and Shukla were convicted for their extra-legal actions and eagerness to censor critics. Sanjay, who had resigned from the Congress at the start of the Janata regime, was sentenced, along with V C Shukla, by a lower court to two years imprisonment for destroying the master negative of the film He filed an appeal in the high court. But at one stage his bail was cancelled and he had to spend some nights in jail.

But by 1980,  voted out in 1977 at the end of the Emergency  was back in power, and Sanjay Gandhi was calling the shots again without holding any office. [Amrit] Nahata recently came forth to state that he had perjured himself and that the charges had been false, writes Stein in his Film Comment article. Ten days after Mrs Gandhi returned to office, the police officer who headed the investigation which had led to Sanjays conviction was arrested, then released. The bizarre career of Kissa Kursi Ka, which is now available freely online, is symptomatic of the culture of censorship which characterized the Emergency.







Journalist Romesh Thapar, who also had a brush with censorship when his niche magazine Seminar was forced to close down during the Emergency, followed Kissa Kursi Ka closely in his column Capital View for the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW). On June 14, 1975, weeks before the Emergency was announced, he wrote about how the Bombay film industry was producing, for the first time, several political film. He mentions Garm Hava (1973); Aandhi (1975), which was also banned during the Emergency; a slew of films about the lives of smugglers; and Kissa Kursi Ka, and adds that such films are often denied certification by the censor board.

In 1979, the film reappears in Thapars column. He reports in October of that year how Nahata apparently tried to join the Rajasthan unit of the Congress and on hearing this reportedly said: My son and Vidya Charan [Shukla] are going to jail for two years. Tell him to join them. In December 1979, Thapar comments on politicians jumping parties and refers to Nahata again: If an Amrit Nahata withdraws from the Kissa Kursi Ka proceedings and the public speculates on the kind of persuasion used on him. Finally in February 1980, he reports a protest by policemen in New Delhi over the arrest of Deputy Inspector General N K Singh, who conducted the Kissa Kursi Ka case.

The case revealed the power that the Gandhis had not only over branches of the government but also the judiciary. Even three years after the Emergency and an electoral humbling, Indira and Sanjay continued to use intimidation to keep critics in check. Senior lawyer A G Noorani referred to the arrest of N K Singh at least twice  in 1982 and 1984  in his Civil Liberties column for EPW, describing it as unlawful detention. A fortnight after Indira Gandhis return to power, N K Singh, the CBI officer who had investigated the Kissa Kursi Ka case, was dragged away from his house on January 29, 1980, wrote Noorani in 1982. Two jeep loads of armed policemen surrounded his house well before dawn and he was asked to accompany them to Gurgaon [Gurugram] for interrogation. His demand for a written notice was turned down. He was formally put under arrest in Gurgaon. Zail Singh, then Union home minister, blithely told the Rajya Sabha that N K Singh had not been arrested but merely taken away for jankari (investigation). But the police have no power to take away a citizen for investigation. As Stein reports, Singh was let off afterwards  but the message was clear.

With Nahata also withdrawing his case, the conviction of Sanjay and Shukla were overturned by the Supreme Court. In April 1980, a three-member Bench set aside the conviction of both Sanjay Gandhi and V. C. Shukla in the notorious Kissa Kursi Ka case, leaving without cover both Justice O. N. Vohra (who, after eleven months of trial and 6,500 pages of evidence, had convicted them and who, later on, paid the price for doing so when he was refused a permanent position on the Delhi Bench) and Chief Justice Chandrachud (who, as a member of the Supreme Court Bench, had cancelled Sanjay Gandhis bail on May 5, 1978, and sent him to jail for one month for tampering with witnesses in this case), writes legal scholar Bhagwan D Dua in his 1983 essay A Study in Executive-Judicial Conflict: The Indian Case.

Though the brazenness with which Kissa Kursi Ka was dealt with has never been repeated, it sent a clear message to the detractors of the government. The first mainstream film on the Emergency, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, was made only in 2003. Thapars lament in 1975 that there are only few political films is true of our times as well. Movies such as Yuva (2004), Raajneeti (2010), Haider (2014) or Newton (2017) are exceptions than the rule. One space where censorship had not extended its tentacles till now was streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney and others. This allowed filmmakers to explore overtly political subjects in shows such as Sacred Games (Season 1, 2018, and Season 2, 2019), Paatal Lok (2020), and Tandav (2021). But with the government introducing new regulations for the streaming platforms such as Netflix last week, even this space will now be under scrutiny.

Streaming platforms in India are going through a boom, aided by the medium as well as the pandemic which shut down cinemas. According to some reports, there are more than 40 such platforms, mostly in regional languages. The new rules will require them to classify their content into five categories based on age suitability. Some film personalities such as producer Ekta Kapoor and writer Prasoon Joshi have supported the rules, while producer Pritish Nandy and director Onir have criticized it. One cant help but wonder why the government feels the need to tell the citizens what they can watch. Is the worry really about children watching adult content without parental supervision? Or, is it about what the parents  who pay the fees of these streaming platforms  might watch?

The writers novel, Ritual, was published last year.
A lockdown party in a holiday home in Offagne was broken up by the police. Most attendees received a 750 fine.

The public prosecutors office confirmed that police had to disband a party in Offagne, Belgium. 14 people had attended it and were thus in breach of Covid restrictions.

It was the owner of the holiday home who alerted the police of the party. He had visited the premises to verify if the 5 people who claimed to belong to a family bubble were alone at the house. When he noticed that this was not the case he called the authorities.

A patrol arrived shortly before 10PM and found the 14 attendees, residents from Brussels aged 20 to 30. Several tried to hide, but police were able to write down everyones details. Officers discovered marihuana, nitrogen gas and alcohol at the premises.

Most party people received a fine of 750. The organiser was even fined 4,000; he had booked the holiday home.

Four people did not receive a fine but will be called to answer in court. They had breached Covid rules before. A second infringement may carry a harsher penalty, the public prosecutors office confirmed.
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With a wide array of bills moving through the Legislature  from legalizing recreational marijuana to banning new fracking licenses  one thing is increasingly clear: When the gavel falls on this session of the 55th Legislature, even though working under COVID-19 restrictions, our citizen lawmakers actions will have long-term consequences.

The class of 2021 has already made history, sending a repeal of a statute criminalizing abortion to the governor (she signed it Friday); introducing a bill that would allow counties to secede; and proposing taxpayers alone kick in hundreds of millions of more dollars into struggling public pensions.

Also among the highlights:

 With a fragile economy emerging from a year-long pandemic, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is on point saying this isnt the right time to impose new restrictions and burdens on business. Lawmakers are nonetheless moving ahead with mandatory paid leave legislation and minimum wage increases.

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The pandemic laid bare the need for sick leave, but with state officials estimating New Mexico will not return to pre-pandemic employment levels until late 2023, it is important to include commonsense metrics including a phase-in period for businesses of various sizes to adjust, breaks for our smallest enterprises, recognition of more generous existing benefit programs, a statewide preemption to avoid a patchwork of differing local ordinances, and a fair system to iron out disputes rather than Draconian penalties that assume every company is in the wrong. As the governor signs relief measures for business, it is important lawmakers remember New Mexico needs jobs for people to return to. Likewise, the Senates recent passage of a bill scrapping a lower minimum wage for high school students would ensure fewer are hired. Training wages encourage employers to take a chance on and hire inexperienced youth. The governor, who signed a bill in 2019 that created the training wage of $8.50 an hour, should veto any bill that makes it harder for our young people to find an entry into the workforce.

 Despite her threat of a veto, the governors emergency powers must be reined in to allow more than one person to decide if and when schools, businesses and houses of worship remain closed due to a public health threat. Several state lawmakers concede the Legislature made a big mistake in the wake of 9/11 when it passed the Public Health Emergency Response Act in 2003. The law gives the governors administration unchecked powers to impose public health orders.

This is not a commentary on Lujan Grishams handling of the pandemic; any governor needs the authority to act quickly and decisively at the onset of a public health crisis, but that unilateral authority should not last indefinitely. At least two bills and a proposed constitutional amendment would give lawmakers some say in future decision-making. Its imperative they regain some of the emergency powers so they can actually represent the concerns of their constituents during a public health crisis.

 Crime and justice are on many New Mexicans minds, and it is important not to allow the desire to do something to overtake due diligence. House Bill 4, the purported Civil Rights Act is little more than a move by the plaintiffs bar to create a cottage industry of suing government (which victims can already do), and House Bill 227 endangers the public by removing many less-than-lethal tools like K-9s and tear gas from law enforcement, leaving them with two options when faced with an assailant: run or shoot.

 Medical-aid-in-dying legislation could be the most heart-wrenching legislation before lawmakers this session. Living through the prolonged death of a loved one with a terminal illness is a tough topic to talk about, even years later.

House Bill 47 would allow terminally ill patients to seek a doctors help to end their life. It contains critical safeguards, such as requiring that patients have the mental capacity to make the decision and the ability to self-administer the lethal medicine. The bill is in the Senate after passing the House by a wide margin. Its time for New Mexico to join the nine states that give terminally ill patients a humane, medically supervised option.

 Lawmakers considering a major overhaul of the states liquor laws are doing so in an attempt to help the hospitality industry. But theyve got to be careful not to devalue existing liquor licenses in the process of adding liquor delivery.

House Bill 255 would allow restaurants and liquor stores to deliver alcoholic drinks. It would also create a new license allowing restaurants to expand from serving beer and wine to hard liquor. Liquor-license holders, some of whom have literally poured their life savings into obtaining a license, rightfully worry their investments will go down the drain. With so much on the line, a long-overdue overhaul of the Liquor Control Act needs to be debated in a truly full and open legislative session, not limited to the comments of a few people with a few minutes on a spotty Zoom call.

 Senate Bill 32 will hopefully mark the end of the brutal, indiscriminate use of traps on public lands, though trapping by members of Indigenous nations and of mice, rats, pack rats, gophers, prairie dogs, moles, voles, rock squirrels, birds or fish would be exempt.

Weve banned cockfighting, coyote-killing contests, horse tripping and made dog fighting a fourth-degree felony. Yet, for just a $20 permit, trappers are allowed to trap, snare and poison an unlimited number of animals. Banning trapping on public lands would add to our list of successful animal and wildlife legislation and make our great outdoors that much greater.

In the coming days, lawmakers will take up these and many other issues important to New Mexicans  everything from a $2-a-pack tax hike on cigarettes to new high school graduation requirements. The stakes are very high. In this second half of the session, its time to get a second wind and decide whats really worth fighting for. And legislators would be wise to observe the Hippocratic Oath and first do no harm.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Moments of tension in Jerusalem, where a group of Orthodox demonstrators tried to raid the Ministry of Education while a press conference was taking place with the participation of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Ministers Yoav Gallant (Education) and Israel Katz (Finance ).

According to local media reports, the demonstrators - who also started clashes with the police - noticed the ministers' cars in front of the building and fired fireworks and threw stones.

Before being rescued by the police, Netanyahu and his ministers found themselves stranded for several minutes in the ministry, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the ultra-Orthodox Mea Shaerim ward.

During the siege of the ministry of education, an Orthodox Jew in the immediate vicinity was hit by a minibus and was seriously injured. The driver said he lost control of the vehicle after being surrounded and attacked by a crowd of demonstrators.

(Unioneonline / lf)
From: William McIntosh -- Public Relations Services For Immediate Release: Dateline: Miami , FL Sunday, February 28, 2021

Big Winners from Election Day gives Rise to New Technology

The presidential race was too close to call for days, but it was clear regulated industries won big. And that means big things for one company, Hypur, Inc..

Hypur is a FinTech company that has spent years developing payment platforms that add high level security and contactless payment cycles, which they call Hypur Comply & Hypur Payment Services. They are the leading digital banking and payments company for regulated industries and are based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Their growth trajectory, in just over six years of operation, is trending up at an exponential rate.

Thomas Creal, a former U.N. Sanctions Expert and top black money tracker says, I have researched and tested many FinTech companies for the purpose of using such for my Know Your Money (KYM) work and Hypur is the one system that can change on the fly and generate meaningful results. This is exactly what is needed to get clean money into the banking system.

Hypur is not standing idle and waiting for the industry to come to them. They have inked partnerships with some of the biggest companies and financial institutions serving the space. Additionally, they have submitted their application to the Federal Bond Buying Program, that will result in significant in state job creation. Christopher Galvin, Founder and CEO of Hypur said, We made the methodical choice to focus on serving the most highly regulated industries and its paying dividends. The use of these funds will allow us to continue to build on our solid foundation while merging with a complementary operator. In doing so, Hypur will expand its cloud - based infrastructure allowing us to compete on a different scale than most of the FinTech companies in both the regulated and traditional markets.

When COVID-19 hit, Hypur was first to launch a digital and contactless payment solution to help protect merchants and consumers. With the world continuing to fight this pandemic, every bit helps.

In todays ever-changing world, it is always nice to see a win-win situation. From the November 3rd election results, it looks like Hypur is one landslide winner, as well as highly regulated industries overall.

African Immigrant has a Message for NFAC:

SLAVE Lives Matter!



Bol Gai Deng is an ex slave who escaped from SLAVERY in the Sudan when he was a young boy. America for him was not a place of oppression and persecution but of refuge. In South Sudan and other countries, Africans are at risk of enslavement. Deng believes that Grand Master Jay of NFAC and the leadership of BLM should focus on SLAVERY IN AFRICA as an urgent priority. Deng is RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT OF South Sudan and is determined to create a nation marked by peace, security, respect for human rights and the rule of law.



BOL GAI DENG AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW: ocasomedia@gmail.com



Bol Gai Deng comments:

"I do not doubt that police brutality exists and racial injustice exists h ere in America however while in this country I have noticed that violence and death among Black Americans is similar to violence and death in Africa-mostly inflicted by other blacks. We are our worst enemies. In Africa it is AFRICANS TODAY who enslave other Africans just like it was a long time ago in the 17th a nd 18th centuries when Africans captured other Africans to sell to the Arab slave traders who sold our ancestors to the Europeans and Americans. I lived as a slave. Slavery is a brutal, vicious and cruel existence. My body has the scars to prove it."



BOL GAI DENG AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW: ocasomedia@gmail.com



"NFAC is welcome to come to South Sudan to fight against slavery. Black Lives Matter should focus on our people in Africa who could benefit from their political power. They want to make the police here in America weak. This is strange. In Africa a lack of effective police makes live terrifying for every day Africans and they suffer constant assault, robberies, home invasions and kidnappings into slavery".



BOL GAI DENG AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW: ocasomedia@gmail.com





About South Sudanese Presidential Candidate for South Sudan Bol Gai Deng

Deng is currently campaigning for President of South Sudan and lives in the United States where he has been since 1999. Life in the US is a huge change for him. As just a young boy, Bol Gai Deng's Aweil village was attacked early one morning by thousands of mujahideen on horseback, armed with AK 47s and machetes. They killed the older males and many of the women. The rest, along with the children, were beaten, rounded up and forced to march on foot to Dhien, Sudan near Darfur. A few weeks later, 7-year-old Bol was sold to Ali Abdullah, a wealthy landowner there. At first rebelling, Bol was regularly beaten and locked up in chains at night, before he settled down and won Abdullah's trust to go out in the fields alone and tend the cows. He slept in the rain with the cows and ate from garbage cans.



While tending cows in the fields Bol was able to jump aboard a train bound for Khartoum and make his escape. With the help of two fellow Dinkas, Bol found a refugee camp and was allowed to attend school but was forced to speak only Arabic and learn the Islamic faith.

In 1998 Bol was smuggled from Khartoum to Egypt via "underground railroad." He was a teenager and found "there was no hope in Egypt and no respect for Africans either." He and others survived with the protection of their tight-knit Sudanese community. Bol learns the UN was offering asylum for persecuted Sudanese. A friend wrote up Bol's story in English and sent it to the UN Cairo office. Bol was one of many granted an interview, but only one of ten who were allowed to go forward. He came to the United States and eventually learned English and began to even teach as an Associate Professor of Homeland Security at Virginia Commonwealth University. Bol Gai is an activist for his nation of South Sudan and led protests in front of the White House to reimpose sanctions on Sudan that is actively trying to obtain South Sudanese land and impose Islam in South Sudan-a majority Christian country. Bol Gai knows that Islam = slavery and infiltration until an entire nation is in chains. Gol Bail is a published author who has written:



William Deng .....1- Legacy of an African Freedom Fighter 2- Children's Book by J. Tinsely Cobb"Freedom, A Lost Boy, his Cows, their Journey"3- Arab Racism in Kush Bol Gai Deng's web site is www.Kushdemocraticmajority.org





BOL GAI DENG AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW: ocasomedia@gmail.com











Lt Col. Sargis Sangari offers his update on the ongoing refugee crisis at Turkey's western border with Greece and comments on NATO'S relationship with Turkey. MEGATRENDS NEWSROOM interviews

Dr. Susan Yoshihara:

Population Crisis in China





Dr. Yoshihara, author of the book Population Decline and the Remaking of Great Power Politics discusses the population crisis with a focus on China's low birth rate; its serious male vs. female disparity; the huge numbers of vulnerable elderly and China's disappearing labor force.

MEGATRENDS NEWSROOM

Interviews Lt. Col. Sargis Sangari

Turkey Holds Europe at Ransom AGAIN.







MegaTrends NEWSROOM interviewed Lt. Col. Sargis Sangari (US Army, Retired) concerning the involvement of Turkey and Russia in Eastern European power projections. Sangari comments that Erdogan has dreams of being de Facto Mid East Caliph while Putin seeks to leverage Turkey for greater influence. Sangari is running for US Congress in Illinois 9th District. MEGA TRENDS NEWSROOM

INTERVIEWS Dr. Gil Mobley

YouTube Interview Clip BELOW:





MEGA TRENDS NEWSROOM

U.S. Microbiologist: One Million Dead in China due to Corona Virus



YouTube Interview Clip BELOW:

Dr. Gil Mobley offers stark Corona Virus Assessment





Dr. Gil Mobley, a microbiologist and an emergency room physician and clinic director, granted an interview to Mega Trends News Room concerning the Corona Virus outbreak in China and worldwide. In 2014 Mobley carried out a campaign to urge President Obama to name an Ebola Crisis Czar. His perspective on the Covid 19 Virus are not optimistic. Millions worldwide are at serious risk of infection given Covid 19's unique viral morphology and transmission via body tissue, infected patients bodily fluids and bodily emissions and the effect of the deceased on latent spread of contagion via sewer and water table transmission upon potential victims.

MEGA TRENDS NEWSROOM

U.S. Microbiologist: One Million Dead in China due to Corona Virus



YouTube Interview Clip BELOW:

Dr. Gil Mobley offers stark Corona Virus Assessment





Dr. Gil Mobley, a microbiologist and an emergency room physician and clinic director, granted an interview to Mega Trends News Room concerning the Corona Virus outbreak in China and worldwide. In 2014 Mobley carried out a campaign to urge President Obama to name an Ebola Crisis Czar. His perspective on the Covid 19 Virus are not optimistic. Millions worldwide are at serious risk of infection given Covid 19's unique viral morphology and transmission via body tissue, infected patients bodily fluids and bodily emissions and the effect of the deceased on latent spread of contagion via sewer and water table transmission upon potential victims.


Sreedharan's entry a 'gimmick'; BJP will remain marginal player in Kerala: Congress

India

pti-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 28: Terming technocrat E Sreedharan's entry into the BJP a 'gimmick', Congress' Kerala in-charge Tariq Anwar on Sunday said it would be a direct fight between the UDF and the ruling LDF in the upcoming assembly polls as the people will not 'waste' their votes on the BJP which will remain a marginal player in the state.

The Congress general secretary also asserted that it was not the party's tradition to announce a chief ministerial face and after polls the name of the CM candidate will be arrived at through consensus.

In an interview with PTI, Anwar exuded confidence that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) would form the next government in Kerala and stated that the main issue in polls would be the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's 'corruption and mismanagement' in the last five years.

'The results will be in UDF's favour. People had given mandate to the LDF last time but their performance in the last five years has not been good and three-four scandals have also been unearthed recently in which even the CPI(M) office has come under suspicion,' the AICC in-charge Kerala said.

ABP Opinion Poll: LDF headed for 2nd term in Kerala; UPA may form government in Tamil Nadu

Talking about other issues that would hurt the LDF's chances in the upcoming polls, Anwar said recently an MoU signed with an American firm has created a lot of dissatisfaction among fishermen and so has the 'mismanagement' of COVID-19.

'Conditions are in favour of the UDF as there is strong anti-incumbency of the five years,' the former Union minister said, adding that corruption and mismanagement will be the main issues in the assembly polls.

The LDF government had said it had done great work during COVID-19 and the health system is very good, but the way the cases are rising all its claims have been proven wrong, Anwar said.

Asked about 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan's entry into the BJP and its impact on the polls, he said, 'I don't think it will have much of an impact because he may be a good technocrat but he does not have much of a rapport with the public.' 'The people of Kerala are very politically conscious and I don't think suddenly bringing up a name would make much of a difference,' he asserted.

Talking about the BJP's big ticket launch of the 88-year-old technocrat, Anwar claimed the BJP always uses such tactics as it does not have a strong leadership in Kerala.

The BJP's presence is minuscule, so they want to make their presence felt by such 'gimmicks', he said, adding that the saffron party will remain a marginal player in the state.

'It will be a direct fight between LDF and UDF. Last time, the BJP had invested resources heavily in Kerala but despite that they had a low vote percentage,' Anwar said.

'This time we expect the BJP not to get even less because Kerala people know that the fight is between LDF and UDF so people would not like to waste their votes,' he said.

'Metroman' Sreedharan formally joined the BJP last Thursday at a meeting organised at Changaramkulam as the 'Vijay Yatra' led by Kerala BJP chief K Surendran reached there.

Addressing the meeting, Sreedharan had said it is one of the greatest moments in his life and also thanked Surendran for giving him an opportunity to work for the BJP.

Asked if the Congress is going to rely on Rahul Gandhi for being the face of its campaign and canvass aggressively in Kerala, Anwar said, 'Rahul is hugely popular in Kerala. If we look at the Lok Sabha result last time, since Rahul fought election from there, it had a major impact and we won 19 out of 20 seats. If he campaigns and concentrates heavily on Kerala, it would make a huge difference.' On the party deciding not to announce a CM face before polls, he said it was Congress' tradition not to declare a chief ministerial face before polls.

'After polls, according to the results, through consensus, the choice of the leader will be made,' Anwar said.

Asked about Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's remarks accusing Rahul Gandhi of 'speaking in the same tone' as of Uttar Pradesh CM and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath against his government, he said nobody will believe this charge as the Congress has a history that it cannot have any understanding with communal forces.

Rahul Gandhi is leading a frontal attack on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi which not only the Congress but other opposition parties are also recognising and praising, Anwar asserted.

He said such statements show that the LDF is 'nervous' They don't have the confidence in their Front it seems, he added.

The Congress leader exuded confidence in the UDF securing a comfortable majority and said its aim was to get a two-thirds majority so that it can provide a stable government that works freely for the development of the state.

Polling in Kerala for 140 seats of the Assembly will take place in a single phase on April 6. Counting for the assembly polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry will take place on May 2.
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Photo: The Canadian Press NASA astronauts Kate Rubins, top, and Victor Glover work outside the International Space Station Sunday.

Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year.

NASA's Kate Rubins and Victor Glover put the mounting brackets and struts together, then bolted them into place next to the station's oldest and most degraded solar wings.

They had to lug out the hundreds of pounds of mounting brackets and struts in 2.5-metre duffle-style bags. The equipment was so big and awkward that it had to be taken apart like furniture, just to get through the hatch.

Some of the attachment locations required extra turns of the power drill and still weren't snug enough, as indicated by black lines. The astronauts had to use a ratchet wrench to deal with the more stubborn bolts, which slowed them down. At one point, they were almost an hour behind.

Whoever painted this black line painted outside the lines a little bit," Glover said at one particularly troublesome spot.

Well work on our kindergarten skills over here, Mission Control replied, urging him to move on.

With more people and experiments flying on the space station, more power will be needed to keep everything running, according to NASA. The six new solar panels  to be delivered in pairs by SpaceX over the coming year or so  should boost the stations electrical capability by as much as 30%.

Rubins and Glover worked on the struts for the first two solar panels, due to launch in June.

The eight solar panels up there now are 12 to 20 years old  most of them past their design lifetime and deteriorating. Each panel is 134 metres long by 12 metres wide. Tip to tip counting the centre framework, each pair stretches 73 metres, longer than a Boeing 777's wingspan.

Boeing is supplying the new roll-up panels, about half the size of the old ones but just as powerful thanks to the latest solar cell technology. Theyll be placed at an angle above the old ones, which will continue to operate.

A prototype was tested at the space station in 2017.

Rubins' helmet featured a new high-definition camera that provided stunning views, particularly those showing the vivid blue Earth 435 kilometres below. Pretty fantastic," observed Mission Control.

Sundays spacewalk was the third for infectious disease specialist Rubins and Navy pilot Glover  both of whom could end up flying to the moon.

Theyre among 18 astronauts newly assigned to NASAs Artemis moon-landing program. The next moonwalkers will come from this group.

Last week, Vice-President Kamala Harris put in a congratulatory call to Glover, the first African American astronaut to live full time at the space station. NASA released the video exchange Saturday.

The history making that you are doing, we are so proud of you, Harris said. Like other firsts, Glover replied, it won't be the last. We want to make sure that we can continue to do new things, he said.

Rubins will float back out Friday with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to wrap up the solar panel prep work, and to vent and relocate ammonia coolant hoses.

Glover and Noguchi were among four astronauts arriving via SpaceX in November. Rubins launched from Kazakhstan in October alongside two Russians. Theyre all scheduled to return to Earth this spring.

HOLYOKE  After seeing dozens of friends die of COVID-19 at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, Joe Langland Jr. thought he was in the clear  until he got the bad news on his 74th birthday.

Langland is a longtime Amherst resident, retired postal worker and Vietnam veteran. He was one of about 35 Soldiers Home residents moved to Holyoke Medical Center last spring to keep them safe after the deadly coronavirus spread through the Soldiers Home.

While those who moved were believed to have had limited exposure to the virus, some of them also fell ill and one died.

Langland managed to stay healthy even as COVID-19 infected 75% of the 210 veterans living at the home in March. At least 76 residents died from March to June. More than 80 staff members also tested positive and some were hospitalized with serious cases of COVID-19.

Staff at Holyoke Medical Center were careful to keep the relocated Soldiers Home residents healthy, Langland said. He and the others were essentially under quarantine for nine months.

But shortly before vaccines became available in late December, one of Langlands friends was infected with the coronavirus and died. Shortly after that, another veteran also fell ill with COVID-19.

On Dec. 27 I tested positive. It is my birthday, what a terrible gift, he said. I tested positive four or five days after my first shot.

Langland said he was moved to the COVID ward, where he was carefully monitored. But he said he never had a temperature and never felt ill. After a few days, one of the nurses had him retested, thinking he had gotten a false result, but the second test also came back positive.

He said he believes the vaccination saved his life.

I tell people now to get the damn shot, I dont want to go to your funeral, he said. If you have a chance to get your shot, get it.

Langland received his second dose while still in the COVID ward. He said he developed a slight fever and his joints ached like mad, but that went away after a day or two. As his sister said to him, that just showed the vaccine was working.

After returning to the Soldiers Home in late January, Langland said he had to quarantine in his room for 14 days. When he was wheeled through the hallways for the first time since April he announced, Its good to be home.

Staff at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke welcome back Joe Langland Jr. in late January. Langland had been transferred to Holyoke Medical Center after COVID-19 spread through the Soldiers' Home last spring.

Langland joined the U.S. Army in 1965 and served in Vietnam as a mechanic and specialist 4 with the 61st truck company, which hauled fuel through enemy territory.

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, Langland said he doesnt regret moving into the Soldiers Home while recovering from a serious illness about two years ago.

Superintendent Bennett Walsh and medical director Dr. David Clinton lost their jobs and were indicted on charges of criminal neglect for decisions called catastrophic by an outside investigator hired by the Baker administration. State Secretary of Veterans Services Francisco Urena and other Soldiers Home employees were also forced to resign.

Langland supports Walsh. He said some residents did not always cooperate with rules limiting movement during the outbreak.

I dont give a damn who was in charge. It would have been hard to stop that virus, he said.

Even before the pandemic, studies have found, residents shared rooms and the facility was overcrowded, making it easier to spread disease. Today most of the veterans have their own rooms, although a few are still doubles, said Brooke Karanovich, spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services.

No new residents have been admitted since March, reducing the number of veterans living there currently to 122 from the homes original capacity of about 240, she said.

The Home has not begun accepting new admissions so that it can focus its efforts on infection control and safety of current residents, Karanovich said. While there is no set date that the Home plans to begin accepting new admissions, it will most certainly be after the refresh project has been completed. We look forward to admitting veterans once again when it is safe to do so.

Meanwhile the state is pressing ahead with plans to replace the Soldiers Home, which dates to 1952, with a $300 million new facility at the same site. Advocates, trustees and legislators recently prevailed in their push for the state not to reduce the resident capacity in the new building.

In the meantime, the facility has been going through a $6 million upgrade focused on meeting infection control standards. Old, stained wardrobes were replaced, 70-year-old wallpaper was ripped down and new window treatments were added.

Langland said his new room is fine, but he is disappointed that he has not been allowed to hang anything on the wall.

I had the pictures on the other unit so I thought that was out of the ordinary, he said.

All veterans were told in the summer that industry standards for infection control prevention limit placing things on the wall that cannot be disinfected and cleaned, Karanovich said. Each veteran was given a magnetized white board where they can put pictures and other mementos, and they also received photo albums, all of which met with infection control standards.

Now that some of the units are refreshed, we are currently working on a policy to allow placing framed photographs and pictures that will adhere to safety and infection control standards, she said.

While Langland said he is happy to be back at the Soldiers Home, he said it can be difficult thinking of all the friends and acquaintances he has lost, including those who died of other conditions besides COVID-19.

Can you think of a specific year when you lost almost 100 of your friends? he said. A lot of the guys who died up here were pitch players and a lot of them were my friends.

He talked about friends who gathered regularly to play cards, others he would entertain with his singing of classic songs, and friends he would just chat with at dinner or in the hallways.

But Langland said he is ready to move forward. Once he is out of quarantine he is ready to resume his routine of walking the hallways with his rolling walker for exercise. He is hoping there will soon be an area where people can gather.

A lot of people are in their rooms and they are a little depressed because there isnt much to do, he said.

What he is most looking forward to is getting a singing group together like one he attended in Pelham before he moved to the Soldiers Home.

That group, called Rise Up Singing in Harmony, gathered regularly for potluck dinners and everyone would sing together. He joked that it was supposed to be in harmony, but that wasnt always the case. No one really cared because they were all there to have fun.

Singing can especially helpful for residents with dementia, who often can remember songs despite other memory problems, Langland said.

When residents were first moved to Holyoke Medical Center, Langland said he would stand in the hallway outside friends rooms and sing a few songs to boost their spirits.

I would ask them if they wanted to stop and they would say, No. It breaks up the monotony, he said.

Related Content:

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Facing mounting pressure from Democrats from Albany to Washington, Gov. Andrew Cuomo this morning said hes asked the states attorney general and top judge to appoint an independent lawyer to review accusations of sexual harassment against Cuomo.

We have asked the Attorney General of New York State and the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals to jointly select an independent and qualified lawyer in private practice without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review of the matter and issue a public report, said Beth Garvey, a lawyer who works for the Cuomo administration. The work product will be solely controlled by that independent lawyer personally selected by the Attorney General and Chief Judge.

This move, however, stops short of giving Attorney General Letitia James subpoena power to investigate the claims. James this morning reiterated state law requires an official referral from Cuomo to launch a full-scale investigation.

Given state law, this can only be accomplished through an official referral from the governors office and must include subpoena power.



I urge the governor to make this referral immediately.  NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 28, 2021

That prompted some lawmakers today to call for new legislation that would give those powers directly to the attorney general.

The governor must refer the allegations of sexual harassment to the attorney general, who should have full authority, the subpoena power and with no caveats, Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, tweeted today. If he does not, I call for the Legislature to immediately pass a law giving the attorney general such authority.

Lawmakers are set to return to Albany on Monday.

The Governor must refer the allegations of sexual harassment to the Attorney General, who should have full authority, with subpoena power and with no caveats. If he does not, I call for the Legislature to immediately pass a law giving the Attorney General such authority.  Senator Liz Krueger (@LizKrueger) February 28, 2021

On Saturday, Cuomo, a Democrat who has denied the allegations, had named a former federal judge to lead an inquiry into the claims from two former female staffers.

By this morning, the chorus of criticism that Cuomos response fell short -- including from many Democrats -- grew louder.

More than two dozen Democratic Assemblywomen -- including Pam Hunter of Syracuse -- this morning called on the Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the allegations.

The governors proposal to appoint someone who is not independently elected, has no subpoena authority and no prosecutorial authority is inadequate, the statement said from the 25 lawmakers, who represent districts spanning the state.

That call came after the minority and majority leadership in the New York State Senate and Assembly on Saturday began calling for an independent investigation of Cuomo. Sens. Rachel May and John Mannion, both Democrats representing parts of Syracuse and Central New York, echoed the call.

This morning, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on CNN that President Joe Biden also supported an independent investigation.

In recent days, two former Cuomo staffers have accused the Democratic governor of sexual harassment while they worked for him.

Most recently, Charlotte Bennett told The New York Times this weekend that the governor last year asked her numerous questions about her personal life, including whether she thought age mattered in romantic relationships. Cuomo, 63, told Bennett he was open to relationships with women in their 20s, Bennett told the Times. She is 25 years old.

Last week, Lindsey Boylan said the governor suggested a game of strip poker during a 2017 flight. Another time, he kissed her on the lips, said Boylan, formerly a top staffer in the states economic development office. Shes now running for Manhattan borough president.

Cuomos office released the updated response today at about 11:30 a.m.

The work product will be solely controlled by that independent lawyer personally selected by the Attorney General and Chief Judge, the administration lawyer, Garvey, said in the statement. All members of the Governors office will cooperate fully. We will have no further comment until the report is issued.

That move, too, was criticized by some. State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi tweeted that while she supported the attorney generals role in the investigation, the inclusion of the states top judge was still problematic.

I do NOT support the addition of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, who is not sufficiently independent, as she is a very long time Cuomo ally, tweeted Biaggi, D-Bronx, who chairs the Senates ethics committee.

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.
Due to widespread insecurity across the country, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People says that the Federal Government is losin...

Due to widespread insecurity across the country, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People says that the Federal Government is losing control of security and needs to rid Nigeria of bandits.

MOSOP said Nigeria and Nigerians were under siege, adding that the only way forward was for the government to immediately take control of the security of lives and property.

MOSOP President, Mr Fegalo Nsuke, said these in a statement on Saturday titled, Insecurity: Nigerians under siege, MOSOP tells FG.

The statement, signed by the Secretary-General of the group, Alex Akori, read in part, The government should free the country from bandits. Over a thousand schoolchildren have been kidnapped in Nigeria following the upsurge of banditry in northern Nigeria.

The security situation suggests that things are getting out of control and the government is failing to provide security for the citizens, Nsuke added.
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Imperial Valley News Center

Founder of International Cryptocurrency Companies Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar Securities Fraud Scheme

Brooklyn, New York - Tuesday, in federal court in Brooklyn, an indictment was unsealed charging Krstijan Krstic with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering for his alleged participation in a cryptocurrency scheme in which he solicited U.S. investors using two fraudulent online investment platforms.

Seth D. DuCharme, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, Kristi K. Johnson, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office (FBI), and Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office (IRS-CI), announced the indictment.

As alleged, Krstic convinced U.S. investors to pour millions of dollars into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes through misrepresentations and false statements, and then ran off with their money, stated Acting U.S. Attorney DuCharme. This Office is committed to vigorously prosecuting those who cheat investors." Mr. DuCharme expressed his grateful appreciation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Regional Office, for its assistance with the case.

Mr. Krstic and others devised fraudulent platforms which purported to offer sophisticated options appealing to bitcoin investors, then fabricated positive reports about the company in an attempt to add legitimacy to the scheme, stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Johnson. Cryptocurrency scams are on the rise. The charges against Mr. Krstic should send a message that the FBI and our partners take securities fraud very seriously and will hold accountable individuals who steal from American investors.

Todays indictment of Kristijan Krstic highlights just how seriously IRS Criminal Investigation and the federal law enforcement community are taking criminal activity related to cryptocurrency and online fraud schemes, stated Special Agent-in-Charge Korner. Under the cloak of an international online digital currency exchange, $7 million in investor funds from B2G and Start Options were allegedly funneled from unwitting investors directly to Krstics pocket. Whether online or on the streets, financial crime never pays, and IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work tirelessly to ensure those who are involved are brought to justice.

As alleged in the indictment, Krstic was the founder of two digital-asset investment platforms, Start Options and B2G, and also served as the chief financial officer of Start Options. Between approximately 2017 and 2018, Krstic and others fraudulently induced U.S.-based investors to purchase securities in the form of investment contracts in Start Options and B2G. To perpetuate the fraud, Krstic used the alias Felix Logan and created the Twitter handle @felixlogan_cfo to communicate with investors in Start Options and B2G.

Start Options purported to be an online investment platform that provided cryptocurrency mining and digital-asset trading services, including trading in cryptocurrencies, commodities, stocks and indices. Start Options also claimed that it was the largest Bitcoin exchange in euro volume and liquidity and that it was consistently rated the best and most secure Bitcoin exchange by independent news media. B2G purported to be an ecosystem that would allow users to trade B2G tokens, as well as digital and fiat currencies, on a secure, comprehensive platform. Krstic and others represented that once investors opened a B2G account, a deposit of B2G open[ed] a door to all the curtains inside Aladdins cave. Dollars buy B2G; B2G tokens can be exchanged back into dollars, or for Euros, or for other national fiat currencies. B2G holdings can be traded for original bitcoin or other altcoins.

In reality, the money sent by investors in Start Options and B2G was never invested as promised, and instead was funneled to a Philippines-based financial account and digital-currency wallet, and to a U.S.-based promoter of the fraud. Subsequently, the U.S.-based promoter transferred approximately $7 million in investor funds from B2G and Start Options to Krstic, and Krstic thereafter stopped responding to all communications and absconded with those investors funds. A press release issued by Start Options falsely claimed that the company had been sold to Russian venture capitalists.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Kristic faces up to 20 years imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI. The prosecution is being handled by the Business & Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin T. Farrell, Hiral D. Mehta and David C. Pitluck of the Eastern District of New York, assisted by a Special Agent of the Eastern District of New Yorks Business & Securities Fraud Section and Trial Attorney Kevin Lowell of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura D. Mantell of the Eastern District of New Yorks Civil Division is handling forfeiture matters.

Scott Morrison says a new milestone has been achieved in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout with 300,000 doses of the AstraZenaca version having landed in Sydney on Sunday.

The first doses of this vaccine have arrived from overseas ahead of 50 million doses being manufactured by CSL in Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration will now batch test the vaccines to ensure they meet Australia's strict quality standards.

Scott Morrison has announced a Covid-19 milestone, as 300,000 doses of the AstraZenaca version land in Sydney on Sunday

'This is the next step as we ramp up the vaccine rollout,' the prime minister said in a statement.

Most Australians will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine with the rollout due to commence from March 8, subject to the TGA's testing process.

'Australia is in a unique position because importantly this vaccine gives us the ability to manufacture onshore' Mr Morrison said.

'Every Australian who wishes to be vaccinated will be able to receive a vaccine this year.'

The Therapeutic Goods Administration will now batch test the vaccines to ensure they meet Australia's strict quality standards

Australia started its vaccine program last week with the first injections of the Pfizer vaccine.

Almost 30,000 Australians had been vaccinated since last Monday, including 8110 aged care and disability residents throughout 117 care facilities.

The government is rolling out a second $31 million public information campaign with the COVID-19 vaccination program now fully underway.

Almost 30,000 Australians had been vaccinated since last Monday, including 8110 aged care and disability residents throughout 117 care facilities

'Both the state and territory teams alongside the aged care in-reach teams are ramping up their operations, with more vaccines being distributed across the country in the next week,' Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

When will vaccines be available? It depends on your age, health and job. First in line are the elderly, vulnerable, frontline health workers, hotel quarantine staff, as well as aged and disability workers and residents. That process has already begun. Other Australians over the age of 16 will be then be ranked by health risk to determine when they get the jab, with those more vulnerable prioritised. Health Department boss Brendan Murphy has said it's unlikely people will get to pick if they get the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, as it depends on their profile and category of risk. The government wants the vaccine rollout to be complete by the end of October. Advertisement

The government's initial advertising campaign launched in January focused on informing the Australian community about the Therapeutic Goods Administration's world-leading independent approval process.

'The second round builds on these safety messages and informs the community about Phase 1a of the vaccination program rollout, which prioritises those who are the most at risk of serious illness from the virus,' Mr Hunt said.

'The advertising is important, so people understand how the vaccination program is operating, how they can find out when it will be their turn and answer any questions they have about the vaccines.'

Hotel quarantine, border and frontline health workers started receiving vaccinations this week, but the government has stressed it isn't mandatory.

Mr Morrison said federal and state health officers were monitoring whether to make vaccinations compulsory for some workers.

'Should that be necessary, we would seek to do that on a nationally consistent basis exercised through consistent public health orders,' he said.

A flying squad of 500 nurse immunisers will be dispatched around the nation to vaccinate aged care and disability residents who are in the initial phase.

Hubs at major hospitals will also be ground zero for the Pfizer drug, which is first cab off the rank.

As the program expands, the extensive network of general practices and pharmacies will join the effort - with over 4,6000 practices already been given approval to administer the jab.

A lesser-known fact may be that the Venetian merchant-explorer Marco Polo came to Pulicat Lake where he berthed his boat in 1292 and travelled towards what would have been ancient Madras. Of course, the history of visitors to South India goes way back to Greek and Roman traders. The history of far-flung parts of the world trading with South India goes back centuries, beyond Vasco Da Gama who was one of the most famous traders to come south. A historic visitor in the first century CE was the doubting apostle Saint Thomas, who is celebrated in Chennai with the famous St Thomas Mount named after him and long before that had the Portuguese naming the village of San Thome after him. In the first century CE, he was interred in the basilica in Santhome

It is a matter of curiosity that South Indian history must somehow seem so laid back like its people that it rarely speaks reverently of such old ties as those brought by the likes of Marco Polo. You may not find a plaque or a memorial honouring Marco Polo around Pulicat Lake. Also, given the nature of our school history books, it might appear that the history of India is that of the Mughals and then that of the occupiers who first came here as traders and then became rulers after the Indian Mutiny  the British and their Raj.

It was most fascinating to pore over the book by Rajmohan Gandhi on modern South India which is a history from the 17th century right up to the modern times. This book helps remove the lacuna created by a blind belief in the seat of the Mughal empire and then the capital of the British after they moved to imperial Delhi from trading Calcutta being thought of exclusively as the centre of India and the cradle of its modern history. It might have taken me a while to read this detailed history put down in this great Dravidian story by a scholar and descendant of Mahatma Gandhi. The pandemic helped in creating the time to read such a valuable and well-researched tome.

The author defines the South India story attempted in the book as one of a peninsular region influenced by the oceans, and not by the Himalayas. We must first doff our hats to the scholar who had the vision to see the south, the land of the Dravidians and home of four prominent cultures  Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu  and their myriad subcultures as an entity that stood out on its own and not just an appendage, as a very political India ruled by North Indians thinks of the South in most modern times. In restricting himself to far more modern centuries, Rajmohan cannot dwell on the brilliance of Chola or Pallava architecture or that of the Hoysalas.

He does concede that his book does not seek to unearth hidden knowledge about the past. Selection being a bigger challenge than exclusion, the author brings out people and events from at least four centuries that would help us define South India even better. It enhances our understanding of a diverse land that was attractive enough for northerners to come to conquer far more often than any south Indian ruler looked north to expand his kingdom.

Perhaps, that itself is a definition of South India and its sensibilities through the ages. Raja Raja Cholan may have been an exception in an expansionist view of his grand empire that encompassed vast areas across the eastern seas.

The authors four important dates for perspective are well worth remembering  1498 and the arrival of Vasco da Game in Kerala, 1565 when the Vijayanagara Empire began disintegrating, 1619 and the birth of Fort St George and 1687 when by forcing the independent Sultan of Golconda to surrender, Aurangazeb enforced Mughal authority in the south. Between the first and last dates there are countless personalities of history who are brought to life in colourful manner by a fine storyteller. In describing the fall of the nayakas or viceroys who ruled after the Vijayanagara Empire collapsed, the author has it that the rulers eye was more interested in the courtesans smile than the contentment of the peasants wife or the pride of the artisans mother.

Today, we speak of political conquerors like MGR who were not from Tamil Nadu and still ruled the land. But there could have been no more colourful conqueror than Chanda Sahib, whose real name was Shams-ud-daula Husain Dost Khan, and who was born into the Navaiyat branch of South Indias Muslims whose Arab forefathers had landed on the Konkan coast.

Chanda deposed the Rani of Madurai and proclaimed himself heir to the Hindu Nayaka throne. He was removed in a couple of years by the Nizam who came foraging south but climbed back and became the Carnatic Nawab with the help of the French general Dupleix.

Long before he was beheaded by his captor in another of an endless series of succession battles and his head sent to Muhammad Ali Walajah, Chanda was an enigmatic ruler and able military strategist.

There isnt a page you can turn without learning of old intrigues, battles, conquests and defeats in a land ruled by princes but terrorised by their tax collectors who were ruthless. To evolve into true modernity may have taken centuries, but the book also places in perspective the power of one of Tamil Nadus greatest sons  C. Rajagopalachari, whose primary education as a child was in Telugu, and who went on to shine on the national stage. The author brings out the secret of why Rajaji didnt rise to even greater prominence, which is because Nehru treated him as a go-between to Sardar Patel and after Patels untimely death simply ignored Rajaji.

The governor-general of India, chief minister of Tamil Nadu and once de facto head of the Congress and its freedom movement in the south, may have been wrong in trying to thrust Hindi on Tamil Nadu.

But there are few in TNs history who could have matched his intellectual brilliance and his honesty to human principles as portrayed in his allowing an Untouchable of his time to open a tap in the Brahmin quarters in Salem. He had also said, presciently, in 1919  Let it be clearly understood that we would oppose such legislation vesting in the government the absolute right to suspect and imprison without trial even if the government is democratic and purely Indian, and not bureaucratic and foreign. Look around us today and the import of those words will become obvious.

Modern South India  A History from the 17th Century to Our Times

By RAJMOHAN GANDHI, Aleph, Rs 799
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man is accused of breaking into Fenway Park Saturday morning, according to police officials.

A Boston police spokesman said Seamus Webster, of Newburyport, was arrested Saturday after officers responded to the stadium around 1:40 a.m. in the area of 4 David Ortiz Way.

Webster is now facing charges of trespassing and breaking and entering in the nighttime. He will be arraigned in Roxbury District Court, Boston police said.

Live Boston, the news outlet that first reported the arrest, said Webster and six other people tried to climb the Green Monster. The other six people were stopped and questioned but Webster was arrested.

Two weeks ago, a TikTok video showed two men trespassing on the Fenway Park field, the home of the Boston Red Sox, and Boston police said that incident was under investigation, according to NBC10 Boston.
Four swimmers were rescued at Inch Beach on Saturday with the help of the combined efforts of a group of surfers and members of the public.

Guileen Coast Guard were tasked to the incident at Inch Beach at 2:30 pm on Saturday after four swimmers were pulled out to sea by rip currents.

The swimmers, which were two adults and two children, found themselves in serious trouble amid heavy waves which were close to the rocks.

According to a post by Guileen Coast Guard, efforts were made to reach the swimmers by members of the public and a group of surfers who put their own lives at risk in order to make their way to the scene.

With the help of the surfers and members of the public, the rescue was successfully carried out by Guileen Coast Guard.

All four swimmers were treated onshore before being taken to the hospital for observation.

With the combined efforts of the surfers and members of the public, they managed to rescue the four casualties, the post read.

All four were taken and treated ashore by Guileen Coast Guard until the arrival of 2 NAS ambulances, NAS rapid response and a critical care doctor.

All casualties were taken to hospital for observation, we would like to wish the two adults and two children a speedy recovery.

Guileen Coast Guard extended a special thank you to the members of the public and the surfers who were involved in the rescue.

It was the second swimming incident to occur on the beach that day.

Guileen Coast Guard reminded the public to be aware of the dangers of the water at this time of year.
Important, right? I mean, youre just asking for a disaster if you try and take a shower on that first morning in your new home and theres no shower curtain. Water. Puddles. Everywhere. Not happeningnot on this moms watch.

I headed to Target to prevent the imminent crisis.

Normally when shopping at Target, I will admire the Threshold or Hearth and Home products but then buy the cheaper Bullseye brand when I can get away with it.

For basics like a shower curtain and shower curtain rings, Im all about a deal.

Not this time. Nope, this mother was shopping to PROVIDE for her daughter and guy in their NEW HOME IN CALIFORNIA. No cheapo brands will suffice for this momentous occasion, thank you very much. Only the BEST will do. Bring on the upgrades!

I bypassed the thinnest plastic shower curtains and bought two of the thicker ones, one for each bathroom. I skipped the cheapest plastic curtain rings and bought the fancy metal ones with those little balls that make that noise when you slide the shower curtain that is so satisfying. The kind that really nice hotels use.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 13:57:22|Editor: huaxia

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JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- South African Department of Health on Saturday said the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out is going well with a total of 63,648 people vaccinated in a week since the program started.

"The Sisonke (Together) program is outperforming original targets for number of vaccines delivered in its first week and is set to continue this momentum in its second week as more sites come online," said Department of Health spokesperson Popo Maja.

In the first week, 18 vaccination sites have been set up from scratch, and complex logistics, including cold-chain management, were implemented, with distribution of vaccines and vial filling being carried out smoothly, said the spokesperson.

They have also trained additional health workers, set up an online electronic registration system and ensured the safe and timely vaccination of healthcare professionals, he said.

"We will endeavour to ensure that all healthcare workers are vaccinated in a timely and fair way, starting with patient-facing healthcare workers who are at the highest risk of contracting severe COVID-19," he said.

Maja said they welcome the news about the single dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, of which South Africa has received two batches in February, and was expecting more doses early in March.

South Africa is among the worst-hit African countries in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, according to the Ethiopia-based Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Feb. 17, South Africa's healthcare workers started inoculation against COVID-19 in Cape Town, marking the start of the country's vaccination program. Enditem
An elderly man accused of killing his wife with an axe and a belt allegedly dragged her out of a bedroom of their Gold Coast home and put her body in the garage.

Police investigating the alleged murder-suicide attempt are probing whether Max Beever, 82, then attempted to put his dead wife Robyn into a car.

Cops will allege Mr Beever strangled his wife, also 82, with a belt or a pair of jeans with an axe found near her body, the Courier Mail reported.

Mr Beever was charged with murder after his wife was found dead at the couple's Varsity Lakes residence on Thursday. He is accused of killing his wife as early as 6pm on Wednesday.

Emergency services were alerted to the scene about 1.30pm Thursday after the couple's daughter went to the family home to check on the welfare of her parents.

Max Beever (left) has been charged with the murder of his wife Robyn Beever (right) after her body was found inside their Gold Coast home

Police were quickly on the scene (pictured above) after the body of Mrs Beever was discovered by her daughter at the couple's Varsity Lakes residence on Thursday

Beever is currently under assessment in hospital but once he finishes his medical treatment he is expected to be transferred to a remand prison.

Police are looking into whether Beever attempted to overdose on medication after the alleged murder.

He is expected to apply for bail in the Queensland Supreme Court after being unable to do so in the Southport Magistrates Court because of the seriousness of the charge.

His three children on Saturday offered 'unwavering support' to their father.



Speaking via a statement on behalf of the family lawyer, the children revealed their parents were 'devoted to each other' having met more than 60 years ago in their early 20s.

'Robyn and Max met when they were just 20 years old, and they have been together as a loving couple ever since,' the family said through Mr Beever's lawyer Jonathan Nyst, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'They were devoted to each other and, in their later years, the primary concern of each of them very obviously was the welfare of the other.'

It is understood Mr Beever suffers from Parkinson's disease and Mrs Beever was recently diagnosed with dementia.

Mr Beever (left) allegedly strangled his wife Robyn (right) with with a belt or a pair of jeans with an axe found near her body

The family are said to be devastated by the tragedy, especially the brutal circumstances linked to the loss of their mother.

'Their greatest concern now is for their aged father, who is not in good health, and has not been for a number of years,' the statement from Mr Nyst read.

'He has their unwavering love and support, and they are fully committed to his welfare.'

It remains unclear exactly when Ms Beever died, with a post mortem to fill in the forensic holes.

Mr Beever has so far not co-operated with police, refusing to be interviewed.

His case was mentioned briefly in Southport Magistrates Court on Friday and adjourned until March 5.

by Xinhua writer Yuan Quan

BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Xing Lida, 39, spends his life looking for traces of dinosaurs that became extinct more than 60 million years ago.

Discovering any trace always excites the youthful paleontologist. He once found fossils with footprints of a dinosaur making a U-turn, the world's first evidence of such a maneuver. He was the first to identify tracks of a swimming theropod in China. And he made a mind-blowing finding of parallel tracks left by dromaeosaurs in one site, indicating that the dinosaurs, which were previously thought to be solitary, lived in groups.

His latest discovery is a group of 80 million-year-old tracks left by at least eight dinosaurs in east China's Fujian Province. Such a diverse set of tracks will be part of his map of ancient dinosaur habitats across the country.

An associate professor at China University of Geosciences, Xing spends seven months a year living in rough terrain and weather in order to find tracks and fossils of dinosaurs scattered around the world.

Dinosaurs inhabited the world for some 160 million years. Studying them can help explain the evolution of life on Earth, or answer questions of where humans come from and where we might go, he said.

"These are the ultimate questions of paleontology, the historical mission of all humanity and the purpose of my research."

Xing's blockbuster discovery is a feathered dinosaur tail preserved in a piece of palm-sized amber.

In 2011, while studying in Canada for a master's degree in paleontology, he learned that dinosaur feathers could be preserved in fossil tree resin. He became a frequenter of amber-rich Myanmar, trekking by car, boat and elephant to amber markets.

One day in June 2016, Xing came across a vendor who said there was a special piece of amber with "plants" in it. After taking a close look, Xing believed it contained the remains of an ancient bird or a non-avian dinosaur. The amber set his heart racing, and he immediately took it home for research.

"When I showed the amber sample to my foreign colleagues, they were surprised," Xing recalled.

A team of more than 10 Chinese and foreign experts was set up to study it. After CT scans and microscopic analysis, they ascertained that the fossilized feathered tail, including bones, soft tissue, and even feathers, came from a tiny dinosaur that lived about 99 million years ago.

In December 2016, Xing's team announced the unprecedented discovery, the first time dinosaur material has been found fossilized in amber. It was the world's top fossil find that year.

Dinosaur fossils preserved in amber are more precious than those in rock, as amber can hold the soft tissue, which can indicate what a dinosaur looked like, Xing said.

Xing's passion started in childhood with a book given by his grandfather. He was thrilled by the dinosaur stories and read them again and again.

In high school, he built a website sharing dinosaur information and news from home and abroad. It soon attracted amateurs and specialists.

Dong Zhiming, a paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, praised the website as "an important platform for professionals to learn the latest discoveries and research trends of paleontology."

At the time, few were aware it was the work of a 16-year-old student from south China's Guangdong Province.

In the eyes of his parents, however, studying dinosaurs was not a lucrative career. They chose finance as his major in university.

Xing grew bored after graduation and applied to study paleontology overseas. He became a student of Philip Currie, a Canadian paleontologist and real-life version of Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park movies.

His chief obsession is footprint study, which Xing describes as similar to a criminal investigation.

"Just as the police can estimate the height and weight of a suspect by footprints taken at the scene of a crime, we can use fossilized footprints to estimate a dinosaur's species, walking speed and even environmental information of the dinosaur era," Xing explained.

However, fossil hunters sometimes are treated with suspicion.

Several years ago, Xing and his colleagues were besieged by villagers after they mistakenly wandered into a graveyard during an expedition in north China. The villagers thought they were grave robbers and Xing had to call the police.

He is always at risk. A falling rock just missed his head but smashed his computer during a field trip to northwest China. In Canada, Xing was struck by lightning in a river and fainted. When he woke up, he found himself clutching a fossil in arms.

Even so, he is determined to accelerate his research. In 2012, after hearing of the discovery of dinosaur footprints in Sichuan Province, Xing rushed to the site but found it destroyed by a local mining company. He and his colleagues still tried to document the fractions that remained.

Xing is also fascinated with online science popularization. His posts have attracted over 5 million followers on China's social media, mostly teenagers, and he's a best-selling author of dinosaur-themed science-fiction books.

His two boys are nicknamed "Little Dinosaur" and "Little Flying Dragon."

"Dinosaurs are extinct, but they have been restored in our hands. I am determined to tell their stories all my life," Xing said.

[ Editor: WXL ]
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have given their Archewell website a makeover after officially splitting from the royal family.

In December last year the Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, who are currently living in their $14 million Californian mansion, launched the site of their non-profit organisation, in which they vowed to 'unleash the power of compassion' and Harry described himself as his 'mother's son'.

The couple originally shared two images on the homepage, one of Harry as a boy with Diana, taken at Highgrove in July 1986, and one of Meghan as a girl with her mother, Doria Ragland.

Now, the couple have replaced the emotive statement with a snappier paragraph declaring how they 'drive systemic cultural change' through 'one act of compassion at a time', and used an image of the pair helping distribute school supplies in LA.

The changes comes after the couple were told they could not continue with 'the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service' and were stripped of their remaining patronages following their move to the US.

The Sussexes have updated their Archewell website, swapping an image of Prince Harry's late mother with a picture of the couple volunteering in California (pictured now)

In December last year the pair launched the website of their non-profit organisation, in which they vowed to 'unleash the power of compassion' and Harry described himself as his 'mother's son' (pictured in December)

The Duke and Duchess were stripped of their royal and sporting patronages by the Queen last week, and announced they are expecting their second child on Valentine's Day.

In a joint statement on the newly-updated website, the pair wrote: 'Welcome to Archewell. Through our non-profit work, as well as creative activations, we drive systemic cultural change across all communities, one act of compassion at a time.'

The move may be welcome news to Prince William, who royal sources claimed last year was concerned that his brother Harry 'appeared to be exploiting his mother's iconic status'.

The couple's original Archewell site featured an emotive letter about Prince Harry, Meghan and their relationship with their mothers.

The site still plugs the couple's commercial ventures - Archewell Audio, the brand they have chosen for their 30m podcasting deal with Spotify. Pictured, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their California home

Pictured, Harry and Meghan handing out school supplies, clothing and nappies to families in need at a drive-thru event in Los Angeles last year

The Archewell website had featured this picture of a young Prince Harry sitting on the shoulders of Princess Diana, taken at Highgrove in Gloucestershire in July 1986

It made no reference to Harry's father Prince Charles or to his brother William  and royal expert Phil Dampier said this would not have gone unnoticed by the family.

He told MailOnline at the time: 'I think William will be slightly worried if Harry uses Diana for any of his charitable or commercial ventures without consulting him, and I don't think he would be happy if Harry appears to be exploiting his mother's iconic status.

'It's also very significant that Harry called himself his 'mother's son' but has made no mention of Prince Charles. William is very much following now in his father's footsteps with his environmental and conservation work.'

The site still plugs the couple's commercial ventures - Archewell Audio, the brand they have chosen for their 30m podcasting deal with Spotify, and Archewell Productions, their chosen name for their Netflix production tie-up said to be worth as much as 100m.

Since stepping down as senior royals in March and moving to the US, the couple have been working towards this moment to officially launch, albeit softly, the website and the philosophy behind their organisation Archewell.

Their decision to leave was based as much about financial as personal freedom and the huge sums gives them the capital to pursue their new lifestyle and public goals.

The couple announced they had secured a deal with Spotify last year. It was commercial deals such as this that put the couple at odds with the impartiality required of those in public service and seemingly led to the permanent split with the Firm.

The Duchess of Sussex, 39, appeared alongside the Duke, 36, in a 20-second video to plug their Archewell Audio podcast at a Spotify live stream event broadcast earlier this week

Archewell is expected to focus on the issues the couple have been championing during the pandemic and before - racial justice, gender equity, climate change, mental health, online hate speech and empowering diverse voices.

The foundation's partnership with a range of academic and tech organisations will include financial support.

Sussexes ditch letter about Diana for mission statement Letter shared 31 December: A Letter for 2021 I am my mother's son. And I am our son's mother. Together we bring you Archewell. We believe in the best of humanity. Because we have seen the best of humanity. We have experienced compassion and kindness, From our mothers and strangers alike. In the face of fear, struggle and pain, It can be easy to lose sight of this. Together, we can choose courage, healing, and connection. Together, we can choose to put compassion in action. We invite you to join us. As we work to build a better world, One act of compassion at a time. Harry and Meghan February 2021 update: Welcome to Archewell. Through our non-profit work, as well as creative activations, we drive systemic cultural change across all communities, one act of compassion at a time. Advertisement

Marketing executives have predicted Archewell will become a 'billion-dollar brand'.

The change comes days after they appeared in a 20-second video to plug their Archewell Audio podcast at a Spotify live stream event broadcast earlier this week.

In the brief appearance, Meghan, gushed that they are 'using podcasting to drive powerful conversations', before Harry chimed in 'that inspire, challenge and educate'.

'We created Archwell audio to make sure we can elevate voices that maybe aren't being heard and hear people's stories,' Meghan, who was wearing a 2,645 Oscar de la Renta dress, said.

The Sussexes were last week told they could not continue with 'the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service' and were stripped of their remaining patronages following their move to the US.

Minutes after Buckingham Palace released its statement confirming Meghan and Harry were no-longer working royals, the couple hit back saying they would still 'live a life of service' in a 'barbed' statement dubbed 'horribly disrespectful' to the elderly Queen.

Their definitive split from life as working royals followed a telephone conversation between Harry and his grandmother - which saw the 94-year-old monarch tell her grandson she 'was delighted he has found happiness' and 'only wants the best for him and his family'.

But Harry stressed he is aware of his 'duty to the family' - and has promised 'never do anything to embarrass them'.

Palace insiders earlier revealed that it was Harry who pushed to restart talks over his and Meghan's position early this year.

And Prince Harry's 'unhelpful' appearance on the Late Late Show today is said to have caused 'disquiet' - following an already-tense seven days in Sussex-palace relations.

The Duke claimed that he and Meghan 'never walked away' from the royal family and he did 'what any husband or father would do' by emigrating to Los Angeles from London, declaring: 'I had to get my family out there'.

Describing the couple's decision he said: 'It was never walking away. It was stepping back rather than stepping down. It was a really difficult environment, which I think a lot of people saw. So I did what any father or husband would do and thought: 'How do I get my family out of there'. But we never walked away'.

Critics have questioned the timing of his TV appearance, released just as the Queen gave a rare public statement encouraging all Britons to have the Covid-19 jab.

Others watching the film, where Harry complains about the media attention he received in the UK, urged him to 'stop bl**dy whining' and accused him of 're-writing history' and 'ignoring' the multi-million dollar deals he has signed with Netflix and Spotify.

The royals have already been warned to 'hide behind the sofa' when the Sussexes' incendiary interview with Oprah is broadcast on Sunday March 7, with experts saying the Late Show appearance suggests the 90-minute CBS show will focus much more on Meghan.

In a segment filmed before he and wife Meghan confirmed they will not be returning as working members of the royal family, Harry joined James Corden for a double-decker bus tour of Los Angeles where he broke his silence on quitting as a royal
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An aggressive Covid-19 prevention program in the Marshall Islands has seen Public Health nurses going house-to-house in Majuro to vaccinate local residents for Covid-19. Over 90$ of residents 60-and-over are now vaccinated.

Marshall Islands Journal photo
On Feb. 23, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook of BTS took part in a special episode of MTV Unplugged. During the episode, BTS performed a cover of Coldplays 2005 single Fix You.

After the MTV Unplugged episode aired, German radio host Matthias Matuschik took issue with BTS cover of Fix You, leading him to make racist remarks about the group.

Following international backlash from BTS fans and celebrities, Matuschikthe and the radio station Bayern 3 released apologies that come across as insincere.

BTS | Cindy Ord/WireImage

BTS performed Fix You on MTV Unplugged

On MTV Unplugged Presents: BTS, the septet performed Telepathy, Blue & Grey, Dynamite, and Life Goes On from their 2020 album BE along with the Fix You cover.

All in all, the MTV Unplugged episode was a celebration of BTS momentous work from the past year. Dynamite became BTS first song to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the septet became the first all-South Korean group to hit No. 1 on the chart.

BTS earned a 2021 Grammy Award nomination for Dynamite, making history once again. The 63rd annual Grammy Awards will air on March 14, and the members of BTS are nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

RELATED: BTS Secure Historic Grammy Nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

With Life Goes On, BTS earned their third No. 1 song in history, but also made history by releasing the first non-English-language song to ever debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100.

The Korean band was the subject of racist remarks

On Feb. 24, Matuschik did not like the bands cover of Coldplays Fix You, prompting him to launch into hate speech against BTS. According to the Associated Press, the radio host compared the band to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, describing them as some crappy virus that hopefully there will be a vaccine for soon as well.'

Matuschik tried to excuse his racist comment by assuring his listeners that he was not being racist, with the Associated Press reporting that he said, I have nothing against South Korea, you cant accuse me of xenophobia only because this boyband is from South Korea I have a car from South Korea. I have the coolest car around.

Per the Associated Press, the radio host also said that as punishment for the Coldplay cover, BTS will be vacationing in North Korea for the next 20 years.

The radio station issued an apology

Following the radio broadcast, the outcry against Matuschik and Bayern 3 was swift. Bayern 3 and Matuschik issued formal apologies, but this did little to solve the condemnation.

Instead of taking accountability and showing remorse, the apologies come across as insincere as they reference the troubling comments as Matuschiks opinion.

In a statement released in English, Bayern 3 said:

It is the hallmark of this show and also of the presenter to express his opinion clearly, openly and unvarnished. But in this case, he overshot the mark in his choice of words. As a result of an attempt to present his opinion in an ironically exaggerated manner and with deliberately overdone indignation, he hurt the feelings of many BTS fans. But  as he assured us  this was in no way his intention. He only wanted to express his resentment about the above-mentioned cover version. This is his personal opinion, regardless of the origin and cultural background of the band. You dont have to share this taste as well as the quite coarse way of expression.

In his statement, Matuschik explained that being racist was not his intention, saying:

In my presentation, I was primarily annoyed by the fact that the boy band BTS covered the song Fix you by Coldplay, which I hold in high esteem. The nationality of the seven boys should not matter  mentioning it and making the connection with a virus was completely out of line. I have given this a lot of thought over the past few hours and understand and accept that my words racially offended many of you, especially the Asian community. That was never my intention, but I realize that, in the end, what matters is only how words are perceived  not how they were intended.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time BTS have faced xenophobia and racism. It seems that every time the band members reach a milestone in their career, there are droves of people waiting in line to launch racist attacks.

It is increasingly disheartening that the band continues to be the subject of xenophobic and racist remarks. As violence against Asians rises around the world, Matuschiks racism toward BTS feels especially pointed and dangerous.

In the U.S. alone, Stop AAPI Hate and Asian Americans Advancing Justice have reported more than 3,000 anti-Asian attacks since March 2020 according to USA Today.

By writing off Matuschiks remarks as an opinion, the radio station and Matuschik avoid accountability for igniting hatred against Asians.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivers remarks on the coronavirus disease at the Riverside Church in New York City, on Nov. 15, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Democratic NY State Senator Calls for Cuomos Resignation

New York state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a Democrat, called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign following sexual harassment allegations against the Democratic governor.

As a New Yorker, a legislator, Chair of the Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee, and a survivor of sexual abuse, I am calling for Governor Cuomo to resign, Biaggi, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, wrote on Twitter on Feb. 27.

The statement came after Lindsey Boylan, a candidate for Manhattan borough president who formerly worked under Cuomos administration, said on Feb. 24 that Cuomo had kissed her without her consent and suggested they play strip poker. On Feb. 27, reports said that Charlotte Bennett, a former executive assistant and health policy adviser to the governor, also was sexually harassed by Cuomo, including inappropriate questions.

Cuomos office has categorically denied both womens allegations.

In a statement to The New York Times, which first reported on Bennetts claims, Cuomo said he never made advances toward her, adding: Nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.

The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported, he said in the statement. Ms. Bennett was a hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID, the governor said, before adding, She has every right to speak out.

However, Biaggi asserted that the allegations against Cuomo suggest that hes responsible for a hostile work environment and part of a clear pattern of abuse and manipulation by the governor that makes him unworthy of holding the highest office in New York. As a result, an independent investigation into Cuomos dealings is needed, she argued, saying that the current investigator was arranged by the governors team and is a person who has a work history with [Cuomos] associates.

Cuomos office didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

In recent weeks, Cuomowho has been frequently praised in the media and by various celebrities for how his state handled the pandemichas also come under fire for how his state has handled the CCP virus pandemic, with reports saying his office undercounted or covered up the number of deaths in nursing homes last year. An investigation carried out by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, found that the state may have underreported deaths by as much as 50 percent.

Republicans and a number of Democrats in the state have called on Cuomo to resign over the nursing home deaths. Some Republicans in New York have suggested impeachment, while Democrats have proposed stripping Cuomo of his executive power.

Cuomo, for his part, denied any wrongdoing and defended his offices response.

The New York State Department of Health fully and publicly reported all COVID deaths in nursing homes and hospitals. They have always been fully reported, Cuomo said during a news conference. We paused the state legislatures request. We voluntarily complied with the [Department of Justices] request for information. Two very different things.

The truth is, everybody did the best they could, he said. The truth is, it was the middle of a terrible pandemic. The truth is, COVID attacks older people. The truth is, with all we know, people still die.
The United Workers Union, which represents many of the casino workers on-site, was told of the underpayments only after the inquiries by The Age. The unions casinos director Dario Mujkic said the underpayments were of concern. Ombudsman Sandra Parker said they are under pressure from the number of underpayment cases Credit:Jason South Initial discussions with Crown indicate that these underpayments primarily affect the parts of their workforce that are not covered by union collective agreements, he said. If any of our members are impacted by this we will expect any monies owed repaid in full and quickly. The risk of underpaying workers is best avoided when those workers have a union agreement and are educated about their rights and entitlements through their union. The Fair Work Ombudsman, which has been swamped by underpayment cases in recent years, confirmed the investigation and said Crown had self-reported.

We expect any employers that identify non-compliance to report to the FWO and fully cooperate with our investigation to ensure that employees are quickly repaid any outstanding entitlements, the spokeswoman said. Any workers with concerns about their pay should contact us directly for assistance. The Crown underpayments come amid an ongoing inquiry into wage theft by a Senate economics committee with one day of hearings held last September. Another two days of hearings are scheduled in March. Appearing before that inquiry, Ombudsman Sandra Parker said her organisation had been forced to redeploy staff due to the surge in the number of big corporates under investigation. We are under some pressure, she said. Weve been under pressure because of the re-focusing of our work, if you like, on the corporate sector underpayments. Investigations by The Age have exposed underpayments at dozens of businesses, including at Coles, McDonalds, 7-Eleven, at large franchises, high-profile restaurants and on farms. Last June, the Victorian Parliament passed legislation to make deliberate underpayment of wages a crime. The new laws do not come into effect until mid-2021.
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GRANTS PASS, Ore-- On Saturday, the Grants Pass Police Department hosted a fundraiser event, dubbed 'Dunk a Cop' for Special Olympics Oregon. The event was in the parking lot next to the Dutch Bros coffee stand located near 6th and G Streets in downtown Grants Pass.

Because of current state of emergency, the in-person Polar Plunge for 2021 had to be held, as the police department called it, "Brrr-tually". According to Grants Pass Police, the team had to get creative this year to try to raise funds. To do this the department says that it decided to put their volunteer dunkers, hovering over a freezing tank of water.

Each five dollar donation gave people one try, at sending an officer into the chilling waters. Ten dollars gave a person three tries and for 25 dollars you would get a guaranteed dunk.

Some of the team's plungers included: Capt. Todd Moran, Sgt. Mike Miner, Cadet James Loper, Capt. Jim Hamilton and even a former GPDPS member, Battalion Chief Tom McGowan of the Medford Fire Department.

According to the Grants Pass Police Department, the team is slightly behind the first place Eagle Point PD team. There have been no updates on how much money was raised at today's event.
Growing tomatoes via smartphones and sitting on the top of mountain selling vegetables to the US from a distance are what some Vietnamese farmers are doing today.

People may think that farming means being completely wrapped up in working in the fields or orchards from morning to evening. But they are wrong, said Nguyen Duc Huy, who runs a tomato and hydroponic vegetable farm in Da Lat City.

Huy said the major work of modern farmers is operating smartphones. With an internet-connected smartphone, he can control the development of his tomatoes and hydroponic vegetables at any time, no matter where he is.

After sensors analyze soil conditions and suggest the farming process, Huy just needs to press a button on his smartphone to activate the system which can automatically take care of plants in accordance with set programs. Huy just needs to use a small number of workers to supervise the operation of the machines in the farm.

He began growing beef and picota tomatoes in 2013, after obtaining a masters degree in biology. However, with the traditional cultivation method, the profit from picota tomatoes was just enough to cover the expenses on seedlings because of the low yield.

After failure caused by heavy reliance on natural conditions, Huy decided to create software to specifically control his field. The software connects with a smartphone and computer, and has a tool that understands the ecological happenings in the field, and suggests the best commands.

Like Huy, Nguyen Van Phuc, a farmer with the Suoi Thong Safe Vegetable Cooperative, for the last two years is no longer carrying water on his shoulder to irrigate vegetables. He just checks and enters data into smartphone.

Growing tomatoes via smartphones and sitting on the top of mountain selling vegetables to the US from a distance are what some Vietnamese farmers are doing today.

Pointing to the smartphone, Phuc said the device determines farmers fate. The figures about crops, from watering, fertilizing, weather conditions, and health and harvesting predictions are updated and transmitted to the control center. If problems arise, farmers will be alerted and will seek advice from experts on how to solve the problems.

Phuc said the 1.5 hectare farm brings revenue of VND1.6-2 billion a year. After deducting expenses, he can pocket VND800 million.

Nguyen Dong Hai, the owner of a vegetable in Da Lat, who has successfully started large-scale agricultural production commented that farming now doesnt depend on soil as plants are bred on growing media.

Seeds and seedlings are examined to find germs before farming, while chips are attached to plants to control moisture and nutrition. The chips will issue an alert when plants need additional nutrition or water and nutrition will be provided through an automatic watering system.

All the vegetables from Hais farm are high-quality products provided to large distribution chains. The farm brings turnover of VND60 billion a year.

Selling farm produce through livestreams

Farmers also use many channels to distribute their products.

During Covid-19, Truong Thi Tam, a local seller, livestreamed to sell her goods. Her number of followers improved by 70 times, number of orders by 15 times, and revenue 14 times.

Ngay cua lang dua Ben Tre online (Ben Tre Coconut Day online) was one of the most successful events in 2020, where 2,000 products were sold within one day.

The Vo So e-commerce platform (Voso) project which distributes original Cao Phong oranges in cooperation with the 3T Cao Phong Orange Cooperative has gained encouraging results. The cooperative can sell more than 800 kilograms of oranges via the platform.

Other provinces including Long An, Dong Thap and An Giang are also nurturing plans to put local farm produce on e-commerce platforms, creating a new consumption channel for farmers and businesses.

Meanwhile, a lot of businesses have launched e-commerce websites specializing in farm produce distribution. Of these, ViettelPosts Voso and VietnamPosts Postmart have a great advantage as they have large distribution networks.

The small-scale ineffective production model which lacks connection to value chains is believed to be the bottleneck in Vietnams agriculture.

Experts believe that in addition to developing processing technology and exploiting the domestic market, it is also necessary to accelerate digital transformation. The transformation is not a temporary solution, but a long-term process to change the situation of Vietnams agriculture.

Pham Duc Long, president of VNPT (Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Corporation), which is pioneering smart agriculture solutions, said high technology will help increase productivity and efficiency.

Nguyen Thu Thuy from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)said the agricultural sector has begun applying digital measures in nearly all fields.

IoT (Internet of Things) and Big Data have been applied in cultivation using software which analyze the data on the environment, kinds of plants and plant growth stages.

IoT, Blockchain and biotechnology have been applied on large-scale livestock farms. AI has been used in shrimp hatcheries to analyze the data on water quality, feed, and shrimp health management, thus reducing production costs.

Tam An - Duy Anh

Vietnam agriculture targets big firms but should not forget smaller companies Vietnam tries to attract eagles, or big investors, into agriculture, but it also needs sparrows or cooperatives and small enterprises.
BENTON COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - The Boswell Town Marshal died Sunday morning in a car crash. Kevin McCombs served his community as the Boswell Town Marshal, a Benton County Sheriffs Department Reserve Deputy, and with Benton County EMS.

It happened just before 3:30 a.m. on State Road 352 near County Road 500 East. The Benton County Sheriffs Department responded to the single-vehicle fatal crash and requested the help of Indiana State Police to investigate the crash.

Preliminary investigation by Trooper Jonathan Fulfer found that McCombs was driving a 2018 Ram 2500 westbound on S.R. 352, approaching County Road 500 East. For an unknown reason, the Ram ran off the south side of the road, struck a utility pole, and came to stop in a field.

First responders extracted McCombs from the vehicle and began to render medical aid. Despite lifesaving efforts, McCombs succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash. Notification to the family has been made.

McCombs was off-duty at the time of the crash and driving a personally owned vehicle. He was 34-years-old.

Trooper Fulfer was assisted on scene by Indiana State Police Crash Reconstruction Team, Benton County Sheriffs Department, Fowler Police Department, Benton County Coroners Office, Oxford Fire Department, Benton County EMS, Tipmont REMC, Warren County REMC, NIPSCO, and Bennetts Towing.
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Nicola Sturgeon's official residence has been dubbed a building of 'historic racial injustice' by a council review of controversial landmarks in Edinburgh.

The home of the First Minister of Scotland was one of several buildings highlighted by the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group, lead by Scotland's first black professor Sir Geoff Palmer, 80.

The review - launched by the city's SNP and Labour council coalition - has vowed to 'rectify the glorification of slavery' in the city and would consider the 'removal of statues', The Daily Telegraph reports.

Bute House was formerly occupied by Jamaican sugar plantation owner John Innes Crawford.

British politician Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster - who claimed compensation for his losses following the abolition of slavery - also lived there.

Nicola Sturgeon's (pictured) official residence has been dubbed a building of 'historic racial injustice' by a council review of controversial landmarks in Edinburgh

The home of the First Minister of Scotland (pictured) was one of several buildings highlighted by the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group, lead by Scotland's first black professor Sir Geoff Palmer, 80

Other buildings on the review's list include statues of figures such as Admiral Lord Nelson.

Nelson has been criticised for his support of slaveholders and the British Empire's colonies, as well as his opposition to William Wilberforce who led the movement to abolish the slave trade.

A statue of 19th century philosopher David Hume was also named. He once wrote that black people are 'naturally inferior to whites'.

The dossier also called Queen Victoria a 'colonial ruler' and said poet Robert Burns - widely-regarded as the national poet of Scotland - 'accepted a job working on a Jamaican plantation in a role he described as a "Negro driver".'

A report to the council will be sent by December 2021 - and will either suggest the sites should be removed or reimagined.

Mrs Sturgeon is now facing calls to provide evidence to the review.

British politician Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster - who claimed compensation for his losses following the abolition of slavery - lived in Bute House

It comes as Mrs Sturgeon faces accusations from former-First Minister Alex Salmond that she flouted the ministerial code and launched 'astonishing' attacks on him.

Giving explosive evidence to a Parliamentary probe, Mr Salmond criticised Ms Sturgeon for casting doubt on the court process that cleared him over harassment allegations, and suggested she broke conduct rules in a blistering attack this week.

Human rights activist Sir Geoff took on the role of head the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group in November.

Human rights activist Sir Geoff (pictured) took on the role of head the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group in November

The human rights activist, who became Scotland's first black professor in 1989, said it was an 'honour' to be asked to work with the group at the time.

The city-wide review followed protests over the Melville monument, which commemorates 18th century Home Secretary Henry Dundas, in St Andrew Square.

Dundas delayed the abolition of the slave trade.

The group will consider all options, including the removal of statues, as well as looking at street and building names.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Sir Geoff would also lead an Edinburgh University review into buildings and statues linked with the slave trade.

The consultation follows controversy over the university's decision to rename the David Hume Tower due to the 19th century philosopher's controversial views on race.

Edinburgh University said the consultation - which is set to last around a year - would examine its 'relationship with its past' with recommendations to help better reflect its diversity.

Sir Geoff - a professor emeritus in the school of life sciences at Heriot-Watt University - said: 'We will look at David Hume Tower and other buildings.

'The university has links to buildings all over Edinburgh and we will be looking at these and the individuals linked to them. I imagine it will include statues too.'

It is not clear what buildings and statues will be examined.

In October last year, Edinburgh University said David Hume Tower will now be known as 40 George Square because the leading Enlightenment figure's 'comments on matters of race, though not uncommon at the time, rightly cause distress today'.

Human rights activist Sir Geoff (pictured) revealed in November that he would lead a separate review into controversial statues and street names across Edinburgh

The decision prompted fury among academics and politicians - who blasted the move as 'spineless' and said principal Peter Mathieson should 'hang his head in absolute shame'.

Professor Mathieson said the decision was made because a black student might feel 'deeply uncomfortable being in a building named after someone who considered him a lesser being than other humans'.

In a 1753 essay, the philosopher said black people were 'naturally inferior to whites'.

He added: 'There never was a civilised nation of any other complexion than white nor even any individual eminent either in action or speculation.'

Sir Geoff said: 'That was a prejudice, it was prejudged and not based on evidence.

'The only evidence that Hume had is that someone in Scotland lived in a house and someone in Africa lived in a hut.

'When you back up prejudice with a statement of fact, then it becomes discriminatory.

'That was applied to black people in slavery to justify their enslavement. It was also deployed by the police who killed George Floyd.'

The Black Lives Matter movement was sparked by the killing of Mr Floyd in the US where he was arrested by police.

Protesters tore down a statue of Edward Colston on June 7, 2020, on the same day a memorial to Mr Churchill in London was defaced with the words 'was a racist' written on a plinth underneath.

It prompted a wave of statues being targeted with graffiti or being attacked during protests, culminating in some statues, including ones of Nelson Mandela and Mr Churchill, being covered up to protect them from vandals.

The Topple the Racists campaign launched a comprehensive list of statues it wanted to see removed as it believed the names behind the monuments held racist beliefs.

The list - compiled by the Stop Trump Coalition - pinpoints the locations of 125 under-fire landmarks featured on a map.

The Churchill monument in Parliament Square was defaced with the words 'was a racist' last June

Tower Hamlets Council removed a statue of slave trader Robert Milligan after it was covered and displayed the message 'Black Lives Matter' during last month's protests

Outrage over statues led to Oriel College at Oxford University voting to remove a statue of Cecil Rhodes, a colonialist politician in southern Africa in the 19th century.

Slave trader Robert Milligan's was covered with a shord and the message 'Black Lives Matter' was placed on it in West India Docks amid calls for it to be taken down. It was later removed by Tower Hamlets Council.

Less than a year after it was erected, 'Nazi' was scrawled underneath a statue of Nancy Astor, the first woman to take a seat in Parliament, in Plymouth.

A monument to 19th-century politician Henry Vassall-Fox, the third Baron Holland, was left splattered with red paint in Holland Park. A cardboard sign reading 'I owned 401 slaves' was perched in the bronze statue's arms, with the number painted on the plinth alongside red handprints.

A Grade II-listed monument to Admiral Lord Nelson, Britain's foremost naval hero, which stands in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral, was sprayed with a black 'V' in the middle of a circle - an anarchist symbol.

Red paint spattered another stature of Lord Nelson at Deptford Town Hall in South London.

In Kent, a former councillor wrote 'Dickens Racist' outside a museum dedicated to the beloved 19th century author. Letters sent by the Oliver Twist author showed he wished to 'exterminate' Indian citizens after a failed uprising.

A statue of Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell in Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, had the words 'Cromwell is a cockroach,' 'f*** racist' and the Black Lives Matter acronym 'BLM' scrawled across it last month. Thousands of people were massacred during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

BLM was also scrawled across the Worcester Civil War memorial in Royal Park.

Boris Johnson wrote last year: 'We cannot now try to edit or censor our past. We cannot pretend to have a different history. The statues in our cities and towns were put up by previous generations.

'They had different perspectives, different understandings of right and wrong. But those statues teach us about our past, with all its faults.

'To tear them down would be to lie about our history, and impoverish the education of generations to come.'
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. High 73F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear early, then a few clouds later on. Low 51F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 16:18:10|Editor: huaxia

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A staff member unloads vaccines donated by China at a Philippine Air Force base in Manila, the Philippines on Feb. 28, 2021. A batch of Sinovac vaccine CoronaVac donated by China arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, the first COVID-19 vaccine to reach the Southeast Asian country. The delivery of the vaccines allows the Philippines to start mass vaccinations soon, marking a new phase in the country's fight against the COVID-19 that infected 576,352 and killed 12,318. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

MANILA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A batch of Sinovac vaccine CoronaVac donated by China arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, the first COVID-19 vaccine to reach the Southeast Asian country.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte attended the handover ceremony of the vaccines at a Philippine Air Force base in the capital city of Manila.

The delivery of the vaccines allows the Philippines to start mass vaccinations soon, marking a new phase in the country's fight against the COVID-19 that infected 576,352 and killed 12,318. Enditem
Victorias human rights commission will work with faith leaders and the broader community to educate them about the harms of gay conversion practices and only use the full range of strong new powers granted by the Andrews government if they prove unwilling to act to stamp out the practice.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has been equipped with power to investigate church groups and other organisations engaged in gay conversion practices, including seizing documents and pursuing them in court if they do not comply with orders.

But departing commissioner Kristen Hilton told The Age her office would only use their powers as a last resort if education and outreach failed.

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner Kristen Hilton. Credit:Simon Schluter

Debate about the legislation has largely focused on criminal sanctions  including up to 10 years in jail  for anyone found to have caused serious harm by attempting to change or suppress someones sexuality and gender identity. But much of the impact is likely to come from the civil scheme, which gives the commission the power to conduct own-motion investigations, force people to attend hearings and comply with orders through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and create education programs to prevent such practices.
Equality Act will force people to hide their faith, Sen. Lankford warns at CPAC

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At the Conservative Political Action Conference, a U.S. senator warned that the Equality Act would force people to hide their faith and accused one of President Joe Bidens cabinet nominees of working to manage the faith of Californians.

The first full day of CPAC, an annual gathering of conservative grassroots activists, took place Friday in Orlando, Florida. One of the speakers, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., addressed the topic of freedom of religion.

According to Lankford, You dont have to take off your faith when you leave your house. You dont have to take off your faith when you leave church. In fact, I would remind this group if you dont practice your faith every day, you really dont have a faith, you just have a religious hobby.

The in-group in our society doesnt get to define who can and cannot have faith, what their faith would look like in public or in private, he added. We dont have to submit to the in-crowds secular humanism, which he warned is already underway.

Lankford then cited Xavier Becerra, Bidens nominee to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services, as a supporter of this effort. Lankford described how the tenure of Becerra as attorney general of California was defined by hostility toward religious people who did not want to fund contraception and abortion-inducing drugs in their employer-sponsored healthcare plans.

He led the lawsuit against people of faith like Little Sisters of the Poor, forcing them to choose between shutting down their ministry to elderly poor or to violate their religious beliefs, Lankford said. He worked to manage the faith of Californians.

Lankford also cited the Equality Act, a controversial legislative package that passed the House of Representatives Thursday, as another example of the hostility to religion that is becoming commonplace among some government officials.

Although the Equality Act was billed as a necessary bill to enshrine protections for the LGBT community into law, Lankford warned that under the measure, people of faith cannot say you have faith.

As officials at the Alliance Defending Freedom explained in a recent webinar, the Equality Act contains a ban on sexual orientation and gender identity that could require religious employers to include in their healthcare plans things that they might object to like cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers for children and sex reassignment surgery, and perform other actions that might conflict with their religious beliefs.

In addition to warning about the potential confirmation of Becerra and the possible passage of the Equality Act, Lankford touted a recent U.S. Supreme Court victory for religious freedom.

A couple of years ago in Montana, a mom tried to utilize a state scholarship fund to send her daughters to a Christian school but the state of Montana has specific language in their Constitution that doesnt allow state funds to be used at a religious school, he recalled. After mentioning that the Supreme Court determined that as long as Montana maintained a scholarship program it could not exclude religious schools, Lankford lamented that despite the Supreme Court precedent, several states still have similar language in their state constitutions.

Contending that such language requires the states to discriminate against people of faith, Lankford explained that the language was known as the Blaine Amendment, named after the 1884 presidential candidate who spearheaded it, James Blaine, and written during a time of anti-Catholic fervor in our nation more than a century ago.

That language needs to go, Lankford declared. If youre a state legislator, clear that bigoted language out of your state constitution.

As his speech concluded, Lankford brought up the Abraham Accords, an agreement between the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to recognize the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East and around the world based on mutual understanding and coexistence, as well as respect for human dignity, freedom, including religious freedom.

Freedom is breaking out in the Middle East while the left is trying to shut it down in America, he remarked.

They cannot do that because we are Americans and we have the greatest Constitution in the world, he concluded. The right to have your faith and live your faith is a right. You have to make it a reality by actually living your faith.
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) attends a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College votes of the 2020 presidential election in the House chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, Jan. 6, 2021. (Caroline Brehman/AFP via Getty Images)

Vast Majority of $1.9 Trillion Relief Bill Doesnt Target Pandemic: Rep. Kelly

The vast majority of the COVID-19 relief bill isnt targeted for actual pandemic relief and is intended to back Democratic-controlled states, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) told The Epoch Times at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 28.

The congressman said the $1.9 trillion measure is actually an addition to the $1 trillion already allotted for COVID-19 relief.

I think most of the American people need to know, we already had a trillion dollars worth of money allocated but not yet spent. Now, were going to throw another $1.9 trillion on top of that, Kelly said at the annual conservative conference in Orlando, Florida.

And only about 9 percent of that is going to actually go to COVID relief, the other is going to go to backing blue states that have not been able to run themselves the right way.

Kelly expressed annoyance with the argument that its government money and that its acceptable for them to spend it as such, pointing out that it adds to the national debt.

Not one penny of it is government money. Every single penny of it came out of your pocket; youre going to be co-signing on a debt that goes far into the future. And we know right now, between funded and unfunded liabilities, the total debt in the United States is over $130 trillion, he said.

We talk so quickly about, Oh, its $30 trillion were up to right now. I said no, nofunded and unfunded liabilities [its] $130 trillion. Were spending money like theres no tomorrow.

In an attempt to bypass the necessity for Republican votes in the Senate, Democrats are trying to push the COVID-19 relief bill through the budget reconciliation process.

Kelly said that if one takes a look at the item-for-item list of where the money is planned to be spent, one can find that a lot of it is allocated to House Speaker Nancy Pelosis (D-Calif.) promises.

What in this spending is actually going to help people that have had COVID? And then you get down to the pointno, its not, its going to go for a lot of other features, a lot of other promises that Speaker Pelosi made. And thats whats going to come to fruition right now, he said.

All Democratic senators would have to vote in favor to pass the bill, however, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have expressed objections to including a boost to the federal minimum wage in the bill.

The Congressional Budget Office released a report projecting that an estimated 1 million people would be lifted out of poverty with an increase in the minimum wage, but the report also found that the change would result in the loss of 1.4 million jobs.
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Volume 27 Issue 3 (March/April 2017)

GSA Today

Article, pp. 2735 | Abstract | PDF (450KB)

Zealandia: Earths Hidden Continent

Nick Mortimer1, Hamish J. Campbell2, Andy J. Tulloch1, Peter R. King2, Vaughan M. Stagpoole2, Ray A. Wood2, Mark S. Rattenbury2, Rupert Sutherland3, Chris J. Adams1, Julien Collot4, Maria Seton5 1 GNS Science, Private Bag 1930, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand

2 GNS Science, P.O. Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand

3 SGEES, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand

4 Service Geologique de Nouvelle Caledonie, B.P. 465, Noumea 98845, New Caledonia

5 School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

Abstract A 4.9 Mkm2 region of the southwest Pacific Ocean is made up of continental crust. The region has elevated bathymetry relative to surrounding oceanic crust, diverse and silica-rich rocks, and relatively thick and low-velocity crustal structure. Its isolation from Australia and large area support its definition as a continentZealandia. Zealandia was formerly part of Gondwana. Today it is 94% submerged, mainly as a result of widespread Late Cretaceous crustal thinning preceding supercontinent breakup and consequent isostatic balance. The identification of Zealandia as a geological continent, rather than a collection of continental islands, fragments, and slices, more correctly represents the geology of this part of Earth. Zealandia provides a fresh context in which to investigate processes of continental rifting, thinning, and breakup. Manuscript received 12 Sept. 2016; Revised manuscript received 19 Dec. 2016; Manuscript accepted 21 Dec. 2016; Posted online 9 Feb. 2017 10.1130/GSATG321A.1

Introduction

Earths surface is divided into two types of crust, continental and oceanic, and into 14 major tectonic plates (Fig. 1; Holmes, 1965; Bird, 2003). In combination, these divisions provide a powerful descriptive framework in which to understand and investigate Earths history and processes. In the past 50 years there has been great emphasis and progress in measuring and modeling aspects of plate tectonics at various scales (e.g., Kearey et al., 2009). Simultaneously, there have been advances in our understanding of continental rifting, continent-ocean boundaries (COBs), and the discovery of a number of micro-continental fragments that were stranded in the ocean basins during supercontinent breakups (e.g., Buck, 1991; Lister et al., 1991; Gaina et al., 2003; Franke, 2013; Eagles et al., 2015). But what about the major continents (Fig. 1)? Continents are Earths largest surficial solid objects, and it seems unlikely that a new one could ever be proposed.

Figure 1 Simplified map of Earths tectonic plates and continents, including Zealandia. Continental shelf areas shown in pale colors. Large igneous province (LIP) submarine plateaus shown by blue dashed lines: APAgulhas Plateau; KPKerguelen Plateau; OJPOntong Java Plateau; MPManihiki Plateau; HPHikurangi Plateau. Selected microcontinents and continental fragments shown by black dotted lines: MdMadagascar; MtMauritia; DGulden Draak; TEast Tasman; GGilbert; BBollons; OSouth Orkney. Hammer equal area projection.

The Glossary of Geology defines a continent as one of the Earths major land masses, including both dry land and continental shelves (Neuendorf et al., 2005). It is generally agreed that continents have all the following attributes: (1) high elevation relative to regions floored by oceanic crust; (2) a broad range of siliceous igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks; (3) thicker crust and lower seismic velocity structure than oceanic crustal regions; and (4) well-defined limits around a large enough area to be considered a continent rather than a microcontinent or continental fragment. The first three points are defining elements of continental crust and are explained in many geoscience textbooks and reviews (e.g., Holmes, 1965; Christensen and Mooney, 1995; Levander et al., 2005; Kearey et al., 2009; Condie, 2015). To our knowledge, the last pointhow major a piece of continental crust has to be to be called a continentis almost never discussed, Cogley (1984) being an exception. Perhaps this is because it is assumed that the names of the six geological continentsEurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australiasuffice to describe all major regions of continental crust.

The progressive accumulation of bathymetric, geological, and geophysical data since the nineteenth century has led many authors to apply the adjective continental to New Zealand and some of its nearby submarine plateaus and rises (e.g., Hector, 1895; Hayes, 1935; Thomson and Evison, 1962; Shor et al., 1971; Suggate et al., 1978). New Zealand was listed as a continent by Cogley (1984), but he noted that its continental limits were very sparsely mapped. The name Zealandia was first proposed by Luyendyk (1995) as a collective name for New Zealand, the Chatham Rise, Campbell Plateau, and Lord Howe Rise (Fig. 2). Implicit in Luyendyks paper was that this was a large region of continental crust, although this was only mentioned in passing and he did not characterize and define Zealandia as we do here.

Figure 2 Spatial limits of Zealandia. Base map from Stagpoole (2002) based on data from Smith and Sandwell (1997). Continental basement samples from Suggate et al. (1978), Beggs et al. (1990), Tulloch et al. (1991, 2009), Gamble et al. (1993), McDougall et al. (1994), and Mortimer et al. (1997, 1998, 2006, 2008a, 2008b, 2015). NCNew Caledonia; WTPWest Torres Plateau; CTCato Trough; CfChesterfield Islands; LLord Howe Island; NNorfolk Island; KKermadec Islands; ChChatham Islands; BBounty Islands; AnAntipodes Islands; AuAuckland Islands; CaCampbell Island. Mercator projection.

In this paper we summarize and reassess a variety of geoscience data sets and show that a substantial part of the southwest Pacific Ocean consists of a continuous expanse of continental crust. Furthermore, the 4.9 Mkm2 area of continental crust is large and separate enough to be considered not just as a continental fragment or a microcontinent, but as an actual continentZealandia. This is not a sudden discovery but a gradual realization; as recently as 10 years ago we would not have had the accumulated data or confidence in interpretation to write this paper. Since it was first proposed by Luyendyk (1995), the use of the name Zealandia for a southwest Pacific continent has had moderate uptake (e.g., Mortimer et al., 2006; Grobys et al., 2008; Segev et al., 2012; Mortimer and Campbell, 2014; Graham, 2015). However, it is still not well known to the broad international science community. A correct accounting of Earths continents is important for multiple fields of natural science; the purpose of this paper is to formally put forth the scientific case for the continent of Zealandia (Figs. 1 and 2) and explain why its identification is important.

Zealandia as a Continent

New Zealand and New Caledonia are large, isolated islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean. They have never been regarded as part of the Australian continent, although the geographic term Australasia often is used for the collective land and islands of the southwest Pacific region. In the following sections, we summarize the four key attributes of continents and assess how Zealandia meets these criteria.

Elevation

Continents and their continental shelves vary in height but are always elevated relative to oceanic crust (Cogley, 1984). The elevation is a function of many features, fundamentally lithosphere density and thickness, as well as plate tectonics (e.g., Kearey et al., 2009). The existence of positive bathymetric features north and south of New Zealand has been known for more than a century (Farquhar, 1906). The accuracy and precision of seafloor mapping have improved greatly over the past decades (Brodie, 1964; Smith and Sandwell, 1997; Stagpoole, 2002) and a deliberately chosen color ramp on a satellite gravity-derived bathymetry map provides an excellent visualization of the extent of continental crust (Fig. 2). The approximate edge of Zealandia can be placed where the oceanic abyssal plains meet the base of the continental slope, at water depths between 2500 and 4000 m below sea level. The precise position of the foot of the continental slope around Zealandia was established during numerous surveys in support of New Zealands Law of the Sea submission (Wood et al., 2003; UNCLOS, 2008).

Zealandia is everywhere substantially elevated above the surrounding oceanic crust. The main difference with other continents is that it has much wider and deeper continental shelves than is usually the case (Fig. 1). Zealandia has a modal elevation of ~1100 m (Cogley, 1984) and is ~94% submerged below current sea level. The highest point of Zealandia is AorakiMount Cook at 3724 m.

Geology

By itself, relatively high elevation is not enough to establish that a piece of crust is continental. Oceanic large igneous provinces such as the Ontong Java Plateau (Fig. 1; Coffin and Eldholm, 1994) are elevated but not continental. Rocks of the modern oceanic crust typically comprise basalt and gabbro of Jurassic to Holocene age. In contrast, continents have diverse assemblages of Archean to Holocene igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, such as granite, rhyolite, limestone, quartzite, greywacke, schist, and gneiss, arranged in orogenic belts and sedimentary basins.

Essential geological ground truth for Zealandia is provided by the many island outcrop, drill core, xenolith, and seabed dredge samples of Paleozoic and Mesozoic greywacke, schist, granite, and other siliceous continental rocks that have been found within its limits (Fig. 2). Many of these have been obtained from expeditions in the past 20 years (see Fig. 2, caption). Orogenic belts, of which the Median Batholith and Haast Schist are parts, can be tracked through onland New Zealand and across Zealandia (Fig. 2). Thus, there is a predictable regional coherency and continuity to the offshore basement geology.

Traditionally, continents have been subdivided into cratons, platforms, Phanerozoic orogenic belts, narrow rifts, and broad extensional provinces (Levander et al., 2005). Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia all contain Precambrian cratons. The oldest known rocks in Zealandia are Middle Cambrian limestones of the Takaka Terrane and 490505 Ma granites of the Jacquiery Suite (Mortimer et al., 2014). Precambrian cratonic rocks have not yet been discovered within Zealandia, but their existence has been postulated on the basis of Rodinian to Gondwanan age detrital zircon ratios (Adams and Griffin, 2012). Furthermore, some Zealandia mantle xenoliths give Re-Os ages as old as 2.7 Ga (Liu et al., 2015). Geologically, Zealandia comprises multiple Phanerozoic orogenic belts on which a broad extensional province and several narrow rift zones have been superimposed (Mortimer and Campbell, 2014).

Atop its geological basement rocks, Zealandia has a drape of at least two dozen spatially separate Late Cretaceous to Holocene sedimentary basins. These typically contain 210-km-thick sequences of terrigenous and calcareous strata (Zealandia Megasequence of Mortimer et al., 2014) and include a widespread continental breakup unconformity of ca. 84 Ma age (Bache et al., 2014). The Zealandia Megasequence provides a Zealandia-wide stratigraphic record of continental rifting, and marine transgression events, similar to that seen in formerly conjugate east Australian basins (Blewett, 2012).

Crustal Structure

Continental crust varies considerably in thickness and physical properties. Christensen and Mooney (1995) give an average P wave velocity of 6.5 km1 and mean density of 2830 kgm3 with an average thickness of 46 km for orogens and 30 km for extended crust. In contrast, oceanic crust is typically 7 km thick, and, in its lower part typically has a P wave velocity of 7.5 km1 (White et al., 1992).

From geophysical work, we know that Zealandia has a continental crust velocity structure, Vp, generally <7.0 km1, and a thickness typically ranging from 10 to 30 km throughout its entire extent to >40 km under parts of South Island (Shor et al., 1971; Klingelhoefer et al., 2007; Grobys et al., 2008; Eberhart-Phillips et al., 2010; Segev et al., 2012). Whereas most of Zealandias crust is thinner than the 3046 km that is typical of most continents, the above studies show that it is everywhere thicker than the ~7-km-thick crust of the ocean basins. This result is visible in the global CRUST1.0 model of Laske et al. (2013) shown in Figure 3. Collectively, the crustal structure results show that the rock samples of Figure 2 are not from separate continental fragments or blocks now separated by oceanic crust, but are from a single continental mass.

Figure 3 Present day map of CRUST1.0 crustal thickness (Laske et al., 2013) showing the dispersed Gondwana continents of Australia, Zealandia, East and West Antarctica, and South America. Note thin continental crust in vicinity of Mesozoic arc. MMarion Plateau; RRoss Sea; WWeddell Sea; FFalkland-Malvinas Plateau. LIP abbreviations: KPKerguelen Plateau; OJPOntong Java Plateau; MPManihiki Plateau; HPHikurangi Plateau. Thick coastlines in Antarctica are isostatically corrected ice-free coastlines (Jamieson et al., 2014). Orthographic projection.

The thinnest crust within Zealandia is in the 2200-km-long and 200300-km-wide New Caledonia Trough, where the water depth varies from 1500 to 3500 m (Fig. 2). This raises the question as to whether the trough is floored by oceanic crust or is a failed continental rift. Two wide-angle seismic profiles across the trough near New Caledonia (Klingelhoefer et al., 2007) both show ~25 km of sedimentary cover over 8.5 km of crustal basement that has a velocity of ~7 km1 throughout much of its thickness. Klingelhoefer et al. (2007) noted these profiles as atypical of normal oceanic crust. Sutherland et al. (2010) and Hackney et al. (2012) interpreted the New Caledonia Trough as continental crust that was thinned in the Late Cretaceous and re-deepened in the Eocene due to lithosphere delamination.

Limits and Area

Where oceanic crust abuts continental crust, various kinds of continent-ocean boundaries (COBs) define natural edges to continents (Fig. 1; Eagles et al., 2015). Despite its large area, Greenland is uncontroversially and correctly regarded as part of North America (Figs. 1 and 4). This is because, despite oceanic crust intervening between southern Greenland and Labrador and Baffin Island, North American continental geology is continuous across Nares Strait between northernmost Greenland and Ellesmere Island (Pulvertaft and Dawes, 2011). Tectonic plate boundaries, with or without intervening oceanic crust, provide the basis for continent-continent boundaries between Africa and Eurasia, and North and South America (Fig. 1). Large area is an inherent part of the definition of a continent sensu stricto (Neuendorf et al., 2005). Cogley (1984) defined Central America (1.3 Mkm2), Arabia (4.6 Mkm2), and greater India (4.6 Mkm2) as modern-day continents. This schema has not been generally adopted, probably because Central America (the Chortis block) is a piece of displaced North America, and Arabia and India are transferring to, and are now contiguous with, Eurasia and have clearly defined COBs in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean (Fig. 1). The six commonly recognized geological continents (Africa, Eurasia, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia) are thus not only large but they are also spatially isolated by geologic and/or bathymetric features.

Figure 4 Areas and submergence of all of Earths geological continents (red symbols) along with microcontinents (brown symbols) and intraoceanic large igneous provinces (LIPs, blue symbols) shown in Figures 1 and 2. Note x-axis is log scale. Data mainly after Cogley (1984) except Zealandia data from Mortimer and Campbell (2014); microcontinents after Gaina et al. (2003) and Torsvik et al. (2013). Emergent land area for Antarctica is the isostatically-corrected ice-free bedrock surface from Jamieson et al. (2014). New Guinea and Greenland are arbitrarily given the same submergence value as their parent continents. APAgulhas Plateau; KPKerguelen Plateau; OJPOntong Java Plateau; MPManihiki Plateau; HPHikurangi Plateau; N AmNorth America; S AmSouth America.

At the other end of the size spectrum, a number of continental crust fragments in the worlds oceans are referred to as microcontinents. Examples include the Madagascar, East Tasman, Jan Mayen, Mauritia, and Gulden Draak microcontinents (Gaina et al., 2003; Torsvik et al., 2013; Whittaker et al., 2016). Discriminating between what is a continent and what is a microcontinent may be considered an arbitrary exercise. Nonetheless, maps like Figure 1 need labels. Therefore, following Cogley (1984) and the vagaries of general conventional usage, we propose that the name continent be applied to regions of continental crust that are >1 Mkm2 in area and are bounded by well-defined geologic limits. By this definition India, prior to its collision with Eurasia, would be termed a continent.

The edges of Australia and Zealandia continental crust approach to within 25 km across the Cato Trough (Fig. 2). The Cato Trough is 3600 m deep and floored by oceanic crust (Gaina et al., 1998; Exon et al., 2006). The Australian and Zealandian COBs here coincide with, and have been created by, the Cato Fracture Zone along which there has been ~150 km of dextral strike slip movement, linking Paleogene spreading centers in the Tasman and Coral seas (Fig. 2; Gaina et al., 1998). This spatial and tectonic separation, along with intervening oceanic crust, means that the Zealandia continental crust is physically separate from that of Australia. If the Cato Trough did not exist, then the content of this paper would be describing the scientific advance that the Australian continent was 4.9 Mkm2 larger than previously thought.

Being >1 Mkm2 in area, and bounded by well-defined geologic and geographic limits, Zealandia is, by our definition, large enough to be termed a continent. At 4.9 Mkm2, Zealandia is substantially bigger than any features termed microcontinents and continental fragments, ~12 the area of Mauritia and ~6 the area of Madagascar (Fig. 4). It is also substantially larger than the area of the largest intraoceanic large igneous province, the Ontong Java Plateau (1.9 Mkm2). Zealandia is about the same area as greater India (Figs. 1 and 4). Figure 4 makes a case for a natural twofold grouping of continents and microcontinents.

Discussion and Implications

Recognition

Satellite gravity-derived bathymetry maps (e.g., Fig. 2) have been of immense use in visualizing Zealandia, clarifying its limits, focusing attention on intra-Zealandia structures, and planning research voyages. If the elevation of Earths solid surface had first been mapped in the same way as those of Mars and Venus (which lack the arbitrary datums of opaque liquid oceans), we contend that Zealandia would, much earlier, have been investigated and identified as one of Earths continents. Even relatively recently, some papers refer to the offshore ridges and plateaus of Zealandia as an amalgam of continental fragments and slivers (e.g., Gaina et al., 2003; Blewett, 2012; Higgins et al., 2015) with the explicit or implicit notion that oceanic crust intervenes between the continental fragments. The way in which Zealandia has been divided into blocks to make it amenable to rigid plate reconstructions and the way in which coastlines and outlines have been drafted as floating in the Pacific Ocean (e.g., Gaina et al., 1998, 2003; Lisker and Laufer, 2013; Higgins et al., 2015) has probably sustained this false impression of remote and discombobulated tectonic allochthony and poorly defined COBs. In contrast, we view Zealandia as a coherent, albeit thinned and stretched, continent with interconnected and throughgoing geological provinces (Figs. 2 and 5; Mortimer et al., 2006; Grobys et al., 2008; Tulloch et al., 2009; Adams and Griffin, 2012; Bache et al., 2014; Graham, 2015). Like parts of North America and Eurasia, Zealandia has undergone active deformation in a zone between two essentially rigid platesin Zealandias case, the Pacific and Australian (Fig. 2).

Figure 5 Zealandia as part of the former Gondwana supercontinent. Upper panel shows Mesozoic orogen convergent margin that was active until ca. 105 Ma. Lower panel shows pre-breakup intracontinental extension of Zealandia and West Antarctica from 105 to 85 Ma; seafloor spreading subsequently split Gondwana into its present-day constituent continents (Fig. 3). Orthographic projections with East Antarctica fixed. From Mortimer and Campbell (2014).

Several elevated bathymetric features north of Zealandia are possible candidates for Zealandia prolongations or separate microcontinents (Fig. 2). These include the Three Kings, Lau-Colville, and Tonga-Kermadec ridges and Fiji, which are known Cenozoic volcanic arcs (Graham, 2015), and the Mellish Rise and Louisiade and West Torres plateaus. However, no continental basement rocks have yet been sampled from any of these features, so their continental nature remains unproven.

Development and Submergence

As shown in Figure 4, ~94% of the area of Zealandia currently is submerged. It is not unique in this regard: an ice-free, isostatically corrected West Antarctica would also largely be submerged (Figs. 3 and 4; Jamieson et al., 2014). Zealandia and West Antarctica were formerly adjacent to each other along the southeast Gondwana margin and, prior to thinning and breakup, the orogenic belts, Cordilleran batholiths, and normal continental crustal thickness of eastern Australia would have projected along strike into these areas (Figs. 3 and 5). Several continental metamorphic core complexes (Lister and Davis, 1989) of Late Cretaceous age have been identified in Zealandia and West Antarctica, but not in Australia or East Antarctica (Figs. 3 and 5; Kula et al., 2007). These have been explained by Lister et al. (1991) and Kula et al. (2007) in terms of an asymmetric continent-scale detachment fault model in which Zealandia and West Antarctica are highly extended, lower-plate passive continental margins, and Australia and East Antarctica are relatively unstretched upper plate margins. There is also abundant supporting sedimentary basin evidence that Zealandia experienced widespread Late Cretaceous (ca. 10585 Ma) extension prior to Gondwana supercontinent breakup (e.g., Luyendyk, 1995; Klingelhoefer et al., 2007; Bache et al., 2014; Mortimer et al., 2014; Higgins et al., 2015). The situation of Zealandias Phanerozoic orogen overlying Precambrian mantle (Liu et al., 2015) possibly suggests major tectonic detachments along the Moho.

Thermal relaxation and isostatic balance of the thinned continental crust of Zealandia and West Antarctica ultimately led to their submergence. Despite the pervasive thinning, the only part of Zealandia that might qualify as a hyper-extended zone (i.e., stretched by a factor of 34 with crustal thinning to 8 km or less; Dore and Lundin, 2015) is the New Caledonia Trough. Zealandia and West Antarctica seemingly record a mode of continental crust deformation in which extension, although substantial, is more distributed and less focused than in most examples of continental breakup. Zealandia has a widespread syn-rift Late Cretaceous volcanic record (Tulloch et al., 2009; Mortimer et al., 2014); thus, processes that operate at volcanic rifted margins (Menzies et al., 2002) may be applicable to the broad area of Zealandia.

Significance

Zealandia once made up ~5% of the area of Gondwana. It contains the principal geological record of the Mesozoic convergent margin of southeast Gondwana (Mortimer et al., 2014) and, until the Late Cretaceous, lay Pacificward of half of West Antarctica and all of eastern Australia (Figs. 3 and 5). Thus, depictions of the Paleozoic-Mesozoic geology of Gondwana, eastern Australia, and West Antarctica are both incomplete and misleading if they omit Zealandia.

The importance of Zealandia is not so much that there is now a case for a formerly little-known continent, but that, by virtue of its being thinned and submerged, but not shredded into microcontinents, it is a new and useful continental end member. Zealandia started to separate from Gondwana in the Late Cretaceous as an ~4000-km-long ribbon continent (Fig. 5) but has since undergone substantial intracontinental deformation, to end up in its present shape and position (Figs. 13). To date, Zealandia is little-mentioned and/or entirely overlooked in comparative studies of continental rifting and of COBs (e.g., Buck, 1991; Menzies et al., 2002; Franke, 2013). By including Zealandia in investigations, we can discover more about the rheology, cohesion, and extensional deformation of continental crust and lithosphere.

Gondwana breakup along the paleo-Pacific margin resulted in continents with wide, thinned shelves, such as Zealandia and West Antarctica (Figs. 1 and 3). In contrast, breakup of Gondwanas core resulted in continents with narrow shelves, such as Africa and its neighbors (Fig. 1). Various lithospheric versus mantle controls on styles of continental rifting and breakup are still debated (Ebinger and van Wijk, 2014; Whittaker et al., 2016). The broad spatial association of stretched continental crust with a pre-softened, Mesozoic, paleo-Pacific convergent margin from the Falkland Plateau, through West Antarctica and Zealandia to the Marion Plateau (Fig. 3), is possibly no coincidence (cf. Rey and Muller, 2010). Other proposed controls on the localization of Zealandia-Gondwana breakup include a mantle plume (Weaver et al., 1994), plate capture (Luyendyk, 1995), and/or impingement of an oceanic spreading ridge (Mortimer et al., 2006).

Gaina et al. (2003) proposed that microcontinents are created by plume-controlled ridge jumps during the early stages of supercontinent breakup. The general cohesion of continental crust in extension is attested to by the contrast in size between Zealandia and its neighboring continental fragments of East Tasman, Gilbert, and Bollons seamounts (Figs. 2 and 4). Condie (2015) postulated that ancient and modern continent-continent collisions were a leading cause of continental elevation. The geological history of Zealandia would support this hypothesis: The Paleozoic and Mesozoic orogens of Zealandia are non-collisional (Mortimer et al., 2014), and there is only incipient collision between northern and southern Zealandia across the present-day Pacific-Australian plate boundary. Ironically, for a continent so thoroughly shaped by extensional processes and subsidence, it is the more widely recognized and better-studied convergence across the Cenozoic Pacific-Australian plate boundary that has resulted in any of Zealandia being above the sea.

Conclusions

Zealandia illustrates that the large and the obvious in natural science can be overlooked. Based on various lines of geological and geophysical evidence, particularly those accumulated in the last two decades, we argue that Zealandia is not a collection of partly submerged continental fragments but is a coherent 4.9 Mkm2 continent (Fig. 1). Currently used conventions and definitions of continental crust, continents, and microcontinents require no modification to accommodate Zealandia.

Satellite gravity data sets, New Zealands UNCLOS program, and marine geological expeditions have been major influences in promoting the big picture view necessary to define and recognize Zealandia (Fig. 2). Zealandia is approximately the area of greater India and, like India, Australia, Antarctica, Africa, and South America, was a former part of the Gondwana supercontinent (Figs. 3 and 5). As well as being the seventh largest geological continent (Fig. 1), Zealandia is the youngest, thinnest, and most submerged (Fig. 4). The scientific value of classifying Zealandia as a continent is much more than just an extra name on a list. That a continent can be so submerged yet unfragmented makes it a useful and thought-provoking geodynamic end member in exploring the cohesion and breakup of continental crust.

Acknowledgments

We thank Belinda Smith Lyttle for GIS work and Patti Durance, Ron Hackney, and Brendan Murphy for comments. Formal reviews by Peter Cawood, Jerry Dickens, and an anonymous referee greatly improved the focus and content. This paper is based on work supported by New Zealand Government core funding grants to GNS Science.

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The words and phrases you should never use in a job interview have been revealed - and bragging about being a 'team player' or using industry 'buzzwords' should always be avoided.

Australian recruitment company Seek has revealed the top five words and phrases candidates should never use during a job interview.

Using the right words can help demonstrate your understanding of the position and skills required to make a long-lasting impression during the initial interview stages.

For this reason, commonly overused words should be avoided and replaced with other terms to describe why you're the perfect individual for the role.

Using the right words during a job interview can help demonstrate your understanding of the position and skills required

Don't use overused words

Jason Walker, previous director at recruitment firm Hays, said some frequently used words can easily be replaced with better options.

The top three words to avoid include 'we', 'obviously' and 'workaholic', and instead use 'I' to explain your experiences and knowledge.

The interviewer wants to hear what you achieved to contribute to the previous company, rather than what the department achieved.

Walker also said you 'should not assume that anything is obvious' when meeting interviewers for the first time.

The top three words to avoid include 'we', 'obviously' and 'workaholic', and instead use 'I' and explain your experiences or knowledge

Don't use generic terms

Ian Scott, manager at Randstad Technologies, said to remove any generic terminology from your interview vocabulary.

Scott said the top two terms to avoid are 'challenge' and 'motivated by change'.

'Rarely do people follow this up with a good explanation of what challenges them or even examples of challenges they have met, their reaction to the challenge at hand and the result of their response,' he said.

Avoid buzzwords

Certain buzzwords are also commonly overused and should be refrained from using continuously, such as 'motivated', 'people person', 'dedicated' and 'team player'.

These words can be avoided and replaced by sharing examples of past experiences in the workplace.

Instead Seek recommends using the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Results.

This technique can be used to describe a particular situation, identify the task at hand and the action required to achieve the results.
Oscar Traynor not only took part in the Easter Rising, joining the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War but also claimed soccer was not a foreign sport, a Celtic game, pure and simple, having its roots in the Highlands of Scotland. One hundred years on, even wilder claims are being made and with the same spirit of principle over pragmatism.

The decision by Dublin city councillors in November to delay the Oscar Traynor Road development epitomises the muddled ideological battle lines and bloody-minded politicking that have delayed Irelands response to the housing crisis.

Having approved the project in 2017, councillors have now decided to start from scratch  objecting to the role of a private developer. Construction on new cross-party alternative plans is unlikely to begin before 2024 whereas the original plan for 850 homes could have seen building commence this year.

The opposition is best characterised by the mantra public housing on public land  a particular abhorrence to private developers making profits on social housing provision. However, there is no State homebuilder. The Government does not employ construction workers. Social housing development of any kind, direct build, or turnkey acquisitions from private developers will involve profits for the private sector.

Then there is the question of tenure mix. The original plan was 50pc private, 30pc social and 20pc affordable. The new plans envisage only social and affordable housing. It will be interesting to see how they proceed through the planning process. As Brendan Kenny, deputy chief executive of Dublin City Council, put it, opposition to social housing is the norm rather than the exception.

The bigger issue is the proposal runs counter to the policy of mixed private and social developments, the risk of ghettoisation and repeating the mistakes associated with areas such as Ballymun.

There is also little appreciation that higher profit margins on private housing within a mixed development can allow a smaller return on the social/affordable component  effectively a subsidy. There may also be costs such as infrastructure and utilities, which are best shared across both public and private housing.

Then there are risks of planning, delivery and of rising build costs which are borne by the developer de-risking the project from the local authorities standpoint. Suffice to say, rising procurement costs are a regular feature of public capital expenditure. Highlighting the National Childrens Hospital in this regard is probably a cheap shot  but rising delivery costs are clearly a key concern when local authorities seek to build social housing directly.

State cant build more cheaply

Perhaps the key objection to the Oscar Traynor Road development is the view that better value for money can be secured by local authorities building directly, rather than partnering with private developers. The arguments here can certainly seem compelling.

Surely cheaper homes can be secured if the developers profit margin is eliminated and by taking advantage of the Governments lower funding costs?

However, the reality is far more complicated.

In October, a report from the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Services (IGEES) provided a high-level analysis that turnkey acquisitions of social housing built by private developers costed 258,000 on average through 2016-2019, substantially higher than 230,000 for direct build by local authorities.

However, this analysis compared apples with oranges across multiple dimensions. Pat Farrell of Irish Institutional Property (IIP) has pointed out the IGEES analysis was based on incomplete data and included higher cost urban regeneration projects for private turnkey acquisitions, but not public direct builds.

Comparison of build costs is extremely difficult, varying site-to-site and over time, depending on whether land, professional fees, utilities and value-added-tax are included. So simple averages of build costs are often misleading, especially likely on the relatively small numbers of social housing units that were analysed in the IGEES report. Any respectable academic analysis would have been naturally suspicious of the qualified conclusions and taken them with several grains of salt.

In fairness, the IGEES report contained many caveats to its conclusions. However, these warnings didnt stop several commentators taking to the national media to highlight the IGEESS report as evidence Dublin City Council would be ripped-off by partnering with a private developer  adding to political pressures to re-think the Oscar Traynor Road development.

Brendan Kenny has painted a very different picture. Across seven social housing schemes for 461 units approved since 2019, new data shows the average direct build cost was a staggering 429,000, even though this figure excludes land costs. Kenny concluded the figures dispel the notion it is cheaper for Dublin City Council to directly deliver the construction of social housing. Furthermore, the abandoned Oscar Traynor Road project would have delivered units at a substantially lower cost closer to 390,000.

The key question here is why? If a private developers profit margin can be eliminated, why is it so expensive for Dublin City Council to build directly? One concern is that DCCs design standards are over-zealous and not focused on cost efficiency. That said, it may not be fair to compare the build cost of difficult inner-city projects to other developments.

However, Brendan Kenny has provided a worrying analysis of Dublin City Councils procurement process. Each project is a one-off, open tender process. There is no opportunity to realise economies of scale exploited by private developers, who can offer sub-contractors a long-term stream of work and hence bid prices down.

Kenny also made the astonishing admission there is no workable procurement methodology for the city council to negotiate on price. Also, the number of contractors competing for major DCC residential projects has reduced in recent years, putting further upward pressure on costs.

Chief Quantity Surveyor Mark Bourke has drawn attention to red-tape and administration reducing the number of contractors bidding for public projects. Also, the complexity of the procurement process and design of schemes is leading to inflated costs. This process hardly seems likely to deliver value for money.

Perhaps the only clear conclusion is that there are a range of outcomes. It is possible local authorities may be able to secure better value on some smaller, simpler sites by building directly. When private developers expertise and resources are needed and sorely lacking in local authorities, they should be utilised on larger, more difficult complex sites. However, this nuanced approach is a million miles away from the ideologically driven and shrill public debate on housing provision.

For completeness, the possibility that broader party-political concerns and general election prospects are hindering the delivery of social housing shouldnt be dismissed.

The councillors who control DCC may still see themselves in opposition to the government of the day  rather than accountable for the effective delivery of housing.

Dublin City councillors decisions warrant greater scrutiny, ideally elevated above analysis of a former Minister for Housing whose posh accent seemed more worthy of debate than housing policy. This is especially true when councillors go against the recommendation of the Dublin City Council executive, who had followed through on the councillors decision on the tenure mix in 2017.

The principle there should be financial penalties for using land inefficiently has already been accepted through the vacant site levy, set at a substantial 7pc since 2019 for private landowners, albeit implemented in a slow and lacklustre fashion by local authorities.

Unfortunately, there is no similar financial penalty for county and city councillors who prevaricate over fiascos such as Oscar Traynor Road. So the new Land Development Agency (LDA) bill  allowing local authorities to potentially transfer land to the LDA without council votes, should be welcomed.

Any country that allows populism to influence housing policy unhindered and free of accountability isnt a country that takes housing policy seriously. To coin a phrase use it or lose it.

Conall MacCoille is chief economist at Davy
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said the number of people with Covid-19 in hospital has fallen by 38pc in the past fortnight.

Since the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Ireland last February, our lives have changed in ways we never thought possible, he said this evening.

We have seen week on week reductions in case numbers over the past six weeks and we are on track to have an incidence which is amongst the lowest in Europe.

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The number of people in hospital has fallen by 38pc over the past fortnight.

He was speaking as the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said it had been notified of six additional deaths related to Covid-19, and all of these deaths occurred in February.

It was notified of 612 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

We have an educated and informed public and most people continue to do most of the right things most of the time  overcoming disinformation and playing their part in solidarity with one another, said Dr Glynn.

We have three highly effective vaccines with more on the way, supply is ramping up and we are on course to have given about 80pc of adults at least one dose by the end of June.

Dr Glynn said the vaccines are already having a very positive impact here with cases falling dramatically among healthcare workers and in our nursing homes.

While new variants have brought uncertainty, the existing vaccines perform well against them and work is already underway to develop booster versions should they be required.

We still have a way to go. Our case numbers are still far too high and we must continue to do all we can to suppress this disease over the coming weeks. But if we can do this successfully through March, our focus will begin to turn to what we can do, rather than what we cannot.

Yes, we need to be cautious and yes, there will be challenges over the coming months. But together, through science and solidarity, we will get through this and this pandemic will end, he said.

A breakdown of the cases showed that 289 were Dublin, 45 in Limerick, 34 in Longford, 33 in Galway, 26 in Kildare and the remaining cases are spread across 19 other counties.

Some 554 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 133 are in intensive care units.

Separately, an expert has said that a handshake greeting may become a thing of the past as a result of Covid-19.

The HSEs Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry was asked on RTEs This Week radio programme about what life may be like after the vaccine programme has been completed.

"I dont expect any of us believe life will go back exactly to where it was, whatever about the handshake which may be beyond resuscitation as a social exercise, I think hugging will certainly come back.

"But I think at this stage there is much more hope than despair looking at the real world evidence of the vaccine, as it is rolled out in Israel, Scotland, England and other countries, said Dr Henry, pointing to the drop in hospitalisation rates, serious illness and death in the most vulnerable groups.
Anjali Sharma first felt a sick sense of climate-related dread in the pit of her stomach when she was a primary school student.

Keen to find out more about climate change, the 16-year-old watched an online video that warned Earth only had eight years before it reached a tipping point, triggering an irreversible chain of environmental damage.

Anjali Sharma, 16, and her litigation guardian Sister Brigid Arthur, 86. Credit:Justin McManus

She watched other videos too, about the science of climate change and the difference between 1 and 2 degrees of global warming.

It dawned on her what this meant for her extended family in India, farmers who relied on monsoon rains and a stable climate for their livelihoods.
Kumbh Mela: Penal action to be taken against violators of COVID-19 SOPs

India

pti-Deepika S

Dehradun, Feb 28: Ahead of the Kumbh mela in Haridwar, the Uttarakhand government has issued standard operating procedures making it mandatory for devotees to produce a negative report of RT-PCR test conducted not earlier than 72 hours of arrival and warning of penal action against COVID-19 SOP violators.

Based on the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the SOP also makes it compulsory for devotees to bring a medical fitness certificate and an e-pass or e-permit issued to them after registering on the Kumbh Mela web portal, Chief Secretary Om Prakash said.

The Kumbh Mela is likely to begin on April 1 and will go on only for 28 days. The duration of Kumbh is being shortened to prevent spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The devotees may carry their test reports, fitness certificate and e-passes on their mobile phones or in hard copies for verification as and when required, Prakash said.

Active case count hits zero, Arunachal turns coronavirus-free

All state governments have been requested to widely publicise the SOP so that there is no confusion about it among the devotees, he said.

The state health department has been asked to ensure that healthcare personnel and other frontline workers to be deployed on Kumbh duty are administered the COVID vaccine doses on priority, the official said.

Officials have also been asked to promote COVID appropriate behaviour like maintaining a distance of 6 feet between two persons in public places, wearing of masks and frequent hand sanitisation, the chief secretary said.

International travellers coming for Kumbh will also have to observe the SOP besides following the travel advisory available on the website of MoHFW for international arrivals.

Any violation of the SOP will attract penal action against the defaulters, he said.

The SOP is to be adhered to at all facilities in the Kumbh Mela area including parking lots, ghats, railway stations, bus stands, hotels, guest houses, ashrams and dharmashalas during the entire duration of the event, he said.

Birds Of A Feather's Pauline Quirke was cropped out of a cast photo shared in November 2020 amid claims her 50-year friendship with Lesley Joseph and Linda Robson has ended.

The actress, 61, posed with her former co-stars for a press photo from a revived series in September 2015, but was noticeably edited out when the image was uploaded to Lesley's Instagram account late last year.

Earlier this week, reports claimed Pauline is no longer on amicable terms with Linda, 62, after she was involved in a tense face-off with fellow TV star Lesley, 75, outside TV studio toilets.

Where is she? Birds Of A Feather's Pauline Quirke was cropped out of a photo shared last November amid claims her 50-year friendship with Lesley Joseph and Linda Robson has ended

The image caption read: 'CONFIRMED: Birds Of A Feather is returning this Christmas for a one-off episode starring Les Dennis as Dorians new fella.. but Pauline Quirke will NOT appear as shes taking a step back from acting!'

On their damaged relationship, a source told The Sun: 'It was a subtle slight on Lesley's side  but then Pauline had snubbed them by refusing to return to the show and engage in communication.'

The publication alleged the bust-up could date back to 1997, when Pauline received a BAFTA nomination for her role in The Sculptress, and reportedly asked for a bigger salary for her Birds Of A Feather stint through her manager husband Steve Sheen.

The original: The actress, 61, featured in a press snap from a revived series in September 2015, but was noticeably edited out when the image was uploaded to Lesley's Instagram account

Drama: Earlier this week, reports claimed Pauline is no longer on amicable terms with Linda, 62, after she was involved in a tense face-off with fellow TV star Lesley, 75, outside TV studios

Money issues: A source has alleged the bust-up could date back to 1997, when Pauline received a BAFTA nomination for The Sculptress (pictured R), and 'asked for a bigger salary'

The insider added: 'Steve was not especially popular on set. He asked for more money, which he felt was valid after her Bafta nomination, so the women started to drift apart.

'The sense now is that they will never repair their friendship. Linda does not believe they will ever speak again.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Linda, Pauline and Lesley for further comment.

Earlier this month, Loose Women panellist Linda left Pauline out of a gushing Instagram post paying tribute to her 'favourite girls.'

Following reports that the pair have fallen out following a huge row, the presenter posted a gallery of snaps featuring female friends and loved ones to mark 'Galentine's Day' on February 14, with Pauline absent.

Her post included several snaps with her Loose Women co-stars, including an image with Nadia Sawalha from her emotional return to the show last year.

Ouch: Earlier this month, Loose Women panellist Linda left Pauline out of a gushing Instagram post paying tribute to her 'favourite girls'

Cute: Among the images Linda shared were a snap of her daughters Lauren and Bobbie (left), as well as one with her beloved granddaughters Betsy and Lila

Close bond: One snap showed Linda sweetly embracing Nadia Sawalha, taken from her return to Loose Women following a break in January 2020

The post was captioned: 'A few (but not all) of my favourite gals #Galentine.'

Several of Linda's followers noted that Pauline was absent from the tribute, with one writing: 'Can we see one of you and Pauline?'

Another added: '@lindarobson58 where's Pauline Quirke?' with a third writing: 'The fact Pauline is missing is very disappointing. Friends should be able to conquer anything.

Poignant: The presenter also paid tribute to her sisters Tina and Debbie with one of the snaps

Observant: Several of her followers noted that Pauline was absent from the tribute and questioned why

'The recent lockdown shows that friendship should mean something. 50 + years. That must count for something. My best friend is everything to me, and we make sure we never sleep on an argument. Fix it. Now. You will regret.'

Pauline's friendship is believed to have ended after an argument with Lesley outside TV studio toilets.

According to a report, the women were 'basically pulled apart' by Teddington Studios' crew members who were left 'stunned' over the alleged incident.

Face-off? According to a report, the women were 'basically pulled apart' by Teddington Studios' crew members who were left 'stunned' over the alleged incident (pictured in 2012)

Pauline and Linda played sisters in the hit comedy, and as real-life childhood best friends appeared to be a perfect fit for the roles.

But the frequent on-screen bickering between their characters Sharon Theodopolopodous and Tracey Stubbs appears to have exploded into the actors' real lives, prompting fears for the future of the long-running programme.

The Mail on Sunday first revealed that a seemingly irreparable rift has developed between Pauline and Linda, whose bond once helped cement their reputation as among the UK's most popular double acts.

Insiders said there have been 'real and tense issues' which resulted in Pauline refusing to take part in the 30th anniversary show, which aired in 2019.

At the same time, Linda grew closer to co-star Lesley, who plays man-eating neighbour Dorien Green, and the pair decided not to ask Pauline to take part in 2020's Christmas special.

The fall-out seemingly marks an end to Pauline's much-loved character of Sharon, whose recent absences have been explained by the character heading off on a cruise.

One friend said: 'Both Linda and Lesley were saddened that Pauline didn't want to return to make a 30th anniversary episode. Linda and Pauline used to be very close, less so Pauline and Lesley.

'I think Pauline resented the attention that Lesley got and it was very tense and difficult to navigate at times.

'Pauline wasn't approached about the Christmas special. The atmosphere on the set had previously become difficult, there were real and tense issues.'

The trio shot to fame in 1989 when Birds Of A Feather began on BBC1. Following the lives of two sisters who move in together after their husbands are jailed for armed robbery, it ran for nine years.

It was later revived in 2014 on ITV by its original writers and creators Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.

Rise to fame: Linda and Pauline are pictured in 1993

The Christmas special pulled in an impressive 7.9 million viewers, and it is understood that Linda and Lesley are keen to continue with the Essex-set show. But sources say ITV are not convinced they want to make another series.

Claims of Pauline's allegedly 'demanding' and 'difficult' behaviour on set were blamed as factors for the original fall out, and in a bid to secure the future of the show, a new character called Jordan  dubbed a 'mini-me' of Sharon  was introduced.

The friend added: 'It appears that Sharon has been replaced by another character so that the show can go on. It is all very sad. Pauline and Linda have been friends for more than half a century and, of course, Lesley has known the women for at least 30 of those years.'

To complicate matters, Pauline's son Charlie also stars on the show as Travis Stubbs, Tracey's youngest son. He appeared in the Christmas special and at the time ITV tried to explain her absence.

A spokesperson said: 'Unfortunately, Pauline Quirke will not be taking part as she's stepping back from acting to focus on her 200 nationwide performing arts academies.'

In the show, only a photograph of Sharon was seen and the storyline was written to say that she was on a cruise, during which she had met a Costa Rican hunk and married him.

Irreparable: Earlier this month, The Mail on Sunday revealed that a seemingly irreparable rift has developed between Pauline and Linda (pictured in 1989)

Last year, Linda described her long friendship with Pauline, saying: 'We were friends from ten years of age. We went to the same primary school and we started taking acting classes together.

'We were known as the real kids, or the cockney kids off the street. We've both been really good friends, and we're still working 52 years later.'

Linda and Lesley revealed in an interview with bingo company Mecca that they had met up during the pandemic when restrictions allowed, but there was no mention of Pauline.

The two women declined to comment at the time. Pauline Quirke's spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
Israel, UAE sign tax treaty

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Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor"

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EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior

Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman

Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit

Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections

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Researchers have found that the Ice Age sea-level changes in the genomes of Caribbean and Pacific crocodiles in Panama caused the species' evolution that survived for over 200 million years. According to research conducted by the scientists at McGill University, American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) are found in the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of the Neotropics but they arrived in the Pacific before Panama existed. The skilled swimmer species could travel long distances and live in freshwater to marine environments, but could hardly migrate far on the overland. A study published in the journal Science found that the alteration in the genes of the crocodiles was caused nearly 3 million years ago, when the formation of the Isthmus of Panama altered global ocean circulation, connecting North and South America and establishing the Caribbean Sea.

"This resulted in widespread mixing of species on the continent and separation in the seas. On land, mammals from North America such as mammoths, saber-toothed cats, horses, and camels invaded South America, and strange mammals like giant ground sloths, armadillos, and opossums from South America invaded North America," researchers purported in the study.

Further, they explained that during this event, known as the Great American Interchange, many species evolved separately into Pacific and Caribbean waters. However, researchers speculated that the American crocodiles living on the Pacific coast should have diverged genetically enough from Caribbean populations to become unique species. But as per the new research, as scientists sequenced the crocodile's genomes, it was found that the evolutionary divergence in the crocodiles was caused during the Glacial and interglacial cycles in the Ice Age.

Read: UK's Leader Warns Climate Change Threatens World Security

Read: Siberia: 'Best-preserved' Woolly Rhino From Ice Age Recovered From Permafrost

[Ice Age fossil of a crocodile. Credit: Twitter/@TheFatWombat]

[Researchers sequenced the genomes of crocodiles to look for small variations in their DNA. Credit: McGill university]

Transformation during an interglacial period

Peak polar glaciations was separated by intervals of the warm periods, which caused drastic sea levels to rise over 100 meters globally compared to present-day levels, the study found. Most of Panama was underwater with the coasts separated by brackish lagoons, small rivers, and thin stretches of land. "These are the reasons why we think crocodiles were able to pass from coast to coast freely and explain why their oldest genetic signature of separation coincides with this time," Professor Larsson, Director of the Redpath Museum at McGill explained. "This time of separation is a far cry from the 3 million years we were expecting," he said, adding that it did match the last interglacial period of the Ice Age.

Read: UN: New Climate Pledges Nowhere Near The Ambition Needed To Meet Paris Agreement Goal

Read: Critically Endangered Siamese Crocodile Spotted In Thailand, Conservationists Elated

(Image Credit: Unsplash)
As job losses surge due to the pandemic, demand for food handouts has skyrocketed in Japan, prompting the government to release stockpiled rice to charities for the first time last May. Another expanded program started this month.

The pandemic has highlighted often-overlooked poverty in Japan, which boasts the worlds third largest economy but where the poverty rate stands at 15.7%, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

On top of this, the average number of available jobs per applicant saw its biggest decline in 45 years in 2020, while the average jobless rate rose for the first time in 11 years.

But the move by the government to release stockpiled rice to charities comes with the requirement that it be used for children, which campaigners fear limits the impact and they are calling for the rules to be eased.

Were bound by the law to use the stockpile only in the event of a supply shortage in the market, or for the purpose of food education. We cant use it for welfare, said an official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). This is the extent of what we can do.

Japan adopted a policy of keeping an emergency stockpile of rice shortly after a bad harvest in 1993 caused a critical shortage of the national staple.

Falling through the cracks

A rolling stock of about 1 million tons is maintained in warehouses around the country, with older rice sold as feed. Japan consumes about 8.5 million tons of rice annually, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), making it the worlds ninth largest consumer.

Food banks have lobbied the government for years to release some of the rice to them, but legal restrictions regarding the stockpile made that impossible.

The government does provide some stockpiled rice to public schools for free, but this is deemed food education  teaching children about the importance of rice to Japanese culture.

But when the pandemic forced most schools in Japan to close last spring, operators of cafeterias providing free food for children, known as kodomo shokudo, managed to convince the government to supply free rice from the stockpile, arguing that many children were going hungry without their school lunches.
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday, adding a third vaccine to the U.S. arsenal to fight the pandemic.

Todays emergency use authorization of the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine is another milestone as we work to end the Covid-19 pandemic, said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Guided by our careful review of the science and data, we have determined that the vaccines known potential benefits clearly outweigh its known potential risks.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The decision comes one day after an advisory committee to the FDA voted unanimously in favor of recommending the vaccine.

"We're in a race between the virus mutating, with new variants coming out that can cause further disease, and stopping it," said Dr. Jay Portnoy, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and a member of the advisory committee.

"The fewer people who are infected with the virus, the less opportunity it has to emerge as a more virulent strain."

President Joe Biden released a statement after the announcement, calling the decision "exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis."

Doses are expected to begin shipping Monday, starting with about 4 million of them. Johnson & Johnson, which developed the vaccine in partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, said that 20 million doses will be available by the end of March.

That will be enough to fully vaccinate 20 million people, because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is given as a single dose. The other available vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are given as two doses each, three to four weeks apart.

Though the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be given as a single dose, the company is studying the impact of a second dose.

Story continues

On Friday, members of the FDA's panel of independent experts wondered what would happen if a two-dose formulation is ultimately authorized.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, suggested it might be difficult to communicate the change to those who only received the one dose.

"You can see where that would be confusing to people where they may be thinking, 'Maybe I didnt get what I need?'"

An FDA analysis, posted online Wednesday, found the vaccine to be safe and effective. The single shot was shown to be 86 percent effective at preventing severe disease. In the U.S., the shot was found to be 72 percent effective at preventing moderate to severe disease. In South Africa, where a worrisome variant is circulating, that number was lower: 64 percent.

"People should take the vaccine they are able to access," said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock. "All these vaccines meet our standards for effectiveness."

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, applauded the FDA's decision.

"With three Covid-19 vaccines now available, the number of cases and deaths around the country continuing to fall, and Congress taking steps toward approving additional critically needed economic relief, I have never been more encouraged that we might be finally turning the corner on this pandemic," he said in a statement.

Still, Besser said that Americans must remain vigilant, adhering to mask-wearing, distancing and limiting travel. "Whether and when the pandemic ends is  as it has always been  largely up to us.

In December, the FDA authorized Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Two more vaccines, from AstraZeneca and Novavax, are completing Phase 3 clinical trials, and are expected to apply for FDA authorization in the spring.

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I want to commend this young victim for the courage she showed in disclosing this abuse to her mother, who immediately contacted the police, States Attorney Jamie Mosser said in the release. Too many survivors of sexual abuse are denied justice because those who can help them choose not to believe them when they share their story of abuse. Im grateful that wasnt the case here.
She recently moved in with boyfriend Callum Jones who she met on the 2020 series of Love Island.

And Molly Smith was making the most of her new home as she posed in the kitchen in her underwear for a slew of sexy lingerie snaps on Sunday.

The reality star, 26, displayed her enviably small waist in the lacy purple set as she wore a bralette with a matching thong and suspender belt for the sizzling Instagram post.

Racy: Molly Smith was making the most of her new home as she posed in the kitchen in her underwear for a slew of sexy lingerie snaps on Sunday

Molly set pulses racing as she struck a series of poses next to her kitchen cabinets wearing a white shirt loosly around arms.

The former Love Islander looked stunning in the grape-coloured set from Boux Avenue which drew attention to her taut midriff.

She styled her long blonde hair in loose curls that fell over her shoulder as she posed seductively for the camera with one hand on her hip.

Toned: The reality star, 26, displayed her enviably small waist in the lacy purple set as she wore a bralette with a matching thong and suspender belt for the sizzling Instagram post

At home: The former Love Islander looked stunning as she posed next to her kitchen cabinets in the grape-coloured set from Boux Avenue which drew attention to her taut midriff

Molly sported a bronzed tan and a manicure and wore full coverage make-up complete with contour and lipstick.

The ASOS model showed no inhibitions as she worked her best angles for the camera.

She captioned the post: 'Breakfast time in @bouxavenue designed in London with love'.

Earlier this month she celebrated her first Valentine's Day with beau Callum Jones, 24, who she has been dating for one year.

Throwback: She celebrated her first Valentine's Day with a sweet tribute post to beau Callum Jones, 24, who she has been dating for one year

They wrote sweet tributes to each other on Instagram as they proved their love has stood the test of time after meeting in Casa Amor on Love Island last year.

Molly posted a throwback holiday snap from their trip to Greece last October, as they posed together dressed up for a night out.

She wore a stunning lime green jumpsuit in the picture, which showed off her toned abs and posed with her arm around her boyfriend.

Be my Valentine: Meanwhile Callum, shared fun snaps of the pair in a hot tub, writing: 'Happy valentines to my better half thanks for putting up with me, love you'

Captioning the post, she alluded to their future together as she wrote: 'Happy Valentines Day @_callum_jones ... I cant wait to make many more memories with you! Love you'

Meanwhile Callum, shared fun snaps of the pair in a hot tub, writing: 'Happy valentines to my better half thanks for putting up with me, love you'

The couple, who are both from Manchester, have been inseparable since meeting on the reality show and moved in to a new home together last year.
WE are now reading that the Minister of Sport has come out with a statement regarding our participation in the Tokyo Olympics.

As with the usual run-of-the-mill political type, the statement vacillates, kicks the can down the road and seeks to avoid the issue. Let us be clear on what the situation is regarding these Olympics.

There won't be many people around now who can remember the night that Dundalk was bombed during World War 11!

The reason is that it happened mid-week at this time of year three-quarters of a century ago and there was strict censorship of the media, which then was only the national and local newspapers and news bulletins on Radio Eireann. The exact time the big bomb exploded is not clear but, from accounts I have heard from older people, it seems to have been around 1 a.m. (which allowing for the fact that Summer Time was in force) would have been around midnight over Dundalk on the night of Wednesday/Thursday July 23/24, 1941. According to Victor Witmarsh, who is a little younger than myself, and whose family lived quite near to the blast, in his book 'Dundalk in the Emergency', writes  'the explosion awakened half the town, the blast shattered many windows in the vicinity, and debris was scattered over a wide area,'.

Bertie Dullaghan, whose family also lived in Barrack Street, near the Whitmarshes, tells me that he was awakened by his brother Joe who said that he had heard 'a whistling sound, followed by a bang'. The following morning, when he was going to school, they were not allowed go near the bomb site. Bertie adds that the miracle was that the bomb fell on the only piece of waste ground in the area, surrounded by a triangle of the railway line to Greenore railway line, the Quay front surface and a road leading from St. Mary's Road. He believes that, had the bomb hit any of these three hard surfaces, the devastation would have been much greater!

Another strange thing was that the trains from the Quay Street Station, over First Metals to Greenore, were able to keep running, which was important at the time to the economy to the Cooley area. As far as I know, the pub on the Quays which owned by the Mee family and is now the Spirit Store, was also able to keep open and quenched the thirst of the emergency services workers.

The best account I have read of the incident also appears in Whitmarsh's book 'Dundalk in the Emergency', written by Tom Kenny who was an assistant Town Engineer in Dundalk at the time.

It was written by him about thirty five years later when he was retired as full Town Engineer, under the heading 'Some Recollections of the A.R.P.' In it he writes ---

'Sometime after the second Blitz on Belfast, Dundalk had its own incident in which a German bomber dropped one large and 10 small bombs in a dead straight line, the first one at the rear of the coal yard (Cooper's) on the Dundalk side of the River, in the mud and ten at intervals out towards Thomastown. It would appear from the pattern that the pilot (bomb aimer?)was trying to avoid Dundalk. He dropped his big bomb where he thought was water and dropped his small bombs in rural areas.

The bomb mentioned above was supposed to be a 1,000 lb. bomb and it made a crater 45 feet in diameter and about 30 feet deep and the only casualty was a goat. Considerable damage was done to slate and windows in Castle Road houses from the blast of the big bomb, which fortunately dropped in mud because, if it had dropped on a hard surface, the damage would have been considerable.'

As have mentioned in my Question Time answer about the incident, there was considerable speculation afterwards that it might have been a warning to the Irish authorities that they should not have gone to the assistance of Belfast during the two blitzes some months earlier. A number of German bombs were dropped at the North Wall in Dublin about a month earlier, where there was much more damage done than in Dundalk and with a considerable loss of life and injuries inflicted. In another part of Victor Whitmarsh's book it states 'The bomb was probably intended for the nearby Metal Bridge (railway bridge) which spanned the Castletown River and connected Dundalk and Newry by rail.' In another book published by the Combined Tenants and Residents' Association for the Dundalk Heritage Year in 1989, 'Dundalk's Heritage', compiled by a committee working under Carmel Lynn, it speculates  'A British ship was berthed at the Quays that night and it was felt that this may have been the target'. Another account states that this ship had a barrage balloon tethered to its stern.

Probably neither of these two explanations were correct as, while that plane that dropped the bomb is described in contemporary accounts as 'unidentified' there can be little doubt that it was, in fact, a German bomber that had been on a mission to attack a target or targets in Northern Ireland. The pilot probably had no idea where he was flying at the time nor over a neutral country. Whoever was in command, may have decided that he should get rid of his cargo of bombs as quickly as possible, so that he could get back to his base in occupied France.

Remittances great, but workers suffer View(s):

The good news is that worker remittances is the silver lining, the only one, in the economy in 2020 and this despite the economic slowdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bad news, however, is that Sri Lankan authorities appear to have a devil-may-care attitude towards migrant workers stranded in West Asia. The good news is that worker remittances is the silver lining, the only one, in the economy in 2020 and this despite the economic slowdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bad news, however, is that Sri Lankan authorities appear to have a devil-may-care attitude towards migrant workers stranded in West Asia.

A video from Kuwait (there are many circulating about the plight of our workers overseas) shows workers in the street, some even begging. Two women were asked to sit outside the embassy wall and not allowed in by embassy staff. Eventually these women, sitting outside the embassy, were helped by a friendly Sri Lankan who gave them accommodation and food at her place of work.

It is said to cost between Rs. 300,000 to Rs. 400,000 which includes air fares and quarantine facilities to return to Sri Lanka. According to JVP MP Harini Amarasuriya (quoted in the video), there is no proper plan by the government, despite claims, to bring back these workers. No reliable information is also available on the plight of these workers, both females and males, how many have arrived and how many are able and unable to pay this large fee to return.

As I reflected on the desperation of Sri Lankan workers overseas, there was a commotion at the gate. Aldoris, the choon paan karaya, had arrived with his tuk-tuk filled with breakfast goodies on this Thursday morning and as usual the trio was bargaining with him, often an excuse to pull his leg!

Aiyo, aei me kimbula bunis mechchara ganan (Aiyo, why are kimbula buns so expensive), exclaimed Mabel Rasthiyadu. Aldoris, responding with a painful expression, changed the topic saying: Mage akka, lankawata ava meda peradigin, godak apahasu-tha walata passe. Mata hari santhoshai (My sister returned to Sri Lanka from West Asia after suffering for a few months. I am glad she returned).

Ow, matath aheli thiyenawa egollanta hari prashna kiyala, kema, inna than gana. Egollanta salli nehellu aapahu enna ticket-eka ganna (Yes, I heard that many of them are facing serious problems of food, accommodation and no money to pay for air fares), noted Serapina. Api,akkata salli ariya, eyata salli thibune nethi hinda (We had to send the money for her to return, as she didnt have enough), replied Aldoris.

Meka hari avasanavanthai, mokada egollo thamai ape aarthikaya balaganne. Api egollanta gowravayen salakanna avashyayi (This is very unfortunate because our workers are the virtual breadwinners of the economy and should be treated with utmost respect), said Kussi Amma Sera.

According to the latest figures released by the Central Bank, workers remittances in 2020 rose by 5.8 per cent to US$7,104 million from $6,717 million in 2019. In December 2020, it was up at $813 million compared to $665 million in the same month in 2019. This was the only positive news in the economy last year.

While workers poured back their earnings to Sri Lanka, which largely helped as a buffer against dwindling foreign reserves, export earnings  mainly due to the pandemic impact on production and waning export markets where supply was more than demand  fell to $10 billion in 2020 compared to $12 billion in 2019. However, given the crisis in 2020, the export earnings figure was commendable.

Import costs came down by 19.5 per cent to $16 billion last year from $20 billion in 2019, due to the import ban on several items. Tourism earnings fell, as expected with the airport closed for most of the year to international visitors, by 74 per cent to $957 million from $4 billion in 2019.

At the end of the year, official foreign reserves  helped by worker remittances  stood at $5.7 billion. During 2020, the Sri Lankan rupee depreciated by 2.6 per cent in 2020 and is now trading at around 197 rupees per 1$.

On the topic of exports, the Central Bank (CB) dismissed concerns by exporters over the move to insist that 25 per cent of export earnings should be converted to rupees to bolster flagging foreign exchange reserves. Apparel exporters said most of them were unaffected by the move as they convert even more than 25 per cent of their earnings to pay local salaries and for other overheads.

Exporters (also) convert a substantial portion of their foreign exchange earnings to Sri Lanka rupees to meet their domestic payment obligations. Therefore, the requirement to repatriate foreign exchange earnings to Sri Lanka and to convert 25 per cent of these earnings into Sri Lanka rupees does not exert excessive pressure on exporters, the CB said in a statement.

At this moment, I turned away from the office window while listening to the conversation by the trio with Aldoris, to answer a call. It was reconditioned Ranjith, a know-all in the second-hand car market, I hadnt spoken to in a long time.

Hellohello, how is the second hand-car market doing? Trying times indeed? I asked.

Yesyes, our industry has suffered but I heard that the government is reviewing the ban on car imports in December and I hope the ban is lifted. However, I called you on another matter, he said.

What is it? I asked. Well some people from my village were seeking advice on how to bring back their relatives who are stuck in West Asia without jobs, food and accommodation. How do they get back? he asked.

The best bet is the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment for advice and guidance. However, the bureau has come under criticism as workers dont have enough money to pay for airfares and quarantine facilities. There is a serious problem here. On one side, the earlier advice was for the workers to cough out the cost, while later the government seems to be saying that the state will fund these costs. The situation seems unclear, I said.

Is there another source to get this information? he asked.

Well, you could also try contacting many local community groups which work on migrant worker issues, for some helpful advice, I said, eliciting a thank you from him before ending the conversation.

While coming to the end of this column, Kussi Amma Sera walked into the room with my second cup of tea, saying: Mama danne ne aei ape pita-rata weda karana kattiyata narakata salakanne aei kiyala (I dont know why our migrant workers are treated so badly). I acknowledged her view and said she was spot on.

For a sector that is the saviour of Sri Lankas foreign exchange, migrant workers get a raw deal. For example, apparel sector workers were paid a minimum salary during the pandemic even if they were unable to come to work, while migrant workers are left with nothing other than hosannas sung by politicians and officials as a vital economic source!
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  The Virginia House of Delegates voted Saturday to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, but not until 2024, when retail sales would also begin.

The legislation was still awaiting action by the Senate early Saturday evening.

The bill is a top priority for Democrats, who framed legalization as a necessary step to end the disparate treatment of people of color under current marijuana laws.

If signed into law, Virginia would become the first Southern state and the 16th state in the nation to legalize small amounts of marijuana. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has said he supports legalization.

Talks between Democrats in the House and Senate have been tense in recent days as the two chambers tried to work out significant differences between their versions of the legislation.

Under the compromise bill approved by the House, possession of up to an ounce (28.3 grams) of marijuana will become legal on Jan. 1, 2024, at the same time retail sales would begin and regulations would go into effect to control the marijuana marketplace in Virginia.

Also included in the bill is something the Senate insisted on: a reenactment clause that will require a second vote from the General Assembly next year, but only on the regulatory framework and criminal penalties for several offenses, including underage use and public consumption of marijuana. A second vote will not be required on legalization.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, Marijuana Justice and several other racial justice advocacy groups, however, urged lawmakers to vote against the compromise, which they called a symbolic legalization bill. The groups are calling for simple possession of marijuana to be legalized beginning on July 1, not three years from now, as spelled out in the compromise legislation.

This bill does not advance the cause of equal justice or racial justice in Virginia. It is the product of a closed-door legislative process that has prioritized the interests of recreational marijuana smokers over people and communities of color, the groups said in a statement.

Groups that oppose legalization entirely have said they are concerned that it could result in an increase in drug-impaired driving crashes and the use of marijuana among youth.

Lawmakers have been planning to finish most of the work for the year on Saturday, but technically adjourn on Monday for procedural reasons.
Parents and grandparents of schoolchildren will be offered at-home Covid tests twice a week ahead of classrooms in England reopening from March 8.

Whole families with primary and secondary school-age children, as well as people in their childcare and support bubbles, will be given the regular tests, Ministers will announce today.

The rapid  or lateral flow  testing kits will be provided regardless of whether anyone in the family has symptoms of Coronavirus and will be available from tomorrow.

All members of households with children attending school or sixth form college will be encouraged to begin regular twice-weekly testing, although the tests will not be compulsory

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said: 'Regular testing of households and childcare support bubbles of children in primary and secondary school children is another tool we are making available to help keep schools safe.

'We know that one in three people with Covid-19 don't have any symptoms, so targeted, regular testing will mean more positive cases are kept out of schools and colleges.'

Tests will also be offered twice a week to adults working with schools, including bus drivers and after-school club leaders.

From tomorrow they can be ordered and collected from more than 500 local sites or administered through workplace testing programmes.

All members of households with children attending school or sixth form college will be encouraged to begin regular twice-weekly testing, although the tests will not be compulsory.

A confirmatory PCR test will be required if a lateral flow test comes back positive.

Tests will also be offered twice a week to adults working with schools, including bus drivers and after-school club leaders. Boris Johnson is seen attending a school in Accrington, north west England

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the tests will 'provide yet another layer of reassurance to parents and education staff that schools are as safe as possible'.

The announcement comes in addition to plans for twice-weekly tests for secondary school pupils, with the first three at school before they start taking them at home.

Meanwhile leading members of the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) of Tory MPs voiced new concerns yesterday over the Government's recommendation that secondary school pupils should wear masks in 'all indoor environments' where social distancing cannot be maintained.

Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, said: 'The sight of children wearing masks in classrooms will be a haunting one.

'Education and social development need proper communication and means seeing people's faces.

'By March 8, the top four groups will have  in the words of the four chief scientific officers  'substantial protection' from Covid.

'Why are these additional measures necessary now when they weren't deemed necessary last autumn?'

Fellow CRG steering group member Harriett Baldwin said: 'The World Health Organisation requires governments around the world to show the evidence and the cost benefit analysis they've performed when recommending that children wear masks.

'I hope the Government can urgently publish this work before March 8, along with the scientific evidence which underpins this latest instruction to schools, so that headteachers can decide what to do.'
KYODO NEWS - Feb 28, 2021 - 13:51 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan is likely to see increased supply of coronavirus vaccines in April when the government starts administering shots to the elderly, Taro Kono, minister in charge of vaccinations, said Sunday.

"I believe we can add a bit to a planned shipment for April," Kono said on a Fuji Television Network program, saying the government is in negotiations on the matter with Pfizer Inc. of the United States.

Kono also said he expects the government to have enough COVID-19 vaccine supply so the elderly can receive their second shots in May and June.

The government plans to start administering shots to people aged 65 or older, a group of about 36 million people, on April 12.

Related coverage:

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Vaccinations will start on a small scale to work out any distribution and technical issues before ramping up nationwide from April 26.

"In the last week of April, we will deliver at least one box to all prefectures," Kono said, in reference to a maximum 1,170 doses of vaccines.

"Going ahead, we will ship in accordance with the volume of vaccinations," he said.

On Feb. 17, Japan started inoculating an initial group of 40,000 health workers in the first phase of its vaccination program.

Inoculation of a further 4.7 million front-line health care workers -- including doctors, nurses, paramedics and Self-Defense Forces personnel -- will begin in March, followed by people aged 65 or older.

People with preexisting conditions such as diabetes and those working at elderly care facilities will come next, and then finally the general population.
A police officer will undergo facial surgery after a man allegedly incited his dog to savagely attack the sergeant during a call out in Sydney overnight.

Police were called to an address in Georges Hall, near Bankstown in the city's west, about 1:30am on Sunday following reports of a domestic-related incident.

A 52-year-old man had barricaded himself inside the garage with a dog, which escaped on to the street when the man was arrested.

A policeman has suffered horrific facial injuries after being mauled by a rottweiler (pictured) during a dramatic arrest. Police allege the man commanded his dog to attack after arrest

The dog was recaptured by a woman at the home, but mauled the officer on the face as he spoke to her.

Police will allege the man verbally abused officers, and commanded the dog to attack.

He has been charged with a string of offences including common assault (DV), and two counts of setting on or urging a dog to attack or bite.

The officer sustained serious facial injuries and was treated by paramedics, before being taken to Liverpool Hospital where he awaits surgery.

The dog was seized by council at the scene.

The policeman sustained facial injuries and is currently preparing for surgery at Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition.

The man was taken to Bankstown Police Station and charged with common assault (DV), two counts of urging a dog to attack, bite, resist officer in execution of duty, and use of an offensive weapon with intent to commit indictable offence.

He has been refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Bail Court today.

Police will allege the man verbally abused officers, and commanded the dog to attack (a bloodied towel is pictured at the scene)

Last year councils in New South Wales reported 1,021 dog attacks from July 1 to September 20.

Rottweilers were involved in 41 of the attacks, while American Staffordshire Terrier's accounted for the majority, with 152 reported attacks.

Most of the reported dog attacks involved two dogs, with 559 incidents, followed by dog attacks with an adult, with 495 incidents.

The Sydney suburb of Georges Hall falls under the Canterbury-Bankstown Council, which reported 48,764 micro chipped dogs in the area.

The Canterbury-Bankstown council reported 19 dog attacks from July to September last year, with nine people involved in attacks classified as serious.

The total number of people attacked by dogs during this period was 15, with 12 reported incidents of a dog attack with another animal.
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was all praises for Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming that he was proud of him and respected that the BJP leader did not hide his 'true self'.

Speaking at a public event in Jammu, the former Chief Minister said, "I like a lot of things about many leaders. I am from the village and feel proud... Even our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) hails from the village and used to sell tea. We are political rivals but I appreciate that he does not hide his true self."

He drew parallels between himself and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that like him PM Modi had not forgotten his roots and proudly calls himself a "chaiwala".

Earlier, Azad retired from the Rajya Sabha and an emotional PM Modi had bid adieu to him by recalling his long association with the senior leader.

"The person who will replace Ghulam Nabi ji (as Leader of Opposition) will have difficulty matching his work because he was not only concerned about his party but also about the country and the House," PM Modi had said.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, as many as 23 dissenting leaders of Congress once again raised their voice expressing better leadership for the party.

Calling for leadership and organisational changes in the Congress, these leaders accused that the party was "getting weaker".
One Slate Belt township wont be installing its first public sewer system, at least not with its current plan.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has rejected Upper Mount Bethel Townships proposed Act 537 Sewer Plan. The Dec. 18 denial letter lists multiple administrative and technical deficiencies with the submitted plan.

Upper Mount Bethel Township Supervisor John Bermingham said a revised plan is unlikely to be considered by the board of supervisors until the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas makes a decision regarding a legal challenge to recent text amendments to the townships zoning ordinance.

In March 2020, township supervisors adopted an updated sewage facilities plan, which it submitted to DEP for approval.

Currently, properties in the township only have on-lot septic or cesspool systems and private wells. The plan names several areas of concern in the township that would benefit from public sewers.

One proposed solution for the most urgent areas of concern identified in the plan would tap into Portland Boroughs wastewater treatment plant and install sewer lines down the Route 611 corridor south to the Air Liquide Advanced Materials plant at 1379 North Delaware Dr.

Two other areas of concern include sections of Shooktown Road and Lake Minsi Drive that would tap into sewer lines in Roseto that connect to Bangors sewage treatment plant.

One of the DEPs reasons for rejecting the plan is that it does not include any municipal agreements from Portland, Bangor, Roseto, or Washington Township, which would also be affected.

The basic reason it was rejected is we didnt get the buy-in from the neighboring communities, Bermingham said.

DEP also noted the township did not receive comments from the neighboring municipalities planning commissions.

DEP stated that the plans claim of adequate capacity at Bangors wastewater treatment plant is inconsistent with the Bangor Borough Authoritys 2019 Chapter 94 Wasteload Management Annual Report, which indicates the plant is currently in an existing hydraulic overload condition.

Thus, the UMBT Plans chosen alternative for study areas AOC-C and AOC-C-1 appears to be currently non-implementable, the denial letter states.

DEP also stated the plan relies financially on future unknown and unsecured grants and low-interest loans, which is an unacceptable funding methodology and financing scheme for the proposed Plan.

A group of residents, who are part of Concerned Citizens of Upper Mount Bethel Township, have legally challenged a text amendment that supervisors adopted in September at the request of development company River Pointe Logistics.

The text amendment significantly increases the allowable size of buildings that can be built in the township industrial zoning districts.

The citizens who have challenged the amendment say the supervisors did not follow proper procedures by not having the township zoning hearing board review the amendment, and that supervisors failed to consider properly the environmental impact of the amendment.

Bermingham said the court decision on the challenge is expected in the next several weeks, and that pursuing the public sewer plan is on hold at least until then.

I think we have to go back to the drawing board and ask if there are alternative measures we can do, he said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Participants in the meeting on a COVID-19 response extra budget pose at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sunday. From left are Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon, floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon and presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Sang-jo. Yonhap



The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the government agreed Sunday to allot 19.5 trillion won ($17.3 billion) for the country's fourth round of COVID-19 relief assistance.



The agreement was made during a tripartite meeting of the DPK, the government and Cheong Wa Dae, attended by DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon and Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun as well as Kim Sang-jo, the presidential chief of staff for policy.



The upcoming aid package will be funded by an extra budget bill worth 15 trillion won, with the remaining 4.5 trillion won to be assigned from the 2021 state budget, according to DPK spokesman Rep. Huh Young.



After pushing the budget bill through a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the government is planning to submit it to the National Assembly on Thursday for final approval.



For its part, the ruling party is planning to expedite the bill's passage by the National Assembly, so that the new relief funds can be distributed as early as late March, according to the party spokesman.



"Having increased the amount of benefit money, the fourth round of relief funds will be provided in a beefier and more extensive manner," DPK Chairman Lee noted, adding that 2 million more people may benefit from the upcoming assistance compared with the past.



"I couldn't help thinking about the level of increase in sovereign debts, which will burden the next generations, but the party and the government agreed that recovering the livelihood of people (of today) needs to be the top priority," Prime Minister Chung noted.



According to the DPK chairman, the upcoming aid package has been designed to benefit a broader range of small businesses and self-employed people who closed or cut down business operations due to the state's social distancing orders.



The party spokesman added that the upcoming extra spending bill has three pillars  emergency relief assistance to small businesses and other vulnerable people, emergency employment measures and antivirus plans.



The relief assistance, in particular, will newly include micro businesses with five or more employees as its benefiters as well as businesses with annual sales of less than 1 billion won, an increase from the previous cap of 400 million won, according to Huh.



Under the package, small business owners or self-employed people will also be given up to a 50 percent discount in electric charges for three months, the spokesman said.



The costs for the national COVID-19 vaccination program, including those for vaccine purchases, will be covered by the upcoming extra spending bill, Huh added.



Through the previous three rounds of COVID-19 relief funds, South Korea has distributed a total of 31.4 trillion won to small businesses and other vulnerable people hit by the brunt of the pandemic. This also included a total of 14.3 trillion won worth of stimulus checks given to all households in May. (Yonhap)


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Donald Trump is set to make closing remarks at CPAC on Sunday, where he may just run into a golden bust of himself that was made in Mexico.

The statue of Trump has been one of the most buzzed about topics surrounding CPAC this week.

Tommy Zegan, 61, is the artist behind the statue and is willing to sell for anyone wanting to spend $100,000.

'He's wearing a business suit because he's a business man,' Zegan said to the New York Post. 'The red tie represents the Republican party, the red white and blue shorts represent the fact that he's a patriot.'

Scroll down for video

A golden statue of Donald Trump has been all the rage at CPAC in Orlando this week, which is being sold for $100,000

The statue, made by artist Tommy Zegan, was taken to CPAC in a U-Haul this week after being transported to Tampa

Trump is wearing sandals in the statue, an ode to a life he could be living were he to retire.

Zegan titled the piece 'Trump and his Magic Wand,' a reference to a comment Trump's predecessor made about needing a 'magic wand' to revive jobs in the United States.

Ironically, POLITICO Playbook reveals that Zegan hails from Rosarito, Mexico, a country Trump publicly reviled throughout his presidency.

'It was made in Mexico,' said Zegan, who has a permanent resident visa in the country.

He spent over six months working on the statue, which was painted in Tampa and taken to CPAC in a U-Haul from there.

Additionally, Zegan made a stainless steel version of the statue that he wants to sell for over $1 million or put in a Trump Presidential Library.

'She's trying to get me in with the right people,' Zegan said of Trump assistant Rhona Graff.

Despite being out of the spotlight for the past month, Trump remains a popular figure this week at CPAC

Trump will deliver CPAC's closing remarks Sunday in his biggest appearance since leaving office in January

Zegan tried to give one of the statues to Trump at Mar-a-Lago for his birthday last year, but was rebuffed by security.

When Trump first announced his presidential campaign, Mexico was a main target of his.

'They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,' Trump said about Mexicans.

The former president also made building a border wall between the United States and Mexico a trademark promise of his campaign, even saying Mexico would pay for it.

Trump is set to deliver the closing remarks at CPAC on Sunday, his first major national event since the end of his presidency last month.

Pictured: Tommy Zegan (right) moving his Trump statue to where it belongs during CPAC in Orlando, Florida

Pictured: An attendee at CPAC cozies up to the golden Trump statue on Friday. Many have taken pictures with the statue

One possible target of his speech is House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said Trump 'bears responsibility' for the Capitol riot.

McCarthy went to Mar-a-Lago to try to repair his relationship with Trump in the aftermath of the comment.

Trump may also take the opportunity to shed more light on whether or not he has any aspirations to run for president again in 2024.

'Donald J. Trump ain't going anywhere,' Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said earlier in the week at CPAC.

The New York Times reports the speech will mainly criticize Joe Biden's first few weeks in office, attacking the president on topics ranging from school closings to immigration policy.

He will also talk about the future of the Republican Party, a big topic of debate in the post-Trump era.
The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee has unveiled its plan to incorporate 12- to 17-seater minibuses into its public transport system in a proposal submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

It is expected to help turn more motorbike drivers to public commuting, which would in turn alleviates the pressure on Ho Chi Minh Citys overloaded urban transport.

In the proposal, the Peoples Committee stated that bus route coverage in urban Ho Chi Minh City only fared 1km/sqkm, which is much lower than the standard of 2.5 km/sqkm.

The citys bus fleet consists of 2,322 vehicles on 137 routes, the majority of which are 41-60 seaters designed to operate on streets at least 10 meters wide.

However, among the citys nearly 5,000 streets, 3,450 are less than seven meters wide, which makes it impossible for the majority of public buses to reach.

This is also considered the underpinning of the sub-par bus coverage in Ho Chi Minh, which put off many potential customers as they have to travel great lengths to use the bus system.

Considering the situation, the introduction of light buses is essential for Ho Chi Minh Citys smart city initiative, according to the proposal.

In its bid to solve the issue, the proposal envisions 20 new minibus routes to connect areas of the city with the forthcoming metro line No. 1, which runs from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc City, as well as 10 routes using light buses to plug passengers into BRT route No. 1 in the 2021-2022 phase.

As per current regulations, bus routes must employ vehicles with 17 seats or more, with areas for both sitting and standing passengers, with one exception that vehicles of 12-17 seats can operate on routes that cross narrow streets or bridges in more than half of their journeys.

Considering this, the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee is asking for permission from the prime minister to use light buses of 12 to 17 seats to boost coverage of the public bus system and help bring bus routes within reach of all city dwellers.

More choices

Le Trung Tinh, chairman of the Inter-Province and Tourism Passenger Transport Association, said that Ho Chi Minh City first proposed a light bus system in 2020, with six routes to cover new residential areas inaccessible by the citys public commuting system.

As per the plan, the routes would have their fare set VND10,000-40,000 (US$0.43-1.73) per trip.

Vehicle cost would be covered by investors, while a partner will manage routes and customers via a dedicated ride-hailing application, where passengers could book tickets and track their bus in real-time.

However, the Ministry of Transport rejected the plan on the basis of Decree 10/2020, which requires that public buses have 17 seats or more.

This decree was also used to justify the rejection of Hanois minibus proposal in 2018.

Vu Anh Tuan, director of the Vietnam-Germany Transportation Research Center, also deemed the introduction of minibuses requisite to Ho Chi Minh City as its road network consists of mostly small lanes that impede the entry of bigger vehicles and thwart the development of the public transportation system.

Meanwhile, minibuses will be able to navigate these streets and bring new customers who seek an intermediary means of transport to reach BRT and metro routes.

According to Tuan, Ho Chi Minh City is currently home to over 10 million citizens, which translates to roughly 30 million trips within the city per day given the average of three travels per person on any day.

In reality, the citys bus system can only handle one million trips per day, or three percent of the approximated demand, while that number is expected to be 15 percent by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030, according to objectives set by city officials.

In order to reach these goals, the bus fleet in the city must be tripled, even quadrupled, Tuan remarked.

Operational effectiveness will not be raised if only big buses are added to the fleet and put on routes with low demand, he said.

Minibuses, once introduced, will provide customers with more traveling choices.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 13:01:56|Editor: huaxia

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PARIS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- After leaders of China and France talked on bilateral ties, French experts have said that Europe, including France, should strengthen cooperation with China to meet challenges for the good of humanity.

In a telephone conversation on Thursday with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two countries should cement mutual trust, respect and accomodate in earnest each other's core interests and major concerns, and effectively implement their major cooperation agreements.

With numerous global challenges, including those in health, climate, security, sustainable economy, populism and natural resources, it is the responsibility of the European Union (EU), including France, and China to coordinate, collaborate and unite for the good of humanity, said Leon Laulusa, executive vice president of Paris-based ESCP Business School.

The EU-China investment agreement, mentioned by the two heads of state during the conversation, was a big step forward, noted Laulusa, also executive director of the European Business Confucius Institute.

China and the EU jointly announced the completion of China-EU investment agreement negotiations at the end of last year. In his talk with Macron, Xi called for concerted efforts to enforce the agreement at an early date.

"Its rapid entry into force will allow us to have expanded mutual access to our two respective markets for our enterprises, fairer conditions of competition, and a strengthening of sustainable development projects essential to our planet," said Laulusa.

"Its application will accentuate the creation of new development models which are fairer and more sustainable for our society," he added.

The EU-China investment agreement marks an important milestone, said Lyazid Benhami, founder of Mulan Road, a communication agency specialized in France-China relations, adding that the deal should be ratified quickly so that European and Chinese entrepreneurs will seize the opportunity for their mutual benefit.

In his conversation with Macron, Xi emphasized that as permanent members of the UN Security Council and responsible major countries, China and France should continue to champion multilateralism, and inspire global efforts to uphold equity and justice, coordination and cooperation, as well as openness and inclusiveness, so as to make due contributions to achieving an early victory in humanity's fight against COVID-19 and promoting world peace and development.

Benhami, also vice-president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship, added that France and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, must be two partner countries for the purpose of settling international conflicts.

As China has been fully implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and France and other members of the international community increasing their involvement in Africa, Benhami said the debt reduction, which has weighed heavily on African countries for a long time and become even worse since the COVID-19 crisis, is a possible field for cooperation.

He recalled that Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in January said China-Africa cooperation has never been closed or exclusive, and that China stands ready to actively promote tripartite or multi-party cooperation with Africa, so as to jointly play a constructive role in promoting peace and development in Africa.

The China-France cooperation is very relevant and complementary in Africa, said Laulusa. "Two major axes of this Sino-French cooperation could be that of education and health, which Africa badly needs," he added.

As for the cooperation in COVID-19 vaccines, Laulusa highly appreciated the initiative and solidarity of China in providing vaccines for developing countries.

"This is also the recent proposal of the French president as he asked Europe to give vaccine doses to developing countries for international solidarity," he said.

For Benhami, France and China share special responsibilities in many fields. "Our cooperation in the field of research has been very important in recent years, especially in setting up cutting-edge laboratories," he said. "It must be amplified."

"Our two countries must support the efforts to modernize the World Health Organization," he added. "We must remain united in the effort and in the face of health crises." Enditem
To learn more about The Alabama Education Lab and receive notifications about stories and events, sign up for its newsletter, Ed Chat.

Read a related story from the Ed Lab, Access they wouldnt have had: Florence program a model as state expands aid for school-based mental health. If you would like to add a free or widely-available resource to this toolkit, email Education Editor Ruth Serven Smith at rserven@al.com.

An estimated one in five school-aged children is affected by a mental health condition, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Early studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated rates of depression, anxiety and social isolation among children, as for adults.

Some children already grappled with mental health challenges before the pandemic. Some children and their families are learning to deal with them for the first time.

For many young people, school is a primary avenue to access mental health resources or further help.

My sense is that capacity to serve kids with mental health problems is extremely limited and schools are probably the best/only place to access services for many, said Daniel Cohen, an assistant professor of school psychology at the University of Alabama. Overall, I think it is most helpful to encourage parents to seek support within the school context, and many of the resources below provide specific guidance on how to do this.

Information for this article is drawn from information provided by experts, advocates and available state resources.

What should I do if my child is struggling with their mental health right now?

If your child is in immediate danger of hurting themselves or others, call 911, take them to the closest emergency room or call a nearby crisis center.

The Alabama Department of Mental Health has a list of numbers to call to seek help during an after-hours mental health crisis, organized by county, on its website.

Anyone in crisis can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text 741741 from anywhere in the country to talk with a trained crisis counselor.

For support related to COVID-19, families can call the states support line at 1-888-442-1793 to get connected to services, online support groups and educational materials for managing anxiety, stress and emotional wellbeing.

For ongoing care, family members who feel their child is experiencing mental health problems can seek outpatient counseling or psychiatric care, or short- or long-term care in a hospital or treatment center. Often, a pediatrician or other primary care doctor can refer families to other services.

One in Five Minds, a Texas-based mental health education program, published this parent guide with useful general information for caregivers of someone with a mental illness, including how to recognize signs of mental illness and what to expect at the first visit to a psychiatrist.

How can I find an Alabama mental health provider?

The state of Alabama works with 310 provider agencies that deliver and coordinate mental health services in their communities. The state has created a directory where Alabamians can search for mental and behavioral health providers.

And the Medicaid provider website can help explain options for some children in need of psychiatric services, including those in the care of the Department of Human Resources.

However, not all providers will accept Medicaid; if a familys child receives health care through Medicaid, they should first call the community mental health a for their geographic area. The state currently is wourking to provide broader and better resources for Medicaid-eligible children with mental health concerns, according to Nancy Anderson, associate director of the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program.

Unfortunately, even if families can find a provider that will accept their insurance, it may be difficult to find a local provider with available appointments, due to a demand for services and COVID-19 complications. Families may ask a provider whether they can conduct an appointment via telehealth, which may cut down the wait time. The Alabama Department of Public Health has information about telehealth services on its website. Families can check with their insurers to see what services are provided via telehealth.

Alabama residents can see if they meet requirements for Medicaid online or by calling 1-800-362-1504.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness in Alabama also offers online support groups.

What role does school play?

Public schools can be a resource for families in need of help. Many schools offer information about government and community services available in their area; parents can ask school counselors or other staff if they know of programs.

Some schools offer more wraparound support and have counselors or therapists on site. Alabama has been expanding its school-based mental health program, a collaboration between the Alabama departments of mental health and education. Seventy-one school systems in the state currently participate. Parents can reach out to teachers and counselors to learn more about potential in-school options for counseling, group therapy or for referrals to outside resources. Florence City Schools partnership with Riverbend Center for Mental Health, for example, aims to cut down on transportation, cost and time barriers by offering prevention techniques, in-person services and quick referrals as needed. During the 2017-2018 school year, the district served 303 students.

School-based mental health services are not available in all Alabama schools, but parents can advocate for their districts to work with state officials to make it available. You can see this spreadsheet for a full list of school systems and partnering organizations.

School districts should also provide special education services for children experiencing mental health challenges that interfere with their academic progress.

The Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program provides resources for parents to advocate for those rights and partner with schools and medical staff to make sure children receive a fair and appropriate education. This guide discusses how to request an initial evaluation for special education and how to file a formal complaint if a school mishandles special education.

NAMI also published a guide on mental health and special education.

Where else can I find help?

The Alabama Department of Mental Health is undertaking a more aggressive outreach strategy to get information into the hands of parents, but since the end of the federally-funded Alabama Family Ties organization a decade ago, there has been a huge, yawning gap of statewide resources for a family-focused support group, Anderson said.

Families currently must research organizations that fit their childs geographic location or more specific cultural or mental health needs.

The Psychiatric Intake Response Center (PIRC) at the emergency department at Childrens of Alabama in Birmingham is available to any adults with a mental health question or concern regarding a child or adolescent. Caregivers can call 205-638-PIRC (7472) seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. to speak confidentially with a licensed mental health clinician trained to assess a child or teens mental, emotional and behavioral needs and recommend the best treatment options.

The Birmingham Coalition for Student Mental Health can help connect students and families with area and state resources, and provides options for advocacy work.

HICA Alabama offers services dedicated to the social, civic and economic integration of Hispanic families and individuals in Alabama and can be contacted if you need help finding a Spanish-speaking health care provider.

Some areas of the state offer text or phone services to residents in a specific geographic area. For example, the United Way of Central Alabama and Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham have teamed up to offer a free youth hotline for children and young adults every day between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. Text or call 205-328-5465 to discuss life events, mental health concerns or get referrals to area social services.

The Trevor Project, which provides suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth, has a 24/7 crisis intervention hotline at 866-488-7386. The advocacy group Campaign for Southern Equality has also compiled a list of medical and mental health providers in Alabama and other states who are trans-friendly and gender-affirming.

The Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resources Coalition has a dedicated team of professional counselors and specialists ready to discuss basic suicide prevention strategies and techniques. Its list of resources includes help for parents who may need to remove dangerous items from the home and video training for school faculty on recognizing risk factors. It also aims to provide an up-to-date list of state-wide professionals, counselors, churches and other advocates working to stop suicide.

Mental Health America provides information on how to find support groups, including online communities, for mental health recovery.

Senator Ted Cruz speaks at CPAC. John Raoux/AP Photo

Sen. Ted Cruz mocked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her response to the Capitol insurrection.

Cruz said: "Especially now, the left, they are shrill. They are angry."

Speaking at CPAC, Cruz also took aim at Sen. Bernie Sanders for wearing mittens.

Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

Senator Ted Cruz on Friday mocked New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has raised millions for his Texas constituents, for her response to the January 6 Capitol riots.

"We are gathered in dark times," Cruz told the crowd at the CPAC in Orlando on Friday.

Cruz's CPAC address was billed as a discussion of the "Bill of Rights, Liberty, and Cancel Culture." On stage, Cruz also took aim at Senator Bernie Sanders for wearing mittens to President Joe Biden's inauguration.

He said: "We're gathered at a time where the hard left, where the socialists control the levers of government, where they control the White House, where they control every executive branch, where they control both houses of Congress. Bernie is wearing mittens, and AOC is telling us she was murdered."

Cruz seemed to be referring to comments Ocasio-Cortez made in the wake of the January 6 assault on the Capitol. Speaking on Instagram Live, the congresswoman said: "I thought I was going to die."

Ocasio-Cortez called for censures or resignations from colleagues who she said encouraged the insurrection, including Cruz and Senator Josh Hawley.

To Cruz, she said: "You almost had me murdered three weeks ago."

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rep. Sylvia Garcia load boxes at their work station at the Houston Food Bank on Saturday. Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle/Pool via Reuters

The political rivalry between Cruz and Ocasio-Cortez was amplified this month as a winter storm knocked out power to millions in Texas.

During the storm, Cruz flew to Cancun with his family. He returned a day later amid growing criticism.

Ocasio-Cortez raised millions for Texans suffering after the storms. She flew to Houston to volunteer at the Houston Food Bank with Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia.

Story continues

Speaking in Orlando on Friday, Cruz urged Americans to "have fun."

"Just lighten up," he said. "Especially now, the left, they are shrill, they are angry. How many leftists does it take to screw in a light bulb? That's not funny. God bless, who would want to be around these people?"

Read the original article on Business Insider
Thousands of drivers were forced to queue for seven hours to get into Auckland after Jacinda Ardern locked the city down due to just one Covid case.

New Zealand's largest city entered a week-long Level Three lockdown at 6am on Sunday, forcing 1.7million people to stay at home unless they are shopping or travelling for work.

Checkpoints set up along major highways leading into the city were packed with motorists who spent hours in their cars on Sunday trying to enter the city.

Police told residents to be patient and prepare for 'significant delays', but Kiwis described the situation as a 'mess' - with some claiming they saw drivers squatting on the side of the road due to a lack of facilities.

Pictured: A woman stuck in hefty traffic took a selfie and posted it to Twitter on Sunday afternoon

Pictured: Traffic jams on the highway heading in to Auckland in New Zealand, as residents wait at Covid checkpoints

One man who tried to make the two-hour trip from Hamilton to Auckland spent double that time just getting to the halfway point near Meremere.

Another spent three hours stuck in the same spot in Hampton Downs - just 44 minutes away from the city centre.

'It's a f**king mess,' he told the NZ Herald.

While pet owners and livestock truck drivers took to exercising their animals on the side of the road, residents with sick passengers were furious about the hefty delays.

One woman travelling with her terminally ill husband attempted to drive from Hampton Downs to Pokeno, about 45 minutes out of Auckland.

It took the couple four hours to drive little more than 5km down the road when the trip which should have taken 12 minutes.

Pictured: Lines of traffic on a motorway heading in to Auckland in New Zealand after the city was plunged in to Stage Three lockdowns

Some people stuck in traffic said they could hear babies crying from cars nearby. 'I feel sorrt for the poor babies and their families stuck in this heavy traffic' one Twitter user said

'What a joke!' she told the publication.

'We are heading into Auckland not out. How are the elderly and terminally ill supposed to cope with this?

'We have seen people toileting on the side of the road, heard a poor baby crying. What the hell.'

The woman said health authorities told her to be 'patient', but added: '[I'd] like to see Jacinda sitting in a car in this heat with a terminal husband whose medication is now well overdue and in pain'.

A mother and her four-year-old were stuck in traffic for seven hours with no access to water, as they watched children run across the motorway to relieve themselves.

Police warned motorists that they would be stopped and questioned about why they were travelling once they reached a checkpoint.

Pictured: A Google Maps image showing heavy traffic on highways leading in to Auckland on Sunday

Some residents were confused about why people from outside Auckland, where there are no Covid cases, are being screened so heavily. 'Explain the logic behind not being able to come in to Auckland,' one woman tweeted

But drivers claimed the level of questioning was not consistent.

One man said the resident in the car in front was questioned and asked to prove they lived in Auckland, but he was immediately given the all-clear when he arrived at the checkpoint.

A woman from Hamilton claimed an officer threatened to block her from going through because the only way she could prove where she lived was with her driver's licence.

She asked them to scan her registration plates as proof of residence but the cop's device was out of battery.

The couple were eventually allowed to drive through the checkpoint.

Meanwhile, a man who travalled in to Auckland from the north was allowed in after a 12-second conversation with police.

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern (pictured) has announced Auckland will go into lockdown for one week, after just one new local case of Covid-19

The rest of New Zealand faced Level two restrictions from Sunday at 6am. Pictured: Testing station in Auckland on February 15

'I'm cruising back up north and have been through two of these roadblocks now and the first one they wanted a lot of proof and today they asked me, "where are you going?" and I said "I'm going home", which is true, and he just waved me on,' he said.

Auckland's restrictions are in response to a new locally-transmitted case Ms Ardern said could not be directly connected to other positive tests over the past two weeks, although a school in South Auckland was a common link.

The infected man, 20, went to the GP for a Covid test on Friday afternoon but then went to the gym - which Ms Ardern said was 'frustrating'.

'People who should have been in isolation, weren't,' she said of the country's recent outbreak in February.

'Unfortunately, we have still had breaches of requirements in this case.'

Auckland's latest cluster is centred around Papatoetoe High School, and the new case is the older brother of a student at that school.

The mother of the siblings has also tested positive for Covid-19.

The cluster is centred around Papatoetoe High School, and the new case, a 21-year-old male, is reportedly the older brother of a student at that school. Pictured: A Covid-19 station set up outside the high school on February 15

Level three restrictions mean people are confined to their household bubble or an exclusive extended bubble - which may include close relatives or isolated people. Pictured: Empty Auckland streets during lockdown in August, 2020

However, Ms Ardern said that student has tested negative for coronavirus multiple times.

'That means we have no current known link for the case discovered this afternoon,' she told the media on Saturday afternoon.

'If we cannot immediately link a case person to person, what we call it an epidemiological link, that is a significant issue, and one we need to act on.'

The rest of the country will face tightened public gathering rules under Level Two restrictions.

Level Three restrictions mean people are confined to their household bubble or an exclusive extended bubble - which may include close relatives or isolated people.

People must work from home if possible and businesses must not offer services requiring close personal contact, unless it is an essential service or emergency.

Public venues are closed but low-risk recreation activities are allowed within bubbles, such as bike riding, swimming or going on a picnic with other household members.

For the rest of New Zealand under Level Two restrictions, people can socialise in groups of up to 100, shop and travel domestically.

The newest case is the older brother of a student at Papatoetoe High School (pictured), where the south Auckland cluster originated

Schools will remain open and groups over 100 are allowed in cinemas, casinos and stadiums as long as groups of 100 and less do not mix with each other.

Ms Ardern said she was disappointed in those who have not followed the rules and put the community at risk.

'We do have the ability to take enforcement action if we need to,' she said adding that people needed to feel comfortable coming forward.

'We still need an environment where people will speak up and come forward and be tested.'

The latest restrictions come after the city of 2million people entered a three day lockdown on February 15 when three people from one family - a Papatoetoe High School student and her parents - tested positive for Covid-19.

The city was thrown into a level three lockdown while the rest of the country was placed under level two restrictions.

The mother worked at LSG Sky Chefs, an airport laundry and catering facility at Auckland airport, while the daughter was a student at Papatoetoe High School.

New Zealand has been widely praised for its handling of the pandemic, with just 26 deaths in a population of five million.
I am a former Oregon Republican. Although I dont agree with all the decisions Gov. Kate Brown has made in the past year to protect Oregonians from COVID-19, I am pleased with the results. Oregon ranks near the top among states for fewest cases and deaths. She has made difficult decisions that have saved countless lives. Republicans walking out on their duties in protest over restrictions that have and are saving lives is beyond irresponsible. And I thought the Oregon Republican Party had reached a new low in its response to the storming of our nations capital.

Allen Brown, Sunriver
Police are concerned for the welfare of a missing 12-year-old boy from west Belfast.

Fabian Stojka, a Slovakian national, had been living in the Dunmurry area until Wednesday February 24.

He has not been seen since then and is believed to be currently in the company of his mother somewhere in the greater Belfast area.

Fabian is described as being approximately 53 tall and of heavy build.

Detective Inspector Michael McDonnell said: I would ask anyone with information regarding Fabians whereabouts to contact detectives at Musgrave on 101 quoting reference number 1768 24/02/21. Information can also be provided online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.


Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh addresses the ceremony (Photo: VNA)

An Giang - The Mekong Delta province of An Giang boasts strengths in economic development, especially high tech agriculture, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said while attending a ground-breaking ceremony for a high tech dairy farm project of TH Group in Tri Ton district of the province on February 27.

The development of hi-tech agriculture is an inevitable trend of modern agricultural production, Binh said, adding that room remains huge for the province and other Mekong Delta localities to bolster animal husbandry, including dairy cow farming.

The dairy cow farming model of TH Group, the largest scale in the region, is expected to become an exemplary model to be multiplied, he said.

The farm is hoped to help fulfil the target of having 500,000 milch cows across the country five years ahead of the deadline set in the master plan on agricultural development to 2020, vision to 2030, he noted.

Spanning 178.4 ha across Tri Ton districts Vinh Gia and Vinh Phuoc communes, the project is carried out with an investment of nearly 2.66 trillion VND (115.2 million USD), making it the largest closed-loop system dairy project in Mekong Delta.

It includes a fresh milk factory capable of producing 135 tonnes daily.

On the same day, Deputy PM Binh paid a visit to a hi-tech hog farming project of the Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO)s agricultural arm in Tinh Bien district.

The 50-ha project has been basically completed after nine months of construction. Its first phase will become operational by June while the construction of the second one is set to begin later this year, raising its capacity to 11,200 pigs in total.

On the occasion, a New Year tree-planting festival was held in the province in response to a campaign to grow 1 billion green trees between 2021 and 2025 launched by the Prime Minister.
The Prince of Wales wants a face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden to discuss the urgent issue of climate change and win support for his most ambitious environmental project to date.

The two men are due to meet at a Buckingham Palace reception ahead of Junes G7 summit in Cornwall on climate change, but Prince Charles has asked aides to liaise with the Foreign Office to arrange a meeting at the earliest opportunity.

Charles is said to be willing to fly to America to talk to Mr Biden, although it is thought this might breach protocol as the Queen is usually the first to meet a new President.

The Prince of Wales wants a face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden to discuss the urgent issue of climate change and win support for his environmental project

Sources say the Prince sees Mr Biden, six years his senior, as a key environmental ally.

Charles wrote to Mr Biden in January to congratulate him on his inauguration and is said to be hugely encouraged that one of his first acts as President was to rejoin the Paris Agreement, the international treaty on tackling global warming, after Donald Trump pulled out in 2020.

A source said the Prince and Mr Biden shared the same indisputable view that the global climate crisis is the biggest threat to humankind and needs to be dealt with as a matter of utter urgency.

Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the White House in March 2015 and met President Barack Obama and Mr Biden, then Vice-President, in the oval office.

It also helps that Charles has a good rapport with John Kerry, the former Secretary of State, who Mr Biden has chosen to be the US climate envoy.

Support from the US will be needed for Charless latest venture, Terra Carta, which a source described as the culmination of 50 years of campaigning on the environment and sustainability. Terra Carta  the Earth charter  urges businesses to sign up to almost 100 actions to make industry more environmentally friendly by 2030.

A source said the Prince and Mr Biden shared the same indisputable view that the global climate crisis is the biggest threat to humankind and needs to be dealt with' urgently

The heir to the throne described the charter as an urgent appeal to bring prosperity into harmony with nature, people and planet over the coming decade. Charles invoked the spirit of Englands Magna Carta, which 800 years ago inspired the belief in rights and human liberties, adding: As we strive to imagine the next 800 years of human progress, the fundamental rights and value of nature must represent a step-change.

It is arguably the Princes most important project yet and one which he hopes will secure his legacy. It is also hoped Mr Biden will be a linchpin, encouraging company chief executives to sign up to the charter.

Its not just the planet that is running short of time, however. Charles is said to be well aware that his campaigning will be curtailed when he ascends the throne. As King, he will not enjoy the same freedom to pursue his own projects. A source said: The environment has always been a chief concern and now more than ever.
As far as theater is concerned, the pandemic has been a paradox, shrinking life down to lockdown bubbles and simultaneously expanding horizons. When you can stream plays from Europe as easily as from Brooklyn, the world seems more interconnected than in the past  tied together by bonds of humanity.

But also by bonds of inhumanity, as two recent plays from London demonstrate. Typical, by Ryan Calais Cameron, is based on the case of Christopher Alder, a British-Nigerian man who died while in police custody in 1998. Its blunt force underlines the universality of racist violence. Hymn, by Lolita Chakrabarti, is a subtler, searching look at the tragedies that befall Black men who see racism as the least of their problems.

Both are gripping, though the grip differs. Typical, from the Soho Theater, begins with the ring of an alarm clock and pretty much keeps ringing for 60 minutes. Not that you understand, at first, the nature of its warning. When we meet him, Alder  given no name in the play but vibrantly embodied by the British actor, TV host and rapper Richard Blackwood  is in a jolly mood, dressing and psyching up for an evening of dancing and drink.

In the manner of many one-man plays, Typical is a continuous interior monologue; the Alder character narrates his day as if keeping a minute-by-minute journal in lightly rhymed, high-spirited verse. Skip over the skipping rope, he says, deciding not to exercise. Stand up on the sit up mat/Step over these weights that wait in hope.
Spencer Platt/Getty

A second former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has accused him of sexual harassment.

Charlotte Bennett, 25, a former executive assistant and health policy adviser in the administration, told The New York Times that Cuomo had asked her multiple questions about her sex life and relationships, including whether she had ever slept with an older man and whether she was romantically involved with other staff members, when the two were alone in his office in June 2020. She said he said he was open to a relationship with a woman in her 20s and had been looking for a girlfriend in Albany.

I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared, she said, adding that she assumed it was the end of my job. She reported the incident to his chief of staff and gave a statement about the incident to a special counsels office, after which, she said, she was transferred to a job on the other side of the Capitol building from the governor. Her parents and friends confirmed to the Times that she mentioned the conversation with Cuomo in subsequent days.

Crude Cuomos No Trailblazer, but Just Another of Albanys Abusive Creeps

Cuomo told the Times he had been acting as a mentor to Bennett and that she had opened up to him about being a survivor of sexual assault. He did not deny asking her personal questions.

I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate, he said. This situation cannot and should not be resolved in the press. I believe the best way to get to the truth is through a full and thorough outside review and I am directing all state employees to comply with that effort.

Barbara Jones, a former judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, will lead a review of the matter.

Beth Garvey, a special counsel to the governor, said Bennett was consulted regarding the resolution, and expressed satisfaction and appreciation for the way in which it was handled.

Story continues

There are no limits on the scope of Judge Jones review, Garvey said.

Ms. Bennett received the transfer she requested to a position in which she had expressed a long-standing interest, and was thoroughly debriefed on the facts which did not include a claim of physical contact or inappropriate sexual conduct, Garvey added.

Bennetts allegations come shortly after another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, said Cuomo had repeatedly harassed [me] about my looks and that the conduct continued for years, at one point leaving her in shock after the governor allegedly subjected her to an unsolicited kiss. A spokesperson for Cuomo said of Boylan's allegations, There is simply no truth to these claims.

The harassment allegations are not the only scandal beguiling Cuomo. His handling of nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic has caused considerable political fallout after he wrote a victory lap book titled American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. An aide said his administration intentionally underreported the deaths of nursing home residents from COVID-19 for fear of prosecution and political backlash.

Cuomo has responded in strongman fashion to the critiques of his administration. New York Assemblyman Ron Kim said that Cuomo threatened to destroy him after Kim called for an investigation into the nursing home death tally. His enemies, smelling blood in the water, have dumped a decades worth of resentment into their bitter criticism of his style of rule-by-fear politics.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan police special forces unit has illegally detained former legislator Gilberto Sojo, an ally of opposition leader Juan Guaido, the opposition said.

The unit, known as FAES, has been widely accused of human rights abuses, and international activists have called on President Nicolas Maduro to abolish it.

"He was kidnapped by FAES, a death squad for the regime that the U.N. has asked to be dissolved and whose chief has been sanctioned by the European Union," tweeted Guaido late on Thursday.

He is recognized by the United States and other countries in the region as Venezuela's legitimate president.

The information ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Maduro's government says opposition figures are regularly involved in plots to topple him, though officials often do not give evidence for such accusations.

Sojo was elected in 2015 as a substitute legislator while still in prison for leading protests against Maduro. He was later released and served as a member of the opposition-led congress.

The term of that congress officially expired in January, but the opposition boycotted the December elections for the new parliament that took power this year.

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
A man was killed in an illegal cockfight when he was slashed with a blade he had tied to the leg of his rooster.

Thangulla Satish, 45, was preparing the bird for the fight in Lothunur village in southern India when it suddenly fluttered in panic and tried to escape.

He tried to grab it when the three-inch knife tied to its leg impaled him in the groin and he died of blood loss on the way to hospital.

The man was killed when the rooster panicked and tried to escape, accidentally impaling him in the groin (stock image)

Officers held the bird at a police station before transferring it to a farm as it may be later needed as evidence.

Inspector B. Jeevan said officers were looking for more than a dozen people who had organised the illegal cockfight.

They could face charges of manslaughter, illegal betting and hosting a fight.

If found guilty they face up to two years in prison.

Inspector Jeevan said: Satish was hit by the roosters knife in his groin and started bleeding heavily.

We are searching for the other 15 people involved in organising the illegal fight.

Thousands of people attend the fights, despite a nationwide ban which was imposed in 1960

The bloodsport is common in southern India despite a countrywide ban imposed in 1960.

The cockfights are said to often be held under the watch of local politicians and involve large sums of betting money. Crowds of hundreds are known to watch.

Last month a spectator was killed when a razor blade attached to an escaping bird cut his stomach.

Last year, a man was killed when a blade attached to his bird's leg hit him in the neck during a cockfight in Andhra Pradesh.

In 2010, a rooster killed its owner by slashing his jugular vein in West Bengal state.

According to police, the rooster involved in last week's incident was among many other roosters prepared for the cockfight betting festival in Lothunur village.

Despite the efforts of animal rights activists thousands of roosters die every year.
A preliminary police investigation into the ghastly road accident at Akyem Asafo on the Accra-Kumasi highway has attributed it to driver recklessness.



The driver of one of the two buses involved in the accident was said to have attempted to overtake four long vehicles in a row, leading to a head-on collision.



As of 4 p.m. yesterday, 19 persons had been confirmed dead in the accident that occurred at about 1.30 a.m. yesterday when two KIA Granbird passenger buses, one of them VIP branded, collided head-on.



The VIP bus with registration number GE 5510 -15 was heading to Accra from Sankore in the Ahafo Region while the other bus with registration number GT 5629 - 18 was from Accra heading to Kumasi.



The driver in charge of the VIP bus was identified as Kofi George, 55, while 39-year-old Emmanuel Asante Opoku was in charge of the other bus.



Both drivers died in the accident.



Wrong overtaking



Police said their investigations revealed that the driver of the Kumasi bound bus tried to overtake four long trucks in a row and that led to the collision with the VIP bus.



Several others were also injured and were rushed to a number of health facilities for medical attention.



The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the Suhum Government Hospital and Kibi Government Hospital.



The accident sent shock waves through the Asafo community and its environs.



Unsafe overtaking



Confirming the accident to the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Eastern Regional Police Command, Sergeant Francis Gomado, said the driver of the Kumasi bound bus, on reaching a section of the Akyem Asafo Junction, made an unsafe overtaking.



He did not observe due traffic regulations and crashed into the other bus, he said.



Visit to scene



The Eastern Regional Commander of the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), Chief Superintendent Mr Stephen Kofi Ahiatafu, together with other police officers, visited the accident scene.



He said the accident could have been avoided if the driver who did the overtaking had obeyed road traffic regulation.



They also visited the Suhum Government Hospital where 15 victims were on admission.



He said all of the victims who were taken to the Asafo centre were treated and discharged.



Five of the victims are receiving care at the Kibi Government Hospital.







Source: Graphiconline.com









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A 46-year-old Wellesley man was killed Sunday afternoon in a mountain bike crash at a state forest in Ipswich, according to police.

The man was biking at Willowdale State Forest with a friend when he crashed his bike around noon, a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson told MassLive.

Investigation is ongoing to determine whether he had a medical incident prior to crashing or whether he just lost control of the bike on a trail, the spokesperson said.

At the time of the crash, the man was wearing proper equipment, according to a statement from the Ipswich Police Department.

The victims family has been notified. Authorities did not specify what he crashed into. The collision remains under investigation, police said.

Personnel from the Ipswich Police and Fire Departments as well as state police and Massachusetts Environmental Police were all assisting at the crash scene.

No further information was released Sunday afternoon.
Working toward a college degree isnt easy, especially when balancing it with a job and tackling it later in life. It was the coronavirus though that made Lucy Valle question whether she could do it at all.

She lost her job, began having panic attacks and depressive thoughts, and as a Gen X student, wasnt keen on the idea of taking classes virtually.

But it was also the virus that showed her just how much support she had from her college, which was ultimately one of the reasons why she managed to stayed in school at Hudson County Community College, she said.

The local college has faced the same new challenges as nearly every American higher education institution as the coronavirus has ravaged the country, including revenue loss, virtual learning and attempting to balancing health and safety with student support.

Personal challenges faced by many of Hudson County Community Colleges student population prior to the pandemic, like poverty and food insecurity, have been exacerbated over the past 11 months, administrators said. But a network of support services already in place to deal with those issues complemented by new initiatives has helped both the college and many of its students overcome the obstacles the coronavirus threw its way, administrators and students said.

If this school didnt have that many opportunities and the support that they gave to their community, to their students, I think I would have dropped out either last semester or this semester, Valle, 44, said. Im just so thankful.

During the pandemic, the college didnt fire any employees, said President Chris Reber. It didnt raise tuition, and it became increasingly flexible with payment and grading policies, added Lisa Dougherty, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment, who also co-chairs the colleges return-to-campus task force.

It then began directly distributing grants to students with CARES Act funding it received. To date, it has distributed more than $5 million amongst 4,355 students.

As challenging as it has been not to be face-to-face for the better part of a year, we have actually arguably become an even stronger more closely knit community during this pandemic, Reber said.

When Valle lost her job, and her husband, a mechanic, was temporarily out of work, she applied for the colleges emergency funding and received a $700 check, she said. When that money ran out, she made use of one of the colleges two food pantries. The school also connected her with a psychiatrist, which led to new diagnoses and medications. All along, she continued working toward her degree.

Inspired by the work of healthcare workers, she decided to study to become one herself, staying in school, but pivoting from physics to nursing.

HCCC aims to ensure students are supported holistically, Dougherty said. It recognizes that schoolwork is just one challenge its students face.

Before the pandemic, 68% of the student population reported experiencing either food insecurity, housing insecurity or homelessness in the past year, which has since increased to 70%, Dougherty said.

About a third of students have school-aged children and about half are working more than 30 hours per week, according to a survey.

Our students are, I would say, among the most vulnerable in New Jersey in terms of their economic background, Dougherty said.

Enrollment was down 11% in the fall over the prior year, which increased to 18% this semester, Dougherty said. That was largely due to a drop in new students, she said.

A recent bump in funding from the county, however, helped combat the decline in revenue, Reber said.

We have come through this challenge financially as an institution intact, and we believe were going to be in a pretty strong position next year as well, he said.

Abou Traore, a 25-year-old international student, benefited from both the colleges emergency funding distributions and its decision to keep all of its employees on the payroll. He works as a peer leader in the Office of Student Life and Leadership and is planning to attend a four-year college after graduating this semester.

Traore has still been keeping in touch with members of the photography club he founded via WhatsApp, and, thanks to CARES Act assistance and an additional scholarship, said he will be graduating debt-free.

I spoke to my advisor, and theyre really motivating, the aspiring filmmaker said. I know a lot of people who took a year off, but I was halfway done. I was just going to keep going.

Valle said at times she had felt like the odd one out on campus surrounded by younger peers, but felt welcome when the college continuously reached out during the past year.

And even after getting COVID-19 in January, she managed to start classes again this semester.

I think one day at a time, thats how we all took it, she said. Some classes were worse than others, some professors didnt even know how to work a computer, how to work a microphone  but one thing that really kept me going was they kept saying, just hang in there.
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Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

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
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting its sixth death from COVID-19 as the province continues to battle an outbreak of a virus variant first detected in the United Kingdom.

People arrive at a pop-up COVID-19 testing site on the Dalhousie University campus in Halifax on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting its sixth death from COVID-19 as the province continues to battle an outbreak of a virus variant first detected in the United Kingdom.

Health authorities say the latest death was a man over the age of 70 in the Eastern Health region.

The province also recorded four new confirmed cases in the same region, including two females and two males with one between the ages of 20 and 39 and three between the ages of 40 and 49.

Officials say contact tracing is underway and anyone considered a close contact has been advised to quarantine.

Newfoundland has been in lockdown since Feb. 12, when officials first announced an outbreak in the St. Johns area was fuelled by the mutation of the novel coronavirus.

The province has 271 active cases of COVID-19 and there are currently 10 people in hospital with six in intensive care.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2022.
The Left Front, in alliance with the Congress and the newly formed Indian Secular Front (ISF) on Sunday projected itself as a "third alternative force" in West Bengal and said a "Janhit Sarkar" (people's welfare government) is needed to usher in development in the state where an eight-phase assembly poll will begin from March 27.

Addressing a mega rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI secretary D Raja, West Bengal Left Front chairman Biman Bose and other leaders said that both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP need to be defeated in the coming election for the development of the state.

Yechury said that the Trinamool Congress has to be defeated first to stop the communal bandwagon of the RSS-BJP and claimed that the TMC might rejoin the BJP-led NDA to form the government in West Bengal in case of a hung assembly.

Terming the ongoing political tussle between the TMC and the BJP as a "mock fight", he alleged that the saffron party is using money from the PM CARES fund, set up to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, to "buy" leaders during the time of elections in Bengal.

"This grand alliance of the Left and the secular forces will fight to defeat the corrupt TMC government and the BJP in the state, will fight for a better Bengal," Yechury said.

"Our call is we want a Janhit Sarkar in Bengal for its overall development and protection of rights of the masses," he said.

Accusing the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP of dividing the people on communal lines to serve their political interests, the CPI(M)'s West Bengal secretary Surya Kanta Mishra said that the state needs a government that would work for the development of the state and won't be a "copycat" of the TMC and the BJP.

"The TMC and the BJP are two sides of the same coin. They plan to divide people on communal lines and rule. We have seen how TMC leaders are joining the BJP lock, stock and barrel.

Except for the chief minister and some other leaders, the rest have switched over to the BJP. Both the TMC and the BJP now stand unmasked. We, the Left along with the Congress, would provide an alternative to people," Mishra said.

CPI secretary D Raja said the rally of the Left, secular and democratic forces shows the determination of the people of Bengal, "the demonstration of their determination for defeating the TMC in the state and saving the country from the BJP.

Asserting the Constitution clearly said that the country is secular, Raja said, "(Union Home Minister) Amit Shah and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi are violating the spirit of the Constitution.

"Gandhi ji was assassinated by Hindu fascist forces as he had preached for unity among all religions, he said.

Stating that B R Ambedkar had warned against making India a Hindu Rashtra, Raja alleged that now Modi, Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat are out to destroy the spirit of the Constitution as their design is to make India a Hindu Rashtra."



"Modi called us andolanjibi. What did he mean? Our fight is for people., he said.

CPI (M) Politburo member Mohammed Salim said the grand alliance would give a "knock out" punch to the communal TMC and the BJP.

"We are fighting for changing the situation in Bengal, and some people are busy changing sides. Those who looted public money in chit fund scams are now switching over from one party to another. If we are voted to power, we will auction properties of corrupt leaders to return the looted money," he said.

Left Front chairman Biman Bose said while the "autocratic" TMC and the "fascist and communal" BJP are on one side, all other secular, democratic forces are on the other. This is a crucial battle."



Left-leaning intellectuals such as film directors Tarun Majumder and Kamaleswar Mukherjee, actors Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Srilekha Mitra and music composer Debojyoti Mishra attended the rally while actor Badshah Moitra announced the names of speakers along with Bose.

The ruling TMC and the opposition BJP slammed the Left parties accusing them of surrendering before a "communal force" like the ISF, floated by Abbas Siddiqui, an influential Muslim cleric of Hooghly district's Furfura Sharif last month.

"The Congress and the don't have much following at present in Bengal in terms of votes. And now they are relying on a crutch to get back on their feet," TMC leader and minister Firhad Hakim said, apparently referring to the ISF.

"None of the entities present at today's Brigade meeting will be able to make any impact in the polls. They have no support base. The and the Congress lost their relevance in Bengal long back," BJP leader Shamik Bhattacharya 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.)
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/28/2021



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[ Spoiler Warning: This report includes spoilers that reveal if Hazel and Tarik are still together or if the couple split up.]

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So are Tarik and Hazel still together now or did the couple split up?

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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 Tarik Myers and Hazel Cagalitan have been shown considering complicating their relationship by introducing another woman into it on Season 8, so what do spoilers reveal about if Tarik and Hazel are still together and married or split up?Tarik was a 43-year-old realtor and single father from Virginia Beach, VA, when he first saw Hazel, a single mother from Quezon City, Philippines who is now 28-years-old, on an Asian dating website.After three months of dating virtually and talking on the phone, Tarik traveled over 9,000 miles and 36 hours to meet Hazel in-person in the Philippines on : Before the 90 Days' second season.Tarik's family and friends worried Hazel was after a Green Card, money and a better life, but Tarik had to see for himself.Hazel was quiet and reserved around Tarik and didn't want to hook up with them for a while, but Tarik still decided to propose marriage at the end of his trip and then file for the K-1 visa upon his return to America.Tarik and Hazel were still engaged six months after : Before the 90 Days' second-season finale aired on TLC in October 2018.Hazel agreed to sign a prenuptial agreement for Tarik to prove that she was with him for love and in the relationship for the right reasons.At the time 's eighth season filmed, Tarik and Hazel had been together for two years and Hazel finally got approved for a K-1 visa.Hazel was going to meet Tarik's seven-year-old daughter Auri for the first time. Auri apparently stays with her father five out of seven days a week and lives with her mother on the weekends.Tarik shared how Auri has high-functioning autism and everything in his life revolves around her. Tarik hoped Hazel would love Auri and that they'd get along wonderfully.Hazel also has an eight-year-old son Harrey, and Hazel was having a tough time leaving him behind. Tarik and Hazel therefore planned to bring Harrey to the United States "eventually" in order to give the boy more opportunities in life.Tarik admitted he was "surprised" when he learned Hazel is bisexual, and he told her that Virginia Beach is "full of smoking hot women."Hazel apparently wanted to have a girlfriend on the side, and Tarik therefore wondered how that was going to work and whether Hazel was really in their relationship for him or just permanent residency in the United States."We're not even married yet -- and what you're thinking about is the girlfriend we need to find?" Tarik explained in a confessional."We've had some trust and jealousy issues in the past, so it does make me nervous. But she wants to go full steam ahead on this thing, so I hope we're really ready for it."The couple had already experienced love-triangle issues when they tried to introduce a woman named Minty from Thailand into their relationship.Tarik began dating the girl when he and Hazel were briefly broken up and was "falling in like" with her, and when he and Hazel got back together, Hazel decided to partake in the romance.But on the third day of their fun, Tarik told the cameras, "Hazel just put an end to it. Hazel felt like Minty was more into me than she was into Hazel.""Hazel could see I was just fascinated by Minty. It was refreshing to me to be able to speak in Thai and talk about all the stuff I experienced in Thailand, but there was this jealousy that came over Hazel immediately and it ended right there. Hazel told me to never contact Minty ever again."However, Tarik confessed he had texted Minty again a couple of weeks back to check on her amid the coronavirus pandemic. Tarik was afraid to tell Hazel about his little betrayal.Tarik then picked Hazel up at the airport and the pair had a sweet reunion."This is the turning point in my life. It's like everything before her and then everything after her," Tarik said.On the drive to Tarik's home, Hazel was shocked by all of the big houses in America and how clean everything looked. Tarik's home was huge compared to Hazel's place in the Philippines considering Hazel lived in poverty, and Hazel said she felt overwhelmed.One day after Hazel's arrival, Tarik was ready to pick a venue for their wedding, but Hazel wanted their pace to slow down since she had a lot to adjust to.Hazel said her parents wanted her to get married in their church and religion is important to her, but Tarik tried to talk her into marrying at Edgar Cayce's A.R.E., a cultural and spiritual center that apparently means a lot to him.The center was named after a famous psychic, but Hazel thought the place was weird and said she didn't want to get married there. Hazel, however, told her fiance that she'd think about it and they could compromise and make a decision together about their future.During Hazel's second day in America, she was shown unpacking her belongings and feeling a little bit overwhelmed.Tarik told Hazel that his daughter Auri always slept with him because she was scared of being alone in her room. Auri had been sleeping with him for seven years, and he said Hazel would have to be okay with that because the arrangement wasn't going to change.Hazel, however, worried Auri's constant presence would ruin their romance and intimacy, and she knew they'd need privacy as a couple.Knowing how close Tarik and Auri were, Hazel feared she wouldn't fit into their relationship, but their first meeting was wonderful.Hazel picked Auri up and hugged her, and it was an incredibly sweet moment. Tarik said he couldn't have asked for more, and Auri even put her head on Hazel's shoulders.Hazel later told Tarik that she had discovered a message to Minty on his phone, and Tarik replied, "I mean, I was going to tell you. It's just this virus thing happened... It hit right in the city where she is, so I just wanted to text her and go, 'Yo, are you good?!'"Hazel asked why Tarik hadn't been honest with her right away, and he acknowledged that she was right.Tarik said he didn't have a problem with Hazel looking through his phone but it was concerning that she maybe didn't trust him fully and felt the need to check his messages to begin with.Hazel felt the virus was just an excuse to get in touch with Minty, but Tarik promised he wouldn't contact their ex again."It worries me if I can trust him," Hazel lamented.Production then shut down for two weeks due to coronavirus, and Tarik and Hazel tried to make the best out of quarantining together.Hazel said she was no longer angry at Tarik for texting their ex Minty because he promised he wouldn't do it again. Hazel therefore determined they were ready to find her a girlfriend, and so Tarik made Hazel a dating profile on a website.Tarik and Hazel looked through women's profiles together, and Tarik just hoped Hazel still considered marrying him the No. 1 priority."I want a sister, a best friend and a lover," Hazel shared.Hazel told the cameras that she wanted to find a sexy, brown American woman to date, but Tarik wanted to set some rules first so no jealousy would ensue. Tarik just asked Hazel to hide her relationship with a woman from his daughter Auri, which Hazel understood."I really hope we can find a perfect girl that we both agree on. Having a girlfriend is always what I wanted, but my relationship with Tarik is more important. So I just hope it feels different from the last time with Minty," Hazel explained.The couple then looked at women together and Tarik joked, "Come to mama and come to papa!"With 24 days in lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic and 41 days left to wed, the pair was stuck in the house with Tarik's daughter Auri and Hazel said it was sad that she couldn't leave the house and explore.Hazel missed her son Harrey and told him via FaceTime that she'd come to get him eventually, although it "may take a long time."With 35 days to wed, Tarik and Hazel decided to concentrate on their wedding planning since they were running out of time and needed to make some progress as soon as possible.During a videochat with Tarik's good friend Angela, Hazel gushed about being "very, very happy" with Tarik but wanting a girlfriend to make her even more happy.Hazel assured Angela that Tarik wasn't forcing her to do anything, but Angela urged the couple to get to know each other better before bringing in a third party.Angela predicted jealousy issues would come about, and Hazel hoped Angela would be wrong and having a girlfriend wouldn't be a problem for Tarik and herself.Tarik and Hazel are still a couple and their romance appears to be thriving.In late February, Tarik posted a video of Hazel posing as computer-generated snowflakes fell around her face."I remember when you said you'd always wanted to see and play in the snow. I said I had to walk to school calf high in it in Ohio. So I'm very happy without snow but not without you," Tarik captioned the video, before promoting her new lipstick. #Tarzel #allnatural."Tarik posted a video of Hazel driving a lawn mower in mid-February and captioned it, "Hazel doesn't just sit around searching profiles all day. She also nearly crashes the riding mower into the fence lol. Maybe I'm a bad driving instructor."He added the hashtags "Tarzel," "girlpower" and "ilovevirginiabeach."On January 31, Tarik shared a video of Hazel and himself driving in the car, and about a week earlier, he posted a photo of Hazel in glasses and added a funny caption with it."Me : I clearly text Minty to see if she was ok bc there was a big Covid outbreak in her city. Hazel : I put my glasses on to clearly see if this was BS. #Tarzel #90dayfiance #90daybaresall #90dayfiancepillowtalk #beforethe90days #rayban #allnatural," Tarik wrote.On January 16, Tarik posted a photo of Hazel standing in the sunlight with her eyes closed, and he captioned the image, "You are an original. You are misunderstood. You are ridiculed and hated on by many close to you. But you are still perfect."He continued, "I am an original. Misunderstood. Ridiculed and hated on by many close to me. We soak up the sun different. #Tarzel #90dayfiance #90dayfiancebaresall #90dayfiancepillowtalk #beforethe90days #nomakeup #nofilterneeded."A few days earlier, Tarik uploaded a photo of Hazel and his daughter flashing peace signs, showing they're still together as a family.Tarik also apparently rang in the New Year of 2021 with Hazel by his side.Tarik posted several photos of Hazel standing in front of a sunset, including two pictures of Hazel standing out of the sunroof of a car."Ok. So the house may have been a LITTLE messy," Tarik captioned the slideshow, referring to Hazel's first impression of his home in America."I'll make it up to you with a beautiful sunset. 2020 GO THE F AWAY ALREADY! BYE FELICIA! Everyone have a SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2021 #Tarzel #90dayfiance ##90daybaresall #90dayfiancepillowtalk #beforethe90days."On December 18, Tarik posted two selfies with Hazel in which she looked stunning in a burgundy dress and matching lip. In one of the pictures, she was kissing Tarik on the cheek."Hawt Sauws. Hella Hawt Sauws. #Tarzel Watch #90dayfiance Sunday at 8pm EST on @tlc #90daybaresall #90dayfiancepillowtalk #90dayfiancebeforethe90days," Tarik wrote alongside the images.One day earlier, Hazel posted a similar photo and captioned it, "Haters don't hate hate, haters hate LOVE.' #Tarzel #90dayfiance."Tarik reposted Hazel's quote on his own page saying he agreed with her, and then Hazel commented with multiple kiss-blowing emoticons.Tarik also posted a video of Hazel on October 25, 2020.In the video, Hazel told her fans, "I'm here to send good tidings and well wishes to your family and friends... I'm here for y'all! Have a good one!"Tarik captioned the Instagram post, "My beautiful Hazel is on Cameo now. Book her for all occasions. She is Hazel Cagalitan on Cameo. Thanks. #beforethe90days #90dayfiance."On August 28, 2020, Tarik posted a selfie of the couple, revealing they had watched Black Panther three times in one week together because Hazel loved it so much. He said it was "the first move we ever watched together."Tarik posted a photo of Hazel and her father on June 21 and gushed about how he raised 14 children in poor conditions."I thought I knew the difficulties of fatherhood until I met this man. He raised 14 children in conditions most of us only see on TV. Never once shirked his responsibility. The definition of a real man. Salamat Pa. Happy Father's Day," Tarik wrote.Tarik also wished Hazel a happy Mother's Day in May."When life dealt you crap, you turned it into fertilizer. I was proud of you before the cameras rolled. And I'll be proud of you... Well anyway. I'm your defense mechanism against anyone. And I mean anyone. Happy Mother's Day Zellybean," Tarik wrote alongside a photo of Hazel and her son.Back in October 2019, Tarik gushed about Hazel on Instagram."I had so many rules that you became the exception to. So many standards that you exceeded. Also, I'm forever grateful to you for pulling those knives out of my back that a smiling faced Judas shoved in. You are goals. #TarZel #90dayfiance #90dayfiancepillowtalk," he wrote.And in August, 2019, Tarik called his girl "an implausible, irreplaceable gift from God."In Summer 2019, Hazel gushed about Tarik and wrote, "Sometimes I still pinch myself to make sure Im not dreaming. Sometimes I still cant believe that youre real and that ur mine.""I never thought that some1 as amazing as u would fall in love with someone as silly as me," she continued."But Im so glad that u did because my life has been nothing but wonderful. Thank u 4 coming into my life and for letting me show u how much u mean to me. #TarZel #ILoveYouHoney."Tarik and Hazel's posts about one another date all the way back to Fall 2018.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
Warren Buffetts enthusiasm for the future of America and his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc has not been dimmed by the coronavirus pandemic. Buffett used his annual letter to investors to assure he and his successors would be careful stewards of their money at Berkshire, where the passage of time and an inner calm would help serve them well. Despite the disappearance last year of more than 31,000 jobs from Berkshires workforce, Buffett retained his trademark optimism, buying back a record $24.7 billion of its stock in 2020 in a sign he ...
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A lucky holiday tradition will go on this year and organizers say an important deadline is March 1st.

It's the Irish Dash in Terre Haute.

Saint Patrick school hosts the annual run.

This year, organizers say they are taking COVID-19 precautions in the form of social distancing and masking.

Money raised from the race benefits the students!

Saint Patrick student Ella Lowe says, "We get to raise money for our Washington, D.C. trip next summer."

The 18th annual Irish Dash is happening Saturday, March 13th.

Registration is 20-dollars.

The event includes a 5-k race, 5-k walk, and 1-mile fun run.

Now here is that important deadline, you have to register online by Monday if you want to be sure you get a race t-shirt.

https://www.saintpat.school/irish-dash
A Florida woman is celebrating overcoming her 150-day battle with COVID-19.

Isabel Pupo, 55, was admitted to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach back in July with a serious case of coronavirus. She was also suffering from pneumonia.

'I actually told the family on numerous occasions, unfortunately, that she was going to pass away and we are going to have to stop,' Dr. Steven DeBeer told CBSMiami, referring to her ECMO life support.

Pupo's high BMI made it risky to hook her up to an ECMO machine, which temporarily provides support to take the place of lung and heart functions.

Eventually, Pupo was selected for ECMO machine treatment, which lasted 67 days, during which her breathing was still a struggle.

'I remember listening to my daughters voice from the phone,' Pupo said about being in a medically induced coma.

'They would put the phone near my ear and all I remember was that she would say, fight for me.

'Before I got intubated, I looked at the ceiling and told God Please help me. I thought of them.'

Scroll down for video

BEFORE AND AFTER: Isabel Pupo, 55, was admitted to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach back in July with a serious case of coronavirus. She is pictured in hospital while battling the virus and right, after

Pupo miraculously took a turn for the better and saw her lungs heal and her oxygen levels increase, finally beating COVID-19 after five months.

She was discharged from Mount Sinai Medical Center in November and spent three months at a rehab facility before finally returning home this month.

'I am a miracle of God,' Pupo said. 'I am the proof that God exists. I have to repeat scientifically, I was not supposed to live.'

'I have to repeat scientifically, I was not supposed to live,' Pupo said to CBSMiami

Pupo was discharged from the Mount Sinai Medical Center in November

The United States has topped over 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began

While many can recover shortly after suffering from COVID-19, others can struggle with the virus for lengthy periods of time, like Pupo.

Others can experience 'long' COVID, where at least some symptoms persist for at least several months.

Florida continues to be a state hit hard by COVID-19, reporting 5,549 new cases and 110 new deaths on Saturday.

Those numbers bring the total number of cases in the state to 1,903,682 and the death toll to 30,734.

As of Saturday, over 3 million people in Florida have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 1,693,485, or 7.88 percent of the population of the state has been fully vaccinated.

In the United States, there have been over 28.54 million COVID-19 cases, with 511,787 deaths.
By James J. Florio

To many, the unsatisfactory conclusion to the impeachment trial of Donald Trump and the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol he inspired to stop certification of election results, has appropriately focused attention on the former presidents conduct. As reprehensible as that conduct was, lets not forget that his irresponsible actions and demagogic skills fell on a very receptive audience. This signals that something is fundamentally wrong with many of the ways our government is working or  more accurately  not working.

For one sure thing, in all of our states, governors are being called upon to fund functions that are clearly beyond their states financial capabilities. The pandemic is the most glaring example. Clearly, the federal government should have stepped in much earlier with the resources needed to combat a once-in-a-lifetime virus. But the pandemic is far from the only example. The cost of higher education, health care, mass transit and government employee pensions are among others that outstrip the ability of states to do what needs to be done so everyone can thrive.

Once you realize what a big problem this is, you cant help but focus attention on the U.S. Constitution, which, since its adoption in 1787, has frequently been interpreted to largely assign to our state and local governments the responsibilities of dealing with issues of a magnitude that could not be imagined 234 years ago. The result often is counter-productive competition for resources among the 50 states to the detriment of their residents and the entire nation.

Ours is a system that disregards the importance of efficiency and cost-effectiveness in favor of a misguided emphasis on autonomy that rings hollow in the face of catastrophes like the failure of the entirely in-state power grid in Texas to provide millions of people with power when cold weather froze gas pipelines. At times like that, what is autonomy but the equivalent of shoveling sand against the tide? You cant win.

Its time to place greater emphasis on defining a number of problems as national in scope  and requiring national-level financing to solve them. Having states finance their share of national problems largely on the basis of local conditions and resources creates a patchwork of solutions that too often fail. If coal prices are down, school children and people needing healthcare in West Virginia and Wyoming suffer. When oil prices tumble, police and firefighters are laid off in Louisiana and Alaska. Its the same with tourism in Nevada and Florida and financial services in New York and New Jersey.

Having to rely on resources that rise or fall depending on economic conditions within a states borders is a highly imperfect way to meet human needs and make the public investments needed for equitable results. Meanwhile, states offer all kinds of tax breaks to lure businesses away from other states in the false hope that poaching will be the answer, though it never is.

Moving to a more broad-based national system of taxation than exists today would free states from their dependency on fluctuating factors and bring a higher degree of uniformity and equity to revenue-raising at the national level  to say nothing about greater amounts of revenue. A carbon-based tax or a European-styled value-added tax are examples of possible options.

The key to improving our governments responsiveness is our willingness to review what works and what doesnt. And thats not just about taxes. Consider voting rights, where the power put into their hands has some states making voting more accessible and others trying mightily to find ways to make it harder to vote.

Whatever the issue, applying old, increasingly ineffective or inequitable policies to new problems can only make matters worse and cause additional problems. It is time to review 1787 assumptions in light of 21st-century responsibilities.

I recently had a conversation with a man who bitterly complained that he and his wife both work full time and still cant make ends meet. What the hell is going on; what am I supposed to do? he asked. Who is to blame? I suspect he would be more receptive to Donald Trumps answers than to a discussion of state and local tax systems. But its a discussion we need to have if were honest about solving problems.

Our new presidents challenge is to lay out, explore and present the policy options that are available along with his recommendations in order to build a consensus.

This task is not for the faint-hearted. Some upholders of the status quo will fight to the death (usually for money); think tobacco, coal, assault weapons. But, the end goal  preserving our democracy  is worth the struggle.

James J. Florio served as the 49th governor of the State of New Jersey from 1990-1994. Hes also a founding partner of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
LANE COUNTY, Ore.  With the new announcement that Oregon will begin prioritizing people with underlying health conditions and people who are front-line essential workers, some in those groups have mixed reactions.

Margaret Gerrans is an employee at New Seasons Market in Portland.

"I love the people I work with. I care about my coworkers," Gerrans said.

Grocery store employees like her have been on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic for about a year.

"There are a lot of people ... that are worn kind of ragged at this point," she said.

Essential workers cannot work from home, having to face crowds, anti-maskers, and potential COVID-19 exposure in person.

Gerrans said front-line workers are still the last to be prioritized before the general population.

"It isn't any better than it was yesterday, except there's now a date attached to it," Gerrans said. "It goes from a slap in the face to kind of a gut punch."

Samantha Santana shared similar frustrations. She works at the Luxe gift shop in the Oakway Center.

"It's a bummer because I'm interacting with people at work," Santana said, "but I'm just excited that we're getting vaccinations," Santana said.

For her and many others, the vaccinations can't get here soon enough.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 represents tens of thousands of grocery workers in Oregon. In a news release it said Gov. Kate Brown's announcement about the vaccine priority timeline "once again abandoned these workers to the back of the line."

Restaurant and bar staff will also be included in Oregon's essential worker designation.

Kainoa Lasconia works at Chacha's Hawaiian Grill in Eugene and is eager to get vaccinated.

"We deserve being vaccinated. Being in constant contact with customers, everybody strolling in and out of the restaurant. Just for us as restaurant workers to be safe," Lasconia said.

Gerrans expressed concern vaccine supply may not cover all people with underlying conditions and the subsequent group of essential workers.

"Sort of like when a concert lets out all at once and everybody rushes the door," Gerrans said. "Now is not the time to do that."

She said essential workers should have been considered before educators, who have been able to work from home.

"I want teachers to get vaccinated just like the rest of us, but they shouldn't be rushing the gate either," Gerrans said.

gettyimagesbank



By Kim Bo-eun



Competition is heating up among startups and established companies in the IT sector to secure programmers, as demand skyrockets for such workers.



The firms are racing each other to attract talented workers, even those who are already employees of their rivals. Companies are on their toes as startups have joined the race, unveiling dramatic pay hikes.



Zigbang's CEO stated last week that the property search platform operator will offer developers a starting annual salary of 60 million won. The CEO said it would also raise the annual pay for developers at the company by 20 million won. In addition, Zigbang said it would provide a bonus of up to 100 million won to experienced developers that join.



This has raised eyebrows in the IT sector, given it exceeds the compensation level of many major IT firms. Zigbang has not been the top destination of developers seeking to beef up their resumes.



But this is forcing bigger companies to consider taking similar steps, since moving to different companies is a common practice among developers. Employers are feeling a greater need to do so, as millennials and Generation Z workers in their 20s and 30s are much more vocal and demanding when it comes to better pay.



Such demands were recently seen at a number of large firms such as SK hynix, SK Telecom and Naver. Employees have called for better compensation after the companies posted handsome profits last year.



In the case of SK hynix, demands for greater performance-based pay led to SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stating he would return his salary for 2020, estimated at 3 billion won, to be allocated to executives and employees. SK hynix also decided to provide employees cash equivalents of 3 million won and shares through the employee stock ownership plan.



Naver founder Lee Hae-jin held talks with employees last week after the tech giant's union raised issues with the company's performance pay, in which he stated all employees would be given stock options.



Game companies are also in a rush to raise salaries for developers. Earlier this year, Nexon said it would offer a starting annual salary of 50 million won for developers and raise employees' annual salary by 8 million won. Netmarble also adopted the same pay raise for all employees. Krafton followed suit, stating it would raise the annual salary of developers by 20 million won.



Newer players in the tech sector have also joined the race. Daangn Market, a platform for trading used items, stated recently it would pay a minimum of 50 million won for developers and is also offering stock options. Woowa Brothers, which operates the country's top food delivery app Baedal Minjok, raised its annual salary for entry-level developers to 60 million won. Viva Republica, the operator of financial services platform Toss, is offering 1.5 times the annual pay of a new employee's previous workplace as well as 100 million won in stock options.



This has shifted attention to big players Naver, Kakao and game developer NCSOFT, which have not yet unveiled plans for a pay raise.



"Pay is definitely a big factor for considering a move. You would be surprised to learn that other benefits such as stock options also play a considerable role," an official in the tech industry said.


Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 23:39:25|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

MUSCAT -- The Omani Health Ministry on Sunday announced 908 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 141,496, the official Oman News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, 775 people recovered during the past 72 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 132,459, while eight deaths were reported, pushing the tally up to 1,570, according to a ministry statement quoted by ONA.

- - - -

ABUJA -- Nigeria is about to receive its first tranche of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, a global scheme set up to procure and distribute vaccines, as the country works to contain the pandemic.

The first shipment of four million vaccines is expected to arrive in the country on Monday, about one year after the most populous African nation recorded its index case on Feb. 27, 2020, said Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

- - - -

JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Health Ministry on Sunday reported 5,560 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 185 more deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the Southeast Asian country's total tally to 1,334,634 with 36,166 deaths.

According to the ministry, 6,649 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries from coronavirus to 1,142,703.

- - - -

BUDAPEST -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban received an injection of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 on Sunday.

"Vaccinated!" Orban wrote on Facebook, posting a photo of himself getting the shot, a close-up of the Chinese vaccine and a picture of a door to the vaccination point where he received the inoculation. Enditem
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Poor countries will remember who came to their assistance, and when. Moscow and Beijing saw an opportunity early on, sending masks and protective gear to hard-hit countries last spring. Now, with low- and middle-income countries clamoring for vaccines, countries from Serbia and Algeria to Brazil and Egypt are getting doses from China and Russia. Serbia, in fact, is ahead of most countries in the European Union in the percentage of its population that has been vaccinated, in part because its one of the few countries where both Russian and Chinese vaccines are already available.

China has made sharing its homegrown vaccines a centerpiece of its Belt and Road Initiative, a global strategy to invest in more than 70 countries and international organizations. Chinas vaccine diplomacy has had its glitches, most notably the lack of verified information about the efficacy of its vaccines, but for many poor countries, Chinas vaccines are far better than nothing. Recently, for example, China announced it would donate 300,000 doses to Egypt.

Russia claims it has orders for its Sputnik V vaccine from about 20 countries  including Americas southern neighbor, Mexico, which has contracted to receive 7.4 million doses between February and April. After a bout of Covid-19 in late January, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico reported that he had received a warm phone call from President Vladimir Putin of Russia and that he had invited Mr. Putin to visit Mexico. At about the same time, the president and vice president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, both received their first jabs of Sputnik V.

India, among the worlds largest producers of generic medicines, has also moved to develop its own vaccines and to ship them abroad, in part as a counter to Chinas outreach. Though India has a population of more than 1.3 billion, it has already sent 3.2 million free doses to neighboring countries and has contracted with a host of governments around the world to supply vaccines. One reason India can do this is that its producing more vaccine than it can currently distribute domestically. The United Arab Emirates, which is vaccinating its residents faster than any country except Israel, has also begun donating Chinese-made Sinopharm to countries where it has strategic or commercial interests.

Vaccine diplomacy has drawbacks. Dr. Ghebreyesus of the W.H.O. has complained that too many countries and vaccine manufacturers are focused on making bilateral or selective deals, which pushes the poorest countries to the side. That is the advantage of the W.H.O.s Covax initiative, and the Biden administration has made a good start in supporting it.

President Biden has assured Americans that most will be vaccinated by the end of summer. He should also assure them that it is very much in their interest, for reasons of morality, common sense and national interest, to be at the forefront of the global war against that vicious little spiked blob.
When Myanmars military dictatorship imprisoned the countrys democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, earlier this month, one of the ramifications was the trading halt on the Australian Stock Exchange of a small Australian listed mining company, Myanmar Metals.

The companys key asset  a silver and lead mine in the war-torn Shan state that was once touted as the greatest deposit in the British Empire  was suddenly facing a surge in local violence and ongoing political uncertainty, the company said in a statement to investors. The ministers overseeing mining in the country had changed and there was the possibility of renewed international sanctions.

The road to riches: The access track to the Bawdwin silver mine in Shan State, Myanmar.

But what the Perth based company did not mention was corporate links that trace back to a firm accused of enriching the Myanmar junta and of being run by a drug kingpin known as the Godfather of Heroin. These ties themselves are landing Myanmar Metals at the centre of a fresh sanctions debate.

Myanmar Metals prized asset is the Bawdwin mine. Before World War II it was one of the biggest in the world. Former US president Herbert Hoover made his fortune there.

The Duchess of Rutland has admitted that her living arrangements with her estranged husband are 'wildly unconventional'.

Mother-of-five Emma Manners, 57, married David Manners, 61, the 11th Duke of Rutland, in June 1992 after meeting at a dinner party in 1990 and said her 'biggest regret' was the dissolution of her relationship.

The marriage broke down in 2012 after the Duke embarked on an affair with a woman who lived on his 15,000-acre estate, Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire, which is known for featuring in Netflix 's The Crown.

However Emma, chief executive of the estate, and David, who are still officially married, both continued to live at the 200-year-old stately home in separate towers and she has previously insisted the pair are still the 'very best of friends'.

'Its been wildly unconventional but maybe its grown up', said Emma in an interview with the Sunday Times, 'The aristocracy has been behaving in those ways for generations.'

Mother-of-five Emma Manners, 57, married David Manners, 61, the 11th Duke of Rutland, in June 1992 after meeting at a dinner party in 1990. The pair are pictured in in 2012

The duchess and duke share five children. Pictured; Lady Alice Manners, 25, Emma Manners, Lady Eliza Manners, 23, and Lady Violet Manners, 27

She spoke of the 'horrendous' separation from husband David, admitting daughter Lady Violet Manners, 27, struggled originally with the split - but is now in full support of her relationship with estate manager, Phil Burtt.

Speaking to guest Lady Emma Ingilby of Ripley Castle, in North Yorkshire, on her podcast Duchess, the Duchess of Rutland said she was sad she and the Duke hadn't 'made their journey together'.

Emma said: 'I am actually officially still married and the duke and I are legally separated, but it of course, always brings that little bit within one that we didn't just make that journey together.

'But we are the very best of friends and lucky enough for me, he's put me in charge of carrying on the mantle, together we run the estate and he's entrusted me with the job.'

The marriage broke down when the Duke of Rutland had an affair with Andrea Webb (pictured in 2017 with Alexander Webb)

Emma, chief executive of the estate, and David, who are still officially married, both live in the 200-year-old stately home (pictured) in separate towers, and each have found new lovers

Meanwhile, David is happily ensconced with Tiggy Maconochie, former agent to the late fashion photographer Helmut Newton, according to the Daily Mail's Richard Eden.

The Duke split from his Brazilian-born lover, Andrea Webb, whom he had had the affair with, two years ago.

Discussing the breakdown of her marriage for the Daily Mail in 2013, Emma said making sure the family stayed together - living in the same place and even sharing meals - hadn't been easy.

Emma, pictured with Lady Violet in 2018, has also discussed the impact of the pandemic on local businesses on her estate on her podcast

She wrote: 'When I married David, Marquis of Granby and heir to one of Britains most distinguished stately homes, I expected life to be full of challenges. But this, by far, has been my hardest yet.

'When a relationship collapses there is often fault on both sides. Mine was definitely devoting too much time to the business and the children and not enough to my husband. I suppose both gave me focus and a sense of achievement that was lacking in our marriage.'

The duchess and duke share five children: Lady Violet, 27, who is helping to produce the podcast, and her siblings Alice, 25, Eliza, 23, Charles, 21, and Hugo, 17.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation on the success of the first dedicated commercial launch of PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 Mission, saying it ushers in a new era of space reforms in the country.

The prime minister also congratulated Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on the successful launch of Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite by PSLV-C51, and said this is a historic moment in space cooperation between the two countries.

"Congratulations to NSIL (NewSpace India Limited) and @isro on the success of the 1st dedicated commercial launch of PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 Mission. This ushers in a new era of space reforms in the country," Modi tweeted.

Congratulations President @jairbolsonaro on the successful launch of Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite by PSLV-C51. This is a historic moment in our space cooperation and my felicitations to the scientists of Brazil. @isro  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 28, 2021

He said 18 co-passengers included four small satellites that showcase dynamism and innovation of our youth.

"Congratulations President @jairbolsonaro on the successful launch of Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite by PSLV-C51. This is a historic moment in our space cooperation and my felicitations to the scientists of Brazil," the prime minister said.

India's Polar rocket on Sunday successfully launched Amazonia-1 of Brazil and 18 other satellites from the spaceport in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota, in the first mission of the year for space agency ISRO.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 lifted off at around 10:24 am from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) and first injected into orbit primary payload Amazonia-1 about 17 minutes later.

PSLV-C51 is the first dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO's commercial arm, and the launch was watched among others by the Brazilian government officials at the mission control centre in Sriharikota, over 100 kms from Chennai.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/28/2021



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[ Spoilers Warning: This report contains spoilers that reveal if Jovi and Yara are still together and whether the couple had a baby.]

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So are Yara and Jovi still together and new parents to a baby or did the couple break up?

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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 Jovi Dufren and Yara Zaya have been shown not even getting along at their engagement party on Season 8, so what do spoilers reveal about if Jovi and Yara had a baby and are still together now or broke up?Jovi, a 29-year-old who works in underwater robotics from New Orleans, LA, met Yara, a 25-year-old makeup artist from Kiev, Ukraine, through a travel app and he was attracted to her beauty and hobbies.After meeting in Budapest and having "really good sex," according to Jovi, they took vacations together all over the world, including a stop in Bali. Jovi also visited his girl in the Ukraine multiple times.Jovi revealed he got Yara pregnant six months into their relationship and that was a huge shock to him."I was dumbfounded, it was so unexpected. This is not what I'm ready for. I thought she was trying to trap me. I thought, 'This is her ticket to America,'" Jovi admitted. "But after the shock wore off, it actually pulled us pretty closer together."At that point, Jovi said he loved Yara, and so he decided to propose marriage to her during a trip to Cuba and then apply for a K-1 visa so they could marry and become a family.But then the couple received bad news that Yara had suffered a miscarriage.After experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions, Yara's K-1 visa was approved and so she moved to Louisiana to be with him."If Yara and I don't work out, I'll be devastated," Jovi said, before the couple reunited at the airport.Once Yara arrived to America, she disappointed Jovi by wanting to sleep her first night in New Orleans instead of partying with his friends. Jovi began thinking that he and Yara were on different pages.Yara also came to find that New Orleans was chaotic and crazy, and she viewed Jovi's mother Gwen as pushy, especially about Yara and Jovi's wedding.Yara desired a quickie wedding in Las Vegas while Gwen hoped for a grand event for all of Jovi's friends and family. Gwen said Yara was being a bit selfish, but Yara complained she'd never "get married in a trailer park."Yara and Jovi went on to have several disagreements, and Jovi realized he needed to compromise in order to make his fiancee happy in a country that was foreign to her.Yara also still harbored resentment over Jovi leaving her in Albania after her miscarriage -- a series of events Jovi recalled differently. Yara had a fear implanted in the back of her mind that Jovi would disappoint and neglect her again -- and maybe even their future children.Once Jovi left for a month to work on a boat, Yara felt lonely and attempted to befriend Jovi's pal Sara, who warned Yara that Jovi used to be a regular at one of the local stripclubs and "would sleep with" the exotic dancers.Sara also revealed Jovi's ex got so drunk one night that she had pissed herself in bed, and Yara wondered if she was seeing a totally different Jovi. Click here to read Jovi's denial about having slept with strippers, and click here to see his reaction to Sarah throwing him under the bus to Yara.Although Yara said she and Jovi had been "careful" her first month in America, she discovered she was pregnant -- and it was a huge shock to her because she didn't feel ready for a baby!"I am not ready yet. I don't even know if I want to get married and live here," Yara complained.She later added, "I honestly don't even know if [Jovi] wants to settle down with me and [stop] partying all the time. It just makes me feel crazy."When Yara told Jovi that she was pregnant, he didn't believe her at first because Yara had allegedly once joked around about being pregnant for the second time but she wasn't."It's no big deal... I can be happy if it's true," Jovi said, explaining that at least Yara was in the United States now instead of the Ukraine.Yara wished Jovi just trusted her, but she took a couple more tests for him as proof of her pregnancy.Once he realized he was going to be a dad, Jovi apologized to Yara and gave her a kiss on the cheek."F-ck your pregnant! Alright, well this changes things a lot, I guess," Jovi said in a confessional, adding that he felt "terrible" for doubting Yara when she had just moved to a new country for him.Jovi admitted he wasn't 100 percent ready but he would be 100 percent ready for Yara.With 45 days left to wed, Yara told Jovi's parents that she hated hearing the stereotype of Ukrainian women using American for a Green Card. Yara insisted it wasn't her dream to come to America and she had heard stereotypes herself, like how Americans "are stupid."Yara said she'd actually like to live in Ukraine to be closer to her mom, and Jovi's parents panicked a little bit because they didn't want to lose their son and not live near their future grandchildren.Jovi assured his parents that he didn't want to move somewhere cold and he and Yara had more time to figure that out.At a crawfish boil Yara didn't attend, Jovi's friends all joked that his relationship wasn't going to last and he wouldn't make it more than six months.Jovi insisted he had changed a lot in the last two years, and Jovi's pals agreed Yara must have special powers in order to contain Jovi and his wild ways.While Jovi said he loved to travel, he couldn't picture himself living anywhere else than New Orleans. But since they had a kid on the way, Jovi said he'd do anything it takes to make his relationship work.Jovi and Yara then bickered on the way to their big engagement party that Gwen had planned.Yara called Jovi "an alcoholic," saying a beer was always in her fiancee's hand. Jovi said he wasn't drunk and hadn't been drinking, but Yara was offended that Jovi was treating her like she was stupid.Jovi didn't understand why Yara wanted to fight when they were on their way to a party to celebrate their upcoming marriage."If I was not pregnant, I would be already in Ukraine," Yara said in tears."Not so lucky," Jovi responded."Son of a b-tch," Yara said in tears.Yara lamented before the engagement party, "I'm pregnant; I need support, and Jovi doesn't care about me. And now I need to pretend like everything is good and everything is alright, but no, I don't feel good."When Yara and Jovi danced in front of the group, Yara was angry that Jovi kept putting his hands near her butt.Gwen told the cameras that her son and his fiancee really seemed to be in love, but as the couple danced, Yara repeatedly whispered in Jovi's ear, "I hate you."Jovi asked Yara if she wanted to eat, and she replied, "I'm going to kick your f-cking ass."Jovi didn't know what to do because Yara clearly thought he was "an assh-le," and Yara was worried about people thinking she was weird because she refused to drink alcohol with everybody.Jovi therefore shared with his parents how Yara was pregnant, and they were overjoyed about having a grandchild on the way.But that didn't turn Yara's night around, unfortunately.Yara told Jovi that the party was about them as a couple and not about Jovi having a good time with his friends and getting drunk, and Jovi told the cameras, "Welcome to pregnancy, guys."Yara insisted that she deserved somebody better because she's smart, beautiful and more."I'm just done with you, and you don't want to say nothing," Yara cried. "When you get married, it's time to care about me. And when you have kids, you have to care about your kids -- not just about you and your alcohol."Yara didn't feel Jovi cared about her at all, and she cried to the cameras about how awful she felt. Jovi, for his part, said he was "over" hearing his fiancee complain about him.It appears Jovi and Yara got married within the 90-day period that Yara's K-1 visa allowed and they are still together.Yara and Jovi got married in a wedding ceremony in Las Vegas, NV, in February 2020, according to In Touch Weekly.Yara told Us Weekly in January 2021 she was "so happy" upon learning she was pregnant because she hoped her baby would look as "handsome" or "beautiful" as Jovi, whom she gushed about being in love with "so much."Jovi and Yara reportedly welcomed their first child together only a few months before Season 8 of premiered on TLC in December 2020, In Touch reported.It appears Yara delivered the couple's child in September 2020.Before viewers saw Yara take a positive pregnancy test on 's eighth season, pregnancy rumors began floating around on December 31 when Yara posted an Instagram photo that appeared to show two unique ornaments on a Christmas tree she was posing next to. (Eagle-eyed fans also pointed out the tree looked like it was in Jovi's New Orleans apartment).One of the ornaments was a baby and the other was a pink heart with the word "mom" written on it.Yara also reportedly created an Amazon baby registry last year under the name "Yara Dufren," which seemingly provided evidence she was expecting a child and the couple had tied the knot during her K-1 visa trip to the United States.The baby registry was posted on January 4, 2020, according to In Touch, and the items Yara listed were for a baby girl due in September 2020.The registry has since been removed from Amazon.There is also evidence on social media the couple's relationship is still in good standing. For example, Jovi's Instagram profile picture features Yara.And on Yara's Instagram, her description says, "38 country, traveling with my [love]." Jovi has a similar description on his own Instagram page, saying he's been to 57 countries and is "on an adventure to see the world!"In mid-December 2020, Yara posted a picture of herself touching her hair, and an Instagram user noticed an engagement ring and wedding ring on Yara's left hand.But when a fan commented, "Ooooooooo a wedding ring," Yara commented, "Not wedding, this is an ordinary ring, I wear it so that the engagement ring does not get lost, because it is big for me."The fan wrote back that Jovi needs to size the ring for Yara, and she replied, "Hahahahah, i was thinking about that, but I newer have time."And when one fan wrote on Yara's Instagram last year, "I can't wait to see more of you and jovi you two are so cute together," Yara replied, "Thank you."In early December of last year, Yara posted a photo of herself filming behind-the-scenes and wrote alongside it, "I want Jovi to look at me with the same loving eyes as this woman looks at me in the first photo."Yara also uploaded a photo of herself drinking wine with a cityscape in the background, and Jovi commented with the following flirty response: "Dayummmm. Are you single??"The pair were definitely still together in early May 2020, when Yara captioned a selfie of the couple with three red heart emojis.One follower gushed "gorgeous couple," and then Yara responded, "Thanks."Yara also posted a throwback photo of Jovi proposing marriage down on one knee. She wrote "memories" alongside the photo with a red heart emoji.And in February 2020, Yara uploaded a few photos of herself in an ivory suite and pink shirt, and Jovi commented, "Like."Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
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Remove me if you can: PM Oli challenges Prachanda

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Kathmandu, Feb 28: Nepal''s embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday challenged the ruling Nepal Communist Party's splinter faction led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal ''Prachanda'' to remove him from the top post if he can.

Addressing an event in his home district, Jhapa, Prime Minister Oli challenged the Prachanda-led faction to table a vote of no confidence motion and endorse that, My Republica newspaper reported.

"K P Oli is still the parliamentary party leader of the NCP. He is the party chairman as well as the prime minister," 69-year-old Oli said. "If you have restored parliament, remove KP Oli from the prime ministerial post."

Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 after President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House and announced fresh elections on April 30 and May 10 at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, amidst a tussle for power within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP).

In a landmark ruling, a five-member constitutional bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher last week annulled the Oli government''s "unconstitutional" decision to dissolve the 275-member lower house of Parliament. The court ordered the government to summon the House session within the next 13 days.

Ready to face parliament, Nepal PM Oli in no mood to resign

The ruling party suffered a vertical split following Oli's decision to dissolve the lower house.

"Remove me if you can. If I am ousted, I'll emerge victorious with a two-thirds majority in the next election," Prime Minister Oli was quoted as saying by the paper.

Prachanda has been making efforts to garner support from the opposition Nepali Congress and Janata Samajbadi parties in an apparent bid to oust Oli from power.

Oli''s Press Advisor Surya Thapa last week said the prime minister will not resign immediately and implement the Supreme Court's verdict against him by facing Parliament.

Oli is under pressure to step down following the court verdict.

NCP Vice-president Bamdev Gautam, who maintained a balance between Oli and his rival Prachanda, last week urged the prime minister to step down.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 18:27 [IST]
An aristocrat is suing her former lawyer after claiming she was tricked into signing over her 2 million fortune.

Baroness Jacqueline van Zuylen was allegedly persuaded by Rodney Whiston-Dew to invest her money in a tax-efficient trust in the Seychelles in 2012.

The financially unsophisticated baroness had never worked a day in her life and claims she was easily taken in by the impressive solicitor, who was a director of the trust.

But the High Court in London heard that when she asked for the money back five years later after losing faith in him, he did not return it.

Baroness Jacqueline van Zuylen, pictured with daughter Allegra, was allegedly persuaded by Rodney Whiston-Dew to invest her money in a tax-efficient trust in the Seychelles

She is now suing him for 4 million.

Whiston-Dew, 70, who was jailed for ten years and struck off after being convicted over a 65 million investment scam in 2017, denies the baronesss allegations.

He claims he had been trying to protect her money and rein in her extraordinary 200,000-a-year spending habit.

Managing her affairs was extremely time-consuming while she jetted around the world on horse-riding expeditions and interior design projects, he said.

Baroness van Zuylen, a divorced mother of one, was living on income generated from her savings when she was introduced to Whiston-Dew in 2011.

The money was held in shares, bonds and cash but had not been performing well, her lawyer Imran Benson said. The keen horsewoman, who lives in the Cotswolds village of Little Faringdon, was financially unsophisticated, he added.

The persuasive Whiston-Dew offered to invest her money so she would have a monthly income for life.

Court documents at a pre-trial hearing claim that in 2012, the baroness transferred 2,103,619 to a Seychelles-based company of which Whiston-Dew was the director.

He told her the money had been put in a tax-efficient trust called the Azure Trust and invested in gold and property, Mr Benson said.

But when asked to explain what was going on with the money, Whiston-Dew would regularly say it was better for tax reasons to have no paperwork.

The baroness, who divorced her husband, Baron Thierry van Zuylen before his death in 2011, was paid 846,076 income over the following years, Mr Benson said.

But after losing faith in the arrangement in 2017, she asked for her money back and an explanation of what had happened to it.

Rodney Whiston-Dew claims he had been trying to protect her money and rein in her extraordinary 200,000-a-year spending habit

The lawyer said: The capital sum has not been returned.

The administrator of the trust has since said that the Azure Trust had never held any monies, he added.

The baroness is claiming her money back, plus compensation for lost investment gains.

In 2017, Whiston-Dew was jailed for conspiracy to cheat the public revenue and acting with intent to prejudice or defraud HM Revenue & Customs.

He was among a group of five Eton and Oxbridge-educated businessmen who conned wealthy individuals into investing millions of pounds into a fake green investment scheme.

Writing from prison, Whiston-Dew said the baroness had lost money on poor investments and was overspending on credit cards and overdrafts when they met. The trust, which he said was set up on the Caribbean island of Nevis, had been arranged to preserve what was left of her money.

Whiston-Dew said: The baroness was very frequently travelling abroad... leaving me to deal with ever-increasing calls from her bank. These became daily occurrences.

He also argued that UK courts had no jurisdiction to deal with a case concerning funds held on the island of Nevis.

A full trial is set to go ahead later this year.
More questions than answers as guns, enclosure and relocation of animals touted to protect crops By Tharushi Weerasinghe View(s): View(s):

A committee that recently recommended providing guns to small-scale farmers to control their pest problem has also suggested caging the animals in large enclosures where they would be given food and water or relocating them to forests and less-populated islands in the country.

But the problem with relocation was whether sufficient food would be available on the islands, admitted Bandula Harischandra, Secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation. The Ministry was also looking at changing laws in order to control wild animal populations.

Wild boar meat cannot be transported, peacocks cant be killed and neither can the giant squirrel, he pointed out. So, were looking into the possibility of relaxing these laws so we can curb the over-population.

But environmental groups and Government agencies have risen against a recent recommendation to distribute firearms among small-scale farmers to help control pests.

At present, farmers with more than five acres of land have the right to protect their property with a firearm. But an expert team appointed by Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has suggested extending the permit to famers with two acres and above.

But the Minister said this week that this proposal was one of many the team had floated, and that it was still at the discussion stage. As an agricultural nation aiming to be less import-dependent, it was important to strengthen farmers by solving their problems.

The elephant, peacock and giant squirrel, porcupine, wild boar and the monkeys are just a few of many pests tormenting farmers and causing massive agricultural losses. Sri Lanka loses 20 percent of its agricultural produce in transport and another 25 percent to pests, Minister Aluthgamage said.

Forty-five percent of the countrys production is going to waste, he insisted. We have now dealt with the issues caused in transport through appropriate packaging techniques, but the pest issue is unsolved.

The only solution implemented so far is a solar fence. The Minister said this has failed to stop animals from destroying crops. A decision will have to be taken to preserve agriculture. We are an agricultural nation, not a wildlife country, he declared, controversially.

The committee he appointed has representatives also from the Wildlife Ministry and Forest Conservation. Its members are Secretary to the State Ministry Maj Gen (Rtd) Palitha Fernando; Additional Secretary to the Wildlife Ministry M D Ratnayake; Director General of Wildlife Conservation M C Sooriyabandara; Additional Secretary to the Defence Ministry Saman Dissanayake; Commissioner of the Agriculture Department D S Pradeep; Environmentalist Thilak Kandegama; and other experts.

The group has so far met twice since it was appointed two weeks ago and is tasked with making short-term, mid-term and long-term action plans.

Arming farmers, sterilisation, and caging were some of the suggestions made, said Mr Kandegama, adding he disagreed with all of them. Arming civilians who have a Sri Lankan mentality was dangerous. Caging animals would just create a zoo. Sterlisation of pests like monkeys would take years to prove fruitful as the current generation could go for 35 years or more. It could also contribute towards species extinction which he, as an environmentalist, could not support.

In his proposal to the committee, Mr Kandegama asked that co-existence strategies be explored. He also advocated the study of the tides of the moon and the patterns of the sun and stars to better determine which solutions would work. The ancient farming arts by ancestors such as mantara gurukan were also worth exploring.

An approach that combines technology with tradition will be adopted, another committee member confirmed. Their initial recommendations were to be handed in soon.

Other countries used methods such as removing eggs from nests, Mr Harischandra observed, but this, too, would not be welcomed as Sri Lanka was a Sinhala Buddhist country. Pests were also unevenly distributed with some districts having rampant giant squirrel populations and others not having any squirrels at all. The Ministry might, therefore, look at district-specific regulations.

The giant squirrel is legally shielded from any type of harm, even when they enter farmlands and destroy crops. As a first step, the Ministry will submit a draft proposal to loosen the law that affords these animals protection.

Mr Harischandra did question the viability of the proposal involving guns saying it hadnt been helpful all these years. Farmers who have them now view it as a status symbol, not a weapon. And he said the security risk was considerably higher when guns went into the hands of the more economically-deprived farmers as they might be prone to use them more frequently and widely owing to the strife they go through in life and in agriculture.

Another solution under discussion was whether the Ministry should distribute firearms to groups within farmer associationsthey would be trained accordinglyto use during seasons when crops need protection. They would then have to be returned.

Lahiru Prashan, a 25-year-old farmer from Rajanganaya in the Anuradhapura district, owns around two acres of banana and vegetables. Monkeys and peacocks have become uncontrollable. At times, they destroy nearly 70 percent of his crop in one go, he said.

If we are called away from the land for an emergency, we come back to find that even 30 percent that was left is usually gone, he told the Sunday Times. Pests will be more likely to avoid their crops if they are shot at as animals remember pain, he believes.

Natural predators like leopards that usually controlled populations of peacocks and monkeys were no longer in these areas and, therefore, the pests were unhindered. We wouldnt need these weapons if they could be contained, Mr Prashan said.

Only third generation children in his colony considered a government job. Most inhabitants depended on agriculture. We have to kill one or two of the pests and protect our crop or we will have no means of survival, he said. There are laws to deal with the possible threat to human lifethe same danger weapons like knives posed.

Ishara Buddhika, a 33-year-old farmer with over twelve acres in Rajanganaya, has been farming for over 15 years. He felt strongly that distributing firearms would have dangerous consequences.

In areas like Anuradhapura, most farmers are army deserters and so on, he pointed out. A weapon in these hands would be very dangerous. Farmers had started committing suicide using pesticide when these chemicals were introduced. He feared guns would also be similarly misused.

Every house in the colony will have a gun under this system, Mr Buddhika said. Can you imagine how the nature of, say, election violence, will change when everyone has a gun?

It was more the case of humans encroaching onto wildlife than the other way around, he maintained. Two solutions to increasing Sri Lankas agricultural output was either more agricultural space or more yield from space available.

Sri Lanka only produced about 80 bushels of produce per acre. Farmers in Japan produced approximately 300 bushels per acre. Sri Lankas agricultural deficits were not just caused by pests. We need good agricultural practices, and better irrigation, not guns, Mr Buddhika concluded.

Meanwhile, environmentalists have risen up against the ecocide issuing firearms would cause among wildlife. This will be disastrous in an environmental and social sense, said Hemantha Withange, Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice.

Around two million farmers would get access to firearms under the suggested new regulation, he estimated: Even if only ten thousand of them hit an animal per night, thats still ten thousand animal deaths in just one night.

The Government would not be able to control who has the guns, Mr Withanage pointed out. We cant save a tree from the chainsaw of an ill-disciplined person, he scoffed. How will we save a human from a gun?

There were natural deterrents that could be used to curb the issue of pests, he continued. These animals were only encroaching farmlands because they were running out of forests to feed off. Market mechanisms like crop insurance could be introduced to help the farmers in the long-term without risking the lives of animals and humans alike.

The authorities agreed rapid depletion of forests caused the wildlife to intrude into farmlands. The Ministry planned to distribute seeds such as jakfruit and wood apple across vast habitats as a long-term solution to the issue, Mr Harischandra said.
A man received a positive COVID-19 test result on Sunday in Bac Lieu Province, located in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, following a medical check-up required by his potential employer.

This is considered a suspected case because the Ministry of Health has yet to register it.

The case in question is T.V.T., 49, who hails from Soc Trang Province, also located in the Mekong Delta, according to a report by the Bac Lieu Center for Disease Control.

T. claimed to have never left his hometown nor had any contact with coronavirus patients or suspected cases in the last 14 days.

On Saturday, T. and six other people traveled on motorbikes to a wind power company in Bac Lieu City, which is the provincial capital, to seek jobs.

The group later went to Bao Anh Diner and have a cup of coffee before contacting a man named Huu from the company.

Huu rented a room next to Bao Anh for the group to take a rest.

At 11:00 am the same day, T. and the other group members had lunch at Ut Suong Rice Point near their room.

Around 2:30 pm, Huu took T.s group by motorbike to Thanh Vu Medic Bac Lieu Hospital for a COVID-19 test.

The hospital announced on Sunday that T. had tested positive for the virus, using the real-time PCR method.

He is being isolated at Bac Lieu General Hospital.

The Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City is conducting a retest on this case, the Bac Lieu Center for Disease Control said, adding that 30 of his direct contacts will also be tested locally.

Local authorities are tracing his contacts to prevent transmission into the community.

Vietnams caseload tally has reached 2,432 as of Sunday morning, with 837 domestic cases reported since January 27, when the country confirmed the first community-based infection after having spent almost two months detecting zero local transmissions, according to the Ministry of Health's data.

Hai Duong Province in the northern region is the largest epicenter with 653 cases.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

(Photo : Screenshot from YouTube/LadBaby) McDonald's and other food chains are now using a smart-drive thru systems powered by an AI

Foodchains like McDonald's are now adopting advanced smart-drive thru features that further ease the transaction and other activities. Computer-operated systems that work like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa made drive-thru much more comfortable through artificial intelligence.

The said features contributed to more efficiency in serving food, and the competition only gets tighter from here. Find out the amazing technologies behind this 'big' leap in foodservice.

Food Chains Now Rely on Advanced Smart Drive-Thru Features

In a report by CNN, the pandemic has become a great challenge in the food industry, especially the sales only depended on drive-thru in the majority. For instance, a food chain such as Chipotle and Shake Shack will now implement a drive-thru for the first time this summer.

On the other hand, to the restaurants that have already drive-thru systems before, White Castle and Burger King saw that the physical queues are only leading to problems like food order inaccuracy and long queues. The said food chains came up with the idea of exploring the use of artificial intelligence even before the pandemic broke out.

Now, you can see some smart-drive thru features in these huge food giants. Facial recognition is now a thing to some restaurants, where virtual assistants recognize the customers through scanning. Payment processes are also much faster compared to traditional since automated ordering was done through computers.

Just imagine that people have been enduring the traditional way of ordering food and paying over the past years. Now, the technology of drive-thru has been gradually rising and continuously coping with the modern changes.

According to Lisa van Kesteren, the CEO of Seelevel HX, an agency that specializes in improving customer experience, technology has been a vital part of the advancement of drive-thru features. Kesteren added that this only showed how food chains adjusted in the middle of a pandemic.

Read Also: Friends Hacked McDonald's Self-Service Machine To Get Free Burger: Here's How They Did It

How Fast-Food Drive-Thru Features Help the Customers?

Besides facial recognition, companies have leaned on a simpler menu to cater to more people. Few restaurants used AI devices for license plate scanning, so future orders will be forecasted. Moreover, mobile orders will now be possible through the drive-thru with just a simple tap.

In 2019, McDonald's adopted Apprente, an AI startup that makes use of voice technology so order taking will be much more convenient. The California-based franchise also acquired Dynamic Yield, another AI system that focuses on digitally improving the customer ordering experience.

In a report by The Wall Street Journal, the Dynamic Yield has been widely implemented across the United States and Canada. In Australia, the system is now integrated into some kiosks. This also helped McDonald's stay on track with the digital strategy, which was even made intense, especially only a few customers eat in the restaurants.

Meanwhile, White Castle depends on the camera utilized for license-plate recognition. This requires the customers' permission since they will be sharing their plate number with the food restaurant through the app-based loyalty program.

The involved software called Craver Nation manages the order history of the customers. If they want to return to White Castle, they are already recognized in the system.

On the other hand, Fair Oaks Burger will not let you anymore pay using your credit card or physical money through facial recognition. Through PopPay, customers can only take a picture of themselves and their credit cards. The cash will be automatically deducted from their account.

The Issue Behind These Drive-Thru Features

Many are concerned about what seems to be a Jetsons treatment, where computers are now the only workers in food chains. This reality alarms workers as the looming unemployment continue to increase.

This technological advancement may have eased the speed and convenience for the food chains, but at the expense of losing jobs over computers, the real issue of employment is not yet solved.

Related Article: McDonald's To Buy Start-Up So It Can Automatically Tweak Drive-Thru Menu

This article is owned by Tech Times.

Written by Joen Coronel

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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This is the shocking moment a family was rescued from the brink of danger after choosing to camp out on a cliff edge just days after a series of landslips in the area.

The family of two adults and a child put up a tent on a section of the Cleveland Way, a national trail which runs 110 miles between Helmsley and the Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire.

After the family were spotted in the precarious location, coastguard rescue officers from Staithes and Whitby travelled to them on Saturday, Evening Gazette reports.

A family of two adults and a child put up a tent on a section of the Cleveland Way, a national trail which runs 110 miles between Helmsley and the Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire

They were issued with safety advice due to the dangerous siting of their tent and were made aware of recent landslips in the area.

An officer from North Yorkshire Police also attended due to breaching coronavirus restrictions.

It is not yet known whether the family was issued with any fixed penalty notices.

A spokesperson from Staithes Coastguard said: 'Safety advice was given from coastguard rescue officers due to the dangerous location of their tent, especially with recent landslips.

'If walking the Cleveland Way please stay on designated footpaths.

'If you see anyone at risk or in danger at the coast, immediately call 999 and ask for the coastguard.'

After the family were spotted in the precarious location, coastguard rescue officers from Staithes and Whitby travelled to provide them with safety advice on Saturday, while police also attended due to breaching coronavirus restrictions

Just weeks ago, Teesside Live reported how a warning had been issued over a large landslip on Cleveland Way.

People were urged to avoid a footpath on Huntcliff, which had crumbled during Storm Christoph.

Witnesses say that large chunks of the footpath are falling, leaving it in a dangerous condition.

The path, which is between Skinningrove and Saltburn, is regularly used by walkers and runners.

Redcar and Cleveland Council closed the section of the path while officers inspected the site.

Under current national lockdown restrictions in England, staying away from home overnight is illegal except for essential purposes.

The Booker T. Washington Community Center, originally called The Colored Community Center, has been an integral Auburn institution since October 1927. It was founded through the work of Mrs. Lena M. Johnson and Mrs. Martin to benefit the welfare of African-Americans. BTW has become a gathering spot for all people to be aware of and involved in issues of societal importance while mentoring children toward future leadership. During and after World War II, from 1942 to 1948, Eleanor I. Hardy served as director of the center. In September 1944, The Citizen Advertiser, Auburns newspaper, stated, Few cities the size of Auburn have a community center as well equipped and as popular as the well known BTW Community Center on Chapman Ave. Eleanor Hardy, Director, has become one of Auburn's well known civic workers."

Today, BTW faces funding obstacles even while continuing its six after-school program sites, a COVID-19 assistance program called EDUcare, and tripling the number of youths served during the past six years. The center recently completed the purchase of its property from the city of Auburn and maintains its commitment to empowering children and community through a variety of social and cultural programs.
The final witness in the war crimes trial of Alieu Kosiah, called by Swiss state prosecutors, took the stand on Friday and gave testimony corroborating the claims by plaintiffs that the former United Liberation Movement for Democracy of Liberia (ULIMO) commander killed young civilian men that he and his rebels had forced to carry looted goods in Kolahun District, Lofa County, in 1993.

The witness, a mathematics teacher who was flown in from Liberia to testify, told the Swiss Federal Criminal Court that he was among groups of young men who were forced to carry the goods long distances back to the rebel base.

Many witnesses told the court that Mr Kosiah and his rebels killed men who could not carry the loads.

The man told the court that he witnessed Mr Kosiah shoot a young man named Musa Kpandeh in Kolahun after he complained of being tired from transporting looted goodsincluding parts of a generatoron the 10-hour walk from Pasolahun.

Rebels, allegedly under Mr Kosiahs orders, had raided the town early in the morning and forced them to carry the items.

Yes, Kosiah shot [the man], said the teacher. He had a pistol.

Now 45, the teacher said that Mr Kosiah killed Morlu Kpandeh, the other man, in Konehun for dropping ammunition he had forcibly transported a whole day from Gondolahun.

Kosiah fired him and he died, he told presiding judge Jean-Luc Bacher. Their goal was to make sure their looted goods were safe, even if the lives of the civilians were not safe.

The teacher said Mr Kosiahs gang of rebels had killed two other men on the route from Pasolahum to Kalahun town.

It was difficult for us but we had to manage to survive, he said. The court has ordered journalists to conceal the identities of the witnesses because they have a credible fear of retaliation or intimidation.

Mr Kosiah is charged with 25 counts of murder, cannibalism, rape, sexual enslavement, forced transportation, looting and recruitment of a child-soldier. The alleged crimes happened between 1993 and 1995 in Lofa County. Seven Liberians who have testified alreadyare the plaintiffs in this case.

Mr Kosiah denies the charges, saying he was not in that part of the country at the time. He, also 45, faces 20 years in a Swiss prison  the maximum penalty for any crime  in the European country that borders Austria, France, Germany and Italy.

The teachers testimony corroborated those of the fourth and fifth plaintiffsthey recognized each other in courton the alleged killings in the Gbandi countryside. His account also matches other details of the plaintiffs testimonies.

Like them, he mentioned the same places of Kosiahs alleged forced transportationthe Lofa River, Gondolahun and Belle Fasamaamong others.

He gave the same accounts involving the generator, Kosiahs attire and said the dates the events occurred.

The witness painted a chilling portrait of Mr Kosiah and ULIMO, established in May 1991 by Mandingo refugees and runaway soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).

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ULIMO intimidated and beat civilians. It was impossible not to participate [in the forced transport], he said. They thought they were gods.

His testimony came after two dramatic days where Mr Kosiah was permitted to invite witnesses to testify on his behalf. While both witnesses tried to defend Mr Kosiah, they also, apparently inadvertently, corroborated accusations of at least one war crime levelled against Mr Kosiah.

In a baffling decision that suggested he still did not understand the charges level against him, Mr Kosiah called as his first supporting witness, a man he had recruited as a ULIMO fighter when he was just 12-year-old. Recruitment of a child soldier is one of the war crimes Mr Kosiah is charged with.

The witness then threw the proceedings into confusion by demanding Switzerland grant him asylum because he said he was afraid of retaliation from Kosiahs allies.

Mr Kosiahs second witness, a former ULIMO commander, told the three-judge panel that Mr Kosiah was present in Lofa between 1993 and 1994, something Mr Kosiah had denied and corroborated allegations that he had recruited the first witness as a child soldier.

Dmitri Gianoli, who heads Mr Kosiahs defence team, tried to discredit the teachers accounts during cross-examination by suggesting he had been put up to his testimony by justice activists.

The prosecution witness admitted he had first sought a scholarship at the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP), which has been instrumental in gathering evidence in this trial and others, but then found out the group documents wartime atrocities. Mr Gianoli tried to prove to the court the witness had prior knowledge of GJRPs investigation of his client but the teacher said a friend had misled him.

Mr Gianoli tried to make the case that the man and two of the plaintiffs had staged their testimonies but the prosecution witness held on firmly to his story.

The witness also told the court that although he had met one of the plaintiffs in Pasolahun during the war, they had not met since 2007. The man also answered Mr Gianolis questions about some details of the town like the name of the town chief and the owner of the generator.

Mr Kosiahs defence has sought throughout the trial to sow doubt in the plaintiffs case. On Friday they tried unsuccessfully to have the teacher give details that differed from previous witnesses.

Responding to a question on the looted generator, the witness demonstrated how townsmen used sticks, lifted the machine and carried it on their shoulders. He named the same rebels the plaintiffs had named in their testimonies: Scarred Face Kaba, Senegalese and Elephant Tail.

Following his cross-examination, the teacher urged Swiss authorities to persuade the Liberian government to establish a war crimes court for the country.

Liberias Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report in 2009 recommended a war crimes court for Liberia to try ex-warlords such as Alhaji Kromah, the co-founder of ULIMO, and Charles Taylor, who is serving a 50-year sentence in Britain for war crimes in Sierra Leone. But that has yet to happen more than 10 years after the TRC s report was released.

Mr Kosiah is the first Liberian to be prosecuted for war crimes over the Liberian Civil War (1989-2003), which killed an estimated 250,000 and displaced a million.

He had moved to Switzerland in 1997 and became a permanent resident a year later. But he was arrested in the Swiss capital of Bern in November 2014 suspected of war crimes.

Prosecution, plaintiffs and defence lawyers will begin legal pleadings on Monday through Friday, and a date for the final ruling will be announced.

This report was produced in collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.
A test tube labelled "vaccine" in front of an AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken, on Sept. 9, 2020. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/Reuters)

Romania Ships First Batch of AstraZeneca Vaccine to Moldova

BUCHARESTRomania shipped its first donation of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine to neighbouring Moldova on Saturday to allow Moldova to start vaccinating frontline medical workers next week.

Moldova and neighbouring Ukraine, two of Europes poorest countries, have lagged behind the rest of the continent in the scramble for vaccines and welcomed donations from friendly governments.

In December, Romanias centrist president, Klaus Iohannis, said Bucharest would donate 200,000 doses of vaccine to Moldova, in a gesture of solidarity following the election of the pro-Western President Maia Sandu.

A former World Bank economist, Sandu defeated the pro-Moscow incumbent Igor Dodon in a presidential election, promising to fight endemic corruption and put Moldovas relations with the European Union back on track.

The eastern European country of 3.5 million, where the West and Russia vie for influence, has been rocked in recent years by instability and corruption scandals, including the disappearance of $1 billion from the banking system.

Romania keeps its promise  Today we deliver the first doses, 21,600 of AstraZeneca, Romanias Prime Minister Florin Citu wrote on his Facebook page. It is the first batch of the 200,000 total that we offer as humanitarian aid. The rest will follow in the coming months.

Sandu led a delegation to receive the vaccines at Chisinau airport as they arrived in a red air ambulance plane from Romania, which has close historical, linguistic and cultural ties to Moldova.

Thank you, Romania! Thank you, European Union! she wrote in a statement on Facebook.

Moldovas vaccine procurement has stirred a domestic political row as Dodon accused Sandu of trying to block the entry of Russias Sputnik V vaccine. Sandus office denied doing so.

The government said this week it expects a first shipment of vaccines under the global COVAX scheme for poorer countries to arrive in Moldova by March 3.

By Radu-Sorin Marinas and Alexander Tanas
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - Just past midnight at approximately 12:19 a.m., the Yuma Police Department responded to the 1400 block of S. 4th Avenue in reference to an aggravated assault.

Upon arrival, officers located two shooting victims. One victim, a 36 year old male, was pronounced deceased on scene. The second victim, a 32 year old female, was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center and further flown to a Phoenix area hospital in serious condition.

No arrests have been made at this time. This case is currently under investigation.

The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please contact the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous.
After officials in multiple states announced recently theyre seeking to ease public health restrictions amid a decline in coronavirus cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the countrys leading infectious disease official, warned against prematurely relaxing pandemic-related rules.

In an interview with Dana Bash on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday, Fauci said he agrees completely with comments made earlier this week by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky in which she pointed out things are tenuous and now is not the time to relax restrictions.

We cannot get comfortable or give into a false sense of security that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, said Walensky, the former infectious diseases chief at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. I know people are tired. They want to get back to life, to normal, but were not there yet.

The CDC directors comments came after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the state would be allowing more sectors of the economy to reopen, among them billiard halls and movie theaters. Additionally, he said, the state would be releasing guidance for weddings and catered events to operate starting March 15.

Cuomo noted New York state officials are easing public health restrictions as hospitalization and COVID-19 infection rates continue to decline.

From day one, we have said that our COVID recovery is not a choice between public health and the economy - it has to be both - and in New York were demonstrating how to do that safely and smartly, Cuomo said in a statement. Thanks to the hard work and commitment of all New Yorkers, our infection rate is now the lowest weve seen in three months, and accordingly, we will now be reopening various recreational activities across the state.

State officials in Massachusetts and North Carolina also said this week they plan to relax capacity restrictions at restaurants, with officials in the Bay State citing a positive trend in public health metrics.

On Monday, Massachusetts will move into the second step of Phase 3 of its coronavirus reopening plan, allowing indoor performance venues - like concert halls, theaters and other spaces - to reopen at 50% capacity, with a maximum of 500 people permitted inside.

Restaurants will no longer have to operate under a percent capacity limit either. Six feet of social distancing, a maximum of six people per table and 90-minute dining limits are required, though.

Provided public health metrics continue to improve in Massachusetts, on March 22, all communities in Massachusetts will be able to move into the first step of Phase 4 of the reopening plan, allowing indoor and outdoor stadiums, arenas and ballparks to reopen with restrictions in place.

Todays announcement is a good sign and a move in the right direction toward getting back to that next normal, but we know businesses continue to hurt and that we have to find ways to help them get through all this, Gov. Charlie Baker said at a press conference last Thursday.

During his interview with CNN, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he thinks easing restrictions right now is premature, though he added each city and state needs to look at the situations unfolding in its areas.

COVID-19 infections are sharply decreasing, with the number of new cases per day in the United States plateauing at around 70,000 for the past several days, Fauci noted. As of Sunday, the number of total coronavirus cases in the U.S. stood at nearly 28.6 million, the highest of any country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Despite positive public health trends being reported across the United States currently, its important to look at what history has taught us, Fauci said.

Amid various surges in cases and hospitalizations during the pandemic, when infections peaked and then plummeted, people totally understandably sought to pull back restrictions, the NIAID director explained. However, that sometimes leads to a subsequent uptick in cases.

Were going to be ultimately pulling back, but you want to get the level of baseline infections per day very low, because if you look at that little plateau, particularly in the arena of having variants such as we have in California and such as we have in New York, it is really risky to say, Its over. Were on the way out. Lets pull back, " Fauci said.

He brought up how in the late spring and early summer of 2020, when restrictions were eased prematurely, there was a rebound in cases in certain states.

We definitely dont want that to happen, Fauci said.

But in general, just to think that the cases are coming down on a daily basis, take a look at the pattern and just watch over the next several days to a week, he added. If we do this and start coming up, then were going to go right back to the road of rebounding.

As some states like Massachusetts look to ease restrictions right now, the coronavirus vaccine rollout remains underway.

States received good news over the weekend after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine Saturday.

As of Sunday morning, 75,236,003 coronavirus vaccine doses had been administered in the United States, according to CDC data. Several state officials, including Baker, have complained of a limited federal vaccine supply, though.

In an interview with CNN last week, Fauci said he would like the U.S. to administer 2 million doses of the vaccine per day by the end of April at the latest. He said an important part of the national rollout is contracting companies to manufacture vaccine doses and then getting those doses into peoples arms.

Were doing community vaccine centers, particularly in those areas where you have demographic groups that that are generally underserved. Were putting more vaccines into pharmacies. Were using mobile units to go out into underserved areas to do that, and were getting whats called vaccinators, people who can actually put the vaccine into peoples arms, he explained. All of those things are being pushed very, very I would say aggressively to make sure we get those vaccines into peoples arms as quickly as we possibly can.

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Courtesy National Weather Service

After a cloudy weekend, a cold front is forecast to move into San Antonio Sunday evening that will bring a drop in temperature and a chance of showers and thunderstorms that will last through Monday afternoon.

The cold front will hit San Antonio this evening with wind gusts near 25 mph and possible thunderstorm activity. These storms are at a marginal risk for severe weather bringing hail up to one inch and damaging winds are low at this time. However, the rain will continue overnight Sunday into Monday.
(Newser)  While banned for being inhumane to animals, an event in India recently wound up costing the life of a human being. BBC reports that a man in the village of Lothunur in Telangana state had outfitted his rooster with a knife to ready it for an illegal cockfight last week when the bird attempted to escape. As the owner tried to grab it, the animal wound up stabbing him with the 3-inch knife strapped to its leg. The owner reportedly died from loss of blood while en route to a hospital. Now, in addition to charges related to holding the illegal fight, some 15 organizers could face manslaughter charges, per Al Jazeera.

story continues below

The bird was taken to an area police station and was expected to be transferred to a farm after serving as evidence in court. While certainly a bizarre turn, such mishaps are not unheard of. Last October, a police lieutenant in the Philippines was breaking up an illegal cockfight in San Jose when he picked up a rooster and was struck in his femoral artery and later died due to heavy blood loss. Also last year, another Indian man was sliced in the neck by a blade-wielding rooster and later suffered a fatal stroke, per CNN. (Read more cockfighting stories.)
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The COVID-19 death toll in Peru surged on Monday at a rate much faster than expected, following an official government review.The government nearly tripled its official number of deaths from the day before, which now makes Peru the country with the highest death rate per capita in the world.Officials say the updated tally has jumped dramatically because, until now, a lack of testing has made it difficult to confirm whether a person has died from the virus.Perus top data official, Marushka Chocobar, announced at a press conference on Monday that over 180,000 people have died from COVID-19, up from just under 70,000 reported deaths the day before."With this figure, we can see that according to the application of official criteria and the proposed data series that is being carried out through this working group, we can from now on have a daily figure that reflects the reality closest to what is happening with the pandemic in our country."Peru had already been among the hardest hit Latin American countries, with its hospitals overcrowded with patients and oxygen low in supply.Experts had long warned that the true death toll was undercounted in official statistics.Brazil still has the highest total deaths in Latin America, but based on population and the updated tally, Perus per capital death toll more than doubles that of Brazil.
Puducherry: The Union Home Minister Amit Shah promised the people of Puducherry of reducing the unemployment rate to less than 40 percent in the Union Territory, if National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is to come in power in the upcoming elections polls.

On Sunday (February 28), the Home Minister said, "About 75 percent of Puducherry youth are unemployed, if you vote for the NDA government, we will reduce the unemployment rate to less than 40 per cent."

Shah addressed a rally in the Union Territory and cornered the ruling Congress government by stating that they did "petty politics" on implementing Central government schemes in Puducherry.

"At least 15,000 crore was sent by the Central government for the development of the Union Territory," said Shah while lashing out at the functioning of the Narayanasamys government.

While alleging that the current CM is engaged in rampant corruption, Shah said, "The Modi government has given a budget of 20 thousand crore rupees to overcome the shortcomings of the important infrastructure of fisheries. Has this money reached your villages?"

The Union Home minister also alleged that the current government of the Union Territory sent the centre allotted fund of 15,000 crore rupees to the Gandhi family`s service in Delhi.

"For 14 years, the elections were not held here even after the High Court orders. Because they feared that the BJPs lotus would blossom here if elections were held," said Shah.

Highlighting the work of the central government, the Union Home Minister said that the Narendra Modi government has done a lot of work for the development of the Union Territory. Puducherry has been connected to Bengaluru and Hyderabad as part of the UDAN scheme to promote tourism inside Puducherry, he added as per the ANI.

"Some days back PM Modi has opened a huge opportunity for the development of the people living on the seashore by performing Bhoomi Pujan on a small port. You should help form the NDA government and I want to assure the people of Puducherry that when it will be 75 years of independence (in 2022), the BJP government will do the work of providing pure drinking water from the tap to every poor house here," Union Home Minister said.

While outlining the BJP's plan for the Union Territory, Amit Shah said, "the Prime Minister has spoken about making Puducherry the BEST. The four words of B- Business Hub E-Education Hub S- Spiritual Hub T- Tourism Hub- BEST are the foundation of Puducherry`s development."

Additionally, Shah apologised to the people of Puducherry for not delivering his speech in Tamil language and promised them that the BJP government is determined to make Puducherry the jewel of the country.

The polling date for the 30-seat assembly in Puducherry will be held on April 6, Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Friday in a press conference in New Delhi. Of the 30 seats that will go to polls, 5 are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and the counting of votes will be held on May 2, the commission said.
New Delhi:

Bengaluru has created a record in the state, completed more than 1,000 knee replacement surgeries through small incision computer navigation technology, said Dr Chandrashekar P. from Sakra, Senior Consultant, and HoD  Orthopaedics, Sakra.



Advanced technology in knee replacement surgery coupled with expert surgical skills has turned out to be a life savior for patients suffering from chronic arthritis for many years.



Minimal invasive computer navigated knee replacement surgery allows the surgeon to make more accurate cuts and place the artificial knee with its critical angles much more accurately. It virtually eliminates alignment errors. There is not much blood loss and there is a lesser scar, unlike our conventional replacement surgery. The entire surgical process can be followed on the screen," said Dr Chandrashekar.

Computer Navigation Technology

In Navigation, the surgeon uses a computer to determine the spatial location of conventional instruments and to provide positional feedback regarding their use. Navigation works like a satellite navigation system in your car or a GPS system used by a mountaineer. During a surgery, trackers attached to the patient send a signal.

The camera catches this signal and the position is then identified on the patient specific anatomy map. The surgeon has a screen which gives out information they need about where they are and what they are doing.

Normally while placing an implant during a knee replacement surgery, a surgeon has to depend solely on his calculations and skills to ensure the right fitment. Navigation helps the surgeon navigate, allowing them to plan the steps much ahead, thus bringing in accuracy which ensures better alignment and positioning of the implant.

This results in minimal complications and reduced blood loss. From patients point of view, this technology promotes increased flexibility and longevity and promotes a better gait while walking and doing chores.

For high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus patients, the navigational surgery is safer than the conventional technique. The biggest advantage of this technology is increased accuracy along with the benefits of comfort and flexibility to the patients.



Also Read| Doctors save child born with two penises and extra limbs






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Federico Chiesa certainly enjoyed setting Cristiano Ronaldo up to score against Hellas Verona.

In the 49th minute of Juventus' 1-1 draw on Saturday, the Italian forward's low pass found Ronaldo, who placed the ball into the bottom corner to open the scoring.

As Ronaldo wheeled away to celebrate in typical style, you can see Chiesa mimic the Portuguese's trademark moves at the back post.
By Seun Sanni and Afolabi Sotunde

GUSAU, Nigeria (Reuters) - Relatives of more than 300 girls abducted by gunmen from their boarding school in northwest Nigeria endured an agonising wait for news amid rumours that they had been released, while security forces continued their search on Sunday.

An armed gang kidnapped 317 girls from the Government Girls Science Secondary School in the town of Jangebe, in Zamfara state, at around 1 a.m. on Friday.

Two Reuters' correspondents saw a heavy military presence in state capital Gusau on Sunday, with army trucks moving in convoy and police checkpoints on major roads.

Zamfara police have worked alongside the army in a search-and-rescue operation since Friday.

The raid in Zamfara state was the second such kidnapping in little over a week in the northwest of the country, where schools have become targets for mass kidnappings for ransom. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday urged state governments not to reward "bandits" with money or vehicles.

School kidnappings were first carried out by jihadist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province but the tactic has now been adopted by other militants whose agenda is unclear.

On Saturday, gunmen released 27 teenage boys who had been kidnapped from their school on Feb. 17 in neighbouring Niger state.

Parents in Zamfara are hopeful that they too will receive good news.

Balarabe Kagara, whose two 14-year-old daughters are among those taken, said he was praying for their safe return and remained hopeful.

"I will be very happy if I see my daughters," the 54-year-old farmer said, his voice cracking with emotion, while sitting on a mattress on the floor and gazing at pictures of the two girls.

Rumours circulated on social media on Sunday that the girls had been released. They prompted Zamfara state government to issue a statement in which it said the governor Bello Matawalle was unhappy that someone would "try to further hurt the victims' parents" with "falsehood".

Story continues

Abubakar Isa, whose 17-year-old daughter is among those missing, said his hopes and those of other parents were initially lifted by the rumour.

"We heard that they will be released today, so we gathered at the school premises to receive them but it turned out to be rumours," he told Reuters by telephone.

Isa said Saturday's release of the boys taken in Niger gave him hope, but he remained fearful of the gunmen's motives.

On Friday, Zamfara's governor ordered all boarding schools to close immediately.

At his home in Gusau, Kagara said he was unsure about whether children would eventually return to school.

"If there is enough security, I believe people will return their children to school," he said. "But if there is no security, nobody will think of taking their children to school again."

(Reporting by Seun Sanni and Afolabi Sotunde; Additional reporting by Maidugur; Writing by Chijoke Ohuocha; Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Jane Merriman)




Haiti - Social : 26 Haitians arrested trying to enter Brazil illegally





On Saturday morning, February 27, 27 Haitian immigrants and a Cuban who entered Brazil illegally were arrested by agents of the Brazilian Federal Police.



Informed of the arrival of the illegal migrants, the Federal Police awaited the passage of the suspects who were in four taxis to proceed to the interception and arrest of the illegal immigrants. The 4 taxi drivers were also arrested on charges of trafficking migrants and face up to 5 years in prison.



The 27 illegal immigrants received an immediate eviction notice and have 7 days to leave Brazil.



The measure aims to help contain the arrival of migrants in the small Brazilian border municipality of Assis (8,000 inhabitants, state of Acre), which is on the verge of collapse because it does not have the necessary logistics to operate. to occupy migrants or to contain crowds and prevent the spread of Covid-19. Remember that the border has been closed since March 2020 by order of the Federal Government to fight against the spread of Covid-19.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33048-haiti-flash-violent-clash-between-haitians-and-peruvian-security-forces.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















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The Union government fixed Rs 250 as the ceiling price for Covid vaccine dose at private hospitals until further notice as the country geared up for the next phase of its vaccination programme.

Informing states about the pricing, the National Health Mission said that private hospitals can charge Rs 150 per vaccine dose and Rs 100 as user fees from recipients.

In the next phase of Covid vaccination starting Monday, senior citizens aged 60 and above and those with comorbidities, aged 45 years to 59 years, will be vaccinated against Covid-19, Karnataka health officials said on Saturday.

Read | Where to get the Covid-19 vaccine in Bengaluru

"Vaccination sessions will be held from 12 noon to 5 pm for four days a week," said Karnataka Immunisation Deputy Director Dr Rajani Nageshrao, adding "cost should be deposited in the specified GoI bank account by private hospitals".

To begin with, vaccination will be done at all government facilities (except primary health centres and community health centres) and at select private hospitals. If a person is 45 years to 59 years and has any one of the 20 comorbidities, he/she will be eligible for Covid vaccination.

These comorbidities were selected for priority vaccination as they enhance the risk of mortality when an individual contracts Covid-19.

The 20 comorbidities include nine heart conditions.

Co-morbidities

1. Heart failure with hospital admission in past one year

2. Post cardiac transplant/left ventricular assist device (LVAD)

3. Significant left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF <40%)

4. Moderate or severe valvular heart disease

5. Congenital heart disease with severe PAH or Idiopathic PAH

6. Coronary artery disease with past CABG/PTCA/MI and hypertension/diabetes on treatment

7. Angina and hypertension/diabetes on treatment

8. CT/MRI documented stroke and hypertension/diabetes on treatment

9. Pulmonary artery hypertension and hypertension/diabetes on treatment

10. Diabetes (> 10 yearsORwith complications) and hypertension on treatment

11. Kidney/ Liver/Hematopoietic stem cell transplant: Recipient/On wait-list

12. End stage kidney disease on haemodialysis/CAPD

13. Current prolonged use of oral corticosteroids/immunosuppressant medications

14. Decompensated cirrhosis

15. Severe respiratory disease with hospitalizations in last two years/FEV1 <50%

16. Lymphoma/ Leukaemia/ Myeloma

17. Diagnosis of any solid cancer on or after 1st July 2020 or currently on any cancer therapy

18. Sickle cell disease/bone marrow failure/aplastic anemia/thalassemia major

19. Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases/HIV infection

20. Persons with disabilities due to intellectual disabilities/muscular dystrophy/ acid attack with involvement of respiratory system/persons with disabilities having high support needs/multiple disabilities including deaf-blindness

Registration on Co-WIN 2.0

1) Advance self-registration can be done through cowin.gov.in or Arogya Setu app

2) Beneficiary can choose Covid vaccination centre of their choice with date and time of the available schedule

3) Onsite registration will also be available

4) With one mobile number, a person can register at most four beneficiaries with nothing in common except the mobile number

5) The ID card number for each such beneficiary must be different

6) All beneficiaries, are advised to carry any one of the following photo ID documents:

 Aadhar Card

 Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC)

 The Photo ID card specified at the time of registration in case of online registration (if not Aadhar or EPIC)

 Certificate of co-morbidity for citizens in age group of 45 years to 59 years (signed by a registered medical practitioner)

 Employment certificate/ Official Identity Card  (either but with photo and date of birth) for HCWs and FLWs

7) Around 10,000 private hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, more than 600 hospitals empanelled under CGHS and other private hospitals empanelled under State Govts' Health Insurance Schemes can participate as Covid Vaccination Centers (CVCs).

8) A list of all these private hospitals has been uploaded on the website of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and National Health Authority
Xiaomi is all set to launch the Redmi Note 10 series on March 4. The series is likely to feature three new phones, the Redmi Note 10, Redmi Note 10 Pro and Note 10 Pro Max. Ahead of the launch, the phone maker has teased the series, with the company's India CEO Manu Kumar Jain taking to Twitter to show off the Redmi Note 10's box.

The teaser image reveals key specifications and features of the upcoming budget smartphone, with the box showing the Redmi Note 10 in orange gradient colour. The teaser also reveals other details about the devices, with the box confirming the top-end Note 10 will get a 108-megapixel lens. In another teaser, Jain has also confirmed that the Redmi Note 10 will support 120Hz display.

#RedmiNote10 series promises to offer an experience like none other. Count on it to be #10on10!



Bigger, better, brighter, smoother #120Hz display & #Redmi's first #108MP flagship camera.



Know no bounds with the greatest #RedmiNote ever! Launching 4.3.21!



I #Redmi pic.twitter.com/9AKFvgUFk3  Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) February 28, 2021

Apart from this, Xiaomi has officially announced that the Redmi Note 10 series will be powered by Qualcomm's premium mid-range Snapdragon processors. While the company is yet to reveal the exact details about the processors powering the Redmi Note 10 series, it is expected that the Snapdragon 732G chip could make an appearance on one of the phones in the lineup. Reports suggest the standard Redmi Note 10 could be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 processor which was launched back in December 2020.

Previous leaks have indicated that the Redmi Note 10 will arrive in three colours: White, Green and Grey and in two configurations of 4GB/6GB RAM and 6GB storage. Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is expected to be offered with 6GB/8GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage options to choose from. The third phone on the list, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, is expected to be offered in black, bronze and blue colours with 6GB/8GB RAM and upto 128GB storage options.

As mentioned above, one of the phones in the Redmi Note 10 series will be the 108MP camera in the line-up. This will be part of a quad-camera set-up. However, we don't have any detail about the other lenses on the set-up. According to previous reports, the Redmi Note 10 Pro could have a 64MP camera lens based set-up.
Bindi Irwin and her husband Chandler Powell are just weeks away from welcoming their first child together.

And on Sunday, the 22-year-old Australian wildlife warrior shared a sweet dedication to her 'extraordinary' partner.

Uploading a selfie to her Instagram, Bindi gushed: 'Every day Im thankful for this extraordinary man that I get to call my husband.'

So sweet! Bindi Irwin, 22, (right) has shared a sweet dedication post to her 'extraordinary' husband Chandler Powell, 24, (left) as they gear up to welcome their first child together

'I love you with all my heart. Youre the light of my life,' she continued.

In the photo, which appeared to be taken by Chandler, 24, the couple are seen smiling and posing in front of what appeared to be their home.

Chandler is seen wearing his Australia Zoo uniform, while Bindi opted for a black printed T-shirt.

Family: Chandler Powell and his wife Bindi Irwin are counting down the weeks until they welcome their first child

Bindi looked every inch the glowing mum-to-be, and was smiling cheek-to-cheek.

She looked glam for the photo, and appeared to be wearing little makeup which included light foundation, mascara and eye shadow.

Chandler and Bindi are expected to welcome their daughter next month.

It's a girl! Bindi and her husband Chandler Powell announced their baby news in August 2020 and revealed their are expecting a daughter the following month

Just married: The young couple were married on March 25, in a makeshift ceremony at Australia Zoo, just before Covid pandemic lockdown

Bindi and Chandler announced their baby news in August 2020 and revealed their are expecting a daughter the following month.

The young couple were married on March 25 in a makeshift ceremony at Australia Zoo, just before the Covid-19 lockdown took effect.

They first met in November 2013 when Chandler, who hails from Florida, was touring Australia for a wakeboarding competition.

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).
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New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday (February 28) slammed the Congress for dynasticism, saying it was the reason for the partys disintegrating across the country.

With so many big leaders joining BJP, the Congress party is disintegrating not only in Puducherry but across the country due to dynasticism, said Shah, addressing a public rally in the Karaikal district of Puducherry ahead of the upcoming elections.

Shah asserted that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form the government in the union territory in the upcoming polls.

Based on my political experience, I say that the NDA government is going to be formed under the leadership of BJP in Puducherry in the next elections, the minister was quoted as saying by ANI.

Calling Puducherry a holy land, Shah said that Mahakavi Subramania Bharati has resided here for a long time. He added that when Sri Aurobindo started his spiritual journey he preferred Puducherry to begin his future life from this place.

Shah accused the recently fallen Congress-led government of not extending the benefits of the policies of the central government.

After Modi became Prime Minister, we were striving that Puducherry should become a model state in the entire country. The Prime Minister took steps for the all-round development of the state by sending 115 schemes here. But the government here did not allow these schemes to hit the ground, he said.

Elections for 30 assembly seats in the union territory will be conducted on April 6. The counting of votes will be done on May 2.

Earlier this month, V Naraynawamy-led Congress government in Puducherry fell before completing its five-year term and the Chief Minister had to resign ahead of a floor test.

Live TV
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP)  LJ Figueroa had 20 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and five steals, Eugene Omoruyi scored 21 points and Oregon beat California 74-63 on Saturday.

Oregon scored the first four points of the game and led the rest of the way. Figueroa, Omoruyi and Chris Duarte combined for 38 second-half points, while Oregon held Cal to 36. Figueroa had 15 points after the break, Duarte added 13 and Omoruyi 10 as Oregon shot 56%.

Figueroa scored the final seven points of a game-changing 11-0 run for a 63-45 lead with 7:34 left. Omoruyi had the other four points  all from the line.

Duarte finished with 17 points for Oregon (16-5, 11-4 Pac-12 Conference), which only got four points from its bench. Oregon turned 11 Cal turnovers into 27 points, including 18 in the second half.

The Ducks have won seven of their last eight games with a 72-58 loss to No. 19 USC.

Ryan Betley scored 13 points, and Andre Kelly and Matt Bradley each added 12 for Cal (8-19, 3-17), which lost its fourth straight game to close the regular season. Jarred Hyder had 10 points.

Oregon is scheduled to play three games next week while Cal is off. The Ducks play at Arizona on Monday and UCLA on Wednesday before hosting Oregon State on Saturday.

___

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Globe Newswire

Sanofi provides update on venglustat clinical program PARIS  JUNE 1, 2021  A pivotal Phase 2/3 study of venglustat in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) did not meet futility criteria, and the company has halted the clinical program in ADPKD. The safety profile of venglustat remains consistent with previously reported results with more than 500 patients treated to date over a period of up to four years across all clinical programs. Biomarker data from the study confirmed venglustat effectively inhibits the glycosphingolipid (GSL) pathway by demonstrating a reduction in GL-1, a lipid that accumulates in certain cells. The STAGED-PKD study was stopped for futility following an independent analysis of the annualized rate of change in total kidney volume (TKV) in patients receiving venglustat compared to placebo. Trends from the analysis showed venglustat did not provide a meaningful reduction in TKV growth rate, the primary endpoint of stage 1 of the Phase 2/3 study. This interim analysis suggests the reduction of GSLs may not play a significant role in the prevention of kidney cyst growth, and as such, may not be a primary pathway associated with the progression of ADPKD. The investigational research of venglustat in ADPKD was an attempt to explore a novel biological role for GSLs beyond the established role of these lipids in lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). The venglustat development program started with our confidence in the promise of a potential breakthrough treatment to address the unmet needs of people living with lysosomal storage disorders, said John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head of Research and Development at Sanofi. In parallel, we set out to evaluate venglustat in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, a leading cause of kidney transplant. This outcome is not what we hoped for, especially for these patients. However, our research has furthered the scientific understanding of ADPKD by demonstrating that modulating the GSL pathway is insufficient to restore kidney function in adults affected by this disease. Sanofi has both completed and active studies evaluating venglustat in Gaucher disease type 3, Fabry disease and GM2 Gangliosidosis. These diseases are LSDs caused by inherited genetic abnormalities. The abnormal accumulation of GSLs is central to certain LSDs and therapeutics promoting the clearing of these accumulated lipids have been validated in Fabry disease and Gaucher disease through clinical research. In this context, venglustat operates as a Substrate Reduction Therapy (SRT), which is a concept that has also been previously validated for certain LSDs. About venglustat GSLs are cellular building blocks whose abnormal accumulation is implicated in several rare diseases, responsible for both cell dysfunction and disease progression. Venglustat is a novel, oral investigational therapy that has the potential to slow the progression of certain diseases by inhibiting abnormal GSL accumulation. Venglustat is currently under clinical investigation and its safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by any regulatory authority. About Sanofi Sanofi is dedicated to supporting people through their health challenges. We are a global biopharmaceutical company focused on human health. We prevent illness with vaccines, provide innovative treatments to fight pain and ease suffering. We stand by the few who suffer from rare diseases and the millions with long-term chronic conditions. With more than 100,000 people in 100 countries, Sanofi is transforming scientific innovation into healthcare solutions around the globe. Sanofi, Empowering Life Sanofi Media Relations Contact Ashleigh KossTel.: +1 (908) 205-2572Ashleigh.Koss@sanofi.com Sally Bain Tel.: +1 (781) 264-1091Sally.Bain@sanofi.com Sanofi Forward-Looking Statements Sanofi Investor Relations Contacts ParisEva Schaefer-JansenArnaud DelepineNathalie Pham Sanofi Investor Relations Contacts North AmericaFelix LauscherFara BerkowitzSuzanne Greco Sanofi IR main line:Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 77 45 45investor.relations@sanofi.comhttps://www.sanofi.com/en/investors/contact This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations, services, product development and potential, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, plans and similar expressions. Although Sanofis management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device or biological application that may be filed for any such product candidates as well as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such product candidates, the fact that product candidates if approved may not be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success of therapeutic alternatives, Sanofis ability to benefit from external growth opportunities, to complete related transactions and/or obtain regulatory clearances, risks associated with intellectual property and any related pending or future litigation and the ultimate outcome of such litigation, trends in exchange rates and prevailing interest rates, volatile economic and market conditions, cost containment initiatives and subsequent changes thereto, and the impact that COVID-19 will have on us, our customers, suppliers, vendors, and other business partners, and the financial condition of any one of them, as well as on our employees and on the global economy as a whole. Any material effect of COVID-19 on any of the foregoing could also adversely impact us. This situation is changing rapidly and additional impacts may arise of which we are not currently aware and may exacerbate other previously identified risks. The risks and uncertainties also include the uncertainties discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by Sanofi, including those listed under Risk Factors and Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in Sanofis annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019. Other than as required by applicable law, Sanofi does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements. Attachment Press Release
Israel, UAE sign tax treaty

Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal

Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor"

Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections

Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS)

Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win

Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy

EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU

Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head

EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior

Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman

Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit

Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections

Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control

Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents

Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree

Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge

Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation

Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21

Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan

Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels

Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

Republican Party of Armenia Vice-President: Our ratings are growing, but we have greater pretensions

Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

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
Tragic dad Barry Wolverson never regained consciousness after he was shot five times as he sat in his car outside a storage facility in north Dublin.

For 13 months the 40-year-old had remained in a catatonic state in a nursing home where he was being cared for as his wife and children prayed for a miracle.

Through three waves of Covid-19 he clung to life, albeit a shadow of the one he had once enjoyed taking part in charity hikes, playing with his children and driving his trucks for a living.

Yesterday, he was finally laid to rest after he died in a nursing home where he was being cared for since the gun attack in January 2020. Floral wreaths spelled out his nickname 'Bar'.

A piper led mourners to the Church of St Benedict and St Monica in Edenmore as a small group of family attended a funeral service in accordance with Covid guidelines.

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Afterwards, children released balloons as his coffin was lowered into a grave at Balgriffin cemetery.

The popular trucker was described as a devoted dad and husband by friends, who said his family had suffered incomprehensible grief over the past year as he clung to life with horrific injuries.

Wolverson was shot in the face and never regained any responses in the 13 months that he survived the shooting at Killeek Lane, near St Margaret's in Swords.

He was sitting in his Mercedes car when he was hit five times by bullets, while another man with him who was also shot managed to flee and call emergency services.

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The pair were targeted at an industrial storage unit which had been hired by Wolverson to keep the vehicles he used in his transport business.

He was the director of two companies, including a vehicle recovery business which had been registered in 2018.

Wolverson was 39 when he was shot but turned 40 while he lay in a coma from his injuries, first in Beaumont hospital and later at a north Dublin nursing home to which he was moved.

It is understood gardai are awaiting post-mortem results regarding the cause of death but it is suspected that it is linked to the shooting.

Two men were arrested and are currently before the courts in connection with the attempted murder. Robert Redmond (32) and Bernard Fogarty (33) are due to appear in March at the Special Criminal Court where their case will be heard.

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The pair are both accused of the attempted murder of Barry Wolverson at Killeek Lane, St Margaret's, Swords, on January 17, 2020.

They are also charged with assault causing harm to Gerard Wildman at the same location on the same date under Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

Redmond, of Woodview Close, Donaghmede, and Fogarty, with an address in Cromcastle Court, Kilmore, also face charges relating to the alleged possession of a firearm and ammunition arising from the same incident.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt previously made the formal order for the men's cases to be heard at the non-jury Special Criminal Court.

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State Solicitor Michael O'Donovan told the three-judge panel that disclosure in the case was at the "very early stages".

The matter is back before the court for mention on March 5, when the two accused men are required to be in attendance.

A Garda spokeswoman said: "Gardai investigating the shooting incident at Killeek Lane, St. Margaret's, Swords, Co. Dublin that occurred on 17th January, 2020 can confirm that the injured man (early 40s) has passed away.

"The post mortem results will determine the course of the investigation. Investigations ongoing."
New airport project denounced as pork barrel



The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has set a bad precedent for a pork barrel project by approving a bill at the National Assembly on building a new airport in Busan. On Friday, the controversial bill was passed through the Assembly's plenary session in a 181-33 vote with 15 abstentions.



Both the DPK and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) cannot avoid criticism for colluding in the legislation to woo voters ahead of the April 7 mayoral by-elections in the nation's two largest cities  Seoul and Busan. It is regrettable for the rival parties to go too far in their bids to win the polls.



The passage of the bill represents the pinnacle of populism. Building a new airport on Busan's Gadeok Island is no doubt a glaring example of pork-barrel politics. The Moon Jae-in government and the DPK have spearheaded the project to appease Busan residents who have turned their backs on the ruling camp since Mayor Oh Keo-don resigned over sexual harassment allegations last April. The ruling camp has also been hit for Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon who killed himself following similar allegations involving his secretary last July.



The conservative PPP is now also under fire for trying to take its traditional power base back from the DPK at all costs. It should have made efforts to block such hasty and shoddy legislation. Much to the disappointment of the public, the PPP served only as a rubber stamp. It should reflect on its failure to check the Moon administration and the DPK's mishandling of state affairs.



The rival parties should pay more heed to criticism by the Justice Party, a smaller progressive party, that the passage of the airport bill constituted the act of "vote buying." President Moon and the DPK must have forgotten that they lambasted former President Lee Myung-bak for pushing for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project which they described as shovel ready.



We call on the Moon administration and the ruling party to reconsider the airport project which is deemed unfeasible. The liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration proposed a new airport on Gadeok Island to meet growing air traffic to and from nearby Gimhae International Airport. But in 2016, the Park Geun-hye government decided to expand the Gimhae airport after conducting a rigorous study. There is no reason to reverse the decision other than political purposes.



More serious, the bill lacks any legitimacy, ignoring basic procedures. It has not undergone enough discussion and review. It only reflected Busan residents' aspiration for a new airport without any national consensus. It is also irrational to allow the new airport project requiring more than 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion) without a feasibility study. DPK lawmakers also ignored concerns about flight safety on the island with high waves and strong winds. That's why the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation voiced skepticism over the project.



The government and the DPK should stop their pork-barrel politics. It is imperative to scrap the legislation to prevent the waste of taxpayers' money. If not, legislators should at least revise the bill to correct its grave flaws. Take action before it is too late.


Egypt's House of Representatives will reconvene on Sunday to discuss a new legislative agenda, including a draft legislation for a new irrigation and water resources law.

According to the debate schedule, parliament will meet on Sunday to discuss a report prepared by the house's Tourism, Antiquities and Civil Aviation Committee on a new law that establishes an online portal for Egyptians seeking to perform Umrah pilgrimage and for Egyptian tourist companies wishing to organise Umrah visits.

Parliament is also expected to discuss on Sunday a new bill regulating blood donation works as well as the manufacturing, collecting and exporting of plasma and its derivatives.

On Monday, parliament is scheduled to debate two bills, the first of which aims to amend the law regulating the performance of the Central Agency for Organisation and Management (law 118/1964). While the second bill also seeks to change some of the articles in the law regulating the election of the board of the Egyptian Federation of Industries and Chambers of Industry.

Parliament will also discuss an Egyptian-Italian agreement on establishing a city for leather products in Cairo (Robiki).

On Tuesday, parliament is expected to discuss a report prepared by the house's Agriculture Committee on a government-drafted law on water resources and irrigation works.

According to the report, the new draft law aims at introducing a more effective system for managing water resources in Egypt.

"This will include a number of measures such as limiting the cultivation of water consuming crops to small areas, banning the drilling of underground water without a prior approval from the ministry of irrigation and preventing the setting up of fish farms on main water currents," said the report.

It added that the law also aims to address pollution and water waste at a time when the country is facing a state of dwindling water resources and adverse climate changes.

The bill states that the ministry of irrigation in coordination with the ministry of agriculture and local administration units will mainly be responsible for designating the areas to be allocated to cultivating water consuming crops - particularly rice - on an annual basis.

"Violators of the above measure will face stricter penalties such as heavy financial fines and prison sentences," reads the bill.

The draft law also proposes penalties on "those who cut trees or palm trees cultivated on public land without a prior approval, violators will face a fine ranging from EGP 1,000 to EGP 5,000 per tree."

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The current phase is a turning point in the history of bilateral relations between Egypt the UK, especially in face of Brexit that paves the way for the UK to establish fresh trade and venture relations across the world, Egypts Minister of Trade and Industry Nevin Gamea has said.

Gamea's statements were delivered to a virtual panel held Thursday, addressed on behalf of the minister by head of the Egyptian Commercial Service Ahmed Maghawry, as a part of Egypt Week in the UK virtual event that kicked off Monday.



Gamea disclosed that the UK is the top country for Egypt regarding the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI), with total investments worth $5.4 billion focused on the industrial sector.



Egypts government is eager to boost relations with the UKs business community, by which enhancing the commercial and venture cooperation between the two countries in the coming period. Also, we are looking forward to expanding bilateral cooperation in Africa, especially with the unprecedented political support that Egypt is paying to the continent. This will be a potential that can be tapped for Egypts exports to access the African market in light of the African continental free trade agreement (AfCFTA), said Gamea.



Gamea also noted that the UK is the most important market for Egypts exports due to their competitive advantage and amid the Egypt-UK trade agreement that is expected to come into force by the end of 2020.



In this regard, the minister said that trade exchange between the two sides increased to 2.14 billion in 2019, up from 1.9 billion in 2018.



The minister highlighted the economic and structural reforms that Egypt has adopted and that aim at achieving stable economic growth in light of Egypts Vision 2030 that targets placing Egypt among top tier countries globally, in economy and social development.



She also underscored Egypts efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated impacts.

The British-Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) launched Egypts first Virtual Business Week from 9-12 November, the outcome of joint efforts between BEBA and the Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce (EBCC) in collaboration with the Egyptian Embassy in the UK and the UKs Department for International Trade (DIT).

The virtual week comes as a substitute for BEBAs trade mission to the UK and Egypts trade cooperation mission.



The virtual week is focused on discussing the green economy as a means to support sustainable development goals, sustainable growth and development for future generations, as well as the future of gas and oil, education, the strategy of the Suez Canal economic zone, sustainable financing solutions and cooperation opportunities between Egypt and the UK in the field of telecommunications, and the consolidation of digital transformation in all industries.

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Holland Close, Feb. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- There are many seafood restaurants in Singapore but the 4-month-old seafood venture KinHoi.sg (Kin Hoi) has different plans altogether. This newly launched Singapore-based seafood restaurant is accompanying various factors to provide a new experience to its customers. From individually cleaning the seafood to launching exclusive seafood dishes, it has been making continuous developments to give a unique seafood experience.

The brand "Kin Hoi" started initially on social media platforms (FB:@kinhoi.sg & IG:@kinhoi.sg) and after getting heartwarming feedback from their customers, it grew as a full-fledged restaurant. After growing sales from $10k in the first month to over $230k in 70 days, it is witnessing a sharp rise in its customer base owing to its exclusive product range. To date, Kin Hoi has sold 560,000 individual cockles! To maximize their output, Kin Hoi also invested in streamlining order-taking and delivery operations during the dine-in downtime in the afternoons.

Some Interesting facts about "Kin Hoi"

1. Before launching their seafood restaurant in Singapore, they did customer research and found that the major factor which their customers cared about is "hygiene". The customers wanted the seafood to be thoroughly clean, and using this factor, they started selling individually cleaned and carefully packed shellfish.

2. 40-50 cockles would weigh up to 1 kg. They started selling 10 kg of cockles a day, which has grown to 100 kg on average today. The most notable part is that even after such a high shift in their sales, they individually clean and pack shellfish.

3. As part of their scaling strategy, they wanted to deliver shellfish islandwide, so they invested in streamlining the order-taking and delivery operations during the dine-in downtime in the afternoons. Now with a fully integrated technology, they can deliver bulk orders smoothly.

4. Daniel (co-Founder) was the Head of International Business at a top media company In Indo-China while Atchara (co-founder) was an ex-senior executive in a reputable social media firm. They wanted to put their social media skills to good use, while selling something simple and joyful like shellfish, in a user-friendly way.

5. One of the major factors for their growth was the word-of-mouth publicity by the initial customers which kept snowballing to bring in a chain of new customers. The many positive customer reviews also keep them moving to make high-quality, delicious, and clean shellfish fun and accessible.

About Kin Hoi

Kin Hoi is a 4 months old Food & Beverages establishment that provides various seafood recipes and specializes in Shellfish. Both founder, Daniel Teo and his co-founder Atchara (who is of Thai descent) used to work as senior executives in the media industry. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, circumstances made them rethink their career plans. Atchara's grandmother handed down various ways to prepare seafood a la Thai and then, they saw an opportunity to help Singapore get over the hum of COVID-19 by tapping into Atcharas family recipes. Kin Hoi strives to become the best seafood restaurant in Singapore.

Media Contact

Name: Kallista Tan

E-Mail: kallista@kinhoi.sg

Organization: Kin Hoi

Location: Singapore.





This news has been published for the above source. Kin Hoi [ID=17106]

Disclaimer: The information does not constitute advice or an offer to buy. Any purchase made from this story is made at your own risk. Consult an expert advisor/health professional before any such purchase. Any purchase made from this link is subject to the final terms and conditions of the website's selling. The content publisher and its distribution partners do not take any responsibility directly or indirectly. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the company this news is about.





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Jaish-ul-Hind has claimed responsibility for planting an explosives-laden SUV outside Mukesh Ambani's house in Mumbai.

The organisation, which is unknown and unheard of, said in a message on the Telegram app, that the vehicle outside Ambani's house was "only a trailer" and "a big picture is yet to come."

"The brother who placed the SUV near Ambani's house has reached the safe house. This was just a trailer, and the big picture is yet to come (sic)," Jaish-ul-Hind said in the message.

On Thursday, February 25, an SUV with unassembled gelatin sticks, a letter, and a fake number plate was found parked on Carmichael Road near Ambani's house 'Antilia'. Mumbai Police has already registered an FIR in the case and launched a manhunt to track down the people who abandoned the vehicle.

Also Read: 'Yeh sirf trailer hai': Letter found wif explosives outside Mukesh Ambani house

Reports suggest that the registration number displayed on the SUV matches the registration number of the vehicle in Mukesh Ambani's security detail. Police have already seized the SUV for further investigation.

Jaish demands from Mukesh Ambani

Jaish-ul-Hind has demanded money through bitcoin from Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL) Chairman. The message has also challenged the investigative agencies saying, "stop us if you can." It further addresses the Ambanis and says, "Next time the SUV will ram into your ... kids' car if you don't agree to the demands now."

"You (Ambanis) know what you have to do, just transfer the money regarding what we have told you earlier," the message added.

Also Read: Bomb scare outside Mukesh Ambani's residence; explosive material found

A threat letter for Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani was also recovered from the SUV found outside their home.

The same terrorist organisation claimed responsibility for the blast outside the Israel Embassy attack in Delhi.

Jaish-ul-Hind also claimed responsibility for the blast outside Israel Embassy in Delhi a few days back.

"As for the agencies, we dare you to stop us. You could do nothing when we hit you under your nose in Delhi. You tied up with Mossad and yet you failed miserably. By the permission of Allah you will fall again and again," said the message.
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ORLANDO, Fla.  Nearly four months after he lost the 2020 election, Donald J. Trump was able to celebrate being a winner again on Sunday, after he captured the 2024 presidential straw poll of the Conservative Political Action Conference, while Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida finished first in a second 2024 straw poll covering a field of potential candidates that did not include Mr. Trump.

But in a surprise bit of downbeat news for Mr. Trump, only 68 percent of those at the conference said they wanted the former president to run again in 2024. Far more attendees, 95 percent, said they wanted the Republican Party to advance Mr. Trumps policies and agenda than endorsed him running again, even as the mere mention of Mr. Trumps name earned loud applause throughout the three-day gathering of activists.

The straw polls, conducted by secret ballot, reflected the views of current and former elected officials, activists, writers and others who attended the three-day conference  a group that, generally speaking, represents the far-right wing of the Republican Party and now includes a disproportionate number of Mr. Trumps most passionate supporters.

The former president had thoroughly dominated the weekend gathering in Orlando  a giant golden replica of him was a top attraction for activists  and organizers of the event, better known as CPAC, put together two straw polls to gauge the next presidential field whether Mr. Trump runs or not.

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Arizona AG Brnovich Hopes Supreme Court Appearance Strikes Blow for Electoral Integrity

Citing the political convulsions America has gone through in recent months, Arizonas attorney general said he hopes a voting rights case that hes arguing before the Supreme Court on March 2 will help to generate momentum for electoral integrity measures nationwide.

I think we all should agree at this point that we want to have confidence in our election system, Mark Brnovich, the states Republican attorney general, said in an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times, in which he shared his views about the upcoming oral argument at the high court and electoral integrity measures in general.

We want orderly elections.

Brnovich said hes hopeful about his prospects before the high court, but as someone whos actually married to a judge, Ive learned a long time ago not to predict what a judge is going to do.

Brnovichs wife, Susan Brnovich, was appointed a U.S. district judge in Arizona by President Donald Trump in 2018. She previously served as a judge in Maricopa County.

More Americans need to become active in defending the nations founding and the institutions that came out of it, he said.

There is a certain amount of establishment thinking out there that just wants to go along to get along  [but] the stakes are so high right now in this country that we need champions that understand what the framers of our Constitution established here in this country.

There is a need to understand traditional notions of federalism and to understand that the Constitution is all about protecting rights, and that the government is supposed to be limited and its powers defined.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. (Mark Brnovich)

Ballot Harvesting

The Supreme Court agreed Oct. 2 to hear the case at hand, which concerns efforts to combat Democratic plans that Republicans say undermine electoral integrity measures and throw the Grand Canyon State open to ballot-harvesting and out-of-precinct voting.

Forbidding unlimited third-party ballot harvesting is a commonsense way to protect the secret ballot, and to prevent undue influence, voter fraud, ballot tampering, and voter intimidation, Brnovich said.

We have seen in the past where people have used ballot harvesting to undermine the integrity of elections. We also know that no less than Jimmy Carter in 2005 had recommended that there be commonsense measures in place when it came to ballot harvesting because absentee ballots were one of the largest sources of potential fraud, he said.

Brnovich was referring to the bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform, chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, which found that absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud and that vote-buying schemes are far more difficult to detect when citizens vote by mail.

There was a time when this was a bipartisan issue, when all sides could agree that we want to make sure that we have safe and secure elections, and now for whatever reason, its become a partisan issue, Brnovich said. Its unfortunate because everyone should have confidence in our elections.

I think as a public official there is no higher priority among public officials than maintaining the public integrity of our elections, so we want to make sure that people are prevented from voting multiple times, we want to protect against voter intimidation, we want to preserve the secrecy of the ballot, and I think thats what our laws were designed to do.

Voting Rights Cases

The oral arguments in Brnovichs case before the Supreme Court come after an Arizona judge ruled in a separate case that state lawmakers have the right to access 2.1 million ballots cast in the states most populous county and related electronic materials in order to carry out an audit of the Nov. 3 election results, as The Epoch Times previously reported.

Although Arizonas electoral votes were disputed by the Trump campaign, and later, by federal lawmakers when Congress met amid a breach of the Capitol by hundreds of protesters on Jan. 6 and 7 to certify the presidential election results, Democrat Joe Biden was awarded those votes in the end.

In the court case, Maricopa County v. Fann, the GOP-controlled county Board of Supervisors asked the court to invalidate legislative subpoenas. The GOP-controlled state Senate filed a counterclaim seeking enforcement of its subpoenas.

Judge Timothy J. Thomason of the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County, wrote in a decision Feb. 25 that although the county believes the subpoenas are the result of continuing claims by supporters of former President Trump that the election was stolen and that this entire matter is a waste of time, the court finds the subpoenas legal and enforceable. The Arizona Senate has broad constitutional power to oversee elections  [and the] Arizona legislature clearly has the power to investigate and examine election reform matters. 

The case Arizonas top prosecutor is arguing March 2 is actually two cases that the Supreme Court consolidated. The first is Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (DNC); the second is Arizona Republican Party v. DNC.

The case is also one of the few Republican-initiated legal challenges to election procedures from the 2020 election cycle to survive to the merits stage without being dismissed for lack of standing, mootness, or on other grounds. The Supreme Court threw out a series of legal challenges on Feb. 22 to voting processes and results in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin that were left over from the cycle.

Discriminatory Intent

Arizona, like other states, has adopted rules to promote the order and integrity of its elections.

One provision is an out-of-precinct policy, which doesnt count provisional ballots cast in person on Election Day outside of the voters designated precinct. Another is a ballot-collection law, known as H.B. 2023, that allows only specific persons such as family and household members, caregivers, mail carriers, and election officials to handle another persons completed early ballot.

Most states require voters to vote in their own precincts, and around 20 states limit ballot collection by third parties, according to court documents.

A U.S. district court upheld Arizonas provisions, which were challenged under the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Section 2 of the VRA prevents state and local governments from imposing any qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure  in a manner which results in a denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color[.]

A panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court but then reversed at the en banc stage, going against the recommendations of the Trump administration.

The provisions regarding ballot-harvesting and out-of-precinct voting were ruled racially discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional by the appeals court.

Arizonas policy of wholly discarding, rather than counting or partially counting, out-of-precinct ballots, and H.B. 2023s criminalization of the collection of another persons ballot, have a discriminatory impact on American Indian, Hispanic, and African American voters in Arizona, in violation of the results test of Section 2 of the VRA, Judge William A. Fletcher, a Clinton appointee, wrote for the court.

Fletcher added that H.B. 2023s ban on collecting another persons ballot was enacted with discriminatory intent, in violation of the intent test of Section 2 of the VRA and of the Fifteenth Amendment.

The Arizona laws in question are unfair because American Indian voters, other minorities, renters, and poor people are disadvantaged because they have difficulty receiving and sending mail, Fletcher wrote.

Minority voters rely on third-party ballot collection for many reasons, he added, citing the testimony of a community organizer

Accusations

Brnovich said he rejects those court findings, which were consistent with legal arguments made by Democrats.

The state of Arizona endorses without qualifications the goals of the Voting Rights Act in racial discrimination and voting, he said.

Our laws do not violate section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

But Republicans, Brnovich added, have been falsely accused of racism for a long time.

Accusing someone of racism is the last resort of an exhausted mind, he said. Unfortunately, nowadays there are too many people that are intellectually lazy on the left and thats what they fall back on.

Brnovich was harshly critical of the centerpiece of Congressional Democrats agenda, H.R. 1, the proposed For the People Act of 2021, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says will protect the right to vote, ensure the integrity of our elections, hold elected officials accountable and end the era of big, dark, special-interest money in our politics.

Although the Constitution guarantees states the authority to run their own elections, the bill would federalize and micromanage the election process administered by the states, while eroding and eliminating security protocols, and limiting free political speech, according to a Heritage Foundation summary.

I think people in the states are best suited to decide what safeguards are needed, Brnovich said.

I dont think it should be up to some unelected judges or a bunch of people sitting in Congress to decide how we should conduct our elections freely and fairly in Arizona.

The reality is that its a solution in search of a problem. And I would remind Nancy Pelosi and [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer that the federal government didnt create the states. The states created the federal government, and the Constitution was designed not only to have these checks and balances between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, but the states were designed to serve as a check on the federal government and I dont think the federal government should be in the business of telling Arizona how we should run our elections.
When ABC TV presenter Yumi Stynes and former Dolly Doctor Melissa Kang sat down two years ago to write a handbook for teenagers about consent, they couldnt know they would be launching the book in the midst of a national conversation about sexual assault.

Its a topic that has been thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks with Brittany Higgins alleged rape in Parliament House and online testimony that sexual assault by peers is endemic within the social circles of Sydney teenagers.

Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes, co-authors of the forthcoming book for teens, Welcome to Consent. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Parents have called for schools to do more to teach students, boys and girls alike, about sexual consent at an earlier age. Consent forms part of the NSW syllabus but is sometimes ticked off by hosting a guest speaker rather than building it into lessons more holistically.

The book, Welcome to Consent, to be published in June, could be a welcome tool for parents and educators who are realising that they need to tackle the topic in much more detail. One mother told The Sun-Herald schools should instruct students with scenarios similar to how learner drivers are taught the road rules.
Beyond barbecues and ceremonies: Recognizing Memorial Day

For many, Memorial Day weekend is about gathering with family and grilling or attending a parade. Some find a more personal way to honor the holiday.
SAN SALVADOR - President Nayib Bukele appeared to emerge as the big winner Sunday in El Salvador's legislative elections, expanding his power at a moment when critics fear the country is sliding toward authoritarian rule.

Bukele's meteoric rise and hardening grip on many of the country's institutions, most notably the armed forces, have worried human rights advocates at home and abroad. His growing control could pose a challenge to President Joe Biden's policy of strengthening democracy in Central America - which the new administration considers critical to curbing the flow of migrants to the U.S. border.

The election could be a watershed for a country with a history of military rule that has been trying to build a democracy since the U.S.-backed war against leftist guerrillas in the 1980s.

"What's in danger at this moment is the functioning of democratic institutions," said Ruben Zamora, a former center-left politician and ex-ambassador to the United States.

Bukele might be the most popular leader in Latin America; 96% of respondents said he was doing a "good" or "very good" job in a CID Gallup survey of Salvadorans in November. His party - Nuevas Ideas, or New Ideas - did not exist when Salvadorans last voted for the Legislative Assembly, in 2018; Bukele, who was elected the following year, has been able to count on only an allied party's 11 seats in the 84-member, single-chamber legislature.

With about 7% of ballots counted late Sunday, Bukele's party and an allied movement had won about two-thirds of votes cast for congress, though there was no breakdown on how many seats that represented.

"Victory!" the president tweeted, along with a video of fireworks. Pre-election polls had indicated that Bukele's party would gain a majority in the legislature.

A simple majority of 43 seats would allow him to push his agenda through. A supermajority of 56 seats would mean he could name loyalists to key positions in the independent attorney general's office and on the Supreme Court without negotiating with the opposition.

"This would create an even more accelerated process of total control of the government," said Celia Medrano, a Salvadoran human rights advocate. Analysts fear Bukele could press for a new constitution that would abolish restrictions on consecutive presidential terms.

Voters on Sunday also were choosing local officials in 262 municipalities.

Bukele, 39, rode an anti-corruption wave sweeping the region to a landslide victory in 2019, becoming Latin America's youngest president. He developed warm ties with the Trump administration, which prioritized choking off immigration from Central America. Bukele became close to President Donald Trump's ambassador, Ron Johnson, posting pictures of the men and their wives on a boating trip a year ago.

The Biden administration has laid out a starkly different Central America policy, focused on fighting corruption, strengthening democracy and encouraging economic growth to stymie migration. In a sign of the new era, Bukele was unable to secure meetings with Biden's top Latin America officials during a recent trip to Washington.

"He is seen with great alarm by the new team," said one U.S. diplomat familiar with Central America. "At the same time, there is a very clear understanding of his political power at this moment in El Salvador." The diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter candidly, noted that Bukele "emerged from a rejection of the political class," a trend in elections throughout the region.

Bukele is the first Salvadoran president chosen from outside the two parties - the right-wing ARENA and left-wing FMLN - that have dominated politics since the end of the 12-year civil war in 1992.

Corruption scandals, coupled with resentment about the lack of economic and security improvements, led in recent years to widespread voter frustration. Bukele presented a fresh image, appearing in leather jackets and firing off sharp tweets about his accomplishments. He won office by promising to root out political corruption and rid the country of warring gangs.

Supporters credit him with reducing a staggeringly high homicide rate, responding aggressively to the coronavirus pandemic and denouncing the corruption of past governments.

"Bukele has brought to light everything [corrupt], and that's why they don't want him," said Henry, a 47-year-old street vendor in San Salvador, who spoke on the condition that his last name not be used so he could comment freely. "They criticize him for doing things right."

Bukele's party is based more on his image and performance than on a traditional political ideology.

"People aren't voting for parties, they're voting for Nayib Bukele," said Manuel Escalante, a lawyer with the Institute of Human Rights at the University of Central America.

Human rights groups have warned about his authoritarian tendencies. Bukele has labeled critics traitors and attacked independent media. He has ignored rulings by the five-member Constitutional Court against his coronavirus quarantines, saying his measures were aimed at saving lives. "Five people won't decide the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans," Bukele declared on Twitter.

When legislators in February 2020 did not approve for his security plan, Bukele marched with soldiers into the Legislative Assembly chamber, stirring traumatic memories of past dictatorships.

"For me it's clearly a return, not to the war, but to the period before the war when the military dominated our country," Zamora said.

In the lead-up to the elections, Bukele intensified his criticism of political opponents and journalists. Amid rising political tensions, gunmen killed two FMLN members at a campaign event in January, a shocking act of political violence. Bukele accused the FMLN of staging the attack to garner sympathy before elections but has produced no evidence. Three suspects have been arrested, including one who works as a security guard for the Health Ministry. Authorities say the motive is unclear.

Bukele has rejected criticism of his governing style. If he were a dictator, he says, he would already have taken control of the government.

The Biden administration is still assembling its foreign policy team, but the U.S. change in policy toward Central America is clear. Biden has canceled agreements promoted by Trump that would have sent asylum seekers from the U.S. border to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

"There isn't any question the Trump administration had a very transactional approach to El Salvador, and the Northern Triangle as a whole," said Geoff Thale, president of the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights group.

Bukele has a strong popular mandate, and "we have to respect that," Thale said. "It doesn't mean we don't have interests. It doesn't mean we can't make decisions about where U.S. assistance is directed and goes, and under what conditions."

- - -

Sheridan reported from Washington.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's microphone was muted after he started touting conspiracy theories about vaccines during an interview at CPAC.

Lindell sat down with Liz Willis, a host on the conservative YouTube channel Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN), on Sunday and launched into a rant associating vaccines with the devil before he was suddenly cut off.

'In Israel right now, the prime minister on down, we don't know what happened, but obviously, he congratulated Biden, but after that, we got a little suspect,' Lindell said.

'Right now with the vaccine over there, they are making the whole country take it so you can't go in shopping malls, you wouldn't be able to get a job, and if this happens, it the start for the world, the worst thing that could happen to this world.'

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's microphone was muted after he started touting conspiracy theories about vaccines during an interview with conservative YouTube channel Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) at CPAC on Sunday

Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, is here at CPAC. In this clip, he is spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, and the Right Side Broadcasting host interrupts him to provide a disclaimer about the YouTube rules. pic.twitter.com/B8GCEY4Pbr  William Turton (@WilliamTurton) February 28, 2021

'I'm telling you with the vaccine if you get a vaccine, which is only 95% effective, they say, then they want you to do another one in six months, six months,' he continued.

'Well, I'm telling you when you get that, what do you care what someone else does, if that person wants to come to a mall and they don't want to get a vaccine. This is our bodies, this is "mark of the beast" stuff.'

The phrase 'mark of the beast' refers to a Bible passage from the Book of Revelation that labels something as evil or demonic.

Lindell went on to mention something about 'double masking' before his microphone went silent for about 20 seconds.

When he finally finished talking, his mic was turned back on as Willis said: 'I hate to do it. You know I love you, but due to YouTube's guidelines, we will get our whole platform shut down, if you talk about vaccines.'

'Well, this is over in Israel,' Lindell replied incredulously.

Willis attempted to placate him by saying: 'I know. We love you, we love you.'

When he finally finished talking, his mic was turned back on as host Liz Willis (right) said: 'I hate to do it. You know I love you, but due to YouTube's guidelines, we will get our whole platform shut down, if you talk about vaccines'

The interview came at the end of a difficult week for Lindell, who was hit with a $1.3billion lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems last Monday after repeatedly claiming that the election was stolen, and Dominion's machines switched Donald Trump's votes.

In the suit Lindell was accused of making the wild claims in a bid to appear more frequently on television, and promote his company.

'Lindell  a talented salesman and former professional card counter  sells the lie to this day because the lie sells pillows,' Tom Clare, the defamation attorney representing Dominion Voting Systems, wrote in the lawsuit.

On Monday, Lindell told Insider that he was instead facing huge losses, as a result of his claims.

'I lost 20 retailers, and it's cost me $65 million this year that I won't get back, OK?' Lindell said.

'There's your story. Print it right. Don't try and twist this.'

Dominion alleges in the lawsuit that the conspiracy theories are a platform for Lindell to sell more pillows.

'After hitting the jackpot with Donald Trump's endorsement for MyPillow and after a million-dollar bet on Fox News ads had paid out handsome returns, Michael Lindell exploited another chance to boost sales: marketing MyPillow to people who would tune in and attend rallies to hear Lindell tell the 'Big Lie' that Dominion had stolen the 2020 election,' Clare wrote.

The interview came at the end of a difficult week for Lindell, who was hit with a $1.3billion lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems last Monday after repeatedly claiming that the election was stolen

Dominion Voting Systems, pictured in Georgia, were accused by Lindell of switching votes

Lindell rubbished the suggestion that he had a 'preconceived plan' to make money from the election fraud controversy.

He said that the retailer boycott from brands like Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond has cost him tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

'Those stores combined did $65 million in business last year. And now I won't have them this year, or any year,' he said.

'They're done.'

He added: 'When I'm boycotted, people tend to buy more pillows  at least in the short term.

'I always get a little lift for a couple of days when they attack the company. But now this time is different.'

Lindell, who is long rumored to be eyeing a political career himself, met with Trump in the Oval Office, taking notes with him suggesting the president declare martial law.

Lindell then produced and funded a two-hour 'docu-movie' called Absolute Proof.

Lindell and Trump are pictured during a Made In America event at the White House in 2017

YouTube and Vimeo pulled Absolute Proof from their platforms due to policies regarding the sharing of election misinformation.

Throughout the movie, Lindell offers no proof of the claims he makes, including the unsubstantiated allegations that Dominion software was manipulated to delete votes for Trump.

According to Lindell, Absolute Proof has been viewed more than 110 million times, though he declined to offer evidence for those viewership numbers.

This year's Super Bowl had around 96 million viewers.

Lindell told Insider he welcomes the lawsuit from Dominion.

'I am happy that I got served the papers today,' Lindell said, adding that he had a team of lawyers already working on his case.

Dominion have also sued Trump's lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, and a rival company, Smartmatic, has similarly sued Fox News for their allegations that they switched votes.

'I'm not a stupid person,' said Lindell.

'I have a huge company that I built from scratch. I'm an ex-addict, and I'm not going to back down from some big billion-dollar company that's trying to steal our country.

'All I want is this election now. I don't care how much money it costs me.'
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The last day to apply to run for New York City community and citywide education councils for the 2021-2023 term, including for Staten Islands Community Education Council (CEC) 31, is Sunday.

Education councils are elected every two years, and applications are open until Sunday to run for election to fill all 325 seats for the two-year term that begins on July 1. Councils give parents a voice in shaping the policies and priorities for New York City schools.

Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced earlier this month there are new and major changes to strengthen parent empowerment across every school district in New York City.

Parents can apply to run for a council seat, and for the first time ever, all parents and legal guardians with a child in a New York City public school can vote for their preferred candidates.

All parents are encouraged to run and sign-up is simple. Parents can go online to learn more about the structure and roles of the education councils and get information on eligibility guidelines, key dates and frequently asked questions. In order to submit an application this year, you will need an NYC Schools Account with all your children attending city public schools registered to it. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete the application.

The deadline to submit an education council application is Sunday.

Candidate forums will take place in April, and voting will take place from May 1 to 11. Results will be posted online once final, and members will take their seat on July 1.

Each CEC consists of 11 voting members, which include nine elected parents of students in pre-K through eighth grade (including a parent of an English Language Learner and a parent of an Individualized Learning Plan student), two borough president appointees, and a non-voting high school student.

You are eligible to run if you are the parent of a student who currently attends pre-K through eighth grade in a school under the jurisdiction of the community school district where you wish to serve on the CEC.

There are also four citywide councils for specific student populations: Citywide Council on High Schools (CCHS), Citywide Council on Special Education (CCSE), Citywide Council on English Language Learners (CCELL), Citywide Council for District 75 (CCD75).

Like CECs, the councils each have 11 voting members (nine elected parents and two appointees), with the exception of the Citywide Council on High Schools, which has 13 members (10 elected parents and three appointees).

Changes were made to the elections after the DOE announced a series of steps to help make the education council election process more equitable and facilitate greater parent empowerment, following new state legislation passed in 2019 and recommendations of a task force appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio

Previously, voting for community education councils and citywide councils on high schools and District 75 (which serve students with disabilities) were limited to three mandated parent association (PA) or parent-teacher association (PTA) in each school. Citywide councils on special education and English language learners were limited to one person per district, nominated by the Presidents Council.

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HOUSTON, Miss. (WTVA) - The former Houston city clerk faces embezzlement charges.

A spokesperson for the State Auditors Office confirmed on Friday the arrest of Kathy Smith.

Agents with the auditors office booked her into the Chickasaw County jail.

She is free on bond.

The auditor demands she repay $131,697, which includes interest and investigative expenses.

She allegedly embezzled cash and money orders meant to pay fines levied in Houston Municipal Court. Shes accused of manipulating records.

The auditors office claims the alleged crime occurred from January 2013 to April 2018.

She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted and $5,000 in fines.
5 things you need to know Monday

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Mumbai, Feb 28 : Actor Rana Daggubati took to Twitter on Sunday to announce the release date of his trilingual film Haathi Mere Saathi's trailer.

The trailers of Aranya, the Telugu version, and Kaadan, the Tamil version, will be released on the March 3, while the makers will release the trailer of Haathi Mere Saathi on March 4. The film is expected to release on March 26.

The actor posted the three posters of the film and captioned them as, "Are you ready for 2021's first trilingual film? The thrilling fight between Man VS Nature to #SaveTheElephants is back Stay tuned on @ErosNow for the trailer of Aranya and Kaadan releasing on 3rd March and Haathi Mere Saathi on the 4th of March! IN THEATRES on 26th March! (sic)." The film was originally expected to hit screens in April last year but was postponed due to the lockdown. The film has been directed by Prabhu Solomon and also stars Pulkit Samrat, Vishnu Vishal, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Zoya Hussain.

Countries across the globe have started rolling out vaccines to protect their population against the deadly COVID-19 virus.

The virus has infected over 110 million people globally with over two million deaths recorded, data from worldometer shows.

Having recorded more than 155,000 COVID-19 cases, Nigeria is set to receive four million doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines.

Amidst the second wave of the pandemic, Nigeria is reporting high cases of Lassa fever. About 22 persons have died of the disease since its new season began in January 2021.

Here is a round-up of some of the health stories which made headlines last week.

COVID-19: Nigeria records lowest daily infections, deaths since December

Nigeria on Saturday recorded its lowest daily infection and death toll since the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic last December.

The 341 new cases recorded on Saturday indicated a significant decrease from the 521 new cases reported about a week ago as the lowest daily figure this year.

Amidst COVID-19, Lassa fever death toll rises in Nigeria

Reported cases of Lassa fever are on a steady rise as the nation grapples with the challenges of stemming the spread of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.

More persons have also died of the disease since its new season began in January.

Ivory Coast receives COVAX COVID-19 vaccines

Ivory Coast has received over 500,000 doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Assess Facility (COVAX) making it the second country to benefit from the facility.

Ghana is the first country to benefit from the programme with the delivery of 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines on Wednesday.

First clinical trials for Lassa fever vaccine begins in West Africa

A biotechnology company focused on bringing to market precisely designed DNA medicines to treat and protect people from infectious diseases and cancer, INOVIO, on Tuesday announced the first participant was given a shot in Phase 1B clinical trial for INO-4500, its DNA vaccine candidate for Lassa fever, in Ghana.

The Phase 1B clinical trial (LSV-002), ongoing at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Accra, Ghana, is the first vaccine clinical trial for Lassa fever to be conducted in West Africa, where the infection is endemic. INO-4500 was also the first vaccine candidate for Lassa fever to enter human trials.

USAID Launches New $19m Fund To Improve Healthcare In Nigeria

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a new five-year $19 million fund to support activity to improve the quality of health worker training in Nigeria.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the USAID in Abuja, during an event in which the Health Office Director, Paul McDermott, and key government health sector officials participated in. It noted that the Health Workforce Management will train 100,000 by 2025.

HIV transmission, deaths decline in Nigeria  Official

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Gambo Aliyu, on Monday said the rates of HIV transmission and deaths have been on a steady decline since the establishment of the agency.

NACA was established in February 2007 as the agency responsible for the multi-sectoral coordination of Nigerias HIV response.

Mr Aliyu said annual AIDS-related deaths declined from 68,600 in 2010 to 52,392 in 2019.

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FG to present supplementary budget for COVID-19 vaccines in March

The minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, says the federal government will present a supplementary budget to the national assembly for the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines.

She was speaking on Thursday at the maiden edition of state house briefing in Abuja.

COVID-19 Infection higher in males than females in Nigeria  Survey

A new survey has shown that COVID-19 infection is higher among males than females in Nigeria.

The household seroprevalence survey conducted by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was done in Lagos, Enugu, Nasarawa and Gombe states between September and October 2020.

Findings from the survey show infection rates as high as 10 in 100 males, compared with seven in 100 females in Gombe; and 21 in 100 men against 17 in 100 women in Nasarawa.

Childrens health needs more attention  Report

A recent assessment of Nigerias performance on Human Capital Development (HCD) shows that 12 per cent of Nigerian children do not survive up to 5 years due to poor investment in health care, education among others.

The assessment which was conducted by the World Bank shows that Nigeria recorded a Human Capital Index (HCI) score of 0.36 point in 2020.

NIPRD: 70% Nigerians Still Patronise Traditional Medicine

The Director-General of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Obi Adigwe, has said that majority of Nigerians still have faith in the efficacy of traditional medicine, despite improvements made in development of modern healthcare system.

Against the background of a major breakthrough made by the institute in the area of Phyto medicine development, Mr Adigwe said that Nigeria is known to have thousands of plants with proven ethnopharmaceutical and medicinal potentials that are not utilised.

NAFDAC to intensify awareness campaign on breast milk substitutes marketing code

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says it is intensifying an awareness campaign to ensure compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS) in Kaduna State.

The states coordinator of the agency, Dadi Mullah-Natim, disclosed this on Thursday during a sensitisation workshop for Neonatal Doctors on the International Code for Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes and the national regulations.
Economic and trade ties between Egypt and the UK have been witnessing a new chapter since the trade deal between the two countries came into effect as of January 2021.

Ahram Online sat with Sherine Shohdy, UK-based CDCS Country Coverage Director of Egypt, to discuss how the deal will boost British companies' investments in Egypt and how it will positively affect the companies' businesses - that back to 2003 - in the Egyptian market.

Shohdy also stressed that Egypt shows positive signs, unveiling that CDCs investment portfolio in the country exceeds $266 million, with 35 Egyptian companies collectively employing close to 29,000 people.

CDC Group is the UKs first impact investor funded by the UK government with 1200 businesses in emerging economies.

Ahram Online: How do you see the investment and doing business atmosphere in Egypt?

Sherine Shohdy: The investment and business climate in Egypt is showing positive trends. In the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report, Egypt rose six places compared to the previous index and ranked 114 among 190 economies in terms of the level of ease in doing business. Behind this trend lies ongoing economic reform, a commitment to private sector-led growth, and the ambition to create an environment that attracts more domestic and foreign investment.

COVID-19 had a substantial impact on some key sectors of the economy, tourism being one prominent example. On the whole, however, Egypt has dealt well with the economic consequences of the pandemic, thanks partially to strong consumption.

The outlook remains uncertain due to a possible resurgence of the virus and the pace of global recovery, but the IMF's latest review expects Egypt to register positive economic growth in FY2020/2021. On this basis and to aid its recovery, we expect Egypt will continue to push on with reforms that will improve its attractiveness as a market for investments and doing business.

Macro-economic stability, the diversified and dynamic nature of the economy, green recovery plans and the entrepreneurship ecosystem, should in turn all serve to ensure Egypt remains an attractive market for investors.

AO: To what extent is the UK-Egypt trade deal, that came into force in January, expected to boost the investments in both countries?

SS: The trade deal is a great testament to the strength of the partnership between the UK and Egypt and will ensure that we continue to share strong commercial ties.

It both secures the existing 3.5 billion ($ 4.7 billion) of trade between our two countries and provides a framework to develop our trading relations further. British and Egyptian businesses will be able to draw on new opportunities and make significant savings thanks to the liberalisation of trade in agriculture, agri-foods and fisheries provided by the agreement.

Tariff-free trade on industrial products will also create future investment and development opportunities for both countries.

AO: How is CDC expected to benefit from the deal regarding its investments in Egypt?

SS: The new UK-Egypt trade deal will not influence the scale of our current or future investments in Egypt. For CDC, Egypt has been a significant investment partner for over 18 years. As the UK's development finance institution, CDC is mandated to invest in creating jobs and driving sustainable economic transformation across Africa and South Asia by investing in private sector companies and backing their growth with our expertise.

We have over 70 years of experience successfully supporting businesses' long-term development in Africa and South Asia and over half of our portfolio of investments are committed to companies across the continent.

I look forward to continuing the growth of our permanent presence in Egypt and expanding our coverage across the country in partnership with many more of Egypt's prominent companies and entrepreneurs.

AO: Could you shed some light on CDCs recent investment that had been injected in Egypt's private sector?

SS: The COVID-19 pandemic has tested medical staff and healthcare facilities worldwide, highlighting the global imperative need to invest in pandemic preparedness and resilient healthcare systems.

In February 2021, CDC announced a $100 million investment in Alfa Medical Group, which includes leading diagnostics companies Alfa Scan and Alfa Laboratories, as well as El-Saha Hospital.

Alfa Medical Group is one of the largest healthcare providers in Egypt and consists of over 140 labs and six radiology centers, with a 170-bed hospital, in addition to two further hospitals and the Alfa Medical City currently under construction. Our investment in Alfa Medical Group was encouraged by the leading role it has played in improving healthcare outcomes for millions of Egyptians over the last 25 years.

The investment marks CDC's largest equity investment in Egypt and is a testament to our firm commitment to doubling down on investments across the country as well as, partnering with prominent businesses and entrepreneurs in Egypt.

This investment will increase public access to high-quality medical care - ensuring healthcare is accessible to all income levels and underserved communities across the country. It also came in line with the Egyptian government's objectives to improve the quality of life and the standard of living of Egyptians, as outlined in Egypt's Vision 2030.

AO: What is the total of CDC's investments in the Egyptian market?

SS: CDC investments in Egypt date back to 2003 and it is an important partner for our investment activities.

Our portfolio of investments in Egypt now exceeds $266 million, with 35 Egyptian companies collectively employing close to 29,000 people across the country.

CDC provides the flexible long-term capital that will support the growth of Egyptian businesses, driving a similar mission of creating positive environmental, economic and social change.

We provide capital in many forms, including direct and intermediated equity, debt, mezzanine and guarantees to promising companies and projects that stimulate inclusive growth. Our portfolio covers various sectors, including infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, microfinance, healthcare, business services and financial services.

We also have investments in Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) funds with exposure to Egypt and North Africa, such as Ezdehar and Sawari Ventures. So far, we have invested in 12 PE and VC funds with exposure to Egypt and are identifying more opportunities to provide debt/equity to private Egyptian companies and projects which meet our ticket size (this typically worth $20 million up to $150 million).

Meanwhile, CDC is a key partner in the 800 MW Benban Solar Park project located in Benban, Aswan with investments recorded at $97 million, covering nine projects with a total capacity of close to 400 MW.

This project provided clean, cost-effective power to over 350,000 people and generated up to 6,000 jobs during construction.

Moreover, our Africa portfolio of investments supports over 80 investment funds operating in 37 countries across the continent. We currently have investments in over 700 African businesses that collectively employ over 300,000 people across 35 countries and we paid $1.7 billion during 2020 in national tax contributions - supporting governments to deliver essential public services.

AO: Based on that, what are CDCs future plans for the Egyptian market?

SS: Our establishment of a permanent CDC office in Cairo and my appointment in 2020 are a testament to our long-term mission of supporting the country's private sector, entrepreneurial culture, and the government's national agenda to drive sustainable growth. As CDC's Coverage Director based in Cairo, I will continue developing our pipeline of investment opportunities and strengthening our relationships with new and existing partners along side building our relationships with current and potential investee firms, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and financial institutions.

In Egypt, over the next few years, our strategy will focus on where our capital, technical and operational expertise can make the most substantial environmental and social impact. We will be identifying opportunities, chiefly in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, consumables, infrastructure, renewable energy, desalination and wastewater treatment, industrial parks, and ports sectors.

In January 2021, we announced our target to invest $1 billion in African businesses throughout the year. The commitment enables CDC to deploy more capital to many more promising African entrepreneurs, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).

In 2021, as ever, we are focusing on job creation as well as accelerating economic and human development. We will continue to deploy and mobilise capital to enhance women's economic participation, building on the success of the 2X Challenge, which has channelled over $4.5 billion in investments to support initiatives that empower women as entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees and consumers.

Our climate change strategy is also a fundamental objective for us; as such, 30 percent of our annual commitments in 2021 will go to climate finance. Since 2017, we have committed over $1 billion to climate change mitigation, resilience and adaptation measures as we align our investment approach with the Paris Agreement to ensure that our portfolio will be net-zero emissions by 2050.

In November 2020, we partnered with Development Partners International (DPI) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to launch the first pan-African pharmaceutical platform of its kind.

The $750 million biopharmaceutical platform will expand access to vital speciality generic drugs across the continent and enable the $250 million acquisition and combination of two leading companies: Egyptian generic drugs manufacturer Adwia Pharmaceuticals and Celon Laboratories Pvt, Indian oncology and critical care specialist.

Our partnership with these investors will generate significant cost savings for healthcare providers across Africa and aims to raise a further $500 million to realise its strategy, fund additional acquisitions, develop new drugs and establish new distribution capabilities. We are proud of these initiatives and I am excited to develop them further with our partners in Egypt and beyond.

AO: What are the procedures, policies and measures Egypt needs to take for a much more easier and convenient investment environment in the market?

SS: Egypt should continue to progress on the various aspects of its ambitious reform agenda, which includes promoting private sector-led growth and foreign investments. Amongst the ways to achieve this are to continue improving transparency and governance, enabling fair competition and public-private collaboration as well as introducing stable tax policies. Collectively these will make doing business in Egypt easier, attract additional long-term foreign investments and further boost sustainable economic growth.

Currently, Egypt is already pursuing reforms that address some of these areas. For example, the customs law that was ratified by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in November 2020 should improve and help facilitate cross-border trading. Other initiatives can come in the fiscal space, such as providing incentives for exporters or financially supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, which the Egyptian ministry of planning and economic development is already putting into effect.

Critically, developing comprehensive policies that ensure human capital development, will not only foster a strong investment environment but will also serve to entrench sustainable growth and resilience of Egypts economy. The combined forces of climate change and global disruptions resulting from COVID-19 have exposed the urgent need to address widening skills gaps, particularly for women and youth. Prioritising training, re-skilling and upskilling, with a focus on improving digital skills and those relevant to green economic sectors, will have a dynamic impact on the lives of millions of Egyptians and significantly strengthen the countrys socio-economic future.

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The sister of missing woman Lisa Dorrian has called on her killer to come forward and 'do the right thing' on the 16th anniversary of her disappearance in Co Down today.

Hairdresser Lisa (25) from Bangor, Co Down, vanished after a party on a caravan site 20 miles away in the coastal village of Ballyhalbert on the Ards peninsula on February 28, 2005.

Police and her family believe she was murdered.

Despite a series of arrests, the identification of around 4,000 potential witnesses and more than 400 searches, no one has been brought to justice.

The chief suspect in the case is closely related to senior members of the loyalist paramilitary group, the UVF. He still lives in Northern Ireland.

Lisa's sister Joanne Dorrian wants him and others with vital information to come forward and end her family's suffering.

"I would appeal to him directly on Lisa's anniversary to do the right thing and hand himself in to police," she told the Sunday Independent.

"As well as anyone else with information to come forward. We've dedicated our lives to finding Lisa and we are not going to give up until her body is found and we get justice. The police investigation is very active at the moment and we are hopeful of developments this year."

There is a belief that senior loyalists in Northern Ireland have warned people with information over the years not to go to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Lisa and the chief suspect, who were not in a relationship, were alone together after a party at the caravan site when she disappeared without trace.

Police suspect her killer murdered her after an argument and then was assisted by other criminals, possibly members of his family, to dispose of her remains.

Today, Lisa's family will mark the 16th anniversary of her disappearance by coming together to visit a cherry blossom tree and bench dedicated to her memory in her native Bangor.

"We will go there to meet and talk about Lisa," Joanne said.

"Some years it can be too painful and I haven't gone, as it's a stark reminder that we don't have a grave, but this year I am.

"My mum used to go every year, but always on her own."

Pat Dorrian died in 2015, aged just 59, without any breakthrough in the case of her missing daughter.

"It was cruel for her to go to her death not knowing what happened to Lisa.

"She couldn't live without Lisa.

"What happened to my sister was definitely a factor in her death, she was only 59.

"Anyone with information should bear that in mind, there have been other victims too."

Earlier this month, Joanne (37), took a job as an advocacy worker with the South East Fermanagh Foundation, the group formed in 1998 to support the innocent victims and survivors of terrorism and other Troubles-related criminal violence.

"I'm privileged to have the job. I'm working directly, remotely, with families seeking justice and truth as well as doing research. I really want to make a difference to families' lives because I've been through it all."

Joanne said her sister had "fallen in with a bad crowd" for around six weeks before her suspected murder, following her break-up with a long-term boyfriend.

She wants people to revisit their conscience now.

"It's hard to believe it's been 16 years since Lisa disappeared.

"It's such a big issue for us not having her body back.

"The number of people who know exactly what happened is so small.

"Only the chief suspect and one other person know exactly what happened. It's trying to break that silence. I would ask them to examine their conscience."
The organisations, which include The British Heart Foundation, Asthma UK, MacMillan Cancer Support and The Sickle Cell Society, will help promote access to key advice and information on vaccines. Photo: Reuters/Peter Cziborra

Sixteen UK charities have formed a new partnership in a bid to encourage people with long-term health conditions and their adult carers to get the COVID-19 jab.

The organisations, which include The British Heart Foundation, Asthma UK, MacMillan Cancer Support and The Sickle Cell Society, will help promote access to key advice and information on vaccines.

They will work alongside the UK government and the NHS.

Britain is currently leading the coronavirus vaccination race in Europe, after becoming the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer (PFE) jab.

In December, the NHS began administering the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNTX) vaccine, followed by the Oxford AstraZeneca ($AZN.L) one. A third vaccine, from Moderna (MRNA), was also approved, with others in the pipeline.

Around 19 million people have been vaccinated (with a first dose) so far in the UK, with around the majority of over-80s receiving the jab, as well as elderly residents in care homes.

The official estimate of the R number  how many people each infected person then reinfects  is between 0.6 and 0.9 for the UK, with new infections falling by 2% to 6% per day.

Since 15 February those in cohort 6  people between the ages of 16 and 64 with certain underlying health conditions and their carers  have been receiving invites from their GP practice to get inoculated from COVID-19.

READ MORE: UK economic recovery lags but vaccines bring hope

Having the support of the charities who work every day to support the very people we are reaching out to in cohort 6 is a great boost for the rollout which continues to show what we can achieve when we pull together as one, Matt Hancock, health and social care secretary, said.

Their help, encouragement and links with communities next in line for the jab will help make sure everyone can get access to the life-saving protection the vaccine provide.

Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: We are incredibly proud to be working with other leading voices in the charity sector to encourage people to get their COVID-19 vaccine.

Story continues

People with diabetes have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and have a higher risk of becoming seriously ill if they develop coronavirus.

Seven mass vaccine centres have also now opened in England.

Ashton Gate football stadium in Bristol, Epsom racecourse in Surrey, the Excel Centre where London's Nightingale hospital is based, Newcastle's Centre for Life, the Manchester Tennis and Football Centre, Robertson House in Stevenage and Birmingham's Millennium Point will offer vaccines to people aged 80 and older, along with health and care staff.

WATCH: UK praised for making coronavirus jab available to migrants

As part of the vaccines delivery plan, the government hopes that all adults can be vaccinated by the autumn. It plans to have a total of 2,700 vaccine sites across the country.

Britain was the first European nation to pass the 100,000 landmark and the fifth country in the world after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico.

However, the number of new virus cases has plunged from a peak of 66,405 a day on 11 January to 8,523 on Friday.

Earlier this month the Cabinet Office also announced that the most vulnerable groups would receive a jab by polling day at the latest.

In a press release, it said: 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.

The government plans to give councils an extra 31m ($41m) for plastic screens in polling stations and hand sanitiser to make the polls Covid-safe. People who are shielding will be encouraged to vote by post.

WATCH: What UK government COVID-19 support is available?
The Ghana Muslim Mission (GMM) has called on the government not to give in to any pressure to support the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI) agenda either locally or internationally.



A statement issued in Accra and signed by Sheikh Dr Amin Bonsu, National Chairman of GMM said The Mission will like to add its voice and appeal to the government to stop the advocacy and promotion of LGBTQI agenda whether locally or internationally.



It said LGBTQI does not conform to the social, cultural, and religious norms of the country, hence should not be supported.



The statement explained that supporting the agenda of the LGBTQI tended to derail the moral fabric of the society and the country as a whole.



It said there was the need to protect the future generations of the country from the conduct, which it described as abominable.



It reiterated that the Islamic religion detests homosexuality and sees it as a forbidden and sinful act.



We will like to state emphatically that Islam abhors homosexuality and describes it as haram (forbidden) or not permitted and indeed a sinful act, it said.



It said Allah says in Quran 7:80-81: And remember when lot scolded the men of his people saying do you commit a shameful deed that no man has ever done before? You lust after men instead of women! You are certainly transgressors.



The statement said the Mission was aware that Christianity and Traditional religion do not accept and support homosexuality.



It acknowledged that persons with sexual orientations were also humans and needed love and care, hence acts of violence against such persons should be avoided.





Source: GNA









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Vietnam is waiting for the completion of import-export procedures with China, a stepping stone for the Southeast Asian country to officially tap into the high-demand Chinese market for birds nests, which offers a variety of opportunities and profits.

China is the largest consumer of birds nests in the world, according to the Vietnam Farms and Agricultural Enterprises Association (VFAEA).

China's statistics show that the official import of birds nests into China was 180 metric tons in 2019 and 220 metric tons in 2020 while it is estimated to reach 300 metric tons in 2021.

From 2015 to 2017, birds nest trade on Chinese social networks multiplied by 30 times.

In 2017, the online sales of birds nests on the platform China's Alibaba Group alone reached about US$2 billion.

However, China currently applies very strict regulations on importing birds nests, with Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand being the only three Southeast Asian exporters.

In Vietnam, the average yearly output of birds nests reaches about 120 metric tons, according to the VFAEAs vice-chairman Nguyen Van Minh.

The Vietnamese birds nest industry only started to thrive in 2010, with the countrys production accounting for about three percent of global swallow nest production.

In order to profit from the Chinese birds nest market, Vietnamese firms had carefully prepared before submitting their applications in April 2020 to competent agencies in China to gain official admission to this target market.

The signing of protocols for official export of birds nests to China was originally slated to take place in December 2020. But due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides rescheduled the procedure to early 2021.

Inspections and review results have shown that such Vietnamese birds nest producers have met all requirements of international practices and Chinese partners on COVID-19 safety, while the paperwork preparation for the protocols is also almost complete.

At the beginning of 2021, the Vietnamese Birds Nest Farms Association, under the VFAEA, continuously organized business trips to provinces with large numbers of selected swiftlet houses to prepare for export to China.

All information about the location, production, traceability of birds nest products will be made public, according to the VBHAs chairwoman Do Tu Quan.

The VFAEA also built a preliminary processing center and a quality inspection center for bird's nests in Ho Chi Minh City to facilitate immediate export once the permission is eventually passed, Quan said.

In addition, the VFAEA has worked with many swiftlet houses that want to participate in supplying birds nests to expand the supply chain for export.

Vietnam's first official order of birds nests to China is expected to be shipped in the first quarter of 2021, according to Quan.

Concerns

According to the Vietnamese Birds Nest Farms Association, the number of new swiftlet houses increased sharply, but without proper registration or any standards in the 2018-19 period, causing difficulties in their management by state agencies.

While the Department of Livestock Production, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, estimated that there are currently about 12,000 swiftlet houses nationwide, the statistics of the Vietnam Birds Nest Farms Association showed that the number of swiftlet houses exceeded 30,000.

However, the increase in quantity does not go hand in hand with quality.

Many swiftlet houses have failed to ensure hygiene standards, leading to a high nitrate content in the nest, which makes it not meet the quality standards for export.

In addition, most Vietnamese swiftlet houses harvest, process, and put their nests up for sale at home manually.

This leads to Vietnam having many local brands of birds nests, but their quality lags far behind the requirements of international consumers.

The low quality has resulted in low product values, most of which are merely purchased by domestic traders or exported in raw form with small quotas.

The Vietnamese Birds Nest Farms Association said it will give the owners of swiftlet houses guidance on repairing and cleaning their facilities to overcome the aforementioned limitations, in order to ensure the prestige of Vietnam's national brand of birds nests.

The authorities want Vietnam not to follow Malaysias mistake where 80 percent of Malaysian investors in birds nests report ineffective operations.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 77F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low 54F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
ORLANDO, Fla.  After days of insisting they could paper over their intraparty divisions, Republican lawmakers were met with a grim reminder of the challenge ahead on Sunday when former President Donald J. Trump stood before a conservative conference and ominously listed the names of Republicans he is targeting for defeat.

As Democrats pursue a liberal agenda in Washington, the former presidents grievances over the 2020 election continue to animate much of his party, more than a month after he left office and nearly four months since he lost the election. Many G.O.P. leaders and activists are more focused on litigating false claims about voting fraud in last years campaign, assailing the technology companies that deplatformed Mr. Trump and punishing lawmakers who broke with him over his desperate bid to retain power.

In an address on Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, his first public appearance since he left the White House, Mr. Trump read a sort of hit list of every congressional Republican who voted to impeach him, all but vowing revenge.

The RINOs that were surrounded with will destroy the Republican Party and the American worker and will destroy our country itself, he said, a reference to the phrase Republicans In Name Only, adding that he would be actively working to elect strong, tough and smart Republican leaders.
The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two.

Health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the U.S. and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways.

The FDA said J&Js vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death. One dose was 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19 illness, in a massive study that spanned three continents  protection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where the variants of most concern are spreading.

The more vaccines that have high efficacy that we can get into play, the better, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said ahead of the FDAs ruling.

Shipments of a few million doses to be divided among states could begin as early as Monday. By the end of March, J&J has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the U.S., and 100 million by summer.

J&J also is seeking authorization for emergency use of its vaccine in Europe and from the World Health Organization. Worldwide, the company aims to produce about 1 billion doses globally by the end of the year. On Thursday, the island nation of Bahrain became the first to clear its use.

READ MORE: N.J. could get 70K doses of Johnson & Johnsons COVID vaccine
A crane moves a container next to livestock ship "Karim Allah," that carries nearly a thousand Spanish cattle stranded on ship with suspected bluetongue disease, at Escombreras port, in Cartagena, Spain, Feb. 27, 2021. (Juan Medina/Reuters)

Spanish Government Says All Cattle on Pariah Ship Should Be Killed

MADRIDMore than 850 cows that have spent months on a ship in the Mediterranean are no longer fit for transport and should be killed, Spains Agriculture Ministry said on Saturday, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

The cows were kept in what an animal rights activist called hellish conditions on the Karim Allah, which docked in the southeastern Spanish port of Cartagena on Thursday after struggling to find a buyer for the cattle during the past two months.

The animals were rejected by several countries over fears they had bovine bluetongue virus. The insect-borne virus causes lameness and hemorrhaging among cattle. Bluetongue does not affect humans.

A confidential veterinarians report seen by Reuters on Friday concluded that the animals had suffered from the lengthy journey and euthanasia would be the best solution for their health and welfare.

The report did not say if the cattle had bluetongue disease.

In a statement on Saturday the Agriculture Ministry confirmed the reports findings and said the ships owners should kill the cattle.

They should proceed to isolate and slaughter the animals in accordance with the applicable regulations and, in the case of not doing so, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will do it in a subsidiary way.

Miquel Masramon, a lawyer representing the ship owner Talia Shipping Line, called for samples taken from the animals and impounded by authorities on Thursday to be returned so they could be tested for bluetongue.

It (the report) does not mention any serious diseases that explain why these animals must be destroyed, he said.

The vessel originally left Cartagena to deliver the cattle to Turkey. But authorities there blocked the shipment and suspended live animal imports from Spain, fearing bluetongue infection.

That rejection turned the ship, registered in Lebanon, into an international pariah, as several more countries refused it entry.

By Jessica Jones
In the weeks since Donald Trump departed the White House -- and during the four years he resided there  we were constantly told that conservatism is in crisis. Then again, crisis seems to be a recurring condition for conservatism, or, more precisely, for the American conservative movement. By and large, these crises have proved fertile. American conservatisms resilience over the last seven decades -- its ability to shift weight and adjust focus to achieve a suitable balance -- suggests that what appears as calamitous disarray involves salutary adaptation, sometimes painful and awkward, to changing circumstances.

The post-World War II conservative movement was born in crisis. Communist totalitarianism abroad and rapid expansion of the welfare state at home provoked incisive responses from two camps: those determined to conserve individual freedom and limited government and those dedicated to conserving traditional morality. Both classical liberalism and traditionalism had populist appeal, espousing principles that political and intellectual elites rejected but which significant swaths of ordinary voters embraced.

In 1955, a sense of crisis surrounded William F. Buckleys launch of National Review. The upstart magazine quickly established itself as American conservatisms preeminent publication, serving as a home for classical liberals and traditionalists, who were often at loggerheads even as polite society ostracized both. The conservative movements first national standard-bearer, Barry Goldwater, suffered a landslide defeat in the 1964 presidential election to Lyndon Johnson. In the mid-1970s, the fallout from Watergate roiled conservatism as well as the nation. George H.W. Bushs loss to Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election sent shock waves through the conservative movement as did Barack Obamas defeat of John McCain in 2009 and Mitt Romney in 2012.

In each instance, the movement regrouped, recalibrating the balance between classical liberal and traditionalist imperatives, while appealing to the people against the elites. National Review laid the groundwork for Goldwaters candidacy. His defeat and Watergates tumult served as preludes to Ronald Reagans presidency. President Clintons failed effort (which effectively excluded Republican participation) to pass health-care reform energized Newt Gingrichs Republican Revolution. President Obamas successful passage of health-care reform (which also effectively excluded Republican input) galvanized the Tea Party movement. Eventually, the Obama administrations permissive immigration policy and inattentiveness to the distress that globalization wrought in working-class households fueled the populist backlash that Donald Trump rode to the White House.

In A New Conservatism: Freeing the Right From Free-Market Orthodoxy, published this month in Foreign Affairs, Oren Cass addresses conservatisms current crisis. He sensibly contends that, in light of Trumps achievements and implosion, conservatism must rebalance its priorities. For good reason, Cass urges conservatives to develop better policies to deal with inequality, labor, and public education. However, his tendentious critique of those whom he disparages as promulgators of market fundamentalism -- from whom he would strip the title conservative  echoes old errors that marked internecine conservative strife dating back to the 1950s. It also warps todays political realities and subverts Casss aspiration to form a right-leaning governing coalition.

Cass is executive director of American Compass. Founded in 2020, the new organizations mission is [t]o restore an economic consensus that emphasizes the importance of family, community, and industry to the nations liberty and prosperity. At the time, Jack Butler gently observed in National Review that some of Casss immediate claims are worth questioning. That remains true.

Consider his mockery of conservatives response to the COVID-19 global pandemic: Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the White House flipped frantically through their dog-eared playbooks from the 1980s to determine just the right tax cut for the moment. In the pandemics wake and consistent with their principles, many conservatives did propose tax cuts to stimulate the economy. Cass, however, falsely accuses Republicans of having hewed rigidly to an agenda of tax and spending cuts, deregulation, and free trade.

Actually, the GOP adopted a hybrid agenda. On March 27, 2020, in the pandemics early days, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, passed by a Republican-led Senate and a Democratic-led House. The CARES Act provided one-time cash payments to individuals, temporarily supplemented unemployment benefits, authorized loans to small businesses and large corporations, and delivered hundreds of billions of dollars to state and local governments. In May 2020, the Trump administration announced Operation Warp Speed, a public-private partnership that in record time supplied the American people and nations around the world with responsibly tested and highly efficacious vaccines.

Casss narrow definition of conservatism further distorts his analysis. The hallmark of conservativism, he begins reasonably enough, is not, as is often thought, opposition to change or the desire for a return to some earlier time. A related mistake, he observes, is that conservatives lack substantive preferences. But instead of identifying American conservatisms substantive preferences -- along with its principles and understanding of human nature and government -- Cass highlights conservatisms supposedly defining concern: What in fact distinguishes conservatives is their attention to the role that institutions and norms play in peoples lives and in the process of governing.

Progressives, too, care about the moral and political impact of institutions and norms. Having wrested control of the K-12 school system and universities, mainstream media, Hollywood, and the federal bureaucracy, they seek from those commanding heights to remake popular and political culture. Moreover, the left -- in the academy, the media, and government -- stresses the use of law and public policy to transform family, society, and the organs of government in accordance with progressive norms. Left and right differ over which norms should be cultivated, how institutions should be structured, and the extent of governments involvement.

Casss abstract definition of conservatism as attentiveness to norms and institutions, moreover, reflects the excess of abstraction that conservatives since Edmund Burke -- whom Cass cites as a model -- have criticized. While appreciating that conservatives in the mold of Burke must combine a disposition to preserve with an ability to improve, Cass does not adequately specify the norms and institutions central to the American experiment in ordered liberty. In contrast, we can look to Reflections on the Revolution in France, published in 1790. In that document, the first of the modern conservatives came to the defense of the venerable beliefs, practices, and associations that sustained British liberty against the radical dogmas about freedom emanating from Paris.

While the American conservative movement possesses substantive preferences and is dedicated to the preservation of specific institutions, Cass fails to identify the core ones. Well understood, the conservative movement in America seeks in the first place to preserve the constitutional order, which is grounded in unalienable rights, embodies the principles of limited government, and depends on a citizenry that is educated -- at home, in the community, and at schools -- for the rights and responsibilities of freedom. Cass rightly seeks policies that fortify families, sustain communities, and address the discontents of working-class Americans, who have been hit hard by globalization. But he tends to downplay or neglect the imperatives of individual freedom and limited government in the fashioning of such policies.

American conservatism must once again respond to crisis by striking a balance, appropriate to the circumstances and the demands of the moment, that gives both classically liberal convictions and the traditional morality that sustains freedom their due. We need not a new conservatism but rather a new blend of American conservatisms enduring principles.
On February 21, when Gujarat voted in the polls to elect members to six urban civic bodies, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was in Ahmedabad to exercise his franchise in a ward in Naranpura, with his family. It was a little past noon.

Shah was informed the voter turnout was just 11 per cent in several wards, including his; similar reports had come from the other cities, too. Shah was quick on the ball  instead of heading home, he went to the Motera stadium (inaugurated by President Ramnath Kovind on February 24), organised a control room, and was on the phone with practically everybody ...
Photo: File photo

UPDATE: 1:30 p.m.

First Nation officials are calling for changes to the justice system after an indigenous man was shot and killed by police near Tofino on Saturday, Feb. 27.

Two police officers from Tofino RCMP attended a residence on Opitsaht First Nation at about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.

In a release by RCMP, police say they were attending the residence to locate a woman in distress.

When they arrived an interaction took place and one male was shot and another was taken into custody, says Dawn Roberts, director in charge of RCMP communications.

Social media reports by family identify the man shot as Julian Jones.

Last night my brother Julian Jones was shot and killed by the Tofino RCMP on unceded Indian land, wrote Leo Jackson on Facebook.

The president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Judith Sayers said this is the second Tla-o-qui-aht member to be shot by a police officer recently.

"The shooting of this young Tla-o-qui-aht man is extremely tragic," she said. "This is the second Tla-o-qui-aht member that has been shot by police in less than nine months, the first being Chantel Moore."

Sayers said the justice system needs systemic change and this shooting causes great concern.

"The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council calls for alternative means of force to be used as opposed to shooting in incidents that call for force," said Sayers. "We consider shooting excessive force as the police dont seem to be able to use one shot to quell the victim."

Police said one man remains in police custody and the woman was taken to the hospital for medical assessment.

Vancouver Island General Investigative Section is investigating the initial call, including the allegations that the woman was being held against her will.

The Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia is at the scene today and investigating the fatal police-involved shooting.

The IIO investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death.

ORIGINAL: 12:50 p.m.

B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating after an Indigenous man was shot and killed by police near Tofino on Saturday, Feb. 27.

Two police officers from Tofino RCMP attended a residence on Opitsaht First Nation at about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.

In a release by RCMP, police say they were attending the residence to locate a woman in distress.

When they arrived an interaction took place and one male was shot and another was taken into custody, says Dawn Roberts, director in charge of RCMP communications.

The woman was taken to the hospital for medical assessment.

Vancouver Island General Investigative Section is investigating the initial call, including the allegations that the woman was being held against her will.

Social media reports by family identify the man shot as Julian Jones.



Last night my brother Julian Jones was shot and killed by the Tofino RCMP on unceded Indian land, wrote Leo Jackson on Facebook.

Police said one man remains in police custody.



The Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia is at the scene today and investigating the fatal police-involved shooting.



The IIO investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death.

No further information will be released at this time and anyone with information is being asked to contact the police.
A strange titanium ball covered in Russian text has been discovered on a beach in the Bahamas.

A British woman, Manon Clarke, spotted the 41kg reflective ball poking out of the sand while she was walking with her family at Harbour Island on Wednesday evening.

We went walking to a different spot than usual and I noticed this silver shiny moon thing poking out the sand, the 24-year-old told The Independent.

We could see the Russian writing on the side, so we started digging away to see more of it, which was a bit of a bold move given that we had no idea what it was.

Space experts believe that the ball could be a Hydrazine Propellant Tank for a satellite or spacecraft, though uncertainty remains about where it came from and how it came to be on the beach.

The Russian text on the object notes it has an operating temperature range of between -170C and -196C, a capacity of around 43 litres, a maximum weight of around 41kg (Manon Clarke)

Mark Morabito, Chairman of Virgin Galactic and an astronaut in training, said he was 99 per cent certain it is a hydrazine tank from a rocket of some kind, which are used on unmanned rockets for satellite launches.

The Russian text on the object notes it has an operating temperature range of between -170C and -196C, a capacity of around 43 litres, a maximum weight of around 41kg and also suggests it may have been constructed in 2018.

Dr Martin Archer, UKRI Stephen Hawking Fellow in Space Physics and Public Engagement at the Department of Physics at Imperial College London, said it is clearly a Hydrazine Propellant/Bladder Tank, which are usually used on uncrewed spacecraft or satellites and squeeze propellant into rocket engines or thrusters.

It cannot be determined how or where the tank came from but Dr Sarah Hudspith, Associate Professor in Russian at the University of Leeds, said the object may have originated from Cuba, given that Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union, from which it obtained all kinds of equipment.

Unable to move the tank, Ms Clarke and her parents went home to show pictures of it to their neighbours, soon realising it was something significant.

She said: We left the beach because it was getting late and went back the next day with a crew of friends to try to lift it off the beach. We stupidly forgot shovels so we had around six guys do a lot of digging.

Locals dug the object out of the sand (Manon Clarke)

Dr Archer said: How it washed up in the Bahamas is rather mysterious.

But he said one thing to bear in mind is that most satellites or satellite parts that come back down to Earth will fall in the ocean.

He added: Under controlled circumstances, operators will usually aim for them to be deorbited and destroyed in the spacecraft cemetery in the south pacific ocean uninhabited area, centred on Point Nemo the furthest point from any land on Earth.

But of course, not all satellites enter the atmosphere under such controlled circumstances.

Dr Archer said while there is not much evidence of charring on the tank, it would not have been on the outside of the satellite, so there is a chance it could have come from a defunct satellite.

He added: But it may also have been a spare part that accidentally winded up in the ocean. Ocean currents are known to carry junk all around our planet, so it will be almost impossible to determine exactly what journey this tank has been on.

Ms Clarke said the unknown adds to the excitement: Thinking about the possible places it could have come from, how long it's been there, how it got there.

We live on such a small island so something like that is very exciting. Lots of people came down to have a look at it, including Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics.
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The garda investigation into child abuse at Terenure College has widened to include other former teachers at the fee-paying school as well as jailed paedophile rugby coach John McClean.

The child abuse inquiry was expanded last week after former pupils reported concerns about at least one other former teacher at the school run by the Carmelite Order.

At least five new complaints about McClean have been reported to Terenure garda station since his imprisonment and he remains under investigation.

In addition, gardai have been contacted by former pupils about other ex-staff members at the college during the same period of the 1970s and 1980s.

McClean (76) was jailed for eight years the week before last for sexually abusing 23 pupils over 17 years.

He left Terenure College in 1996 after a parent complained to the then principal that McClean was sexually abusing his son, but there is no record of the school reporting the complaint to gardai.

McClean was appointed director of rugby at University College Dublin in 1997.

A UCD staff member submitted a character reference to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for him in a personal capacity before he was jailed, according to informed sources.

The reference was provided after McClean pleaded guilty to a litany of sexual offences against 23 former pupils at Terenure College and before he was sentenced.

A spokesman for UCD said it had no knowledge of staff providing a character reference for McClean ahead of his sentencing, adding it was unaware of his crimes until they were reported in the media.

"Any employee providing a character reference in any court case is doing so in their capacity as a private citizen," the spokesman added.

UCD Rugby, which was John McClean's employer during his time at the university, said it will not be issuing any further statement following its condemnation last week of his crimes as "abhorrent" and "unforgivable".

Terenure College and the Carmelite order have apologised to the past pupils who had been abused, but are facing a raft of claims from former pupils.

David Coleman, a solicitor with Coleman Legal Partners, who has acted for victims of child abuse, said he has been instructed by six former pupils in the past week in relation to McClean's crimes.

Coleman has urged the Carmelite Order, Terenure College and McClean to agree to mediated settlements in the case to spare the victims the trauma of further court proceedings.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
The winter storm last week affected almost everything in the Gateway City. This included a virtual job fair Workforce Solutions of South Texas postponed to Wednesday due to power outages.

Workforce Solutions of South Texas said jobs are on the rise as COVID-19 cases have gone down.

We were impacted by the winter storm, Workforce Solutions for South Texas Media Administrator Melva Lavin-Castillo said. Like many families, our one-stop center was also affected without power and internet service. We decided to reschedule from Feb. 17 to Feb 24.

Despite the change of date, Lavin-Castillo said all employers and guest speakers understood the magnitude of the situation and agreed to the change. No changes were made in terms of what jobs were available.

For this job fair, the participants were already registered, the same as the job openings they are offering, Lavin-Castillo said. Since the event was already organized before last week, no other changes were necessary.

Lavin-Castillo said as their virtual jobs have been held for nearly a year, the model has worked well and is now commonly used by job seekers as a way to find jobs from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Our job seekers have been feeling more confident participating in the virtual job fairs because thats an interactive way to look for a job without taking any health risk, Lavin-Castillo said. Our virtual events offer job seekers the same as in a regular event. Job seekers can do interviews via Zoom or Skype, they can chat with the employers representatives, they can apply for all the jobs they are interested in, and they can visit all the booths as many times as they want.

Along with presenting available jobs, the fairs also feature presentations from guest speakers. Wednesdays guest speakers were Vanessa Vera and Maggie Cromeens who are both business relations coordinators for Texas Workforce Solutions  Vocational Rehabilitation Services. They presented on the topic Diversity and Inclusion: Advocating for Yourself in the Workplace.

Even as COVID-19 cases continue to go down, this seems to be a preferred method for both the office and for job seekers. The events have even begun to see in increase in available positions.

Our business service representatives have seen an increase in job orders as COVID cases decline in the area. Were not certain if they are related, Lavin-Castillo said. Business services representatives work with the employers in Webb County, Jim Hogg and Zapata counties daily by creating job postings for employers in WorkInTexas.com and sharing all those opportunities through our social media pages.

Employers participating in the job fair included AT&T, the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Champion Care, Dr. Ikes, Entravision, Metline, Old Dominion Freight Line, PCSI and the City of Laredo. Available positions included assistant retail managers, federal agents, care givers, CDL drivers, journalists, engineers, packagers, customer service, maintenance and more.

According to Lavin-Castillo, about 10% of the people who participate in these events immediately land a job interview.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
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New Delhi, Feb 28 : As the vaccination for people aged above 45 with comorbidities and above 60 is around the corner, the enthusiastic promise of 'free vaccination to all' by the Delhi government appears a far fetched dream for the UT residents.

So far, there is no clarity in the government whether or when it will provide vaccines free to the residents.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain while speaking to IANS said that the government "will see" about the free vaccination promise it made a month ago.

"The central government is formulating a policy and we will see what could be done," Jain said.

"So far, vaccinations have been provided free. The Centre is managing the vaccines' cost from our Delhi's Budget," he added, directing towards the free vaccination given to the healthcare and frontline workers under nationwide Covid vaccination drive which started on January 16.

"We will see and will inform you about the development in this situation," Jain stated.

Meanwhile, the national capital is witnessing a rise in cases of Covid-19 which is in line with many states and Union Territories, pushing the positivity rate to reach 0.5 which had been reduced to 0.2 per cent. However, Jain assured that the pandemic is in control.

"That decimal rise is just a fluctuation. It cannot be called an upsurge. However, we are watchful of the trends," he told IANS.

A month ago, Raghav Chaddha, national spokesperson of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Rajinder Nagar constituency had told IANS that the demand to provide free vaccines was conveyed to the Centre and the Delhi government was waiting for their instructions.

"The Arvind Kejriwal government is of a firm view that the vaccines should be provided to every citizen free of cost. It is the bounden duty of every government to ensure that it is given. One should not be deprived of the vaccine if one does not have wealth. Our demands and ideas have been forwarded to the Centre and we will wait for their instructions," he had said.

Days before the country embarked on Covid immunisation drive, Kejriwal had publicly announced that his government will ensure free Covid-19 vaccines to the residents of the national capital. He had guaranteed that the AAP government would provide free Covid-19 vaccination even if the Centre fails to do so.

"There are a lot of people who would not be able to afford the vaccine. I had appealed to the Centre to provide free vaccines to all the people of the country. If required and if the Centre doesn't do it, the Delhi government will provide free vaccines to all residents," Kejriwal had stated.

The Delhi government has prepared a list of 42 lakh people who would be vaccinated from March 1 under the third phase of Covid vaccination, which would be extended to people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities.

Across the country, 27 crore such beneficiaries have been identified, who will avail the vaccines at 10,000 government and over 20,000 private vaccination centres.

People will be vaccinated free of cost at the government hospitals, while those taking the shots at private hospitals will have to pay. The union government has fixed the price of vaccines at Rs 250 for one dose which would be available at the private hospitals.

More than 1.42 crore vaccinations have been given to healthcare and frontline workers in the country so far.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

The Air Force must field its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter soon if it wants to compete with China, the general in charge of the service's fighter fleet said Friday.

Gen. Mark Kelly, head of Air Combat Command, said that he is "confident" that adversaries like China, facing this new technology, "will suffer a very tough day and tough week and tough war."

"What I don't know, and what we're working with our great partners, is if our nation will have the courage and the focus to field this capability before someone like the Chinese fields it and uses it against us," he said during a virtual chat with reporters at the Air Force Association's annual Aerospace Warfare Symposium.

Read Next: Army CID Agent Charged with Wife's 2018 Murder Near Fort Hood

In September, the Air Force revealed it had quietly built and flown a brand-new aircraft prototype that could become a future advanced fighter jet. Officials have said NGAD defies traditional categorization as a single aircraft platform or technology. Instead, it's made up of a network of advanced fighter aircraft, sensors and weapons in a growing and unpredictable threat environment.

The NGAD program could also include fighters and autonomous drones fighting side-by-side, officials have said.

"We just need to make sure we keep our narrative up and articulate the unambiguous benefit we've had as a nation to have that leading-edge technology ensuring we have air superiority for the nation and the joint force," Kelly said.

When asked how close the Air Force was to fielding NGAD, Kelly demurred.

The Air Force is developing NGAD alongside a future fighter road map. In an ongoing "TacAir study," Air Force officials are trying to determine the right mix of aircraft for the future inventory, and assessing how future fighter concepts would fit into the current mix of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters.

"This study will give us that 10-to-15-year lens ... so we're not trying to deal with it day by day, week by week, year by year," Kelly said Friday.

The Air Force wants to outline specific mission sets for its aircraft where it can. Deploying high-end fighters like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter or F-22 Raptor for a routine allied patrol mission, for instance, is costly overkill.

Lockheed Martin, the F-35's manufacturer, estimates the jet's cost per flight hour at $36,000, with a goal of reducing it to $25,000 by the end of 2025, company officials said this week. That adds up, Kelly said.

Cost aside, Kelly said the F-35's role as premiere, multirole combat jet remains unchanged, despite discussions of new fighter development.

"It's still going to be a centerpiece of much of what our Air Force does for decades to come," he said.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown this week disputed reports that the F-35 was a high-cost Pentagon failure, saying that was "nowhere near the case."

Brown told reporters on Feb. 17 that the Air Force isn't ruling out bringing a new fighter jet into its inventory as it looks to replace older, fourth-generation F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, also made by Lockheed.

Since the inception of the Joint Strike Fighter program, the Air Force has held that older Falcons should be replaced by the fifth-gen F-35 Lightning II. Some critics viewed Brown's comments last week as foreshadowing the stealth jet's demise.

The Air Force is the largest customer for the F-35, and hopes to procure 1,763 F-35 A-variants. But according to Aviation Week, future budgets could limit the inventory. The magazine reported in December that the service might cap its total F-35 buy at 1,050 fighters.

Neither Brown nor Kelly addressed how many F-35s the service would ultimately end up with during this week's conference.

The chief added NGAD and the F-35 are not comparable from a programmatic and funding standpoint.

"As far as NGAD versus F-35, we're not going to take money from the F-35 to [fund] the NGAD," Brown said Thursday.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.

Related: The Air Force May Soon Be Shopping for a New Fighter Jet

A quadriplegic cancer survivor was left without power as the town's first selectwoman tried in vain to get the Eversource power company to prioritize the resident's case.

In another town, 200 roads were blocked for a week, putting scores of residents in danger of being closed off from emergency medical and law enforcement personnel.

The personal struggles of the more than weeklong power outages after last years Tropical Storm Isaias is spelled out in hundreds of complaints submitted to state regulators, an examination of the documents by Hearst Connecticut Media shows.

Connecticut regulators are wrapping up a months-long investigation into statewide power outages following Isaias.

The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority received hundreds of complaints from customers and local and state officials about the storm, which at its peak left up to 800,000 customers in the dark, some for nine days or more.

PURA was told of roads blocked by downed wires for days  leaving vulnerable residents unreachable by emergency vehicles  the loss of tens of thousands of dollars in food and medicine and an inability to report outages or learn when power would be restored.

South Windsor readied plans to dump raw sewage into the Connecticut River because its wastewater treatment plant was left without power for a week. Town officials said they received help only after telling Eversource that Gov. Ned Lamont was coming to town.

PURA is scheduled to issue a draft decision March 19, followed by possible deliberations in May over violations. Eversource and United Illuminating face fines, a possible restructuring of how they operate and new performance standards.

The Aug. 4, 2020 storm was reminiscent of similar storms in 2011 and 2012  a triple hit that prompted reforms and punitive action against the utilities.

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, said Attorney General William Tong.

Much of Texas earlier this month lost power for up to 10 days after a massive snow storm blew through the state, freezing electrical systems that had not been weatherized to withstand cold temperatures. The process of determining what happened and why  and who is to blame  is just beginning in the Lone Star State.

Connecticuts utilities acknowledge communication with town officials and residents could have been better during Isaias and web pages designed to inform the public and collect outage reports did not work as intended.

But, for the most part, they praised their restoration efforts.

Our response was faster than any other historic storm, despite the unique challenges that we encountered, said Mitch Gross, an Eversource spokesman.

We recognize that a multi-day power outage is challenging for customers regardless of the intensity of our efforts to mobilize resources and restore power as quickly as possible. We continue to work with PURA, other state agencies and elected officials to evaluate opportunities to develop our storm response capabilities.

United Illuminating, an Avangrid subsidary, offered a similar assessment.

UIs overall execution in Tropical Storm Isaias was effective, efficient, and fully consistent with the (Emergency Response Plan), said Anthony Marone, UIs president.

While no event is ever perfect, the UI team worked well to complete all Make Safe work, address municipal priorities, and restore customers as quickly as possible following a most devastating event.

Eversource provides electricity to 149 towns and 1.2 million customers. UI serves just under 340,000 customers clustered in the New Haven and Bridgeport region.

Unfathomable

Testimony submitted to PURA by residents and state and town officials paints a vastly different picture of UI and Eversources performance during Isaias.

There were trees down and some property damage but nothing warranting 7-8 days to restore power, Lyn Chatham of Newtown wrote to PURA. Getting the job done and serving our community should be Eversources priority. It was NOT.

Ridgefield told PURA that downed lines meant 200 of the towns roads were not cleared for a week. A patient at a Newtown health care center had to be evacuated by an all-terrain vehicle because downed lines blocked the road.

Bethels police station was left without power for six days.

Unless there is a financial penalty for failure to plan and conduct business for the benefit of the people it services, Eversource will continue to cut costs in order to pass profits back to shareholders and its top executives, said Matthew Knickbocker, Bethels first selectman.

Maria Brown of Fairfield said she couldnt contact UI.

The way UI handled the recent power outage in Fairfield was terrible, Brown said. It was impossible to get through to UI. There were no communication to give customers an estimated time for restoration. For some, it took a week-plus to get power back.

Lorraine Russo, a Wethersfield resident who is confined to an electric wheelchair, said she had difficulty charging the device.

For several nights, I had to sleep in a darkened, sub basement parking garage, alone, in my wheelchair for approximately 6-8 hours to charge my wheelchair, Russo told PURA. This was the only plug that had power (from an onsite generator).

Russo said if the battery loses all power, it has to be replaced at a cost of $1,000 and shipped from China.

Some customers were also frustrated with cable providers. Kaitlyn Shanley of Milford, speaking about her cable service, added in testimony, We are on day 13 from the storm with out answer of when we will get our wires restored. Please help!

In Canaan, a small town nestled in the Northwestern Hills, First Selectman Henry Todd was more than frustrated with Eversource and Comcast.

I do not believe the responses of either company were anywhere near adequate, he told PURA. They had at least a week before the storm hit to prepare. Why there was no plan, no response to phone calls, is unfathomable .

PURA was told that some out-of-state crews lacked maps showing where circuits and other infrastructure were located and had to wait for Eversource or UI crews, and that outside crews were being housed two hours from work sites.

Aimee Harrison, of Stamford, urged PURA to change the rules for major storms.

Please do something to change the performance of this, our sole source for power, and the pricing which stands to force people to curtail the purchase of medicines, light, air conditioning , Harrison said.

New Fairfield First Selectman Patricia Del Monaco told PURA Eversource left a quadriplegic, cancer survivor without power and in need of help.

Throughout my conversations with Eversource, I was told that disabled customers arent entitled to critical status and must make their own arrangements, Del Monaco said.

This incident illustrated a total lack of empathy by Eversource, and a life-threatening incident caused by Eversources negligence.

Cromwell First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said his town was pretty much on its own for the first 96 hours of Isaias.

Only the power company can ultimately make the town safe, he said. Not knowing when or who was coming made it hard to plan relief. I asked early on for just one line truck, which I thought was the plan: one Make Safe crew per town.

Ridgway added, I wonder if shutting down the service centers and downsizing line crews and relying on out of state crews who dont know the local circuits is wise.

Successfully met requirements

Following Isaias, the state Legislature gave consumers a new credit on their electric bill for power outages and $250 in reimbursements for lost food and medicine if an outage lasts 96 hours or more.

PURA was directed to create a performance-based system for utilities to hold them accountable and to apply those standards during future rate increase requests.

At the time, Eversource noted that this new approach will hold us accountable if we fall short in meeting certain standards, and will acknowledge when we exceed the standards, which we believe will result in better service for our customers.

Eversource was more defiant in testimony submitted to PURA as part of the ongoing investigation, at times disputing town officials over whether a specific road was cleared or when power was restored.

The company pointed out the Bethel police station had a generator and the town was late reporting the outage.

We agree that there are commonalities among the complaints voiced in those comments and that some of the common complaints are valid, Eversource told PURA.

With particular focus on communications, the company can always do better. That said, for many of the complaints that are voiced in the comment letters, there are reasons and explanations as to the underlying circumstances.

Eversource noted the expectation that a Make Safe crew would be deployed ahead of the storm or immediately following the storm is not reasonable for a widespread event like Isaias.

A Make Safe crew is responsible for ensuring downed wires are safe so other crews can clear roads and restore power. The Make Safe program was mandated by PURA following outrage over slow power restoration during the 2011 and 2012 storms.

In response to pages of complaints from the state Office of Consumer Counsel, UI directly disputed allegations and said it did a good job.

Overall, the evidence in this docket demonstrates that UIs actions were consistent with the Performance Standards and the (Emergency Response Plan), that its municipal and customer communications were critical success factors in its storm response, and that UI achieved substantial completion of restoration of its customers within six days  on August 10, 2021  which was consistent with the ERP timeline for a Level 3 event, the company said in a February filing with PURA.

bcummings@ctpost.com

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated a Milford utility customer told regulators in a written complaint that she was without power for 13 days. The woman said she was without cable for at least 13 days, but got her power back within a week. The article also incorrectly stated that customers faced weekslong outages. The last of the United Illuminating customers to get their power back had it restored within eight days.
A slew of ambitious Republicans eyeing bids for the party's 2024 nomination used the two days ahead of former President Donald Trump's appearance at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference to begin staking their own claims as the eventual leaders of the movement built around the former President.

Though it will take years for the 2024 race to fully take shape, this year's CPAC in Orlando, Florida, offered a window into a GOP primary dominated by a new Republican Party built around the grievances that animated Trump's campaigns and his presidency.

Speakers embraced Trump's lies about the 2020 election being rigged. Organizers built this year's event in Trump's adopted home state around the theme of liberal "cancel culture" in the wake of Trump being banned from social media platforms. The crowd booed reminders to wear masks, much like Trump eschewed his own health experts' recommendations.

"Let me tell you right now, Donald J. Trump ain't going anywhere," Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Friday.

And CPAC attendees seemed to agree.

"There's nothing he can say that can make me change my mind about him," Bob Paxton of Ocala, Florida, told CNN.

Red "Make America Great Again" hats and pro-Trump paraphernalia have been ubiquitous, and every CPAC attendee who spoke to CNN said they would support Trump if he decides to run in three years. The unofficial, organized efforts to generate buzz for GOP presidential candidates that were a hallmark of CPACs during the Obama years were nowhere to be found this year.

The weekend in Orlando demonstrated that Trump is poised to be at the center of Republicans' 2024 nominating contest, whether he decides to run again as the clear favorite or instead chooses to play a kingmaker role, setting the terms of the race and determining which candidates are persona non grata in a GOP built in his image.

Trump loyalists only

The clearest illustration of a conservative base that remains fiercely loyal to Trump came from Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who had objected to certifying Electoral College votes from key swing states, effectively attempting to disenfranchise those states' voters and overturn the results of the 2020 election. He bragged about his efforts at CPAC, claiming he was standing up for "election integrity."

In Washington, Hawley has faced backlash over his efforts on January 6, the day a pro-Trump mob emboldened by the former President's speech stormed the Capitol. But in Orlando, he was treated as a hero.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here. I'm gonna stand up for you," Hawley said, to the loudest cheers of the day Friday.

He also pointed to the backlash he's faced, which included a publisher canceling plans to publish a forthcoming book that has since been picked up by another publisher, as an example of liberal cancel culture. "I thought it was an important stand to take, and for that the left has come after me. They tried to silence me. They canceled a book," he said.

At this year's CPAC, Republicans who have broken with Trump -- such as Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse -- and those on ambiguous terms with the former President -- including former Vice President Mike Pence, who rejected Trump's pressure to try to overturn the election results, and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who has offered tempered criticism -- were not on hand.

Also largely ignored: President Joe Biden, who was mentioned roughly as often as toy-maker Hasbro's decision to drop the "Mr." in front of the name of its famous "Potato Head," favoring the gender-neutral name. None of the major speakers attempted to make a detailed case against Biden's $1.9 trillion plan to combat the coronavirus pandemic and stimulate the economy that passed the House early Saturday morning.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced just as much criticism over his handling of the pandemic as Biden faced.

"Florida is like an amazing woman. Adventurous, beautiful, mostly sunny, sometimes a little crazy, and always here to encourage and support success," Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said. "By contrast, New York is like a bad ex-husband -- mean, won't let you go out to dinner; you're less safe, financially spiraling downward, and they may kill your grandparents."

Breakout star?

The breakout star of CPAC's first days might have been South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was among the only speakers to articulate a vision of conservatism that -- while consistent with Trump -- sought to more broadly define the party's principles.

"We must more closely articulate to the American people that we are the only ones who respect them as human beings," Noem said. "That we are the only ones who believe the American people have God-given rights. We are not here to tell you how to live your life, how to treat you like a child or criminal because you go to church or you defend yourself."

Noem decried what she said is an "organized, coordinated campaign to remove and eliminate all references to our nation's founding and many other parts of our history" -- seizing on Trump's complaints about progressives who have attempted to remove some honors given to slave-owning founding fathers and Confederate leaders from the public square.

"Our founders had their flaws, certainly. But to use those flaws to condemn their ideals and the greatest Constitution the world has ever seen is both unjust and it's self-defeating," the Republican governor and former congresswoman said.

Noem also touted her state's lax policies to combat the coronavirus pandemic and took aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's leading infectious disease expert, whom she claimed overshot the number of hospitalized people South Dakota would face at the height of the pandemic.

"I don't know if you agree with me, but Dr. Fauci is wrong a lot," Noem said to loud cheers.

And a story about her late father's pickup truck -- and the life lessons she discovered he had left behind in the truck's cab -- brought tears to the eyes of several attendees.

"I was getting teary-eyed," Kensy Pelo, an attendee from outside Portland, Oregon, told CNN.

The first speaker to attack Biden at length was Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Trump's son Donald Trump. Jr., well after most 2024 prospects had spoken Friday. And while Trump Jr. used his speech to criticize Biden, he also took aim at Trump's rivals within the Republican Party. He hammered Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6 insurrection, in personal terms with a reference to Cheney's father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, shooting a friend in the face in a 2006 hunting accident.

"Liz Cheney and her politics are only slightly less popular than her father at a quail hunt," Trump Jr. said.

Reiterating Trump's rhetoric

To the extent policy was discussed, it often focused on Trump's priorities: Combatting the rise and reach of "big tech," enacting hard-line immigration policies and talking tough on China.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton vocalized conservatives' hard line on immigration, baselessly trying to stir up fear about Democrats giving voting rights to undocumented immigrants "in time for what they hope will be Kamala Harris' reelection campaign."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose popularity among Republicans has soared amid his rejection of strict measures to combat the pandemic, bragged that Florida had not made changes to how it held the 2020 election to make it easier for people concerned about their health to vote.

"I rejected pressure to make hasty and ill-conceived changes to our election administration like mass mailing of unsolicited ballots. And the result? On election night, by midnight, the state of Florida had counted, tabulated and put out 11 million votes," DeSantis said.

Speakers mocked mask-wearing, even as attendees were reminded that the hotel hosting CPAC required them. Cruz said he had two masks in his pocket, but lambasted the notion that wearing masks has become a cultural matter pushed by Democrats.

"How much virtue do you want to signal? This is just dumb," he said.

Republicans also reveled in the criticism they've faced since January 6 -- connecting with a palpable sense of grievance within the audience that Trump himself has often played to.

"In the last few months we've been called clowns, and deplorables, and ignorant rednecks, we've been called the evil resistance. The New York Times thinks I'm the worst secretary of state of all time," said Mike Pompeo, Trump's secretary of state, referencing commentary from the newspaper's opinion section.

In his speech, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who chairs the Senate GOP's campaign arm for the 2022 midterm elections and has been a staunch Trump ally, made clear that he's not willing to wade into primary fights between those in the party who have criticized the former President and his allies.

"I'm not going to mediate anything. Instead, I'm going to fight for our conservative values," he said.

Scott, like Hawley, also hammered tech companies, characterizing Twitter's decision to ban Trump as ominous for all conservatives -- even though Trump was banned for tweets that glorified and incited violence, not for expressing political views.

"If they can silence a former President," he said, "what makes you think you're not next?"
A Hamilton College graduate and former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo has become the second former aide to accuse the governor of sexual harassment, according to a report by the New York Times.

Charlotte Bennett, the former aide, told the Times that on June 5 of last year the governor asked her numerous questions about her personal life, including whether she thought age mattered in romantic relationships. Cuomo, 63, told Bennett he was open to relationships with women in their 20s, Bennett told the Times. She is 25 years old.

In a statement released by the governors office Saturday night, Cuomo denied making advances toward Bennett and said he did not intend to act inappropriate. Cuomo called for an independent review of the allegations made against him in the statement.

Bennett told Cuomos chief of staff Jill DesRosiers and special counsel Judith Mogul about what happened in June and she was transferred shortly after to another job in a different part of the Capitol, Bennett said to the Times. She also told the Times she did not push for an investigation in an effort to move on.

Earlier in the week, former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan said the governor subjected her to an unwanted kiss and asked her to play strip poker on a flight.

Lawmakers called for an investigation into the allegations against Cuomo after Boylan detailed her accusations.

The minority and majority leadership in the New York State Senate and Assembly have called for an independent investigation of Cuomo on Saturday night, as did the Sen. Rachel May and Sen. John Mannion. May and Mannion represent districts that cover the Syracuse area.

It is discouraging to have to keep repeating this: credible accusations of sexual harassment in the workplace need to be taken seriously, said Sen. Rachel May, D-Syracuse.

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.
(Natural News) The White House has sowed confusion regarding the process for reopening schools from their Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic-imposed lockdowns on Wednesday, Feb. 17, when it said teachers do not need to be vaccinated for in-person classes to return. The administration of President Joe Biden immediately turned back on this statement by calling the issue a priority.

Neither Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris was able to give a direct response during their latest media appearances when they were asked about teacher vaccinations.

Its about needing to be able to socially distance, smaller classes, more protection and I think the teachers and the folks who work in the school, the cafeteria workers and others should be on the list of preferred to get a vaccination, said Biden during a town hall on Tuesday night.

Teachers should be a priority, said Harris during an interview on NBC on Wednesday morning. She came under fire when Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie attempted to get her to give a direct answer.

Can you reassure teachers listening right now that it is safe to go back to school, even if they are not vaccinated, if these public health measures like distancing and masks are being implemented? asked Guthrie.

Teachers should be a priority along with other frontline workers and were going to make them a priority, answered Harris, which is apparently a jab at the many states that are putting teachers on a lower tier of a priority than many other frontline workers like healthcare employees, firefighters and law enforcement officials.

But if theyre not vaccinated, is it safe for them? countered Guthrie, who attempted to push the question. Harris continued to deflect by talking about the $1.9 trillion relief package being pushed by the Democratic Party, which the vice president claims would help reopen schools.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki later tried to clarify the administrations position by saying that the final decision is up to the states.

Neither the president nor the vice president believes it is a requirement, said Psaki during a press briefing. At the same time, the president and vice president also believe that teachers should be prioritized. Thats up to states to determine.

[Bidens] goal that he set is to have the majority of schools  so, more than 50 percent  open by day 100 of his presidency, said Psaki during a different press conference. And that means some teaching in classrooms. So, at least one day a week. Hopefully, its more.

The topic of school reopening has become a subject of national debate as many schools all over the country continue to hold classes online.

The administration, along with many school districts all over the country, is looking to resume in-person classes. But they are being opposed by teachers unions who have expressed supposed concerns regarding the safety of educators. These teachers are demanding that they be vaccinated before returning to the classroom.

The demand of unions is not supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published its guidelines for school reopenings last week. The CDCs recommendations include universal and mandatory mask usage and social distancing. The agency has also called for teachers and other school staff to be given priority when it comes to vaccinations, but it has stopped short of making it a requirement. (Related: CDC DOGMA: Being indoctrinated at public school is safe for children, but doing anything else will spread coronavirus.)

Even chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci believes that vaccinating every teacher in the country is non-workable.

I think if you are going to say that every single teacher needs to be vaccinated before you get back to school, I believe quite frankly  that thats a non-workable situation, said Fauci during an interview with CBS News on Wednesday.

I think teachers should absolutely be priority among those who we consider essential personnel, he continued, and you should try and get as many teachers as you possibly can vaccinated as quickly as you possibly can.

Republicans seizing on confusion regarding Bidens unclear school reopening program

The Republican Party has used the confusion to criticize Democrats for several weeks now. The GOP has pointed to data suggesting that many schools are actually safe to open. Republicans have also accused the Democrats of siding with teachers unions over students and ignoring the needs of American families as well as scientific data.

In places across America where public education depends on the whims of a powerful public sector union, the best interests of children have often come dead last, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell during a speech on the floor of the Senate earlier this month. As the months have rolled by and the data have poured in, its becoming clear that schools can open safely.

An administration that puts facts and science first would be conducting a full-court press to open schools, added McConnell.

Republican strategist Rory Cooper said this issue is particularly urgent and has an immediate impact, especially for the collar counties around major urban areas, who the GOP considers to be the swing voters they want to court for votes.

According to Cooper, the extended school lockdowns are causing mental health issues, academic issues, physical and social issues in children and teenagers.

And the priority seems to be on the adults who worked in the school system, said Cooper, rather than the children who are supposed to benefit from it.

Republican candidates are already using this issue in their campaigns. The former mayor of San Diego Kevin Faulconer is running to receive the nomination of the Republican Party for the 2022 California gubernatorial election.

On Wednesday, he campaigned outside of a closed high school in San Francisco and criticized Gov. Gavin Newsoms failed leadership on reopening schools.

This is about not rolling up your sleeves and saying that this is important, said Faulconer. How on earth are private schools open where teachers are teaching safely, kids are safely learning  and its not happening in public schools? Its unacceptable.

Faulconer further criticized Newsom for not using the governorship as a bully pulpit to pressure school districts to reopen and teachers unions to concede.

The governor involves himself in so many things  like businesses opening and closing  but yet hes not involving himself in the opening of our public schools, added Faulconer.

Learn more about the Biden administrations attempts to deal with the coronavirus pandemic by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

ABCNews.go.com

SFChronicle.com
The Garda Commissioner has clarified there is no evidence of extreme left factions at yesterdays anti-lockdown protest, after previously describing some protestors as far left.

Yesterday, large demonstration took place in Dublins city centre against current Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions, with more than 20 people arrested, 13 charged, and three gardai injured.

Speaking on RTE yesterday about who was behind the protest, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that we saw elements of both the far left and far right engaged in this as well.

However, in a statement today, Mr Harris clarified that: Despite initial indications, following further investigation, there is no corroborated evidence of extreme left factions being involved.

The vast majority of those who took part belong to a number of factions including anti-vaccine, anti-mask and anti-lockdown protestors, far right groups, and those intent on trouble and disorder.

Read More

The clarification comes after some took issue with the Commissioners use of the term far left, with Rise TD Paul Murphy saying: The far left were clearly not involved in what was a far right demo.

SolidarityPeople Before Profit TD Mick Barry also echoed similar sentiments, saying: His claim that far left groups were involved in the protest should be substantiated or else he should withdraw it and apologise.

I will use the platform of the Dail next week to challenge this completely unsubstantiated allegation.

On Newstalk this morning, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that the Commissioner was referring to violent republican groups when discussing far left elements of the protest.

My understanding, and the Garda Commissioner has clarified this, he was referencing in terms of the far left: violent republican groups. And thats exactly who he was referring to when he said the far left and the far right, she said.

I think his remarks, as I said, when he referenced the far left, were in reference to more violent republican groups, not in any political persuasion.

We can see that a lot of the people who were there yesterday were there with intent on causing harm, so thats what he was referring to.

We need to monitor this type of situation and make sure that these types of groups are not using what is a very difficult situation for many people as a vehicle of other types of activities and other types of destruction.

The Minister added that the situation did escalate quite quickly, but gardai were able to identify many of the organisers and they have been charged.

These types of events, they do happen very quickly, I suppose the information about when theyre happening, where theyre happening, come up very quickly. So, you have to try and gather up that information, but that is what the Gardai do, she said.

The vast majority of people there were not there for peaceful protest, they were there to cause destruction and harm.

Ms McEntee later said on RTE Radio One that: It seems as though there were people or individuals maybe who would have had in the past had connections with violent groupings, but appeared to have changed or moved.

She also discussed some of the injuries sustained by members of the gardai due to yesterdays events.

There were a number of gardai who ended up in hospital. We had a broken ankle, perforated eardrum, you had a member who was thrown off a horse

These people do not get up and go to work everyday, they havent spent the last year standing in cold weather, on the side of the road, doing everything to keep us safe, for something like yesterday to happen.


MoU between Radio Society of Kenya and South African Radio League The Radio Society of Kenya (RSK) approached the (SARL) around six months ago and following successful discussions a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during February 2021 with full approval from the Regulator  the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK).



The SARL will assist RSK with the Radio Amateur Examination and administer the technical aspect of the examination on their behalf. The RSK will administer regulations and operating procedure themselves. The SARL will assist with the necessary Train-the-Trainer courses; provide the training manuals and presentation material as well as online sessions to assist in conducting successful training courses in Kenya.



David Mutonga, 5Z4DJ Chairman of RSK and Secretary Gitonga M'Mbijjewe, 5Z4ZT joined Noel Hammond, ZR6DX the SARL RAE Manager, Gerhard Gericke, ZS6CRS Deputy RAE Manager and SARL President Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QL in an online meeting on Tuesday 23 February (this week) to conclude the discussion process and start the process of co-operation. The SARL is looking forward to working with the RSK to grow Amateur Radio in Kenya SARL
The 33-year-old said the Iranian prison was her 'nightmare' she barely survived

A preview for a bombshell interview with Sky News Australia will air on March 9

Telling herself she was 'free, no matter what' is how Kylie Moore-Gilbert stayed alive while locked up in a hellhole Iranian prison for more than two years.

The Australian academic was released in November after spending 804 days in jail on trumped-up spying charges.

In a preview for an interview airing on March 9, Dr Moore-Gilbert said her daily mantra was 'I am free, no matter what you do to me, I am still free.'

'I want to talk about what happened to me... That place is my nightmare,' the 33-year-old stoically told Sky News Australia.

Dr Moore-Gilbert said that upon her arrest on her way to the airport, she had a gut feeling she was 'in deep trouble'.

In a preview for a bombshell interview with Sky News Australia, set to air on March 9, Dr Moore-Gilbert told journalist Melissa Doyle that her daily mantra was 'I am free, no matter what you do to me, I am still free'

British-Australian academic Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert (pictured left), who was held in solitary confinement in an Iranian prison for more than 800 days, has split from her husband after allegedly discovering he had had an affair with colleague Dr Kylie Baxter while she was behind bars. Right: Mr Hodorov with Dr Baxter

When asked if she knew who 'dobbed her in' to Iranian authorities, she responded: 'I do'.

Host Melissa Doyle, who in 2020 left Seven News after 25 years, said Dr Moore-Gilbert is 'one of the most remarkable women' she has ever interviewed.

'Her experience will both frighten and shock you, her determination to survive will leave you in awe, but above all, her grace and strength will inspire you,' she said.

'I do not know how she survived years of hell - solitary confinement, starvation and the constant fear of what could happen next. Her dignity can only be admired.'

Doyle told News Corp that the Islamic studies scholar was kept in a 'box'-like jail cell during her seven months in solitary confinement.

'It was so tiny and it had a boarded-up window. She goes into detail about what it felt like and what it was like and how she survived her mental strength through it, to keep going, to stay alive and the thoughts that she had of her future,' she said.

'I feel like she hasn't fully processed it yet and she acknowledges that she hasn't dealt with a lot of it in her mind. I almost feel as though she's sort of put it in a box and she's come home and she's got so many other things to deal with

Dr Moore-Gilbert said that upon her arrest on her way to the airport, she had a gut feeling she was 'in deep trouble'

Dr Moore-Gilbert, an Islamic studies scholar, was freed last November in a prisoner swap deal after spending 804 days in jail on trumped-up spying charges

'At one point she talks about how she almost feels like she's sort of watching somebody else. That what she's going through is like watching herself in a movie.'

Dr Moore-Gilbert's reunion with her husband after years in captivity didn't go well as they split when she allegedly discovered he had an affair while she was behind bars.

After being released and touching down in Melbourne, she found out that her Russian-Israeli husband, Ruslan Hodorov, was in a relationship with Dr Kylie Baxter, her university colleague and PhD supervisor, The Herald Sun reported.

Before her September 2018 arrest, Dr Moore-Gilbert and Mr Hodorov had just bought a house in Melbourne's east after marrying in 2017 in a Jewish ceremony.

She is said to be divorcing him following her discovery of his alleged infidelity.

Both Mr Hodorov and Dr Baxter pushed for Dr Moore-Gilbert's release after her arrest for espionage in September 2018.

She was given a 10-year sentence but always denied the charges.

The Herald Sun cited friends of Mr Hodorov, 31, and Dr Baxter, 43, claimed their affair started a year after Dr Moore-Gilbert's arrest.

Dr Moore-Gilbert and Dr Baxter are both experts in Middle East studies at the University of Melbourne.

But, according to Melbourne newspaper The Herald Sun , she then discovered that her Russian-Israeli husband, Ruslan Hodorov, was having an affair with Dr Kylie Baxter, her university colleague and PhD supervisor

Dr Moore-Gilbert is reported to have suffered 'immense' shock on learning of her husband's alleged affair.

She had defended her husband while in prison by refusing to help lure him to Iran in a plot concocted by her captors, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp.

A letter from Dr Moore-Gilbert to Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, which was smuggled out of Evin prison revealed how the IRGC tried to set a trap for Mr Hodorov, who they wrongly accused of being an Israeli spy.

'The Revolutionary Guard have imprisoned me in these terrible conditions for over nine months in order to extort me both personally and my government,' Dr Moore-Gilbert wrote to the prime minister.

'They have also attempted to use me as a hostage in a diabolical plot to lure my husband, an Australian permanent resident (and soon to be new citizen) into joining me in an Iranian prison.'

Dr Moore-Gilbert and Mr Hodorov married a few months before she left their Melbourne home on her study trip to Iran.

They met a decade earlier when she visited Israel, where Mr Hodorov lived after emigrating from Russia with his family.

While imprisoned, Dr Moore-Gilbert was kept in a tiny cell in freezing temperatures and was subjected to psychological torture.

A university spokesman refused to comment on the affair claims.

'The university is grateful that Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert has returned to Australia and is recovering with family and friends,' they told Daily Mail Australia.

'Our priority is her health and well-being. We are looking forward to her returning to campus when she is ready.

'We will not be commenting on Kylie's private life.'

Dr Moore-Gilbert previously described some of the conditions in her prison when she penned a tweet in December about another inmate.

Before her September 2018 arrest, the 33-year-old and Mr Hodorov had just bought a house in Melbourne's east after marrying in 2017 in a Jewish ceremony

She is blindfolded every time she leaves her small, cold, empty cell,' she wrote.

'She is even masked and blindfolded when taken to the outdoor 'exercise' area. If she refuses, she will be handcuffed and dragged there by force.

'No one has heard from her since her transfer.'

Last month, Dr Moore-Gilbert reunited with Perth bloggers Jolie King and Mark Firkin, two prisoners who she spent time with while behind bars.

'Sinister undercover meeting of evil ''Mossad agents'' plotting world domination (please note - no drones were harmed in the taking of this picture!)' she wrote along with a selfie of the trio.

The 31-year-old (right) shared a photo on Wednesday with Perth bloggers Jolie King (middle) and Mark Firkin (left) who were imprisoned with her for three months

British-Australian academic Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert disembarks an Australian Government jet in Canberra on November 27, 2020 after her release

Ms King and Mr Firkin had spent three years in Evin Prison in northern Iran before they were released in October 2019.

Dr Moore-Gilbert was arrested at Tehran Airport in September 2018 as she attempted to leave the country.

The charges she was convicted of reportedly stemmed from the Iranian authorities' belief that she was a spy for Israel because of her relationship with an Israeli citizen.

Nick Warner, the head of Australia's intelligence service, successfully negotiated a prison swap for Dr Moore-Gilbert's freedom.

He is understood to have spent months convincing people in meetings and even at social functions to get the Thai prisoners released - who the Iranian government called 'businessmen'.

Australia's ambassador to Thailand, Allan McKinnon, also lobbied with Thai officials to release three Iranian terrorists as an exchange for the Melbourne University lecturer.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has defended a Victorian health worker who disposed of doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine last week.

The comments came as Victoria recorded zero new cases of coronavirus on Sunday and as New Zealand began the first day of a seven-day lockdown of Auckland after the emergence of a mystery case.

The number of active cases in Victoria dropped to 15 on Saturday as another 149 vaccines were administered throughout the state.

Meanwhile, the Health Department issued a warning for the Lilydale area after viral fragments were detected in wastewater.

Healthcare company Aspen Medical confirmed on Friday that 25 unused vials of the vaccine had been thrown out at St Vincents Care Services in Werribee after it was unable to be confirmed that they had been consistently stored at the right temperature.
In the midst of a pandemic, they will divert resources and serve little if any useful purpose.

----

Sure, the U.S. Department of Education can force New York's public schools to give kids standardized assessment tests this year. Administrators can squeeze some data out of them and feel like theyre doing something, being accountable, seeing how far kids have come or how far theyve fallen.

But they shouldnt. Not at all. Testing will not produce meaningful data because it's likely to miss the children who have been hurt most by school shutdowns. And it's a mistake to demand districts devote resources to testing when so many schools are struggling to provide kids with even the basics under the cruel weight of the pandemic.

However well-intentioned this testing push may be, it is a waste of time and money that could be far better spent.

New York state educators had asked the feds to waive the testing requirements for grades 3-8, as they did last spring, given the realities of the 2020-2021 school year. The request was denied. Schools must conduct the tests, either in-person or remotely, said acting Assistant Education Secretary Ian Rosenblum, because to be successful once schools have reopened, we need to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on learning and identify what resources and supports students need.

Mr. Rosenblum is getting ahead of himself. We have students who haven't seen the inside of a classroom in a year. This mandate is out of step with the reality of education, especially at New York's hardest hit schools. Setting aside the broader arguments against standardized assessments in any year  the way they skew classroom teaching, the outsized resources they consume, the questionable value of the data they produce  this year presents its own arguments against testing.

To begin with, this year looks nothing like years past. Districts right now are a mix of remote and in-person learning, and it's an uneven mix: Bracing for funding cuts, a number of urban school districts opted to keep upper grades remote. In Albany, for example, grades seven through 12 have not met in their classrooms since March. Those taking standardized tests from home would be in a testing environment utterly unlike that of previous assessments. Who knows what distractions or stressors they might be working through  a baby brother crying, a parent on a work call, upstairs neighbors blaring music, or fighting?

What's more, tests conducted in these circumstances are likely to miss the kids who have been hurt the most: the ones without laptops or reliable internet, the ones who attend only sporadically because they don't have the structure and supervision to make working from home viable. The nonprofit Bellwether Education Partners estimates that upward of 3 million students nationwide may have gone without any schooling at all since shutdowns began last spring. How much could tests really tell us about learning loss when the kids who have potentially lost the most are the ones most likely to miss the assessment?

How these tests can be conducted securely with students taking them at home, on whats likely to be a computer connected to the internet, is at the very least questionable. Theres a reason teachers or other monitors have long served as proctors at tests for every grade level and into graduate school. The alternative  insisting all students come into school for testing  would hardly be prudent at a time when schools arent even opening for regular class.

It's also worth noting that many parents likely will opt their kids out of the exams, further skewing whatever results the tests produce.

We wont be testing the same pool of kids, and we wont be testing them in the same environment. Therefore, any data collected wont be comparable to the data of previous testing years, because  to repeat  this year is unlike any previous testing year.

The assessments won't just be useless; they'll come at a price. With all that has been lost this year, how can the government expect schools to devote time and resources to standardized tests? And make no mistake: Kids are feeling the stress of this strange and difficult year. Even under normal circumstances, many students find these assessments highly stressful. There is no good reason to pile extra pressure on already-stressed kids, especially in the name of collecting data that wont end up being meaningful.

The Department of Education has left schools the option of putting off the exams, even into the fall. And that's the loophole New York should aim for: delays in administering the tests for as long as legally possible, in the hope that either all students will be back in classrooms by then or the federal government will have come to its senses and revised this misguided mandate. Waiting until all children are fully back in school is the only way to conduct tests that could yield meaningful data.

Though the testing mandate is a poor choice, the reasons behind it are solid: Far too many students have indeed fallen behind because of COVID's disruptions, and for some of them the repercussions could last a lifetime. This is a crisis not just for education but for our entire society. We will undoubtedly spend years trying to remediate the educational damage of this pandemic. That work will require assessing that damage in an honest and thorough fashion.

But right now, when were still in the thick of it, is not the time to take stock of the damage the pandemic has wrought, and will continue to wreak.
100 years since Soviet occupation of Georgia

By Veronika Malinboym

On February 25, Georgia marked 100 years since the day Georgia was occupied by Bolshevik Red Army and lost its temporary, 3-year independence. In commemoration of the victims of Soviet occupation, national flags were flying at half-staff at the Georgian Parliament, Presidential palace, and other government buildings. High-ranking government officials visited a cemetery in Kojori to pay a tribute to the Georgian cadets who died in a battle against the Red Army.In his address commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Soviet occupation, newly appointed PM Irakli Garibashvili said that February 25 is one of the most tragic days in the history of Georgia, and the date reminds all of the countrys citizens of the heroism of their ancestors, who died fighting for their homeland. He added that despite Russias temporary occupation of the Georgian territories, the country is still moving forward towards a stronger economy and democracy, and, by achieving union within, Georgia will be able to secure more victories in the future.Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs David Zalkaliani tweeted Exactly a century has passed since the brutal invasion of Soviet Russias Red Army to Georgia, and the fall of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Today we honor the memory of the heroes, who stood up against the Soviet Occupation in 1921 and sacrificed their lives in order for us to enjoy Independence today!In his address Speaker of the Georgian Parliament and member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Archil Talakvadze reminded that although Georgia is now a sovereign country, some of its territories remain occupied, and added that he is sure that we will complete our ancestors fight for freedom.Members of the Georgian opposition bloc, who also visited the cemetery to commemorate the victims of the Soviet occupation addressed the ongoing crisis and a symbolic detention of one of the opposition leaders, just a day before the 100th anniversary, a move that, according to the opposition, jeopardized Georgian Euro-Atlantic aspirations.On February 25, 1921, Red Army entered Tbilisi and overthrew the government which was appointed by free general elections. The day of Soviet occupation was first marked in 2010, following the Parliaments unanimous vote in favor of a yearly commemoration of the victims of repressions of the occupying regime on February 25.
New Delhi: The police said that they have identified the suspects, there were two of them - one carried out the snatching bid while another was standing with a scooty at a distance, no arrests have been made yet.

On Saturday, a woman was stabbed to death in northwest Delhis Adarsh Nagar area allegedly by a snatcher while she was resisting a robbery attempt.

According to the police, the woman, 25, was returning home from market and with her child when the incident happened around 9:30 am on Saturday.

As she resisted the snatching attempt, the accused stabbed the victim and fled. The woman was taken to a hospital where she was declared brought dead.

Meanwhile, a CCTV footage of the incident has gone viral on social media.

Residents of the locality have alleged that several incidents of snatching have taken place in the area in recent times but the police have not intensified patrolling, ANI reported.

According to Delhi Police, there was a marginal rise of 0.35 per cent in the number of robbery cases. A total of 1,963 cases were registered in 2020 as compared to 1,956 in 2019.

A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at the Adarsh Nagar police station. Further probe is underway.

The first vials of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine landed on Australian soil on Sunday morning, more than doubling the countrys number of vaccine doses.

An Emirates plane carried 300,000 doses of the vaccine, the second vaccine to be approved for use in Australia and the vaccine currently planned to be administered to the majority of the population, in to Sydney Airport at about 9.30am.

The first vials of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arriving at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning. Credit:Edwina Pickles

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the delivery was another point of hope and another point of protection in the global pandemic which has claimed more than 2.5 million lives worldwide.

The first AstraZeneca doses are scheduled to be administered to people in phase 1a of the vaccine rollout from March 8, subject to batch test approval, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement.

NANJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- It was the first time for 75-year-old fisherman Zhou Yalin to celebrate the Spring Festival ashore after he bid farewell to his fishing career on the Yangtze River, China's longest river, last year.

After enjoying dinner with his family, Zhou watched the Spring Festival Gala on TV and stayed up all night on Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve for the first time in his life.

"I used to catch fish on the river on New Year's Eve for there would be a surge in demand for aquatic products during the Spring Festival," recalled Zhou, who like most fishermen believed that a good New Year's Eve catch would bring about a bountiful harvest in the new year.

Zhou's family has been engaged in the fishing business for four generations in a small village in the city of Taizhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Born on a fishing boat, Zhou took it for granted that he would make a living by fishing, just as his ancestors did.

"I was destined to be a fisherman, as it's almost like my family inheritance," Zhou said, who started his fishing career at the age of 17.

"Ya," the second character in Zhou Yalin's name, delivers a blessing of "keeping the boat steady" in the local dialect. In Zhou's village, there are 44 people whose names include "Ya."

However, even the calmest seas will eventually be beset by waves. For many years Zhou worked elbow to elbow with five family members on a cramped fishing vessel, and even permanently disfigured his little finger due to the hard graft.

Last year, Zhou's family had a chance to embrace a new life.

On Jan. 1 this year, a 10-year fishing ban took effect in pivotal waters of the Yangtze, after 332 conservation areas along the river enforced the fishing ban a year ago, to help the river recover from dwindling aquatic resources and falling biodiversity.

According to previous estimates, the full-scale ban is likely to affect more than 113,000 fishing boats and nearly 280,000 fishermen in 10 provincial regions along the river.

Ending his family's long connection with the fishing trade once and for all, Zhou handed in all his fishing equipment to the local government to be destroyed, including his boats, fishing nets and hooks, and received 230,000 yuan (about 35,600 U.S. dollars) in compensation.

Zhou's decision won support from his family. "I witnessed the rapid decline of fishery resources in the Yangtze, and as a fisherman, I felt deeply ashamed," said his son-in-law Yin Qiqiao, who once followed Zhou to fish in the Yangtze but now works as a patrolman along the river.

Yin never expected to become a protector of the Yangtze. Now his work is to monitor illegal poaching in the river and clear the waste on the riverbanks.

Zhou's family, like many others, moved ashore into a new two-story house last year without spending a penny.

At the end of last year, the big family welcomed their newest member. "She doesn't have a name yet, but 'Ya' is no longer an option," he said.

[ Editor: WXL ]
Photo: CTV News

A Vancouver woman who is vocally anti-mask and anti-vaccination has created a t-shirt comparing the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to the Holocaust.

Susan Standfield has created a range of t-shirts with messages like Real men dont wear masks and Immune by nature.

CTV News reported about her most recent design, which has prompted immediate backlash in the Jewish community, featuring a yellow star with the words COVID Caust across it.

The yellow star was used during the Holocaust to identify Jewish people, a mark intended to single them out for segregation and discrimination. The star was placed on clothes, shops and even babies, which also made it easier for the Nazi regime to identify Jews and send them to concentration and death camps.

Standfield stated in a video posted to her Instagram on Saturday morning that she used the design to show she is being persecuted for her views, which are both demonstrably false and dangerous to public health.

We are the official yellow star class in Canada, so thats why I made that design, she said in the video. People like me that have my values and live my life and say, Well I dont have to wear a mask and Im not being vaccinated and I have liberty and democracy, we are systematically being targeted.

Standfields Instagram account also showcases her other merchandise and features numerous videos and photos of her taking part in Freedom Rallies in the city. The account also criticizes provincial and federal governments for implementing COVID-19 restrictions.

Standfield also believes the COVID-19 vaccine rollout can be linked to the Holocaust in another way, falsely accusing health officials of knowingly giving people injections that are killing them.

So the first people getting the vax, who are they? Old, disabled and Indigenous. I mean, do the math on that, she said.

CTV News spoke with Dr. Michael Elterman, who is a member of Vancouvers Jewish community and the chair of the former Canadian Jewish Congress.

My first reaction was that its irrational, because the whole idea of a vaccine is to save peoples lives and yet this person seems to be associating this logo with the Holocaust, with the genocide of a people, he said in an interview with CTV News. Its irrational, it makes no sense.

He stated that using the yellow star in this way is offensive.

They (Standfield) are including probably one of the most horrific pieces of Jewish history, he said. Its a time in our history when we were identified for genocide, it was a hurtful time.

Michael Mostyn, CEO of Bnai Brith Canada, the country's oldest Jewish human rights organization, also reached out to CTV and issued a forceful condemnation of Standfield's shirts and her expression.

"B'nai Brith condemns, in the strongest terms, this trafficking in Holocaust imagery in order to promote COVID-19 conspiracy theories," Mostyn said in an email. "There can be no comparison between masks and vaccines, which are intended to save lives, and the cruel murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis and their collaborators."

CTV News reached out to Standfield asking if she thought her shirts were offensive. In an email she responded in part, my design is an act of solidarity among all persecuted people.

She later posted a response on Instagram to the medias request for comment.

"My design is homage to Romanian Jews who were persecuted by Germans in the same way me and all 'unmasked,' 'unvaccinated' people are being treated in BC thanks to Bonnie Henrys illegal fraudulent orders, part of her post reads.

While Elterman would like Standfield to remove the shirts, he added: She has a right to be wrong.

- With files from CTV News Vancouver
Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-01 02:29:25|Editor: huaxia

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ALGIERS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Algeria on Sunday reported 132 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases in the North African country to 122,092.

The death toll from the virus in Algeria rose to 2,983 after four new fatalities were added, said the Algerian Ministry of Health in a statement.

Meanwhile, 122 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 78,158, the statement added.

China and Algeria have offered mutual help in the fight against the pandemic. In February 2020, Algeria sent medical donations to help China combat the coronavirus. In return, China has sent several batches of medical aid to Algeria.

In addition, a Chinese team of medical experts arrived in Algeria on May 14, 2020 for a 15-day mission to help fight the coronavirus, by sharing China's experience in curbing the spread of the contagious disease. Enditem
The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has allocated 23 seats to Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) to contest Assembly polls 2021.

The announcement of the seat-sharing came after a discussion between and PMK leaders at Chennai's Leela Palace hotel on Saturday. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam attended the meeting from the side and Anbumani Ramadoss, GK Mani participated in the meeting from PMK's side.

"'Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) to contest 23 seats in alliance with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)," tweeted on Saturday after the meeting.

Panneerselvam, Coordinator of AIADMK said, "AIADMK and PMK will jointly face assembly elections. In the AIADMK-led-alliance, PMK will get 23 seats. We have signed the seat-sharing agreement with PMK leaders."

"We have just discussed the number of seats and we will discuss the Constituencies later," he added.

It is pertinent to note that PMK drew a blank in both the 2016 Assembly polls as well as the 2019 Lok Sabha election. At present, it has a lone MP in the Rajya Sabha- former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

The 234- members Tamil Nadu assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2.

Ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is contesting the poll sin a pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). MK Stalin's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has joined hands with Congress. This time actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan's party Makkal Neethi Maiam (MNM) is also in the fray.

(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.)
KYODO NEWS - Feb 28, 2021 - 08:14 | All, Japan

An American man and his son who allegedly helped former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan in 2019 will soon be handed over to Japanese authorities, sources close to the matter said Saturday.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office sent prosecutors to the United States the same day to arrest the two men, Michael Taylor, 60, a former Green Beret, and his son Peter Taylor, 28, for enabling a criminal suspect to escape, among other charges, according to the sources.

The handover of the Taylors, who were arrested in Massachusetts in May by U.S. authorities at Japan's request, will come as the Americans lost their battle against extradition.

The U.S. State Department approved of turning them over to Japan in October last year. The Taylors sought to avoid extradition that they believe is an injustice but their appeal was rejected by a federal court in Massachusetts and a higher court in Boston. The U.S. Supreme Court in February also rejected it.

In a dramatic turn of events, Ghosn, who was arrested in 2018 and awaiting trial on a charge of financial misconduct at Nissan, fled to Lebanon where he spent his childhood.

Related coverage:

Ex-Nissan CEO testifies against Ghosn in alleged financial misconduct

U.S. Supreme Court allows extradition of Ghosn's escape plotters

Defense team appeals Ghosn-linked extradition case to Supreme Court

Ghosn, who had headed Nissan for nearly two decades, allegedly misused company funds and understated his remuneration by billions of yen over multiple years.

According to court documents submitted by U.S. judicial authorities, Ghosn, was smuggled out of Japan hidden inside a box for musical audio equipment on a private jet from Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 29, 2019 with the help of the Taylors.

After arriving in Istanbul in Turkey, Ghosn flew to Lebanon on a different jet.

Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon and it has been seeking to have Ghosn detained via the International Criminal Police Organization.

Japanese prosecutors have also obtained an arrest warrant for George Zayek, a Lebanese-born American who allegedly assisted Ghosn's escape with the Taylors.
Local media report one crew member was killed in the crash; Russia's Defense Ministry denies casualties.

A Russian helicopter has reportedly crashed in Syria.

The incident occurred between the villages of Rayhaniyah and al-Qasimia, which is two kilometers from a Russian military base, the Mash (breakingmash) channel on Telegram said on February 28.

Read alsoPS752 downing: Iran violated multiple human rights obligations, UN experts say

Local media reported that one crew member was killed in the crash.

Russia's Defense Ministry, in turn, reported that all crew members were alive, saying the Mi-35 helicopter made an emergency landing due to technical problems during a flight over Syria's northern Hasaka province.

The helicopter was not fired at, Russian state agencies quoted Russia's Defense Ministry as saying on Sunday.

Other related news reports

Reporting by UNIAN
Pflegers attorneys, James Figliulo and Michael Monico, have said the brothers claims are false and stem from them seeking a financial settlement. The attorneys also have said Pfleger should be allowed to return to the church. Figliulo called the archdiocese response to the DCFS finding misleading and said it attempts to minimize the significance of the very investigation and report that the archdiocese itself has cited as a reason for delaying its decision to return Father Pfleger to St Sabinas.
New Delhi, Feb 28 : Boxer Vijender Singh complemented Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his fitness during the latter's visit to Kerala. Gandhi dived into the sea with fishermen to show his support for them.

"Abs of a boxer. Most daring young fit & people's leader. Way to go @RahulGandhi Ji," Singh tweeted on Thursday with a photo of Gandhi drenched from the dive.

Gandhi, 50, was campaigning ahead of the state Assembly elections, which will be held in April.

Meanwhile, Singh recently announced that he will be returning to the ring for the first time in over a year in March. While the bout will take place in India, its dates or Vijender's opponent is yet to be revealed.

This will be the 2008 Olympics bronze medallist's 13th professional bout and his fifth in India, following successes in New Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur. Vijender has a 12-0 record thus far in his professional career with eight knockout wins.

"I am really excited to return to the ring. I am pumped up and eager as ever to enter the ring again and have been training hard to keep myself fit for the bout. The opponent doesn't really matter as I am focused to extend my unbeaten streak," said Vijender.
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Sunday's 78th annual Golden Globe ceremony, to be broadcast live on NBC television, will take place for the first time on two coasts, in a completely virtual ceremony.

Follow the Golden Globes 2021 ceremony

Who will be hosting the Golden Globes 2021?

Comedians Tina Fey will host from the Rainbow Room in New York and Amy Poehler will host from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

Tom O'Neill, founder of awards prediction website Goldderby.com, said Fey and Poehler were the perfect hosts for unusual times.

"They are snarky, lovable and mean, and they are fantastic entertainers. They are also good at handling those inevitable fiasco moments," O'Neill said.

Who will the presenters be at the Golden Globes?

This year, Golden Globe awards presenters will be Awkwafina, Cynthia Erivo, Annie Mumolo, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Wiig, Renee Zellweger, Bryce Dallas Howard, Christopher Meloni, Rosie Perez, Christian Slater, Anthony Anderson, Tiffany Haddish, Kate Hudson, Margot Robbie and Kenan Thompson.

Nominees are expected to appear from various locations around the world though it remains to be seen if they will be gathered at central locations in other major cities.

Who will special guests be at the Golden Globes?

Seven-time Golden Globe winner Jane Fonda is set to receive the Cecil B. deMille Award, which is given annually to an individual who has made a lasting impact on the film industry.

According to Parade, filmmaker Spike Lees children, Satchel and Jackson Lee will be years Golden Globe Ambassadors, who will assist with duties during the awards show.

Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) says that Satchel and Jacksons appointment marks the first time in HFPA history that two siblings of color have held the position, with Jackson being the first Black male Ambassador.

And television pioneer and political activist Norman Lear will become the third-ever recipient to receive the Carol Burnett Award during the telecast.

What time does the Golden Globe Award ceremony 2021 start?

The 2021 Golden Globes will start at 8 p.m (ET) on Sunday 28 February 2021.

That's 01:00 in the UK on Monday morning, 02:00 CET (March 1st) and 17:00 PT.

Find out what time the 78th Golden Globe awards start where you are in the world.

Hollywood and awards season altered by pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic not only closed movie theatres and prompted studios to shift dozens of releases into late 2021 or 2022, it also led to the postponement of awards shows and turned them into socially distanced affairs.

The Oscars don't take place until 25 April, but organizers have said it will be an in-person show from multiple locations O'Neill said virtual shows and webcams have given audiences an intimate glimpse into the lives and homes of celebrities.

"It has taken us deeper into what we always wanted: an unscripted reality show with superstars," he said.

How to watch the Golden Globes where you are.
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The battle is the Lords - a biblical quote as written in 1 Samuel 17: 47 appears to have become President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos favourite verse as he choruses it to conclude most of his speeches and while the country is faced with numerous challenges, including the outbreak of Coronavirus which has claimed many lives and affected the fortunes of the economy, he surrenders all to God with the utmost assurance of sweet relief.



The President, having attended the Installation and Enthronement ceremony of Rt. Rev Dr. Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith, as the 2nd Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Ghana, at Asante-Mampong, in the Ashanti Region on Saturday, 27th February 2021, went on his knees for the men of God present to say a word of prayer for him  For the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails.



In one of the photographs from the event shared on his Facebook page, President Akufo-Addo is seen kneeling down while the reverend ministers stretched forth their hands in prayer.



At the ceremony, the president broke his silence on the raging issue of same-sex intimate relations, declaring that his administration will never legalize same-sex marriage in the country.



It will not be under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legalized in Ghana; it will never happen in my time as president, he reiterated, having earlier posited same in an interview on foreign news media Al Jazeera in 2017.



In the last couple of days, the debate over same-sex marriage has been reignited after the opening of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQ+) office in Ghana.



The community centre which opened on January 31 in a ceremony attended by a delegation of the European Union and other foreign embassies was shut down after it was raided by security forces.











On Saturday, 27th February 2021, I attended the Installation and Enthronement ceremony of Rt. Rev Dr. Cyril Kobina...

Posted by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Sunday, February 28, 2021











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Today we pay tribute to the memory of the innocent victims of the Sumgait genocide - one of the most tragic events in the modern history of our people, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"As a result of the planned mass pogroms on February 27-29, 1988 in Sumgait, located in the immediate vicinity of the capital of Azerbaijan, dozens of Armenians were killed, hundreds were maimed, tens of thousands were deported. With the criminal connivance of the authorities of Soviet Azerbaijan and the complete inaction of law enforcement agencies, the city of many thousands was given over to the power of armed rioters within three days, who murdered citizens of Armenian nationality with impunity and with particular cruelty.

The Sumgait massacre marked the beginning of a whole series of crimes against humanity committed within the framework of Azerbaijan's state policy towards the Armenian people at all stages of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict. Genocide, systematic ethnic cleansing and massacres carried out by the Azerbaijani authorities in 1988-1991, after the collapse of the USSR, were replaced by war crimes during the armed aggression against the Republic of Artsakh and its people in 1991-1994, 2016 and 2020.

As a result of the genocidal policy pursued by Azerbaijan since 1988, thousands of Armenians were killed, tens of thousands were disabled, hundreds of thousands were forcibly deported and lost their homeland.

Impunity and the lack of an appropriate response from the international community led to increased aggression and an increase in the scale of crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh. The hateful atmosphere cultivated in Azerbaijani society for years by the Baku authorities has created a situation in which war crimes, including bullying, torture and murder of prisoners of war and civilians, are perceived in Azerbaijan as a norm and an example to follow. Azerbaijan's refusal to return prisoners of war and held captive civilians who were in captivity as a result of the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression in the fall of 2020 is a vivid example of a criminal policy generated by impunity and permissiveness.

We bow before the memory of the innocent victims of mass crimes and misanthropic policies of Azerbaijan and call on the international community to take effective steps to force the Azerbaijani authorities to abandon the criminal policy and create prerequisites for establishing a stable and long-term peace in the region."
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Government of St. Maarten and the Princess Juliana Airport Operating Company (PJIAH) must avoid renewing the cooperation agreement with Schiphol and the Netherlands without carefully examining the financial detriments of the agreement to PJIA itself.

Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel, based on factual financial figures in his possession, said the cooperation agreement to date has only added to the financial woes of PJIA due to the increased financial pressure it places on PJIAE at a time of crisis and low revenue.

This increased financial pressure, he explained, is derived from high consultant fees and fees that PJIA has to pay to Schiphol Airport for persons that Schiphol appointed to PJIA. He pointed out that consultant fees amount to more than Naf 10 million, the highest they have ever been in the history of PJIA. In fact, the MP said, consultant fees jumped from approximately Naf 4.5 million in 2017, to approximately Naf 7 million in 2018 then to the current amounts of over Naf 10 million in 2019 and 2020.

The MP said that while people think that the support/assistance from Schiphol Airport is being covered by Schiphol, it is PJIA that is carrying the load. So much for the assistance, the MP said. He went on to break down those costs which amount to approximately US $ 2 million over the last two years.

PJIA pays:

Schiphol appointed CFO  Naf 468,000 per year (incl. travel, house rent, vehicle)

Schiphol appointed Project Controller  Naf 495,000 per year (incl. travel, house rent, vehicle)

Schiphol appointed Procurement Officer  Naf 163,000 per year (incl. house rent)

Environmentalist as per World Bank  Naf 208,000 per year

Project Manager reconstruction  Naf 477,000 per year (incl. travel, house rent, vehicle)

It is important to mention that these amounts exclude PJIA employees as well as the amounts that Royal Schiphol Group gets from the Dutch government (BZK) which amounts to 1 million Euro per year for services rendered to PJIAE as per the existing Cooperation Agreement, Emmanuel said, adding that the 2 million also excludes the board fees and accommodations, travel allowances and airfare costs of the Schiphol proposed board members of PJIAE and PJIAH (1 each), who reside in New York and in Florida respectively.

MP Emmanuel also reminded that to date nothing from the construction portion financed by the World Bank and the EIB and counterpart funds has been spent. Up to December 31, 2020, the Airport Terminal Reconstruction Project has spent US $11.5 million, of which US $8.3 million has been spent on the design and almost US $3.05 million on project overhead.

All this time PJIA is hemorrhaging money, three years after hurricane Irma. PJIA is not projected to be in a positive liquidity position until 2024 and that will only become a reality if we cut back on this project and take hold of what is happening at PJIA now. PJIA could be in a negative liquidity position of almost Naf 57 million by the end of 2021 and out of money months before. In 2024 the airport will still be paying its original bond indenture loan, which runs until 2027. It is not until 2028 the airport will be free of that loan barring any other crisis.

We have to rid ourselves of this poor management and supervisory board and these ridiculous fees that PJIAE has to pay to Schiphol. And that means the holding company dismissing the CEO and carefully considering what to do with that cooperation agreement which is coming up for renewal, MP Emmanuel said.
A Talladega man was arrested early Saturday morning on charges including attempting to elude law enforcement, reckless endangerment, cruelty to animals and theft of property first degree.

Isaac Jett, age 23, is being held on $15,000 bail at the Marshall County Detention Center.

According to Marshal County Sherriffs Office records, he was booked at 1:55 a.m.

WHNT-19 TV reports Jett led at least seven law enforcement agencies on an hour-long pursuit Saturday, and that the initial call involved a stolen car.

According to WHNT, law enforcement pursuit of Jett began in Marshall County, went up to New Hope, then back to Marshall County.

AL.com has reached out to MCSO and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency for more information regarding this incident.
After UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet in her statement during the ongoing session of the Human Rights Council on Friday, 26th February, criticised India for slapping charges of sedition against journalists and activists for reporting or commenting on the farmers' protest, the Indian government questioned the UN High Commissioner's silence on terror and Red Fort violence.

READ | UN Rights Body Trains Spotlight On Myanmar Following Coup

India slams UN Rights envoy over talks about farm protests

Permanent Representative of India in Geneva Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey issued a statement, which said, "The unprovoked violence on our Republic Day in the name of farmers' rights, apparently, left Michelle Bachelet unmoved. UN Rights envoy's indifference to terrorism is of course not new. Objectivity and impartiality have to be the hallmarks of any human rights assessment."

READ | US 'deeply Disturbed' With Reports Of Rape, Sexual Abuse Against Uyghur Women In Xinjiang

India said, "As the world's largest democracy, India continues to make every effort in ensuring sustainable development and enjoyment of basic human rights for all its citizens. We have made tremendous progress in the realisation of these twins and mutually reinforcing objectives. We hope that the council and its institutions will appreciate the positive steps we have taken in the realisation of these goals."

READ | UN Registers Steep Rise In Murders Of Colombian Activists

While stating that the government of India has set a goal of doubling the income of farmers by 2024, Mani Pandey in the letter said that the purpose of enacting 3 farm acts is to enable the farmers to realise better price for their products and enhance their income.

Pointing out further details about the Centre's 3 contentious farm laws, the Permanent Representative of India in Geneva said that these laws will particularly benefit small farmers and offer more choices to those farmers who opt for them. Asserting that the government has shown outmost respect for protests by farmers, India said that it has remained engaged in dialogue with them to address their concerns.

READ | Farm Unions In UP Plan Fasting & Messages For Ministers In Renewed Bid To Repeal Farm Laws
(@FahadShabbir)

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2021) The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned the Iranian ambassador in Ankara, Mohammad Farazmand, after Tehran condemned Turkey's military operation in northern Iraq, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources.

In mid-February, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that the country's armed forces had completed an operation in Iraq's northern region of Gara, killing nearly 50 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The Turkish military also found the bodies of 13 Turkish citizens kidnapped by the PKK.

Weeks later, Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Iraj Masjedi, said that Tehran rejects what he called Ankara's military intervention in Iraq and demanded a withdrawal of Turkish troops from the country. In response, Turkey's ambassador in Baghdad, Fatih Yildiz, said on Saturday that Masjedi was "the last person to lecture Turkey about respecting borders of Iraq.

"

According to the sources cited by Anadolu, Farazmand was informed about Ankara's rejection of accusations voiced by Iran's envoy in Baghdad and was told that Turkey is fighting against terrorists who also threaten Iraq's stability and sovereignty. In addition, the Turkish ministry reportedly told the Iranian ambassador that Ankara expected Tehran to support its fight against terrorism and not oppose it.

Turkey considers the PKK to be a terrorist organization and accuses its fighters of abducting its nationals and launching deadly attacks on border towns. It has been making inroads into Iraq despite objections from the Iraqi government.
NATCHITOCHES, La. (AP)  Trenton Massner registered 15 points and eight rebounds as Northwestern State got past Southeastern Louisiana 79-61 on Saturday.

Carvell Teasett had 12 points for Northwestern State (9-15, 8-5 Southland Conference). Larry Owens added 10 points. Jamaure Gregg had 10 points and three blocks.

Jamon Kemp had 11 points for the Lions (7-15, 5-9). Keon Clergeot added 11 points. Gus Okafor had nine rebounds.

The Demons improve to 2-0 against the Lions on the season. Northwestern State defeated Southeastern Louisiana 73-68 on Jan. 23.

___

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
Have you ever felt like you were all alone? Even in a crowd? When I was 7 years old, my parents took me and my two younger sisters to the State Fair in Dallas. It was incredible! A Fletcher corny dog, a funnel cake and the rides  the day was awesome. I was having the time of my young life. Right up till I needed to tie my shoe. I told my mom to I needed to stop, but she didnt hear me. When I stood back up, I was all alone. There was a sea of people around me, but none of them mine and none of them willing to help me find my family again. To this day, that is the loneliest moment of my life.

You may have felt like that last week during our Snow-maggedon. In a sea of people but all alone. And then, as the thaw came, you found problems with your home and you wondered how in the world you were ever going to find a way to solve this problem. If thats you, this column is for you.

For the last five years, Ive had the privilege to lead the amazing First Family at First Baptist Church who love Jesus and Midland. Loving Jesus and the people of Midland is why we formed FirstCares.

FirstCares is a ministry of First Baptist Church of Midland to assist those who have needs and dont know where to turn. Perhaps youre one who has never needed help but this last week put you over the edge. Through the generosity of Christ our Lord and our church family, we invite ANYONE who needs assistance with repairing their home to visit our website and find at the top of the page I need help. Please note: filling out the application does NOT guarantee we can/will help you. But NOT filling out promises we cannot.

There are a few qualifications to this invitation:

1. You must live in Midland County.

2. You must own your home. That doesnt mean you dont have a mortgage, but it does mean we cannot repair rental properties.

3. You do NOT need to be a member of our church nor is there the expectation that you will be.

What should you expect if you fill out the form? A people who love Jesus and Midland will reach out to you, talk with you through your problem and then make a decision. If possible, well get a repair process started. If it is a matter that requires a licensed tradesman to repair it, we will engage them and get that started. Please be aware that the love of Jesus has prompted this movement. Those who come to your home will talk with any and everyone about Jesus and what hes done for us. But theres no expectation that you have to respond to the love of Jesus personally for us to help you nor is there an expectation that youll come to visit First Baptist Church. This isnt a trade. Just a desire to help.

So how do you get started? Go to fbc-midland.org, find I need help on the top of the page, fill out our form and submit it. We have a team of people waiting on the other end, ready and hoping to hear from our community. Well get you an answer in five to seven days.

Perhaps you dont need help. Rather, youd like to offer your help. Also on our website, right next to the section I need help is an additional section entitled I want to help. If youd like to be a part of our volunteer teams, please fill that form out and let us reach back out to you. The form asks if you have any special skills or training (licensed electrican, plumber, etc), but we are not limited to those with such skills. If youre like me  just a guy who doesnt have any special building skills but is willing to get his hands dirty in service to people  then we still want you.

We are keenly aware that this time is overwhelming for many. And to have it come on the heels of where weve already been seems like kicking people while theyre down. In a community that has been blessed with so much, this is our opportunity  as West Texans  to care for one another and bring our community back on its feet. While we cannot help everyone, we can help someone. Perhaps you can too.

--

Links

Heres a link to First Baptist Church page: https://www.fbc-midland.org/

Here are the direct link to the forms:

I need help: https://myfirstfamily.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/140/responses/new

I want to help: https://myfirstfamily.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/139/responses/new

-

Darin Wood is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church-Midland.


(CNN)  The windows blew open. The building shook. At 1:30 a.m. local time Friday, a resident of al-Bukamal, a city near the Syrian-Iraqi border, was jarred from his sleep. Speaking under the condition of anonymity for security reasons, he told CNN the explosions were unlike anything he had heard before.

What he likely heard was the sound of seven 500-pound bombs slamming into a compound near the border. The compound, according to the Pentagon, was used by two Iranian-affiliated Iraqi militias, Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata'ib Sayyid Al-Shuhada.

Before-and-after satellite images released by Maxar Technologies, a space technology company, show vividly just how much destruction those bombs wrought.

The "before" image shows a compound, just over a third of a kilometer (about 370 yards) from the Iraqi border, containing around a dozen buildings of various sizes. In the "after" image, almost all the buildings have been destroyed, and the dirt in and around the compound blackened by the blasts.

It's unclear how many militiamen were killed. Kata'ib Hezbollah acknowledged only one dead, without specifying where on the Iraqi-Syrian border he died. A US official said "up to a handful" were killed, while other reports claim anywhere between 17 and 22 people died.

The Pentagon says the strike was intended as a US response to a series of recent rocket and mortar attacks on US and coalition positions in Iraq. On February 15, a volley of rockets fell within the grounds of Erbil's international airport and in residential parts of the city, killing a contractor while wounding several US personnel and Iraqi civilians. The Green Zone in Baghdad, where the American embassy is located, has been a regular target for mortar and rocket fire. Kata'ib Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any involvement in these attacks, and did so again in a statement released Friday.

Pentagon officials told CNN the compound it targeted was not linked to these attacks but Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he was "confident" it was used by the same militias targeting US and coalition forces in Iraq with rocket attacks.

The armed groups allegedly using it, Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata'ib Sayyid Al-Shuhada, are just two of a myriad of militias that came to prominence during the war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, filling the void left by an Iraqi army that was in full retreat.

I spent large stretches of time in 2015 and 2016 with some of those militias as they battled their way north from Baghdad. Some were well organized and disciplined, others radical and volatile.

Their commanders were never shy about the support they received from Iran.

"Yes, we declare to the world, we have Iranian advisers," Hadi Al-Amari, a senior commander of the pro-Iranian Iraqi Badr Brigades told me in 2015 on the front lines outside the city of Tikrit, then under ISIS control. "We're proud of them and we thank them deeply for participating with us."

Nearby, I ran into an Iranian in combat fatigues, who told me in broken Arabic he was a volunteer.

One militia commander told me told me at the time, "it was better to have four Iranian advisers on the front line than 400 American advisers sitting in the Green Zone in Baghdad."

But that was a different time. The Iranian nuclear agreement was being negotiated. The US and Iran were working, not together but in parallel, to support the Iraqi government in the fight against ISIS.

Since then, the Iraqi militias backed by Iran have grown ever more powerful, while relations between Washington and Tehran have dramatically deteriorated.

The US pulled out of the nuclear agreement under the Trump administration, slapped ever more draconian sanctions on Iran, and on several occasions was on the brink of war, most starkly after the US assassinated in January 2020 Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, one of the leaders of the Badr Brigades and a founder of Kata'ib Hezbollah, near Baghdad's airport.

Now the US finds itself in a situation where it hopes to make it clear it won't tolerate more attacks by Iranian-backed militias on its positions in Iraq, but at the same time wants to reopen a dialogue with Iran. Sending that message without burning the bridges it's trying to build to Tehran will be no easy task.

Friday's strike was the first known military action taken by the Biden administration, making it the seventh US administration in a row to use military force in the Middle East.

Administrations in Washington come. Administrations in Washington go. Some things, however, never change.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Satellite images reveal extent of damage caused by Biden administration's first military action."

(Newser)  A Texas attorney and health care professional who was an eyewitness to the murder that put actor Woody Harrelson's father behind bars is now suing Spotify and others on the use of her interview for a podcast about the crime. Per Courthouse News, Dr. Chrysanthe Parker was a witness for the prosecution in the murder trial of Charles Harrelson, who assassinated her neighbor, federal Judge John H. Wood Jr., in 1979. In her nine-page defamation lawsuit filed Wednesday, Parker claims that, of the 90 minutes of sit-down time she gave to Son of a Hitman podcast host Jason Cavanagh, less than five minutes was used in one episode of the 10-episode series to depict her as "a very unusual witness" in Harrelson's trial. She contends the podcast "purposely leads the audience to the false conclusion that Dr. Parker ... was either complicit or actively participated in manufacturing evidence to perpetuate an unfair trial on Charles Harrelson."

story continues below

Specifically, Parker says the podcast suggests Harrelson's conviction was based on FBI interviews with her obtained via hypnosis, with Cavanagh calling it a "display of questionable judgment," per Reason. Parker says any interviews done under hypnosis weren't used by the prosecution. She also says that, had she known Woody Harrelson's brothers, Brett and Jordan, were involved in the podcast's production, she never would've gotten involved, as they (and Woody) have long insisted on their father's innocence. "The podcast is much more akin to the reality TV style of Tiger King rather than the journalistic rigor of Serial," the complaint notes. Parker says the way she was portrayed in the podcast has hurt her reputation and muddied job opportunities for her as an expert witness in court cases involving PTSD. She's seeking damages in excess of $75,000. Charles Harrelson died in a Colorado prison in 2007. (Read more Woody Harrelson stories.)
In the wake of Donald Trumps loss at the polls and his supporters storming of the U.S. Capitol two months later, Republicans across the country have grappled with whether to continue embracing the controversial former president.

In Louisiana, party leaders have answered with a resounding yes.

On Feb. 13, two weeks after penning a column that declared there was no major schism in the party over Trump, Louis Gurvich, the chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party, gathered the six other members of the partys executive committee on a hastily arranged conference call. The states senior U.S. senator, Bill Cassidy, a Baton Rouge Republican, had just crossed what they saw as a line in the sand, breaking with Trump in the most visceral way possible by voting to convict him in the impeachment trial.

There was no discussion or dissent from the executive committees members, who include, among others, the former longtime party chair Roger Villere and Lenar Whitney, the Republican national committeewoman known for her bombastic remarks. The call ended minutes later, after the committee agreed unanimously to censure Cassidy.

In the broader state GOP, however, a divide has emerged over whether denouncing Cassidy was appropriate or whether such actions reflect an abandonment of Republican principles in favor of fealty to the partys most recent standard-bearer.

Regardless of how that debate is resolved, Republican activists say Cassidys vote to convict Trump has energized an existing effort to change Louisianas unusual election system and move to closed-party primaries. In a state where Republicans are dominant, some believe that will lead to more conservative  and pro-Trump  candidates getting elected to office.

State Rep. Barry Ivey, a Baton Rouge Republican with an independent streak and a knack for policy details, said he is aware Trump is a hypersensitive issue. But he said he respects politicians who do their due diligence. While he said he hasnt studied Trumps impeachment enough to formulate an opinion, he said he cant fault Cassidy for convicting the ex-president. He recognizes that many if not most of his brethren see it otherwise.

Weve lost ourselves in What does it mean in my mind to be a Republican Party?,' Ivey said. Ideas change things. Unfortunately, politics have just evolved into a food fight. All we do is lob grenades at the left. We dont actually talk to them and ask them what they believe and why. ... If you know how to insult, if you know how to attack the left, youre the hero.

Cassidy was one of only seven GOP senators to vote to convict Trump, and his vote stunned many Republicans in Louisiana. The president carried the Pelican State with 58% of the vote in November, and Republican politicians, Cassidy included, have routinely tied themselves to Trump on the campaign trail, capitalizing on the presidents fervent local base of support.

Cassidy actually did even better than the president in November, defeating 14 other candidates handily in the nonpartisan primary and taking 59% of the vote. The next time he would face voters, if he chooses to run again, would be in 2026.

In a call with reporters this week, Cassidy acknowledged the brutal criticism he has received over impeachment but said hes such at peace with that vote. He also took aim at the state party committee that censured him, suggesting it doesnt represent the broader electorate.

Bill Cassidy broke with GOP on Trump impeachment trial vote, and Republicans aren't happy Over Donald Trumps presidency, Sen. Bill Cassidy was always a reliable ally, voting with the president 89% of the time and taking a central r

Just weeks before the censure vote, Gurvich, the party chair, had published a column that slammed the media for furiously promoting a narrative of raging levels of conflict within the Republican Party between pro and anti-Trump factions.

In an interview, Gurvich said he still doesnt believe such a rift exists in Louisianas party. He called the historic censure vote of Cassidy a disagreement over process, not ideology. Gurvich argued the impeachment trial was unconstitutional because it targeted a former president and said it was poorly done by Democrats.

There is no doubt Donald Trump still commands great influence over the party, Gurvich said. I think he will likely continue to exert great influence over the party.

I think hes just very popular. Thats what its about. But the Republican Party is a party of conservative views. We all abide by those views.

+3 More than 200 gather indoors for GOP meeting as party chair Louis Gurvich wins re-election More than 200 Republican activists and elected officials gathered inside a Baton Rouge church Saturday for a state GOP meeting where Louis Gur

A doctor who worked in the states charity hospital system for years, Cassidy had earned a reputation as a policy-oriented ally of the Trump administration over the presidents four years in office, advising the president on health care issues.

Eddie Rispone, a businessman and GOP megadonor who ran a close race for governor in 2019, spent time on the campaign trail with Trump. He noted that Cassidy had a really good relationship with the president.

Every time I was around the president with Bill, the president was very complimentary of Bill, Rispone said. Bill felt ... the president did a lot for health care, a lot for the country. I dont think its a matter of policy with the president.

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Rispones campaign in 2019 garnered attention outside Louisiana largely because he tied himself so closely to Trump, testing the limits of nationalization of state elections. His first statewide TV ad was titled Eddie stands with President Trump and featured Rispone saying he supported President Trump against Hillary, gave him money, put a bumper sticker on my truck and I support our president more than ever against these liberal lunatics running now.

Rispone said Cassidy made a mistake by voting to convict Trump. But he also doesnt think censuring him was appropriate, saying hes not going to chastise him in public.

+4 Despite Black voter surge, Louisiana Democrats struggled with voter loss in 2020; here's why Fueled by passions over Donald Trump, both mainstream political parties in Louisiana saw significant improvement in voter registration in the 

Rispone, who recently announced and then abandoned a challenge to Gurvich, also said hes not sure what the state GOP stands for anymore. He said in December that the party had been out-worked and out-spent in recent elections, and he argues that Republicans should focus more on winning statewide races as opposed to condemning their own elected officials.

Still a supporter of Trump, Rispone said the Louisiana GOP should have 100,000 registered Black voters, not the 22,000 it has now. With the state already having passed strict laws on red-meat Republican issues like abortion and guns, Rispone said his priorities are efficiency in government and education.

State Sen. Franklin Foil, a Republican who serves in Cassidys old seat in Baton Rouge, said he got some calls after Cassidys controversial vote from residents who thought Foil was a U.S. senator. Emotions were running high on both sides, he said.

Foil also said he wouldnt have come up with the same decision he did, but I dont think he necessarily needs to be censured either.

I think a lot of Trump's policies are good for the party, and I like the fact he was able to bring a lot of new voters to the Republican Party, Foil said. But we need to be a big tent and welcome anyone who agrees with the general Republican philosophy of smaller government and fiscal restraint.

The tents size could be affected by proposed changes to Louisianas elections. For years, some Republican activists have been seeking to junk the states jungle primary system  which allows voters of all parties to choose from among candidates of all parties  in favor of closed party primaries. State Sen. Sharon Hewitt is leading the latest charge, heading a task force on the issue ahead of the spring legislative session.

Hewitt, a Slidell Republican often mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate, said the effort isnt the result of Cassidys actions and that she wants to create a system that will hold up over the years.

Still, she thinks there is more wind in the sails now.

Ive heard from a lot more people since the Cassidy vote that have an interest in closed party primaries, she said.

Closed primaries are typically found in states with two competitive parties, said Ed Chervenak, a longtime political analyst who serves as head of the University of New Orleans Survey Research Center. In Louisiana, Republicans hold a near-supermajority in the Legislature and all but one statewide elected office.

It is safe to say that if the state moved to closed primaries, this would give the activists more of a say over who wins the primary, he said. The fear among many Republicans today is not that they will lose to a Democrat but that they will face a challenge in the primary and be outflanked by someone more to the right of them. Thats a much greater possibility in a closed primary than it is in the nonpartisan primary currently in use in Louisiana.

As that debate plays out, the tug-of-war over the GOPs identity will continue. Chervenak said he cant recall such devotion by a party to any single individual the way the modern Republican Party has sworn its allegiance to Trump. He argues the GOP used to stand for conservatism, limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual autonomy and rights and free enterprise.

Today, however, the primary organizing principle behind the Republican Party is loyalty to Donald Trump, he said. No matter how conservative you are in your philosophy and your values, if you do not accept Trump as your lord sovereign, you will be ostracized by the Republican Party. Thats not a healthy situation for the party or for our democracy.

State Rep. Blake Miguez, the head of the state House Republican delegation, said closed primaries  where only Republican voters could select the candidate that would represent the party in the general election  would give Republicans a strong voice with their elected officials.

Lately, Cassidy hasnt wanted to listen to that voice, said Miguez, who is considering a bid for attorney general in 2023.

Trump is well-liked in Louisiana, Miguez said. Any politician or elected official that doesn't recognize their constituency base supports what Trump stands for is not being true to his constituents.

When asked about the effort to close Louisianas primaries, Cassidy didnt mince words. For one, he said, it would cost Louisiana more money. But more importantly, he suggested, it would lead to Republicans nominating candidates who cant win in a general election.

So it costs more money and works against your self-interests, Cassidy said. It seems like a stupid idea.
PORT AUSTIN, MI  An 84-year-old man was found dead Saturday after getting his car stuck on a rock, according to police.

Just before 8 a.m., Huron Central Dispatch received a call from a local resident that he found a man dead in a parking lot near the Port Austin Harbor. The Franklin, Michigan man was totally covered with snow, and it appeared that he had gotten his car hung up on a rock, police said. The car was still running and in gear with its wheels spinning about 75 feet from where he was found, according to police.

Central Huron Ambulance North arrived on scene and found that the man had been dead for some time.

Police speculate that he had a medical emergency and collapsed. There were no tracks anywhere nearby, which indicates the incident had to have happened before 3:30 a.m., which is when it started to snow in the area, police said.

There were no indications that foul play has taken place, police said.

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New Delhi: Sony Playstation Network is facing technical issues for the past 24 hours. According to the official Playstation Status website, parts of the Play station network is down and hence experiencing issues all over. The outage issue started just a day after Microsoft's Xbox Live service went down. This went on for the next 5 hours.

According to the official Playstation Status website, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation Vita users might face issues in launching games, apps or network features. The Account Management tabs and Playstation Store have a green dot against them which suggests that these services are being currently online and working without any disturbances. However, there are many reports which say that people are facing issues while downloading and buying games from the official PlayStation Store.

The issues affecting the "Gaming and Social" tab started on Saturday (February 27) at 05:03 AM IST, according to the company. The company has stated that it is "working to resolve the issue as soon as possible." However, the company has not given any specific time for this.

According to a report by Engadget, the outage might just be limited to certain games. Players have reported that online matchmaking is currently available for a few games which include Fortnite, Fall Guys. Online matchmaking is not there for titles such as Call of Duty: Warzone, Minecraft and more.

This is not the very first time that PlayStation Network is facing an outage this month. The network went down for an hour on February 10. But the company managed to bring it back in a short span as it was a minor issue.

In 2011, the PlayStation Network went down for almost a month. This issue happened because hackers gained the access to services, user data and it got exposed.

Live TV
police fired on protesters around the country on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least 18 people were killed, the office said.

Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police.

Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after being brought to a hospital with a bullet in the chest, said a doctor who asked not to be identified.

Police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that according to credible information received by the Office has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded, the office said. has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on February 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

The coup, which brought a halt to tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries. Among the dead were three people in Dawei in the south, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Reuters from the town.

soldiers during the protest in Yangon

The Myanmar Now media outlet reported two people had been killed in a protest in the second city of Mandalay. Security forces fired again later in the day and one woman was killed, Mandalay resident Sai Tun told Reuters.

Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

The dead in Yangon included a teacher, Tin New Yee, who died after police swooped to disperse a teachers protest with stun grenades, sending the crowd fleeing, her daughter and a fellow teacher said.Police also hurled stun grenades outside a Yangon medical school.
NEW DELHI : Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is exploring the possibility of exporting its mid-sized premium bike H'ness CB350 to various markets across the globe even as it works to cater to the robust demand for the model in the domestic market, a senior company official said.

The company rolls out the bike with over 90% localisation from its Manesar (Haryana) based manufacturing facility. HMSI had introduced the bike in October 2020 and has already crossed 10,000 sales mark in February this year in the domestic market.

"Since this model is already meeting the European regulations, there are many countries where this model could be exported. So we are in discussion with our headquarters. Already the model is three months old in the domestic market and there is interest from other Honda companies across the globe," HMSI Director (Sales and Marketing) Yadvinder Singh Guleria told PTI in an interaction.

Terming it "one model which is Made in India for the world", he noted that the company is currently focusing at catering to the bookings which have already come in for the bike in the domestic market.

"We are working at the backend now to minimise this waiting period. But for sure this is one model which is Made in India for the world. There is a big potential. We are waiting and once we get a green signal from headquarters in Japan, we can start the exports. Potential does exist and we are quite hopeful," Guleria said.

When asked to comment on HMSI's overall plans regarding the premium bike segment, he said the company is looking to expand its product portfolio in a stepwise manner in sync with addition of exclusive sales network.

The company, which currently sells four bikes in the premium segment, plans to bring in 300 cc and above models while expanding its BigWing sales network in the country.

"Our study says there is big potential that exists for us in this segment. It also says that we can have fair business volume which could make our exclusive BigWing network to be viable and sustainable," Guleria said.

Moving ahead it is not only the network, there will be a product range which is going to be expanded in a stepwise manner, he added.

The company currently sells its premium bike range from two kinds of sale outlets, the BigWing Topline and BigWing. The BigWing Topline retails the entire premium range -- Africa Twins, CBR 1000 RR, H'ness CB350 and newly launched CB 350 RS.

The BigWing outlets on the other hand sell only mid-sized bikes (up to 500 cc)-- H'ness CB350 and CB 350 RS.

HMSI plans to have around 50 such dealerships across big cities and smaller towns by the end of this year.

When asked about the new product launches, Guleria said: "Certainly, we have plans to expand the portfolio, especially the mid-sized bike segment looks promising."

He noted that the company had been carefully watching and studying the mid-sized bike segment for a couple of years and it sees a large potential in the years to come in terms of volumes.

"We could also identify that there were some gap areas in terms of customer expectations which we can include in the new product development and that is how we went ahead with H'ness CB350 and it has received great response in the market," Guleria said.

He noted that CB 350 RS uses the same platform as H'ness CB350 but with altogether different characteristics and styling "we hope to bring in a separate set of customers with this product especially youngsters and people looking for something which can meet their lifestyle and weekend drives in the urban settings."

He said that the initial response for the bike has been on target, but the real picture would be clear only after the product delivery begins in early March.

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MBABANE  Luxury comes at a price  and so does the ICC&FISH.

But as to what the cost will be when the International Convention Centre and the Five Star Hotel construction project is completed, no one can be sure because the amount of this state-of-the-art infrastructure development keeps rising year in, year out.

When this project commenced in 2012, government estimated that it would cost around E370 million; with the ICC expected to set the taxpayer back by E290 million and the FISH anticipated to be completed for the amount of E80 million.

Then, the FISH was referred to as the Millennium Hotel.

That financial year (2012/2013), E65 million and E80 million in local funds for the ICC and Millennium Hotel were released, respectively.

Fast forward

Fast forward to 2021  nine years later  the project is still ongoing and the cost is far beyond the E370 million; this figure is now a mere fraction of what this project is now forecasted to cost.

It is no longer millions but billions that are now synonymous with this infrastructure development.

The ICC&FISH project stands on land said to measure 40 000 square metres and the convention centre will host up to 4 500 delegates; while the five-star hotel linked to it currently has about 283 rooms on six floors.

The Book of Government Budget Estimates for the years from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2024, which Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg tabled in parliament on Friday alongside the Appropriation Bill, shows that the ICC&FISH is now projected to cost the country an estimated E6.4 billion.

This figure is around E6 billion more than the initial cost that was projected in the year 2012.

The money for the project began to escalate during the 2015/2016 financial year, when the estimated cost rose to E1.255 billion and the name of the Millennium Hotel changed to FISH.

For that year, an amount of E412 million was budgeted for both the convention centre and the hotel.

The following year (2016/2017), the projected cost of the project increased to around E1.9 billion; an amount of E479 million was released for the payment of consultancy fees, professional fees and works.

In 2017/2018, the projects total estimated cost went up to E2 489 590 000; and an amount of E721 800 000 was released for payment of consultancy fees, works and purchasing of land for the ICC&FISH.

estimated cost

In the financial year 2018/2019, the total estimated cost was hiked to E4.8 billion; with E522 million being released to pay for the ICCs civil works, consultancy fees, furniture and fittings; and E989 million went to FISH.

Then in the financial year 2019/2020, the estimated cost of the project was first maintained at E4.8 billion; with the ICC set to cost around E2.5 billion and the FISH at approximately E2.3 billion.

A total of E1 235 880 000 was released for construction, consultancy fees, and payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) for the ICC.

For the FISH, E634 million (E170 million and E464 million) was released for construction of the hotel, payment of land acquisition, construction fees, design and supervision, civil works and landscaping, and VAT.

At the E4.8 billion cost, the ICC&FISH was already set to become the most expensive building in the entire African continent.

The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development then revealed later that year in its second quarter performance that the project would cost E5 473 195 950.

This was an increase of E636 015 950 from the E4 837 180 000 projected in the Book of Government Estimates for that year.

According to that performance report from the ministry, the ICC cost had been revised to E1 902 441 160 while the FISH was set to cost E2 347 042 318.

combined figure

Bulk earthworks, piling, civil works and the patented wall will cost a combined figure of E576 143 393 while designs and supervision were set to cost E620 569 079.

This then totalled E5.47 billion.

But when the 2020/2021 financial year came, the total estimated cost for the project again went up to E5.99 billion.

For the ICC, the estimated cost was put at E3 618 149 000; with an amount of E737 609 000 released for the construction of the main buildings, payment of consultancy fees, interior and settling VAT.

The FISH, on the other hand, had its total estimated cost set at E2 375 587 000; and E240 million was released for the payment of land acquisition, payment of construction fees, design and supervision, civil works and landscaping, and payment of VAT.

Come financial year 2021/2022, which begins on April 1, the total estimated cost of the ICC&FISH project has been placed at E6 448 736 000.

This is about E400 million more than the E5.99 billion that was projected in the 2020/2021 financial year.

The ICC alone is now set to cost E4 073 149 000 while the FISHs cost has now been placed at E2 375 587 000.

According to the Book of Government Estimates, a further E1 billion has been allocated to the project for 2021/2022 financial year.

Value Added Tax

Of this E1 billion, an amount of E790 million is specifically for the construction of the ICC; and this figure consists of consultancy fees, construction of the main buildings, the interior and payment of Value Added Tax (VAT).

For the FISH, E305 million in local funds has been allocated for the completion of the hotels buildings.

The actual expenditure (money already spent) for the ICC as at March 31, 2020 was reported to be E1.875 billion while E1.58 billion had been spent on the FISH.

Auditor General Timothy Sipho Matsebula, in his report for the year ended March 31, 2020, which was also tabled in parliament on Friday, has questioned an amount of E499 million that was used without authority in the construction of the ICC&FISH.

Of this amount, Matsebula noted that E494 527 610 went towards the construction of FISH (Project G616/63) and E3 500 151.23 went into the construction of the ICC (Project G585/63).

actual expenditures

These projects had no budget released but incurred actual expenditures, the AG says in his report.

According to the AG, when he enquired from the controlling officer (Principal Secretary Bheki Bhembe) about the unauthorised expenditure, he only got an explanation about the money spent on the FISH.

With regards to Project G616/63, the controlling officer explained that at the time of the mid-term forecast 2018, the anticipated expenditure was E464 million; however, more funds were required during the financial year under review, hence the actual expenditure incurred was E494 527 610, Matsebula wrote in his report.

He highlighted that the controlling officer did not comment on the actual expenditures for Project G585/63  construction of International Convention Centre and Five Star

Matsebulas enquiry directed to PS Bhembe revealed that the ICC&FISH had a standoff with the Eswatini Revenue Authority after the latter detained some of the projects imported material because of tax issues.

He (PS) stated that there was no projected expenditure on Project G585/63 during the period audited; however, there were amounts remaining in the project accounts of both the ICC and Five Star Hotel at Central Bank. Funds were required to avert a crisis on the project in which material had been ordered by the contractor from Taiwan but could not be paid and was held at customs.

As such an amount of E16 300 000 was required to release the material, reads the AGs report.

At the E6.4 billion (about US$426m) estimated total cost, the ICC&FISH will become by far the most expensive building in the entire African continent.

This figure makes it surpass the current expensive building in Africa  the Kigali Convention Centre, which was built at a cost of US$300 million (about E4.5 billion when calculated at the latest Lilangeni-Dollar exchange rate).

tallest building

Apart from the KCC, the ICC&FISH will also be costlier than the 234-metre Leonardo skyscraper in Sandton (Johannesburg), South Africa, which has been built at a cost of E3 billion (US$200 million) and is now the tallest building in Africa, overtaking the Carlton Centre in Johannesburgs central business district.

Another expensive building that is dwarfed by the ICC&FISH is the Bibliotheca Alexandrina - a US$220 million (E3.3 billion) major library located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.

Another expensive building that falls short of the ICC&FISHs worth is the African Union Conference Centre and Office Complex.

This building, which is the African Union headquarters, is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was funded by China at a reported cost of US$200 million.

The building is said to be 99.9 metres tall, has 20 floors and is the tallest structure in the Ethiopian capital.

The Corinthia Hotel located in Tripoli, Libya, is another luxurious building that however does not match the cost of the ICC&FISH.

most expensive

Reportedly constructed at a cost of US$152 million (about E228 billion), the building, which was originally known as Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, is a five-star skyscraper that was opened in 2003 and is considered the most expensive luxury hotel in Africa.

It is said to stand tall at 100.48 metres and has 28 floors.

In the city of Cape Town in South Africa there is the Portside Tower building which is said to be the citys first significant skyscraper, having been opened in 2014.

Jointly owned by First Rand Bank and Old Mutual, the building reportedly cost a whopping US$138 million (about E2.07 billion).

With 32 floors and space to accommodate 3 000 people, the structure is described as uniquely covered in blue glass and the first tower of its kind to have the least amount of energy consumption.

Also costing US$138 million is 31-floor spectacular residential resort known as The Pearls of Umhlanga in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which offers luxury apartments and penthouses.
Portland Rioters Smash Windows, Harass Diners

Rioters in Portland late Saturday smashed windows, vandalized buildings, and harassed diners.

Video footage showed a group clad in black, dressed in the style favored by the far-left Antifa network marching down the street, stopping to spray paint structures, break windows, and shout at diners.

Videos also showed the crowd shining lights into apartment buildings as they marched. Some residents confronted the crowd from their balconies while one woman, identified by a reporter on the ground as a tourist, got into a brawl with one of the marchers after wondering why the group was yelling at the police.

The unruly crowd was roving around Portlands Peal District neighborhood.

Portland police officers began advising the group that they should immediately stop committing crimes or they would face detention, citation, arrest, or use of crowd control agents.

Officers ultimately made two arrests before the crowd dispersed.

The arrested were identified as Darell Kimberlin, 31, and an unnamed 17-year-old. Kimberlin was issued a criminal citation for criminal mischief in the first degree and released while the juvenile, who was accused of interfering with an officer, was released to his parents.

Darell Kimberlin in a file mugshot. (Multnomah County District Attorneys Office)

Kimberlin is an Antifa activist who uses an Antifa symbol intertwined with the communist sickle on his social media page. Antifa is an anarcho-communist network that regularly holds violent protests and riots.

Oh they charged me with 4 felonies, Kimberlin wrote on Twitter, using an emoji of a person shrugging their shoulders. Many protesters and rioters have seen their charges dropped since Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt took office.

The law enforcement response is hindered by multiple shootings across the city, according to the Portland Police Bureau, limiting the officers available to address the criminal behavior in the protest.

Videos showed a group of about 15 officers following the protest around before moving in and forcing the group to leave the roadway. Officers were riding bicycles. Another set of officers was perched on the outside of a riot van.

Portland was the site of a series of riots last summer, provoking a federal law enforcement response to protect the U.S. courthouse there. Rioters inflicted millions of dollars in damages on federal buildings before eventually turning their attention to other structures, such as residential buildings and police stations.

Portland is also struggling with a near record-high number of murders in recent months. In the year of 2020, 55 homicides were recorded, the highest seen since 1994. Officials have cited the protests and riots as one reason the murder rate increased, because so many officers have had to deal with the incidents that they are forced on some nights to delay responding to 911 calls for hours.
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(Natural News) California Assembly Members Evan Low (D-Cupertino) and Cristina Garcia (D-Los Angeles) have introduced new legislation that would make it a crime for businesses in the state that sell childrens toys to separate them based on gender.

Should a retailer be caught selling girls toys and boys toys in different areas of the store, it could be slapped with a $1,000 civil fine. The new rule would only apply to retail department stores that have more than 500 employees.

Low and Garcia believe that selling childrens toys in a gender neutral format is the only inclusive option. Anything less represents a hate crime against people who reject biology but still support sCiEnCe.

Brick-and-mortar shops would have to display the majority of their products and clothing aimed at children in one undivided, unisex area on the sales floor, reports Christian Britschgi for Reason.

Theyd also be barred from putting up signage that would indicate whether a product was intended for a boy or girl.

California-based online retailers would also be forced to sell only gender neutral toys

Online retailers based in California would likewise be bound by the new rules, which would require them to sell childrens toys in a gender neutral format. Labeling a toy as being for a boy or a girl would be strictly prohibited.

The bill is almost identical to one proposed by Low last year. He is hellbent on ensuring that children are able to express themselves without bias, which can only happen, in his view, if stores are strong-armed into pretending as though biology does not exist.

Biology denial is becoming a real problem on the left, which refuses to accept the fact that humans come in two varieties: male and female. Democrats would rather pretend as though there is no such thing as gender as they attempt to force everyone else into agreement.

The policy behind this bill is not only important in regards to addressing perceived societal norms but also ensuring that prejudice and judgment does not play a prominent role in our childrens lives, Low is quoted as saying last year. I look forward to working on this issue in the future.

Big-box retailer Target already voluntarily adopted a gender neutral format for childrens bedding and toys back in 2015. Target did not, however, eliminate all gender distinctions in its store layout and signage, emphasizing that some cases, like apparel, where there are fit and sizing differences would still be sold in separate male and female areas.

Under Lows bill, however, Target could be forced to remove all gendered labeling and signage in order to avoid offending the Cult of LGBTQ with biological facts that tend to upset its mentally ill members.

Forcing retailers to eliminate gender distinctions violates First Amendment

Should it pass, the Low and Garcia genderless childrens toys bill would likely be challenged in court as unconstitutional for violating the First Amendment. It would also set brick-and-mortar retail stores at a competitive disadvantage, even as many of them struggle due to Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdowns and other restrictions. Its enlightening to see where politicians priorities lie.

Progressive politics is a fundamentalist religion, wrote one Reason commenter. There is no end to their attempt to re-shape every aspect of society and culture. This sort of crap will never stop with them.

Arent these lawmakers codifying the concept of gender with this bill? asked another, pointing out an obvious irony. Theyre acknowledging boys and girls are distinct things, which seems awfully bigoted of them.

More related news about the libtard obsession with erasing natural human biology and replacing it with transhumanism can be found at Gender.news.

Sources for this article include:

Reason.com

NaturalNews.com


A recent public opinion study finds that most Black Americans who attend religious services go to ones that are mostly Black. However, the same study suggests those who answered the opinion study would like their religious centers to become more racially diverse and to seek racial equality.

The Pew Research Center organized the opinion study that included 8,660 Black adults across the United States. The study found that Black Americans attend religious centers more regularly and pray more often than Americans do as a whole.

The study also found that among Black adults who attend religious services: 60 percent attended ones in which the top religious leader and most of the congregation are Black. Twenty-five percent are part of congregations made up of many racial groups while 13 percent are part of congregations that are mostly white or another ethnic group.

When asked whether religion is very important in their lives, 59 percent of Black Americans said yes. In comparison, 40 percent of all U.S. adults answered yes. Asked if they prayed every day, 63 percent of Black respondents said yes, compared with 44 percent overall.

The Pew study also spoke to 30 Black religious workers. Some of them predict that attendance at Black religious centers will decrease while multiracial congregations will increase. Dr. Clyde Posley Jr. is a pastor of the Antioch Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He explained, I dont think there should be a Black Church. There isnt a Black heaven and a white heaven. About 61 percent of the people who were asked in the study said that congregations should be more racially diverse.

Historically, Black religious centers have influenced efforts toward racial equality. However, the Pew study found that nearly half of respondents said Black religious centers are less influential today than 50 years ago.

The religious workers said too few felt Black pastors have been influential in recent struggles against racism. Reverend Harvey L. Vaughn III is the pastor of Bethel AME Church in San Diego, California. He said, When you look at Black Lives Matter, this is the first time that there has been any political uprising and the church isnt spearheading it.

The Black Lives Matter movement says it protests against racism and police violence toward Black people.

Reverend Sandra Reed is the pastor at St. Mark AME Zion Church in Newtown, Pennsylvania. She said, The AME Zion Church is known as the Freedom Church. She said it was influential in dealing with social issues in America; we sort of lost that, she added.

Reverend Mario Powell is a Black priest, in charge of a Jesuit middle school in Brooklyn, New York. He said Catholic religious leaders need to speak more about racial issues.

Tia Noelle Pratt is a sociologist studying racism in the U.S. Catholic Church. She advised the Pew study. She told the Associated Press in an email: We still dont have the church taking a necessary stand against systemic racism.

Im Armen Kassabian.

David Crary from The Associated Press reported this story. Armen Kassabian adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

diverse  adj. made up of people or things that are different from each other

congregation  n. the people who regularly attend religious services

pastor  n. a minister or priest in charge of a church or parish

respondent n. a person who gives an answer to a question, especially as part of a public opinion study

spearheading  v. a person, thing, or group that organizes or leads something

posting  n. a public announcement of something

Do you think racism is a problem in the United States? Why or Why not? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
The Google Pixel smartphones are loved by everyone that has used it till now. All the phones that have been released yet are best known for their camera results. One of the most awaited feature from the Google Pixel smartphones was the voice recording app. Google Recorder Web app is currently available on web through Google Pixel phones that also allows you to get real transcriptions of your audio recordings. What can be more exciting than this?This feature and app was first launched by Google in 2019 with the release of Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL and became available for all the previous versions of Pixel the same year. The voice recorder app only transcribes without a data connection in US English only at the current moment. If you are a Pixel smartphone user, this must be exciting for you as you can now take note down your meetings notes, lectures and anything you wish to hear later on in life. The Recorder app will note down your audios that you record and through this way you wont have the hurdle of time consumption while taking notes. Taking hours long of lectures especially during this quarantine hasnt been this easier. The Recorder Web app will even tag you in lectures of the topics you search for, it even allows you to trim your recordings just by emitting sentences through the transcriptions. This feature however, is only available to do from the Google Pixels recording app. You can even change the layout of how you want to listen to your audio recordings by the play, pause, rewind, jump and forward button.Pixel users can find their transcriptions for their recordings on the Web app that has gone live recently. The Web app also allows you to share, play and search your audio. The audio recordings backed up from the Recorder app from Google Pixel phones are also shown on the Web app.With the release of Google Pixel 5, the Recorder app allows editing and sharing on social media platforms but it is still not confirmed whether all of these features will be on the Web app or not. It must also be noted that the Web app only allows the audio recordings to be transcribed that are uploaded by a Google Pixel phone, and it will not allow users to record audios.Recording audios and then getting them in transcribed form is a great feature for when you want to record something, save it and listen to it later on in life. Save your precious memories by recording them and avail this feature through a Google Pixel smartphone!Read next: Google Search Apps Read Aloud Feature Now Has Multiple Accents
Leo Varadkar said the Government will examine the green pass system (Julien Behal Photography/PA)

The Irish Government could introduce so-called green cards that allow people who have been vaccinated to access services including gyms and cinemas.

The system is currently being used in Israel, where citizens who are inoculated against Covid-19 have been provided with a green pass.

The pass allows people to access gyms, restaurants, hotels and concerts.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the Government will examine the system and whether it has been successfully implemented in other countries.

If you have symptoms of #COVID19 today, call your GP out of hours service immediately. The GP will talk to you over the phone and can arrange a free test. Remember you must self-isolate to stop the spread. #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/Q5Xh7a8174  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) February 28, 2021

Its something that we could consider, but I think we can only consider it when were confident that its worked in Israel, Mr Varadkar told Newstalk FM.

Its too soon for that in Ireland  we still only have a relatively small proportion of the population vaccinated and, bear in mind, even though youre vaccinated you can still carry the virus in your nose and can still pass it on to other people.

Youd want to have a critical mass of the population vaccinated before we even considered those kind of measures.

By the time we get to that point, which would be some time in June when about half the population will have at least one dose at that stage, we will know whether the experience in Israel has worked out or not.

The IT system that we have does allow us to produce a vaccine certificate, both in hard copy and digital.

Mr Varadkar also defended the Governments slow approach to the easing of restrictions.

The IT system that we have does allow us to produce a vaccine certificate, both in hard copy and digital Tanaiste Leo Varadkar

The phased reopening of schools and childcare will see some pupils return to the classroom on Monday.

Junior and senior infants, as well as first and second class in primary schools, will be among the first back.

Leaving Certificate students will also return to the classroom on Monday.

The Government has yet to set a date for the reopening of the economy and society.

Mr Varadkar said: We know from the experience after Christmas how quickly this virus can make a comeback if we lower our guard, and we cant afford to do that.

Good news. We were worried about test positivity, which seemed to have plateaued, but the 5-day average test positivity from public health laboratories has fallen from 8% to 6% in one week; and the positivity across all labs has been under 5% for 5 days (4.2% today) pic.twitter.com/Wq1v6dVA8b  Professor Philip Nolan (@President_MU) February 27, 2021

March has to be all about getting the schools open, its so important that we achieve that.

Kids need their education, they need to see their friends and they need to be able to develop.

Thats why schools and childcare going back in March is the only thing that were allowing to happen that is any way different to the past couple of weeks.

But for that to happen successfully, for us to avoid a significant spike in cases, we need to double down on restrictions.

Mr Varadkar said the coronavirus case numbers are dropping.

On Saturday, Irelands positivity rate was below 4% for the first time since the middle of December.

People want the government to act NOW on mandatory hotel quarantine for all non-essential travel. They are doing their absolute best to follow the public health guidelines but are feeling let down by this government's failure to act a @loreillysf #TWIP #RTETWIP pic.twitter.com/3F6tMDWJ4k  Sinn FAin (@sinnfeinireland) February 28, 2021

The Governments mandatory quarantine hotel legislation is going to the Seanad this week before it is approved by President Michael D Higgins.

The Health Bill will introduce mandatory quarantine at a Government-designated facility for people arriving from countries where Covid-19 has been flagged as high risk.

Mandatory quarantine will also apply to people arriving into Ireland without a negative PCR test.

The Bill has been criticised by opposition parties who say it does not go far enough.

Sinn Feins Louise OReilly said that all arrivals into Ireland should face mandatory quarantine.

People feel let down by the Government, who is not enforcing mandatory quarantine of all arrivals into the State, she told RTEs The Week In Politics.

The Government needs to meet the people half way. People are doing their best and are exhausted from this lockdown.

What we saw last week from the Government was confusion, mixed messaging and that does not help.

We have to treat every person coming into this country as posing a risk in terms of bringing a new mutation into the country Independent TD Denis Naughten

Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway Denis Naughten said: No-one knows where the new mutation is going to come from, it could come from Northern Ireland or France.

We have to treat every person coming into this country as posing a risk in terms of bringing a new mutation into the country.

We have to take the exact same approach in terms of people that test positive here in Ireland.

We have the capability to have a far more aggressive approach in managing Covid outbreaks and we really need to restructure and reformulate our test-and-trace system.
Varanasi, Feb 28 : Bharatiya Janata Party chief J.P. Nadda, who arrived in Varanasi on Sunday morning on a two-day visit, held a detailed meeting with party office bearers of Kashi Prant, local MPs, MLAs and district presidents.

Party sources said that Nadda discussed the preparedness of the party workers for the upcoming Panchayat elections and then the state Assembly elections, scheduled to be held next year.

"He also gave important tips and underlined the need for creating awareness about the various welfare schemes of the Centre and state government being run. He asked party workers to remain connected with the voters and dispel doubts that the opposition is trying to create," said a party functionary.

The BJP national president also asked party leaders to restart the 'Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot' campaign.

He said that the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at its peak and the Gujarat local bodies' elections were proof of this.

Nadda asked party workers to continue working at the booth level which will ensure the party's success in the next Assembly elections.

Later, in the evening, the BJP president will inaugurate BJP's new regional office and Prayagraj Metropolitan Office in Rohania.

He will also interact with social leaders and eminent citizens of Varanasi at Naria.

Nadda, on Monday, will offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple and Kaal Bhairav after which he will hold a review meeting at the booth level and will take stock of the party activities.

He will also pay tributes at the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Smriti Sthal and will guide the IT and social media workers of Kashi region.
RAMALLAH, West Bank  It remains unclear whether or not the Palestinian legislative elections, scheduled for May 22, will be held in the Palestinian territories in line with the decree President Mahmoud Abbas issued Jan. 15. Doubts about the success of the elections persist within large population segments.

At the operational level, the Central Elections Commission  an independent commission tasked with organizing and monitoring the elections that was set up by a decree issued by President Yasser Arafat in 2002  is carrying on with the preparation phases for the electoral process. Phase 1, which consisted of the voter registration process, ended Feb. 17. The commission indicated in a press statement that the total number of voters registered reached nearly 2.622 million, or 93% of the 2.809 million eligible voters, according to the Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics. The three-day Phase 2, which includes claims and objections, begins March 1.

Electoral register tampering

A few hours before Phase 1 ended, reports about tampering with the electoral register  which includes the names and addresses of the registered voters  emerged, namely in the city of Hebron in the south of the West Bank. Unidentified people tampered with the electoral information of about 300 citizens by replacing the polling stations assigned to them with new ones located far from their areas of residence. These voters are Hamas supporters. The Central Elections Commission then dealt with the issue.

At a Feb. 18 press conference, Hanna Nasser, the chairman of the commission, affirmed that the register of voters had been tampered with. Some people had taken advantage of a commission service allowing citizens to change their polling places online and illegally changed the polling places for some citizens, which is an electoral crime, he added.

The commission filed a complaint before the prosecutor general to investigate the manipulation of the electoral register. The prosecution has yet to present the investigation's results.

Palestinian factions and political parties, as well as human rights organizations, condemned the tampering of the electoral register, describing the move as an electoral crime that could be a harbinger that some parties will seek to rig and manipulate the elections at later stages.

On Feb. 22, the Central Elections Commission began distributing accreditation cards to local and international journalists and observers for the elections. It announced that the candidate registration process begins March 20 and ends March 31.

The commission says it is on schedule to hold the elections, but some obstacles have surfaced, such as political arrests and media bickering. This comes despite a Feb. 20 presidential decree on public freedoms, based on what was agreed upon by the Palestinian factions in the recent Egyptian-brokered talks in Cairo. That is in addition to a decree issued by Abbas on Feb. 21 allocating a minimum of seven seats for Christians in the next parliament.

The Islamic Jihad boycotts the election

The main Palestinian factions, including the Hamas and Fatah movements as well as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, officially said that they will run in the legislative elections. Other factions, such as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian People's Party and the Palestinian National Initiative are expected to announce their participation as well. However, the Islamic Jihad announced a boycott of the elections, in line with its previous positions, claiming they are being held under the umbrella of the Oslo accords, which the movement opposes.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear how various factions will participate in the elections, as they are still considering whether to form coalitions or joint lists or run in separate lists. The shape of their participation will become known once their candidates are registered.

Leftist forces and democratic groups are in the throes of forming a unified democratic list to run in the legislative elections.

Omar Shehadeh, an official with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, told Al-Monitor that his group begun consultations to build a leftist, democratic popular alliance to run in the elections, based on a clear and binding political program for its members.

He added, The main item of the forthcoming alliances political program will be resistance, relying on a national liberation strategy on the basis of unity and partnership. That is in order to turn the Palestinian Authority into part of the resistance program.

Shehadeh further said that the legislative elections must pave the way for the election of a new Palestinian National Council  which is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He said the new council should draft a strategy and elect a new national leadership involving all parties, on the basis of resistance, partnership, unity and on shifting the authoritys policies of security coordination with Israel and abiding by the Oslo accords to instead bet on the people and their resistance and liberation program.

He said all political parties and forces whose actions on the ground are in line with this political program are called on to join the alliances democratic vision.

Bassam Salihi, secretary-general of the Palestinian People's Party, spoke with the Wattan Media Network on Feb. 22 and called on left-wing popular and democratic forces to build a unified democratic and popular bloc, centered around the leftists, to run in the elections.

The electoral competition is especially intense between Fatah and Hamas  the two largest factions in the Palestinian arena  amid major challenges facing them both at present. There is a risk that multiple Fatah lists will join the elections independently.

To date, there are at least three potential electoral lists from Fatah that are expected to run in the elections. They consist of the official list that Fatahs Central Committee and Abbas will announce; a list for the Democratic Reformist Current, led by dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan; and a third list that Fatah Central Committee member Nasser al-Kidwa intends to form. The latter is backed by jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is seeking to run for president. Additional Fatah lists for young people or of the Old Guard are likely to be formed as well.

The dispute between Abbas and Kidwa has surfaced lately, after Kidwa boycotted the Central Committees meeting Feb. 12 and made harsh remarks at a political workshop Birzeit University organized Feb. 18. Kidwa said the Palestinian political system is unreformable and must necessarily be changed. He also expressed full support for Barghouti in the presidential elections and called on him to come to a definite decision on the legislative elections.

Meanwhile, Hamas is facing various challenges in forming an electoral list, particularly in the West Bank. This is where the Israeli army has recently arrested top Hamas cadres and leaders and made threats to other potential Hamas candidates in an attempt to derail them from running in the upcoming elections. These include former Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Aziz Dweik, council member Nayef Rajoub and others.

A Hamas senior official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the movement expects Israel to step up arrests and threats against its top officials in the West Bank in the upcoming period, as well as against independent figures who are likely to ally themselves or run with the movement in the legislative elections so as to prevent the 2006 elections scenario from being repeated.

In a Feb. 22 statement, Hamas stressed that it is advancing on the path to the elections with the aim of achieving unity and rearranging Palestinian internal affairs in line with a national agenda that prioritizes the end of the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state.

Moving forward amid disputes

Despite the progress made in the lead-up to the elections, the challenges and threats that could hinder the vote persist, and have even become more prevalent in recent days.

The politically motivated arrests involving Hamas and Fatah are the most prominent challenges. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh demanded Feb. 22 that Hamas release 85 political detainees from its prisons, while denying that there are any political detainees in Palestinian Authority prisons. For its part, the Gaza Interior Ministry denied it held any political prisoners in the Gaza Strip, saying all prisoners in Gaza are either jailed or convicted in criminal or security cases.

Ahmad Helles, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, told the Voice of Palestine on Feb. 24 that Hamas insists on keeping political detainees locked up, which will undermine the electoral process.

On Feb. 25, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza said it released 45 Fatah members who were imprisoned in what it described as security cases that had caused harm to the local factions and their armed wings. However, Fatah spokesman in Gaza Iyad Nasr said Fatah had not received any information about such a release.

One more dispute has emerged between the two movements on the signing of an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to develop the Gaza Marine gas field. Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk demanded in a Feb. 23 tweet that the authority disclose details of the agreement, referring to corruption in previous cases, including the establishment of Gazas power station. Fatah Central Committee member Hussein al-Sheikh condemned Marzouks statement, saying that agreements are signed between states, and not factions.

In light of the divide and disputes that have been ongoing between Fatah and Hamas for 16 years now, some Palestinians say they think the elections will not take place. Others, however, think that internal and external factors will lead to the elections.

Shehadeh said the elections are part of a battle that began in 2009 when the deadline to hold legislative and presidential elections was missed. Since then, there were constant attempts to avoid these elections, he said, adding that there are internal and external considerations to the elections at the present time, most notably is the Biden administration and the possibility of recommitting to the Oslo accords.

He said both Hamas and Fatah are having a hard time choosing beween granting the people their right to select their representatives and between continuing to rule alone.

Ghassan al-Khatib, a former Palestinian planning minister and a former director of the government media office in Ramallah, told Al-Monitor that it remains unclear whether the Palestinian elections will be take place.

He said, I believe that the odds of holding the elections do not exceed 50% due to the many obstacles. He pointed out that tension continues to prevail over the Fatah-Hamas relations, as the two movements clash and exchange accusations at every occasion.

Khatib pointed to several obstacles that could prevent the elections, including whether Israel will facilitate the election or prevent it from taking place. He also said the agreements that were reached during the Cairo talks must be translated into presidential decrees on amending the electoral law. Also, he mentioned Fatahs internal problems, with Barghouti and Kidwa considering running on separate lists.

Yet despite the disputes, Fatah and Hamas have achieved great progress in a number of files and continue to communicate in other dossiers, such as the formation of the electoral court made up of nine judges  four from Gaza, four from the West Bank and one from Jerusalem.

In this context, a Fatah source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that contacts between the two parties are ongoing to discuss the names of the judges to this court, which will be tasked with looking into and issuing decisions on electoral files. When an agreement is reached, the Central Elections Commission will be informed, he said.

On Feb. 25, Fatahs Central Committee held a meeting to discuss the preparations for the legislative elections and the mechanisms to choose the candidates.

Also that day, Abu Marzouk announced during a seminar held in Ramallah that Hamas prefers to run in the elections under a joint list with Fatah. He said his movement made the proposal to Fatah and is awaiting its final response.

European support for the elections

The Central Elections Commission, in both Ramallah and Gaza, has been welcoming representatives from several countries visiting the Palestinian territories to follow up on the preparations for the elections. These visits reflect growing international interest in the Palestinian elections.

On Feb. 24, Germany's envoy to the Palestinian territories, Christian Clages, visited the commissions headquarters in the Gaza Strip. On the same day, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, met with the commissions head in Ramallah. This was preceded by a visit from the head of the European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories, Nataliya Apostolova.

The European interest in the Palestinian elections began to appear with the EU pressure on the Palestinian Authority to hold the elections in order to renew political and democratic life in the Palestinian territories, in light of the ongoing EU financial support to the authority.

Since the decree setting the dates for the elections was issued, the EU representative in Palestine, Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, held a series of long meetings with Palestinian government officials, faction leaders and officials in the Central Election Commission. He has expressed the EUs readiness to monitor and support the success of the elections.

On Feb. 24, the Central Elections Committee sent an official request to the EU and the European Parliament to monitor the Palestinian elections.
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On a dark and rainy night in October 2011, Samuel Pauly was shot to death through the window of his rural New Mexico home by one of three state police officers investigating an earlier road rage incident.

This is the first line of a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision describing the night that my son was shot dead by the State Police, forever changing the lives of our family.

I have long been an advocate for law enforcement, am a proud gun owner and deeply believe in the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. When my son, Sam Pauly, was taken from us by a police bullet nearly 10 years ago, I learned that our rights are not protected as I had believed.

Before my son was killed, I believed that one of those constitutional rights was that when police used excessive force and killed a person, there would be accountability. I believed the legal system would not unfairly protect officers who took a life without justification. I thought at the very least we would get a trial and my fellow citizens could decide on what justice was due. This turned out to be untrue. Our case never even got a jury trial.

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My legal odyssey ultimately ended with the United States Supreme Court stating that the police officer who shot my son could not be held accountable because no case had found that this particular conduct  shooting a person standing in their home under the facts of this case  was unlawful. The Supreme Courts decision was not that the officer had the right to kill my son, it was that the officer was not reasonably notified that they did not have the right to kill my son.

Qualified immunity protected the officer.

Qualified Immunity was a foreign concept to me when my son was killed. But, during our legal struggle, it became a symbol of a culture designed to protect police officers at all cost. I firmly believe that the abuses at the hands of police officers that have been seen around our country are, in part, due to the legal shield of qualified immunity that gave officers a free pass to avoid accountability. It shields officers, and tells them they can shoot first and think later.

The New Mexico Civil Rights Act, which recently passed the New Mexico House of Representatives, will eliminate the shield of qualified immunity and create accountability for police officers who violate rights. Personal experience is powerful when it shows how blind support of law enforcement can lead to abuses, cost individuals their lives and destroy families.

New Mexicans deserve justice when abuse by police and other government actors destroys their lives. They deserve a trial where members of the community can hold bad actors to account. Accountability will make the public safe and the police less likely to use excessive force. And it will provide a fair outcome when police overreach. The time has come in New Mexico to end the abuses that have been promulgated by qualified immunity.

I did not seek the role of being an advocate to end qualified immunity and advocate for justice for victims of police violence, but the role fell on my shoulders when my son, Sam Pauly, was killed by police violence. I do not want what happened to my son on that rainy night in October to happen to anyone elses child. With the passage of House Bill 4 comes safety and a judicial system that protects New Mexicans who have been wrongly harmed by police violence. This is why I support the New Mexico Civil Rights Act.

Daniel Pauly lives in Santa Fe. His son Sam Pauly was killed by State Police gunfire in his house in Glorieta, east of Santa Fe, on Oct. 11, 2011, after his brother was involved in a late-night driving dispute on Interstate 25 in which no one was hurt. A point of dispute is whether responding officers approaching the Glorieta home identified themselves as police. The brother, who said he feared intruders or someone from the road-rage incident, fired warning shots out the back door and an officer subsequently shot and killed Sam Pauly.
The woman was allegedly raped by the man as a teenager in 1988, prompting former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to call for an inquest into her death

Explosive emails, letters and diary entries kept by a woman who accused a Morrison Government minister of raping her have emerged.

The woman took her own life in Adelaide last June after coming forward about allegedly being sexually assaulted by the man as a teenager in 1988, prompting former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to call for an inquest into her death.

Emails the woman wrote to a friend have since been made public, where she wrote that despite hoping the man would be charged, she feared a trial would become an 'emotional bloodbath'.

'I guess I just worry, that a trial (if one occurs) has the potential to be an emotional bloodbath, particularly for me and anyone who appears as a witness in the case,' she wrote in correspondence obtained exclusively by news.com.au.

An investigation into the alleged rape was ended by NSW police after she died.

The emails, written in 2019, also revealed the woman had meticulously kept evidence pertaining to the alleged rape.

'I've also been wondering about the evidence. I have a lot of corroborative material, which I've included in the appendices of the account I will send you shortly. Most of it comes from my diaries, journals and scrapbooks. These were created in the 1980s-90s,' she wrote.

'Obviously, the items about (redacted) are crucial. There are other entries, which refer to other people. I have their permission to include them (I have this weird hang up, about consent). But some of the other entries are extremely personal (well, all of them are, of course, as I wrote them for myself alone, using my diary as a confidante).

The woman said that certain parts of Adelaide triggered bad memories for her.

Labor senator Penny Wong (pictured) received a letter about the alleged 1988 rape by a now senior federal government minister

'Being in Adelaide has also had its moments. I have taken photos of two key locations: a former T-shirt shop in Hindley, where (redacted) bought a tank top, and the hotel we were all in staying in 1986, when we first met. These are also described and documented in the account. However, I found this very hard to do, revisit those sites,' she said.

'This prompted me to go to the local police. I have had 2 informal, off-the-record conversations with SA CIB (Grenfell St station, the main one in Adelaide's CBD). I told them what had happened to me in 1988, and who the perpetrator was/is.'

'They have reassured me that: 1) I need not report, they would understand. 2) They take these matters extremely seriously, I could report in SA (which I did not know) and it will be investigated. they estimate the investigation would take about a year.

'3) Given the corroborative evidence I have, and my clear memories, they think it would probably go to trial.'

The woman also wrote that she was 'sectioned' for mental health concerns after taking herself to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital.

She told staff that she had felt suicidal in the past, but a psychiatrist told her to stop talking about the alleged rape as it would keep 'retriggering' her.

The bombshell accusations, which surfaced a week after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins came forward about her own alleged rape at the hands of a colleague, have led to Mr Turnbull to seek an inquest.

He said the woman had written to him and his wife Lucy in 2019 to ask for their advice on the matter.

'She described a pretty horrific rape that she said had occurred at the hands of this person,' he told the crowd of an Adelaide writers event on Sunday.

'Among the things she noted, I might say, is that she'd kept extensive diaries, so I hope they're still extant.

'We wrote back to her, obviously expressed our sympathy and, really our concern for her and what she'd experienced, but said 'you've got a lawyer, you're seeing the police, that's the right thing to do', and that was.'

The former prime minister said he notified South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens after the woman died.

'I sent him the correspondence she sent us and our reply,' he said.

'There clearly needs to be some form of inquest so, I don't know what the process is here  but I think there should be.'

The explosive emails were published just a day after Labor's leader in the senate Penny Wong revealed she personally knew the woman, and referred her to support services.

Senator Wong, along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, received a letter about the alleged 1988 rape this week.

It is understood the letter was not written by her.

However the letter came with a detailed statement attached, prepared by the complainant for her lawyer, ABC's Four Corners has reported.

Senator Hanson-Young (picured) said the letter she had received regarded a 'disturbing and a very serious allegation of a criminal nature against a senior member of the government'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) as also notified of the letter and confirmed the allegations had been referred to the Australian Federal Police

Senator Wong released an initial statement on Friday saying she had referred the letter to the Australian Federal Police and was aware the matter was already before NSW and South Australian police.

On Saturday Senator Wong issued a further statement 'in the interests of transparency' revealing she had detailed prior knowledge of the matter.

'I first became aware of the complainant's allegation when I ran into her in Adelaide in November 2019,' the senator wrote.

'The complainant reminded me we had met once before.'

'The complainant made an allegation that she had been raped many years earlier by a person who is now a senior member of the federal government. She indicated she intended to report the matter to NSW Police.

'I said that making a report to the appropriate authorities was the right thing to do. I facilitated her referral to rape support services and confirmed she was being supported in reporting the matter to NSW Police.'

Senator Wong said the woman's death was a tragedy and her thoughts were with her family and friends.

The explosive revelations come a fortnight after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins' rape allegation engulfed parliamentary sittings (pictured: Brittany Higgins)

The senator's statement follows comments by federal frontbencher Simon Birmingham who told reporters in Adelaide the minister at the centre of the allegations should not be made to step aside.

The trade, tourism and investment minister was questioned in his home state of South Australia on Saturday about whether the man in question should come forward or be identified.

'I'm not sure then how you think it would be resolved thereafter,' Mr Birmingham replied.

'We have to respect that we have justice systems in Australia, that everyone is entitled to natural justice and that in this case allegations have been made ... and we have to back the appropriate authorities.'

'We back the police to do their job in this ... I don't wish to see anybody lose their rights to natural justice.'

The year the alleged rape occurred is well before the cabinet minister concerned entered politics. The complainant was aged 16.

A spokesperson for Mr Morrison indicated on Friday evening the allegations had been referred to the Australian Federal Police, which Mr Birmingham confirmed.

The AFP on Saturday said it would liaise with the relevant state authorities.

Senator Hanson-Young said the information she had received regarded a 'disturbing and a very serious allegation of a criminal nature against a senior member of the government'.

Four Corners says the woman reported the alleged rape to NSW Police in February 2020, but took her own life in June after informing them she no longer wanted to proceed with the complaint.

NSW Police said in a statement on Friday that a report of alleged historic sexual violence was received in February 2020 and detectives commenced an investigation under Strike Force Wyndarra.

'After strike force investigators were advised that the body of a 49-year-old woman was located at a home at Adelaide by South Australia Police (SAPOL) on Wednesday 24 June 2020, the investigation was suspended,' the statement said.

The explosive revelations come a fortnight after former Ms Higgins' rape allegation engulfed parliamentary sittings, prompting Australia's major political parties to back a cultural overhaul.

The Morrison government has been under intense pressure over its response to the 2019 incident, in which Ms Higgins alleges she was sexually assaulted by a former colleague in Parliament House.

There are four inquiries under way, including a multi-party investigation aimed at ensuring parliament is a safe working environment.

For 24/7, confidential support call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky showed off their fit physiques as they attended a star-studded '80s-themed party at Crown Sydney on Saturday.

The Thor star, 37, flaunted his bulging biceps as he posed with his wife after arriving to his childhood friend Aaron Grist's birthday event.

The actor wore black track pants and a white singlet as he wrapped his arm around Elsa's tiny waist.

Party time! Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky (pictured) dressed up in tight spandex and neon accessories as they lead the A-list arrivals at a star-studded 80s party in Sydney

Chris completed the costume with sunglasses as he posed for the camera.

Meanwhile, Elsa showed off her incredible physique in tight pink spandex and white crop top.

The Spanish-born actress completed the outfit with pink gloves, matching coloured leg warmers and sneakers.

Elsa, 44, tied her locks in a high ponytail and opted for a neutral palette of makeup.

Strike a pose! The genetically-blessed pair, who share three children, were also joined by Chris' brother Liam

Star-studded event: After arriving to the event, Chris (left) also posed with Idris Elba (centre) and Matt Damon (right)

Elsa married her husband Chris 10 years ago, and the power couple reside with their children in a $20million mansion in Byron Bay, on the New South Wales north coast.

The genetically-blessed pair, who share three children, were joined by Chris' brother Liam.

The 31-year-old put on a colourful display in white shorts and a patterned buttoned shirt.

Liam wore white sunglasses, a gold watch and white sneakers as he posed alongside Chris and Elsa.

Colourful display! Chris' trainer Luke Zocchi (left) also made an appearance at the event

Making a statement! Meanwhile, Kate Ritchie (right) wore a black printed T-shirt and bright pink lip stick as she posed alongside a friend

They were also joined by Matt Damon, who wore Adidas track pants and a matching jacket, Idris Elba and Chris' trainer Luke Zocchi.

Meanwhile, actress Kate Ritchie also attended the Sydney event.

The former Home and Away star wore a black printed T-shirt and bright pink lip stick as she posed alongside a friend.

Kate was joined by Lauren Phillips, who channeled the 80s in denim shorts, a bright yellow T-shirt and a bum bag.
A rooster killed its owner by slashing him with a knife attached to its leg at a banned cockfight in India.

The bird had been equipped with the three-inch blade known as the 'kodi kathi for the illegal contest at the village of Lothunur in the southern state of Telangana.

Its owner, named in local media as 45-year-old Thanugulla Satish Goud, was setting the bird down for the fight when it jumped up in an apparent attempt to escape.

'The knife pierced him in the groin region," local police told the Times of India. "It was a severe injury and he lost a lot of blood.

"When he reached the hospital in Jagtial he was declared dead."

Police said they were looking for more than a dozen people involved in the illegal event on 22 February.

The cock has been taken to a poultry farm for protection before being presented at a court of law as evidence of the cause of death, police told local media.

Cockfighting was banned in India in 1960 but the practice continues in many states and fights are often associated with Hindu festivals.

Last year a spectator died after being slashed in the abdomen by a rooster with razor blades attacked to its legs.

Local media reported that the bird panicked and fluttered as it was being released and lashed out at the victim named as 55-year-old Saripalli Venkateswara Rao.

In 2019, The Washington Post investigated what it called the Super Bowl of cockfighting in Andhra Pradesh, and found a fight attended by more than 1,000 people apparently organised by a local MLA  a member of the states legislative assembly.
The discovery of missing conwoman Melissa Caddick's human remains could change the timeline of her death and prove she met with foul play instead of committing suicide, an expert criminologist has said.

A large piece of stomach flesh which included a belly button was found washed ashore at Mollymook Beach on the NSW south coast about 9.30pm on Friday, with DNA testing to be carried out to see if the remains belong to the fraudster.

Caddick's death was earlier confirmed on Friday after her decomposing foot was found inside a shoe north of the Bournda National Park on February 21, 150km away from where the stomach parts were located.

She vanished from her home in Sydney's eastern suburbs a day after it was raided by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on November 11 but expert criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett said if the decomposing stomach belongs to the woman, it could mean she was alive much longer than suspected.

'For a stomach to be recovered three months later, after summer months, is a little more unusual. It could suggest the person died more recently. There's certainly a lot of questions around this,' Dr Mallett told The Sunday Telegraph.

The discovery of stomach flesh including a belly button is being DNA tested to confirm if they belong to missing conwoman Melissa Caddick (pictured right with her husband Anthony Koletti)

Discovery of the human remains on Friday night comes after the decomposed foot of Melissa Caddick (pictured in the shoe) was found by campers on the NSW south coast on February 21

Pictured: Map shows the distance between where Caddick's foot was found, where she was last seen and Friday night's latest discovery of decomposing body parts

Expert criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett (pictured) said if the decomposing stomach belongs to the woman, it could mean she was alive much longer than suspected

'Three months is quite a long time, I would be interested to know the decomposition level to determine if the body was in the water immediately after she disappeared.'

Police suspect Caddick took her own life, because she could have reached the Dover Heights clifftops - 300m from her $6.1million home - without being tracked by CCTV cameras.

Dr Mallett admitted it was possible Caddick entered the water at Dover Heights and for her body parts to then wash ashore hundreds of kilometres away on the NSW south coast, although three months is a long time for body parts to remain intact.

She said tidal patterns over the period of Caddick's disappearance would needed to be checked 'to see if that time frame and distance can genuinely be explained'.

Dr Mallett, an Associate Professor of criminology at the University of Newcastle, said when she heard Caddick's foot had been recovered she was not convinced at that stage she was dead because a person could still be alive without the limb attached.

But the discovery of other decomposing body parts has meant the investigation into Caddick's disappearance has taken another turn.

'All options have to remain open, including the unlikely chance of a really strange accident, suicide or something more sinister,' Dr Mallett said.

Caddick's disappearance sparked wild theories as to her whereabouts but detectives now believe she either committed suicide or met with foul play.

Human remains including what appeared to be stomach flesh and a belly button have washed ashore on a beach 150km away from where missing Caddick's (pictured) foot was found

Police were called to Mollymook Beach (stock image) on the NSW South Coast about 9.30pm on Friday

Her rotting foot was found by campers inside an ASICS Gel Nimbus shoe 50km north of the Bournda National Park.

The group of three teenage campers were near Tathra on Sunday when one of them found the shoe lying on the sand.

When he turned the shoe upside down as he went to throw it out, he discovered there were human remains inside.

Police later used footage from the raid of Caddick's home - which had featured vision of her feet - to help identify her as the shoe's owner.

The 49-year-old was accused of swindling at least $20million from clients, including friends and family, before disappearing on November 12.

Days after she was reported missing, NSW Police used modelling to determine where her body might wash up if she had died in the water near her Dover Heights home.

The modelling deemed it possible that her body could have drifted as far south as Bermagui, about one hour north of Bournda.

New South Wales Police said they believe Caddick (pictured) suicided but have not ruled out foul play

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing said the modelling was done in the wake of Ms Caddick's disappearance, as crews conducted extensive land, air and sea searches.

In a sworn statement tendered at the Federal Court, and recently made public, ASIC investigator Isabella Allen alleges Caddick hit her with a barrage of questions when authorities raided her $6.2million Dover Heights mansion on November 11.

Caddick allegedly demanded answers on how she was to abide by a court order freezing her assets.

Those questions includes: When would she have to appear in court? Where would she drop off her passports? Did one order mean she couldn't use her credit cards, because she used them for all transactions?

Caddick also asked how quickly she had to write up a description of her assets and liabilities, and asked: 'how am I supposed to do that when you have taken my computers?'

The route from Caddick's $6.1million home on Wallangra Road in Dover Heights (pictured) to nearby clifftops is believed to not have any CCTV cameras facing the road or street

The 49-year-old (pictured left with husband Anthony on the right) has been accused of swindling at least $20million from clients, including friends and family, before disappearing on November 12

ASIC investigator Isabella Allen alleges Caddick hit her with a barrage of questions when authorities raided her $6.2million Dover Heights mansion on November 11 (pictured is bodycam footage of the raid)

The investigator replied: 'I am unable to answer that question and it may be best that you speak to a lawyer. Do you have a lawyer?'

It is believed ASIC had been investigating her for three months before the raid.

Caddick is survived by her husband Anthony, a 15-year-old son, parents Barbara and Ted Grimley and brother Adam.

Mr and Ms Grimley are said to be 'furious at ASIC' for the death of their daughter.

The conwoman used investors funds to prop up a lavish lifestyle, including extravagant overseas trips and designer items.

Her victims were mostly wealthy friends, some of whom invested life savings in Caddick believing they were making returns.

When ASIC and the Australian Federal Police raided the clifftop home, they seized about $1million in couture gowns, designer clothes, handbags, shoes and jewellery.

Caddick (pictured centre) is survived by her husband Anthony (pictured right), a 15-year-old son, parents Barbara and Ted Grimley and brother Adam.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing (pictured on Friday) confirmed remains of the missing businesswoman have been found on the NSW far south coast. Also pictured is an exhausted looking Gretchen Atkins (left), the detective who has led the investigation

Corporate watchdog ASIC said on Wednesday the investigation into Caddick and her company would continue as they try and return funds to investors.

'ASIC's priority is to seek the return of funds to investors in the most efficient way possible,' an ASIC spokesperson said.

If Ms Caddick had been found alive, NSW police would have been able to arrest the high-flying financial fraudster.

Liquidators allege the self-styled financial adviser 'meticulously and systematically' deceived those who entrusted millions of investment dollars to her over seven years, then used the money to fund her lavish lifestyle.

'Melissa's family were informed of the identification last night and are obviously distressed,' NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing told reporters on Friday.

Campers found a decomposed foot and ASICS shoe washed up on Bournda Beach (pictured) on the NSW far south coast near Tathra

'Police have always kept an open mind in relation to what the circumstances were for her disappearance, including the fact that Melissa may have taken her own life.'

One of the investor victims ripped off by Ms Caddick reacted with shock when told by 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham.

Cheryl Kraft Reid entrusted almost $1million of her superannuation with Ms Caddick, whom she considered as a friend and last heard from two months prior to her disappearance.

'Wow, that's a sad tragic outcome for her son but its also just a sad tragic outcome for us because we just don't get closure,' Ms Kraft Reid told the radio program.

'Besides the news we're unlikely to see any return of that, it's pretty devastating.'

'It's not just the money, it's the consequences of what's happened to us and for the many years we've worked for zero returns because she decided to live an entitled and frivolous life.'

For 24/7 confidential support in a crisis call Lifeline on 13 11 14
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Zied Al-Warfalli, a journalist at the television news Al-Ghad and the cameraman accompanying him, were freed after three days of detention by a security unit, the foreign media department at the Libyan ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of National Accord announced here Sunday
The owner of a 60-year-old Brisbane office tower plans to transform the building in a $25 million refurbishment following Queensland government fire warnings over its exterior cladding.

Built in 1960 for the Australian Tax Office, the Christie Centre building on the corner of Adelaide and Wharf streets will be reshaped when the exterior faux sandstone polystyrene and fibreglass sheeting is removed and the building is remodelled with glass and timber.

The Christie Centre in Brisbane will transform after a $25 million refurbishment. Credit:Fitzpatrick and Partners Architects

The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London caused the deaths of 72 people, prompting authorities worldwide to check on exterior wall cladding.

A development application for the Brisbane building has been lodged with Brisbane City Council and the owner plans to start work in October 2021.

Kathmandu, February 28

The Cybercrime Bureau of Nepal Police has arrested an 18-year-old boy on the charge of creating and operating a Facebook page in the name of the bureau itself.

The arrestee has been identified as Prajwal Pokharel, a resident of Kapilvastu and currently residing in Rupandehi of the Lumbini province.

The bureau has suspected Pokharel tried to make profits by creating the page.

Earlier, the Kathmandu District Court had issued an arrest warrant to nab him as per the Electronic Transactions Act, 2006, according to SSP Nabinda Aryal.

Further investigation is underway.
This week in Christian history: Bob Jones U interracial dating ban, John Wesley dies, Vassy Massacre

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Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance.

Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births, notable deaths and everything in between.

Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while other happenings may be previously unknown by most people.

The following pages highlight events that happened this week  Feb. 28 through March 6  in Church history. They include Bob Jones University ending its ban on interracial dating, a 16th-century massacre of Huguenots and John Wesley's death.
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Hyderabad, Feb 28 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday congratulated Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for successful launch of PSLV-C51.

Chandrasekhar Rao said that with the launch of PSLV-C5 the first dedicated commercial satellite, ISRO has proved to be one of the world's leading space research organisation.

The Telangana CM also said that many countries have chosen ISRO for their technical needs and has once again brought a reputation to our country. He congratulated the scientists, engineers, other technical staff and employees of the ISRO for achieving success.

Jagan Mohan Reddy also congratulated ISRO scientists for the successful launch of PSLV- C 51. He wished the ISRO team success in all future endeavours.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that was championed by President Joe Biden, the first step in providing another dose of aid to a weary nation as the measure now moves to a tense Senate.

The new presidents vision for infusing cash across a struggling economy to individuals, businesses, schools, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote early Saturday. That ships the bill to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues.

TEXAS LEGE: This bill would make overnight voting illegal in Texas

Democrats said that mass unemployment and the half-million American lives lost are causes for quick, decisive action. GOP lawmakers, they said, were out of step with a public that polling finds largely views the bill favorably.

I am a happy camper tonight," Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said Friday. This is what America needs. Republicans, you ought to be a part of this. But if you're not, we're going without you."

Republicans said the bill was too expensive and said too few education dollars would be spent quickly to immediately reopen schools. They said it was laden with gifts to Democratic constituencies like labor unions and funneled money to Democratic-run states they suggested didn't need it because their budgets had bounced back.

To my colleagues who say this bill is bold, I say it's bloated," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. To those who say it's urgent, I say it's unfocused. To those who say it's popular, I say it is entirely partisan.

The overall relief bill would provide $1,400 payments to individuals, extend emergency unemployment benefits through August and increase tax credits for children and federal subsidies for health insurance.

It also provides billions for schools and colleges, state and local governments, COVID-19 vaccines and testing, renters, food producers and struggling industries like airlines, restaurants, bars and concert venues.

Moderate Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon were the only two lawmakers to cross party lines. That sharp partisan divide is making the fight a showdown over whom voters will reward for heaping more federal spending to combat the coronavirus and revive the economy atop the $4 trillion approved last year.

The battle is also emerging as an early test of Biden's ability to hold together his party's fragile congressional majorities  just 10 votes in the House and an evenly divided 50-50 Senate.

At the same time, Democrats were trying to figure out how to assuage liberals who lost their top priority in a jarring Senate setback Thursday.

That chamber's nonpartisan parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, said Senate rules require that a federal minimum wage increase would have to be dropped from the COVID-19 bill, leaving the proposal on life support. The measure would gradually lift that minimum to $15 hourly by 2025, doubling the current $7.25 floor in effect since 2009.

Hoping to revive the effort in some form, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is considering adding a provision to the Senate version of the COVID-19 relief bill that would penalize large companies that don't pay workers at least $15 an hour, said a senior Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

That was in line with ideas floated Thursday night by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a chief sponsor of the $15 plan, and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to boost taxes on corporations that don't hit certain minimum wage targets.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., offered encouragement, too, calling a minimum wage increase a financial necessity for our families, a great stimulus for our economy and a moral imperative for our country. She said the House would absolutely" approve a final version of the relief bill because of its widespread benefits, even if it lacked progressives treasured goal.

While Democratic leaders were eager to signal to rank-and-file progressives and liberal voters that they would not yield on the minimum wage fight, their pathway was unclear because of GOP opposition and questions over whether they had enough Democratic support.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal, D-Mass., sidestepped a question on taxing companies that don't boost pay, saying of Senate Democrats, I hesitate to say anything until they decide on a strategy."

Progressives were demanding that the Senate press ahead anyway on the minimum wage increase, even if it meant changing that chamber's rules and eliminating the filibuster, a tactic that requires 60 votes for a bill to move forward.

Were going to have to reform the filibuster because we have to be able to deliver, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., another high-profile progressive, also said Senate rules must be changed, telling reporters that when Democrats meet with their constituents, "We cant tell them that this didnt get done because of an unelected parliamentarian.

Traditionalists of both parties  including Biden, who served as a senator for 36 years  have opposed eliminating filibusters because they protect parties' interests when they are in the Senate minority. Biden said weeks ago that he didn't expect the minimum wage increase to survive the Senate's rules. Democrats narrowly hold Senate control.

Pelosi, too, seemed to shy away from dismantling Senate procedures, saying, We will seek a solution consistent with Senate rules, and we will do so soon.

The House COVID-19 bill includes the minimum wage increase, so the real battle over its fate will occur when the Senate debates its version over the next two weeks.

Democrats are pushing the relief measure through Congress under special rules that will let them avoid a Senate GOP filibuster, meaning that if they are united they won't need any Republican votes.

It also lets the bill move faster, a top priority for Democrats who want the bill on Biden's desk before the most recent emergency jobless benefits end on March 14.

But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an incidental impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. MacDonough decided that the minimum wage provision failed that test.

Republicans oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs.

___

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.
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Crack cocaine addicts in south Dublin are being targeted by drug dealers offering free samples, while women who cannot pay their drug debts are being forced to provide sexual services.

The crack "epidemic" has become so bad in parts of Killinarden and Jobstown in west Tallaght, that an urgent meeting is now being sought with local gardai and South Dublin County Council.

Larry O'Neill, CEO of South Dublin County Partnership, told the Sunday Independent that crack cocaine has become a "major issue" in parts of the area since the pandemic hit.

He described how vulnerable addicts were being targeted by "unscrupulous" dealers.

The problem has been spilling into nearby areas with a rise in criminality driven by people seeking to resolve debts.

"There is a huge crack cocaine issue in Killinarden and Jobstown in particular, and it's gotten worse since the pandemic," said Mr O'Neill.

"The descriptions of what is happening there, particularly to young women, haunts me.

"People are leaving local drug rehab courses, but there are dealers waiting outside.

"They are pushing free samples at them when they come out, literally slipping it into their handbags in some cases, or else they are putting the drugs through their letterboxes free of charge."

Mr O'Neill said dealers then target women who have been lured by the free samples, forcing them to have sex in order to pay off drug debts.

"The dealers arrived at their doorsteps. 'Can't pay? Right, you are going to have sex with such-and-such then instead,' and a man is brought to their doorstep.

"These scenes are happening. This is real life in parts of Dublin. Vulnerable women who are trying to get off drugs are being targeted in particular.

"How low does the level of deprivation need to go before society reacts?"

Mr O'Neill is now seeking an urgent meeting with local gardai to discuss the crack cocaine problem.

He said the garda presence in these areas needs to be enhanced.

"Dealers are acting with impunity. We cannot have a situation where people attending rehab are targeted as soon as they step outside. There are people living in a constant state of fear and communities are being destroyed."

Dr Garrett McGovern, who works in private practice and with the HSE's addiction services team, providing help in disadvantaged communities for those with drug addictions, said crack has become a major problem. He works in marginalised areas in west Tallaght and Crumlin.

"Communities are being decimated out there with crack," he said. "Unlike the more expensive powder cocaine, crack is cheaper and smoked through a pipe."

Security sources said as cocaine continues to "flood" the Irish market, crack cocaine is becoming more prevalent in disadvantaged areas.

A source explained: "The country is awash with cocaine, just look at the recent seizures. Gardai are aware that in some disadvantaged areas, like Tallaght, crack is becoming prevalent. Powder cocaine is too expensive in some areas, so it's all crack cocaine in some parts of Dublin.

"It's much more addictive, it's more dangerous. It's having a knock-on effect on other criminality as well, as addicts in these areas are going out and committing crimes in other parts of Dublin to feed their habit. They can be more violent and aggressive than heroin addicts."

On February 18, more than 12m-worth of cocaine was seized in Cork following a joint operation between gardai and Revenue.

The drugs were discovered following a search of containers that arrived on a vessel from Central America.

The Kinahan cartel is one of the main gangs importing cocaine into this country, sources say, and despite the pandemic cocaine remains the second most popular drug in Ireland after cannabis.

A source added: "The market in Ireland is flooded with cocaine at the moment. Dealers have to move their product. Gardai are only seizing a proportion of what comes in. It's not just Ireland being flooded with coke, it's all of Europe."

Last Wednesday, Customs authorities in Hamburg and Antwerp seized a record haul of more than 23 tonnes of cocaine destined for the Netherlands in two raids. The two shipments represented a street value of 600m.
Virgil Lee Ward, a veteran of Pearl Harbor and a former San Antonian, died Sunday night at his home in Grand Prairie. He was 102.

He passed away here in his bed, said his wife, Merry Lux Ward.

Tall, thin and strong, Ward lived in the Alamo City for years, but when the couple attended the annual Dec. 7 reunion lunch of the local chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association in 2016, it was the only time he met its shrinking band of veterans.

Virgil and Merry Ward later moved to the Dallas area. He was hospitalized in January as he battled pneumonia, an illness hed beaten before, and eventually entered hospice care.

Services are pending. Ward will be buried in Houston National Cemetery.

There was a world before Pearl Harbor and one after it. The transformed world began at dawn on a sleepy Sunday on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, when waves of Japanese planes stunned America by destroying much of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio areas shrinking band of Pearl Harbor veterans will never forget

An Army private, Ward was at the post exchange before dawn to collect newspapers he delivered as a side job. Just before 8 a.m., he saw the fighter planes.

They were flying in a formation when they first came in, and then they split up, of course, and they were diving in the air where I was at, and I was pretty close, he recalled in a 2018 interview.

Dumbfounded, he instinctively took a longer route off the main highway to get to his duty station so his car would draw less interest from the Japanese pilots.

He reached his station: a phone exchange he helped run as a Signal Corps soldier on Diamond Head, a volcanic height above Honolulu.

They were strafing and bombing, he said. And I was close enough to see all the planes up there.

The attack by a Japanese strike force of 353 aircraft, launched from four aircraft carriers, took just 75 minutes. It left 2,403 Americans dead, including 68 civilians.

Eight U.S. battleships and numerous smaller craft were sunk or damaged, and the Americans lost 169 planes to 29 Japanese. All four U.S. aircraft carriers were at sea, however, and they would alter the course of the Pacific war within a few months, at the Battle of Midway.

But first, the Empire of Japan would make World War II truly global in scale. The day after the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese forces landed near Singapore and invaded Thailand. They seized Guam and invaded the Philippines on Dec. 10 and Burma on Dec. 11. They swept into British Borneo and Hong Kong, and they took Wake Island just before Christmas.

On ExpressNews.com: In search of travel, one farm boy found a war

Ward was a communications specialist assigned to the 16th Coast Artillery and had just been trained on what then were called self-dialing telephones. The new rotary devices had not been installed in his office, so he took a steady stream of calls the old way, from soldiers  including some commanders  speaking into a mouthpiece and asking an operator to connect them manually, with wires and plugs.

The callers were trying to make sense of the chaos, but I couldnt tell them much more than they were being attacked, Ward said.

The Pearl Harbor group in San Antonio had 64 members in 1992, but it has dwindled since to just three now: William St. John, retired Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kenneth Platt and retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Gilbert Meyer.

Abner James A.J. Dunn, who died Nov. 23 at his home in Floresville at 98, was a regular at Pearl Harbor commemorations in Corpus Christi.

Ward, the son of a moonshiner who preached on the side, was 15 when he joined the Army out of a small town in Tennessee. He thought he was 17 because thats what his dad had told him. He had worked on the family farm starting in fifth grade.

A friend who suggested they join the Army in 1935 flunked the entrance exam, but Ward was sent to New York and made a muleskinner because of his experience.

I told them I wanted to go overseas, and you know where they sent me? Ward said, chuckling. Hawaii.

He stayed there for the next 13 years.

Ward retired as a major in 1965 after a 30-year Army career. He liked to celebrate his birthdays on Feb. 2 at an Asian restaurant on the West Side. He stayed healthy for most of his old age, with a strong recollection of the battle that changed his life, but in the past couple of years, his short-term memory had begun to fade, Merry Ward said.

Ward had some close calls in the Korean War, where he got a battlefield promotion and saw a nearby soldier get killed by a mortar shell close enough to spray him with shrapnel, and in Vietnam, where the Saigon hotel he stayed in was blown up while he was out.

On ExpressNews.com: Remembering Pearl Harbor. A podcast with Virgil Lee Ward

But Pearl Harbor was his most haunting experience. In this new kind of war, his coastal artillery battery never fired a shot, but those in his unit quietly went about their jobs as the attack unfolded.

There wasnt a lot of words. There were a lot of bullets, though, Ward said in 2016.

I can tell you he still has some nightmares about that, Merry Ward said. Hell rise up in bed, Get down! Get down! Because hes afraid of somebody shooting something, and so I know when hes running from bullets at night.

sigc@express-news.net
In the early hours of Saturday morning, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) presided over the House of Representatives as the House debated and voted on President Joe Bidens bid for the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill known as the American Rescue Plan.

The congressman shed light on the bill and what he expects will ultimately be left on it as the Senate takes it up next week for negotiations and a vote. Cuellar detailed how much money is expected for each county and city in Texas and what he hopes the new relief bill helps achieve in the wake of a pandemic that for a year has impacted the physical and financial health of people.

We passed the bill and its going to go to the Senate, and there will be some adjustments in the Senate and then it will be sent back to us, and if everything is fine, then we will pass it to the White House for signature some time before March 15, Cuellar said.

According to Cuellar, the bill is expected to bring much more aid to the local area both in federal funds being redirected to the cities and also extra incentives for the places hit hardest by the pandemic. That includes places such as downtown Laredo businesses that have suffered immensely from border restrictions put in place for almost a year as the border has been partially closed since March 21, 2020.

There is an extra $15 billion that are targeted to those areas that have been really hit hard that will include the border because of the Mexican shoppers not being around, which I will talk about next week, Cuellar said. Our goal is to fix and balance the health of the individual and the health of the economy. By the health of the individual, we want to make sure that we get more vaccines as you know we are going to start seeing more vaccines by April and May, and the other thing is to give help to the economy by helping small businesses and providing stimulus checks for people to pay everyday bills they might have.

Cuellar said he will soon be working on another letter to send to the presidents administration in conjunction with other representatives from the southern and northern borders to make sure border restrictions are once again reconsidered as cases involving COVID-19 seem to be going down in the areas most impacted. However, he hopes the passed American Rescue Plan helps quickly bring aid to these areas as these policy moves would be done in the coming weeks and months.

The bill also intends to provide federal funds directly to the states and cities and counties as well, so all of the areas of Cuellars districts are covered under the new relief package.

Next week, Cuellar will make an announcement about how much each county and city he serves would get under the American Rescue Plan. He said Texas is slated to receive about $27 billion, and $10 billion of it will go to counties and cities. Although the numbers may change, Cuellar estimates Webb County will receive $54 million. Zapata would get $3 million, Laredo would get $96 million and Rio Bravo would get a little over $1 million.

As the bill passed with a thin margin of 219 to 212 votes with some Democrats even joining with Republicans in opposing it, Cuellar said the bill will not pass as it currently stands because of the continued debate about the minimum wage being raised to $15.

The Senate parliamentary ruled on Thursday that minimum wage was not going to be included, so the House version will be changed on that, and there will probably be other changes, but pretty much the Senate will work on this next week and then we will probably vote on it not next week but the following week so we can pair it off to the president, Cuellar said.

However, the major provisions regarding COVID-19 relief will stay. The things that will remain in the bill no matter the changes include stimulus checks, expanding the child tax credit, funds for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and vaccine distribution efforts, funds to help open up public schools safely, funds to open colleges and universities, funds to expand internet access, continued unemployment benefits, subsides to help with the Affordable Care Act and funds and incentives for the Medicaid expansion program. Cuellar said the state could get large amounts of money if it allows the expansion.

Cuellar said this might be one of the largest relief bills passed by congress in terms of trying to help bring aid to areas hit hardest economically by the pandemic.

We dont know; hopefully, the economy will start opening a lot more, but this is probably one of the larger ones that we got, Cuellar said.

During the vote that extended into the early hours of Saturday, Cuellar had the privilege of presiding over the House of Representatives as speaker pro temp. He said it was a great honor to play that role as part of such a historic vote.

I have been asked to do this more and more every day I think, and for big bills they usually call me up to do the big bills because I have been doing this for many years, so I certainly want to thank Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi for giving me that honor, Cuellar said. Last night I tried to preside fairly and with the least drama possible as when there is no drama, then that means that the work is being done. We got it done last night, and it is an honor to work on this, especially when you know that you are working on the biggest bills around at $1.9 trillion.

On what was already a late night, serving as speaker pro temp meant an even later night for Cuellar as the presiding congressman must stay until the full vote is finished. They finished around 2 a.m., and Cuellar was back at work Saturday morning.

We are hoping that this will be extremely helpful to the individuals and businesses so we can see some sort of normal times and get people back on their feet, and we are hoping that towards the end of the year that we will start seeing some sort of normalcy, Cuellar said.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com


Hospital heroes

I worked at my hospital Thursday to Sunday before the storm. I came home Sunday for a few hours and went back to work. I stayed at my hospital until Tuesday night and slept on the floor. The majority of the patients who came to the ER were homeless people needing a warm place and food to eat. We had to take care of them. The other group were oxygen-dependent people who lost power and needed O2 to survive. We also had to provide for them. At one point, we had 80 people either in the ER, waiting room or sitting in cars outside. To say the least, the ER staff was very stressed and fatigued. To my knowledge, there were no shelters on the west side of Houston that could have provided assistance. We never lost power, but we did lose water. Please remember all the front-line workers who provide critical services to the public. We are often overlooked.

Bill Moore, Houston

Cellular failed us

When the winter storm of 2021 hit, many of us hearty been-there-done-that-before Texans thought we were prepared.

I myself had fond memories of making snowmen in my front yard in 1989, cozied up with hot chocolate, listening to my mother call her grandmother to discuss our plans to visit the Houston Ballets performance of The Nutcracker once the icy roads cleared. Yes, thats right, I used the words call. As in remove the handset from its cradle, punch in actual buttons, hang it back up on the wall old-school-style phone. When we went dark on Tuesday, the mobile phones that we use for everything  information, warnings, alerts, weather, banking  they all went blank. Citizens had no way to communicate two streets over, much less talk to worried family and friends across the country. Throughout the day, we received rogue text messages, intermittent data flashes and frenzied, static-filled calls where all we could do was scramble to keep the connection, screaming hello! at the top of our lungs, jumping up and down in thousands of layers of pajama pants. The focus has been on the failure of ERCOT and the Texas power grid  and rightly so. I would argue that the failure of major mobile carriers to continue to connect us, despite the emergency situation, placed us in a more dire set of circumstances. What if we really, truly needed help? How would we reach anyone? How can we get important alerts, like boil water notices, if our power is off and our mobile data is the only thing connecting us to the world? Im reminded of an old country song, Heres a quarter, call someone who cares. What a shame theyve taken down all the pay phones.

Kara French, Cypress

No radio news

I was a relatively minor victim of the recent winter storm. Through preparation, planning and execution, I suffered no freeze damage to my home. However, during the 27 hours that I was without power, from midnight Tuesday night to 3 a.m. Thursday, we had no contact with the outside world. When we lose power at my home in west Houston, we lose cell service. No phone, no texts, no internet.

No problem, I think, I will revert back to that planning and preparation that I did. I pull out the portable radio and the fresh batteries so that I can keep up with the events unfolding around me. Disaster prep 101.

This is where the plan breaks down. Do you think that there was any news and weather information being broadcast during this time? Nope, regular programming as far as the ear could hear. This was among the worst weather disasters that I have experienced since I moved here in the fall of 1989.

The best we could find was about 90 seconds of news at the top and bottom of each hour on 740 AM. We have always been assured that if we have our radio and batteries, that we would have some news of events when all of our TVs are out of action in a weather disaster.

The NBC affiliate here was showing nonstop storm coverage on TV, but if the power goes out and you lose internet, does anybody plan to broadcast the same information on the radio? Not that I could find.

Nick Kornuta, Houston

Thankful for home

I live in my 62-year-old boyhood home. It has weathered the likes of hurricanes and Texas searing summer heat waves over the years. When the winter storm plunged the house in sub-freezing temperatures Sunday night, I was alone in the dark: no electricity, hearing the clock tick and wind howl outside. During the night, with a flashlight, I went out to check the galvanized pipes for leaks. It was as if I was holding the hand of an elder, whispering hang on. Itll be all right. When the warmth and light returned, I heard the familiar pop and crack of the wooden beams expanding inside the walls and ceilings, as if they were saying, we made it. They dont build houses like they used to.

Giving thanks where due.

Bill Pond, Humble

Palpable panic

The morning after the first snowfall, the first power loss, and bitter, freezing temperatures, my son and I took a ride in his pickup over snow-packed streets to see if other areas might have power. As I scanned street after street with no functioning streetlights, a horrifying thought set in: none of these people had power when they needed it most. Then my thoughts snowballed. What of my other children, my in-laws, the elderly, the infirm, infants, those with medical conditions, the unprepared, the poor? What of those families living in thinly insulated trailers? The panic and unease emanating from those households we saw was almost palpable, and for a brief moment, I didnt recognize this state, or my country.

Brenden McBride, Katy

Corpus Christi freeze

North Beach is my home. To the south over the Harbor Bridge is Corpus Christi, to the north is the long bridge leading to Portland. Both bridges were closed. Everything was closed here, no electricity and no water. It was the same in areas around here. Before the freeze, I rolled down the hurricane shutters. During the blackout, there was no power to roll them up, and I was in total darkness. A candle gave me a dim light and kept my hands somewhat warm. Instead of doing my daily runs down the beach, I spent most of the time under heavy blankets trying to keep from freezing. After four days of this, the bridges opened and my sister dared to cross the Harbor Bridge to bring me some goodies  including my first hot coffee in five days, drinking water and commode water. What a blessing for a 76-year young man! I feel for others less fortunate that have really suffered from this horrible freeze.

Juan Olivares, Corpus Christi

No hot chocolate

It was Monday morning. I woke up shivering, and immediately I knew it had snowed. I ran outside in a joyous frenzy and played on the ice until my fingers were pink. Then I went inside to warm up, not yet realizing I wouldnt be able to. Still freezing, I went upstairs to the bedroom my sister and I share to alert her that the power was out and it had snowed. I then found my phone and foolishly began using its battery to text my friends, few of whom had power. It was then that I realized, this snow day would be like no other. Normally, whenever it is cold out, my family would bake cookies, whip up hot chocolate, play games, watch lighthearted movies and not worry about staying warm because while it may be cold outside, itd be toasty inside. Unfortunately, the absolute opposite happened. Instead of cookies, we had chili. Instead of hot chocolate, we had tea. Instead of playing family games, we huddled up in blankets heated by our gas oven. Instead of movies, we had nightmares the few hours we slept. And instead of warmth, we had dark, desolate, lonely cold.

Annabeth Golden, 12, Houston

True public servants

My 90-year-old aunt  who lives alone in a retirement community  lost all of her power, leaving her without heat, water and no access to even her car for warmth because her garage door opener is electric. Living across the country, I was frantic knowing she was dealing with frigid temperatures among neighbors who also were elderly. I contacted the community outreach office of the Pearland police by email, never expecting to hear back that evening. To my surprise Assistant Chief Randall responded almost immediately copying Capt. Ybarra on the email. Together they arranged to dispatch an officer to go to my aunts home and check on her. Within the hour a young officer checked on my aunt, offered to transport her to a warming shelter and left his card informing her to call him if her or her neighbors needed anything. Ybarra reported back to me within the hour to report my aunt was safe. Reflecting on this event and then reading about Texas Sen. Ted Cruzs behavior during this time, I could only think about the wide disparity of professionalism that occurred during this crisis.

Sherry Bassi, Groton, Conn.

We survived

We lost power about 2 a.m. Sunday. We got about 2 inches of snow. My husband got me up and said we needed to start dripping our faucets. I filled up several empty gallon water jugs in case we lost water pressure. Huge kudos and praise to our water company, Weston MUD. We never lost water pressure. Our gas stayed on, too. We lit a couple of burners to add some heat to the house after opening the kitchen window some for ventilation. We put cardboard in windows to block some of the cold. Temperature inside was 58-64 degrees. We slept in our clothes. Our deep freezer stayed frozen because we kept it closed; we didnt lose anything. We opened the refrigerator only when necessary. We ate a lot of canned soup heated on the stove. Our pipes didnt freeze like many of our neighbors because we kept them dripping. We covered our plants, but will have to see if they survive. We survived, and I managed to get to my second COVID-19 vaccination appointment. We have some health issues, but nothing that having no power affects.

Put succinctly: Reliant just wasnt.

Jana Bussell, Katy
Sheriff uses drug dealer money to buy mobile command bus

Since taking office in December 2018, Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin has diligently searched for a vehicle that could be used as a mobile command vehicle .

The search led to the state of Colorado where he found a 44-foot Newmar RV bus originally designed as a mobile office. After a thorough check of the mechanics and safety record of the vehicle, it was purchased and driven to North Carolina. By using asset forfeiture funds from drug dealers, 100 percent of the purchase price and equipping of the command bus came at no expense to Henderson County taxpayers.

The vehicle is equipped with state-of-the-art computer and radio systems. It has an on-board weather station and satellite communications when cellular service is unavailable. With todays criminal activities, unpredictable disasters and other unforeseen circumstances, the mobile command center vehicle will serve many vital roles. It will act as a central hub for communications and a unified multi agency response. Also, should 911 communications ever go down due to a natural disaster or unexpected problem, the mobile command vehicle can serve as a temporary emergency mobile communications center. The mobile command bus is designed to be used by law enforcement, fire, rescue and emergency services when critical incidents arise and a unified response is needed not only in Henderson County but throughout Western North Carolina.
The Louisiana Department of Health reported 1,046 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 17 more confirmed deaths in its noon update Sunday.

The number of hospitalizations decreased by 21, and the number of patients in need of ventilators decreased by four.

There are also 60,152 total "probable" coronavirus cases in Louisiana, according to the agency's dashboard.

FDA clears Johnson & Johnsons single-dose shot, giving U.S. 3rd coronavirus vaccine WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson &

+2 Louisiana deaths jumped by nearly 30% in 2020: How the victims died Its the cycle of life. Every year, about 43,000 Louisianans  give or take  shuffle off this mortal coil, the vast majority of them dying fr

These are another few key statewide statistics as of Sunday:

Total confirmed cases: 369,948

Total "probable" cases: 60,152

Total confirmed deaths: 8,923

Currently hospitalized:630

Currently on ventilators: 91

Vaccine series initiated: 593,576 (updated twice weekly)

Vaccine series completed: 332,415

Presumed recovered: 408,463 as of Feb. 22 (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.

Here are some of the parishes with the highest single-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, based on the Friday report:

Jefferson Parish: 130

East Baton Rouge Parish: 97

Calcasieu Parish: 92

St. Tammany Parish: 77

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.
Moving on? Mary-Kate Olsen spent an evening out on the town with Brightwire founder and CEO John Cooper on Friday, February 26.

Read article

Photos published by the Daily Mail showed the duo dining with a couple at a New York City restaurant. Olsen, 34, sipped wine and, later, a cocktail during the meal. She and Cooper left the restaurant together.

The actress was pictured wearing a black coat and matching beanie. Olsen completed the look with cuff earrings and black booties with metallic heels.

KCS Presse/MEGA

Cooper founded Brightwire  a news agency focused on finance and business  in 2008. He still owns the company, which is based in Michigan.

Read article

Olsens outing with the business mogul comes one month after she and ex-husband Olivier Sarkozy finalized their divorce. The pair split in April 2020 after five years of marriage. Their divorce case was disposed by the New York Supreme Court on January 25, meaning a judge signed off on their settlement agreement and granted the divorce.

Less than two weeks earlier, the former husband and wife came together for a virtual hearing to hash out the details of their separation.

So, we have reached a final agreement, Michael Mosberg, Sarkozys lawyer, told the judge during the 20-minute hearing. And we appreciate the time and latitude that youve given us.  Its been incremental, but we continue to make forward progress.

Mosberg noted during the hearing that the pair need to revise the agreement again before submitting it to the court. He added, however, The deal is now done.

Olsens lawyer, Nancy Chemtob, added, Weve been working very hard and we appreciate the courts time and the adjournments, and we do have a settlement, and we will be able to get that signed and executed, as Mr. Mosberg said, by next week. All issues are resolved.

The Full House alum married Sarkozy, 51, in November 2015. She submitted a petition for divorce in April 2020. The motion was stalled amid the coronavirus pandemic as New York City courts were shut down temporarily. Olsen filed an emergency order to end her marriage in May 2020. The filing was rejected.

A source told Us Weekly at the time Olsen and Sarkozy had an ironclad prenup.

The insider added, Her business interests and fortune are protected.

Read article

Olsen and sister Ashley Olsen are cofounders of fashion lines The Row and Elizabeth and James. The pair have an impressive estimated combined net worth of $500 million from their early careers as film and TV actresses as well as other business ventures they explored.

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A woman in her 80s has died following a house fire in Larne on Saturday.

The incident took place in the Ballyrickard Road area shortly before 1pm.

Both police and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) attended the scene.

Three fire service appliances and two officers responded to the house fire.

She was taken to hospital and her condition had been described as critical on Saturday and she passed away a short time later.

On Sunday police confirmed that the pensioner had passed away.

The fire is not being treated as suspicious.

A NI Fire and Rescue spokesperson said the fire had been dealt with by around 2.30pm on Saturday.

The Ballyrickard Road was closed for a number of hours but has now reopened.
GREELEY, Colo., Feb. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JBS USA and Pilgrims today announced that approximately 8,500 team members in eight states will have the opportunity to get a COVID-19 vaccine this week. The companies have been working closely with state officials, local health departments and union partners to encourage vaccination of the essential workforce producing food for our country as quickly as possible.

This week, team members in Beardstown, Ill.; Booneville, Miss.; Cactus, Texas; Grand Island, Neb.; Greeley, Colo.; Hyrum, Utah; Lufkin, Texas; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Moorefield, W.V., will receive vaccines in partnership with local officials in each area. The quantity and process vary from location to location. Some locations will execute large scale vaccination clinics on site, like in Greeley, Colo., and others will be providing a set number of vaccinations for JBS team members each day at the local health department, like in Grand Island, Neb., for example. Nearly 700 team members in Beardstown will be receiving their second dose.

We have been focused on doing everything we can to prioritize our essential workforce in state vaccination plans across the country, said Andre Nogueira, chief executive officer, JBS USA. Our role is to be flexible in helping our team members and local officials in the communities where we operate. Whether that includes shutting down a facility to execute a mass vaccination or providing paid time off, incentives and facilitating transportation for our workforce to get where they need to go to get their vaccine, were committed to ensuring they have every opportunity possible to be vaccinated.

JBS USA and Pilgrims assist with vaccination efforts by leveraging company occupational health staff, coordinating logistics, and partnering with third-party health organizations to ensure medical professionals, nurses and resources are available to effectively administer vaccinations.

In January, JBS USA and Pilgrims announced a $100 incentive for all team members who choose to be vaccinated, designed to help encourage maximum voluntary participation among the workforce. The companies have also been promoting internal education campaigns to emphasize the safety, efficacy and importance of receiving the vaccine. This video is an example of that campaign that features team members being vaccinated.

JBS USA and Pilgrims will maintain regular communication with state and local health departments and healthcare providers to coordinate the most effective means of vaccine delivery at each plant location, and to offer assistance in local vaccination efforts.

About JBS USA

JBS USA is a leading global food company providing diversified, high-quality food products to customers in more than 100 countries on six continents. This includes meat and poultry products, a portfolio of recognized brands and innovative premium foods. For more information, please visit www.jbssa.com.

About Pilgrims

As a global food company with more than 58,000 team members, Pilgrims processes, prepares, packages and delivers fresh, frozen and value-added food products for customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com.

Media Contact:

Nikki Richardson

Corporate Communications

nikki.richardson@jbssa.com
Learning lessons from the COVID-19 burial fiasco View(s):

Probably the bitterest experience faced by the Muslims in the history of the country has come to an end with the Governments decision to restore the right of burial to those who died or were suspected to have died as a result of being afflicted by the COVID-19 virus.

But the irrational decision of the Government to forcibly cremate the unfortunate ones who succumbed to COVID-19 has caused harm on many fronts and will take a long time to repair.

Firstly the anguish and pain of mind caused to the Muslim community over a period of nearly a year by compelling them to cremate their loved ones in violation of their constitutionally protected fundamental right to be buried in accordance with their religious teachings will remain a bad memory.

Secondly it created conditions for members of the majority community to view Muslims with disfavour in the belief that the community only wanted its pound of flesh and did not care for the wellbeing of its fellow citizens.

Sections of the media provided a platform for racist elements to promote this idea despite the Muslim community having given up three of the four elements of their last rites and were only requesting the fourth element, namely, that of burial. The media did not adequately inform the people of the fact that the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence was in support of burial, thus further perpetuating the myth that Muslims did not care for the welfare of others.

In fact Muslim religious and civil society leaders had repeatedly indicated that they would forego their right to burial in the interest of the common good, if it was proved that such a process would result in harm to the rest of the populace.

The third fallout of the Governments obstinacy was the damage caused to Sri Lankas image internationally. As a result there was concern expressed from many quarters internationally appealing to the Government to end the unjust decision to forcibly cremate. The Government continued to turn a deaf ear to these appeals and succeeded in adding a new item to the list of human rights concerns listed by the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner in her report on Sri Lankas human rights record.

Hiding behind a so called technical committee the Government chose to turn a deaf ear to the agonised pleas of its own citizens but never officially announced the reasons for its decision and has to date not released the report of the technical committee that recommended cremation in contravention of WHO guidelines.

Following persistent appeals from various quarters the Health Services Director General appointed a committee of experts having the necessary competencies headed by Professor Jennifer Perera to give an opinion on the matter. This committee was appointed on December 24 and gave its report within four days with reasons recommending that the option of burial be allowed. The report of this committee is in the public domain unlike that of the so called technical committee.

Even efforts by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to restore the burial right were thwarted by forces in the Government that were more powerful than him, despite State Minister Sudarshani Fernandopulle accepting in Parliament that the COVID-19 virus could not be spread through water.

While the Muslim community heaves a sigh of relief that burial rights have been restored, the statement on Friday by State Minister Shehan Semasinghe that the Government could always change its decision once again if the technical committee advises is a bit of a dampener.

The rumpus over the remarks made by Justice Minister Ali Sabri with regard to the amendment of personal laws is a further indication of the anti-Muslim sentiment within the ranks of Government.

The Justice Minister made these remarks in Parliament when he pointed out that any attempt to change the personal laws by amending Article 16 of the Constitution would impact all the personal laws. While listing the personal laws, the Minister went on to refer to the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance which immediately created an outcry from a number of members of the Buddhist Clergy.

Several members of the Buddhist clergy, in a letter addressed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, protested Justice Minister Ali Sabrys remarks in Parliament that the Buddhist Temporalities (Amendment) Act was a personalised law of the country. They urged the President to take appropriate action against the minister for such erroneous utterances as soon as possible.

Among the signatories to this letter is Professor Medagoda Abhayatissa Thera who officiated at the Ministers assumption of duties at the Ministry undoubtedly at the Ministers invitation.

In a clear overreaction the pro-Government members of the clergy took umbrage at a minor technicality and criticised the Minister for describing the Buddhist Temporalities Act as a personal law.

The members of the Clergy supported their criticisms by citing the book entitled An Introduction to the Legal System of Sri Lanka, according to which they claimed that only the Kandyan law, Thesavalamai law and the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act were personal laws of this country.

With the members of the clergy unlikely to have had any prior knowledge of the countrys legal systems, it is apparent that some of the members of the legal fraternity supporting the Government too would have had a hand in the barrage against the Minister.

The Justice Minister finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He has been soft on the hardliners in his camp even when they attack him or the Muslim community. His stock reply in such situations is to say that there are extremists on all sides without pointedly naming names.

So far his policy of falling over backwards to appease the Sinhala hardliners and his attempt to placate them by talking about the virtues of Buddhism have not succeeded in saving him from being criticised by his colleagues in the Government. His latest attempt to ban the burqa could be seen in this light.

The burqa is a dress in respect of which opinion within the Muslim community is divided, some view it as obligatory while others believe it is not a religious requirement. Whatever ones belief with regard to this, no one has the right to impose his or her views on those who wish to wear the same unless of course a situation arises where national security is affected.

When there was no call to ban the burqa during the 30 year old civil war on security grounds, a ban would be justified only if national security is jeopardised and only for a limited period of time, when such a situation arises as was the case soon after the Easter Sunday attack.

How the Justice Minister has come to the conclusion that national security is endangered by wearing the burqa is as mystifying as the decision of the Government to enforce cremations. Or is it another attempt to appease the hardliners?

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)
New Delhi:

Outgoing Vice President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said there is a feeling of unease and a sense of insecurity among the Muslims in the country, asserting the "ambience of acceptance" is now under threat.

Ansari, whose second five-year term as the Vice-President ends on Thursday, made these remarks in the backdrop of incidents of intolerance and cow vigilantism and comments made by some saffron leaders regarding the minority community.

Stating that he had flagged the issue of intolerance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues, Ansari, 80, also described as a "disturbing thought" that Indianness of citizens was being questioned.

Asked in an interview to Karan Thapar on Rajya Sabha TV whether he shared his concerns with the prime minister, Ansari replied in the affirmative.

"Yes...yes. But what passes between the Vice President and the Prime Minister in the nature of things must remain in the domain of privileged conversation", the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

Read more: PV Sindhu assumes charge as deputy collector in AP government

He also said that he has flagged the issue with other union ministers too.

"Well, there is always an explanation and there is always a reason. Now it is a matter of judgement, whether you accept the explanation, you accept the reasoning and its rationale", he said when asked about the response of the government.

In the interview, Ansari referred to incidents of lynching and 'ghar wapsi' and killings of rationalists as a "breakdown of Indian values, breakdown of the ability of the authorities at different levels in different places to be able to enforce what should be normal law enforcing work and overall the very fact that Indianness of any citizen being questioned is a disturbing thought."

"Yes it is a correct assessment", Ansari said when asked whether he agreed with the assessment that the muslim community is apprehensive and that it was feeling insecure as a result of the kind of comments made against them.

"Yes it is a correct assessment, from all I hear from different quarters, the country; I heard the same thing in Bangalore, I have heard from other parts of the country, I hear more about in north India, there is a feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in", he said.

Asked whether he felt that the muslims are beginning to feel they are not wanted, Ansari said, "I would not go that far, there is a sense of insecurity."

He said India is a plural society that for centuries, not for seventy years, has lived in a certain "ambience of acceptance" which is now under threat.

He was of the view that the propensity to be able to assert your nationalism day in and day out is "unnecessary".

"I am an Indian and that is it."

Read more: Dalai Lama: 'Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai', Doklam not serious issue

Ansari was of the view that while tolerance is a good virtue, it is not a sufficient virtue. "...therefore you have to take the next step and go from tolerance to acceptance", he said.

At an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, Ansari said the "version of nationalism" that places cultural commitments at its core promotes intolerance and arrogant patriotism.

Responding to a question on comments made by some BJP leaders related to minorities, he said he would not talk about political people or political parties.

"But to me, every time such a comment appeared or came to my knowledge; I mean my first reaction was that, A: the person is ignorant, B: that he is prejudiced and C: he does not fit into the framework that India has always prided to itself on, which is to be accommodative society", he said.

Responding to questions on triple talaq, Ansari said it is a social aberration, not a religious requirement.

"Firstly, it is a social aberration, it is not a religious requirement. The religious requirement is crystal clear, emphatic, there are no two views about it but patriarchy, social customs has all crept into it to create a situation which is highly undesirable", he said.

He said the courts do not have to step in as the reform has to come from within the community.

"The courts can say that we don't recognise it. That's all. I mean a marriage has to be recognised on certain occasions by the system of the state. And if a state functionary at a particular point of time refuses to recognise a happening which may be the product of a triple talaq, that's it", he explained.

To a poser on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the former diplomat said, "the problem has always been primarily a political problem. And it has to be addressed politically."

He agreed to a suggestion that politicians are ducking the problem.

Read more: Sitaram Yechury fears India moving towards Hindu Pakistan

"That's my impression. And I'm not the only one in the country...when young boys and girls come out on to the streets and throw stones day after day, week after week, month after month, it's something to worry about because they are our children, they are our citizens.

"Something is obviously going wrong. What exactly, I am not the final word on it, but I think there are enough people in the country who are worried about it. Eminent people belonging to different political persuasions and their worry must be taken on board", the Vice President said.

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The owner of a 60-year-old Brisbane office tower plans to transform the building in a $25 million refurbishment following Queensland government fire warnings over its exterior cladding.

Built in 1960 for the Australian Tax Office, the Christie Centre building on the corner of Adelaide and Wharf streets will be reshaped when the exterior faux sandstone polystyrene and fibreglass sheeting is removed and the building is remodelled with glass and timber.

The Christie Centre in Brisbane will transform after a $25 million refurbishment. Credit:Fitzpatrick and Partners Architects

The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London caused the deaths of 72 people, prompting authorities worldwide to check on exterior wall cladding.

A development application for the Brisbane building has been lodged with Brisbane City Council and the owner plans to start work in October 2021.

Eric Johnson from law firm FreshfieldsBruckhaus Deringer LLP

There are a number of factors at play that will simultaneously place increasing pressure on the existing public healthcare system, and the government budgets that fund it. These challenges will create significant opportunities for foreign investment by the private sector in healthcare in the coming years.

While Vietnam currently enjoys favourable demographics with its young population, which has been a factor driving economic growth and foreign investment in recent years, over the next two decades the ageing of Vietnams population is expected to accelerate as todays 30 year olds get older and overall population growth slows. The ageing of the population will continue to fuel the rising demand for healthcare services. In addition to ageing, growing affluence will continue to increase demand. As the middle class in Vietnam continues to expand as a result of the ongoing economic growth, this segment of the population is expected to seek out high-quality healthcare services, which have traditionally been available primarily at the top-tier government-run hospitals in the major urban areas.

These hospitals are already under pressure and suffer from overcrowding, lack of supplies, and qualified doctors. The rapid urbanisation accompanying Vietnams economic growth exacerbates these issues, creating space for private healthcare businesses to step in to fill the void.

In the face of this rising demand, the government will need to explore multiple avenues to fund the expansion and development of the healthcare sector. The private sector has an important role to play, and we must focus on the opportunities and challenges facing hospitals and clinics in Vietnam, and look forward to a future where technology-enabled private healthcare companies play a greater role in serving unmet market demand.

Hospitals and clinics

The major government hospitals in the large cities remain the top destinations for Vietnamese seeking the highest-level healthcare available. However, the major urban hospitals are plagued by overcrowding and the lack of modern medical equipment and the latest drugs. This state of affairs creates a significant gap that private hospitals and clinics are poised to fill over the coming years, and significant opportunities for foreign investors to participate in Vietnams economic growth.

One commercial hurdle that private hospitals face is the perceived reputational gap between the top-tier major urban public hospitals and privately-run hospitals and clinics. There are many reasons for this gap we need not examine here, but suffice it to say that the private sector is making significant progress in closing this gap, as shown by the rapid development of major private hospital chains such as Vinmec and Hoan My, both of which have received foreign investment in recent years.

Another commercial hurdle to increased foreign investment in private hospitals and clinics is the small number of true national chains which successfully operate multiple facilities across the country. This is because for many investors, an investment in a single hospital asset is often not attractive, either because the growth potential of any single hospital is limited when compared to the growth potential of a national chain or the deal size is too small.

There are of course, many foreign investors who are interested in single hospitals, and there have been reports in the press that owners of the Hanoi French Hospital in Hanoi and the FV Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City may be seeking exits. In addition, the market has recently seen VinaCapital invest in Thu Cuc International General Hospital, which currently operates one general hospital and a number of clinics in Hanoi, indicating potential expansion plans. It has also been rumoured in the press that Family Medical Practice, which operates a small chain of clinics in the country, is seeking investors.

In future we expect to see continued foreign investment into private hospital and clinic businesses, and the continued push by these businesses to develop into national chains. This is true for general hospitals and clinics, but also for specialised hospitals and clinics (for example, stroke, dental, and other specialised fields), which are still relatively rare in Vietnam and could present significant growth investment opportunities.

Despite the favourable economic tailwinds in this sector, there are a number of issues facing foreign investors. One key hurdle is the current prohibition on foreign ownership of any business engaged in pharmaceutical distribution. This is a problem because a majority of pharmaceutical sales in Vietnam still occur in hospitals, and these sales often make up a significant portion of a hospitals revenues.

In order to address this, the government should consider easing the foreign investment restrictions applicable to pharmaceutical distribution, by allowing some level of foreign investment or creating a carve-out for pharmaceutical distribution businesses that are being operated as part of a private hospital or clinic.

Another major problem for all healthcare businesses in Vietnam is the difficulty in recruiting qualified doctors, particularly in specialised fields. Many of the best doctors in the country are reluctant to work for private hospitals as they may want to work for their own clinic after hours, which is easier to do when employed at a public hospital.

Being employed at one of the top public hospitals also carries significant reputational benefits. Foreign doctors can practice here, but it is burdensome to recruit foreign doctors and there are practical issues such as language barriers. There is no quick solution to this, but foreign investors should expect this issue to arise in most healthcare deals in Vietnam.

The government is making increasing attempts to attain adoption of digital technology in healthcare. Photo: Le Toan

Healthtech and telemedicine

In light of the serious challenges facing the healthcare sector, tech-enabled healthcare services companies, or healthtech companies, will undoubtedly play a role in the development of the sector in the coming years. While it may be too early to predict what that role will look like, we can see some patterns begin to emerge even at these early stages.

The government has been encouraging healthcare digitalisation as a matter of policy for some years now. For example, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has issued a number of regulations designed to implement digitalisation of medical records and the improvement of IT systems in order to optimise Vietnams healthcare system and reduce pressure on the overcrowded top-tier urban hospitals.

Importantly, in addition to the efficiency benefits this digital transformation will bring, widespread digitalisation of the healthcare sector is also a precursor to a vibrant healthtech ecosystem.

Actual implementation of digitalisation has unfortunately been slow and uneven in practice, in large part due to funding constraints which can disincentivise public hospitals from spending capital on long-term digitalisation projects and the specialised IT teams needed to implement them.

Many private hospitals, which often have more resources, have invested in more advanced health management systems and other digitalisation projects in order to better compete with their peers, but private hospitals are not available to a large portion of the population and the vast majority of hospitals and clinics are still government run.

The government should continue to push for uniform adoption of digital technology in the healthcare sector, including electronic medical records and improvements to IT systems, to improve efficiency and lay the groundwork for healthtech innovation in Vietnam.

As this effort progresses, interesting opportunities for healthtech companies to step in and fill unmet market demand will increase.

The MoH has had telemedicine on its radar well before the pandemic began, issuing Circular No.47/2017 regulating telemedicine in Vietnam which became effective in 2018. The onset of the pandemic increased reliance on telemedicine  not only in Vietnam, but across the globe.

Viettel has reportedly launched its own telemedicine app, and there are a number of private startups entering the field as well. Many of these startups are in very early stages and are struggling to increase their customer base due to high service fees and lack of awareness.

However, this is an area to watch in Vietnam over the coming years, and a local consolidation could create companies that are big enough to enjoy economies of scale and attract much needed foreign investment from major strategic and financial investors.
-- Two weeks after Hungary announced that it had reached a deal with China's Sinopharm, the first batch of Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Budapest on Feb. 16, which will enable a mass immunization of 2.5 million people.

-- Bulgaria is receiving only 40 percent of what it had expected of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. "We do not need your courtesy. We need vaccines," said Health Minister Kostadin Angelov.

-- An EU summit on Thursday stressed the need to urgently accelerate the authorization, production and distribution of vaccines, as well as inoculation.

BRUSSELS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- As a looming third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the vaccine supply shortfalls in Europe, Hungary joined Serbia to launch mass inoculation with China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine earlier this week.

To ease both citizens' impatience with the slow rollout of vaccinations and the world's urgent need of a global response to the pandemic, some European countries are turning to the East while the European Union (EU) strives to scale up production and reaffirms solidarity with third-party countries.

CHINESE VACCINE

"Today is an important day because (on) this day we are starting to vaccinate with Chinese vaccines," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Wednesday in a video message on his Facebook page.

Staff members transfer the first batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine purchased by Hungary at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Feb. 16, 2021. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

Hungary currently has stocks of COVID-19 vaccines from five producers. Two weeks after the country announced that it had reached a deal with China's Sinopharm, the first batch of Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Budapest on Feb. 16, which will enable a mass immunization of 2.5 million people.

"We are the first country in the European Union that uses Sinopharm vaccine. We try to save lives and preserve the economy, and we are fighting together with our Chinese friends against COVID-19," Tamas Menczer, state secretary from the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told Xinhua when receiving the shipment.

In Serbia, where a second shipment of Chinese vaccine arrived on Feb. 10, the Sinopharm vaccine is welcomed with full trust, and the early inoculation is seen as an opportunity, according to Ivona Ladjevac, head of the center for the Belt and Road Initiative at the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Serbia.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (C) and China's ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo (L) welcome the shipment of China's Sinopharm inactivated coronavirus vaccines at the Belgrade Airport, Serbia, Jan. 16, 2021. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

"We should use this opportunity," said Ladjevac. "Serbia can do something like Israel, the first country that will finish this mass vaccination... We can achieve something like that too."

Under the state's mass inoculation drive, Serbian authorities have approved four vaccines, respectively developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, China's Sinopharm and Russia's Sputnik V.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Xinhua that most people in his country are vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine.

"People here are very satisfied and we are very proud that we succeeded in delivering such good things for the better health of our people and for the future of this country," he said.

A shipment of Sinopharm vaccines will arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) soon too, as ordered on Feb. 8 by Republika Srpska (RS), one of BiH's two entities, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of RS Alen Seranic told Xinhua.

Workers unload a container of China's Sinopharm vaccines at the Belgrade Airport, Serbia, Feb. 10, 2021. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

"Based on other countries' experiences, where Chinese vaccines have already been approved, we decided that we also need to acquire a certain number of vaccines from China," Seranic said. "We already ordered vaccines for 20 percent of our population."

SUPPLY SHORTAGE

BiH has acquired vaccines through the COVAX mechanism, the World Health Organization (WHO)-led global initiative aimed at ensuring rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, and from the EU.

It is now urging all relevant international institutions to start vaccine delivery instead of prolonging it with new requirements, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH said on Wednesday.

Delivery of vaccines to BiH through the COVAX Facility was initially due to start by the end of January and later prolonged to mid-February. And the ministry said in a statement that BiH has provided refrigerators to receive, transport, and distribute more than 1.2 million doses of Pfizer vaccines, in line with the ultra-cold chain procedure.

A family doctor administers a dose of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine to a man in Nagykata, Hungary on Feb. 24, 2021. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via Xinhua)

Meanwhile in Bulgaria, the NOVA television reported on Wednesday evening that the health ministry has accused AstraZeneca of delaying vaccine supplies, which was later confirmed on Thursday by Health Minister Kostadin Angelov at his regular weekly press conference.

Amid the "race against the virus, we were extremely unpleasantly surprised by another non-compliance with the agreement by the company," Angelov said.

By the end of August, Bulgaria booked 4,518,323 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The country has received 117,600 doses by Feb. 26. "The quantity was reduced to 40 percent of those expected," Angelov said.

"Within three days we have had serious talks with the supplier company at various levels," he said. "We received only one letter stating that 'the production of vaccines is a process of a high degree of technical complexity' and 'we expect to be able to deliver vaccines to Bulgaria.'"

"We do not need your courtesy. We need vaccines," Angelov added.

Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar receives a dose of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine in Belgrade, Serbia, on Jan. 19, 2021. (Nikola Andjic/Tanjug/Handout via Xinhua)

FASTER PACE

An EU summit on Thursday stressed the need to urgently accelerate the authorization, production and distribution of vaccines, as well as inoculation.

To date, 51.5 million doses have so far been delivered across the EU and 29.17 million administered, with about 5 percent of citizens having had their first dose, according to data released by the EU.

With speeding up the production and delivery of vaccines being the top priority, the EU chief encouraged the executive to work with medical industries to identify bottlenecks, guarantee supply chains and scale up production, and urged pharmaceutical giants to honor their commitment.

Besides a long wait for increased production to curb supply fluctuations, the world also faces a "catastrophic moral failure" because of unequal COVID-19 vaccine policies, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned, adding it is not fair for "younger, healthy people in richer countries to get injections before vulnerable people in poorer ones."

European Council President Charles Michel (R) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attend a press conference after the first day of a virtual summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 25, 2021. Leaders of the European Union (EU) called for an accelerated production and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines late on Thursday as the bloc is struggling with supply shortfalls. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua)

European Commission President Von der Leyen admitted on Thursday that, though the EU has announced a doubling of its support to COVAX to 1 billion euros, "vaccine in kind is desperately needed" and EU member states are encouraged to organize donations of vaccines to third-party countries.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron made similar comments when he proposed that Western countries transfer 3 to 5 percent of their stock of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa -- a proposal firmly rejected by Washington which said, "the U.S. will not donate any coronavirus vaccine doses to developing countries until there is a plentiful supply of jabs in the U.S.," the Financial Times reported.

The French president called for international efforts to ensure equal access to vaccines against COVID-19, especially in Africa. For him, Chinese and Russian vaccines are necessary for the world to win the "war" against this pandemic.

In a telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, Macron said France appreciates China's positive contribution to international cooperation against the pandemic, especially in helping other countries obtain vaccines at a faster pace, adding that he hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in this regard.

A family doctor shows a box of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Varoslod, Hungary on Feb. 24, 2021. (Tamas Vasvari/MTI via Xinhua)

According to media reports, so far, China has provided vaccine assistance to 53 developing countries in need, and exported vaccines to 22 countries. It has also decided to provide 10 million vaccine doses to multilateral vaccine alliance COVAX to meet the urgent needs of developing countries, many of which are in Africa.
Orlando, Florida: Even before you step inside the Conservative Political Action Conference, Americas largest annual gathering of right-wing activists, its clear who commands the hearts and minds of todays Republican Party base.

A cigarette-smoking man wearing a red Bikers for Trump hat is circling the conference venue on an oversized tricycle. His bike is emblazoned with a sign that reads: Trump was right about everything. A woman, wrapped in an American flag, waves a giant flag that says: F--- Biden and f--- you for voting for him.

Tommy Zegan with his golden Donald Trump statue at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. Credit:Matthew Knott

Inside four-star Hyatt hotel that is hosting the conference, the adoration for the former president is even more intense. The must-see attraction at this years event is a giant, glistening golden statue of Trump wearing thongs on his feet and holding a wand.

On Monday (AEDT) the conference-goers will be able to see Trump himself, when the three-day event culminates in Trumps first speech since leaving the White House.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown is urging the Chancellor to extend job support schemes in his Budget this week or risk betraying a generation of unemployed.

A report by the Alliance For Full Employment (AFFE), set up by Mr Brown, estimates there are at least 1,000 under-25s in every constituency in Britain now classed as long-term unemployed  without a job for at least six months.

Mr Brown said the research showed that only three in every 1,000 long-term unemployed under-25s have received help from the Governments job opportunity Kickstart scheme.

Mr Brown also urged Rishi Sunak to bring forward the start date of Restart, the Governments adult unemployment scheme.

Government complacency is betraying a generation of unemployed, he said.

The pandemic hit a year ago but the Governments failure to move quickly is condemning a whole generation of young people to joblessness and rejection and many to mental depression.

The Government wont release regional data to tell us whats happening on the ground but the research suggests in a city of half a million people like Liverpool or Bristol or Manchester the numbers in the work programmes under Kickstart are a little more than 20 and at best 30 in each place.

There could be as few as 10 Kickstart in Newcastle maybe and perhaps just half a dozen in hard-hit Blackpool, currently an unemployment blackspot.

Worse even than this shocking blow to young people, is the scandalous failure so far to place just one adult on the Governments programme for the long-term unemployed.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: Gordon Brown is best remembered for leaving the economy in a terrible state, with much higher unemployment than we are bearing now. Whereas this Government has taken unprecedented action to support people to stay and get back into work.

Our Plan for Jobs has been rightly targeted at those hardest hit. The Kickstart scheme has already created more than 120,000 jobs for young people in less than six months  more than Gordon Browns Future Jobs Fund ever created.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-28 16:01:49|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the United States.

It is the third COVID-19 vaccine that has received the FDA's emergency use authorization in the country, following the first one developed by American drugmaker Pfizer in partnership with German company BioNTech, and the second one developed by American drugmaker Moderna.

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BANGKOK -- Thailand on Sunday confirmed 70 new cases of coronavirus infection, mostly domestic, according to a report of the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

Of Sunday's new cases, 62 were domestic infections while eight others referred to imported cases, the CCSA report says.

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MALE -- The Maldives has administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to over 100,000 people, local media quoting the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reported here Sunday.

"We thank the public, health care workers, volunteers and everyone who made this possible," the HPA announced on Twitter on Saturday.

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NEW DELHI -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 11,096,731 on Sunday as 16,752 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry.

According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 157,051 with 113 new deaths.

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JOHANNESBURG -- South African Department of Health on Saturday said the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out is going well with a total of 63,648 people vaccinated in a week since the program started.

"The Sisonke (Together) program is outperforming original targets for number of vaccines delivered in its first week and is set to continue this momentum in its second week as more sites come online," said Department of Health spokesperson Popo Maja.

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LA PAZ -- The Bolivian government on Saturday said Gonzalo Rodriguez, vice minister in charge of fighting smuggling, has died from the novel coronavirus.

According to officials, Rodriguez was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago after contracting the disease. His situation eventually worsened and he passed away on Friday night.

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SEOUL -- South Korea reported 356 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Saturday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 89,676.

The daily caseload was down from 415 in the previous day, but it hovered above 100 since Nov. 8 owing to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases. Enditem
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I am deeply concerned with a number of proposals currently gathering momentum in the N.M. Legislature. Perhaps the most egregious is Senate Bill 227, introduced by Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, which eviscerates objectively reasonable policing. If enacted into law, it will result in the extinction of law enforcement in New Mexico. No police officer will be able to act against even the most extreme violent threats without facing almost certain discipline, termination from employment and civil or criminal prosecution, for simply doing their very dangerous job. This bill is so disastrous that mass resignations and retirements, followed by unqualified hires, will result in even more violent crime in our already very violent and dangerous state. This bill will result in the death of officers and innocents alike.

The bill presumes a reality that does not exist in New Mexico, especially in Albuquerque, where crime, criminals and violence are a way of life for countless victims whose pain is always set aside to the benefit of the predators among us, but I will focus on the damage to be done should the bill pass with respect to its section on Regulation of Physical Force by Law Enforcement Officers.

What does it mean that an officer cannot use physical force to prevent an imminent threat to an identifiable person without first exhausting de-escalation techniques? What is an identifiable person? Is it a fellow officer; the officer herself; or does it need to be some other person the officer can somehow identify? If one of Albuquerques countless repeat violent offenders has a knife to the throat of another person, what de-escalation techniques would be reasonable before the officer takes appropriate action to save the life of the victim? Who decides what is reasonable?

Violent extremists on the left and the right have free rein under this bill. Officers will not be able to use traditionally effective tools to protect themselves and others from injury or death during a riot like we saw Downtown and across the country at the hands of Antifa, etc. Specifically, this bill bans the use of tear gas or other chemical weapons, rubber pellets, and incredibly, even the use a trained K-9 for the officers or another persons protection.

Trained police K-9s save lives, including those of the officers who are not required to allow themselves to be injured before they take action to protect themselves or others from the unimaginable damage that can be inflicted in a split second by our unfair share of violent criminals. Trained police K-9s are an extraordinarily effective tool, and these dogs will literally take a bullet for their handler and innocents alike. Banning the use of trained K-9s is profoundly dangerous.

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It gets worse. Under the disciplinary language, it is unlikely any of New Mexicos officers will consider using any kind of force to effect an arrest, or for any other reason. The threats in this bill are insidious, calling for immediate discipline, termination and even prosecution should any officer violate any provision of the bills fanatical dictates. If an officer deploys her K-9 to stop a murder, an officer who uses a chokehold to protect himself from being shot or stabbed, and an officer who in the course of an arrest where an offender fights the officer over many minutes and the officer uses 99% of the de-escalation techniques but fails in one category, will each be fired and prosecuted because the bill requires every single use of force during a single encounter to be evaluated individually, an impossible expectation of front-line officers and department leadership alike.

There is no ambiguity. An officer will not intervene in any matter requiring any use of force knowing his or her entire life could be destroyed by doing so. Officers who remain will look the other way, an untenable result for our vulnerable communities.
President Joe Biden said Friday that the United States will "never" accept Russia's annexation of part of Ukraine seven years ago.

"The United States does not and will never recognize Russia's purported annexation of the peninsula, and we will stand with Ukraine against Russia's aggressive acts," Biden said in a statement marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Crimea.

"The United States continues to stand with Ukraine and its allies and partners today, as it has from the beginning of this conflict. On this somber anniversary, we reaffirm a simple truth: Crimea is Ukraine," Biden said.

Russian troops seized the Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea coast of Ukraine in 2014 and President Vladimir Putin then incorporated the region under Moscow's rule.

Simultaneously, the Kremlin backed an armed uprising in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian separatists declared independence, sparking a war that continues to simmer, with swaths of territory remaining out of the Ukrainian government's control.

In the latest fighting, two people were killed and two injured, the government in Kiev said Wednesday.

The latest casualties came as Kiev accused Moscow and the separatists of using heavy weaponry and ramping up attacks in violation of a ceasefire agreed in July of last year.
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S.

By Maha El Dahan and Amina Ismail

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said U.S. air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in the east of the country on Friday were a cowardly act and urged President Joe Biden not to follow "the law of the jungle".

An Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the strikes killed one fighter and wounded four. U.S. officials said they were limited in scope to show Biden's administration will act firmly while trying to avoid a big regional escalation.

Washington and Tehran are seeking maximum leverage in attempts to save Iran's nuclear deal reached with world powers in 2015 but abandoned in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump, after which regional tensions soared and fears of full-scale conflict grew.

"Syria condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly U.S. attack on areas in Deir al-Zor near the Syrian-Iraqi border," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"It (the Biden administration) is supposed to stick to international legitimacy, not to the law of the jungle as (did) the previous administration."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh condemned the U.S. strikes, calling them "illegal aggression" and a violation of human rights and international law.

"You can't act with impunity. Be careful," Biden told reporters in Texas when asked what message he was sending Iran with the strikes.

The air strikes, early on Friday local time, targeted militia sites on the Syrian side of the Iraqi-Syrian frontier, where groups backed by Iran control an important crossing for weapons, personnel and goods.

Western officials and some Iraqi officials accuse Iranian-backed groups of involvement in deadly rocket attacks on U.S. sites and personnel in Iraq over the last month.

Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also criticised the U.S. strikes and called for "unconditional respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria."

Story continues

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the air strikes in Syria were meant to send the message that Biden will act to protect Americans.

Future U.S. actions in the region will be deliberative and will aim to deescalate tensions in Syria, Psaki said.

ATTACKS ON U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ

The Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the strikes targeted positions of the Kataib Hezbollah (KH) paramilitary group along the border.

KH later confirmed the death of one of its fighters and identified him as Sayyid Rahi Salam Zayid al-Sharifi.

"The American enemy persists in its criminality and kills the protectors of the nation and the honorable people of the country, not deterred from shedding innocent blood as long as the wages of murder are received from Saudi Arabia and the Emirates," a KH statement said.

Local sources and a medical source in eastern Syria told Reuters that at least 17 people had been killed, but gave no further details. That toll could not be confirmed.

The Pentagon said it had preliminary information about casualties, but did not provide any details.

In recent attacks, a non-American contractor was killed at a U.S. military base at Erbil International Airport in Kurdish-run northern Iraq on Feb. 15 and, in the days that followed, rockets were fired at a base hosting U.S. forces, and near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Biden's decision to strike only in Syria and not in Iraq gives Iraq's government breathing room as it investigates the Erbil attack, which also wounded Americans.

Kataib Hezbollah has denied involvement in recent attacks against U.S. interests. Iran denies involvement in attacks on U.S. sites.

Several attacks, including the one at Erbil airport, have been claimed by little-known groups which some Iraqi and Western officials say are a front for established Iranian-backed groups such as Kataib Hezbollah.

LIMITED RESPONSE

U.S. lawmakers from both political parties welcomed the strikes but a number of Democrats questioned the legal justification under which they were carried out and the continuation of military operations in the Middle East.

"I am very concerned that last night's strike by U.S. forces in Syria puts our country on the path of continuing the Forever War instead of ending it," said Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. strikes totally destroyed nine facilities and partially destroyed two facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the decision to carry out the strikes was meant to signal that, while the United States wanted to punish the militias, it did not want the situation to spiral into a bigger conflict.

The Iraqi military issued a statement saying it had not exchanged information with the United States over the targeting of locations in Syria, and that cooperation with the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq was limited to fighting Islamic State.

Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said Iraq was able to help the United States determine who was responsible for the recent attacks in Iraq, but Baghdad did not assist in the targeting process in Syria.

Iraq's foreign minister will visit Iran on Saturday to discuss the regional situation including ways to avoid tension and escalation, Iraq's foreign ministry said late on Friday.

It was not clear how, or whether, the U.S. strikes might affect efforts to coax Iran back into negotiations about both sides resuming compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

(Reporting by John Davison, Amina Ismail, Baghdad newsroom, Maha El Dahan in Beirut, Kinda Makieh in Damascus, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Jarrett Renshaw in Washington, and Thomas Balmforth and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Moscow; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Mark Heinrich and Daniel Wallis)
San Francisco today is a city passionately divided on many issues, from the naming of schools to whether the Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park should keep spinning. But in 1882, the city's chief cause of furor was the arrival of a 28-year-old Irish dandy.

More than a century before gay marriage was legalized in the city, Oscar Wilde visited in lavender pants and seal fur cuffs and wowed the city with his biting wit and ivory cane, though many tried to tear him down from the moment his Italian brogues stepped foot off the ferry.

The year-long trip across America  ostensibly a lecture tour on aesthetics and interior design  got off to a memorable start when he famously told New York City customs agents that he "had nothing to declare, except his genius." This Kanye-type egotism was a gift to newspapermen, and arguably birthed the concept of the modern celebrity.

The Irish poet and playwright has been described as the most sardonic wit in the history of the English language. And as word followed Wilde from New York to Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota and finally to California, San Franciscans readied themselves for the arrival of the one-man show.

Thousands gathered at the (since-demolished) Platts Hall on Montgomery Street to hear Wildes musings on the artistic world, though most just wanted to get an eyeful of the flamboyant poet.

Everyone in San Francisco seemingly had an opinion, as the San Francisco Chronicle observed, "The city is divided into two camps, those who thought Wilde was an engaging speaker and an original thinker, and those who thought he was the most pretentious fraud ever perpetrated on a groaning public."

While in the city Wilde stayed in the Palace Hotel, at the time the biggest hotel in California. At night, he drank everyone under the table (absinthe being his drink of choice) at the Bohemian Club  the secretive fraternity also known for ceremonial owl sacrifices and unending conspiracy theories. I never saw so many well-dressed, well-fed, business-looking Bohemians in my life, he later wrote of the society.

Between lectures he rode the ferry from San Francisco to Oakland and back and was met everywhere by thunderous crowds, adoring women and bitter newspapermen.

Most of the criticism against Wilde came from reporters and their barely hidden homophobia.

As writer Bill Lipsky wrote in the San Francisco Bay Times, old American archetypes at the time of the sturdy farmer and the hardy pioneer were starting to give way to a more urbane tender ideal of manliness. But Wilde's aesthetic values  a love of artistry, beauty, taste and pleasure  was still a little too much for American men, and promoted a dreaded effeminacy.

In a maelstrom of scathing commentary, reporters outdid themselves in gleefully ridiculing him. Stories of the era reveal that while women adored him, educated men saw his new style with contempt. The Museum of the City of San Francisco writes that long tight trousers, high stiff collars and full mustaches were the order of the day in 1880s San Francisco, and Wilde's radical short breeches, long silk stockings and shoulder-length haircut were seemingly an affront to American society.

While sexuality could not be discussed in newspaper inches in the 1880s, reporters deliberately chose their words to convey that Wilde was "unmanly" and unnatural. A Newark paper described his eyebrows as the sort coveted by women, while the New York Times referred to him as a mamas boy with affected effeminacy.

Even the turn of phrase of one of the English language's greatest speakers was mocked in the press. Reporters were horrified by Wildean expressions such as too utterly utter, just too too and do you yearn?

This cartoon published in the San Francisco Wasp during his visit takes some explaining, but it's not flattering to the Irish poet.

The San Francisco Wasp

The scathing artwork published in the now-defunct satirical weekly magazine during his visit is entitled The Modern Messiah, and depicts many well-known members of S.F. society who attended his first lecture in the city.

The sunflowers represent the symbol of Wildes Aesthetic movement. The bag of money alludes to the $5,000 fee he received for his American tour, and the padlock depicts the theater manager responsible for booking the poets lectures in the city, Charles E. Locke.

Amid this cruel barrage of slander, Wilde may well have objected to his own famous words, There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.

On April 8, 1882, Wilde left San Francisco after his two-week visit and would never return. After seeing huge success and adulation over the next decade for the publication of his masterpieces The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde's life would take many cruel turns and end in incarceration and poverty.

In 1895, he was sentenced to two years imprisonment in Reading jail for gross indecency with men, a story which made front-page news in San Francisco.

He would never live freely in England again and spent his final years in poverty in France before dying of meningitis at the age of 46.

Oscar Wildes visit to San Francisco  a city he described as the most lovely surroundings of any city except Naples  did leave a mark on the author.

As he later wrote in The Picture of Dorian Gray, "It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world."
After China's abruptly suspended the import of pineapple from Taiwan, a wide range of Taiwanese public figures has taken to social media, urging people to support local pineapple growers.

China's General Administration of Customs has announced that the suspension which will be effective from March 1. The Chinese authorities claimed that the action was taken after mealybugs were found in several batches of fresh pineapples shipped from in 2020, Focus reported.

The move has been interpreted by some in as being directed at the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is frequently critical of

Taiwan has termed the suspension of pineapples import an "unfriendly" move.

Taiwan's Council of Agriculture (COA) announced that it would spend NT$1 billion (US$35.33 million) to promote pineapple sales at home and abroad, while President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President William Lai would take action to support domestic growers by consuming more pineapples themselves, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang said.

Taiwan produces nearly 420,000 tonnes of pineapples every year. It had exported 6,200 batches to since last year, with only 13 batches, totalling 141 tonnes, failing tests, meaning the qualification rate was 99.79 per cent, he said.

has a history of using trade to help it achieve its policy goals.

The internet celebrity Holger Chen announced plans to buy USD17,945 worth of pineapples, which he said will be distributed to members of the chain of gyms he founded.

"Don't bully Taiwanese people," Chen wrote in a Facebook post accompanied by a picture of him holding a pineapple in each hand, which as of Saturday afternoon had racked up over 170,000 likes.

New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih, a member of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), said he was looking for ways to work with his southern counterparts on the issue, and expressed confidence that the market would be able to rebound.

"Taiwan pineapples are sweet, juicy, full of vitamins and loved around the world, so there is no reason they should only be sold in one market," he said. "In facing this problem with China, the government should stay calm and focus on bilateral communication."

Among DPP figures, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan said he was sure the government would work hard to open up other export markets for the fruit, but in the meantime urged people to show their support by "using New Taiwan Dollars to empty the shelves of pineapples."

Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien said that pineapples are a versatile fruit that can not only be eaten fresh, but also used in processed products like cake, jam, and bromelain, enzyme extract derived from the stem of the plant.

Lin Yu-chang, mayor of Keelung, said that he "strongly protested" the policy, which he characterized as part of a "longtime (Chinese) approach to Taiwanese agriculture" that involved building a market up only to purposely let it collapse.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing.

(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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Firefighters were battling a large blaze Saturday evening at an industrial building in northwest Harris County, authorities said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries and initial reports indicated the storage facility on the 16200 block of Texas 249 was unoccupied when the fire started, according to the Harris County Fire Marshals Office.

Citing preliminary information, a spokeswoman for the office said the building had been used to produce WD-40 products but may have stopped those operations two years ago. More recently, it may have been used to produce personal hygiene products, spokeswoman Rachel Neutzler said.

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Images of the fire shared by the fire marshals office showed giant flames extending out of a building underneath a cloud of black smoke.

The offices hazardous materials unit and fire investigators responded to the scene. Firefighting efforts continued into late Saturday night.

alejandro.serrano@chron.com
San Antonio police officers killed an armed man who had just shot a male visitor coming out of his ex-girlfriends apartment Friday night, officials reported.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Thomas Mack, 39.

Mack was shot by police outside the East Meadow Apartments in the 1200 block of N. Walters Street.

The deceased saw another man with his childs mother as she was taking up groceries to her apartment, officials said, and shot the man multiple times as he was leaving.

The man who had been in the apartment was unarmed and was in stable condition Saturday, officials said. His name was not released.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio police kill man with gun at South Side mall

Friday night, Mack pulled a gun on an officer who was responding to the initial attack, prompting the officer to back off, SAPD Chief William McManus said at a news conference late Friday night.

About five officers arrived at the scene but kept their distance as they tried to get Mack to drop his weapon, SAPD stated.

Im not putting my gun down, McManus said the man told a police captain.

An officer attempted to Tase (the attacker), and at that point he fired twice at the police officers, McManus said at the news conference.

The five officers returned fire, shooting him multiple times, officials said.

On ExpressNews.com: SAPD will release body-cam video in major cases within 60 days

Thats too close for comfort, said a neighbor living across the street who declined to give his name. Though arguments are common in the neighborhood, he said gunshots are usually farther away.

The man shot by police was taken by EMS to the San Antonio Military Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 9:29 p.m. No officers were injured.

The officers involved will be placed on administrative duty; their names have not yet been made public.
Michael Ring has never been shy about letting people know how he feels. The former rural affairs minister had missed a number of Fine Gael parliamentary party meetings in recent weeks, but logged on last Wednesday to declare the Government had lost the trust of the people.

The veteran Mayo TD told the Sunday Independent this weekend the coalition has "made a mess" of communications in recent weeks. "You've got the Taoiseach going on the TV at night-time, the Tanaiste on the radio in the morning and Eamon Ryan out on the lunchtime news, and they've all got different messages," he said. "It is a consequence of the Coalition, one trying to outstep the other - and that's the problem.

"They'd better sit down and start putting some kind of a plan together."

Ring has also been increasingly frustrated by the 5km travel rule, saying it has a disproportionate impact on rural Ireland. "People have had enough, they are depressed," he said. "It's not reasonable and never was. I fought the battle in the last cabinet and I won it. I am not even sure if the 5km rule is constitutional at least when people could move in their counties it gave them a lot of freedom."

Read More

Like a growing number of Coalition TDs, Ring believes the Government has not gone far enough on restricting overseas travel. "It was brought into the country at Christmas. The decision should have been taken last November to close down airports for a while," he said. "We're only penalising people who are obeying the law."

Ring was one of a number of former ministers to air their displeasure over recent events at the Fine Gael meeting. Former local government minister John Paul Phelan lambasted Micheal Martin's "appalling" performance in recent weeks. The Carlow-Kilkenny TD has previous with Martin, whom he described as "cowardly" and of having "a want in him" for media acclaim.

Senator Regina Doherty, who was social protection minister at the start of the Covid-19 crisis, also got in on the act at the meeting. "You could hear the anger in her voice," said one colleague.

Anger centred on a number of communications mishaps from Fianna Fail, including the Taoiseach saying last weekend that hospitality would be closed until mid-summer and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly incorrectly casting doubt on plans for some pupils to return to school from tomorrow. One TD said there is "a lot of simmering anger" at every level of Fine Gael. "There is a feeling that the good stuff that has been done by Fine Gael has been f****d away by these Fianna Fail bastards."

A senior minister in the current administration said last weekend had been "horrific" in terms of public reaction to the Government. "I could feel it in my community, I could see it in the inbox of my constituency emails," they said. "Part of this is just complete and utter fatigue."

Another Fine Gael figure said they feared the consequences of failing to keep the public onside. "The social cohesion that is slipping now will be totally lost and that will have far more dire consequences for the country than Fine Gael losing votes," they said.

Others noted the significance of Phelan leading dissent. Once considered a member of Leo Varadkar's inner circle, some colleagues observed he was almost triggered by the Tanaiste's warning earlier on in the meeting to hold back on criticism of government communications given such contributions were likely to leak - as they subsequently did.

Whilst no one targeted him directly on Wednesday night, Varadkar is no longer free of criticism from within Fine Gael and some colleagues have observed he has been shaken by the ongoing fallout over the GP contract leak controversy. Varadkar's leadership is not under any immediate threat, but as one party veteran observes: "Simon Harris is agitating behind the scenes, he's ringing up people now and emailing them."

At the Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting that same evening, a number of TDs criticised the slow and uneven roll-out of vaccinations. But it was backbencher James Lawless who raised eyebrows by declaring the Government had "lost the people". He also criticised Varadkar, saying the "Tanaiste needs to stop bloody talking about the Isle of Man" - a reference to Varadkar earlier that day questioning why someone from the Isle of Man should be put into hotel quarantine when there is no Covid-19 there. "If there's a good reason for some international travel, surely he can find a better and more convincing example than that," Lawless told colleagues.

The normally mild-mannered Lawless's remarks were noted by a few colleagues the following day in the Convention Centre. "You dropped a fair few grenades in last night!" one told him.

Backbencher frustration in a coalition is not a new phenomenon, but what is happening now in the ranks of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail is different. For decades, they competed against each other for votes in constituencies up and down the country. That was easy when one party was in government, the other was not, and that was made clear to voters on the doorsteps.

"Wait till Fianna Fail and Fine Gael go into the rural constituencies," one former minister ominously warned. "How, when you go to the door in the next election, can you ask for a vote for Fine Gael or Fianna Fail and distinguish between the two? It was never thought out.

"It means there is going to be an end to one or the other at the next election. TDs are beginning to realise it. Fellas are beginning to realise that when you were in government you were taking the sh**e, but there were a few good announcements. But even that's not happening. It's just not working."

The problem is more acute in Fianna Fail where a succession of polls show the party's support consistently below 20pc. Taoiseach Micheal Martin makes a virtue of ignoring polls, but they have spooked many in his party.

Martin's media blitz since the turn of the year has not gone unnoticed. Senior figures in Fine Gael, including the Tanaiste, believe Martin has done too many interviews in recent weeks, leading to the sort of confusion and anger that emerged last weekend. "Anytime the Taoiseach does an interview, it generates a headline," said a senior Fine Gael source.

But it could be argued that Martin's media strategy was as much about communicating on Covid as implanting in the public's mind the message that he - and not Varadkar - is Taoiseach. "We are in unprecedented times, there is an important job to communicate to the public, it wasn't about personalities," an ally of the Taoiseach's said. "It was about showing leadership and getting the message to the public across."

What was clear from his latest address to the nation on Tuesday is the Government now believes the only way out of the lockdown is through vaccination. Martin made a series of very clear and measurable commitments, including that by the end of June up to 82pc of adults who can be vaccinated will have received at least one dose.

The public will be slow to forgive the Government if these targets are not met. Ultimately, the Taoiseach's legacy rests on a successful vaccination programme. "Now we've literally taken the family silver and a second mortgage and chucked it all on vaccinations," says one coalition TD. "It's a big gamble."

While polling would indicate strong public buy-in for Covid vaccines, the Government is aware not everyone will be covered. "We always need to bear in mind 10-15pc won't want the vaccine and another group won't get around to getting it," says one senior Coalition figure.

All eyes are on Israel, where nearly half the population have received the first of two vaccine doses. It has begun to reopen its economy with a new 'green pass' scheme giving those who have a government-validated certificate - showing they have received both doses - access to gyms, swimming pools, theatres and hotels. Senior Coalition sources have indicated there will be discussions about introducing a similar scheme here, once more people are vaccinated, as a way of encouraging take-up. "That will be an added incentive when agreed," said one figure.

Vaccine passports were discussed by EU leaders last week, with Greece, Spain and other tourist destinations strongly pushing for the measure to save the summer. Ireland is lukewarm on the proposition right now, primarily because it wants the focus on actually vaccinating large cohorts of the population.

"The decision on what you are able to do potentially with such a vaccination certificate is to be decided, particularly within each country," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

One senior Coalition source said "that discussion will be had", but a second senior source said it would be "a few months away". On the general Covid-19 outlook, the second source added: "We'll reassess again before Easter, but I don't really think we'll be in a good space until May."

Asked about Israel's 'green pass' system, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told the Sunday Independent last night: "It's certainly an approach we can think through. The emerging evidence on the impact of vaccines, in preventing sickness and in reducing transmission, is encouraging and would lend itself to this way of thinking."
In the most direct criticism yet, Attorney General Letitia James today said she rejects Gov. Andrew Cuomos call for a review by a private attorney into allegations the governor sexually harassed two former staffers, saying the move sidesteps her authority to oversee the investigation into the claims.

To clarify, I do not accept the governors proposal, James said in a statement.

The states executive law clearly gives my office the authority to investigate this matter once the governor provides a referral, James said. The governor must provide this referral so an independent investigation with subpoena power can be conducted.

Jamess call is about more than semantics. Without that referral from Cuomos office, state law prohibits her from opening a full-scale investigation with subpoena powers.

Instead, Cuomo, through a lawyer in his administration, is calling on James and the states top judge to pick a lawyer to review the accusations. That lawyer would then issue a report, under Cuomos plan.

Cuomos office also said he and others would cooperate with the review. But that private lawyer would have no power to compel people to testify or turnover documents.

Thats not enough for James, a Democrat, and scores of other state and Congressional lawmakers, who spent the weekend calling for a more robust examination into the claims from two former Cuomos staffers.

While I have deep respect for Chief Judge DiFiore, I am the duly elected attorney general and it is my responsibility to carry out this task, per Executive Law, James also said.

Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing; he said in one case he believed he was being a mentor to one of the women who has accused him of improper behavior.

Two former Cuomo staffers have accused the Democratic governor of sexual harassment while they worked for him.

Most recently, Charlotte Bennett told The New York Times this weekend that the governor last year asked her numerous questions about her personal life, including whether she thought age mattered in romantic relationships. Cuomo, 63, told Bennett he was open to relationships with women in their 20s, Bennett told the Times. She is 25 years old.

Last week, Lindsey Boylan said the governor suggested a game of strip poker during a 2017 flight. Another time, he kissed her on the lips, said Boylan, formerly a top staffer in the states economic development office. Shes now running for Manhattan borough president.

Few Democrats have sided with the Democratic governor as the allegations mounted. Instead, they say he should pave the way for a thorough and independent investigation through Jamess office.

By this afternoon, U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand joined the call for James to lead the investigation. So did state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Some state lawmakers, including powerful Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, questioned whether Cuomos review would meet that standard. Cuomo appointed DiFiore in 2015; shes worked with a close Cuomo ally, Steve Cohen, according to Krueger.

By Sunday, some state lawmakers were calling for new legislation that would give those powers directly to the attorney general.

The governor must refer the allegations of sexual harassment to the attorney general, who should have full authority, the subpoena power and with no caveats, Krueger tweeted today. If he does not, I call for the Legislature to immediately pass a law giving the attorney general such authority.

Lawmakers are set to return to Albany on Monday.

Cuomo last held a briefing on last Monday, two days before Boylan published her allegations on medium.com.

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.
Lucknow, Feb 28 : Actor-turned-MP Ravi Kishan on Sunday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and discussed the issue of promoting Bhojpuri cinema in the state.

The actor explained, in detail, the road map for the promotion of the Bhojpuri films and urged support from the state government.

Talking to IANS, the actor said, "The Chief Minister supported the idea of promoting regional cinema but also underlined the need for raising the standards of content." Ravi Kishan said that Yogi Adityanath wanted Bhojpuri cinema to reach international standards and avoid vulgar content.

"The Chief Minister said that Bhojpuri film makers should focus on new stories that would help the cinema reach standards and become popular among the youth. He also wanted Bhojpuri cinema to earn accolades at the national and international levels," he said.

Ravi Kishan said that he is playing a lead role in a film titled 'Hindutva' that traces the journey of Hinduism.

The film is directed by Prem Rai and is produced by Prem Rai and Praveen Kumar.

"This is going to be a path-breaking film in Bhojpuri cinema. At present a large number of Bhojpuri films are being shot in Uttar Pradesh which is also generating opportunities for young talent in the state and employment too," he said.

Ravi Kishan further said that efforts will also be made to connect Bhojpuri cinema to the mainstream cinema which will help in expanding the canvas.
MAS Ocean Strainer Technology freely open to others View(s):

MAS Holdings, inspired by the success of its pilot Ocean Strainer floating trash trap project initiated in the Dehiwala Canal last year, announced recently that they would make the Ocean Strainer technology openly available to interested parties, in order to replicate and scale up the solution.

The pilot project initiated by MAS included installing the Ocean Strainer trash trap in the Dehiwala canal in August 2020. This initial trash trap was designed by MAS engineers, incorporating technical advice from the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) on customizing the design to suit local marine environment conditions. The trash trap acts as a floating barrier, trapping plastic waste before it can reach the ocean, the company said in a media statement.

Commenting on the companys decision, Chief Executive Officer of MAS Kreeda and MAS Apparel Board Member, Sarinda Unamboowe stated, We were really encouraged by the interest this pilot generated, and the impact that we created with just one Ocean Strainer trash trap. In five months, we collected over 30,000 kg of waste just from the Dehiwala canal, and had many interested parties reach out to us to find out how they can get involved in this project. Thats when we realized that this is not a journey that we have to undertake alone. Collaboration is the key to creating scalable, impactful change and that is why we are sharing the technology we have developed with others who are interested in replicating this model to address the marine plastic issue at its source.

Sid Amalean, Head of Sustainable Business at MAS Holdings added, As a company, we really believe in the power of open innovation and collaboration in problem solving. We want to enable other corporates, NGOs, institutions, clubs, societies, and even individuals, to be a part of the solution to a problem that is very much caused by human behaviour. As a first phase of this journey, we have a group of companies, including Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd, Heineken Lanka Ltd, Hemas Holdings PLC, and Unilever Sri Lanka, who have expressed interest in expanding this project, and we are very excited to have found like-minded parties who want to extend this project to other locations.

The pilot project initiated by MAS was carried out with the support of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), the Western Provincial Council, the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC), the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia municipality and the Environmental Police.

MAS said it hopes that the successful expansion of this project will inspire other parties to join the cause in order to achieve further scale and impact in reducing the amount of plastic waste reaching the ocean through rivers and canals across Sri Lanka. Those who are interested in replicating the Ocean Strainer trash trap in their own locales are requested to reach out to the MAS Sustainable Business team on OceanStrainer@masholdings.com.
ISRO espionage case to be heard by Supreme Court next week

PM Modi congratulates Brazilian president on successful launch of Amazonia-1 satellite

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Brazillian President Jair Bolsonaro after the successful launch of Amazonia-1 satellite by ISRO's PSLV-C51.

Taking to twitter, PM Modi posted "Congratulations President Jair Bolsonaro on the successful launch of Brazil's Amazonia-1 satellite by PSLV-C51. This is a historic moment in our space cooperation and my felicitations to the scientists of Brazil."

"Congratulations to NSIL (NewSpace India Limited) and @isro on the success of the 1st dedicated commercial launch of PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 Mission. This usher in a new era of space reforms in the country," Modi tweeted.

He said 18 co-passengers included four small satellites that showcase dynamism and innovation of our youth.

India's Polar rocket on Sunday successfully launched Amazonia-1 satellite of Brazil from the spaceport here, in the first mission of the year for space agency ISRO.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51, also carrying 18 other satellites, lifted off around 10.24 am from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) and injected into orbit primary payload Amazonia-1 about 17 minutes later in a textbook launch.

ISRO's first mission in 2021: PSLV-C51 carrying 19 satellites, E-Gita, PM's picture lifts-off from Sriharikota

The co-passenger satellites, including one from Chennai- based Space Kidz India (SKI), which is engraved with a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be launched over the next two hours during which the fourth-stage of the PSLV-C51 would be re-started twice.

PSLV-C51 is the first dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO's commercial arm, and the launch was watched among others by Brazilian government officials at the mission control centre here, over 100 kms from Chennai.

The 637-kg Amazonia-1 which became the first Brazilian satellite to be launched from India is an optical earth observation satellite of National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
An iceberg measuring 492 feet thick and 490 square miles broke off from the Brunt Ice Shelf on Friday, according to a press release from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The section, measuring larger than New York City, cleaved near BAS's Halley Research Station, which was closed for the season earlier this month.

The research station likely will not be impacted by the break. Researchers say the first indication of calving came last November when a crack known as the North Rift became active, rupturing towards a chasm known as the Stancomb-Wills Glacier Tongue almost 23 miles away.

"The iceberg was formed when the crack widened several hundred meters in a few hours on the morning of 26th Feb, releasing it from the rest of floating ice shelf," BAS noted in a press release.

/ Credit: AvanKINTS

BAS Director of Operations Simon Garrod called the break "a dynamic situation." Three cracks have been detected over the course of a decade, including the Halloween Crack and Chasm 1.

"Our job now is to keep a close eye on the situation and assess any potential impact of the present calving on the remaining ice shelf," Garrod said in a press release.

Professor Dame Jane Francis, director of British Antarctic Survey, said the team had been preparing for years for such an event, monitoring the Brunt Ice Shelf's movements and deformations even when BAS is not at its Halley Research Station. Researchers stay at the station in the summer only, as the winter months are dark and frigid, making them difficult for observation.

It's anyone's guess what the ice shelf will do next. "Over coming weeks or months, the iceberg may move away; or it could run aground and remain close to Brunt Ice Shelf," Francis added.

Eye Opener: FDA greenlights Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

2021 Golden Globes: "Nomadland" and "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" take top honors

Colson Whitehead: The 60 Minutes interview
IT WAS an unusual experience both for the garda on the counter in Henry Street and Limerick journalist, Hannah Quinn-Mulligan, who had a basket of antibiotics bought in Northern Ireland in her hands.

Gardai are more used to seizing drugs from people than people surrendering them which is exactly what Ms Quinn-Mulligan was doing.

The Farmers Journal reporter went to Henry Street following an excellent investigation by the newspaper into the sale of veterinary medicines, the Limerick Leader has learned from sources.

Ms Quinn-Mulligan travelled to Northern Ireland in early February where she purchased antibiotics over the counter. Of the 11 vet practices she visited, eight sold her antibiotics without proof of ID, a prescription or herd number. Ms Quinn-Mulligans accent  not only southern but south Limerick  appeared not to arouse suspicion.

In human terms, it is the same as going to a pharmacy and purchasing antibiotics without a prescription from your GP. Concerns have been expressed at the ease at which the veterinary medicines were dispensed for cash. And questions asked to how widespread this is and the implications for farming?

Sinn Fein spokesperson on Agriculture Matt Carthy said: The correct dispensing of anti-microbial products is crucial for human health as much as animal welfare.

He said, A full investigation is needed into rogue vet practices.

Ms Quinn-Mulligan was pictured entering Henry Street Garda Station on Saturday, February 13 with the antibiotics bought in Northern Ireland. A short time later she left, seen still in possession of the drugs. Many names will be familiar to farmers like Betamox and Oxytocin.

When contacted by the Limerick Leader, Ms Quinn-Mulligan declined to comment.

This newspaper then asked gardai if an investigation is being launched. A spokesperson said it is a matter for the Department of Agriculture.

A follow up query was sent to the Department of Agriculture asking if they were commenting on the Farmers Journal investigation and if they were responding to Deputy Carthys comments.

A spokesperson said the Department of Agriculture and Marine (DAFM) carries out investigations into allegations of breaches of legislation by veterinarians.

As part of Full Cross compliance inspections (around 1,400 farmers per year) DAFM carries out checks for record keeping by farmers (including animal remedies) under SMR 4 (food and feed hygiene) and SMR 13 (welfare of farm animals).

Under SMR 13 DAFM carry out checks on the animal remedies records. We check to ensure the farmer maintains such records for five years including details of veterinary products purchased, treatments administered to animals, the dates of treatment and the withdrawal period. Where we find non compliance sanctions may be applied. We can also check record keeping under SMR 4, said the spokesperson who gave examples.

In 2018, DAFM applied sanctions under SMR 13 on 26 herd owners for not maintaining their animal remedies records correctly.

In 2019, they applied sanctions under SMR 13 on 27 herd owners for not maintaining their animal remedies records correctly.

Where other divisions of DAFM establish non-compliance with animal remedies record keeping, it is cross reported to Direct Payments Area, concluded the spokesperson.

Sinn Feins Deputy Carthy said Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue must work with his northern counterpart to launch a full, all-Ireland, investigation into rogue veterinarian practices providing anti-microbial products in an improper manner.

A new European Regulation intended to combat anti-microbial resistance may well see all veterinary medicinal products require a veterinarian prescription from the beginning of next year in this state.

Over the past number of months the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee has heard from those in the Licensed Merchant sector as to how they fear for their businesses if this occurs.

Here we have genuine businesses being banned from plying their trade while at the same time it appears that a blind eye is being turned to rogue actors in the sector, said Deputy Carthy.

He continued: This disparages all those veterinarian practices that properly adhere to regulations and I commend those practices who refused to dispense to the journalists involved. The correct dispensing of anti-microbial products is crucial for human health as much as animal welfare.

Deputy Carthy said these revelations will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the matter, however. For decades there has been a failure to tackle this head on, he said.

Last year Longford District Court issued an invitation to then Minister Creed to attend the court on this very issue.

In that case, one department veterinary surgeon described how tackling this was becoming more difficult due to departmental cutbacks and an absence of political will.

The minister must engage with his northern counterpart, Gordon Lyons, to immediately launch a full inquiry into these practices in order to shed light on this dangerous behaviour.

I will be bringing this to the attention of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee in the coming weeks and asking that the Committee demand a full investigation into these practices, concluded Deputy Carthy.
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The students abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, are still with their captors, the state government has said.

Yusuf Idris, media aide to Governor Bello Matawalle, told PREMIUM TIMES at about 3 p.m. on Sunday that efforts were still ongoing to secure their release.

He made the clarification following media reports that the girls had regained freedom.

Mr Idris said the governor had just concluded a meeting with traditional rulers in the state at Government House, Gusau, towards ensuring safe return of the students.

The commissioner of police in the state, Abutu Yaro, also said the girls were yet to be released.

I want to call the attention of the good people of Zamfara State, they should disregard any fake news regarding the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe by one national daily. Its not true. But, Alhamdulillah, the state government and securities are their trying their best, he said in a short message he made available to our reporter.

READ ALSO: Zamfara shuts boarding schools after abduction of schoolgirls

The governors spokesperson, Mr Idris, also urged the public to ignore the media reports that the students had been released, calling on the parents and residents of the state to pray for the safe return of the students.

The state government is committed for safe return of the students sooner or later, we should please exercise patience, the official said.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the students were abducted Friday midnight.

The incident came about two weeks after 38 students and staff were also abducted from a school in Kagara, Niger State. Those abducted in Niger were released on Saturday morning
Last week, the Supreme Court greenlighted the Manhattan District Attorneys fishing expedition into Donald Trumps tax returns for the past eight years. Trump, therefore, turned over a million pages of financial to the D.A. Thats good enough for the Trump Derangement Syndrome suffers to breathe new life into their Russia conspiracy theory.

Since 2019, when Robert Mueller admitted that Trump had not colluded with the Russians, Cyrus Vance, Jr., the Manhattan District Attorney has been trying to get Trumps tax returns. The basis for this push was the vague claim that there was possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.

Of course, this isnt how American law is supposed to work. Traditionally, the government first knows theres a crime and then must prove it. What Vances office is doing is purely Soviet: Theyve got the man and now they want his taxes to prove a crime, any crime.

Still, Vance got a grand jury to demand Trumps tax returns. As everyone knows, a prosecutor can get a grand jury to rubber-stamp anything he wants.

The Supreme Court, which operates on a political rather than a constitutional basis of late, refused to block the Manhattan D.A.s witch hunt. Trump rightly blasted the Supreme Court for its willingness to let this fishing expedition happen Still, he complied with the Court order. turning millions of pages of tax returns and financial records over to the D.A.s office.

(If youll pardon a digression, Trumps compliance with the law is typical. This is in stark contrast to Joe Biden who, on his first day in the Oval Office, announced that his administration would no longer enforce most of Americas immigration laws. But back to the main point.)

On Saturday, Tim OBrien, a Bloomberg Opinion senior columnist told MSNBCs Nicole Wallace that this time, the jig is really up for Trump. This is the big one. Hes going down! As OBrien had written,

A dam that Trump has spent decades fortifying around his finances and tax returns has been broken. And Vances investigation appears to be broad enough to pose a serious criminal threat to the former president, his three eldest children and the Trump Organization.

One would expect a Bloomberg Opinion senior columnist to have a certain gravitas, but one would be wrong. OBriens interview revealed that hes still deep into Russian conspiracy territory. Moreover, for him, the tax returns will do what Impeachment Part II: the Insurrectioning failed to do; namely, make sure that Trump cannot run again for president.

OBrien has a whole Trump the Kapo scenario in his mind. He admits that Vance needs to prove intent (that is, Vance has to prove that some of Americas most prestigious accounting firms chit-chatted with Trump about major business and tax fraud) but hes certain all the evidence is there and that that Trumps accountants will flip on him. (Actually, thats a grim possibility. As weve seen with the other witch hunts against Trump, the Deep State has no hesitation about destroying peoples lives to blackmail them into telling lies or twisted truths to implicate themselves or Trump.)

In addition to dreaming of seeing Trump go down, OBrien also salivates at the prospect of seeing the prosecutor destroy Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka Trump. With primitive ferocity, OBrien, like all leftists, wants to erase the entire Trump lineage from the face of the earth.

As far as OBrien is concerned, Vances investigation will be Russiagate all over again:

The period of time he has is important because it predates Trumps accent into the White House, and I think helps build the narrative around the money trail and Trump's motivations for his destructive and obscene dance with people like Vladimir Putin, he said.

I can find no evidence that Tim OBrien was even slightly perturbed about the fact that there is first-hand evidence from Hunter Bidens computer, that Joe Biden pimped his drug-addled, debauched son in both China and Ukraine to swell the Biden family coffers.

For OBrien, the primary goal, of course, is to make sure Trump doesnt run again: The brass ring in all of this is that, if Trump has a criminal conviction, he cannot run for president again.

Since the day Trump was elected, leftists in Congress and the media have breathlessly assured their fan base that this time Trumps career is over and prison or, at the very least, an ignominious retreat from public life, looms. For now, Im prepared to file OBriens fevered accusations away in the same category as the leftists false and failed assurances that Trump had collaborated with Russians, that Trump had praised white supremacists, that Trump had collaborated with Ukrainians, and that Trump had fomented an armed coup against the American government.

IMAGE: Bloombergs Tim OBrien. YouTube screengrab.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Vaccine advisers of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously voted on Sunday to recommend the distribution of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The move follows the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) announcement Saturday about its emergency-use approval of Johnson & Johnsons coronavirus vaccine.

The new vaccine could start rolling out as early as this week, and will be distributed in the United States for people ages 18 and older, according to the FDA. In fact, vaccine arrivals could occur as early as Tuesday.

Once fully approved, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be the third shot available -- joining immunizations created by Moderna and Pfizer -- in the country.

And it will be released nearly one year after the coronavirus shuttered most of the U.S.

Heres what you need to know:

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine showed an overall efficacy against moderate to severe COVID-19 of 66% at least 14 days after vaccination across all geographic areas.

The vaccines level of protection varied by region, Johnson & Johnson said, with the shot registering 72% effectiveness in the United States and 64% in South Africa, where a highly-contagious variant is now rapidly spreading.

However, the shot showed even higher efficacy to prevent severe COVID-19 after the immunization took full effect  about 28 days after inoculation  with the vaccine showing an 86% effectiveness against severe forms of COVID-19 in the U.S. and an 82% protection against severe disease in South Africa.

The FDA said there were no safety concerns for the vaccine related to age, race and co-morbidities.

The most common side effects of the vaccination were headache, fatigue, muscle aches, nausea and fever.

The shot had similar effectiveness across various age groups and also of different racial demographics, according to the FDA. However, the shot did show a lower efficacy  42.3%  for people over 60 who had risk factors, like heart disease or diabetes, though the FDA noted that figure came with statistical uncertainty.

While overall less effective than Moderna and Pfizers vaccines at preventing any symptoms, Johnson & Johnsons one-shot option, made in partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, offers a convenient alternative to the two-shot vaccines produced by those companies.

The shot requires only basic refrigeration, compared to more stringent requirements for both Moderna and Pfizers vaccines.

Johnson & Johnson has a contract to supply the U.S. federal government with 100 million doses of their vaccine by the end of June.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK***

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A further three Covid related deaths were reported in Northern Ireland on Sunday.

A further three people have died in Northern Ireland after testing positive for coronavirus, the Department of Health has confirmed.

The department also revealed on Sunday that another 136 individuals have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. On Saturday two deaths had been reported.

The death toll now stands at 2,055 and a total of 828,744 people have been tested for the virus of which 112,493 tested positive for Covid.

There are 301 in-patients that have tested positive for Covid and 34 ICU patients with the virus. Hospital bed occupancy is 91% and there are 28 active outbreaks in care homes.

The latest figures come as Health Minister Robin Swann said he hopes that after the pandemic there will be a memorial for those who died with Covid-19 here

It has been a year since the first case of the virus was recorded in Northern Ireland.

Mr Swann said he wanted to put a proposal about a memorial to his colleagues on the Stormont executive.

He said conversations had been held within the Department of Health about remembering those who had lost their lives.

"It's how we do this in a respectful way, but also acknowledging the sacrifice of loss, and also, at the same time, the sacrifice of service from our health service families," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Sunday Sequence programme.

"From many across our voluntary and communities sector as well, who helped their communities at the time that they were at their most vulnerable.

"So it's something I'm very keen to put a proposal forward to my executive colleagues about how we do that."
1. Roads. The citys roads are a mess. Significant resources are needed to fix them.

2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

3. More city programs. The city must invest more in city programs and services.

4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

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Police officers walk at the JSS Jangebe school, a day after over 300 school girls were abducted by bandits, in Zamfara, Nigeria, on Feb. 27, 2021. (Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

Nigerian Schoolboys Freed As Forces Search for 300 Abducted Girls

JANGEBE, NigeriaGunmen in Nigeria on Saturday released 27 teenage boys who were kidnapped from their school last week in the north-central state of Niger, while security forces continued to search for more than 300 schoolgirls abducted in a nearby state.

Schools have become targets for mass kidnappings for ransom in northern Nigeria by armed groups.

On Feb. 17, 27 students, three staff and 12 members of their families were abducted by an armed gang that stormed the Government Science secondary school in the Kagara district of Niger state, overwhelming the schools security detail. One boy was killed during the raid.

After their release, boys were seen by a Reuters witness walking with armed security through a dusty village, some struggling to stand and asking for water. A government official said the boys were aged between 15 and 18.

Parents of kidnapped students of Government Girls Junior Secondary School wait for information about family members following an attack by gunmen in Jangebe, Nigeria, on Feb. 26, 2021. (Ibrahim Mansur/AP Photo)

The release comes just a day after the raid on a school in Zamfara state where gunmen seized 317 girls. Police on Saturday mounted a hunt for the girls, while parents waited in the school compound for news on their daughters.

One of them, Lawal Muhammed, was hopeful his daughter would be released, saying the abductors wanted a ransom which could be paid.

These ones  are already after ransom, so I know and believe that when the government settles with them, they will be able to release our daughters, he told Reuters.

School kidnappings in Nigeria were first carried out by jihadist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, but the tactic has now been adopted by other extremists and militia whose agenda is unclear.

In a statement late Friday, the presidency said President Muhammadu Buhari had urged state governments to review their policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles, warning that the policy might boomerang disastrously.

The unrest has become a political problem for Buhari, a retired general and former military ruler who has faced mounting criticism over high profile attacks by the gangs known locally as bandits.

Buhari replaced his long-standing military chiefs this month amid worsening violence.

In December, gunmen raided a school in northwestern Katsina state and kidnapped nearly 350 boys, who were subsequently rescued by security forces.

The highest profile school kidnapping was that of more than 270 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram from the town of Chibok in 2014. Around 100 of them remain missing.

By Seun Sanni and Afolabi Sotunde
This weekend marks two years since Dublin aviation leasing executive Richard OHalloran travelled to China. He has been barred from leaving ever since.

The coming week is potentially a pivotal one. OHallorans family and friends will be holding their breath in anticipation that the next few days might see a resolution to what has been a nightmare for them.

Over the last number of weeks, the family and its advisers, as well as OHalloran himself and aviation executive Ulick McEvaddy, have worked closely with the Irish Government to develop a proposal to present to the court in Shanghai that has kept the Dubliner in the city without charge or accusation. All involved hope that this proposal will be agreeable to the Chinese authorities and provide for OHallorans immediate return.

In February 2019 he had travelled to China to meet shareholders of CALS, the company he works for, after its chairman and main shareholder Min Jiedong was arrested.

OHalloran had worked for other Dublin-based leasing companies but joined CALS in 2017 because it seemed like a good opportunity. At the time it owned just one aircraft  an Airbus A330-300 on lease to Finnair  but there were plans for growth.

But when Min was arrested in the summer of 2018, CALS was left in limbo with its chairman and main shareholder behind bars and little explanation as to why. Other Chinese investors grew increasingly concerned and OHalloran volunteered to go to Shanghai to meet them to try and sort things out.

After a week of meetings in the city he felt he had made progress. But when he went to the airport to catch his flight home he was asked to step aside and his nightmare began.

For a year OHalloran had quietly and desperately tried to plead his case, while the Department of Foreign Affairs worked diplomatic channels to resolve the matter. But the efforts came to nothing and a year later, in February 2020, the Sunday Independent broke the story of his enforced stay in China.

Despite a public outcry, for months there was still little progress. OHallorans health suffered and he was found collapsed in his hotel room and had to be resuscitated in a Chinese hospital.

When this newspaper interviewed him in November he was frustrated and feeling abandoned. But since Christmas there has been welcome media focus on his case. That has translated into increased political pressure from Dublin, Brussels and elsewhere to add to ongoing efforts by the Department of Foreign Affairs..

The root of the entire episode goes back to a widespread crackdown in China in the summer of 2018 on the so-called peer-to-peer lending market, which had already seen $100bn lent on 6,000 lending platforms. Such platforms had already been heavily regulated in many other countries because they could be used to disguise pyramid and ponzi schemes. The Chinese authorities were understandably concerned that ordinary investors were being coaxed into an unregulated wild west lending market.

When the authorities finally moved to crack down on the sector, Min was arrested because he had been operating a web of financial companies in China, including a peer-to-peer lending operation called HaoYouBang. The proceeds had provided him the collateral to set up his fledgling aviation operation in Dublin in April 2016 with the purchase of the Airbus.

That had taken place long before Richard OHalloran ever joined CALS in Dublin in 2017. The Chinese court has never suggested any wrongdoing on his part and independent high-level reviews of the Dublin company have since given it a clean bill of health, it is understood. But what the court wanted was money to pay back investors stung by Mins other operations. It used OHallorans detention in China to try to force CALS to hand over the Airbus. But that could never have happened. The aircraft cannot just be flown to China and handed to the authorities there. It is on lease to Finnair and under international law, Finnair has the right to the use of the aircraft until the lease runs out in five years time.

The Chinese authorities subsequently demanded 36m from OHalloran instead. But that too was impossible. CALS did not have that type of money. What it does have is a few hundred thousand euro left over each month after Finnair pays its lease fee and after CALS pays the mortgage on the aircraft.

But when the lease runs out and the mortgage is paid, CALS will also be left with the unencumbered and very valuable asset of an aircraft in five years time. The proposal to the court will lay out how this can be used to benefit the Chinese investors.

The OHallorans will be hopeful that, given this will have the imprimatur of the Irish State, it can provide a satisfactory resolution for the judge.

There have been false dawns before. Following an impromptu interrogation without his lawyers present just after Christmas, OHalloran was told by the Shanghai police that there was no longer an exit ban. He immediately booked a flight for that evening and was filled with hope that he might arrive home on his sons birthday, which, coincidentally, was the following day.

He went to the airport for the flight but was surrounded by security officials and sent back to the city with no explanation.

He will be hoping that when he goes to the airport the next time he will be able to check-in and fly home to get on with his life. It is the very least he can ask and it is incumbent on the Chinese government to now make that happen and bring to an end this sorry saga.

After a chaotic rollout, more people in California are getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Just not my people.

Black and brown folks have the lowest vaccination rates in all nine Bay Area counties. In San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, Latino residents, in particular, are victims of a gaping disparity in who gets that first shot in the arm, according to a comparison of U.S. census and state public health data. Latino residents account for 21.8% of the 3.7 million people living in the three counties  yet are getting only 9.9% of distributed vaccinations.

Theres a 10-percentage-point gap for Asian residents, who average 29.8% of the three-county population and 19.7% of vaccine recipients. The vaccination rate is also lagging for Black residents like me: We represent 9.3% of the three-county population but only 5.1% of vaccine recipients.

The vaccination rate for white residents, meanwhile, is closer to their share of the population. White residents average 36.7% of the three-county population and 32.5% of vaccine recipients. This is what it should be for all racial and ethnic groups.

There are many reasons our government and public health systems are, once again, failing Black and brown communities.

California relied on public health departments and private companies such as CVS to distribute shots. Residents in wealthier counties benefited from the approach. Large vaccine distribution sites opened in places that were hard to access by Black and brown communities. Many people of color dont have the economic freedom or resources to spend hours navigating systems, waiting on hold or refreshing websites over and over to get an appointment.

And then theres the reality that a lot of Black and brown folks dont have doctors and decision-makers who look like them and can lift up their obstacles in trying to access a system that wasnt built for them.

In 2019, only 2.6% of the nations doctors were Black, and only 3.8% of doctors identified as Hispanic, Latino or of Spanish origin, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Our communities lack critical messengers who couldve predicted vaccine access issues months ago, says Darris Young, policy manager of the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative.

For instance, Young told me, having more Black and brown public health officials might have steered a vaccination site that went to Lafayette in January to East Oakland instead, where Black and Latino residents would have had easier access.

These moments  none of them have helped the distrust Black and Latino people have for the medical system, Young said. Not treating us well is what has led us to where we are today.

This is an area Dr. Neil Powe knows well. Powe is the chief of medicine at San Francisco General Hospital. After he received his first COVID inoculation this year, he said his 94-year-old mother called him from Philadelphia every few hours to hear how he was feeling.

She recently received the vaccine, but only after Powe eased her fears. Her trepidation is common in the Black community, he said.

Having more Black physicians isnt something were going to cure overnight, but its something that can use attention in this moment, Powe told me. Its not just physicians we need  its also nurses, pharmacists who administer the vaccine and just people on the front lines that you can trust because theyre from your community.

Studies have shown Black and Latino people are more likely to accept medical advice, and treatment, from doctors of color. In a joint 2018 study by Stanford University and UC Berkeley, for instance, researchers recruited 1,300 Black men from Oakland to complete general health surveys and health screenings. The result? Black men were 20% more likely to agree to tests if their doctors were Black. Black men were also 10% more likely to receive shots from Black doctors.

It isnt just Black people, but Latino and Asian people who feel more comfortable talking to a physician who looks like them, said Oakland family physician Josephine Agbowo. Patients can relate to someone from their community on a level that they might not with someone from a different background.

Theres reason to hope that, in a few years, more Black and Latino doctors will be doing this work. Medical school applications are up 18%, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, with Georgetown Universitys medical school seeing a 40% rise in applications from underrepresented minorities.

But lets not overstate the distrust that Black people, in particular, have in the medical system, or use it as an excuse to withhold equitable care from communities of color.

After all, the Kaiser Family Foundations COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor project actually shows that Black and Latino adults who are hesitant about the vaccine are still more responsive than White adults to certain pro-vaccine messages and information.

But it comes back to who delivers the message  and whether Black and brown folks will be prioritized in this pandemic.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips appears Sundays. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
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They need to take an assessment of resources, Illinois senior senator said at a news conference. They dont have enough resources to get the job done. They need some hard and fast rules. Two-day delivery was the standard for years and now its not even close.
Attempted murder charges have been filed against a suspect who allegedly stabbed a 36-year-old Asian man in the back in Chinatown. Prosecutors have decided not to charge the suspect with a hate crime. [ABC News]

There was a big rally in Foley square yesterday to make a strong statement against anti-Asian violence and racism. [Channel 7]

American Dream Tarnished; Jason Wang of Xian Famous Foods conveys what its like dealing with anti-Asian racism. [The New York Times]

YouTuber XiaoMaNYC is handing out $1,000 tips at his favorite Chinatown restaurants. [The New York Post]

Jing Fongs unionized workers are protesting the restaurants decision to close its dining room permanently and calling on landlord Jonathan Chu to help save Chinatowns largest banquet hall. [Eater]

Surprisingly, New York City galleries, including the Lower East Sides own James Fuentes, are doing pretty well during the pandemic. [Bloomberg]

A look back at the history of Kossars. [Gothamist]

Tres Leches Cafe opens a new location on Orchard Street. [Gothamist]
Israel, UAE sign tax treaty

Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal

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Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections

Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS)

Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win

Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy

EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU

Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head

EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior

Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman

Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit

Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections

Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control

Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents

Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree

Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge

Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation

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Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan

Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels

Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service

Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened

Armenia deputy FM submits resignation

Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children

Dollar devalues in Armenia

Stepanakert: Azerbaijan creates bridgeheads for pressure on Karabakh, expansion towards Armenia

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to disconnect SWIFT

Armenia MFA spokesperson resigns

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Armenia acting PM's spokesperson responds to ex-FM

Armenia parliament majority leader: Refusing to debate with acting PM is manifestation of low self-confidence

Armenia State Revenue Committee, US Department of Justice sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Vardevanyan: Attempts made to create false grounds for obstructing Armenia bloc election offices legal activities

Lavrov says Russia is ready to resume dialogue with NATO

Armenia opposition MP on FM's resignation

India records lowest increase in COVID-19 cases in 50 days

Bright Armenia faction in parliament: No response to acting PM's proposal to deploy observers along Azerbaijan border

Ruling bloc MP: Acting premiers proposal does not limit Armenia in terms of cooperation with CSTO

Acting PM is proud of Armenian servicemens heroism, says parliament majority leader

Parliament majority leader: No border delimitation unless Azerbaijan army units leave Armenia territory

Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason

Harutyunyan, Shoygu discuss tension on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Iranian MFA says US has not imported oil from country since Clinton era

Court hearing on appeal against decision to drop March 2008 Yerevan tragedy case is rescheduled

Missing soldiers relatives block Yerevan street

Parliament majority leader: Armenia acting FM did not object, at Security Council meeting, to new document

Armenia Police: 2,581,093 people on voters list

Bright Armenia faction of parliament: No corridor through the country should be provided to Azerbaijan

Analyst: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan gave self-confessed testimony

Armenia national security finds about 1 kg of opium, detains Iran citizen driver and 2 others

182 hearing aids and 2 buses by benefactor Mikayel Vardanyan for students of Special Educational Complex

34 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Updated voters list is posted on Armenia central election commission website

Armenia authorities provide considerable amount of subsidies ahead of snap parliamentary elections

World oil prices on the rise

MP explains his not being on Bright Armenia Party electoral list

UK new flagship set to be named after the late Prince Philip

US man who said he shot neighbor over loud music found guilty of attempted murder

Lamborghini company to be sold for $11.5bn?

China spacecraft docks with future space station

Lawyer: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan grossly abuses administrative resources during Lori Province visit

UN urges to investigate escalation of violence in Colombia

Malaysia to open mega-centers for vaccination against coronavirus

Police find  5 million in cash in London apartment

French citizen to face trial in Iran on spaying charges

Over 60 children in UK undergo surgery due to TikTok challenge

Iranian Central Bank governor dismissed

Armenian opposition: The one who liberated Artsakh will not go to debates with the one who sold it

Iranian energy ministry: Iraq to allocate $ 125 million of frozen funds for vaccines

No new COVID-19 cases reported in Artsakh

Iran and Iraq to intensify cooperation and are ready for joint investment projects

Armenia ex-PM says at least 2 more secret documents signed but not published yet

Indonesia frees Iranian tanker 4 months later

Mortar shelling in Afghanistan kills at least 10 civilians

Fire breaks out at West Virginia oil refinery in US

Second President of Armenia meets with residents of Ararat province

Iran ready to help improve the defense capability of Syria

Armenian acting PM invites ex-presidents for debates

European Parliament head proposes to strengthen sanctions on Russia

UK PM gets married in London

Armenia reports COVID-19 new 81 cases: 4 people die

EU countries invite US to issue joint statement against Russia

2 people die in Armenia road accident

Nigeria: Students taken hostage a month ago are released

61 quakes recorded in Congo per day

Syrian MFA: EU lost credibility due to blind obedience to US policy

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

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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In Niyongeres office, she first spoke with a trainee, who disappeared after taking a full history and performing an exam and then returned with the young doctor the patient had spoken to over the phone. A distant part of her brain observed that her doctor was younger than she was.

The hematologist sat across from the patient and slowly laid out what she knew. In someone who is otherwise healthy, whose other types of blood are fine, this kind of severe drop in neutrophils  whats known medically as neutropenia  is usually caused by a medication. There were other possibilities, of course. Nutritional deficiencies could do this. Insufficient vitamin B12 or copper could affect blood counts. Some viral infections  H.I.V., mono, hepatitis  could, too. And they would look for those. But her money was on a medication. The doctor knew that the only medication the patient took regularly was Adderall; she had a history of A.D.H.D. And Niyongere hadnt found anything in the medical literature linking this drug with neutropenia. Still, the hematologist insisted, it was the most likely cause of her isolated neutropenia.

They would look for infections. They would check her levels of vitamins and minerals. And if all these were normal, the next step would be a bone-marrow biopsy. The doctor expected it to be normal  with lots of blood cells of all types being made and released. Her first hematologist was right that a cancer or disease process affecting the production of these vital defenders was possible  but it was very unlikely, in Niyongeres opinion, given how healthy the patient looked and felt. Meanwhile, she should stop the Adderall.

The Tests Come Back

The following week was busy as the student prepared to restart the medical-school part of her education. In just a few days, she would be in the hospital learning to care for sick patients, and she needed her immune system to be up to the task. She watched as the test results came back. The vitamin levels were normal. She didnt have any of the viruses. And so that Friday the student went back to Niyongeres office for a bone-marrow biopsy. The doctor suggested doing it in the hospital operating room with sedation. No, the patient insisted. They would do it in the office. It was a tough procedure, but the patient wanted to get it over with. She needed an answer and some more neutrophils before she could safely be around the sick patients she would see in the hospital.

The results came back faster than she expected. A wave of weakness forced her to sit down as she read the results: normal. There was no sign of leukemia or any of the other processes that could affect her bodys ability to make neutrophils. And she was making a healthy amount of all the white blood cells, including neutrophils. That meant that whatever was happening to those warrior cells was happening after they left the safety of the bone marrow and entered the bloodstream. Thats what you would expect if this was a reaction to a medication. Many medications can cause neutropenia. Some drugs destroy these fighter cells directly. Some trigger an immune response so that other parts of the bodys defense system mistake these cells for invading pathogens and attack them.

If it were a reaction to a medication, then stopping it would allow the cell count to rebound, sometimes almost immediately. Neutrophils have a very short life span, and a full complement of new cells is released from the bone marrow every day. The student waited anxiously for her next blood count. Could just stopping her Adderall get her back to normal?
Lather yourself in natural goodness By Shannine Daniel View(s): View(s):

Ever noticed that most soaps are created with quite a few chemicals, such as lye or sodium hydroxide? In addition many of the popular brands of soap available in the local and international market, use a lot of paper and polythene in their packaging.

Check out eco-conscious soapmakers intent on making their own soaps and other toiletries such as shampoo and bodywash, with natural ingredients and eco-friendly packaging and production processes.

Soapsto RIS

The brains behind Soapstoris is 17-year-old Rishma Rizvi, who is currently studying for her A/Ls in the science stream.

Since I was little, I had a passion for the beauty industry and I loved creating makeup products, skincare products and more. In 2018 I had the opportunity of learning handmade soap making from a professional Argentinian soap maker, Rishma told the Sunday Times Magazine.

Through this opportunity, I learned basic, yet professional methods of soapmaking and decided to start making soaps at home for fun. Later on, I got orders from my aunts and my friends and with a few bars of soap, my passion became a small business, she says.

Rishmas range has more than ten different types of products right now, including lip scrubs and face mists, and more products will be added later. She uses natural local ingredients  like sandalwood, welmadata, igginiseed powder, welmee powder, and kokum powder as well as clays not found in Sri Lanka  such as red reef clay, French clay and sea clay.

I am planning to soon launch a new toner made with algae. All products are made after doing loads of research through YouTube and reading materials, and I follow skincare specialists who are well known for their work and products around the world, Rishma said.

Rishmas products are available on daraz.lk and orders can be placed through Instagram (soapstorisofficial) and Facebook (Soap StoRIS) as well.

Bath Bliss

I started Bath Bliss in 2015. I had been making soap as a hobby and decided to convert it to a business, after seeing the lack of similar products in the market. We have now expanded into body scrubs and shampoo bars in addition to soaps, said Nausheen Fouz the owner of Bath Bliss.

Our base materials are generally coconut oil, olive oil and castor oil for soaps, cocoa butter for scrubs and our shampoo bars are manufactured using sulfate free surfactants. All our products also use essential oils for aromatic and therapeutic benefits, Nausheen explains.

Right now Bath Bliss products are available online through their Facebook (Bath Bliss  Handmade Bath and Body) and Instagram (bathblisshandmade) pages. Customers can directly message them or contact 0778752774 for purchases. Their products can also be found at the Tribe store at One Galle Face in Colombo 1, Urban Island at Colombo 7 and The Design Collective store in Colombo 6.

Ms Soapy Suds

A very young entrepreneur, 12-year-old Sara Musajee is the founder of Ms Soapy Suds  a home business that right now only sells handmade soap. She hopes to expand to more bath products such as bath bombs once she has gained more experience.

I source most of my materials from overseas and I mainly use commercial soap ingredients. I also incorporate natural ingredients into the soap such as oats, honey, aloe vera and charcoal, along with natural fragrance oils, Sara said.

Sara has Instagram and Facebook pages and her products are also available on Takas.lk. Islandwide delivery is available and orders can be placed through Instagram (ms_soapy_suds), Facebook (Ms Soapy Suds) and WhatsApp.

Ceylan Vie

Ceylan Vie is a venture by Armelle Hugot, a French national, who has been living in Sri Lanka for five years with her family. Handmade soap, face cleanser, rose water, face cream, mint spray deodorant, mosquito repellent and a balm that stops inflammation and itching after insect bites are available at Ceylan Vie.

Ceylon in French is Ceylan and life in French is vie  so the basis of the name Ceylan Vie is that plants give us life and without plants, we wouldnt be here, Armelle tells the Sunday Times Magazine.

Arnelle uses mainly organic ingredients, such as natural vegetable oils and essential oils mostly sourced here. Organic coconut, sesame, castor, neem, avocado and olive oil, white clay, yellow clay, cocoa powder, turmeric, tulsi leaves, hibiscus flowers, urucum powder and natural preservatives are among Ceylan Vies list of ingredients.

First, I made all-natural products for my family and friends because I was tired of skincare products loaded with chemicals and ingredients that I could hardly pronounce! Unable to find what I was looking for, I did my own research and tried out unique natural combinations to create my own soap, Armelle said.

I branched away from more than 20 years in the medical field and spent several years training and gaining experience in aromatherapy, natural remedies, and the manufacturing of cosmetics before I finally started Ceylan Vie, she said.

Ceylan Vie also pays close attention to the environment through its choice of containers and packaging made with elephant dung paper, recycled cement sheets, coconut fibre rope, glass containers, eco-friendly shopping bags and wood spatulas for its face creams.

Ceylan Vie products can be found online at ceylanvie.com. They also have Instagram (ceylanvie) and Facebook (Ceylan Vie) pages. They deliver their products across the country through the postal service and private courier companies.

The Garda Commissioner has rowed back on comments he made about groups involved in Saturdays lockdown protests in Dublin.

Drew Harris had said the demonstrators included people from different types of factions, including the far left.

Mr Harris said it was a collaboration of groups made up of anti-lockdown protesters, as well as those against vaccines and face masks, and those from the far right.

However, in a statement issued on Sunday, Mr Harris said that following further investigation, there was no corroborated evidence of extreme left factions being involved.

Expand Close Gardai restrain a protester during an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre (Damian Eagers/PA) / Facebook

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He said: I wish to clarify my remarks of Saturday evening in respect of the violent protest that took place on Saturday afternoon, 27 February 2021.

The vast majority of those who took part belong to a number of factions including anti-vaccine, anti-mask and anti-lockdown protesters, far right groups, and those intent on trouble and disorder.

Despite initial indications, following further investigation, there is no corroborated evidence of extreme left factions being involved.

I also want to thank the public for the many messages of goodwill expressed towards members of An Garda Siochana who policed the protest and, in particular, towards those members who were injured.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said Mr Harris clarified that the far left groups earlier identified at the protest were violent republican groups.

Ms McEntee told Newstalk Radio that Mr Harris said this group was intent on causing harm.

I have spoken to the Garda Commissioner this evening about the disturbance in Dublin, which is being brought under control

I know there have been a number of arrests already and a special court sitting is being arranged to make sure these law-breakers are prosecuted speedily.  Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) February 27, 2021

Twenty-three people were arrested after hundreds of protesters took part in the anti-lockdown demonstration in Dublin.

Three officers were injured during the protest, with one requiring hospital treatment for their injuries.

Protesters clashed with gardai as demonstrators marched through the city centre and attempted to make their way to St Stephens Green park.

Some 13 people appeared before a special sitting of the Dublin District Court on Saturday night.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin criticised the thuggish behaviour and attacks on gardai.

Mr Martin said demonstrators posed an unacceptable risk to both the public and gardai.

The large gathering, in the face of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, showed a complete lack of respect to the people who have made huge sacrifices during this pandemic, he added.

Nor can we tolerate the thuggish behaviour or attacks on gardai, who have the publics utmost respect as they continue to protect and serve our society in difficult circumstances.

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BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jushi Holdings Inc. (Jushi or the Company) ( CSE: JUSH ) ( OTCMKTS: JUSHF ), a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator, issued the following statement on the Commonwealth of Virginia legalizing cannabis for adult use.

In the fall of 2020, Jushi, through its 100% owned Virginia-based pharmaceutical process permit holder, Dalitso LLC (Dalitso), commenced operations at its 93,000 sq. ft. cultivation, manufacturing, processing and retail facility in Manassas, and opened the first of six dispensaries operating under the Companys retail brand, BEYOND / HELLO on December 1, 2020. Dalitso is currently one of only five applicants to have received approval for a pharmaceutical processor permit issued by the Virginia Board of Pharmacy, and the designated area for Dalitso to operate is Health Service Area II, in Northern Virginia, which has a population of approximately 2.5 million people or nearly 30% of the states population. This area includes two of Virginias most densely populated counties, Fairfax and Prince William County.

Statement from Jushi Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Founder Jim Cacioppo:

The adult-use cannabis legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly is a critically important first step on the path toward legalization. These bills begin to accomplish fundamental justice and equity priorities as well as promote public health. Jushi appreciates the General Assembly's commitment to address these complex issues, especially the passion shown by Senators Adam Ebbin and Louise Lucas and Delegate Charniele Herring in answering Governor Ralph Northams call for legalization. Jushi looks forward to engaging with the Virginia General Assembly, the Governors Office and other stakeholders between now and reenactment to ensure Virginia's legalized cannabis program is just, equitable and supports the public health priorities outlined by the General Assembly.



Adding flower to Virginia's medical cannabis program is a critical advance and Jushi applauds Delegate Cliff Hayes and Senator Louise Lucas on this achievement. We expect that around the end of the year, this new legislation will allow pharmaceutical processors to make medicines available at much lower price point and expand access to patients who could otherwise not afford sustained medical cannabis therapy.



About Jushi Holdings Inc.

We are a vertically integrated cannabis company led by an industry-leading management team. In the United States, Jushi is focused on building a multi-state portfolio of branded cannabis-derived assets through opportunistic acquisitions, distressed workouts, and competitive applications. Jushi strives to maximize shareholder value while delivering high-quality products across all levels of the cannabis ecosystem. For more information, please visit jushico.com/ and twitter.com/wearejushi .



Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current conditions but instead represent only the Companys beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, involve estimates, projections, plans, goals, forecasts and assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. As a result, actual results could differ materially from those expressed by such forward-looking statements and such statements should not be relied upon. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the 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 may contain statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, will continue, will occur or will be achieved.

By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information and statements are 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 information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, the Company has certain expectations and has made certain assumptions. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information and statements are the following: the ability of Jushi to successfully achieve business objectives, including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers, customers and competitors; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes in applicable laws; and compliance with extensive government regulation, as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in the Companys Management, Discussion and Analysis for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, and other filings with securities and regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking information and statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations Contact:

Michael Perlman

Executive Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury

561-281-0247

Investors@jushico.com
Covid-19 is only a year old. In that short time, it has affected all of our lives, bringing with it tragedy, sadness, worries and, increasingly, weariness.

Everyone has made sacrifices - for themselves, for family, for community - in a spirit of solidarity which is a mirror of our best values. Your actions, individually and collectively, are having a positive impact on the lives of others.

As we begin to step up the rate of vaccination at home, I hear many Irish people expressing their solidarity with people in less-developed countries: nearly a quarter of the world's population will not be able to access Covid-19 vaccines until next year at the earliest.

Your solidarity is not surprising; as Irish people, we are open to the world. We are a country of emigrants. We enjoy meeting new people from different cultures. Our prosperity depends on doing business abroad. At the same time, we carry our memories of poorer times at home, of famine and of help received from others in our time of need.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the virus cannot be defeated one country at a time: "no one is safe until everyone is safe", as Dr Mike Ryan reminds us.

It is increasingly clear that global solidarity on vaccines is not just the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.

That is why I am working with my counterparts in the EU, in the UN and with the WHO and other global health partners to ensure that we work together to make sure that Covid-19 is addressed abroad as well as at home.

That is not a simple task and, like so much over this past year, there is no overnight solution. However, we are making steady progress. A global mechanism has been established, the Covax facility, to assist 92 developing countries in securing vaccines.

This provides a shared procurement and distribution system, which last week dispatched its first shipments of vaccines to sub-Saharan Africa.

Under my direction, Irish Aid has contributed 4m to the Covax mechanism, in addition to Ireland's portion of EU support of 1bn.

That does not, of course, address issues of supply: as we know, at present there are simply not enough vaccines to go around. Manufacture of vaccines is not straightforward, nor is accelerated production simple.

In addition, countries need to balance duty of care to their own citizens with our duty to others, which is complicated by scarcity.

Work is ongoing to increase the supply of vaccines. To prepare for that moment, Irish Aid is investing at least 50m this year to strengthen health systems in developing countries, so that they have PPE, basic testing kits, ventilators, ICU capacity - all the things that we take for granted.

Irish Aid is working in partnership with the HSE to increase the numbers of trained healthcare personnel in partner countries, which are also fighting other deadly diseases such as malaria, TB and Ebola, which together kill millions each year.

I have put in place an initiative, drawing on materials prepared for health workers here in Ireland, to support the mental health of frontline health workers in partner countries.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney, participated in the UN Security Council debate last week on Covid-19, emphasising the need for extra effort to vaccinate people in conflict settings and to encourage continued UN leadership on vaccines.

That we have vaccines after only a year is an incredible scientific achievement. It is clear that we need to continue researching this virus, to get better vaccines and to continue the search for effective and cheap medicines and therapies for those infected with Covid-19.

We cannot ignore warnings that there may be other biological threats to global health in the future.

It is important that we put in place optimal global systems for research, production and distribution of vaccines and other therapies for all, including those in less-developed countries.

This includes difficult discussions on how to best share access to knowledge and technologies, which involves balancing many complex issues, but in which Ireland is active.

The world has come a long way in the year since Covid-19 was first detected, but not far enough yet for us all to be safe.

Our focus needs to be on equitable access to vaccines, and systems for delivering vaccines, abroad as well as at home.

Irish Aid has a proud track record supporting global public health and I will ensure that it will continue to play its part in the global effort against Covid-19.

When everyone is safe, we, too, will be safe.

Colm Brophy is Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora

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RTHK: US House passes US$1.9 trillion Covid relief plan

The US House passed an enormous US$1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package early on Saturday, hailed by Democrats as a critical step in funneling new funding toward vaccinations, overburdened local governments, and millions of families devastated by the pandemic.

Four days after the Covid-19 death toll surpassed 500,000 in the United States, the sprawling measure backed by President Joe Biden and described by Democrats as a moral imperative now heads to the Senate for consideration next week.

The bill, which cleared the House on a party-line vote of 219 to 212, includes a provision to raise the minimum wage to US$15 an hour, but due to a Senate ruling the language will be stripped out of the final version. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called on the African Union and other international partners to help address a deepening crisis in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region as he condemned alleged atrocities in fighting there.

Blinken's statement suggested growing frustration with the response so far from Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea to what America's top diplomat described as a "worsening humanitarian crisis."

His remarks came a day after Amnesty International released a report accusing Eritrean forces of killing hundreds of civilians in Tigray in a 24-hour period last year, an incident it described as a potential crime against humanity.

Eritrea rejected the accusations.

"The United States is gravely concerned by reported atrocities and the overall deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia," Blinken said.

"We ask international partners, especially the African Union and regional partners, to work with us to address the crisis in Tigray, including through action at the U.N. and other relevant bodies."

On Sunday, Ethiopia's foreign ministry said in a statement that pronouncements by the United States on Ethiopia's internal affairs were "regrettable".

"It should be clear that such matters are the sole responsibility of the Ethiopian government, which as a sovereign nation, is responsible to deploy the necessary security structures and means available in ensuring the rule of law within all corners of its borders," the ministry said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's federal army ousted the former local ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), from the regional capital Mekelle in November, but low-level fighting has continued.

Thousands of people have died, hundreds of thousands have been forced from homes and there are shortages of food, water and medicine around the region of more than 5 million people.

Story continues

Ethiopia and Eritrea have denied that Eritrean troops participated in the conflict, though dozens of witnesses, diplomats and an Ethiopian general have reported their presence.

Still, the state-run Ethiopian Human Rights Commission released a statement on Friday timed to coincide with the Amnesty report, saying preliminary investigations indicated that Eritrean soldiers had killed an unknown number of civilians in Axum, an ancient city in northern Ethiopia. It said the killings were in retaliation for an earlier attack by TPLF soldiers.

Amnesty said Eritrean soldiers executed men and boys in the streets and engaged in extensive looting.

Blinken noted Ethiopian commitments to full accountability, including international support for investigations into human rights abuses and to allowing unhindered humanitarian access.

"The immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces from Tigray are essential first steps," Blinken said.

"They should be accompanied by unilateral declarations of cessation of hostilities by all parties to the conflict and a commitment to permit unhindered delivery of assistance to those in Tigray."

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Nairobi Newsroom; Editing by William Mallard)
China recently unveiled the performance of its wind power industry in 2020, which attracted wide attention.

The newly installed capacity of wind power increased by 71.67 million kilowatts last year, hitting a record high. The total generating capacity by wind turbines across the country grew around 15 percent to 466.5 billion kilowatt-hours, an equivalent of the power generated by four Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Stations last year. As of the end of 2020, the total installed capacity of wind power had hit 281 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world.

In 2005, China's total installed capacity of wind power for the first time crossed the 1-million-kilowatt mark. Three years later, the number surged tenfold. It further expanded to 100 million kilowatts in 2014 and doubled again in 2018.

From a nobody in the wind power sector that had to import wind turbines from overseas, to becoming a global leader in wind power generation technologies, China has completed a giant step forward in the industry.

In the past, China's wind power plants were mostly located in the "Three-North" region, namely north China, northwest China and northeast China. Thanks to the wide application of megawatt-level wind turbines, long blades and super high towers in recent years, plains and regions with low wind speed also became eligible for wind power generation. Around 40 percent of the newly installed capacity of wind power in 2020 came from central, east and south China.

Years ago, the cheapest wind power came at 0.8 yuan ($0.12) per kilowatt-hour, and even 2 yuan in some places. Today, wind power projects in most regions of China, especially newly built onshore projects are no longer subsidized. The price of wind power is even lower than coal power in regions with rich wind resources. It altered people's stereotype that new energy is expensive and not accepted by the market.

China's wind power industry achieved unexpected performance under the impacts from COVID-19, overcoming unfavorable factors such as the insufficient supply of parts and raw materials, hindered logistics, and delayed construction schedules. This didn't come in an easy way.

Apart from wind power, the photovoltaic (PV) industry of China also embraced growth against headwinds. The newly added PV capacity grew 60 percent year on year and hit 48.2 million kilowatts last year, the highest in the recent three years. The total newly added capacity of wind and PV power reached nearly 120 million kilowatts in 2020, accounting for 62.8 percent of China's total newly installed capacity. China now ranks first in the world regarding the installed capacity of hydro, wind, PV and biomass power. This indicates the strong resilience and vitality of the clean energy sector, and mirrors the high quality and high speed of China's energy industry.

The steady progress of China's clean energy industry is a result of the country's unswerving energy revolution. Energy in Chinas New Era, a white paper issued by China last year comprehensively explained the major policies and measures launched by the country to advance energy revolution.

Promoting a clean and low-carbon energy was one of the most important philosophies of China. Eyeing the future, China is striving to have carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Besides, the country also promised to bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts by 2030.

This has further explicated how the market of wind and PV power will develop in the future, and stimulated market entities' enthusiasm for investment.

Low-carbon energy development concerns the future of mankind. China will keep advancing the progress of clean energy to better cope with climate change and contribute more to building a clean and beautiful world.
President of the European Council, Charles Michel, will visit Georgia on February 28, Trend reports citing 1tv.ge.

During the visit, Charles Michel will meet with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili and Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze.

European Council President will meet with representatives of political parties.

He will also visit the administrative boundary line.

Charles Michel will visit Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova between February 28 and March 3.

WASHINGTON (AP)  Just five weeks ago, Los Angeles County was conducting more than 350,000 weekly coronavirus tests, including at a massive drive-thru site at Dodger Stadium, as health workers raced to contain the worst COVID-19 hotspot in the U.S.

Now, county officials say testing has nearly collapsed. More than 180 government-supported sites are operating at only a third of their capacity.

HOW TO GET TESTED: Texas to offer rapid COVID tests for some small business workers

Its shocking how quickly weve gone from moving at 100 miles an hour to about 25, said Dr. Clemens Hong, who leads the countys testing operation.

After a year of struggling to boost testing, communities across the country are seeing plummeting demand, shuttering testing sites or even trying to return supplies.

The drop in screening comes at a significant moment in the outbreak: Experts are cautiously optimistic that COVID-19 is receding after killing more than 500,000 people in the U.S. but concerned that emerging variants could prolong the epidemic.

Everyone is hopeful for rapid, widespread vaccinations, but I dont think were at a point where we can drop our guard just yet, said Hong. We just dont have enough people who are immune to rule out another surge.

U.S. testing hit a peak on Jan. 15, when the country was averaging more than 2 million tests per day. Since then, the average number of daily tests has fallen more than 28%. The drop mirrors declines across all major virus measures since January, including new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Officials say those encouraging trends, together with harsh winter weather, the end of the holiday travel season, pandemic fatigue and a growing focus on vaccinations are sapping interest in testing.

When you combine all those together you see this decrease, said Dr. Richard Pescatore of the health department in Delaware, where daily testing has fallen more than 40% since the January peak. People just arent going to go out to testing sites.

But testing remains important for tracking and containing the outbreak.

L.A. County is opening more testing options near public transportation, schools and offices to make it more convenient. And officials in Santa Clara County are urging residents to continue getting tested regularly, highlighting new mobile testing buses and pop-up sites.

President Joe Biden has promised to revamp the nations testing system by investing billions more in supplies and government coordination. But with demand falling fast, the country may soon have a glut of unused supplies. The U.S. will be able to conduct nearly 1 billion monthly tests by June, according to projections from researchers at Arizona State University. Thats more than 25 times the countrys current rate of about 40 million tests reported per month.

With more than 150 million new vaccine doses due for delivery by late March, testing is likely to fall further as local governments shift staff and resources to giving shots.

You have to pick your battles here, said Dr. Jeffrey Engel of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Everyone would agree that if you have one public health nurse, youre going to use that person for vaccination, not testing.

Some experts say the country must double down on testing to avoid flare-ups from coronavirus variants that have taken hold in the U.K., South Africa and other places.

MAYBE DON'T: Why you shouldn't share your COVID-19 vaccine card on social media

We need to use testing to continue the downward trend, said Dr. Jonathan Quick of the Rockefeller Foundation, which has been advising Biden officials. We need to have it there to catch surges from the variants.

Last week, Minnesota began urging families to get tested every two weeks through the end of the school year as more students return to the classroom.

To protect this progress, we need to use all the tools at our disposal, said Dan Huff, an assistant state health commissioner.

But some of the most vocal testing proponents are less worried about the declines in screening. From a public health viewpoint, testing is effective if it helps to quickly find the infected, trace their contacts and isolate them to stop the spread. In most parts of the U.S., that never happened.

Over the holiday season, many Americans still had to wait days to receive test results, rendering them largely useless. Thats led to testing fatigue and dwindling interest, said Dr. Michael Mina of Harvard University.

It doesnt exactly give you a lot of gratifying, immediate feedback, Mina said. So people's willingness or interest in getting tested starts to go down.

Still, U.S. test manufacturers continue ramping up production, with another 110 million rapid and home-based tests expected to hit the market next month.

Government officials long assumed this growing arsenal of cheap, 15-minute tests would be used to regularly screen millions of students and teachers as in-person classes resume. But recent guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention don't emphasize testing, describing it as an additional layer of protection, behind basic measures like masking and social distancing.

Even without strong federal backing, educational leaders say testing programs will be important for marshaling public confidence needed to fully reopen schools, including in the fall when cases are expected to rise again.

Schools have asked themselves, justifiably, Is the juice worth the squeeze to set up a big testing effort? said Mike Magee, CEO of Chiefs for Change, a nonprofit that advises districts in more than 25 states. Our message to the school systems we work with is: Yes, you need to stand up comprehensive testing because youre going to need it."

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Associated Press writer Brian Melley in Los Angeles and AP data journalist Nicky Forster in New York contributed to this report.

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Follow Matthew Perrone on Twitter: @AP_FDAwriter

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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.

The man who was fatally shot outside a Ravenhall pool hall has been identified as a young father from Deer Park.

Ikenasio Tuivasa, 33, was fatally wounded when an assailant drove past All Star Lounge on Westwood Drive, an industrial area in Ravenhall in Melbournes west, and shot four rounds into a crowd of people outside the venue.

The All Star Lounge in Ravenhall, in Melbournes west. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Friends and relatives of Mr Tuivasa drove him to hospital after he sustained his injuries, but he died. Police yesterday said Mr Tuivasa may not have been the target of the killer, who remains at large.

A second man, 24, from Williams Landing, was shot in the thigh but was discharged from hospital on Sunday and returned to the scene to retrieve his car.
Protesters threw bottles at police and marched right up to a barricade of shipping containers and barbed wire at the entrance to the base of the 1st Infantry Regiment in Bangkok, one of several army units that government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha transferred to the king's control in 2019.

The Thai youth-led political movement rose up last year to demand Prayuth's resignation and broke taboos by calling for reforms of the monarchy.

Public criticism of the king is illegal in Thailand, with insults to the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in prison under the country's strict lese majeste law.
The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, met with the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, and other m...





The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, met with the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, and other members of the partys National Working Committee in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

The Secondus team was in the state to attend the funeral of the governors late uncle, Chief Ihunwo Wike.

Before the burial, members of the PDP NWC met with the governor, where issues related to the former ruling party were discussed.

Sources at the meeting told one of our correspondents that Wike insisted that he would remain a committed member of the main opposition party, adding that he had nothing against any member of its NWC.

The source said, The governor said he had no problem with either Secondus or any member of the NWC, insisting that he would never join any other political party apart from the PDP.

He also told the team that he remained a friend and brother to the partys national chairman but that sometimes he needed to criticise the NWC in order to make its members sit up and work towards getting power in 2023.

Secondus and his team were later part of the guests that attended the burial of the late Wike who passed on at the age of 87.

He was until his demise, the Eze Epara Kwurume Chukwuokahia Obasinwo IV of Rumuepirikom Clan in Apara kingdom of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State.

Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Saturday, also said those present at the funeral were former governors of Rivers State, Dr Peter Odili and Sir Celestine Omehia and a former Imo State Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha.

Others dignitaries in attendance, it said, included former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sir Austin Opara; Senator Sam Anyanwu; South-South zonal chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih; Chairman of the PDP in Rivers State, Desmond Akawor; Chairman of Rivers Elders Council, High Chief Ferdinand Alabraba; Senator Barry Mpigi and several others.

Meanwhile, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, has explained that the audit query raised recently by the National Auditor of the PDP, Adamu Mustapha, has been addressed by both the NWC and the partys National Executive Committee.

Ologbondiyan, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said, These issues have been addressed. The auditor himself addressed the media and made clarifications. It is clear that the queries have been answered satisfactorily because it is clear that approvals were sought from both the National Working CNWS and the NEC before anything was done.

The PDP is one and it will amount to building a mountain out of a mole hill over a matter that has been dealt with. Our national chairman leads a transparent team that is accountable to party members. There was no allegation of financial impropriety anywhere.

Mustapha had alleged that his office was not carried along in the running of the party and that his office was not carried along in the financial transactions.

But two days after the memo surfaced, he addressed the media, saying he was shocked that the memo was mischievously misrepresented.

Mustapha said that the NWC was not divided as it was working in the collective interest of the PDP.


Out there Greenwich Library is featuring a special virtual event called A Wickedly Good Evening: Two Actresses from Wicked at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4. Participants will get to meet and hear from actresses who have performed in leading roles in the touring companies of Wicked  Jillian Butler, who played Glinda, and Talia Suskauer, who played Elphaba. They will share backstage stories and insights as well as their experiences performing these iconic, female-leading roles. Bring your own questions for the Q&A session. Each actress will also perform a musical selection from Wicked. For more info and to participate, go to www.greenwichlibrary.org.

Out there The Town of Greenwich granted an official proclamation declaring Feb. 26, 2021, as Rare Disease Awareness Day, with a presentation by First Selectman Fred Camillo at Greenwich Town Hall. It was followed by a free public webinar featuring local rare disease foundations. Camillo presented the proclamation to Greenwich resident John Hopper, president of the Greenwich-based Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation. His foundation represented the over 7,000 known rare diseases struggling to amplify the critical message of awareness this year. Camillo noted that Rare Disease Awareness Day is personal for his family because he lost his sister Donna Marie to a rare form of pediatric leukemia. Webinar speakers and participants included Lesley Bennett, state ambassador for the Rare Action Network of the National Organization of Rare Disorders; Dr. Stephanie R. Paulmeno, public health promotion specialist for the Greenwich Department of Health; Mark Carles, FCF patient advocate; Phil Marella, of the Danas Angels Research Trust (DART); Taruna Reddy, who spoke about PACS1 Syndrome; Emily Kubik, who spoke on EB research; Alan Gunzburg, of the First Selectmans Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities; Allyson Buck, from the VWM Family Foundation; and Gregg Pauletti, of the Golden Lights Foundation. Rare Disease Awareness Day is celebrated across the globe during the last week in February. For more info, visit www.rarediseases.org.
Biden Administrations Explanation for Syria Air Strike Falls Apart

Feb. 27 , 2021 (EIRNS)The Biden Administrations explanation of a legal air strike in self-defense in Syria on Feb. 25 against Iranian-backed Iraqi groups alleged to be responsible for rocket attacks on U.S. bases and the Green Zone in Baghdad began to fall apart almost as soon as it was delivered. The explanation of the air strike has been rejected officially by Russia, Iran and Syria, by international legal experts and even by progressive members of President Bidens own party in the U.S. Congress. It has also caused embarrassment for the government in Baghdad despite the administrations assertion that targets were hit in Syria precisely to avoid problems for the Iraqi government.

The Explanation: Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday that Thursday nights air strike involved a pair of F-15Es dropping seven precision-guided munitions, which totally destroyed nine facilities and partially destroyed two others, functionally destroying them. The strike was authorized in response to recent attacks against American and coalition personnel in Iraq and to ongoing threats to those personnel. The structures were in the city of Abu-Kamal, Syria, near a terrorist entry-control point close to the Syria-Iraq border, Kirby said, adding the claim that the location is known to facilitate activity by Iranian-allied militia groups. The target was also in an area known to have also been bombed by Israel but this was not apparently mentioned by Kirby.

Kirby claimed that the purpose for striking those targets was twofold: to clearly try to make an impact on the groups and their ability to conduct future attacks and to send a clear signal that the United States is going to protect its people and its interests and those of its partners in the region. These targets were chosen carefully, very deliberately, Kirby said. This really was a defensive strike meant to help protect ... American forces and coalition partners, he said. This is where the logic begins to get really twisted as we shall see.

Politico cited unnamed defense officials saying that planning for the strike began on Feb. 15, in the aftermath of the rocket attack on the airport in Erbil, Iraq, but Biden held off on authorizing the strike immediately while officials worked to determine who was responsible for the attack, said the officials.

On Feb. 20, a few days after the attack on Erbil, there was another rocket attack on the Iraqi airbase in Balad which wounded a contractor employed in maintaining Iraqs F-16 fleet which is based there. Politico and other news outlets failed to report, is that the Iraqi security forces were engaged in an operation against ISIS sleeper cells just north of Baghdad at the time, an operation which was being supported by the Iraqi F-16s at Balad. This leads to the suspicion that ISIS may have been behind the attack on Balad, but instead its being lumped with the Erbil and Green Zone attacks as if Iran were responsible. Unlike with the Erbil attack, no group is reported to have claimed credit for the attack on Balad.

The Pentagon presented Biden with a broad range of military options, according to a defense official, the Politico report continues. Biden chose the middle option, limiting the number of targets in order to keep collateral damage and civilian casualties to a minimum.

Officials went through a rigorous process ahead of the strike, including a legal review, the spokesperson said. In ordering the operation, Biden acted pursuant to inherent self-defense powers enshrined in our Constitution and the UN Charter. The targets were chosen to correspond to the recent attacks and to deter the risk of additional attacks over the coming weeks, the spokesperson said. The strikes were necessary to address the threat and proportionate to the prior attacks.

Biden made the strategic decision to conduct the strike in Syria, rather than on Iraqi soil, in order to avoid pressure on the Iraqi government, the official said. Bidens decision to attack in Syria did not appear to signal an intention to widen U.S. military involvement in the region but rather to demonstrate a will to defend U.S. troops in Iraq and send a message to Iran, claimed The Associated Press.

Legal Assessments: Legal experts, however, are rejecting the administrations logic as incompatible with international law. A National Security Council spokesperson told Alex Ward of Vox news site that the administration has two main legal arguments for why Biden had the authority to retaliate against Iranian-backed proxies operating on the Syria-Iraq border. Both of them rely on the idea that responding to the last two weeks attacks on coalition facilities counts as self-defense. Regarding domestic law, the spokesperson said, the President took this action pursuant to his Article II authority to defend U.S. personnel. Article II of the Constitution names the President as the commander-in-chief of the military.

Mary Ellen OConnell, a professor at Notre Dame and co-author of Self-Defense Against Non-State Actors, told Ward that the administration got international law all wrong. Article 51 of the UN Charter states that Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. OConnell said the attack wasnt on the American homeland, and the U.S. surely had enough time to work with UN Security Council partners to punish Iran using diplomacynot force. That means Bidens team either willfully misread what that provision says or didnt comprehend its true meaning. They are citing the correct sources of law, OConnell said, but they are wildly misinterpreting them.

Adil Ahmad Haque, a Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School, argues that there are two reasons why the attack violated international law. The airstrikes did not repel an ongoing armed attack, halt an imminent one, or immediately respond to an armed attack that was in fact over but may have appeared ongoing at the time, he writes in a commentary on Just Security online forum. And the airstrikes were carried out on the territory of another State, without its consent, against a non-State actor (or two, or more). These two reasons, combined, are decisive. It cannot be lawful to use armed force on the territory of another State when it is clear that no armed attack by a non-State actor is ongoing or even imminent.

The ongoing threats that the Pentagon cited were not an imminent attack, Haque goes on. The United States is free to take lawful action in Iraq to improve the long-term security of its forces and contractors in Iraq, Haque says. It may not legally take military action in Syria to improve the long-term security of its forces and contractors in Iraq. Haque reports that the State Department said after the Erbil attack that we will respond in a way thats calculated within our own timetable and using a mix of tools at a time and place of our choosing. But: That is not how international law works. The use of armed force is lawful only if, when, and where it is necessary. The U.S. government appears to concede that it was not necessary to strike inside Syria. It was merely convenient. Furthermore, A proportionate military response to a previous armed attack, that is clearly over, is not proportionate self-defense. That is an armed reprisal. And even proportionate armed reprisals are illegal.

The U.S. airstrikes were not defensive. They were expressive, Haque concludes. The Pentagon says that the operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel. The operation sends another message: President Biden will violate international law, much like his predecessors.

Congressional Responses: Democrats and Republicans in Congress are also questioning the legality because the strike was launched without Congressional consultation. Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances, said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). Congress must be fully briefed on this matter expeditiously.

We need to extricate from the Middle East, not escalate, progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), said in a statement Feb. 26. The President should not be taking these actions without seeking explicit authorization instead of relying on broad, outdated [authorizations]. I spoke against endless war [under] Trump, and I will speak out against it when we have a Democratic President.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) highlighted a 2017 tweet from current White House press secretary Jen Psaki that criticized then-President Donald Trumps decision to bomb Syria in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack. What is the legal authority for strikes? Psaki asked, stating Syria is a sovereign country. Omar tweeted in response: Great question. Omar told CNN that We in Congress have congressional oversight in engaging in war and we havent been briefed yet and we have not authorized war in Syria.

Republican Representatives Nancy Mace, SC; Jim Banks, IN.; Rand Paul, KY; and Lauren Boebert, CO, also protested the attack.

International Responses: In Moscow, a reporter asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to comment on the U.S. air strike in Syria during a joint press conference with his Afghanistan counterpart. In addition to repeating that they were given only a five-minute warning of the attack, that the U.S. presence in Syria is illegal under international law, that they are stealing Syrian oil, and that the U.S. forces are blocking even humanitarian aid to the areas of Syria under control of the legitimate government, He also made the following announcement:

Recently, we have been receiving information from various sources (we cannot confirm them yet, and we want to ask the Americans directly) that they are allegedly in the process of making a decision never to leave Syria and even to break up that country.

Lavrov went on that the deconfliction arrangement is important, but also said:

we believe its important to resume political and diplomatic contacts. We hope that the new U.S. administration will soon form its teams to deal with these matters. It is important for us to understand how Washington will be building its strategy on the ground and in the region, since the United States is voting for resolutions confirming the need to respect Syrias sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity.

The Iranians, for their part, finally spoke up late yesterday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement: The attacks ... have taken place in a context in which U.S. forces have illegally entered Syrian territory in recent years, occupying areas of the country and plundering its natural resources, including oil, which rightfully belong to the Syrian nation, Khatibzadeh said, PressTV reported. Illegal U.S. bases on Syrian soil also train terrorist forces and use them as tools, he further said. He also denounced the U.S. attacks as a clear violation of Syrias sovereignty and territorial integrity that would exacerbate military conflicts and further destabilize the region.

The Israelis, on the other hand, are delighted with the U.S. strike. Times of Israel reported yesterday that unnamed officials told the Walla news site: The Iranians didnt realize that Biden is not Obama, and that if they will continue down this road of miscalculation they will eventually get hit. The report added that Washington had notified Israel in advance of the airstrikes.

The administration also complicated things for Baghdad, which it expressly said it was trying to avoid. Kirby caused a bit of a scandal in Baghdad when he stated, during his briefing yesterday, that Secretary of Defense Austin was very sincere when he praised our Iraqi partners for the investigative and intelligence work they did. There was some very good work done on the intelligence side that helped lead to these successful strikes.

We deny this, the Defense Ministry said in a statement, reported Sputnik. Baghdads cooperation with the international coalition is limited to the fight against terrorism threatening Iraq, in a form that allows for preserving the countrys sovereignty and security, the statement read.

The Interior Ministry issued a similar statement saying the cooperation with the international coalition is limited to developing the security forces field skills to improve the police work in maintaining the internal security, fighting crime, and achieving societal peace, reported Shafaq News. Accordingly, no intelligence information has been exchanged by the ministry agencies and the international coalition forces related to the aforementioned airstrike.

After these denials, Kirby was forced to walk back his original statement. The Iraqi government is investigating who launched rockets on its soil in recent days and weeks. He said on Twitter yesterday, But to be clear: we did not use Iraqi information to develop our targets for last nights strikes.
Cristina Arias/Getty Images

En espanol | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for three COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson. The three available vaccines use two different technologies to achieve the same end  to trigger immune responses in our cells that will allow our bodies to make antibodies to the spike protein located on the surface of the coronavirus. Those antibodies will help fight a COVID-19 infection if the real coronavirus enters our body.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use the same basic technology, known as mRNA, to provide the genetic code our cells need to produce the antibodies. These vaccines essentially teach our cells how to make a protein that prompts an immune response without using the live virus that causes COVID-19.



The J&J vaccine also delivers a genetic code to our cells, but does it in a different way. This vaccine uses what's called an adenovirus  a harmless virus that can no longer replicate  to basically send the genetic message to our cells. And the adenovirus goes into the nucleus of our cells and uses our DNA to send the genetic code.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After many elected officials -- including several from Staten Island -- called for the Cuomo administration to conduct an independent investigation of sexual harassment allegations against the Governor, his office announced an independent lawyer would head up the task.

The Governors office wants a review of the sexual harassment claims made against the Governor to be done in a manner beyond reproach, said Beth Garvey, special counsel and senior advisor.

She noted the Governors office had initially selected former Federal Judge Barbara Jones to conduct the investigation.

But we want to avoid even the perception of a lack of independence or inference of politics, she said.

The office has asked Attorney General of New York State and the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals to jointly select an independent and qualified lawyer in private practice without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review of the matter and issue a public report.

The work product will be solely controlled by that independent lawyer personally selected by the Attorney General and Chief Judge, said Garvey. All members of the Governors office will cooperate fully. We will have no further comment until the report is issued.

News about a second former aide who said she was sexually harassed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo surfaced late Saturday.

Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governors administration until November, told The New York Times Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men.

Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, a former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, recently accused Cuomo of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comments. Cuomo denied the allegations.

Cuomo said in a statement Saturday that Bennett was a hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID and that she has every right to speak out.

He said he had intended to be a mentor for Bennett, who is 25.

I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate, Cuomos statement said. The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.

However, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she doesnt accept the Governors proposal.

The states executive law clearly gives my office the authority to investigate this matter once the Governor provides a referral. While I have deep respect for Chief Judge DiFiore, I am the duly elected attorney general and it is my responsibility to carry out this task, per executive law. The Governor must provide this referral so an independent investigation with subpoena power can be conducted.

Prior to the Garveys announcement Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island), and Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore) put out a joint statement on Twitter calling for an independent investigation into the sexual harassment claims against Cuomo.

The allegations of sexual harassment that have come to light this week from two women who worked for the Governors office are deeply disturbing, the statement said.

Our statement on the recent allegations of harassment against the Governor @Charlesdfall @Michael_Cusick pic.twitter.com/pLSYiVkLYF  Senator Diane Savino (@dianesavino) February 28, 2021

Sen Andrew Lanza told the Advance/SILive.com that together with the Republican conference he had called on the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to conduct an independent investigation.

Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn) also called the allegations against Cuomo disturbing and troubling.

These are serious claims and they must be investigated thoroughly and adequately. A truly independent investigation is absolutely necessary. Any individuals that are associated to the Governor cannot properly carry out such an investigation, he added.

Said Assemblyman Mike Reilly (R-South Shore) on Twitter: The accusations made against Governor Cuomo must be taken seriously, especially since we were already questioning the Governors use of power during the pandemic.

My statement on the recent allegations of sexual harassment made against @NYGovCuomo  pic.twitter.com/bad8AQyig4  Mike Reilly (@TeamReillyNY) February 28, 2021

NURSING HOME DEATHS

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday said he also wanted an investigation into Cuomos role in the reporting of nursing home deaths in New York during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

New Yorkers have seen detailed, documented accounts of sexual harassment, multiple instances of intimidation, and the admitted withholding of information on the deaths of over 15,000 people, said de Blasio. Questions of this magnitude cannot hang over the heads of New Yorkers as we fight off a pandemic and economic crisis. Its clear what must now take place.

Associated Press material was used in this report.

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EACH AND EVERY DAY, my colleagues and I hear about how New Hampshires high property taxes are an unsustainable burden on hardworking Granite Staters. According to a recent report from US News and WalletHub, New Hampshire has the third-highest property tax rates in the country. For young wor
In late February, Prince Philip was admitted to Londons King Edward VII Hospital because he was feeling unwell. Its since been revealed that doctors are treating the 99-year-old for an infection.

Before he retired in 2017, Prince Philip served the crown for more than seven decades. When he passes, he will be referred to as Operation Forth Bridge.

Prince Philip during the transfer of the Colonel-in-Chief at Windsor Castle | Samir Hussein/ Samir Hussein/WireImage

Prince Philip is feeling a lot better after a few days in the hospital

According to a statement from Buckingham Palace, the Duke of Edinburgh is not expected to leave the hospital for several days. He was admitted as a precaution, and the palace says he is comfortable and responding to treatment.

The BBC is reporting that the Earl of Wessex said his father is feeling a lot better and he appreciates all of the lovely messages hes received from the public.

Hes looking forward to getting out, which is the most positive thing, so we keep our fingers crossed, Prince Edward revealed.

Sources say that Prince Philip walked into the hospital in Marylebone on his own, without the help of aides. During the lockdown, hes been living at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth and a small staff.

The royal couple both received their COVID vaccines in January, and the palace has made it clear that the Duke of Edinburghs health issues have nothing to do with coronavirus.

Queen Elizabeth is leaning on her family for support

According to US Weekly, Queen Elizabeth is leaning on her loved ones for support while her husband remains in the hospital.

Its a lot to take on, an insider explained. But as usual, Elizabeth is handling the stress and sadness with dignity. Prince William, Duchess Kate, Duchess Camilla and Prince Charles and Princess Beatrice are rallying around Elizabeth, even Princess Eugenie who has just given birth is checking in.

RELATED: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip Insist on Doing 1 Thing Daily, Despite Being Forced to Spend Months Apart

The insider added that Prince Charles is making an effort to step up. Hes been a pillar of strength for his mother during this difficult time. Charles visited Philip at the hospital and stayed for about 30 minutes. During the pandemic, visits are only allowed in exceptional circumstances.

The royal family uses secret code names when they die

When you are an extremely famous and important member of the royal family, your funeral is planned years in advance. This means that at the same time the palace is in preparation for Prince Philips 100th birthday this summer, they are also rehearsing his funeral.

According to Town & Country, Queen Elizabeth and her palace officials have been planning her funeral since the 1960s. Several times every year, they hold meetings to refine and rehearse those plans.

This may sound dark and ominous, but its a must when it comes to someone as prominent as the queen. Her funeral will be a global event and will attract an incredible number of mourners.

RELATED: Prince Andrews Scandal Has Forced Prince Philip to Make the Toughest Decision of His Life

The palace must be prepared at all times because the queens funeral will involve the British government, the Church of England, the British Armed Forces, the Metropolitan Police Service, the Royal Parks, City Hall, Transport for London, all 32 London boroughs, and the media.

When Queen Elizabeth does pass, Her Majestys private secretary will be the first one to deliver the news to relevant parties. However, they must speak in code. The funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth is known as Operation London Bridge. When she dies, the code to deliver the news of her death will be relayed as London Bridge is down.

Prince Philip also has a code for his death. When he dies, he will be referred to as Operation Forth Bridge. This is a reference to a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Edinburgh.
The call also prompted an EMS Plan 1, which launches at least five ambulances. The two people who died and who earlier had been listed by the Fire Department as extremely critical were rushed to OSF HealthCare Little Company of Mary Medical Center, he said.
Reports of the demise of Australias CBDs appear greatly exaggerated with new research suggesting they should emerge from the coronavirus pandemic as renewed economic powerhouses.

The cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide have all suffered bigger falls in employment than almost every other part of the country.

A growing number of workers are returning to the city centre. Credit:Getty

Coronavirus-related restrictions on workplaces plus the closure of international borders have all dealt substantial blows to some of the most vibrant and economically important areas of the nation that also draw tourists.

But work by PwC suggests the economic hit, which is driving down commercial rents and keeping many people in their suburban homes and out of downtown offices, will open opportunities that will reignite CBDs.
A talented self-taught baker has wowed thousands after creating sponge cakes that look just like actual lemons.

Chontelle, from Perth, carefully constructed a Woolworths vanilla-flavoured mudcake with yellow fondant to make it look identical to the citrus fruit.

The mother said the only thing she didn't replicate were the barcode stickers.

A talented self-taught baker has wowed thousands after creating sponge cakes that look just like actual lemons

She said she opted for store-bought cake so she could play around with creating realistic looking lemons without having to spend hours in the kitchen baking.

'Wanted to practice making hyper-realistic cakes, but couldn't be bothered fully baking... Woolies vanilla mudcake to the rescue,' Chontelle wrote in a Facebook group, adding: 'Sticker is real.'

She used icing sugar, corn stack and yellow gel good colouring to recreate the realistic lemon peels, in which she wrapped around the sponge cakes.

'Yellow fondant with sifted icing sugar - mixed with a tiny bit of corn starch to stop it from melting, and gel food colouring,' she explained.

'Left it overnight to dry so it was light and could sift easily.'

Chontelle, from Perth, carefully constructed a Woolworths vanilla-flavoured mudcake with yellow fondant to make it look identical to the citrus fruit. The mother said the only thing she didn't replicate was the barcode stickers

Chontelle - who bakes as a hobby - shared pictures of her creation sitting on a chopping board after trial and error, saying: 'This was the third lemon I tried.'

After sharing her spectacular work on social media, many didn't believe it was actually cake, while others assumed the lemon was 'off' until they had a closer look.

'Ohhh it's a cake! All I saw was the lemon and wondered what was wrong with its insides,' one woman wrote, laughing.

A second said: 'They look so real that I feel like accusing you of lying. This blows my mind, you're so talented.'

Another suggested 'They look so real I was wondering what was wrong with that lemon! I've seen off lemons but never ones like that. Well done.'

And one added: 'First I thought your lemon was off... Then I realised it is a cake. Wow. Then I thought you'd stuffed cake into the centre of a lemon rind. But no - this is something you've actually created and it blows my mind. Wow. Go you good thing.'

Others praised Chontelle for her talented work.

'I can't even begin to think where on earth I'd start with making this. Amazing,' one wrote, while another added: 'I thought it was three lemons until I looked at second photo but wow looks amazing well done.'